DISCLAIMER: I do not own Monster Rancher or anything associated with it. Please support the official release. Thank You.
Chapter 3: Conversations and a Secret Revealed
It had been over three days since Elena had joined Holly, Genki, and the others. She spent most of her free time exchanging riddles with Hare, but on occasion, she would try to make some friendly conversation with Tiger, only to fail. Each time she would approach Tiger, he would shut her out; ignore her. Finally, when they stopped to make camp one night, Elena confided her troubles in Holly.
"I just don't know what to do. I know it's only been three days, but I wish he wouldn't be so cold towards me." Holly smiled warmly.
"Don't worry about it. That's just Tiger being Tiger. You just have to be persistant with him, that's all." she said. The older teen smiled back.
"You're right. Thanks, Holly." Holly lied down and closed her eyes.
"Don't mention it." she said.
~*The Next Day. . .*~
"Hey, Tiger, how come you've been ignoring Elena?" Hare asked when the two were behind the other six and out of earshot.
"That's none of your business, Hare." Tiger replied impatiently.
"Well, even when I first joined the group, you weren't this much of a jerk. She's trying to be nice, but you won't even be polite enough to reply to simple questions like "How are you this morning, Tiger?" or "How did you sleep?" Not when she asks them. What's the deal?"
"Hare, I'm warning you." Tiger growled.
"Tiger, come on. We may argue a lot, but we're practically best friends. And best friends do NOT keep secrets from eachother." Hare said, arms crossed. Tiger snorted. True, he did see the annoying prankster as somewhat of a best friend, but he wasn't about to admit that.
"Fine, rabbit. But we are NOT best friends. You're too annoying for me to go that far. If it'll shut you up, I'll tell you. But if you utter a word of it to the others, I will personally turn you into a Lost Disk before the baddies can even think of it. Am I clear?" Hare nodded, wanting to hear Tiger's reasoning for giving Elena the cold shoulder, and also because he knew better than to anger the blue wolf-like monster.
"Good. It's because of her scent. She has the scent of the human that abandoned Greywolf and I, so I'd wager she's his daughter or something. I don't trust her. No doubt she's-" Hare cut Tiger off then.
"Whoa. Stop right there. Tiger, she may be the daugher of that human, but she isn't that particular human himself, now is she? Give her a chance, and you'll see that she's not as cruel as he was. Come on." Tiger sighed in annoyance.
"I'll THINK about it." He said as he picked up his pace so that he was walking beside Genki. Hare sighed and shook his head. He knew that Tiger was merely being stubborn, as always. Tiger would have to warm up to Elena eventually, despite her origins. She was just that kind of person.