The next days were bright, both in heart and of course, in daylight. The sun was at its most relentless now, no rain having fallen since that fateful day that had brought Shuule and Set together.Their relationship had become more relaxed, more flirtatious, but not much more intimate, other than that she had begun to sleep with him at night instead of in the nest. It was almost necessary now, as his cold blooded body was refreshing to curl up into. What Shuule didn't know was that Set barely slept during the night, taking in the hours as this female clung to him in sleep, wondering if she would wake up the next day and decide she could do better. It never happened though, and if he had known what to look for, she even often would sleep fully human, ears and all, because she was so secure she didn't feel the need to use her better animal hearing.Every day, Shuule wrestled with the wish to just lay around in the darkness of the cave, while also knowing that without the help of a villag
Shuule suddenly put her hands over her mouth, letting out a small shriek. "So all this meat WAS beastmen wasn't it!"Set groaned, closing his eyes and putting a muddy hand to his temple. Shit. He would prefer a less intelligent female at his side at this moment. It was taboo to females to eat their own kind - which in secret was not that big a deal to the predator males in famine especially. But, he hadn't actively sought out other males. Opportunistic hunting was something he hoped she would understand. And it was much more of a problem than she realized."Shuule, it's not like that -""What could it POSSIBLY be like?! You said you were different!"Now her eyes were hot with tears, even though she was leaning over the bank and scooping up red clay mud with her clawed hands, picking out debris. She was furious. But she needed to poultice the gaping wounds on his back. Beastmen healed incredibly fast - These wounds weren't life threatening, as long as she could keep them away from the
As soon as Shuule was in the cave, she was striking a flint to light their candles, which were melted down and would need to be replaced soon. She made a mental note to scout out some bees, though she knew it was better to harvest the hives for honey and wax in the winter, when they too were hibernating, because they would be slow to attack. Set crawled in behind her, stifling and groan as every fiber of his body ached. There were not many times that he wanted to shift into a full human, but not wanting to lug a long battered body around his cave was high on the list, so he found a lion hide skirt he had recently made for himself (he had no need for clothes prior to finding his mate) and quickly changed into his legs and dressed himself while Shuule had her back turned busying herself with the candles."Oh!" Shuule was taken off guard when she turned around and saw him. He was tall, his legs longer than she expected, but what confused her brain more than his legs was the lack of a mas
Shuule pranced up to Set, jumping up to peck him on the cheek. "Thank you" she breathed. "Again."Set hadn't stopped grinning since Shuule had undressed in front of him, to be clear, but he still was elated, yet another emotion he didn't think he would feel in his lifetime. But he still couldn't help but poke at her. The moment wasn't perfect, yet."Wait here."He left the cave, a bit precarious with his legs, and though it took him a little longer for the same reason, he returned momentarily with a wooden vase full of water. Shuule tilted her head in question, and Set put the pitcher down, then sat down cross legged and patted the ground in front of him."Sit."Shuule did as directed, sitting in front of him with her back to him. Set cupped his wide hand into the vase of water, bringing the water up over her head. Instructing her to tilt her head back with a touch to her chin with his opposite hand, he started to wash her hair of the sweat and worry of the day."Do you really want to
Shuule was up bright and early the next morning, not typical for her as she rarely had a reason to bother. She laid in the coils of Set for a while, waiting patiently for him to wake up, but the snake was dead to the world. Patience wasn't her strong suit, and she finally started to shake him, even poking him in his eyelids until he shuddered awake with a hiss. He should have waited until today to tell her his plans for dinner, he thought with a groan."Wake up or I'll find another spouse" Shuule chirped, starting to crack open a few large nuts she had stored, to eat before her adventure."Good," Set yawned, turning into his half-beast as he couldn't help responding to her threat. Shuule shot him a death glare, but kept busying herself with her breakfast."Where are you going to get salt?" She asked, picking up her conversation virtually from where they left it when she fell into sleep the night before. Set gave her a sideways glance, and then shrugged. She waited, ears pricked, for a
"So how did you find these? Did you find Xunsu?" Shuule had dressed herself in her new snakeskin dress, and the two of them were now on the top cliff of their cave. Set had cleaned up the area thoroughly, laying down some animal skins to keep the area clean after being used to process smoked meats. In front of the skins was a small fire, with two stones on either side. Shuule was kneeling over the cleaned and skinned Shortwing bird carcasses, getting ready to show Set how to cook."No," he answered. "I just followed the stream back to where I first met you. I didn't find the horse, but - I've seen her. She's around."Shuule's ears shot back, looking up at Set in alarm. "She's near?! Why haven't I seen her?! I want her to come back!"Set stared at his mate, wondering why someone he felt to be so capable sometimes asked him such stupid questions. ".... You're living with a snake four times larger than her."Shuule snorted, baring her fangs at Set half heartedly, before brushing off the
It was only a few minuets walk to where Shuule wanted to perch and wait for something to shoot at, even in human form. Grabbing an apple-like fruit off a branch, she crunched into it, not considering that such a fruit was only starting to ripen at the end of the dry season. Soon it would be the rainy season, when the world would cool down and be replenished, but the sky would remain dark and deary, before the cold season set in. The clearing was on the edge of "their territory," as Set saw it, but still within it, and not a place she was unfamiliar with when she would hunt as her fox. Finding a tree with enough low branches that she could climb it as a human, she settled in, sitting motionless and listening to the birds around her.Shuule also started to think about how she would be going into heat in the rainy season, rolling her eyes at the thought. Female beastmen went into season annually, usually around the colder months. Fertility was not a strong suit of the species as a whole,
Set quickly made it back to the cave, laying her down on the ground inside. He wanted to scream. He wanted to bite something. He wanted to destroy the entire world; his mate was dying. His perfect spouse. The woman who decided against all odds to live in a dark cave in the woods and didn't even dream of leaving it."Shit" he barked out loud, lightly smacking the side of her dirt stained face as she had fallen out of consciousness again. Shuule sputtered twice as Set frantically filed through his Legacies. Nothing prepared him for this. Death was everywhere. Nobody had fixed something like this before. Spiraling into despair, ready to give up and cradle her in death, Shuule spoke."You have to stop it. Tie it off."Without hesitation, Set pulled out the remainder of his snakeskin, zipping off a strip of it and wrapping it around Shuule's shoulder."Tighter," she gasped."You'll lose the arm" Set hissed, but did as instructed."I'll lose the arm anyway," she sobbed. She knew it was usel