Formicea

The alpha has Tiny pinned to the ground and is snarling at him, almost convincing me that it's going to end him right now.

But why?
Why would-
The meat!
I wasn't supposed to get any, and Tiny broke that order.

Shit!
Now he's punishing him because of me?!
Stop poking him with your claws!!!

Before I've actually planned through what I'm about to do, my legs are already bent to strain to the max.
Like a projectile, I dash forward, crash right into Big Boss, and shove him off my little friend, which sends us both rolling on the ground.
The moment I regain a semblance of control back, I scramble up again, before the big one jumps onto me like last time.
Just in time, I manage to get into a stance and deflect his jump to the side.

"Skcccchhhhhhh!" (alpha)

Is that supposed to scare me?!

<Skcccccccccccchhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!/Do you have any idea how fed up I am about this crap?!> (S)

I'll hold my ground.
Until now, this was all a big mess.
I can tell where the alpha is coming from, even if I by no means see why I should be subjected to this shit.
However, target my friends and I stop being nice!
That applied in the orphanage and even now!

"Skccccchhhhhhhh!" (alpha)

<Skssshhh!/Yes, what else?!> (S)

As if I care if you snarl at me now.
I got enough of this intimidation crap to get tired of it.

He jumps again, and I manage to half dodge, half deflect him with my claws, which apparently makes for one whole.
I didn't gouge, I simply shifted him off.

Now is my turn.
I dig in my hind claws into the ground, and pump my legs as hard as I can, to jump at him.
He does the same, but I had a time advantage and therefore hit him harder.
It's merely an impact in the air, but it serves to tackle him down.
Meanwhile, I fly a bit further, but can claw the ground and stop myself from scraping farther along the ground.
Getting on all fours, I ready myself for the next pounce, which I use to sprint at him and shove him off before he can right himself again.

Then I'm onto him.
Balling my claws into fists, I bring them to his head and start twirling them, somewhere around where his temples might be.
I know from experience that this hurts like hell.

<Screeeeeeeeeehhhhh!!/Nah?! How is this?! Is this what you wanted?!> (S)

"Screeeehhhh!" (alpha)

The alpha presses against me, and we bundle up.
Somehow, I get rolled from him, and suddenly, our roles are reversed.
However, I still have my legs against him, so now that he's right over me, I press as hard as I can and shove him off.
It seems I underestimated my strength, as he's literally sent flying.
Still, he manages to land, although with a bad stumble.

Then he walks up to me again, still full of fight.

"Scrrrrrrrrrr!" (alpha)

He's calling me out again?!
I've had enough!
Just leave me ALOOOOONE!!!

"SCRRIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" (S)

I'm so fed up with everything.
My body changed beyond recognition, worse than everyone else!
I have to deal with all these changes and desires!
And the worst is that others treat me like some goddamn animal!!

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
You really cannot tell how I feel about this?!

"Zsch"

Oh, wonderful.
Now my front claws are dripping acid.
Any more surprises?

Now, how bad is that?
Is that because I'm feeling so angry?
My claws are kinda feeling heated.
Well, hot, but not burning from the acid.
Urgh, how am I supposed to handle this?

More importantly, what about the alpha?
If it wants to fight another round, I'm not sure how well I can contain myself in this.
Actually, I don't know what I'm going to do next.
I certainly don't want to kill him, not even injure him for real, but I'm just so angry.

However, I should stop myself.
I know this.
Actually, I notice how easily agitated I am and don't want this to control me.
If you notice that something's off, you really shouldn't follow up on this.

It comes closer, right to my feet.

"Scruuhhh!" (alpha)

And makes itself smaller?
Wait, that means submission?
Why?
Just because I beat him?

Now the other hunters all do the same, stepping close all around me and making themselves small with their faces to the ground.
What am I supposed to do with this?

<Hey, I don't need this. In the first place, I only wanted to get out.> (S)

Urgh, that's not quite something they catch on to.
They can tell my intention, but are confused as to why I'd want to leave the pack on my own.
It's simply an odd action for them.
Something totally foreign and unreasonable.

Suddenly, I feel a nudge from behind.
It's Tiny.
He probably doesn't like the tense atmosphere.
In return, he gets a pat from me.

<It's okay. You all can get up again.> (S)

By now, I noticed that the dripping has stopped.
Maybe because I calmed down?
Like, I get my blood boiling and literally pump acid, and once I'm done, it wears off again?
Well, I guess that's fine.

Now the others are still around me, but instead of going their way, they all come close and start cuddling.
I think they believe I'm upset or disappointed with them if I want to leave them all.

<Hey, it wasn't meant like this. You guys ain't bad. It's just that I have other stuff.> (S)

It doesn't seem to quite convince them, as they still keep coming.
I try to pat them all, to show them I've got nothing against them, but they are so many.
Therefore, it takes quite some time.

"Grmbl"

Now that the excitement is over, my stomach begins complaining again.
However, this time, I have something for it.
Moving towards the meat basket, I watch Big Boss closely, but he doesn't stop me.
Then I reach inside and snag myself a delicious slice.
Oh, yes!
This is just what I needed.

While eating, I see something that draws my attention.
Big Boss moves to Tiny.
He doesn't seem hostile, so I'm not worried, but I definitely want to keep watch as he gets close to my friend.
Who he's nudging then.

"Scrrrriiiiiuuuuh!" (alpha)

Oh!

I guess I understand now.
Big Boss was never really hostile towards Tiny.
Rather, it's that Tiny is, well, tiny.
He wanted him to have his slice of meat, so it would help him grow up better.
Yet then he gave it away, which was both a mistake and a breach of order he had at least to call out to prevent again.
Well, I agree that Tiny needs more meat on his bones.
However...

<You seriously should communicate more, rather than always trying to rely on imposing on others.> (S)

Like, that would've helped a big deal.

"Scrrrrrrrrr" (alpha)

Hah, I guess he still doesn't quite like me.
Yet reluctantly accepted that I was stronger.

<I beat you fair and square! Can't tell me otherwise.> (S)

"Scruh!" (alpha)

<What!? Sloppy?! That's something I'm not gonna take! If you want a rematch, you can come at me anytime!> (S)

"Screeooooooh!" (alpha)

Oh, okay.
Not a fight.
He challenges me, well, to a sports match, I'd say.

First, we have a jumping contest.
Which I fall short of.
The fact that Big Boss has more experience and I'm a bit heavier works against me here, as I manage to leap many, many times my own height in distance, but still lose to him.

Then we run, which I lose again, being hopelessly left in his dust.
The gist of it is that, to him, I'm basically just a big brute without any skill.
So I call for a rematch.

I'm not quite sure how it happens, but at some point, the others join in, and the contest turns gradually into general playing.
We jump around and race against each other, during which I realize that even the others outrun me hard.
Like hopelessly.

We also wrestle, as the others want to see if they can put me off balance.
In this, I actually do a lot better, but without being as heated as before, I get knocked around pretty much.
Not to forget that I'm gradually growing exhausted.
On the plus side, I get to observe how they move and find this to be quite helpful, as it provides me with pointers for myself.
It's about how to bring my upper body forward, maintain balance at top speed, and shift my body while taking turns.
All quite helpful.

Yet while strangely fun, this is also really burning through my energy.
I feel tired, so I kneel down on my legs to take a break, lowering myself down as much as I can.
Huh, it's kinda weird how my feet can now touch my stomach if I bend down on them, but it's not all that uncomfortable.

Hey, there's Tiny!
What are you..?
Of course, he's settling right against my side.
Uh, and who are you?
Well, I guess we were racing together before, but I didn't know we were already on cuddling terms.
Oh, and now there's one more behind me.

"Plomp"

Ehm, why did this one jump on top of me?

"Plomp"

Another one?
Hey, if you all pile on top of me, I can't stand up anymore!
My legs are still pinned below my stomach, and I can't get the leverage to push them up enough, as far as they're bent.
And the way the others placed themselves around me, I'm so wedged between them that I can't even crawl out.

"Scruuh." (Tiny)

That's what I hear from Tiny, before he rubs his snout a bit against me and then apparently dozes off.
The way the breathing shifts... the others do so as well.
Which means... none of them is going to move anytime soon.
And, and... and, groaaahhhhn.
And I'm a bit too tired to further contemplate this shit.

...

"Scrrrrr." (S)

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