Beastly

Chapter 2

A/N: Still just crack being treated semi-seriously~
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The panther stared at her in wonder, its' eyes wide in awe. He shifted smoothly into a tall, incredibly built man with beautifully dark pigmented skin lined with several large battle-scars. His black hair falling like silk to the just below his neck, parts braided and styled away from his eyes. Again, like nearly all the males in this world, he was utterly handsome – though his skin was darker than any she had seen before in the cities.

He practically towered over her, looking strong and unyielding. If it wasn't for the sheer awe in his eyes, Hariel would be scared witless finally coming face to face with a beastman in the wild – or rather a "feral" if what she heard whispered about was correct.

"You are unmarked- why are you alone out here?" Stars, even his voice was heavenly. Deep and heavy that practically curled her toes and all he asked was a simple question.

Hariel steadied her racing heart and hardened her stance. She had already thought of a "plausible" backstory to give once she had reached the City of Beasts. Having decided to portray herself as an escapee from the "City of Flames", a place shrouded in mystery and horror-stories. From what she had been able to discern, it was a place where deep questions wouldn't be asked because it was too horrible to recall.

"I'm just trying to get to the City of Beasts." Hariel replied honestly but firm.

The panther beastman stared at her for a long moment before nodding to himself, "It is not safe for you to be alone. I can protect you." His smile was disarming, but she refused to let her guard down over a pretty face.

"I can get there on my own."

His smile became more charming and had her faltering for the briefest of moments, "You should not have to." He said simply, "And you will hurt your feet. Females are not as strong as males."

A rush of indignation flowed through her at the immediate disregard of her capabilities. Yes, women in this world were sheltered, but it didn't mean they were defenseless or weak. She might have never learned proper self-defense like Krav Maga or Jiujutsu, but she could absolutely break a nose and kick them where it would really hurt. Not to mention she had survived just fine on her own for over four months! While dodging all the regular predatory animals and the nosey hunting party or lone male too!

When he reached out to grasp her arms Hariel swatted them away roughly, disgust plainly seen in the sneer on her face.

"No." she said firmly, "I can get there on my own."

She knew there was no way that her rough denial in any way physically harmed him, but he looked as though she had struck him across the face. With his expression, the small part of her that feared him being a true "feral" she had heard whispered about left in a small breath. No way a "feral" would be nearly as polite as this panther was being to her, or as charming. She expected there was some exaggeration in what was said about "feral" beastmen, but the idea they would happily kidnap a woman and use her was regarded as truth.

The panther blinked his hurt away and cocked his head to the side, the small fluffy ears atop his head twitching unsurely.

"I can care for you," he said earnestly, "Hunt all your favorite meats, shower you in emeralds, anything you want I can provide, and I will love you with all my being."

If this were a man of the 21st century, Hariel might have swooned, because honestly that sounded just lovely. But this wasn't her world and she wasn't about to say "Yes! Take me I'm yours!" to a complete stranger of whom she had met in the middle of nowhere. She was not a Disney Princess, thank you very much.