Seith looked around him. Everyone was there sitting around the fire.
“What would you like to eat, the heart or the liver? We had a fresh kill this morning.” Smiled Elena as she carried a bowl full of raw organs.
“I will take the liver!” Selena jumped in excitement. She had missed the taste of home. The animals they hunted in this forest tasted different.
“Can I take the heart?” Zaleria said as she jumped to the table, “Of course pick whatever you like.” Replied Elena. “Leave me some!” Seith jumped as well. Like his daughter, he found it hard to resist the smell of fresh meat.
“Want some?” Zaleria handed some to Sofia. “You should be able to digest it.” Said Zaleria.
Sofia has dragon blood in her veins. The fact that she has started to develop horns, wings, and a tail is proof that she is slowly transforming into a dragon. She should be able to eat fresh meat.
“N-no, thank you,” Sofia replied nervously. The heart was still soaked in blood and it made her stomach twist just looking at it.
“It’s funny right. I can eat fresh meat, and she can as well (Pointing at Sofia) Those two can as well(She pointed at Alice and Kayden). This only leaves you three (Pointing at Cain, Gracie, and Lily)” Zaleria said with a smile.
“Can you hand me some meat and salt?” Sofia said to Selena’s mother. There was a fire in front of them. She could at least roast some.
Elena silently handed Sofia the salt and meat. She then watched her grill the meat with a sad face. To her, this was like watching someone grill melon. Sofia was ruining the juicy meat in front of her eyes. Her ears dropped as she turned toward the bowl of meat.
Gracie and Alice helped Sofia cook. Both of them did not fancy eating raw meat. Kayden on the other hand tried a bite of meat and quickly started eating.
Cain did not fancy the meat so he just started a conversation with Selena’s father, Seith.
“How did you know we were coming?” Said Cain looking at Seith.
Seith was eating a piece of the liver when heard the question. He immediately swallowed the whole thing and licked his fangs clean. “I smelled my daughter in the wind so I rushed toward her.
“If you saw his face.” Elena giggled. “(I smell Selena-gaw!) He suddenly said that and started rushing, didn’t even wait for me.”
“D-don’t tell them that! What if she was getting attacked, I had to move quickly!” Said Seith being flustered.
“And you? Where did you meet our daughter?” Seith asked trying to change the subject.
Cain told them the story about how he met Selena. Upon hearing it her father growled in anger. “Those damned humans! Ah…no offense to you, it’s just that you humans have a lot of bandits.” Said Seith. Swinging her tail from left to right. He shared a habit with Selena.
“Humans have a lot of rogues, elves have a lot of slavers, demi-human have a lot of murderers, and dragons have a lot of narcissists.” Said Cain with a thinking face. “Half-lings have a lot of liars, Dwarves have a lot of drunkards, and Cubus are a bunch of perverts. Each race has its own problems.”
Cain had lived with many races so he knew how they truly are. He was not going to get offended by hearing his people called bandits. Even he stole many items (Remembering the adventure in Ourals and the bandit at the cave)
After that, they spent a few minutes talking about what Selena did when she was living with Cain for the past few days. Seith seemed to find it hard to believe what his daughter did. “There is no way that girl could fight Ettins on her own she would die in one hit.” Said Seith.
By that time, Sofia had finished grilling the meat for Cain. They then ate their fill and suddenly.
“Seith! Seith!” Someone yelled from outside. “Can you come out for a minute?”
“Excuse me, someone needs me.” Seith apologized as he left to see what was happening.
Seeing his leave. Cain signaled to Zaleria to keep her eyes open. “There is nothing around the village that they can’t handle.” She whispered to him. If a monster was attacking, she could have sensed it.
“Then what is it? I sense a large crowd outside.” Said Cain. He was picking the magic of over thirty people outside. If that was not a fighting squad then what it is?
Elena heard them whispering so she approached Cain and said in front of him. “Most likely, Selena is the cause.” She said.
“What do you mean?” Cain asked and gave Selena a sharp glare.
Elena told them what happened before Selena left the village.
Selena was a popular girl. All men fought over her, they drew blood over the simple right of being the first one to ask her out. When she reached the age of marriage, they all flooded to ask for her hand.
Selena had run away that morning so they were left hanging. Now it was just about two months after that so they are still looking for her.
“Don’t tell me…” Said Cain with an exhausted face.
“You will have to fight for her. They are here for that reason,” Elena said with a smile.
“Can’t we just tell them that she is married?” Cain asked even though he knew the answer.
“They won’t care. They are here to challenge you (Pointed at Cain), for her (Pointed at Selena).” Elena seemed a bit happy. Usually, females go looking for a mate. Having males come to look for her daughter was a source of pride.
Cain sighed. This was a tribe where strength decided everything. “By your logic, I did beat Seith so I can take you with Selena,” Cain said with a face that gave up on life. It hurt his head that they thought like that.
“Cain-nya!” Selena jumped at him. “SHAA! SHAA!” She started nibbling on his head. Unlike Alice and Sofia, she did not understand that he was joking.
“Ara! Ara! Going for me after my daughter, if that the case I would have to fight for my freedom.” Her mother was just like her. Clueless that it was a joke.
“Come on Selena. That was a joke, a joke! Let go deal when them!” Cain said as he tried to free himself. Even though Selena was not trying to hurt him, it was still near impossible for him to escape her grasp without magic.
[Mist Step] Cain teleported away. “You stay here.” He said and left the room.
When all of that was happening, Kayden was enjoying the meat Lily was grilling for him.
When Cain walked outside, a crowd of Jaguar people stared at him. “This bean sprout?” Cain hears a faint insult for them. ‘Didn’t Seith call me that as well? What is their problem with beans?’
“Leave them to me,” Cain said patting Seith on the back.
[Sleep] [Sleep] [Sleep] [Sleep] [Sleep] [Sleep] [Sleep] [Sleep] [Sleep] [Sleep] [Sleep]… Cain cast the spell tens of times and then released them all at once.
A pink cloud of magical sleeping gas covered the crowd. The moment they inhaled from it, they fell asleep one after the other. “Sorry but I don’t have time for you lot,” Cain said.
Seith looked at them with a worried face. “I don’t think they will be satisfied by this. The moment they wake up they will charge in. I did stop fighting since I never intended to hurt you from the beginning.” Seith said with a serious face. “And you did make a show for those as well.” Seith pointed to the other side.
When Cain spotted the crowd of females in the distance staring at him. He knew he f-ed up.
They immediately started running toward him. They had come to check what kind of man Selena brought up. Now since they saw that, they went into heat.
Crack! Selena suddenly landed between him and the females. “ROOAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!” Her roar was loud enough to shake the whole village. Even to her father, she sounded more like a monster than his daughter did.
“Don’t Selena. You can’t fight them all alone!” Her father yelled. “I will help Cain, You wait for your mother’s help.”
Cain laughed, “I don’t know how Selena was the last time you saw her but. She now can do this alone.”
The Jaguar people’s tradition dictates one thing. When couples are about to be wed. The male need to protect his mate from other males while the female need to protect him from other females.
Cain will fight for Selena’s sake and she will fight for him.
Seith started at his daughter, something seemed different about her. In his eyes, she looked bigger than he did. His instincts screamed, your little girl is now a vicious hunter like her mother.