Ethernal Bounds: Love in the Beastmen's Domain

Chapter 2 I Want To Go Home

The girl turned to gaze back at the cave's entrance, only to find it had vanished, leaving her standing in this enchanted glade.
Her eyes wandered, and they caught a glimpse of the cave, now situated on the opposite side of a crystalline lake that mirrored the iridescent colors of the flora. A sense of wonder and determination filled her, and without hesitation, she jumped inside the water.

Reaching the water's edge, the girl took a deep breath and waded into the icy lake. The cold water sent shivers through her, but she pressed forward. The water deepened as she moved farther from the shore.
Her naked body felt invigorated by the cold water, and her long golden colored hair scattered on the water surface. Above, birds cheerfully flapped their wings, contributing to the harmonious melody of nature and creating a serene atmosphere.

Finally reaching the opposite shore, she emerged from the water, feeling both invigorated and refreshed. She stood on the shore, gazing back at the lake and walked to the cave.
Nervously stepping into its depths, she glanced around, spotting two glowing red eyes fixed on her from the shadows. Unease settled in as the luminous red eyes approached, revealing a handsome, muscular man with waist-length, glittering white hair, smooth flawless skin, and an unbelievably attractive face.

He smelled a sweet scent after waking up and followed it with great interest, only to find out, that the scent belonged to a small, delicate female.
His presence brought a strange fascination and an odd sense of calm. The man smiled and stopped before her, but no words escaped his lips. Snapping out of her trance, panic set in, and she fled the cave to escape the mysterious man and his threatening red eyes.

Outside, she took a deep breath and tried to calm herself, her body trembling with a mix of sweat and fear. The enchanting forest surrounded her as she ran deeper, hearing a low growl behind her. Turning slowly and cautiously, she noticed behind a big tree a dark shadow approaching. After some seconds collecting, she thought, "Now a Bear, I should have stayed inside that god-damn cave!" The bear's dark brown eyes seemed surprised and held a yearning gaze, instilling naked fear in her as it approached even more slowly and cautiously. Her scream echoed through the forest, and the bear showed a shocked expression, stopped and sniffed curiously in her direction.

The girl tried to slowly crawl away from the bear when she suddenly noticed that a huge white snake appeared behind him, aggressively slithering toward the bear. Tears started flowing down her rosy, puffy cheeks. "Nice, so now I can choose which one will eat me. It's getting better and better!" she thought. The bear reacted alarmed and let out a loud, deep roar. The scene was developing into a dangerous conflict between the two wild animals. Closing her eyes and covering her ears, the girl hoped the dream would just end. "Why do I have such a frightening dream? I haven't watched any horror movies lately." As she noticed that everything around her had quieted down and the expected pain didn't set in, she slowly opened her eyes. Both the bear and snake had vanished. The forest was calm, and the threatening scene seemed to have dissolved into the air. As she relaxed and looked around, she lost all strength, collapsing onto the soft, watery moss at her feet.