With permission to do only half the things he was hoping for, Caspian quickly got to work. He headed from house to house asking everyone, even the ones he only remotely knew, about helping him gather food and promising rewards. Even if they turned him down, he still made sure to inform them about the weekly communal dinner and requested they share the news.
After only getting a few single males to agree to his request for help gathering food, he headed home. Caspian was relieved to find Iris still resting on the couch when he returned. He quickly explained the results of their discussion and Iris pursed her lips, feeling frustrated.
"It doesn't sound like tribe leader James cares about his people. He isn't a very good leader."
Caspian couldn't say anything as he couldn't disagree nor could he do anything about the matter. The position was usually passed down to the strongest son in the family as it usually was. While there was the possibility of challenging the leader and killing the old one for the position, it was rare that the tribe would listen to a leader who took over in such a way. Only in rare instances where the old leader was seen as especially cruel and caused regular harm to the tribe would it even be considered. Sadly, James was merely too indifferent and not enough of a nuisance to warrant such measures.
"We should get you cleaned up before we bring you out. Despite being on the last days of your period, the smell is still too strong and is bound to excite the single males helping us. We'll have to put you in clean clothes and have you stick especially close to me. Probably have you keep your hood up too."
The concern seemed to be seeping from every pore as Caspian explained. Iris could tell he was unhappy about the idea of even bringing her. However, it was far more likely that she'd recognize new food sources than for him to.
Iris quickly changed into one of her newest creations she had made this week. It was a super soft and poofy red fox dress with half-length sleeves. It only came down to just below her knees, but, thanks to her knee-length boots, she'd still be warm. Putting her dimensional space animal skin bag around her waist and tying on her cape, Iris felt ready for their adventure.
Caspian smiled down at her lovingly before quickly scooping her up into his arms. He pulled her hood up to cover her head, just low enough to make it harder for her face to be easily seen. Satisfied, he walked out of the house and to the mountain entrance where three male beasts awaited them. Caspian spoke up to introduce the lot.
"This is my mate Iris. These three are Daniel, Henry, and Quentin. They've all agreed to help us gather any plants we find today in exchange for a few pieces of prey each."
Since they were male beastmen without mates and were all Arctic wolves, they had no desire to eat plants. They did, however, want to meet the newest female to join their tribe. However, had they said this, they'd have been beaten to a pulp by Caspian. As such, they could only offer the excuse of taking some prey in exchange for their help.
Iris looked over the three beast men Caspian had introduced. They all looked less muscular and smaller in build than Caspian. Otherwise, they looked quite similar. They all had white hair, as it was a common trait for Arctic wolves, and their eye colors were all either a shade of blue or brown. Only one appeared to have a celestial beast tattoo, which was on his left arm. Quentin was a one-starred beast, but unlike Caspian's blue tattoo, Quentin's was a white color indicating he did not have any elemental powers.
It was very strange for Iris to see just how similar to one another a tribe could look. Just among this group, there were two others with white hair and blue eyes like Caspian. Only Quentin had brown eyes. It was too disturbing for Iris and she had to look away from the three beast men.
"Alright, let's go. We're going to head to the riverside first to collect cattails and long grass. From there we will search the forest for trees that produce acorns and see what else we can find from there."
Caspian's voice broke the awkward silence that had formed between the five. As Caspian had to carry Iris, the group did not transform into beast form. The group could only run in human form as they followed Caspian's lead.
Once at the riverside, they quickly found cattails. While they certainly did not grow everywhere along the riverbank, they were quite abundant in number. Iris pulled out some vines and beast skins from her bag as she explained.
"It's best if you dig up the roots of the cattails and harvest them whole, as the entire plant is edible. You'll want to wash the dirt off and then place them in the beast skins. Careful or the top part as the pollen will easily break off. We need to save as much of it as possible for food."
The three mateless beastmen were surprised by the sweet melodious sound of Iris's voice. While they could not clearly see her, they felt that she must be quite a beauty to sound so lovely. Wanting to impress her, they immediately got to work, harvesting the cattails. They were hoping to impress her with each competing to gather the most cattails with the best quality.
Caspian brought Iris a small distance away and sat her on the ground to rest against a tree. He was hoping to let her rest and watch while he harvested the long grass for her. However, Iris had other plans. She pulled a bone knife out of her bag and joined in on collecting the longer portions of grass around them.
Caspian could only sigh in his heart at how his mate never let him do all of the work. If she wanted to join in, no amount of trying to convince her otherwise would work. He could only be happy that she was obedient enough to stay close by his side so that he would not have to worry over her safety.
After several hours of collecting cattails, the three beast men helping them appeared to have nearly a fifty-pound bag each. Caspian and Iris had not slacked off either and easily had six large bags of tall grass each as well. This would all have to be carried back in batches to their cave before they could continue their expedition.
Wanting to show off, the three single beastmen each grabbed two of the bags of grass and a bag of cattails each. Iris's eyes grew big in astonishment at their strength. Of course, they also looked quite goofy as the large bags made them look like a pack of mules. Iris couldn't help but laugh at the sight, and the males all stopped and stared at her. They began to grow infatuated with this female and wanted to work even harder to make her notice them.
Caspian, however, was quite weary of the other males. Unless Iris explicitly told him she wanted a male to join their family, he did not want to give them any opportunities. Thus, he made the three wait at the mountain entrance while brought Iris home, and then made several trips back out to bring the nine bags back.
Iris felt that it was a waste of time and a bit silly for Caspian to do this. However, she did not mention it as she loved Caspian enough to put up with his behavior. It wasn't like she was interested in those three males anyhow, so what did she care if Caspian was acting possessive around them?
Once Caspian finally finished lugging everything back, he scooped Iris back up into his arms and slowly walked back to the group. Seeing her acting so compliant, Caspian couldn't help but feel thankful to have such a good mate. He leaned in to kiss her and Iris smiled as she leaned in to meet his lips with hers.
When they broke away Iris smiled up at Caspian contentedly. She knew he had her best interests at heart. He was clearly working hard just to help her gather food because she had asked. The only thing he had insisted upon was being able to keep her safe. How could she possibly complain in such a situation?
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This series is now complete on Patreon!
- 5 PDF copies of completed volumes
- 3 side stories
- End of chapter shout-out
- Exclusive Discord role
A special thanks to the following Patreon subscribers:
Discontinued: Ann, Argon, Austin J., Byloderus, Care, Catherine W., Cheyenne O., Chong Y., Christen F., Cindy S., Clara, CooCoo C., Courtney H., Dagoon320, David Z., Denise G., Doc., Dreamer, Emma B., Fictional F., GeminiDragon, Gracie, InjaP., Izzzy B., Jasmine H., Jenn L., Juha, Kayla N., Kelly, Killer K., Lisa C., Martina I., Merveille L., Michelle S., Michelle W., Miranda M., Myungjun R., Nick T., Nova H., Nyrobi J., Nyxie N., Parul N., Quince, Red, Reyanne B., Rochelle N., Ryanna B., Satya P., Sboss678, ScorpioPerk, Shaunna H., Shawna B., Steven B., Travis S., 9Please respect copyright.PENANAVL9YcXFq4G
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Her Beasts: Alison S., Becca S., Isabel P., Ja’sonsra P., Kaleaha C., Keiber A., Miranda S., Ren, Sha C.,
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