The Ugly Duckling Of The Tiger Tribe

Chapter 453: Side Story 8: Sibling Protection Squad 2

"I smell mummy,"

This alerted all of them, and I froze in place. She just had to carry me and Noah’s sharp senses, didn’t she?

I felt I could still slip away since no one had caught me yet, but little Sora and Kaelen were already crawling towards my hiding spot.

"Mama, mama," Sora pointed,

Gosh, these kids.

I squeezed my eyes shut, a heavy, long-suffering sigh whistling through my teeth.

But it was too late for me to escape. Kaelen and Sora were crawling my way.

Trapped by a pair of ankle-biters. I had survived a bone-crushing fall off a cliff in another dimension, outsmarted feral beastmen chieftains, and negotiated trade treaties that brought entire tribal territories to their knees.

But right now, my grand imperial escape was being completely thwarted by two chunky one-year-olds on all fours.

"Mama, mama!" Sora cheered again, her white-and-black striped tiger tail swishing with a rapid, triumphant thumping noise against the polished stone as she successfully cornered my ankles.

Right next to her, Kaelen let out a high-pitched laughter, his fuzzy black ears pinning back in pure joy as he grabbed the hem of my linen tunic with his tiny, surprisingly strong hands.

Thanks to Noah’s dense, heavy genetics, the little rascal anchored me to the floorboards as effectively as a ball and chain.

I looked down at them, a mixture of exasperation and absolute adoration turning my insides to mush.

"You two are supposed to be out in the courtyard getting rolled in the snow," I muttered, bending down to scoop Kaelen up by his armpits before he could try to use his razor-sharp baby teeth on my leather boots. "And when did you guys learn to crawl silently? Did your father Fenric teach you how to stalk prey already?"

Fenric and Noah were really good at those.

Sora didn’t answer; she just giggled maniacally, her fierce little amber eyes flashing with golden tiger slits as she used my leg like a climbing tree, hoisting her small, cream-romper-clad body up into my free arm.

"Mummy," Lyra’s cool, smooth voice drifted into the storage doorway, cutting through the twins’ chaotic babbling.

I peeked up over the mountain of squirming hybrid babies in my arms. The ’Sovereign Procession’ had officially pulled a total U-turn.

Lyra was standing just a few feet away, her posture perfectly straight under the heavy weight of Nadir, who was still happily riding piggyback with his silver tail wrapped securely around her waist.

Behind her, Kaito and Marina were leaning against the stone archway, their wild purple hair a complete mess, identical, smug little grins plastered across their faces.

Raiden and Phina stood right in the center, Phina’s dark wolf ears twitching proudly because her nose had been the one to blow my cover.

"Were you trying to hide?" she asked, and I laughed hysterically, trying to fake finding this situation funny.

"Me? Pft, of course not. Why would I?" I darted my eyes from side to side, but no one believed me. My kids knew I liked sneaking around and spying on them.

It wasn’t because I missed them, I just... liked to watch them. You know, child developmental research, ahem.

"Mummy, it is a statistical impossibility to hide from this bloodline inside palace grounds," Lyra noted calmly. Someone, give this daughter of mine a pair of glasses.

Her emerald snake-slit eyes were completely unbothered by the fact that her baby brother was currently using one of her silver braids as a teething ring.

"Daddy Noah says your scent profile carries a heavy concentration of river-mint and forge-ash nowadays. It stands out significantly against the nursery school’s sulfur heating pipes."

"Oh, does he now?" I snorted, giving Phina a playful, narrow-eyed glare. "Remind me to change my soap formula so your father’s radar nose stops tracking me through our kids."

Phina just giggled, her soft hand reaching up to rub her nose. "You smell nice, Mummy. Like home."

My heart did a sudden, violent little flip behind my ribs, completely erasing whatever witty, sarcastic comment I had been prepping. Gosh, these kids. They really knew how to disarm me with zero effort.

"Mummy, see!" Nadir chimed in from Lyra’s back, holding up his saved honey-apple with a bright, proud grin. "Raiden saved the cakes! Well, the apple. We made the big bear do the rug-bow!"

"I saw, sweetie," I smiled softly, stepping out of the storage room completely, balancing the hyperactive twins on my hips while balancing the linen basket with my elbow. "You all did great. Big sister Lyra handled the logistics perfectly."

Lyra’s face remained a flawless, icy shield of stoic indifference, but the second the praise hit her ears, her silver-scaled tail gave another sudden, violent thump against the stone wall behind her. She was absolutely thrilled.

"The bear cub lacked proper playground manners," Lyra stated rationally, her silver braids swinging as she turned back toward the main corridor. "It was an inefficient use of resources to let him ruin the pastries. Come, siblings. The snow outside is accumulating at an optimal rate for projectile manufacturing."

"Yeah! Slush balls!" Kaito cheered, his golden tiger slits gleaming with pure mischief as he and Marina instantly bolted for the heavy courtyard doors, their purple hair flying behind them.

"Don’t aim for the face!" Raiden called out, his benevolent Fenric instincts kicking in as he and Phina hurried to follow the twins, keeping a protective distance around them.

"We will monitor them," Lyra declared to me over her shoulder, her long, pre-teen stride effortlessly carrying Nadir out into the crisp winter air.

Within seconds, the playroom corridor emptied out, leaving just me, Taruna laughing softly from the kitchen doorway, and the two one-year-old terrors currently pulling on my hair.

I looked out the frost-rimed glass at my children running across the courtyard, their distinct, colorful hair and flashing tails standing out beautifully against the white winter powder.

They were a total chaos, a playground menace, and an absolute nightmare for anyone trying to maintain standard order.

I felt Kaelen’s little black wolf ears brush against my neck, and Sora’s white tiger tail wrap around my wrist, and then a deep, overwhelming warmth settled into my chest.

They had each other’s backs. And in a world this wild, that was the grandest structure I could have ever designed.

My babies!