Become a Cheetah
o0o
"Dad, are they fighting?"
Luo Sen peeked out from behind Luo Qiao, while Luo Rui remained still and obedient.
"Uh..."
How should he answer?
Luo Qiao looked up at the sky, speechless for a while. Should he say cheetahs are unique or just have strong personalities?
Parson and Jairo definitely wouldn't chase a female cheetah for so long just to fight with her. But was this courtship? Were they sure they weren't forming a pair of sworn enemies?
Parson had already lost interest in participating. He could tell that Hida wasn't an easy target. She was older than both brothers, and from the looks of it, she had recently had cubs. Unless this female cheetah went into heat immediately, Jairo still had a lot of work to do.
However, the difficulty lay in the fact that Hida was also an evolved cheetah, which made her somewhat different from the primitive species. If she wasn't willing, Jairo would have to go through a lot of trouble. Forcing her wasn't something an evolved male cheetah should do.
Hida continued to stand her ground against Jairo. Every time Jairo tried to approach, Hida swatted him away, leaving him looking disheveled.
To make matters worse, Hida seemed genuinely angry. She had lost her patience. Without Parson, Jairo wasn't much of a threat to her. She even swatted Jairo's nose hard enough to make it bleed.
Luo Qiao and the two cubs watched intently, eventually coming to the conclusion that females in the big cat world were incredibly strong! With that level of skill and strength, it was no wonder female cheetahs could raise their cubs alone! Even Oros would tremble at the sight of his lionesses!
Jairo didn't seem to care about his bleeding nose and continued to circle Hida, trying to determine from her scent whether she was in heat.
Parson, however, was angered by Hida's actions. He couldn't allow anyone to harm his brother.
Parson, who had been sitting quietly, suddenly leaped up. While Hida was fully focused on defending against Jairo, Parson pushed her down, pinning her with his paw.
He lowered his head, the fur on the back of his neck bristling, and let out a low growl, baring his fangs threateningly at Hida.
Hida didn't resist and lay motionless on the ground. She instinctively sensed the danger from this evolved male cheetah.
Jairo only wanted to mate with her and wouldn't truly harm her, but Parson was different. He wouldn't show her any mercy. An enraged male cheetah was not something she could contend with.
"Brother?"
Jairo approached, sniffing Hida's scent. Parson looked at Jairo's dripping nose, and half of his anger dissipated. Was his brother really this clueless? He had been beaten up by the female cheetah, and all he could think about was mating?
"Dad, is that male cheetah really strong? Can you beat him?"
Luo Qiao felt a headache coming on. Son, are you naive or just plain silly? How could you ask that? No matter how he answered, it would be wrong!
If he said he was stronger than Parson, what if the enraged male cheetah decided to challenge him to a fight? Judging by size and strength, Luo Qiao wasn't at an advantage.
If he said he couldn't beat Parson, it would be worse than letting a guinea fowl spit at him!
Besides, why would he even fight Parson? Did he have nothing better to do?
The other three cheetahs also heard Luo Sen's words. Jairo disdainfully flicked his tail, while Parson expressionlessly turned his gaze toward Luo Qiao and his two cubs. Hida, still lying on the ground, suddenly let out a call directed at Luo Qiao.
Hida's call stunned all the cheetahs. The reason was simple: the call she made was very different from before. This type of call was a cry for help, something only evolved cheetahs understood.
But the problem was, this kind of call was usually only used between female cheetahs who were related by blood! It was a plea for help to drive away male cheetahs together. Yet, Hida was directing it at Luo Qiao?
Parson and Jairo both turned to look at Luo Qiao, their gazes filled with suspicion.
Luo Qiao was stunned. In his cheetah form, he performed an incredibly difficult maneuver—he raised his right front paw, pointed at himself, and asked
"Are you calling me? Are you sure it's me?"
"Yes, you!"
"I'm male. Aren't you afraid I'll join forces with them?"
Hida glanced at the two cheetah cubs standing beside Luo Qiao. Her look was clear—in her eyes, Luo Qiao was no different from her. As for blood relations, Luo Qiao's scent reminded her of a female cheetah who was very close to her.
Hida's desperate plea for help left Luo Qiao feeling both sorrowful and indignant. Lions and leopards had bullied him, and now even a female cheetah didn't see him as male. What kind of world was this!
Could he be angry at Hida?
The answer was no.
So, he continued to wallow in his sorrow and indignation.
In the distance, on a fig tree, the male leopard Monti was laughing so hard he nearly fell off the branch. A few meerkats passing below looked up, puzzled by Monti's behavior. They exchanged a few glances, agreeing that this evolved leopard had been acting very strange lately!
"Forget it."
Surprisingly, Parson let go of Hida. However, Hida still didn't dare to move recklessly. Jairo looked at his brother with disappointment, even a hint of resentment in his eyes.
"Why?"
Jairo asked. They had finally encountered a female cheetah, and now they were just letting her go?
"Don't be so shameless!"
Parson swatted Jairo with his paw, then sighed as he looked at Jairo's nose. He transformed into his human form, found some medicinal herbs to stop the bleeding, and applied them to Jairo's wound.
"Evolved female cheetahs aren't easy to come by..."
Jairo muttered under his breath but eventually lay down, no longer bothering Hida.
Once Hida was sure that Parson and Jairo really intended to let her go, she immediately stood up and ran toward Luo Qiao. Luo Qiao was startled by her approach. Seeing the cold glare Jairo shot his way, Luo Qiao felt like crying inside. Sister, didn't I indirectly save you? Why are you dragging me into trouble now?
What Luo Qiao thought didn't matter to Hida. She approached him, sniffed him carefully, and finally confirmed,
"Is your mother Shamu?"
"Huh?"
"Shamu is also my mother. It's nice to meet you, little brother. Or should I call you little sister? Or perhaps... sister-in-law?"
Pfft..
Luo Qiao felt like spitting out three liters of blood. Good heavens, someone please take this female cheetah away.
Jairo, lying nearby, noticed the way Parson was looking at Luo Qiao and suddenly understood. No wonder his brother hadn't been very enthusiastic about Hida.
He placed a paw on Parson's leg "Brother, you're interested in that evolved one, aren't you?"
Parson pinched Jairo's ear, then turned his head. A charming smile appeared on his handsome face as he said to his brother.
"Yes, very interested."
As for who the "evolved one" they were talking about was, Luo Qiao should be glad he didn't know.
o0o