Whispers of the Beast Realm

Hug

Allmer looked as if he expected my reaction, a faint smirk playing on his lips. "Will you prefer to wear tanned furs instead?" he raised an eyebrow, teasingly. Memories of the furs from wolf castle crossed my mind, and despite their quality, the idea of wearing furs still made my stomach churn. "I'll just wear my old clothes," I replied hesitantly.

"You think they are in the condition to be worn?" Allmer replied flatly, stating the obvious. Well, I knew they weren't.

"Just think of this as some plasticky material and wear it. The sooner you toughen yourself against these things, the easier your life will be here," Allmer advised, exhausted. Despite the revelation about it being his snakeskin, the alternative was nonexistent. I reluctantly accepted the clothes. He handed me a spiky round object. "This is for brushing," he added. Well atleast now there was someone in this world to look after me a little.

Dressing myself, the clothes felt heavenly. The bottom resembled comfortable formal pants, and the top was loose, akin to a comfortable t-shirt. Excitedly, I approached Allmer, "Did you see it? It's fabulous!"

"Glad you liked it," he smiled gently. "I made them in the cave while you were asleep, thinking to give them to you after taking you to the city." Allmer's thoughtfulness struck a chord.

"Well then, let's go to the house the wolf was talking about," Allmer suggested, preparing to pick me up. I stepped back, feeling awkward. "No, I'll just walk instead, please," I said. It felt strange having Allmer carry me, even inside the city.

"As you wish then," he acquiesced, walking beside me. The house Ace showed us consisted of five stone slabs—no grandeur, but it met my modest expectations.

"Take care of her, pup, while I go and fetch the necessities," Allmer instructed Ace before leaving, perhaps to gather supplies.

"I'm sure you've realized he's suspicious," Ace spoke after Allmer left.

"Mhmm, I know," I replied. Allmer's mysteriousness was palpable, even to someone relatively clueless in this world.

"So why did you even agree to stay with him?" Ace protested.

"He may be hiding a few things, Ace, but he means well. Maybe someday Allmer will feel comfortable enough to share what he's hiding. Until then, I'll consider him my benefactor."

Later, Allmer returned with wooden buckets for water storage, soft leaves, and a few furs. We spent the rest of the day gathering water and getting fruits for dinner. Exhausted, I decided to contemplate everything the next day.

As the night set in, Ace left, leaving just Allmer and me. "Let's head in," Allmer spoke.

"Mm," we entered. Allmer lay down in his half-transformed form, his tail wrapping around him, and I stood in the doorway. He was a gentleman through and through.

"What? Not gonna sleep?" he asked.

"Nah, just going," I replied, settling down on my soft pile of leaves on the other side of the room. The world didn't feel as lonely anymore.

The next morning, I felt a bit stuffy. Trying to move, I found myself unable to. Opening my eyes, I saw a very handsome chest in front of me, and Allmer was holding me in his arms, still asleep. "Hey! Get off. Why are you being like this?" I exclaimed, feeling uncomfortable being hugged by a man. Allmer opened one of his red eyes, looked at me, and buried his head in my neck, taking a deep breath. "Mhmm, you smell delicious, little one," he murmured. I froze, unsure how to react to this unexpected closeness.

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