Lost In A Beastworld Rewritten

Ch 12

The tall pines of the forest rushed past Brook as he waved his way through the lush needled canopy that sheltered the forest floor. Below him the colonies residents went about their lives with content. Families strode along the beaten dirt paths with sandal covered feet while stalls of different resources could be seen being sold outside of homes. Different smoke beams rose from below as the traffic in the sky started to become more busy. With the seed season officially arriving many where excited for the bounty of fruit to come. Talk of the annual harvest festival whispered throughout the population which was more than exciting for single beastmen.

Brook was no different as a buzz drummed in his heart at the thought of Avery. Though she was different than the other females as she was not only an outsider but had just come of age. Starkly different to the more mature females that have lost their mates to illness and the will of the gods. She was also quiet timid, a shock from the stories he's been told about the outside world and their females. His focused was pulled back to the task at hand with a swift shaking of his head.

Finding gifts that would impress Avery, that was his mission for today. The meat he gifted her before didn't count as a courting gift. It was just an order he was forced to carry out, despite Brook's own intentions. Today he was going to correct that and give something that he put thought into, something to help him stand out from the competition.

But what should he give her?

Food is a bit risky, still not knowing her taste preferences it's best not to leave too much room for failure. Even if she likes fruit she might not like the same fruits as the females in the colony.

What about furs? They are usually pretty great gifts and one could never have too many. Problem on that was color and pelt preference. What if the fur was too short? Or the pattern was barely noticable? No again it was too risky.

Then what else?

Brook brooded over his options for a while. Then it hit him, tools. Avery described strange pots and things called 'utensils'. Maybe he could do something with that.

And that he did. Carving was Brooks forte, whether it be stone or wood Brook was confident in his ability to make these strange tools. First was a simple sanded set of spoons and forks made of pine wood. Next he crafted smaller and more refined knives, the pine handle slightly curved as the smaller sized bone blades where sharpened to a point. He finally stopped at the item she described as a pan, a slightly flattened stone pot with a handle attached to it. Brook smiles at his handiwork, unaware of someone else watching with great interest.

Flint scoffed at his brothers antics, but not unbelieving in what he was observing.

"That conniving dragon!" He cursed as he but at his nails in thought. "If he wants to play dirty then fine, I can play that way to."

Flint flew off in a huff as he mulled over his own gift ideas. His eyes darted wildly about the bussling colony below. His eyes catching few obscured items; furs, woven baskets, bone needles, fruits, and flowers. He was mesmerized by each one and a wise idea came to mind. Instead of wasting his trade items in the market, he could simply create a basket of all the things he had personally collected. Swiftly the young bat made his way into his family's kin tree and to his hoard. As Flint crafted a delicate basket to hold all the gifts together he didn't notice someone walking into his room unannounced.

"Flint I was making a new salve an needed some more rosemary-"

The shy brother looked around the chaotic state of the room before a deranged looking beast made eye contact with him. A shiver ran up his spine as Flint glared at his intrusion and proceeded to hiss like a wild animal. Flint's body was ridged as he curled around the sloppily put together gift protectively. Moss on the other hand furrowed his brows as he could only sigh at his brothers antics.