Her Beasts

Hide N Seek

After nearly a month of sewing and weaving every day, Iris began to grow bored. Iris knew that there was very little else she could do in the beast world for entertainment during the colder months. She couldn't just go out in the snow and risk catching a cold, nor would Caspian allow it. She also couldn't watch television, read books, or play video games.

Of course, there were the two animal skin books Iris guarded carefully. However, Iris had already carefully read the books on farming and ancient plants numerous times by now. She needed something new to do for entertainment.

"I'm bored, isn't there anything at all we could do?"

Caspian looked carefully at his mate who sat bundled up on the couch next to him. They had been weaving grass mats most of that morning quietly side by side. Caspian was unsure what to say to this unexpected question. After thinking it over, Caspian answered in a completely serious tone.

"We could mate."

Iris blinked repeatedly as she looked at Caspian. Upon deciding he was serious due to his rather serious expression, she replied,

"While I'm sure you'd enjoy that, that's not what I meant. I meant more like a game we could play or an activity we could do."

Caspian gave a flirty smile as he gently took Iris's hand in his. He gently kissed the top of her hand as he replied.

"Of course I enjoy mating with you. I hope you enjoy yourself as well."

Iris blushed as she looked away embarrassedly. She did not want to talk about sex just then, though, and Caspian could tell. Thus, he decided to answer the other half of her question.

"I don't really know what a game is but beastmen don't do much besides fighting and mating. Females socialize sometimes, but it'll be a few days yet before Holly comes over."

Iris was surprised that beastmen didn't even understand the concept of games. She had often played simplistic games like tag or hide-and-seek as a child. There were even board games to play with her family growing up.

Iris was unsure of how to explain what games were, but surely there was some way they could recreate the games Iris grew up with?

"Alright, well, I'm unsure how to explain what a game is besides a fun activity. Each game is a little different, but we could try playing some more simplistic ones. Why don't we start with hide and seek?"

Caspian was unsure what the hide-and-seek game was, but he knew what the words hide-and-seek meant. Thus, when Iris explained the rules of the game, he easily caught on.

"Alright, we can do that, but you can't leave the house. A beast's senses are pretty strong too and I worry I might find you too easily. In order to make it more fair, I'll cover my ears while you hide and look for you with my eyes closed. You can just play normally since your senses seem a lot duller."

Iris felt shame at not being able to match up to Caspian's capabilities, but was happy he was so honest about his advantages. She quickly agreed to his requests as she asked,

"Alright, do you want to hide first or look for me?"

Caspian smiled at how happy Iris looked and decided to be magnanimous as he chose to let her hide first. Besides, it would be fun to give into his predator instincts as he searched for her.

Iris happily went off to hide while Caspian closed his eyes and covered his ears. She tried to be as quiet as possible as she snuck around the house looking for a good hiding spot. She had always been quite good at hide and seek growing up and she was excited to play with Caspian.

With him closing his eyes, it almost felt too easy to Iris. She carefully snuck into the banquet room and crawled under the table, tucking her knees up to her stomach and then waited with bated breath.

Caspian waited for a short while until he felt it had been long enough. As he was unable to count very well, he could only base it on how long he felt was right. When he was ready, he carefully stood up and uncovered his ears. He carefully walked around their home listening for Iris's heartbeat.

Sadly for Iris, she was found in less than a minute. Her breathing had given her away very quickly and it was only due to having to stumble around with his eyes closed that it took Caspian so long to find her.

Iris was disappointed by how little struggle Caspian had in finding her. Still, wanting to be a good sport, she went to take her turn counting while Caspian hid. Iris counted to thirty before saying,

"Ready or not, here I come!"

Iris walked around the entire house, slowly checking every nook and cranny. Caspian wasn't hiding under the table. He wasn't hiding behind any counters. He wasn't in the bedroom. Perhaps he was hiding in the cellar?

Iris carefully climbed down the ladder to the cellar and poked her head around the room, thoroughly searching. When she didn't find him anywhere, she did a second sweep around the house and then a third. However, she could not find Caspian anywhere. Deciding to give up she said

"Come out Caspian, I can't find you."

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Caspian fell out of the sky in the middle of the main room. Iris's eyes grew big as she looked upwards and then back down at Caspian.

"Where did you come from?"

Iris asked, astonished. Caspian merely pointed up in answer. Iris looked back up in confusion before tentatively asking

"From the ceiling?"

Caspian nodded in response.

"Yep. Good thing you gave up too, I was beginning to worry I wouldn't be able to hold on much longer."

Iris quickly felt that playing hide and seek with Caspian was simply too unfair. Even with his eyes closed he found her quickly, and no matter how many rounds they played, Iris could never find Caspian.

Caspian would hold his breath when she entered the room and not make a single sound. He also always found strange and unique ways of hiding that made Iris's attempts pale in comparison. Thus, she could only give up.

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Beasts: GeminiDragon, Kelly, Ann, Shaunna H., Jenn L., Reyanne B., Chong Y., Care, Rochelle N., Argon, Courtney H., Parul N., Shawna B., Dreamer, Izzzy B., Cindy S.

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