Free Web NovelChapter 34: Episode 034: Caius, let’s leave.
Knox wished he could take back his words the next morning.
It was the very first day of training. Rue stood behind a small, empty wooden table she had dragged out of the kitchen. She held a single, half-eaten carrot in her hand like a pointer stick.
She did not even know she could be a teacher. Back on Earth, she had absolutely zero patience for explaining things to people. But looking at the massive, Black Panther King standing awkwardly in front of her table, she realised she had to be entirely ruthless.
"Let us try this again," Rue said flatly, tapping the carrot on the wood. "Scenario two. You are standing at a market stall. A prey beast walks up to look at your carved wood. They ask you how much it costs. What do you do?"
Knox stood stiffly. He was wearing a plain dark shirt as he stared down at the tiny female. He took a deep breath, trying to remember the rules she gave him an hour ago.
"I look at them," Knox rumbled.
"Good," Rue nodded slowly. "And?"
"And I tell them the price," Knox continued, his jaw tight. "And if they say it is too expensive, I break their fingers so they cannot buy anything from anyone else."
Rue dropped her head against the wooden table. A dull thud echoed in the quiet courtyard.
She was quite disappointed. It had been two hours, and Knox’s first instinct for every single minor inconvenience was pure violence.
A loud, booming laugh completely shattered the tension.
Caius was leaning against a thick stone pillar a few feet away. The Left General of the Swamps had his muscular arms crossed over his chest. He threw his head back and laughed so hard his broad shoulders shook.
"You are doing great, jungle cat," Caius mocked, wiping a fake tear from his golden eye. "I am sure the rabbit merchants will absolutely love having their fingers broken. Very good for business."
Knox turned his head slowly. He glared at the snake. His long, black panther tail lashed angrily behind him, slapping loudly against the dirt. freewebnovёl.ƈom
"Do you want me to break your fingers right now?" Knox growled, his fangs extending slightly over his bottom lip.
Caius pushed entirely off the pillar. He stood tall, a highly dangerous smirk spreading across his handsome face. "Come try it, kitten."
"Stop," Rue ordered. She lifted her head off the table and pointed the carrot directly at Caius. "You are not helping."
Caius walked over to the table, leaning his hip against the wood right next to Rue. He looked down at her, his eyes shining with pure amusement.
"I cannot help it," Caius teased smoothly. He reached out and gently tugged on a long strand of her silver-white hair. "You look so very cute when you are bossing giant predators around. Little teacher rabbit."
Rue smacked his hand away. Her pale cheeks flushed a very light pink.
"Take this seriously, Caius," Rue scolded him, narrowing her eyes. "If he does not learn this, the system— I mean, I will not be able to finish the task. If you keep laughing at him, I will make you sleep outside."
Caius immediately raised both of his hands in surrender. "I am completely silent. Not another word."
"Good," Rue said. She turned her attention back to the frustrated King. "Knox, you cannot hurt the customers. Let us do a real practice. Caius will be the customer."
Caius’s eyes lit up again. He loved this idea.
Knox hated this idea. He crossed his arms and let out a low, warning rumble from deep inside his chest. "I do not want to talk to the snake."
"You have to," Rue insisted. She stepped around the table and pushed Knox gently until he was standing behind the wood. "You are the merchant now. Sell him the wooden bowl."
Rue pointed to a small, carved wooden bowl sitting on the table.
Knox stood behind the stall. He looked incredibly out of place. He was an apex predator, a King who ruled the dark jungle, and now he was pretending to sell a tiny bowl.
Caius walked to the other side of the courtyard. He turned around and sauntered slowly toward the table. He put on a highly exaggerated, ridiculous walk, swinging his hips slightly.
"Hello, good merchant," Caius said loudly, dragging out the words. He picked up the wooden bowl and inspected it with a completely fake look of disgust. "What a terrible little bowl. Did a blind rat chew on this wood?"
Knox’s hands instantly gripped the edge of the table. The thick wood cracked loudly under his sharp claws.
"I carved that," Knox hissed, leaning completely over the table.
"Well, you did a horrible job," Caius sighed dramatically, tossing the bowl carelessly back onto the wood. It bounced and rolled off the edge, falling into the dirt. "I will give you half a copper coin for it. And you should thank me for taking it off your hands."
The thick silver scar over Knox’s eyebrow twitched violently.
Knox simply reached entirely across the table, grabbed Caius by the front of his dark shirt, and violently threw the snake beastman over the stall.
Caius twisted in the air, landing perfectly on his feet. He burst out laughing again.
"Fail," Caius declared happily.
Minx, who was sitting on a stone bench nearby holding a sleeping little Theron, let out a massive, heavy groan. She rubbed her brown face with her free hand.
"Brother, please," Minx pleaded tiredly. "Just smile and nod. That is all you have to do."
"I am not smiling at him!" Knox shouted, pointing a shaking finger at Caius. "He insulted my work! No amount of respect!"
"Customers do that!" Rue argued, stepping directly between the two massive men. "People are rude. You cannot just throw everyone who is rude to you into the dirt. You have to ignore it." freewēbnoveℓ.com
Knox breathed heavily. His chest rose and fell in rapid, angry jerks. He looked down at Rue, his golden eyes filled with raw frustration.
"Why?" Knox demanded loudly.
"Because that is how society works," Rue explained, trying to keep her voice perfectly flat and calm.
Knox felt incredibly hot. His skin crawled. He hated this. He hated standing behind a table like a weak prey beast. He hated holding back his natural instincts. He was completely failing in front of the female he desperately wanted to impress. His pride was entirely crushed, and his patience had run thin.
"I am the King of the Nightwhisper Jungle," Knox growled. His voice vibrated deeply, carrying a genuine, dangerous edge. "If someone disrespects me, they die."
"Not at the Convergence," Rue said coldly. "If you kill someone at the Full Moon Festival, the other tribes will unite and wipe your clan out. You have to change."
Knox clenched his fists at his sides. He looked at the broken pieces of the table that he had cracked. He looked at Caius, who was still smirking. Then he looked at the tiny rabbit, telling him to deny his entire nature.
The anger boiled completely over into absolute defeat.
Knox took a heavy step back away from the table.
"I give up," Knox said loudly, his voice echoing sharply across the stone courtyard. "I don’t want this anymore."
Rue stopped. She stood perfectly still, her pink eyes locking onto his face.
Knox threw his hands in the air. "I am a panther. This is who I am. I hunt. I fight. Why do I have to bend to what the world wants?"
Rue pressed her lips into a hard, thin line.
"Then we are done here," Rue stated coldly, completely devoid of any emotion. She turned her back on him entirely and looked at the snake. "Caius, let’s leave the Panther Territory, and we will forget any of this ever happened."
