Beauty and The Beasts: Rain

5. Reminiscent Tiger

     Unbeknownst to the two beasts who were off in their own world, the neglected white tiger grabbed something to cover his lower region with while a small smile graced his lips.  He would never grow tired of these two siblings' interactions.  He was glad he was able to bring them together all those years ago.

     The tiger beastman's expression slowly returned to a blank one.  He searched several years for Bai Qingqing.  Having had no success, he finally started accepting that she would not return. Parker had left his children behind to earn more stripes as quick as possible.  The impatient leopard wanted to earn his fifth stripe so he could return to Bai's side.

    The white tiger could still remember Parker's frantic and fearful expression the day his mate disappeared along with Curtis.  He was also panicking that day, but held himself together. He organized his clan and conducted a search.

     The handsome tiger's scowl deepened while recalling that time in his life.  He had thought his second chance had come.  He wanted nothing more then to fulfill his role as Bai's guardian and protect her.  Having failed to shield her from the Ape king's scheme, he had vowed to himself to do better if he ever received another chance.

     The world must have heard his plea, as he was able to find and protect Bai in the small tiger village she made her home.  His happiness was short lived, taken away abruptly without warning.  With no results from the search party and Parker gone, he could only continue his quest alone.  During his self-appointed mission, he had come across Bai and Curtis's snakelings.

     Out of the seven he had come across, two remained together.  He knew the behavior was odd.   He had learned from Curtis that snakes are solitary and do not have the same familial ties as other beastmen.  He would continuously check on them, even after he stopped searching for Bai.  The two that stayed together were the easiest to track, as they generally did not travel fast or far.

     The white tiger would provide what help he could to all of Bai's children.  Even if it was misplaced, he felt he had to repent for his failure as a Guardian.  He personally raised and trained the leopard trio as if they were his own.  He would check on and even approach the snakelings throughout the years too.

     At one point the tiger had brought one wandering snakeling to his village, however, the snakeling would constantly fight over territory with the villagers.  The villagers were none to pleased at the addition of the young and unmated snake to their community.  Their prejudice had been reduced towards Curtis because he was already mated and no longer a risk to the other females.

     The villagers would never speak up against their tiger king and only grew restless.  The tiger king was neither so dense or a fool.  The unrest was apparent and he did not stop the snake male from leaving.  The snakeling had been uncomfortable sharing space with other males and was glad to go.

     The white tiger let out sigh before turning his attention towards the sibling pair.  His eyes briefly landing on Rain before looking away.  He had originally been discouraged after that one snakeling left the village.  He wasn't going to try the same thing twice, but he wanted to confirm something about the two snakelings that stayed together.

     He would look for the snaklings every year.  Having earned his fifth stripe during his search for Bai, the tiger king did not have much difficulty tracking them after he had learned their scents and general location.  Four years after Bai's disappearance, he could only track five snakelings.   Three of the five snakelings would not stand for him invading their territories and would attack him or run away.

     The pair, while wary, would listen to him speak and would not flee. Of the pair, the bright and dark red banded one was cautious, but fearless.  The solid red-brownish one cowered behind its sibling.  The white tiger smiled slightly.  That brave snake now stood in front of him bearing two stripes despite being female. A mixture of pride and concern churned in his heart.

     He would never be at ease until Rain took mates of her own.  He acknowledged her strength, but this world was too dangerous for an unmated female.  If only she would tell him her preferences, he would scour every clan to find the perfect mate for her.  It took far more willpower then he would ever show, to leave her out here, knowing she was unprotected.  His instincts screamed at him to protect this female.  Not only was she alone out here, she was Bai's female child.  If anything happened to her, he really would not be able to forgive himself.

     Steeling himself, he would discuss it with her again.  His title as the fierce tiger king that he was, couldn't protect him against her raw anger.  He knew well of her need to prove her strength and he was relieved that she was growing stronger, but he was still restless.  The uneasiness, anger, and concern swirling inside him would not settle down.  He knew how stripes were gained.  Knowing what kind of danger she had subjected herself to, in order to earn them, nearly made him snarl.

     Barely managing to hold himself back, a scowl was now etched deep into his face.  He turned back towards female snake, who still had yet to cover herself.  He bit back the order that almost slipped out and instead asked, "Will you remain undressed?"