Chapter 264: What to do with White.
Sunshine stepped back slowly, pushing the door open before freezing. White leaped from Lisha’s hands and stood before her. His body was rigid--ears flat, eyes locked on her. Not once had he stopped growling.
"System, do you sense danger?"
"Suni..." Lisha whispered, voice trembling.
Sunshine put a finger on her lips.
[According to the stance and reaction, I can sense confusion.]
Sunshine sighed. Confusion was better than aggression. Clearly, White still recognized her, and he recognized the scent of the black bear. He saw it as a threat.
She looked down at her clothes which had not been changed. There was dry blood on them--barely visible because they were dark. But White’s nostrils were clearly sharp enough to catch the scent.
"Easy champ." She whispered, gesturing for Lisha to leave. She squatted down and held her hands open while humming a familiar lullaby.
White took a step forward, his small frame tense, uncertain.
Sunshine nodded and continued to hum. Slowly, she stood up and walked backward until she reached the bathroom. She stripped off the shirt, pants, everything that possibly had the scent of the black bear and carried them to the washing machine. Then, she poured a lot of soap inside and turned it on.
White followed her, still growling.
She didn’t run and didn’t stop humming. Next, she stood under the shower and turned on the water. The water was ice cold, but she didn’t feel the bite on her skin, she just scrubbed herself from head to toe until her arms were raw and scent of blood was gone.
When she returned to the bedroom, dripping and drying her hair with a towel, White was waiting. He jumped on the bed and sniffed her once, then huffed and nudged her neck with his snout.
The enemy’s scent was gone. She was his again.
She hugged the little cub and popped open coconut bean with one hand. Then she sat down and started feeding him the contents, snuggling him like a baby. And that was how Hades found them.
He had literally flown over when Lisha called him, hysterical about White mauling Sunshine to death out of the blue. His terrified eyes looked from her to the bear.
"Why are you carrying him? Where is the blood? What happened?" He asked without taking a breath.
Sunshine shook her head. "I came home smelling like another bear, the one that killed his mother."
Hades almost gasped. From the way his wife had describe the enemy bear, it was skyscraper tall and stadium big. How had she survived a fight with such a creature?
"It is dead now." She said quickly, having learned to read her husband’s moods. Right now, he was frantic and worried. "I forgot to wash the blood off and that was what White smelled and reacted to."
Relief danced through Hades’ body; he sat down on the bed and tilted his head to look at the bear. To his surprise, it was sleeping.
"Do we need to move him out?" He whispered.
Sunshine shook her head. "There is no need for that. He is a gentle baby. I can understand that you are worried for the boys and I was worried too initially but once I understood what was causing the problem, I relaxed."
Hades breathed into his palms. He liked the bear, but he also worried that it would lose its temper and decapitate someone. He struggled between being confident like her and suggesting the bear be moved back to his home.
Sunshine could see it in his body language that he was tense and holding back a storm of opinions which he was worried about sharing. "If I ever sense that White is dangerous, I will move him out." Now that she had a living section in her space, she would just send White there.
Or maybe she would return him to Veldek. But only if he was strong enough to defend himself.
Hades wondered what was going through her mind. What she was imagining. "I trust....."
Lisha burst into their bedroom, interrupting him.
"Suni, another person has been bitten by a mutated sheep."
Sunshine blinked and looked at White.
Lisha was perplexed by the nonchalance her cousin-in-law was displaying. Usually, she would be running out of the door and screaming into a radio. "Are you not going to do anything about this?"
"Was it a worker or a tourist?" Sunshine asked her.
"Tourist." Lisha sighed, leaning forward slightly. "As I answer your question, I realize that I already know the reason behind your relaxed body language. You told people to disturb mutated animals at their own risk. So, what happens when they discard your warning is none of your business."
Sunshine stood up, cradling White gently. "Good that you are aware." She walked slowly to the children’s bedroom and put the baby bear in the crib.
By the time she returned, Lisha was gone and Hades was taking a shower.
****
In the evening, Sunshine prepared herself for the date as if she was going out to a fancy restaurant. She pulled on a white sweater, black leggings and black leather high heeled boots. Nimo helped her apply her makeup while Lisha took pictures and squealed.
When she was ready, Lisha informed Hades and he showed up to the door to pick her up, like as if he did not live there.
Sunshine was escorted out of the bedroom by Nimo. She stood near the door and took a long, slow deep breath. "Is it crazy that I am nervous?"
"No." Nimo laughed. "He went all out and dressed up at Hadrian’s place so that he could surprise you. He is picking you up as if it is prom night and you have no idea how the night is going to end. I would be nervous too if I had a hot man knocking on my door, buying me dinner and kissing me senseless at the end of the night. Now go and make me proud." She pulled the door open.
A large bouquet of flowers covered most of Hades’ face.
"Woah!" Nimo exclaimed.
Sunshine grinned. The surprises were immediate because she was definitely not expecting flowers. And she was more surprised because they were paper flowers that had been folded beautifully.
Hades placed them in her hands. She sniffed them, planning to make a joke about the nonexistent smell. To her surprise, they had a light fragrance, something spicy and sweet. "Oh wow."
"Ariel expects a jar of stars for this." He said.
She laughed.
Nimo took the flowers from Sunshine and pushed her out of the door.
The push Nimo gave Sunshine sent her into Hades’ arms and he had yet to let go of her. His eyes were trying their best to pull her in.
"You left the tool belt behind." He said.
She laughed.
"You are wearing makeup." He noticed.
She felt a blush heating up her cheeks. "It is nothing special, I ....I just wanted to try something different. Can we leave now?" she urged. "I am sure those two nosy women have their ears against the door."
He tucked her arm under his and led her away.
"Are you wearing a suit beneath the jacket?" she asked.
"Yes" he admitted. "And I am not thinking about what we are having for dinner."
"What are you thinking of then?" she asked.
"Having you for dinner." He whispered.
Her cheeks went from heating up to boiling as they turned red. Her brain...well, it was definitely not thinking of food anymore.