Chapter 394: Restoring the Former Love and Affection
Chapter 394: Chapter 394: Restoring the Former Love and Affection
Tyrus nodded at Carter. "Pretty much."
Carter was speechless. He gave Tyrus a look like he was staring at an idiot.
After a good while, he finally said, "Those tourists are always calling us pipsqueaks. If we let that get to us, wouldn’t we just die of anger?"
Carter was the smallest and scrawniest of the tiger brothers, but he never cared what others thought.
"Tyrus, what’s important is that you’re happy!" Carter blurted out, a rare pearl of wisdom.
"Exactly," Renee Jennings agreed. "Tyrus, you should learn from Carter’s spirit and stop tormenting yourself."
Though he had no idea what "tormenting yourself" meant, the praised Carter was still so happy he started bouncing around like Tigger.
Even though he was small for his species, he was still an adult tiger, and the ground trembled slightly when he bounced.
"Tyrus, have you been happy lately?" Renee Jennings asked seriously.
Tyrus blinked, then shook his big head. "No... not really, I guess."
Lately, his brothers wouldn’t play with him anymore. The moment they saw him, they would go out of their way to avoid him, as if... ’as if I’m some kind of pariah among tigers.’
Renee Jennings said softly, "That’s just it. Even though you proved to the tourists that you’re not a wimp, you weren’t happy doing it. That means what you did was ultimately meaningless for you."
"There are so many humans, so many mouths. We can’t control what others say. If you try to live your life based on what everyone else thinks, isn’t that exhausting?"
"I think you should just be yourself. Like Carter said, the most important thing is your own happiness."
Tyrus stared at her blankly. After a moment, he nodded emphatically. "Renee, I get it! I won’t go looking for fights with them anymore!"
Renee Jennings’s lips curved in a satisfied smile. "Good. I’m very happy you understand."
"Thank you for telling me all this." Tyrus moved in closer and gently nuzzled her with his big head.
Renee Jennings raised a hand to rub his head. "So, are you willing to apologize to the brothers you bullied?"
Hearing this, Tyrus looked at Carter and said without hesitation, "Carter, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have bullied you. Can you forgive me?"
"Of course!" Carter replied, just as unhesitatingly. "We’re brothers, after all!"
"Thank you!" Tyrus was deeply moved.
A gentle smile bloomed in Renee Jennings’s beautiful eyes as she watched the two tigers nuzzle each other.
"I’m going to go apologize to the other brothers now." With that, Tyrus sprinted toward Rory, who wasn’t far off.
Rory, unaware that Tyrus had turned over a new leaf, thought the lunatic was coming to pick another fight and immediately took off.
’The spot where he bit me two days ago still hurts! I can’t take another fight!’
Seeing this, Tyrus roared as he ran, "Rory, I’m not here to fight you! I came to apologize!"
"You’re lying!" Rory didn’t believe him, his four paws a blur as he sped away.
Seeing this, Tyrus decided to apologize to the other tigers first.
He ran over to Niner, but to his surprise, Niner hid from him too.
Tyrus knew then that he had been so out of line that none of them wanted anything to do with him anymore.
He lowered his head, dejected, a wave of sadness rolling off him.
Renee Jennings, of course, had seen everything that just happened.
She rode up to him on Carter’s back and called out, "Tyrus, what’s wrong?"
Tyrus’s amber eyes grew moist. "Renee," he said sadly, "no one wants anything to do with me. What should I do?"
"Don’t be sad," Renee Jennings soothed him. "Why don’t I go and talk to them for you first? They probably think you’re looking for a fight, so they’re avoiding you because they don’t want to."
Hearing this, Tyrus’s eyes lit up instantly. "Really?"
"I’m pretty sure that’s it. Just wait here." As she spoke, Renee Jennings patted Carter’s back. "Let’s go. We’ll find Rory first."
"Okay!" Carter agreed, ambling forward.
When Rory learned that Tyrus had been chasing him not to fight, but to apologize, he was utterly dumbfounded.
"Huh? Tyrus is apologizing? For real?"
"Of course it’s real!" Carter said. "He already apologized to me! Renee gave him a good talking-to, so he won’t come looking for fights with us anymore!"
"Really?" Rory’s eyes widened in delighted surprise. "Tyrus is back to normal? He won’t be starting fights over every little thing anymore?"
Renee Jennings smiled and nodded. "Really."
"This is fantastic!" Rory looked at Renee Jennings with admiration. "Renee, you’re amazing! How are you so smart?"
"It was nothing," Renee Jennings said modestly. "So, are you going to go find Tyrus?"
"Okay, I’ll go find him right now!" Rory bounded off happily.
Renee Jennings then went to find the other tigers and tell them that Tyrus wanted to apologize.
When the tigers heard the news, they were all ecstatic.
They had been living in fear of Tyrus’s harassment, and now they could finally get back to their normal lives.
Renee Jennings was filled with relief as she watched Tyrus and the others return to their old, affectionate ways.
Before leaving Tiger Park, she went to check on Fero, who was getting his teeth treated.
The vets were still busy, so Renee Jennings didn’t disturb them. She just said a quick hello to Evan Griffin.
As she was leaving Tiger Park, Renee Jennings saw a giraffe kick a zebra’s rear, only to be chased and cussed out by a whole herd of them.
"You son of a bitch! You dare kick my ass? You got a death wish?!"
"Long-necked freak, stop right there! You bully my brother, you’re dead meat today!"
"Don’t think we’re scared of you just ’cause you’ve got a long neck!"
"..."
Renee Jennings heard the giraffe lamenting as it ran, ’Good heavens, zebras are no joke. That herd of antelopes was way easier to pick on!’
She shook her head with a helpless smile and headed for the Lion Park.
The viewing platform at the Lion Park was just as crowded. Renee Jennings had met the park’s deputy director before but didn’t have his contact information, so she just watched from a distance.
Thunderbolt was surrounded by three lionesses, and they all looked perfectly happy together.
Renee Jennings smiled, relieved.
As for Blaze, even though he had three lionesses of his own, he was always lurking in the shadows, eyeing Thunderbolt’s lionesses covetously.
’Is the grass always greener on the other side?’
Thunderbolt, who had been frolicking with his three "wives," suddenly whipped his head around to look at the viewing platform.
He had caught a familiar scent.
"I think my friend is here!" he rumbled excitedly.
Leaving his three mates behind, Thunderbolt’s tawny form shot forward like a lightning bolt. His mane billowed in the wind, and his massive paws made the ground tremble.
He charged toward the viewing platform. Seeing this, the tourists erupted in excitement, scrambling to pull out their phones to take pictures and videos.
Thunderbolt’s massive body came to a stop before the glass, his amber eyes scanning the crowd.
"Renee? Is that you?" he rumbled.
Renee Jennings had long been familiar with the sharp senses of animals. The tiger brothers often spotted her whenever she visited the Tiger Park, too.
She waved over the crowd and called out, "Hey, handsome Thunderbolt! How have you been?"