Chapter 6: The Liar’s Trial

Seraya jumped in place, a furious shout tearing from her throat:

"What the hell, do you really think I'm possessed by some Buddha or a protagonist with plot armor?!"

The heavy-shouldered futa elder with curling ram horns snorted in derision:

"If you brag of slaying giant serpents and taming saber-toothed tigers without breaking a sweat, dropping this beast should be child's play! Unless you're just a fraud, a coward, and a liar!"

Seraya's eyes went wide with indignation:

"You set up a gladiator match with a starving predator?! If you're so tough, grandma, jump down there yourself and show me how it's done!"

The elder scowled, thumping her gnarled staff against the stone:

"Emberfrost tolerates neither liars nor foreign spies! Either back your words with deeds, or end up as carrion!"

As the words left the elder's mouth, the other matriarchs and warriors took up the chant, their guttural growls stirring the crowd of over a hundred women gathered in Rimefall Valley.

The crowd surged. Dozens of figures armed with sharpened poles leveled their points at Seraya, chanting with rage in their eyes:

"Liar! Liar! Cheat!"

At the sight, Niva panicked. Her soft white rabbit ears flattened against her skull and her snowy fox tail swept the dirt as she threw herself between the elders and Seraya, pleading and trying to explain what she had seen with her own eyes.

"Stop! She really did kill the serpent! I saw it!" Niva squeaked in desperation, but no one in the mob listened.

Things took such an ugly turn that the warriors shoved the girl aside, prodding Seraya's shoulders and ribs with sharpened sticks, herding her toward the edge of the pit.

"Jump, liar! Get down there and fight!"

Seraya cursed a blue streak, batting away the wood shafts:

"Fine, fuck, I'll go! I'll get down there, just back off with the sticks!"

The elder raised a heavy hand, signaling the crowd to quiet. She looked Seraya up and down and grunted:

"Get down there, then, liar."

Blood rushed to Seraya's face:

"I'm not a liar!"

"If you're not, jump," came the flat reply.

"I hope those horns twist inside out, you old hag..." Seraya muttered under her breath, raising her hands as the warriors leveled their spears again.

"Fine, fine, I'm going! But give me a weapon! A spear, a club, anything! How am I supposed to tame that thing bare-handed?!"

The elder futa stiffened her neck, puffing out her broad chest with a smirk:

"You claimed to be bare-handed when you cracked the serpent's skull and tamed the tiger. You get no weapon. You'd only throw the spear at us and try to run!"

"You brainless, flea-bitten..."

Before Seraya could finish her curse, a muscular warrior with bull horns standing behind her shoved both hands hard into her back!

Seraya lost her footing, her legs kicking out over the drop and her chest jolting as a yell tore from her lungs:

"Goddammit!"

She tumbled down seven feet, hitting the stone floor of the pit with a thud, landing hard on her hands and knees.

Jeers and whoops erupted from the Emberfrost warriors above - they truly took her for a fraud about to get a bloody lesson.

A few curious onlookers even lay flat on their stomachs along the rim, peering down like spectators in a Roman colosseum.

"Once I climb out of here, I swear I'll skin you and hang you by your tails!" Seraya shouted up, rubbing her bruised hip as she pushed to her feet.

Before she could spit another curse, an icy shiver ran down her spine from neck to tailbone.

She went still. Slowly, heart hammering against her ribs, she turned toward the shadowed corner of the pit.

The predator was already on its feet.

A hollow rumble rose from its belly. The beast fixed her with a cold stare, padding forward with silent, fluid strides.

As a paleontology fan, Seraya recognized the creature at once. Her lips parted in shock:

"Homotherium... It's really a Homotherium!"

The beast had the build of a stocky leopard, though with a longer neck, a sloped back, a short tail, and a pair of flattened scimitar-teeth jutting from its upper jaw.

While its proportions might have looked slightly awkward compared to a classic saber-toothed cat, Seraya found nothing funny about it.

All felines were natural killing machines. No heavyweight boxer would dare tackle a wild lynx or leopard bare-handed, let alone a prehistoric Homotherium that had spent three days starving in a stone hole.

Seraya swallowed hard. Backing up until her spine hit cold stone, she raised a hand with a tight grin:

"Ahem... hey there, kitty. How's it going? Had dinner yet?"

Another deep growl rattled from the cat's belly in reply.

Seeing the cat lower its shoulders to spring, Seraya waved her hands:

"Wait, hold on! At least let me finish my sentence, you overgrown… "

Whoosh!

Before she could finish, the Homotherium lunged with jaws agape!

No time to think. Driven by pure survival instinct, instead of dodging sideways, Seraya dropped flat and slid across the dust right beneath the pounce.

She cleared its underbelly by inches before the back of her head cracked against the far wall of the pit.

Dark spots danced before her eyes, and her head spun. Her chest flattened hard against the stones, sending a sharp throb of pain through her ribs.

A chorus of loud boos drifted down from the rim.

The women laughed, pointing fingers without shame.

"Liar! Liar! Look at her crawling in the dirt!" the jeers rang out.

A few elders who had held some slight hope for her waved their hands in disgust and turned away, shaking their heads like disappointed parents over a useless child.

Seraya couldn't care less about their taunts.

While they enjoyed the show, she was fighting for her life - the predator had already skidded to a halt against the rock, turned its heavy body, and braced for another strike.

Seeing the cat coil to spring, Seraya screamed up at the onlookers:

"This was supposed to be a damn test! Do you people have no chill?!"

Leaning over the rim with a triumphant smirk on her wrinkled face, the goat-horned elder spat:

"I knew you were nothing but a fraud! A liar must die!"

At those words, the crowd - save for a weeping Niva - began clapping and chanting:

"Death to the liar! Eat her!"

"May your asses wither and fall off, you heartless apes!" Seraya roared in fury.

In that same split second, the Homotherium sprang.

"Fuck!"

Seraya dove sideways. The cat's flank grazed past her hip, its head slamming with a crunch straight into a dense clump of dry brush growing along the bottom of the wall.

Seizing the chance, Seraya scrambled on all fours toward the opposite corner.

Yet the stone pit was barely ten feet across - not an inch of cover anywhere.

Before she could stand, the cat pulled its snout free from the rock crevice.

Seraya closed her eyes for a heartbeat, an icy knot tightening in her gut.

This is it... It's going to tear me apart this time.

Howls rose from the crowd above, waiting to see blood spray and flesh torn.

Yet right then, something happened that caught everyone off guard - including Seraya herself.

Instead of leaping at the exposed girl, the Homotherium pulled its head from the weeds... and collapsed onto its side.

It began rubbing its snout against the ground, shaking its head and pawing at its nose as if completely detached from reality.

When it tried to stand, its back legs splayed out, its bulk wobbling like a drunk after a quart of moonshine.

Seraya blinked, staring open-mouthed at the spectacle.

Her eyes darted to the clump of weeds the cat had crashed into. Growing from the rock fissure were grayish-green, serrated leaves carrying a distinct, minty-musk scent.

The gears clicked in an instant.

"Is that... catnip?!" she choked out under her breath. "Holy shit... Nepeta cataria! Ancient catnip!"

A surge of wild hope flared in Seraya's chest.

Felines of any era - be it a cave lion, saber-toothed cat, or common house tabby - reacted to catnip the exact same way!

Seraya laughed aloud, feeling her strength rush back.

Above, the Emberfrost villagers went dead silent, stunned.

A few started shouting again, egging the beast on to finish its prey.

Seraya wanted nothing more than to drag those loudmouths down by their ankles, but every second counted - the beast's stupor wouldn't last forever.

This buzz better beat the smell of fresh meat, or I'm dead meat... she thought, creeping toward the green patch.

The Homotherium lay on its flank, purring and drooling, a glazed stare fixed on nothing. It ignored Seraya entirely.

Step by step... closing the gap.

Seraya's heart hammered in her chest, her ribs tight with strain. Two paces away from the herb, a soft breath of relief slipped out:

"Got you!"

The whisper was a mistake. The predator flinched, its slitted pupils snapping onto the girl standing right beside it.

Baring its teeth, it let out a rasping snarl and coiled to spring!

"Damn you!" Seraya yelled.

She lunged headfirst, yanking up an armful of catnip by the roots.

Rolling onto her back as the jaws snapped inches from her face, she shoved the bundle of weed straight into the beast's nose and open mouth!

The crushed stems and leaves crammed into the sensitive nostrils of the Homotherium.

The cat snorted, sneezed once, twice, and dropped mid-leap with a heavy thud.

It rolled onto its back, swaying side to side, batting the air with its paws in a dazed, comical bliss.

Seraya blew out the breath she was holding, sweat trickling down her forehead and neck.

Seeing the trick work, she gathered her nerve. Creeping closer, she grabbed the remaining leaves and rubbed them over the predator's nose, cheeks, and chin.

The cat fell into a trance. Hunger, trials, and bloodlust vanished.

It sprawled across the stones like a fat house cat after a bowl of cream, belly up, purring loud enough to vibrate the stone walls of the pit.

Seraya took a deep breath, then broke into a loud laugh:

"I knew it! The textbooks were right: every cat, even a prehistoric one, is still just a cat!"

Gaining confidence, she reached out and scratched under its chin, rubbing its soft belly.

The Homotherium wrinkled its nose at first, ready to snap on instinct, but as Seraya brushed another crushed leaf against its snout, the beast closed its eyes, arching its back and rubbing its heavy head against her thigh.

Seraya rose to her feet.

Her tall frame towered over the docile beast, the Crimson Mark on her face vivid red, while her sweat-soaked shirt clung to her chest and toned abdomen.

She tilted her chin, casting a mocking smirk at the stunned onlookers hanging over the rim:

"What now, you idiots?! Said I had to pet it and calm it down, right?! Take a good look at me petting your monster! Who's the fucking liar now?!"