‘Brother Leopard, if you’ve got the guts, then get back here!
I swear I won’t scratch you to death!’
Susu rammed her head against the rock, putting all her strength into it, but it was a stone she had no hope of budging with her current stamina and tiny frame.
She gritted her teeth, wanting nothing more than to tear the Black Panther to shreds.
It seemed the Black Panther was worried she might suffocate, as he hadn’t sealed the entrance completely, leaving a narrow gap.
The crack was wide enough for her to breathe and even to look up at the stars, but escaping through it was out of the question.
Susu sighed in frustration, dragged herself back to her original spot, and flopped down to await her doom.
Her stomach wasn’t full, and to make matters worse, she was now dying of thirst.
This twofold torment, combined with the frustration of being trapped in this tree hollow by Brother Leopard, meant that even escaping into sleep was a luxury Susu couldn’t afford.
Misery inevitably leads to a wandering mind.
Susu’s mind raced, eventually settling on the worst-case scenario: Brother Leopard, enraged by humiliation, had abandoned her.
She would be trapped here to die of hunger and thirst…
She lay like that for who knows how long before she finally heard a noise outside the entrance.
The rock blocking the entrance was moved aside.
Fresh air, no longer barred, rushed in, instantly reviving Susu’s spirits.
She lifted her head slightly and stared dazedly at the entrance, only to be stunned by the sight of a fruit—the same kind she had eaten before, perfectly ripe, sweet yet tart, and full of juice.
‘This is…’
‘Did Brother Leopard bring this for me?!’
Susu blinked.
Still uncertain, she waited a good while longer.
Only after she saw the Black Panther return to his spot by the opposite tree trunk and lie down did she reach out a forepaw and pull the fruit toward her.
She took a careful bite first.
Confirming it tasted no different from the others she’d had, she finally relaxed and dug in.
With her stomach now at least half-full, and swayed by the goodwill this fruit represented, Susu found herself re-evaluating the panther.
Down below, Brother Leopard lay with his eyes shut, and she couldn’t tell if he was asleep or just resting.
‘If he really just wanted me as a post-meal snack, he wouldn’t need to worry about feeding me.’
‘Maybe he’s being kind because we’re the same species?!’
At this, a bold, almost incredible idea popped into Susu’s head.
And Susu was not the type to merely think without acting.
Even though she thought the idea was crazy, her intuition was strangely pushing her forward.
So, despite her hesitation, she took a firm first step out of the tree hollow.
Susu kept her eyes glued to where the Black Panther lay.
Brother Leopard had his back to her and seemed fast asleep, as if totally oblivious to her movements, but Susu knew better.
She was certain he was watching her every move.
Soon, Susu’s entire body was out of the tree hollow.
The Moonlight coated her small frame in a faint luminescence.
She paused at the entrance for a moment, then cautiously took two more steps forward.
When the Black Panther didn’t move, she crept forward again, until she was less than a meter away.
And there, resting steadily just inches from Susu’s nose, was Brother Leopard’s long, glossy black tail.
The sight was enough to make her drool.