Chapter 61: Tyrant, the bully.

Dust puffed up around Zyra’s face. She spat grit and leaves from her mouth, turning over on her back. Zyra blinked at the sky in disbelief. She could hear laughter in the air from two voices, one deep and human, the other rumbling and animal.

She sat up, twisting her head to see Hunter doubles over, grinning, while Tyrant padded smugly at his side.

"You told him to shove me?" She snapped, brushing dirt from her arms.

He smirked. "I told you to expect the unexpected. I am not your only instructor; Tyrant has followed me through thousands of battles. He is your second trainer." He patted Tyrant’s giant head approvingly. "Good boy. Excellent reflexes."

The tiger’s golden eyes gleamed, tails flicking with amusement.

Zyra glared at then both. "You are both lucky that no one is around here to witness this humiliation or I would kill you both."

"No one? How do you know that?" Hunter asked, "I am the one with the binoculars and I am not certain."

She climbed to her feet, replied with a snap in her voice, "You have your abilities and I have mine. This place is clear! You can sniff beasts and I can sniff humans."

Hunter pinched his lips together, hiding a smirk. "Sniff or no sniff, I am going to look around first and make sure no high-level beast in waiting to attack when we are sleeping in the night. Stay here until I return." He turned to the giant beast. "Tyrant, watch her."

With that, Hunter dropped into a low crouch and sneaked forward toward the entrance into the building, moving as silently as a ghost to check it thoroughly.

Zyra, however, was stubborn. The moment Hunter’s back was turned, she muttered, "I’m not sitting here like a damsel," and tried to creep after him.

Tyrant didn’t even look at her. He just casually extended one heavy, furry paw and slapped her right onto her back. He stepped on her, pinning her flat to the dirt. He didn’t use enough force to squash her like a bug, but it was more than enough to keep her firmly planted.

"Let me go!" Zyra shouted. "I am your master’s boss and therefore I am your master. You must treat me with respect!" She was struggling with all her might, truly, but the tiger’s paw suddenly weighed the same as ten trailers! "What the hell is Hunter feeding you, you stupid tiger?"

Seeing its master trapped, Spice made an appearance, crawling out from the inside of her sleeve. It puffed up its cheeks and hissed. With a tiny screech, it launched a brave aerial attack at the tiger’s face.

One of Tyrant’s wings moved like lightning. He thwarted the attack mid-air, bringing his paw down and gently but firmly pinning Spice to the ground right next to Zyra.

Zyra wiggled furiously under the massive paw; her face pressed against the grass. Spice hissed alongside her master, spitting poison at the air, but it didn’t help much.

"You bully! Let us up! You’re heavy! When we get out of this, we are going to teach you a lesson!" She promised.

Tyrant completely ignored her threats, staring blankly out into the jungle, and yawning. Eventually, Zyra and Spice ran out of energy, gave up, and just lay there in the dirt, defeated.

On the virtual screen, Beauty covered her eyes. [You two are so embarrassing!]

Zyra considered sending the squirrel out, but she had a feeling it would just join them on the ground.

Ten minutes later, Hunter returned. He walked into the bush and stopped dead in his tracks, utterly dumbfounded by the sight. Zyra was face-down in the wet grass, and tiny Spice was pinned next to her, both of them glaring daggers at the air.

Hunter bit his lip, strangling a loud laugh that threatened to burst out of his chest. Coughing to clear his throat, he managed to say, "Uh... Tyrant. You can let them go now."

The heavy pressure vanished. Spice immediately scrambled up, retreating back into Zyra’s sleeve and letting out a furious sneer at the tiger.

Zyra pushed herself up, brushing twigs out of her hair. She patted Spice reassuringly. "Calm down, Spice. Don’t worry, I know exactly how to punish him. I promise you, from this day forward, he is never getting a single piece of sugary fish ever again. Not one!"

Hearing the words sugary fish, Tyrant’s ears perked up. He licked his large lips and let out a soft, submissive purr, rubbing his massive head against Zyra’s shoulder to beg for forgiveness.

Zyra shoved his giant snout away with a pout. "Apology not accepted, you traitor."

Huffing, she marched past him toward the building.

Hunter followed her closely, his voice buzzing in her ear like an annoyed mosquito. He was giving her non-stop reasons why this apartment was a terrible place to live.

"I can still smell Ocean’s hound, so this is where you met him before and he returned sometime last night. You can’t stay here, A crazy guy like that will always come back to check," Hunter pointed out, counting on his fingers. "Reason two why you can’t stay here is the building itself! Sleeping here is way more dangerous than sleeping up in a high tree. It has too many blind spots. If an enemy or a beast approaches, you won’t even see them coming until they are breaking down your door."

[He is right,] Beauty chimed in.

Zyra stopped and let out a small, tired sigh. "I can see all of your reasons, okay? I’m not blind," she said, her voice dropping to a softer, tone. "But... I just really need a place to call home. A real roof over my head."

Hunter’s expression softened. Seeing her vulnerability, he nodded his head understandingly. "I get it. But most of these old buildings in the wild lands that are still standing are already occupied by dangerous exiles and criminals. You can’t stay in the jungle. Tell you what...I know a place we can go and see. Once we deem that its safe, I can contact Achilles. He can bring his most trusted men over to build you a proper, fortified house from scratch."

Zyra’s face instantly brightened. A happy smile started to form on her lips, but then she froze. Her smile vanished, replaced by a look of intense suspicion. She turned around, squinting at him. "Wait a minute... why are you going to such great lengths just to help me?"

Hunter blinked, looking incredibly innocent. "What do you mean? I am your bodyguard. And, you know, your husband. This is what husbands do."

Zyra twisted her mouth to the side, staring at him with more suspicion. Her face practically screamed ’I don’t believe you for a single second.’

Seeing her stubborn expression, Hunter threw his hands up in the air dramatically. "Okay, fine! You caught me. I am only doing this because I need you alive, strong and useful. We can’t train if we are always defending ourselves from beasts in the jungle and other human attacks."

Zyra’s suspicious look faded, replaced by a practical nod. "Alright, that makes some sense." Especially the Ocean part. She should have known that he would be looking for her right here. "But just so we are clear, I have absolutely no money to pay you for all this building and guarding stuff." She smirked a little, a mischievous spark in her eyes. "However, I can take you to another hidden dungeon. When we clear it, you can take half of the treasures inside as your payment." She held her hand out for shaking, "Deal?"