Her Beasts

Accusations & Regret

Iris rode on Caspian's back the entire way home while Basil elegantly chased behind them. Iris quite liked Basil's fox form as she felt he was not only cute but had a sort of regalness and elegance that other beastmen did not.

Ember flew overhead, keeping a careful watch for threats. His Phoenix form was very large and would have been large enough for Iris to easily be carried on his back. Only, Iris was still angry at Ember for his actions earlier that day.

By the time they made it back to the Arctic Wolf Tribe, the sun was already setting. Since they hadn't left at first light, the half-day trip between Blue Lake City and the Arctic Wolf Tribe had resulted in a later arrival time than usual.

Ember felt worried Iris needed food and wished he could immediately go hunting. However, it would prove difficult to make his way to their home, after catching prey, if he did not know the way. Thus, when he saw Iris climb off of Caspian's back so he could transform, Ember flew down to join the group.

Iris handed out animal hide skirts to all three of her males. Caspian gave a grateful smile as he quietly accepted his. Basil rubbed his tail along Iris's lower legs and leaned in to steal a kiss before taking his. Ember just looked defeated and remained quiet, hoping to not further provoke Iris.

Once they were all changed, Caspian scooped up Iris to carry her up the mountainside. Basil cheerfully followed, eager to see what his new home would look like. Ember wasn't bothered since he figured most cave homes were all the same and it would be business as usual for him.

Iris was happy to be going home. Despite her usual enjoyment of socializing with others and exploring, this trip had been quite exhausting. Iris had always thought that holidays like Christmas or Easter were tiring since there was so much cooking and festivities involved. However, the unpleasant and long process of the beauty pageant was clearly far worse.

Once at the cave entrance, Iris was met with the familiar faces of tribe leader James and his daughter Ivy. Ember immediately went on guard while Basil observed the situation cautiously. Caspian decided to keep Iris in his arms as he greeted the tribe leader.

"Good evening, tribe leader James. How can we help you?"

James gulped nervously as he took in the strength of Iris's new mates. He had heard from his daughter Ivy that she had been mercilessly attacked by Iris and her new mates, but he had no idea that she had mated with a level-five flying beast.

James was only a level three non-elemental beast and already was at his limit when dealing with Caspian. There was no way James would stand a chance against three powerful beasts stronger than him by such leaps and bounds. Still, he could not just stand for another female bullying his daughter.

"I heard what happened yesterday from Ivy. You know I can't allow this to stand. You can't attack other members of our tribe, especially a female and expect to just get away with it."

Basil was quick to present himself as he decided to explain things more clearly. Basil straightened up, tucking his beast-like appearance away as he put on his professional witch doctor persona.

"Oh, so I assume that means you plan to do something to compensate us for your daughter Ivy attacking our mate Iris? We did, after all, only protect our mate when your daughter tried to send her mates after ours.

We didn't even lay a hand on your daughter, only her mates and only enough to subdue them. The beast king of Blue Lake City already looked into this matter so you can ask him if you don't believe me."

James' eyes lit up as he realized he may have dug himself into a hole. Ivy had not told the story as he was hearing it now, but, if the beast king had already sorted the matter, things were already out of his hands. Still, James didn't even know who these new males were and could only ask

"Who are you exactly that you have the right to speak for the beast king?"

Basil continued to hold his head up high as he replied

"I was the witch doctor for the city up until today when I left with Iris to join your tribe. As a witch doctor, you must realize the responsibilities I must uphold in regards to taking care of any female who enters the city and reporting to the king."

James shrank back in horror as he realized who he had been trying to accuse. James could only hope to backtrack to buy himself time while he figured things out for himself.

"Yes, you must be quite exhausted after traveling so far. I'll let you be on your way now. Don't worry, I will see to sorting things out."

Ember continued to glare at the pair of father and daughter as he followed the others into the cave system. Ember didn't know what their problem was, but he was unwilling to stand by and let anyone harm Iris. He would not let his guard down easily in the future so long as he continued to live amongst the enemies of his mate.

When Caspian arrived at their home, he finally let Iris stand on her own two feet. Iris happily went in and found a comfortable spot to sit on the couch. Caspian went to check their home, checking everything was as they had left it. After the incident with Ivy stealing from them during the cold season, Caspian did not trust her not to repeat such actions.

Basil was quite surprised by the interior of their home. The more he walked around, the more he felt it was strange. There were many pieces of furniture and rooms that he had never even heard of before, much less seen.

Ember was also quite surprised to see the cave was much larger and more furnished than he expected. However, Ember was still not inclined to check every room as he could always see more later. Instead, he went out to hunt after kissing Iris on the head and gently saying

"Don't run around while I'm gone. I'll be back soon with prey."

Iris nodded as she had no plans to leave the house today anyway. Iris was not eager to put her own life in unnecessary danger and she was quite comfortable at home.

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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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