The Spider Queen

Sophie blushed frantically as her newfound courage disappeared just as quickly as it arrived. She was still no match for Cleo's charms.

This princess had clearly mastered the great Dao of Flirting while Sophie was still in the beginning stages of cultivation.

Cleo's green eyes sparkled mischievously as she tightly held Sophie's hand as the pair walked towards the new tiger display.

It did not take long before the noises of the people waiting to see the exhibition reached Sophie's ears.

"This is a great day for the Federation!"

"I'm live streaming this right now and the views are just rolling in!"

"I heard that tigers were worshipped as Gods back in the ancient times."

"Why is there such a big crowd?" Sophie asked curiously as they arrived.

"This is going to be the first reveal of the long- lost tiger species! Scientist have never succeeded in creating an animal that was one hundred percent genetically identical to the original," Cleo whispered softly

"But the zoo claims that they have done it," she eagerly stared at the nylon cover that was draped over the cage.

Sophie was also thrilled to see what would have been a familiar species in Sui Meng's time and she waited patiently along with the rest of the crowd.

Soon all the available spots were occupied, and the tour guide cleared his throat before confidently stepping up to a podium.

"Ladies and gentlemen…. I present to you the newest addition to the Tmperora Valley Zoo!" the tour guide proudly announced before pushing a button on a remote in his hand.

Gasps of amazement rang out from the crowd as the cover slowly fell down to reveal the animals within the enclosure.

"I need to take a picture!" Cleo excitedly yelled before whipping out her communicator and snapping a few shots.

She was far from being the only one as many could not wait to share the news on the virtual net, and some were even shedding tears of joy.

This was simply a historical event!

When the Draxi Empire abducted the human race to assimilate them within their armies over thousands of years ago, it was an unexpected event that caused great upheaval.

This period of time was called the 'Age of Darkness' as information about earth culture could only be passed down by word of mouth so details were naturally lost.

It was only when humans overthrew their alien masters that spaceships returned to colonise the planet, they once called home.

But many years had passed and all that remained of human settlements were the ruins where once great cities had been built.

All books, records and storage devices had long fallen to the ravages of time.

Even the animals they knew were no longer the same as many had gone extinct or evolved into different creatures.

One of these animals that had long gone extinct were the tiger species.

Scientists managed to genetically recreate a version of the animal based on the opinions of hundreds of biologists and historians who specialised in researching ancient earth history.

Sophie could see the raw emotion and passion in her fellow spectators but as she gazed at the animals, only one thought ran through her mind.

These…aren't tigers.

I mean they were certainly cat-like in appearance with stripes but that was really where all the similarities ended.

Firstly, the skin of these tigers was a bright green colour with red stripes that ran down their back in uneven patterns and their height was around the size of a large housecat.

Then for some reason, their ears were similar to that of elephants and the beasts flapped them around lazily.

Sophie reasoned that maybe the large ears were for enhanced hearing as the cats did not seem to have eyes.

"Sophie! Isn't this crazy?" Cleo grabbed her arm happily.

"Actual…err…yeah this is super accurate," Sophie was going to complain but seeing the cheerful look on Cleo's face made the words die down in her throat.

Maybe a little white lie won't hurt… it wasn't like she could explain that the memories of a woman who lived during that ancient era were inside of her brain.

Besides if she really squinted her eyes and looked again…

Nope.

They still didn't look like tigers.

"Why don't we visit the other animals," Sophie could not bear to watch as the tour guide kept boasting about the enormous achievement the zoo had created.

Fortunately, the rest of the trip was surprisingly enjoyable as Sophie saw animals that were simply breathtaking.

From giant beetles that playfully rolled around in the dirt, to enormous blue whales who swam gracefully around a man-made lake and even tiny monkey that chattered noisily when visitors walked by.

There was no trace of awkwardness between the two girls as their love of animals kept the conversations flowing naturally.

Cleo was also giving Sophie brief kisses whenever the hybrid girl got distracted by the sights, so the mood was very sweet.

Time seemed to fly by and soon Sophie received a message from one of the shadow guards saying that the transport vehicle was ready for departure.

Several hours had gone and the sun once bright in the sky was dipping steadily down to the horizon.

"Man…I wish that I had a combat beast pet," Cleo remarked as the duo walked out of the exit while still holding hands.

The afternoon sun was slowly setting which meant that the sky was now a beautiful shade of reddish orange.

Cleo was pouting slightly as she talked about her great dream to one day own a private zoo and Sophie couldn't help but think that the beauty of the sky paled in comparison to the girl next to her.

"You mean a combat beast like my Frostwing bat?" Sophie snorted in rage.

"Don't get me started on that lazy little thing who keeps staying in its egg," Sophie continued to grumble.

"It was supposed to hatch over a week ago!"

For some reason, her pet decided to create a few more cracks in its shell but then abruptly ceased all movement.

Sophie would have gotten worried were it not for that fact that every time she injected qi into the egg, she would hear loud cooing noises of satisfaction.

What was she going to do with such a hungry animal to look after?

If the Duke could read his daughter's mind at the time…. he would have remarked,

"That pet was obviously taking after its master!"