Mad!
Susu swore she had darted into the tree hollow more than twice as fast as before.
And this absolutely wasn’t because practice makes perfect; it was born from a pure survival instinct!
She was moving too fast to stop, and she paid no mind to the painful bump on her head as she collided with the wall of the hollow.
She quickly turned to check on Brother Leopard’s situation outside.
But Brother Leopard’s golden eyes, like a guiding beacon, simply twinkled brightly where he stood.
He didn’t even look like he was about to chase her, let alone take a single step.
Faced with such composure, her own panicked and pathetic scramble seemed all the more childish and laughable.
Shooting the Black Panther a resentful glare, Susu returned to her previous position, lying still and squinting to spy on him through the gaps in the vines.
Brother Leopard didn’t pause for long.
He dragged his prey, which hadn’t been dead for long, over to the base of another giant tree opposite Susu’s hollow and dropped it.
Then, he turned and began walking toward her, one step at a time.
His gaze was sharp and bright, yet it held an inescapable chill.
A menacing, threatening pressure bore down on her, sending a shiver through her very core.
The feeling was as agonizing as rolling on the edge of a knife.
Fortunately, Brother Leopard merely glanced at her before looking away.
Right in front of her, he brazenly used his claws and teeth to rip aside the vines that had been blocking the entrance to her hollow, clearing out a space for himself to settle in.
Then, without waiting for an invitation from Susu, Brother Leopard flopped down languidly in front of her in that side-lying position so beloved by felines.
His massive head rested right at the entrance of the hollow, closing the distance between them as much as possible.
They were so close that no matter how she tried to hide, she would see his every move the moment she opened her eyes.
“…”
Susu silently cursed Brother Leopard in her heart over and over again.
He was the one who’d saved her, but now he was the one trapping her here.
As for any other action—like, say, planting a paw on his face the way she had with that Fierce Tiger—she didn’t dare.
A low whimper escaped Susu’s throat as she carefully scooted backward.
Her black, grape-like eyes stared pitifully at Brother Leopard, who was squinting back at her.
Her intended message was self-evident: ‘Look, I’m still small, and so very pathetic!
For the sake of our shared species, can’t you be merciful and spare this little leopard’s life?!’
Brother Leopard seemed to have understood her scheme.
He narrowed his eyes, a deep, mocking amusement glinting within them.
The message he conveyed was becoming increasingly clear—
‘If acting pathetic actually worked, then how did that stiff behind me die?!’
‘Damn it, you’re ruthless!’
Seeing that playing pitiful was useless, Susu grew frustrated.
She stood up resentfully, scratched at the damp ground with a paw, then turned around and flopped back down with her butt facing the hollow’s entrance!
Susu hadn’t even had a chance to feel smug about finally escaping Brother Leopard’s gaze when she felt a chill on her back.
Her tail tip, in particular, felt like it was being repeatedly tickled by something prickly, like a stiff-bristled brush.
The sensation was tingly and numbing…
‘Wait!!’
Before she could even close her eyes and enjoy the wonderfully blissful feeling, a sudden suspicion jolted Susu back to reality.
Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, she shot up from the ground with a yelp, her fur on end.
She whipped her head around and glared hatefully at the Black Panther, who was just then licking his lips as if savoring a treat—
‘Damn it!
This wasn’t a case of her tail being stepped on—it was a case of someone licking her tail like a popsicle!!’