Animalia: The Green Forest, Book 2

Chapter 21

"Ugh," Tsuki groaned from inside her room. "Who is it? And what do you want?"
Wow. That's so rude. Jaxon felt sympathetic for Samson, who had to deal with her on a daily basis. He let out the breath he was holding and spoke up. "It's me, Jaxon. Can I come in?"
"Jaxon?" Tsuki sounded surprised at first. Then she sounded pleased. "Of course you can. I'd love to let you come inside."
No thanks. Luca's already done that. Jaxon bit his lip, forced himself to open the door, and enter her room. He was aware of Alex's orange eyes intensely watching him as he left her side.
Tsuki was sitting on the edge of her bed. Her baby was wrestling with Samson's black hoodie in front of her on the floor. He stopped and turned his head when Jaxon walked in.
Jaxon almost stumbled when their gazes met. He looks so much like Luca! He realized. The baby had the same red hair as his father, the same purple ring in his eyes, and the same fox features. The baby tilted his head and stared at Jaxon with wide eyes. Stop staring at me like that!
"So, Jaxon," Tsuki's voice was smooth like honey. Jaxon turned to her. The blonde was staring up at him with a hungry look in her green eyes. "What did you want?"
Jaxon avoided her gaze. He was starting to feel uncomfortable. "I, um, wanted to tell you that you need to-ah!" He jumped when Tsuki's baby walked right up to him and started to sniff him. Jaxon shot Tsuki with a desperate look. Aren't you going to stop him?
Tsuki just smirked at the scene. "You wanted to tell me what?"
Jaxon found himself at a loss for words. Tsuki's baby was circling him now as he continued to sniff him. Jaxon froze. Why do I feel like I'm being interrogated right now?!
The baby suddenly broke away from Jaxon and ran up to his mother. "Mommy!" The baby pointed a finger at Jaxon. "He smells funny!"
He can talk?! Jaxon was too astonished to even register what the baby had just said. Isn't he like, only six months old?
Tsuki smiled down at her baby. "Well Scout, I think Jaxon smells delicious."
Scout looked confused. "What's that mean?"
"It doesn't mean anything," Jaxon quickly spoke up. He shifted uncomfortably. "Tsuki, I came in here to talk to you about something."
Tsuki stood up from her bed and walked over to Jaxon. She stood right in front of him; she was so close that her chest touched his. "Then talk to me." She challenged him.
Jaxon cringed away from her. He froze when she suddenly used a single hand to grab the collar of his shirt. Her other hand glided down and slipped into a pocket that was holding something. Jaxon's heart nearly stopped once he realized what it was. A pocket knife! Why does she have that?
"Well?" Tsuki raised an eyebrow at Jaxon. "Are you going to tell me or what?"
"Yes, I will!" Jaxon gasped. "Please just let go of me already!"
"Aw, but why?" Tsuki let out a fake pout and tightened her grip on Jaxon. "You look so cute when you're scared like that."
Jaxon grabbed her wrist and wrenched it away from his shirt. He then jumped back when she pulled out her pocket knife. "Tsuki, wait-"
"Mommy, what's happening?" Scout suddenly asked. He was staring up at the teens with wide, fearful eyes. "Why you fighting?"
Tsuki slipped the knife back into her pocket. "We weren't fighting," she shot Jaxon a glare. "We were just playing around."
Why is she mad at me? She's the one who started it! Jaxon returned the glare.
Scout's tail started to wag. "I wanna play too."
"You can't play with this right now, it's too dangerous," Tsuki didn't look at her son. "Maybe when you're older."
If I ever have kids, I will never let them play with sharp objects. Jaxon cleared his throat. "Anyway, Tsuki, please let me talk."
Tsuki crossed her arms. "Fine then."
How do I say this? Jaxon tried to think of an appropriate way to tell her to leave. If I'm rude about it, then she'll definitely stay. He forced himself to stare into her green eyes. "I think you should consider going back to your own house soon." He started casually.
Tsuki didn't look too happy about this. "I can't leave this place!" She protested. "My baby girl is buried just outside this house, I can't leave her! And besides, my parents don't care about me! They're going to disown me and my poor baby Scout!"
"Yeah but," Jaxon was at a loss for words. "It's not right for you to be here in this forest. We're seventeen now, Tsuki. You need to get your life together. You can't always be depending on other people to take care of you. And besides, nobody really likes you here."
Jaxon felt a sharp pain across his right cheek. He flinched and saw Tsuki braced in a fighting position with her pocket knife out. Jaxon touched his cheek and looked at his hand. I'm bleeding! This crazy girl really just cut me right now!
"You're the one who needs to get his life together!" Tsuki's voice was cold. She touched her pocket knife with a finger and lifted it up to her face to stare at Jaxon's blood. "You keep chasing after this stupid cat girl, when you have me! You should be with me, not her!"
Jaxon backed away from Tsuki. What should I say? What should I do? He nervously glanced at Scout. The baby was watching the scene with wide eyes. He's too young to understand what's going on right now. I can't fight his mom in front of him. That would probably scare him!
There was a rush of footsteps. Jaxon looked away and raised his arms to his face, bracing himself for another attack from the blonde. There was an angry hiss and the sound of something falling, followed by a sharp cry. Jaxon lowered his arms and forced himself to look.
Alex had entered the room. She had knocked Tsuki to the floor and was pinning her down. "Don't you dare hurt him like that again!" Alex snarled in the blonde's face.
Jaxon wildly looked around for Scout. The baby! He shouldn't be seeing this!
It was too late. Scout had already seen what was happening to his mother. He scurried toward the girls and dropped down to a crouch. "Leave my mommy alone!" He growled.
Alex turned her head toward Scout. There was a wild look on her face. "Luca's son. . ." She whispered. She let out a vicious snarl when the baby got closer. "Get away from me!" Her orange eyes blazed with both terror and hatred.
Scout desperately scrambled away from Alex. The half-breed baby let out a squeal of terror and cried out Samson's name.
Samson crashed into the room now. "Scout?" He called, rushing toward the kid. Jaxon had never heard Samson sound so terrified.
Jaxon cautiously approached Samson. "Is he okay?" He shakily asked.
Samson was cradling the baby close to his chest. "Scout?" He asked quietly. "Are you alright?"
Despite everything that was happening right now, Jaxon felt an odd twist in his heart as he watched the scene. Samson loves this kid so much. He realized. He's almost like a father to him.
Scout clung tightly against Samson. "Mh hm," he whimpered.
"Thank the stars you're okay," Samson breathed out and hugged the baby a bit tighter.
Jaxon turned away once he knew Scout was okay. Tsuki was still on the floor. Alex stood, towering above her. Her claws were out and her tail was lashing.
Jaxon walked up and stood by Alex's side. My girlfriend is protecting me. He thought warmly. But I'm the one who should be taking care of her. He gave Tsuki a cold look.
Tsuki looked up at him with innocent eyes. "Jaxon, please help me," she begged.
Jaxon was suddenly aware of the warm blood that trickled down his face. He touched it again with the same hand and held it out to Tsuki. "You want me to help you after this?"
"I'm sorry," Tsuki blurted out. "I didn't mean it. Don't be mad at me."
"Lies," Alex advanced toward Tsuki with a growl. "You hurt him on purpose."
These girls are still fighting over me! Jaxon thought in dismay. Tsuki was still holding on to her pocket knife. He saw her tighten her grip on it.
"That's enough, Alex." Jaxon placed his clean hand on her shoulder. He nervously eyed Tsuki's pocket knife. "Please. I don't want to see you get stabbed like me."
"Both of you, go home now," Samson's voice startled Jaxon. The fennec fox was standing close to them with Scout in his arms. He lowered his voice into a whisper. "This is my fault. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have dragged you into this."
Jaxon shook his head. The movement caused blood to seep faster out of his injury. "No. I'm glad you brought me here," he replied quietly. "Now I understand just how bad your situation is. We need to get her out of here."
Samson looked away. "I'll walk you to the front door," he murmured. He gently placed Scout beside his mother on the floor and guided Alex and Jaxon out of the room.
Jaxon's cheek started to throb. He used a hand to wipe the blood off.
Alex gave him a worried look. "Here, let me take care of that," she cupped his hand in hers and started to lick the blood off his fingers.
Jaxon awkwardly watched her. It feels kinda weird. But I guess this is their way of dealing with injuries. "Thank you, Alex." He gently pulled his hand away when she had finished.
Alex stretched up and tried to reach for his face. "Your cheek is still a little bloody," she whispered. "I can't reach."
Jaxon bent down to her height. He closed his eyes when he felt her lick his blood away.
"I'm sorry, this is the best I can do," Alex murmured in his ear. "But you can clean yourself better when you get home, right?"
"Yeah, I can," Jaxon opened his eyes. "But you still did a good job."
Alex gave his cheek a soft kiss and then pulled away. She suddenly looked sad. "I think you're going to have a scar there."
A scar. Jaxon blinked. He glanced at Alex's torn ear. It had been shredded in a fight. He suddenly remembered Luca's scar. He had also gotten it in a fight. A lot of people have some kind of injury in this forest due to fighting each other. He touched his cheek. He tried not to shudder when he felt the torn skin. Now I might have one.