Her Beasts

Preparations

The next morning, when Iris awoke she was greeted with the sound of a system notification.

[System 316: It is time to plant crops! Food is essential for survival, host. Please accomplish the following: Purchase or collect one-hundred total seeds, cultivate farmland, and harvest one-hundred crops.]

[Time Limit: 45 Days]

[Reward: Host's Choice of Any One Modern Day Food Related Product]

[Penalty: Develop allergy to meat for 3 months]

Iris frowned, annoyed that this quest also had a penalty. The first three quests had only had rewards, but that no longer appeared to be the case. Iris sighed as she reassured herself that, at least, it was not a life threatening penalty. Iris was also happy that the quest seemed quite doable.

Basil carried in a light soup and tea to Iris's room followed by Ember and Caspian. Ember took his usual place by the door keeping watch. Caspian came over to brush Iris's hair after setting aside a bowl of soapy water for washing.

Iris took the bowl from Basil who pouted about not getting to feed her. He quite enjoyed doting on his favorite female and didn't like to miss out on a chance to do so. However, after Iris gave him a pointed look, he settled for sitting by her feet.

After eating her soup, Iris brought up the news.

"I received a new task this morning. I'm expected to create farmland, plant seeds, and grow them with forty-five days or I'll develop an allergy to meat for three months. The seeds have been provided, but the rest are up to me."

Caspian felt that this new penalty was not nearly as worrisome as the last one and was quite grateful. However, he'd still happily support Iris as she completed all the tasks assigned to her. Although, Caspian was very unsure about how to go about do anything regarding farming as his tribe had never done such a thing.

Basil was not very sure what an allergy was but could infer Iris would be unable to eat meat for some time. This was not cause for concern in itself since it was the rainy season, but the fact that the Beast Deity would directly punish his mate for not complying was unlike what he had ever heard before.

Basil was more familiar with farming since had lived in a city and had a natural desire to learn everything he could. However, from what Basil had heard, farming was a long and difficult process. It would often take all year and most of a tribe just to successfully grow a reasonable amount of crops. The fact that the time limit was a mere forty-five days sounded like his mate was set up to fail. Basil could only voice his concerns

"Isn't this an impossible ask? Crops take three seasons to grow and most of the tribe would have to pitch in."

Iris smiled happily as she replied

"I'm not worried about that. The seeds the Beast Deity supplied to me can be grown in a mere month so long as the growing conditions are sufficient. I previously received a book that detailed how to farm over the cold season and I've thoroughly read through it a few times now."

Basil was surprised to hear Iris had such a rare treasure as a book and that she could read. Basil found that it was still difficult to understand why things were the way they were, but could only trust Iris.

Ember just continued to stand guard quietly through everything. He did not care how strange the requests Iris were making were as long as she was safe. Besides, he was entirely unafraid of hard work and was happy to help Iris with whatever.

Caspian looked thoughtful as he asked

"Alright, we can start farming right away, but what do we need to do exactly?"

Iris smiled as she explained

"Well, we will need to start by preparing a large amount of flat land near the river. We will need to burn off any plants to help prevent weeds and then dig up the earth to loosen up the soil. After that, we will need to dig out shallow trenches in between the rows for planting so that water from the river can flow through for irrigation. Then, once all that is done, we will need to plant the seeds in the soil.

That would cover the initial preparations for the field, but further work would be required throughout the growing process. It rains a lot in the rainy season so we likely won't have to manually water the crops much, if at all. I'll have to teach you all how to weed as well as we can't have wild plants stealing nutrients from the actual crops. I don't want you to accidentally pull up the food we are growing either, though.

Let's see here, Ive got potato, carrot, onion, spinach, and sweet pea seeds to choose from. The peas will need some wooden supports stuck into the ground early on to support the vines they grow along, but the rest should be fine.

Another concern is wild animals eating the crops as they are growing. In my previous world we used fencing and scarecrows as basic measures, but there are also cases where shedded dog hair would be spread along smaller fields to scare off wild animals.

After that, we just need to wait until the crops are fully grown and ready to be harvested. Then we will have to carefully harvest them and store them so they can last as long as possible.

The potatoes and onions will store very easily as long as they are in a dark cool place. The sweet peas can be dried and then reconstituted with water later. Spinach is better fresh, but can technically be dried and crushed into a powder form to use as a seasoning. The carrots, as I mentioned last night to Basil, are best fresh but can be refrigerated so they last longer. I suppose, if they were sliced thin they could also be dried and reconstituted with water like the peas, though."

All of Iris's males listened intently as she rambled on. They found it quite cute how she looked when she was talking about something she knew a lot about. Caspian was the first to speak as he suggested

"While we can certainly use hair to scare off wild animals, there are other methods. Beastmen usually rub themselves against things and other things to mark their territory. I'm not sure what a scarecrow or fence is, but I'm happy to help you make those as well."

Iris nodded, agreeing to his suggestion. Iris wasn't stupid enough to not realize Caspian was suggesting urinating to mark his territory like a dog does. Iris just wanted to play dumb while reaping the benefits of using what is known to work. At least Caspian had never pissed in their house as far as Iris was aware.....

Ember was eager to show off as he offered

"Since there is a forest surrounding the river closest to the tribe, I can scout out an appropriate location with you. Since flying is even faster than running in a normal beast form, It'd be the fastest way. After that, I can lead the other two over."

Iris nodded, offering Ember a rare smile. He felt as his heartbeat began to race as he reveled in having Iris's affections. Ember was glad to be able to prove himself useful.

Basil didn't really have much to say on the matter. He was extremely excited to learn more about farming Iris's way and about the new foods they'd be growing. Basil was even eager to learn about how to preserve the foods later in the season and how to cook with it after that.

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