Superstar 795
by Cristae“She’s my mate, Chief!”
“Mate?!”
At Pine’s declaration, the saber tiger—who had been lazily rolling on the lawn, wondering if she’d picked up something weird again—suddenly jumped.
“Did you say mate?!”
Chief and Pine, smiling warmly at each other, now turned to look at the saber tiger with cold eyes. So did the rest of the family. Their gazes all said the same thing: You? Seriously?
Pine’s mate, a red fox, sat nervously yet proudly in place.
‘Did he pass out?’
Chief smiled and sent a gentle stream of divine energy. The red fox instantly snapped back to his senses.
When Pine had said she’d introduce her family, he had groomed himself with care and followed along—only to find a massive white wolf, a saber tiger, and countless other animals and monsters in one place.
It was a miracle he hadn’t fainted right then and there.
Just as he was overwhelmed with fear, he felt a comforting warmth nearby. Glancing around, he saw only kind, gentle eyes. Everyone clearly loved Pine deeply. And even the way they looked at him now felt—
“I won’t accept this unless I’m dead and buried—GAHH!!”
In a flash, Pine slapped the ground with her front paw, launching a clump of dirt directly into the saber tiger’s eyes. It was so fast that even a monster couldn’t dodge it.
Waaah! I’m dyiiing!
The saber tiger howled, rolling around dramatically.
Pine and Chief ignored him completely and continued talking, their gazes soft and filled with affection.
“So I’m going to live on my own now, Chief.”
“Alright.”
He’d seen family members leave the den before, but Pine was special—she was the first one he had taken in as family, as part of his pack. His crimson eyes were filled with pride and a hint of sorrow.
Pine smiled brightly.
“I’ll visit often. This is still my home!”
“You’re welcome anytime, Pine. And your mate too.”
Hehe.
With her mate standing stiffly beside her, Pine bowed politely to the rest of the family. They both smiled with joy.
Meanwhile, Hao was furiously slapping the saber tiger’s side. Whap! Whap!
“Anyone else, fine—but what right do you have!?”
“Yeah!”
Pine, too, bounded over and joined in. Her tiny paws smacked the howling saber tiger. Despite their size, the whack! whack! sounds were impressively loud.
“It hurts! Pine! Hao!”
“It’s supposed to hurt!”
The red fox siblings clearly hadn’t forgotten their grudge from their first meeting with the saber tiger.
So Pine left Chief’s territory (though she visited so often “independence” didn’t really mean much), and Hao too eventually found a mate. Both had children who looked just like them—tiny red fox cubs.
“Chief! Chief!”
“Chief!”
The little ones climbed over the resting white wolf like a fluffy snow-covered mountain—sometimes rolling off, but giggling with joy all the same.
Watching enviously, the saber tiger wagged his long tail and hovered around Chief.
Noticing the movement, the fox cubs instantly switched targets.
They loved Chief with all their heart, of course—but when it came to playing, they preferred the saber tiger’s wild, roughhousing style (which always got him scolded by “Mama Pine”).
“Uncle Saber!”
“Uncle!”
The cubs tumbled off the snowy mountain and began climbing up the saber tiger’s colorful fur.
“Hehehe…”
The saber tiger grinned goofily, and seeing that, Chief and the others couldn’t help but laugh.
“It feels like just yesterday…”
Animals don’t live long lives.
Ordinary red foxes even less so.
Chief stood beside the grave of the mother fox he had once buried, now joined by four smaller mounds.
Pine and her mate.
Hao and his mate.
Whenever a member of his pack passed away, or when he heard news of a former one’s death, Chief would mark the spot near his den. But Pine and Hao—he had wanted to bury them here, himself.
He placed the flowers he’d brought and sat quietly before the graves.
“Your children are doing well.”
Pine and Hao’s cubs had grown up, found their mates, had cubs of their own. And those cubs now chattered about finding mates too.
But not in Chief’s territory anymore.
They now lived in the outer forest, among other animals.
So much time had passed, and now, there were simply too many to keep living within Chief’s territory.
‘I guess they’ll stop visiting so often, too.’
That was the way of time—how memories faded.
Still, with the endless stream of new “adopted” family members, Chief’s pack remained lively and noisy.
“Dzzeng!”
See? Even now, the saber tiger had brought someone new.
But judging by the size, wasn’t this one a bit big? Maybe prey? Could make for a good dinner—wait, no.
Chief’s crimson eyes flashed as he shot forward and smacked the saber tiger across the back of the head like lightning.
“I’m a wolf! And you bring home a wolf!?”
Gaaack!!
The saber tiger coughed and spit out the gray wolf dangling from his mouth.
“I didn’t bring it to eat!”
Holding his head with tearful eyes, the saber tiger yelled.
“He was wandering around my territory! I just brought him back! Okay, sure, he ran when he saw me, so I instinctively chased him… and maybe spun around him for fun a few times… but he just fainted, not died!”
For a second, it felt like somewhere up in the sky, Pine and Hao were bristling and yipping in outrage.
Luckily, just as the saber tiger claimed, the gray wolf came to.
And Chief was surprised when he looked into the wolf’s eyes. Unlike the usual yellow-eyed gray wolves, this one had red eyes—just like him. A mutation.
Was he exiled?
But he looked like a grown adult—not someone who had been cast out young and forced to struggle.
Maybe, like himself, he had special powers and had chosen to live independently early on?
While Chief was lost in thought, the gray wolf, frightened and trying to run from the saber tiger, spotted the massive white wolf.
His crimson eyes widened in awe.
Then, his thick, fluffy gray tail began wagging in fast circles.
All the fear vanished, replaced by sparkling excitement.
The joy was obvious—even Chief and the saber tiger exchanged puzzled glances.
“Hello, White Wolf!”
His cheerful greeting confirmed it wasn’t a mistake—this wolf was truly delighted to see him.
“You know this guy, Chief?”
“…No.”
Chief shook his head at the saber tiger’s question. The gray wolf answered instead.
“Of course you wouldn’t! I’m Zech, a wolf from the pack—!”
—
…That’s my sister’s name.
Eyes wide, Chief stared in disbelief at the name he hadn’t expected to hear in this place, at this time.
“…Her descendant?”
“Yes!”
‘Chief had a sister?!’ the saber tiger’s jaw practically hit the ground, but Zech continued excitedly.
“She’s my great-great-great-grandmother!”
“…I see.”
That one sentence made Chief feel the full weight of how much time had passed.
Zech’s red eyes sparkled.
“I’ve heard all about you since I was little! How you protected the gray wolf lands before Grandma left the pack! And how you still protect them!”
…How did he know that?
Even now, Chief regularly hunted the giant monsters that approached the gray wolves’ territory.
He blinked slowly, processing.
“Grandma said it was easy to spot you because your white fur stood out.”
Zech added, as if sensing his question.
Long ago, before falling asleep or when it rained too hard to leave the den, Zech’s grandmother would tell stories—stories that starred the very wolf now standing before him.
As Zech vibrated with admiration, Chief let out a soft sigh.
He remembered himself at that age.
Somewhere behind him, he could hear the saber tiger chuckling quietly.
If he had to explain—back then, he was just a pup who wasn’t very good at hunting yet.
“You were watching all this time…”
At Chief’s quiet murmur, Zech nodded eagerly.
“Whenever there was a sound of battle, they said you would dash over right away. Sometimes it was you, sometimes it wasn’t! But whenever it was you, you looked so cool! They wanted to help you too, but were afraid you’d dislike it—Grandfather too!”
—.
That was his brother’s name.
Hearing that name, Chief felt the strength drain from all four legs. His parents, long gone. His sister. His brother. All memories buried deep long ago suddenly flooded over him like a waterfall. Chief collapsed where he stood.
“…Were Sister and Brother well?”
From far away, he had once watched the gray wolves from behind the bushes, longing to be among them. But being so different, he had thought there would never be a place for him.
“Yes! They both left and formed their own packs! And our pack still gets along really well with Grandfather’s!”
“I see.”
Chief smiled gently.
All three siblings became leaders of their own packs. That was something to be proud of.
“This might take a while. Shall we move somewhere more comfortable? The sun’s about to set.”
“Yes, sir!”
And so, Chief, the saber tiger, and Zech walked toward Chief’s den.
“By the way, why were you wandering around my territory? Good thing it was mine. If it had been someone else’s, you’d be bones by now.”
“Ah, I was actually looking for the White Wolf… but I didn’t know where to find you…”
At the saber tiger’s question, Zech scratched his head sheepishly. Chief tilted his head.
“Me?”
“Yes! I wanted to say thank you!”
Zech spoke with surprising sincerity.
“Everyone avoided me because my eyes were red, not yellow like normal wolves. But Grandma told me stories—about the great White Wolf with white fur and red eyes who protected us. She said I could be strong like him someday too!”
Zech smiled wide.
“Thanks to those stories, I was able to live well in the pack. I really wanted to thank you.”
The saber tiger, about to throw in a snarky “He’ll never be as strong as Chief,” got sent flying backward with a casual kick from Chief.
Now Chief looked at Zech with a new expression.
A red-eyed wolf, who should’ve been rejected. But he wasn’t. He lived among the pack, accepted.
Just like the youngest had always hoped for himself.
“That…”
Youngest! Our youngest!
Voices of his long-lost family echoed vividly in his mind—voices he thought he had forgotten.
Chief swallowed the warmth rising in his chest and spoke softly.
“…You should thank your sister and brother.”
For using stories over the years to change how the pack saw white fur and red eyes.
After Zech’s visit (Chief, of course, engraved protective powers into him), gray wolves began visiting now and then.
“This is our grandmother.”
“Nice to meet you, White Wolf.”
Chief shared a bittersweet greeting with a grandmother wolf who looked just like his sister. He awkwardly accepted the awe-filled stares of young wolves, all gasping “Woooow!” at the sight of him.
Then he quietly stepped back.
He watched as his current family welcomed the gray wolves.
The saber tiger was running joyfully with the cubs across the lawn—despite being a feline, somehow. Wasn’t he supposed to be a cat?
Chief looked over the yard, now filled with his own pack and the gray wolves together.
It was a sight he’d never even dreamed of.
His chest felt warm. Full. Overwhelming.
How about this, youngest?
Your sister and brother are amazing, right?
…Yeah. They’re the best.
If he could see them again, that’s exactly what he’d want to say.