This was bad.
No, scratch that.
This was very bad.
Hei Yan stood at the edge of Snake territory, his purple eyes fixed on the small, trembling cub being held by a very smug-looking snake beastman.
The cub, little Xiao Hu, was crying quietly. The kind of crying that meant he was trying to be brave but failing miserably.
Hei Yan's claws itched.
"Let him go," he said. Again. For the tenth time maybe. Who was counting?
The snake beastmen just stared at him with their creepy and unblinking eyes. Green. Silver. Black. All of them coiled around trees and half-submerged in the murky water.
Waiting.
For what?
Hei Yan had been here for hours. Hours of standing. Staring. Negotiating with creatures who clearly didn't want to negotiate.
His body ached. His head pounded. His beast was screaming at him to just attack, grab the cub, and run.
But he couldn't just do that. Because there were too many of them. And one wrong move meant the cub would get hurt.
Or worse.
I should have brought backup, Hei Yan thought bitterly. I should have brought Run Chu. Or the hunting party. Or SOMEONE.
But no. He had been too angry. Too desperate. Too focused on getting the cub back immediately. And now he was stuck here. In Snake territory. Outnumbered.
Stupid. So stupid.
The water rippled, and Hei Yan's entire body tensed. He caught a whiff of the scent he hated and snarled.
A head broke the surface.
Green hair. Emerald eyes. Glittering scales along his cheekbones.
Qing Lin.
The Snake King rose from the river smoothly, water rushing off his body as he shifted from serpent to man.
To Hei Yan's irritation, the bastard was smirking!
"Well, well, well," Qing Lin said, his voice carrying that distinctive hiss. "Look who finally showed up."
Hei Yan's jaw clenched. "Give me the cub, Qing Lin." He snarled.
"Hmm. No." Qing Lin's tongue slithered out of his mouth like he was mocking him. "I don't think I will, Alpha."
"He is a child—"
"He's a Panther child." Qing Lin's eyes flashed. "In my territory. Stealing my fish."
"He's five years old!"
"Old enough to know better."
Hei Yan took a step forward, and every snake beastman in the area tensed, getting ready to strike down the Panther Alpha if need be.
He stopped.
Relax, Hei Yan. Don't give him what he wants.
"What do you want? In return for the cub?" Hei Yan bit out.
"What do I want?" Qing Lin repeated, like he was tasting the words. He moved closer, circling Hei Yan slowly. "Such a simple question, Panther. Such a complicated answer."
"Stop playing games, snake."
"But I like games." The Snake King's smile widened. "Especially when I win."
Hei Yan's hands curled into fists. "Name your price."
"My price?" Qing Lin stopped directly in front of him. They were eye to eye, nearly the same height. "You think you can just.….buy him back?"
"Isn't that what you want? Payment?"
"Oh, I want payment." His emerald eyes glittered dangerously. "But not the kind you're thinking of."
Hei Yan tensed. What was he referring to? Surely he could not mean…..
"Tell me what you want, or give me the cub!" He snapped, causing some nearby snake beast men to recoil in fear.
Hei Yan hated snakes. They never said what they meant, everything was riddles to them, hidden meanings.
And more importantly, they could not be trusted.
Qing Lin's expression darkened. "What I want? What I want is for you Panthers to stay OUT of my territory. What I want is for you to stop acting like you own the entire forest. What I want—" His voice dropped to something cold and venomous. "—is for your kind to pay for what you did."
"What we did?" Hei Yan frowned. "What are you—"
"Don't play innocent." The Snake King's eyes flashed with rage. "Your father—"
"My father is dead," Hei Yan snarled. "Whatever grudge you have with him, take it up with his grave."
Silence.
Then Qing Lin laughed, much to Hei Yan's shock.
"You really don't know, do you?" The Snake King shook his head. "Typical. Panthers never know. Never care. You just take and take and take, and never think about who you're taking from."
"I do not know what you're talking about—"
"Of course you don't." Qing Lin turned away, dismissive. "Forget it."
"Then let the cub go!"
"No."
"He's INNOCENT!"
"So was she."
She?
Hei Yan opened his mouth to ask who it was, but he closed it back. He didn't care about that. He wanted to return home. To Xin Yi.
"Please," he pleased, ignoring how badly it hurt and wounded his pride as an Alpha to plead with the tribe he hated. But he had to do it. For the cub. He was as innocent in all of this.
The cub whimpered. Hei Yan's heart clenched. The little one looked so scared. So small in the snake beastman's grip.
Qing Lin didn't move, nor give a response. But after some time, the Snake King finally turned to look at him. He looked angry at first….
Then, suddenly, Qing Lin smiled.
A real smile.
Not the cold, mocking one. Not the bitter, angry one.
An actual, genuine smile that somehow made him look.….satisfied? Amused.
"Never mind," Qing Lin said lightly. He waved a hand at the snake beastman holding the cub. "Let him go."
Wait.
What?
"...What?" Hei Yan said out loud.
"You heard me, Panther." The Snake King's smile widened just a fraction. "Take your cub. Go home."
This was wrong.
"What is my payment?" Hei Yan demanded, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.
"No such thing."
"You don't just give things, snake."
"Maybe I'm feeling generous today." Qing Lin shrugged. "Or maybe—" His eyes glinted with something Hei Yan couldn't read. "—I have better things to think about than babysitting lost Panther cubs."
The snake beastman released Xiao Hu.
The cub stumbled forward, then bolted straight to Hei Yan, wrapping his small arms around his leg and sobbing.
"Alpha! Alpha, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
Hei Yan kept his eyes on Qing Lin. "What are you planning?"
"Nothing that concerns you." The Snake King turned away, already losing interest. "Now leave. Before I change my mind."
The other snake beastmen parted, creating a clear path back to Panther territory.
Hei Yan didn't move. "I don't believe you."
"I don't care." Qing Lin glanced back over his shoulder. "Go, Panther. Take your cub and go."
Every instinct in Hei Yan's body told him something was very very wrong. How was the Snake Alpha letting them go? How?
But there's was no time. They needed to leave immediately.
"Come," Hei Yan said to Xiao Hu, still watching Qing Lin carefully. "We're leaving now."
With that, they rushed to the border. After reaching the border, the invisible line between Snake territory and Panther territory, Hei Yan looked back.
Qing Lin stood at the river's edge, that infuriating smile still on his face. Watching them.
What are you planning, Snake?