Her Beasts

Quest Complete

After Iris had her fill, there was still a large amount of boar meat left. Caspian worried that the little female wasn't eating enough but after lots of reassurance, he finished the rest himself.

Soon it was time to sleep for the night. As there was no bed yet they could only lay on a few animal hides that were spread out on the floor.

As Iris lay in Caspian's arms that night, he enjoyed the feel of her small soft body pressed against his. He felt his body begin to heat up as he breathed in her pleasant feminine scent.

Feeling Caspian's stiff rod poking her from behind Iris felt her face heat up in embarrassment. She'd had a boyfriend or two before this but the intimacy of sleeping together at night was still quite new. While she knew they'd be mates sooner or later, she wanted to take things slow. As such, she pretended not to notice Caspian's discomfort and they soon fell asleep.

The next morning, Iris awoke to find Caspian coming back from a hunt. Several pieces of prey were piled up in the main room ready to be prepared. Seeing Iris was awake, Caspian gave her a heartwarming smile before pulling out a few fruits.

"I found these red fruits for you while hunting. I hear many of the females like them."

Iris gratefully accepted the fruits. They were small and round berry-like fruits. As they were not familiar to Iris, she wanted to learn about them. Iris pulled out the "Ancient Flora & Fauna" animal hides book and eventually found an entry on bearberries.

The leaves could be used for teas and the berries are comparable to cranberries. They are commonly ready late in the year and enjoy colder climates. That certainly made sense since this was an Arctic Wolf Tribe living on a cold mountain range. Plus, it's nearly the cold season.

Caspian looked up from the prey he was skinning and noticed the book in the female's hands. He wasn't sure what the female was doing with it or where she got it from but was concerned for her safety. It seemed like his little female had secrets, and he began to worry if he would be capable of protecting her.

"Are you able to read that? Where did you get it from?"

Iris flinched, kicking herself for not being smarter about hiding it. She was nervous about answering the question truthfully but didn't feel that lying would help at this point.

"Yes, I can read and write. This book is mine, I didn't get it from anywhere."

Caspian didn't want to force the female to share her secrets and scare her away. He didn't press the issue, but he still worried for her safety.

"Okay, just promise me you won't show this to anyone else. Only those from the temples and important people from beast cities can read and books like this are very rare. I don't want you getting yourself hurt."

Iris sighed in relief that she wasn't in trouble this time and swore she'd be more careful in the future.

"Can you bring me more of these fruits and some of the leaves from this plant later? It would be good to stock up and dry some fruits and herbs for the winter alongside the meat."

Caspian smiled indulgently at the little female and nodded in agreement. While Caspian was skinning and cleaning the prey, Iris took the opportunity to ask questions about the standard preparation method for preserving the meat.

Caspian described how the beasts would cut the meat into smaller pieces and then hang the meat to dry in the sun. They would then store them in their caves for the winter.

This method concerned Iris as, while effective, the method was not as safe as other methods. Using salt to cure the meat, smoking the meat, or even a combination of the three would yield much better results.