"I appreciate you saving my life," he grumbled, "but I'm still not letting you win."
I groaned. "Seriously? You can barely stand."
Alaric took a step forward. "I'mfine—" His leg gave out beneath him, and he fell face-first in the dirt with a yowl.
Empathy coursed through me. As a fellow feline, I knew how much we valued our pride. I couldn't help but feel bad for Alaric.
"I'd offer to help you, but I know you'd hate that," I said.
Alaric snorted as he got back up. "Finally, we agree on something..." He glanced at the cave. "So? What are you waiting for? Go and win."
I hesitated. "Alaric..."
"Don't pity me like that. I hate it."
"I don't pity you. I just want to tell you the truth." Twitching my tail, I gathered the words. "I'm in love with Crimson."
"Wow, what a surprise," Alaric snarked.
"And he's in love with me."
The white cat went quiet. Then he let out a long sigh. "I know that, too," he mumbled, sounding defeated.
"Then why are you trying so hard?" I asked.
Alaric lashed his fluffy tail. "What am I supposed to do? Give up on my dream?"
That took me by surprise. "Your dream?"
His fur flattened. He coughed, looking flustered. "Never mind. Forget I said anything. Go get that boar."
I put one paw forward, then paused. "Why don't you come with me?" I offered.
"I don't want your pity offering," Alaric grumbled.
"Don't be a sour puss," I grumbled right back. "What else are you going to do? Sit here and lick yourself until the challenge is over?"
Alaric considered that alternative. He apparently found it a worse outcome, because he got up and padded beside me. "Fine, let's get this over with..."
We approached the dark, yawning mouth of the cave. Even with my sharp vision, I couldn't see inside, and no sound came from within. After the boar's squealing and crashing, the forest felt unusually quiet.
"Well?" Alaric prompted. "You're the big, bad tiger. Yougo in."
He had a point.
I padded into the cave. As I stepped into the cool darkness, my whiskers twitched. It smelled thickly of boar, but I also caught the scent of bedding straw and milk. Was this the boar's den?
Then I heard multiple tiny sounds from deep inside the cave. It sounded like the whimpering of piglets.
A powerful, hormonal feeling engulfed me. I stepped back.
This wasn't some random wild hog running loose. This was a mother pig protecting her babies.
As I backed away, I saw a pair of glinting eyes in the darkness, followed by a loud, intimidating snort. Her brown fur camouflaged her, but the mother boar was there, daring me to take another step towards her babies.
I had no intention of doing that. Hell, if I was in her place, I'd be pissed. The thought of someone trying to harm my and Crimson's child made my fur stand on end.
When I backed out of the cave, Alaric cocked his head. "What gives? Where's the boar?" he asked.
