The Symbiotic Relationship Between The Rabbit And The Black Panther [EN]: Chapter 29

With his head tilted, he gently parted my lips with his hand. A familiar pheromone began to seep into my mouth.

Our heated breaths mingled. The pheromones spreading through me made it hard to think straight.

As I gasped between his lips, the rampaging pheromones slowly began to stabilize. My body, which had been tense with pain, relaxed as if by magic.

When our lips parted for a moment, Ahin’s half-lidded red eyes filled my vision.

“I don’t want to…”

I didn’t want to pull away. Afraid that we might drift apart, I reached out to grab his clothes, desperate for a lifeline, but my head was pulled back.

The energy that invaded me suppressed my own pheromones, as if mocking them. A tingling sensation shot through my stomach, and past memories flashed through my mind like a panorama.

‘Today, that idiot… no, the wolf clan attacked again.’

‘So you got hurt.’

‘Aren’t you going to heal me?’

Not long after I started living with the Grace family, Ahin had suddenly made a strange request. At the time, I dismissed it, thinking he was just a strange beast.

‘Who knows? Maybe Bibi will be of help.’

He had said something strange just before we came to the Endelus region.

And then he held out his injured paw.

‘I’ll heal you when we get back.’

He kept checking the wound, looking displeased, but in the end, he didn’t heal it.

If his pheromone ability was healing-based, there would have been no need to take me, who had swallowed the drug, all the way to the doctor.

‘My pheromone is dominance-type.’

Dominance-type pheromone.

If so, whose pheromone healed Ash’s near-fatal wound in an instant? My heart pounded fiercely, as if a storm was raging within me.

The ability to heal wounds, not just induce sleep. Circumstantially, it was more likely to be my ability than Ahin’s.

I gripped his sleeve so hard my knuckles turned white.

‘Why.’

Ahin was somewhat aware of everything and deliberately hadn’t said anything.

‘…Why.’

Ahin, who was pulling my head back, pushed his pheromones in even more forcefully.

His pheromones, mixed with every breath, stirred up my insides. My own pheromones, dominated by the foreign energy, plummeted into the abyss.

* * *

The chirping of insects painted the quiet dawn.

The dozing physician eventually slumped his head onto the desk. Thanks to Bibi’s pheromones, which had subtly permeated the cabin, he showed no signs of waking up even after hitting his forehead.

Next to the bed, Ahin, sitting on a simple chair, leaned deeply against the backrest.

It was absurd. The moment he injected his pheromones, he almost got swallowed by Bibi’s pheromones if he had been careless.

As a result, even hours later, he felt languid, as if walking on clouds.

Toes, blanket, the thin negligee the physician had lent me. His gaze, which had moved slowly, eventually stopped on Bibi’s face.

When did she ever cling to him with such desperate eyes? She was peacefully snoring and wandering through dreamland. Unlike last time, she didn’t immediately revert to her rabbit form but remained completely human.

Ahin slowly reached out and pinched Bibi’s nose with his fingers.

Hng, hng, Bibi, who was struggling, slightly opened her lips and took even breaths. With each breath, pheromones that couldn’t be controlled leaked out.

‘Is it impossible to forcibly stop it after all?’

Ahin’s throat became scratchy because of the scent stimulating his nose, and he loosened his cravat.

“Haa….”

Resisting Bibi’s pheromones, which were trying to seep in even with a little carelessness, was testing his patience.

Bibi’s pheromones tended to intensify when her emotions were heightened or when she fell asleep. But now, perhaps because she was exhausted and in human form, it was excessive.

No matter how he thought about it, it was strange.

He had expected Bibi’s family to be a lower to middle-class noble family with plenty of children.

But as he learned more, Bibi’s pheromones were at a level that one might only obtain if she were the successor to the head of the rabbit territory.

‘If it’s the head of the rabbit territory… was it the Amon family?’

However, the Amon family already had known children, and even if she were a blood relative, they would have killed her directly rather than abandoning her. No matter how young a rabbit, they couldn’t carelessly abandon the head’s lineage.

Ahin, lost in thought, narrowed his eyes. The flickering lamp dimly lit the cabin. He got up and picked up the self-defense dagger hanging on the wall.

‘A presence.’

Knock, knock, an eerie noise of someone knocking on the door broke the silence.

Approaching the door, he held the blade horizontally.

“Who is it?”

“Ahin-nim’s capable subordinate.”

As far as Ahin knew, there was only one person among his subordinates who prided himself on being capable. Squeak, with the sound of the door being pulled open, a rather emaciated Ivelin appeared.

The night air that seeped through the crack in the door blew away some of Bibi’s scent.

“You managed to follow me.”

“I apologize for being late. I have a lot to report, but first… there’s someone resembling a gorilla trembling pitifully outside. Stark naked without even a pair of drawers.”

Only now did Ahin recall Lil’s existence, and he slightly raised his eyebrows. A Suin [a creature with both human and animal traits] who has undergone humanization cannot last more than half a day in their original form.

Rummaging through the cabin, he picked up a cloth close to rags and handed it to Ivelin.

“It should cover the lower half. Wait outside.”

Putting the dagger into its sheath, he slammed the door shut.

But again, knock, knock, a cautious sound echoed. When he opened the door again, Ivelin was standing there with the cloth in his hands.

“You should let me in.”

“Sorry, but I can’t allow anyone uglier than me.”

Ahin, folding his eyes into crescents, blocked the doorway.

“Then I wouldn’t qualify.”

“Ivelin, do you think you’re more beautiful than me?”

“May I be honest?”

“Go ahead.”

“Yes.”

Thud, Ahin, who had slammed the door shut, returned to his spot. From the start, he had no intention of letting Ivelin in. He comfortably crossed his legs and rested his chin on his hand.

His lowered red eyes were fixed on the sleeping Bibi again. Perhaps she was feeling better, as a round blush lingered on her cheeks.

‘Are all herbivore Suins shaped like this?’

Compared to her thin jawline, her features were generally round. Because she moved busily like a meerkat when awake, this was the first time he had properly examined her.

‘What should I do?’

Bibi had some clumsy aspects because of the years she had lived as a rabbit, but she was quite clever, as much as she was timid.

Now that Ahin had revealed that his pheromone was dominance-type, there was a high probability that she would soon realize her own healing-type pheromone. Or perhaps she already knew and was pretending not to.

If Bibi were to undergo humanization like this and insist on leaving on her own, what should he do?

If she only learned how to control her pheromones, she would be able to take care of herself anywhere, given her healing abilities. As soon as he reached that thought, he felt strangely agitated.

Tuk, tuk, he tapped the corner of the chair with his finger and closed his eyes tightly before opening them again.

He had no intention of letting her go, nor did he have any intention of returning her to the rabbit territory.

If she wanted to return to her family….

As his thoughts deepened, Bibi’s pheromones began to invade Ahin’s territory, rising from his toes.

If he was consumed like this, he would want to leave teeth marks on that white neck again. As he swam between reason and instinct, thud, a quick-witted beast rested its head on the edge of the bed.

Ash, who had endured Bibi’s pheromones with gritted teeth, glared with eyes that seemed ready to close at any moment. A faint hostility, as if he would attack Ahin at any moment, flashed over his bloodshot eyes.

“They say you shouldn’t take in beasts with black fur.”

Ahin chuckled at the traitor who no longer regarded him as his master but as an object of vigilance.

He stroked Ash’s black fur to make it fluffier and sharply pulled his whiskers. The whiskers, pulled to their limit, snapped back into place.

“You knew everything, didn’t you, about turning into a human.”

Ash, feeling that the atmosphere was not good even though he didn’t know what he was talking about, jumped onto the bed.

Look at this. Ahin was in a tense confrontation with Ash, whose resistance had intensified.

Ash, like a cat, burrowed into Bibi and subtly pushed Ahin’s shoulder away with his tail. He leaned back in his chair, obliging him by moving away as intended.

Leaning his head against the backrest and looking at the ceiling, Ahin lightly swept his lower lip. The moment when only he was reflected in Bibi’s eyes was more satisfying than he had thought.

“Ash.”

Ash, thinking of their old friendship, showed at least minimal sincerity and pricked up his ears. Making eye contact, he wore a dry smile on his lips.

“I’ve never seen a suspicious rabbit like Bibi.”

Startled, Ash visibly wavered and bit the blanket to hide Bibi from Ahin’s gaze. Bibi, who had covered herself with the blanket up to her head, groaned in discomfort but couldn’t take it off.

Because the inner thoughts hidden behind the smile were very dark and bad. It was an instinct as the same beast.

* * *

I had a dream.

In my very young childhood, which I barely remember, my mother beamed, saying that I would have miraculous pheromones.

Pressing my nose, she whispered that Bibi would be loved by everyone.

‘Bibi, my baby.’

Undergo humanization quickly. When my mother lifted me high, I felt happy at her joyful expression seen from below.

I want to become a human quickly too, Mother. Stretching out my paws, I smiled brightly, anticipating the humanization that would one day come true.

When I opened my eyes, white fur was draped over my flickering vision.

Blinking hazily, I let out a self-deprecating breath. As expected. I could easily guess that I had returned to being a rabbit.

Excited, then disappointed, at this rate, I won’t live to my full potential.

Opening my eyes wide, I vigorously threw off the blanket covering my body. At this point, I should become a human out of spite,

‘F-Feet…!’

Startled, I quickly pulled the blanket over my head. I wondered if what I had just seen was an illusion. Looking down with doubt, I saw toes peeking out from under the negligee.

“Feet…!”

When I put strength into my toes, all five toes wiggled as intended. What I had mistaken for white fur was because of my disheveled white hair.

Touching my eyes, nose, mouth, and features, I jumped out of the blanket at lightning speed.

‘…Let’s calm down.’

I need to calm down. I clenched my fists tightly on my knees.

I’m Bibi, a Suin who survived the clutches of a black panther with cool judgment and agility. Let’s calmly assess the situation first, assess the situation…!

Fumbling, restless, I repeatedly touched the top of my head.

My ears are attached to the sides, not the center of my head. Clearly, definitely, it was a human appearance.

‘Why haven’t I turned back yet?’

While I was waving my arms and legs for a while, the inner door opened with a click, and a physician wearing a gown appeared.

“It’s not good to do intense stretching as soon as you wake up. Especially since you’ve been sleeping for two days straight.”

‘Two days?’

“Do you have any pain anywhere else?”

She smiled kindly and approached me, who was frozen.

“Oh, your companion was here until just now… He went to get some clothes for the patient to wear. You can’t just stay in a negligee, can you? The store is just in front, so he’ll be back soon.”

With warm black eyes, she introduced herself as a quite skilled physician.

She was a capybara Suin, but she was staying in Endelus, where drugs were rampant these days, to make a fortune. She expressed money with her thumb and forefinger, saying that the income was quite good.

From then on, I didn’t even have time to come to my senses.

I received a medical examination, was carried to the bathroom to wash because I couldn’t walk properly, and even ate food other than hay for the first time. The rice porridge was so bland that hay would have been better.

“Are your legs still weak? Hmm, then I need to see you separately….”

The physician, who was brushing my long hair, asked worriedly. Sitting on the bed with my knees together, I awkwardly fiddled with the hem of the negligee.

“I guess I’m just tired.”

Tired is just an excuse, I’ve never even walked properly. At this rate, my mobility was much faster when I was a rabbit.

Secretly sighing, I slyly turned my head to glance at the physician. I barely had a chance to examine her properly, but she was a middle-aged woman similar to Valence-nim. And,

‘…I can’t see them.’

Even when she smiled, I couldn’t see the fangs unique to predators, and her build was similar to mine. As a rabbit Suin who had never seen an herbivore Suin other than myself, I felt an indescribable sense of kinship.

If she’s an herbivore, she must have a basic fear or hostility towards predators. How can she endure in Endelus, which is full of predators?

Moreover, she had a sense of incongruity that was somehow different from a commoner. Her upright gait, or the aristocratic tone that was buried here and there, although she looked rough.

Even the way she sat in the chair resembled a noblewoman from a mansion, not a physician.

“Oh my, someone was knocking on the door at dawn, and I wondered who it was, but there was a black panther clan, and I was so surprised. There are crazy… no, unique people in that clan.”

Except for times like this. The capybara clan is said to have great sociability, and she continued to chatter without giving me time to guess.

“In the first place, predators have a very strange flow of thought. To put it simply, it’s like this, this.”

The physician, who was brushing my hair, suddenly twirled her index finger around her temple. I nodded, quite serious.

“Indeed… you’re not wrong at all.”

“Right? Generally, the feline clans are like that. There’s no such thing as a troublemaker like them. Ah, I would appreciate it if you kept this story a secret. Your companion is a little scary.”

She’s already said all the slander….

But she was also an herbivore Suin who was sensitive to danger, so she seemed to strongly feel Ahin’s chilling atmosphere like a well-honed knife.

The physician, who continued to list slanders about predators, hurriedly left, saying that it was almost time for the herb merchant to pass by.

‘She’s a constantly busy person.’

Left alone, I carefully checked the pheromones in my body. Judging from the fact that they were as calm as a lake, Ahin’s pheromones seemed to have calmed the turbulent energy.

As the situation just before falling asleep came to mind, my feelings became complicated in many ways. Unconsciously touching my lips, I quickly burrowed under the pillow.

I thought there was no sense of distance from before. Recalling his red lips, my face flushed.

‘I’m crazy!’

It would have been better to have my neck bitten. That naive predator must not know how bad my thoughts are.

Stomping my feet, I got up roughly.

I hid under the pillow out of habit, but it was a funny sight with only my butt sticking out due to my enlarged body.

It was just part of the treatment. Forcibly concluding, I shook my head to blow away the lewd thoughts.

Right now, the issues of Ahin and pheromones come first. If his pheromone is dominance-type, as he said, then the power related to healing is mine.

I can’t believe it at all. My clenched fist trembled.

Even if I tried to test the pheromones, I was afraid that I would turn back into a rabbit or have another seizure.

I just clenched and unclenched my fist repeatedly, when suddenly, from the window, I heard the sound of a beast whimpering.

‘Is it a wild animal?’

Using the curtains as a support, I stood up and brought my ear close to the window.

Kwang, the second loud roar was a type I remembered hearing.

“…Ash?”

Following that, a noise that sounded like scratching the window was heard.

Immediately pulling back the curtains, Ash, who had raised his body beyond the window, was revealed.

“Ash, why are you there?”

Who kicked you outside! Looking upset, I roughly threw open the window.

Barely reunited, we hugged each other tightly and rubbed our cheeks against each other.

“Since when have you been outside….”

I couldn’t continue speaking.

Thud, suddenly, the corpse of a hawk… was hung on the window frame. While I was frozen hugging Ash, a familiar figure suddenly appeared from below.

“I didn’t kill it, I just knocked it out.”

“Rune Manyants…!”

“This is the second time I’ve seen you in human form.”

His light pink curly hair fluttered in the breeze.

‘How is this lion here?’

When I hurriedly tried to close the window, Rune, who had completely raised his body, lightly touched the window frame.

“Wait a minute, how long have I been waiting for this opportunity to screw with you?”

What’s his ulterior motive again.

“Hmph.”

I pulled the window, feeling the heat rising on my face, but it didn’t budge. Growl, Ash, who was watching the situation, bit Rune’s wrist to tear it off.

“Ash!”

But Rune, who easily avoided even that, raised his hand vertically as if to knock Ash out as well.

“No, don’t touch him!”

Jumping with all my might, I grabbed Rune’s arm, but I ended up grabbing his hair instead. At the same time, my legs gave way, and a dizzying situation occurred where I fell over the window frame.

“Ah!”

Thud, dust rose, and the view became closer to the ground. But I didn’t feel the expected pain.

When I opened my tightly closed eyes, Rune’s golden eyes, which were slightly widened, were right in front of me. A moment of silence passed.

“Hey, Rabbit-nim.”

“Yes?”

“I think the distance is too close.”

Only then could I realize that Rune had fallen over with me while catching me. Flustered, I tried to get up, but,

“Ugh.”

Because I had been holding onto his hair all along, he groaned in pain.

What should I do. Looking upset, I hurriedly opened my hand and let go of his hair. The hair tangled between my fingers represented his pain.

“But didn’t you say you weren’t a rabbit Suin? Why are you answering?”

It couldn’t be more of a total mess.

I thought it would be best to just shut my mouth. While I was covering my mouth and slowly widening the distance, suddenly, a scream mixed with sobs echoed from the courtyard.

“Aaaagh!”

It was definitely the voice of Lil, the horse Suin who had come here with us.

“Ivelin-nim, come to your senses, Ivelin-nim!”

Rune, who turned to look at the place where the scream was heard, clicked his tongue.

“Looks like there was one more rat left.”

“No, don’t tell me Ivelin…!”

“I told you, I just knocked him out.”

Even though I didn’t know the details, I sensed that the situation was turning bad, and I glared. No matter how wretched Ivelin was, he was closer to me than Rune, so I was naturally worried.

“Ouch, ouch, my head, my head!”

“You, what did you do to Ivelin!”

You bad! Clenching my teeth, I grabbed Rune’s curly hair again. Ash, who joined in, also struck him with his tail, and a fierce brawl broke out.

“Rabbit!”

What is this strange title again. Turning my head without thinking, Lil, who had turned around the corner, had a face covered in tears.

* * *