𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙊𝙛 𝘼 𝘽𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙮

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 13

Two weeks, or maybe even more since there didn't seem to exist a calendar, passed just like that... without leveling a single time.

Fights happened. Lot's of them. Either being between me and Eudora or Parker versus Beryl. Harvey tried to keep them apart from each other but always failed miserably. Seeing as Beryl was having the top hand almost every single time, fueled Parker even more to prove his worth, as he stated himself.

During those days Mariette attempted to try different seasoning combinations with roasted meat. Not all of them succeeded but at least they were edible. Her favourite one must have been the honey glazed stake, made with the honey that Parker collected on day two which she never ended up using, or roasted meat with garlic-chilli seasonings.

There was now a sudden interest in the culinary arts in the tribe. The beastman used their imaginations and created many different kinds of… unknown substances. Let's not talk about that. I found some tree leaves outside our house, turned it into a gooey state, and used it to grill some dark green colored meat, which turned out so bitter it was a torture to swallow. Even Beryl and Parker who were brave enough to try it ended throwing up, well Parker because my wolf boy was too nervous and felt like he was disrespecting me if he spat it out. Harvey being the smartest of the trio didn't even touch it.

❝I'm heading out to look for any kind of fruits. Eating meat every day is making me heaty.❞ Mariette said particularly to no one. Harvey was checking up on a pregnant female while the other two were out hunting. Usually Parker was the one in charge of the hunting but since today Harvey was out, he didn't want to leave the red mutt alone with his female.

Mariette left the house and merely went to the lake outside the village by herself. She recalled seeing quite a lot of edible moss there.

As the sun only shone into the valley at noon, the temperature was much lower than outside. As she walked out of the valley, she started feeling extremely hot, so she quickly walked towards the trees where she could seek shade.

To her surprise, in the cooler areas, the moss was more luxuriant. She continued looking but ccidentally she lost her footing and fell into a black cave.

It was clearly a hot season out there, yet in here it was wet and cold like it was deep autumn, giving her bare and exposed skin goosebumps.

Raising her head, she saw speckles of sunlight shining in through the vines outside.

This place underneath was vast, and the only entrance was that hole of 2m of diameter from up there and plenty of water had seeped in, and the water level was somewhere in the upper half of her calves.

She could risk climbing right away but she didn't wish to dirt her only piece of cloth. She wanted to find something to climb up with, so she looked everywhere. Vaguely seeing a rock, she walked over to it.

The accumulated water made whooshing sounds and resounded throughout the nearly completely enclosed cave as she moved about.

Thankfully that was indeed a rock. As she was about to lift it away, she noticed something lying on top of it.

Reaching out to feel it, the fabric felt cold and soft to the touch, like silk. The surface was uneven and there were white snake like scale prints on it.

❝I wouldn't be surprised if this belonged to a beastman but you know what they say, finders keepers.❞

With great difficulty, she finally managed to crawl out of the cave, but nonetheless she ended up with mud all over her body.

When she got back to Parker's wooden house, she saw both Parker and Beryl on their beast forms laying on their backs as if they were sunbathing. The leopard purred once it caught sight of her, his eyes lit up instantly and he got up on his feet.

❝Look what I found.❞

Beryl's eyes swept over that fabric, then as if he suddenly discovered something. His pupils visibly shrunk and he grew quiet as his ears fell flat on his head.

Parker transformed back into human form and slapped away the fabric from Mariette's hands.

❝Where did you get this from?❞ Grabbing her hands, Parker asked anxiously,

❝By the lake. What's wrong?❞ Mariette asked nervously. Seeing Parker so anxious, it must be something very dangerous. Maybe the skin belonged to a colossal beast, as Eve had told her, and not to a snake.

❝How is it possible…Another feral beast has come to our tribe.❞ Parker's brows knitted together tightly as he murmured softly.

A sense of relief washed over her. Thank gods it wasn't a colossal.

❝This must be the skin a snake beastman sheds when he comes of age. They use this to please their mates, so they will try to shed as completely as possible.❞ The younger beastman replied, nervously scratching his left cheek with his sharp nails.

❝Seems like this snake beastman's skin-shedding technique isn't too bad. What a pity.❞ Parker then kicked the white snakeskin on the ground and sneered after taking a glance at it.

❝Why is it a pity?❞

❝It's a pity because it landed in my hands.❞ There was a murderous look in Parker's eyes as he declared wilfully, ❝I'm going to burn it. Serves him right for seducing my female!❞

❝I-i will bring firewood from the hut and boil some water to prepare a bath!❞ Beryl whispered as he ran inside the house. It wasn’t enough if they just burned the skin, as a feral himself he knew that if the female  had that feral's scent on her body, it wouldn’t leave her alone till they mated.

Mariette who was used to being opportunistic, didn't share the same barbaric thinking as him. She felt it was inappropriate to destroy such a beautiful piece of fabric. Moreover, it was something that could be made into a fine dress. How could they just burn it?

❝No way! I would rather return it.❞ Not that she would. She will just offer some of her services in hopes that it would let her keep it.

❝Hmph! He deserves death! Not only am I going to burn his snakeskin, but I'm also going to gather the tribe to kill him.❞ Parker carried a pile of firewood and walked out to start a fire outside.

By the time Parker started the fire and looked up, Mariette had disappeared with the snakeskin.

❝This naive female! Didn't I tell her that feral beasts are wicked!❞ He was both furious and anxious. Parker hurriedly ran out of the village, alerting Beryl as well before leaving.

Carrying the snakeskin, Mariette had just gotten to the entrance of the valley when she halted in her footsteps.

A naked young man stood outside the village. He was of a tall frame, his skin was extremely fair, reminding one of the vampires one read in Western folklore. His hair was of a Vermillion red and cascaded over his shoulders like a waterfall all the way down to his butt.

He was handsome in a soft and gentle way. Combined with his emotionless green eyes that were devoid of desires, it made one feel a piercing coldness.

Right now, this pair of dark green eyes was staring fixedly at her.