Whispers of the Beast Realm

Truce

**Just a picture of Iker I randomly made. I do not own this image and it was made using Pixai.
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As I made my way back to the house, the unsettling feeling from my conversation with the females lingered. They seemed to be too prejudiced against ferals, and it left me feeling uneasy. I could understand that they might have had bad experiences, but was every feral truly as violent and bad as they portrayed? I couldn't help but wonder.

I decided that I would ask Allmer about it....later, after apologizing. After all, since meeting him, it was difficult for me to imagine that everyone from his "feral race" could be cruel.

Though I somehow felt that the females were deliberately trying to brainwash me. Despite my insistence that Allmer was not like they described, they continued to speak ill of him, and it was making me angry. Maybe I was just overthinking, they were probably worried for me. My mind was a mess.

As I walked, still feeling down about how my day had turned out, I suddenly heard a voice call out to me. "Hey!" It was Felix, leaning against a tree trunk as if he had been waiting for me.

As he approached, I turned to face him. He extended his hand, and I noticed it was holding a heavy pouch. Raising an eyebrow in surprise, I accepted it, curious about its contents. The pouch felt substantial in my hand, and the weight of it hinted at something inside.

He spoke in a low voice, "I know this won't make up for it, but still, know I'm deeply apologetic. Also, sorry for being so... rude. It's just, knowing you willingly took a feral mate and brought him to our city kinda irked me, because of my history with the ferals," he paused, "let's say it's bad blood. So just know that I never meant to harm you in any way because of that."

He spoke quickly, his eyes boring into mine with sharp intensity. As soon as he finished, he nodded, a brief flicker of emotion crossing his face before he turned and walked away.

"Huh?... Hey!" I shouted after him as he continued walking. He just said all that and left...? "I don't need this!" But he just waved his arm in the air, a dismissive gesture that seemed to say he didn't care about my protests, and didn't stop walking. I was left there, stunned, only to notice that the backside of his skirt looked a bit short and did resemble the cloth Iker wrapped around my hand. It was a strange detail.

I stood there for a moment, staring at the pouch in my hand. It was made of a soft leather, and the craftsmanship was evident in the intricate stitching and the way the seams were neatly finished. It was a beautiful piece, and I couldn't help but admire it, despite the circumstances under which it was given to me.

As I turned the pouch over in my hands, I opened it and peered inside. The pouch was filled with small, glittering emeralds, each one catching the light and sparkling in the dimming evening sun. I was taken aback by the sheer number of them, and I couldn't help but wonder why Felix felt the need to apologise so much, it didn't match his behaviour until now.

I looked up again, but he was already gone from sight. I shook my head, still trying to process what had just happened. Felix's sudden appearance and the gift of the pouch of emeralds had left me feeling confused and unsettled. It was a strange feeling, to be given something so valuable by someone who had just been so hostile.

"He really needs to work on his social skills," a voice said from above. I looked up to see Iker casually sitting on a large branch of the tree, one leg stretched out and the other hanging down. He was looking down at me with a one-sided smile on his face.

I couldn't help but give a side eye at his comment. "Yeah, too much improvement needed there" I replied, shaking my head. "But I appreciate him apologising, even in his own way."

Iker nodded, still looking at the direction Felix disappeared to. Maybe he can still see him, eagle's do have super sharp vision.
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**Really sorry everyone!!! My college was super hectic these past many weeks. Had continuous exams and when I thought I was finally free (this weekend), I got selected for the second round in a contest. So my whole weekend went in that.
I really appreciate everyone who had checked up on me asking if everything was alright and news about the update. I'm also thankful to everyone who's still reading. Trust me, I have the next 40 chapters full mapped out, but have to write the chapters in detail, so it takes a lot of time ><