Beast Tamer's Rebirth National Treasure Edition novel Chapter 26

Chapter 26

The live chat was going crazy.

[Seriously, what kind of noise is that?]

:.

[Oh my god, I’ve never seen a group of raccoons look so cheeky.]

[Sierra has such a way with animals. They all just seem to love her.]

[I’ve never seen a raccoon wag its tail with so much enthusiasm!]

[The raccoons are practically begging for affection.]

Sierra also laughed at the three raccoons’ shamelessly eager faces.

She came to see them every evening and knew their personalities well by now.

Whenever they spotted her, they’d waddle over excitedly and flop down, bellies up.

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She crouched down and gestured toward the raccoons for the camera. “They make all kinds of sounds,” she explained. “That bleating sound means they’re happy. The little grunts usually mean they want to play or just want your attention.”

Right on cue, the three raccoons let out a series of contented grunts.

Sierra chuckled and gave their plump bellies an affectionate rub.

“They have quite a range of sounds,” she went on. “When scared or annoyed, a raccoon might bark or chirp. That’s how keepers and rescuers can often tell how they’re feeling.”

The viewers in the livestream were captivated, filling the chat with pleas for more of her animal insights.

[I checked out raccoon sounds online. It’s true. They can make almost any animal noise except for a cat’s meow.]

[So jealous she gets to pet them! Wish that were me.]

[I remember when Natalie was their keeper. These three actually barked once. We all thought we were hearing things.]

[It’s all in their approaches. Sierra is patient and lets the animals come to her naturally. But Natalie was always pushing for a reaction from Angel, but it just wasn’t interested. That’s the real reason she never completed her tasks.]

[Don’t try to muddy the waters by bringing up Natalie. The keeper said Angel is depressed and keeps to itself. It won’t even interact with the other raccoons, much less people.]

[Yeah, there’s no way Sierra can manage it either.]

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Chapter 26

Sierra, facing the camera, was completely unaware of the debate taking place in the live chat.

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She petted the raccoons until the keeper reminded her it was time to find Angel. Reluctantly, she started to

leave.

The three raccoons immediately protested with little grunts, wrapping themselves around her legs to stop her from going.

They made pleading bleating sounds.

“Stay with us,” one of them begged. “Angel isn’t any fun.”

“Angel was rough with me before,” another added.

“Me too. Don’t go over there, Sierra. We don’t play with Angel,” a third one chimed in.

Sierra couldn’t move an inch with the raccoons holding on tight.

During her visits to the zoo in the evening, she had seen Angel a handful of times.

It always sat curled up by itself, staring into the distance without reacting to anything she said.

Still, it would settle softly against her feet, warm and still.

At first, Sierra assumed it was stressed from being in a small space, but after watching it for a few days, she realized that wasn’t it at all.

Its behavior seemed to come from something other than just being kept in an enclosure.

She hadn’t been able to look into it before, but now she finally had the chance to understand what was wrong, and maybe even help.

Sierra accepted three small apples from the keeper and gave one to each raccoon.

They answered with eager little bleats. Their eyes lit up as they let go of her and snatched the apples, immediately beginning to nibble.

For a moment, the live chat went completely still.

Free from the three raccoons’ attention, Sierra made her way toward Angel’s enclosure.

The camera swept over the enclosure, but Angel was nowhere to be seen.

[Where’s Angel hiding today?]

[Looks like Sierra isn’t the animal whisperer she thinks she is. Angel is ignoring her completely.]

[Well, there goes her perfect track record.]

The chat was buzzing with jeers.

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Sierra glanced around before following the keeper into a nearby metal shed. There, tucked into a shadowy corner, she found Angel curled into a tight, fluffy ball, its distinctive ringed tail wrapped close around itself.

Light fell across the floor from the open door, and Angel shrank back slightly.

Sierra signaled for the keeper to wait, and then stepped inside quietly by herself.

She approached slowly and spoke softly, “Angel, it’s just me.”

Angel went still, and then lifted its head.

It stared at Sierra for a moment with startled eyes before dropping its gaze and turning away, pretending she

wasn’t there.

A fresh wave of sarcastic comments flooded the stream. People were declaring her whole animal-loving persona a complete failure and were eagerly waiting for things to fall apart.

On camera, however, Sierra appeared perfectly calm.

She had come to the show to stand up to Natalie and Shawn, but the truth was, any animal in this zoo was more important to her than they were.

Angel was clearly worse than it had been two weeks ago, and much thinner too.

Most animals like being touched, so Sierra gently reached out. But Angel only trembled harder as her hand drew near.

Sierra paused, her hand hanging in the air, and a frown formed on her face.

In just two weeks, Angel’s spirit had clearly broken down further.

Last time, it had at least let her quietly stroke its belly.

A cold suspicion crept into her mind about what Natalie might have done to it in her absence.

Sierra’s face drained of color, and the live chat immediately thought she was angry with Angel.

[Natalie was right. Sierra is all an act. First the victim, then the animal lover, and now look, she can’t even handle Angel ignoring her without getting mad. Imagine how she’ll treat it later.]

[Nat is definitely better.]

[Thank goodness, her true colors are finally showing.]

But a moment later, the viewers realized they had jumped to the wrong conclusion.

Sierra’s stern expression soon softened. She leaned in close to Angel and murmured gently, “Hey, sweet thing.

Look at me.”

Angel had already caught her scent. Now, at the sound of her voice, its ears flickered faintly.

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It slowly raised its head. When it saw Sierra, its large, round eyes widened, and it let out a soft, pleading

sound.

Then, to everyone’s surprise, Angel, which had been shivering just seconds ago, simply flopped onto its back right at her feet and presented its round, fuzzy belly.

The live chat was baffled. They had been waiting for Sierra to fail, not for the situation to turn against them.

When Sierra gently stroked Angel’s head again, its trembling ceased. A peaceful calm came over it, clear for

everyone to see.

Behind them, the keeper’s eyes filled with tears.

“Angel usually keeps to itself,” she said, her voice soft with emotion. “It hasn’t been eating these past few days. I thought…”

Her words trailed off, but the heartbreak in her red-rimmed eyes was plain. She cared for Angel deeply, and its decline had been hard to watch.

For the viewers, especially Natalie’s fans, her words carried a different meaning. They sounded like a quiet accusation against Natalie.

[Was she trying to say Natalie mistreated it?]

[That’s not fair. Natalie put in so much work to prepare for this show. How could she suggest that?]

[She doesn’t have to tear Natalie down to make Sierra look good. We might be a smaller fanbase, but we’re not going to just watch it happen.]

[The raccoon is such a turncoat.]

[Let’s dox the keeper already.]

A wave of online vitriol swept through the chat.

Sierra knew the moment the keeper finished speaking that Natalie’s fans would take it the wrong way and run

with it.

“Animals have always liked me,” she said quickly. “And I used to walk past the raccoon area sometimes. Angel probably just remembers me.”

The keeper didn’t quite get why Sierra was explaining this way.

But she suddenly thought of a recent staff meeting, where Thomas had made one thing very clear. If Sierra wanted to interact with an animal in any way, the staff was not to interfere.

They were to assist her in whatever she needed. And if they lacked the authority themselves, they were to immediately call a supervisor and ensure her request was fulfilled within three minutes.

As the keeper watched Sierra coax the reclusive Angel out to be petted in mere moments, her admiration for Sierra soared.

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That trust was why, even without fully understanding Sierra’s reasoning now, the keeper simply nodded in

agreement.

But during the break, she quickly grasped Sierra’s point. Within half an hour, a torrent of online abuse began flooding her phone.

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14:49 Sat, Jan 3