A day in the tribe -5

I heard Roy sigh and get up, I looked at him in question.

He stretched and looked down at me with a small smile.

"I'm going to see if anyone needs help, I don't like just sitting around all day."

I got up and dusted myself off.

"Are you going into the tribe?"

"Yeah, they don't like me very much but who refuses help?" He shrugged, his tail flicking around.

"C-can I come?" I asked looking up with pleading eyes.

He tilted his head and looked at me confused.

"Uh, well…"

"Please?"

"I-I don't see why not?" He shrugged again scratching his cheek with his finger.

"Just stay within the tribe I'll find you when I'm done with what I'm doing."

I nodded, and followed him when he walked off towards the village.

I messed with my hair again, twirling it around my finger. My anxiety started to get worse from the withdrawals.

Roy glanced at me strangely, I caught his eyes looking at me and he quickly adverted his gaze.

I tilted my head and looked at him in curiosity.

•ROY'S POV•

I watched as Maria, disappears into the tribe. I was beyond curious of what she was planning on doing the whole day.

I have never meet a female who would rather going around the tribe than stay at home.

Her whole existence puzzled me…

"Lion! You coming or not?" A bear male calls my ears twitch towards the noise.

"Yeah of-course." I form into a lion and follow the bear male. My paws hitting the ground softly, even though my weight.

The bear male transforms into a bear and trots towards the hunting grounds we are hunting today.

I agreed to hunt for the older males in the tribe so they could feed the females.

At least I was helping out a little bit, I sighed and went into a jog to keep up.

•MARIA'S POV•

I got stuck helping a woman watch her cubs, she was hesitant at first but quickly talked to me about how her males were useless.

"Yes! They don't help at all with the cubs! They always want them, but after their born they don't want to take care of them."

She pouted grabbing her cub off the side of a tree he was climbing.

"Really?" I said I didn't really know what to say to her to make her feel any better so I just added things here and there.

I found out her name was Pep and she was actually 40 despite her young appearance.

"So your 19 and still don't have any males?"

She blurted out which made my face flush.

"Yes ma'am."

"What are you waiting for? Who will you have to take care of you when your a elder?" She said handing a cub to me and going to fetch the other one who was sneaking off.

"Well…I just haven't meet any males who were the right match." Making up the excuse I carefully hold the small cub it squirmed around. It was about bigger than my arms but it was still considered a baby.

The cub growled at me, Pep came back and grabbed the cub and scolded it for growling at me.

"No! Don't growl at a female, you won't ever find a nice mate if you keep it up." She cradles the cub and sits back down her other cub asleep beside her leg. The third one looked up at her squeaking at the cub she was holding

"You said something about right match? What does that matter? There are a lot of good males out there." She said putting the cub down, it immediately got pounced on by it's sibling which caused a small fight.

I chuckled awkwardly, and watched the cubs scuffle.

"Well, I just want someone who I can get along with." I looked back at her and shrugged.

"I have a 19 year old son if that interests you. He hasn't found a mate either, maybe he'll find happiness with you?" She wiggled her eyebrows at me.

I laughed nervously and looked at the tribe.

"Is t-that so?" My head began to pound, little by little I started to feel nauseous again.

Pep looked at me and put her hand on her mouth.

"Are you alright? You just got really pale…"

"Huh? I-I'm fine." I fanned my face and tried to push down the feeling of puking down.

"Are you sure?"

I was about to say I'm fine but I tasted iron in my mouth and realized I couldn't hold this in anymore.

I got up quickly and ran to the tree nearby and started puking.

I felt a hand pat my back, I stopped throwing up for a bit before I started dry heaving.

Tears formed in my eyes as I couldn't get anything up anymore, the pain every time I tried to throw up clutched at my stomach.

After a while I stopped, I paused a minute before I wiped my mouth.

"You okay?" She patted my back a understanding look on her face.

"I think I'm good now…" I scooped up some dirt and put it over the throw up.

"Are you pregnant?" She asked, her cubs squeaking at her from around our feet.

"Eh! No, Im not pregnant why does everyone assume that?" I wave my hands in-front of me.

"Are you sick?" She asked fixing my hair gently.

I shook my head, and looked at her kindly.

"I don't think so it's been like this for a while." I pretended to play it off, in reality I would probably be okay in two to four weeks.

Yet I will still crave a cigarette for years to come, sure the physical issues will fade but the mentally damage will remain.

If I could get out of here….

"You poor thing… I'll get my son to walk you home." She patted me on the back I shook my head and nervously backed away almost stumbling.

"No, I'm fine really I can make it back myself!" I smile and wave my hands, she looked very concerned.

"What if you faint, dear? Your still as pale as a star." I have never heard of that saying I started stumbling on my words.

"R-Roy is probably going come find me in a little bit I should probably wait here."

"I'll tell him you went home, stay here I'll go fetch my son." She took off to the village.

"W-wait!" I went to grab her arm but she was to fast.

Her cubs trailing behind her as she jogged.

I just stood there with my hand hanging in the air.

I stood for a while nausea coming back, I sat down onto my knees and held my stomach.

Not long later Pep, came back with her cubs and a male.

I watched as they came down the small hill.

The male was a bit shorter than Roy, but brown hair was cut short and he had the brownest eyes I have ever seen.

My heart sorta fluttered I am not going to lie, he was slightly more muscular than Roy.

Scars lined his forearms, and his chest was smaller than Roy's.

His clothes were only a small skirt around his waist and a satchel hanging down from his shoulder.

I stared at him as they got closer, Pep came by me and elbowed me and whispered in my ear.

"Handsome isn't he? My pride and joy."

My face flushed despite my paleness.

"I heard that ma." He looked at his mother with cold eyes.

"Oh, you didn't hear a thing." She giggled looking at me.

"Any way, Maria is feeling sick can you walk her to the lions house?" She asked looking up at her son.

He snorted and looked at me with some wariness.

"I thought I said I was going to help already."

"Yes, yes I was just making sure we'd were both on the same page." Pep said looking at her son fondly before picking up one of the cubs that's was howling at her.

"Well, you two be careful. Will dear?"

I assumed his name was Will, his gaze left me and looked at his mother.

"Yes?"

Pep smiled and cradled the cub in her arms and then went serious.

"Remember what I said."

Will looked tiredly at his mom before looking at me, and motioning to follow him.

I sluggishly waved a good bye to the bear female and walked along beside Will.

I nervously looked at him, feeling my gaze he looked at me. Our eyes locked for a single moment before I awkwardly looked away.

"So…U-uh how are you?" I muttered hating the agonizing silence.

"You have very strange eyes." Will said nonchalantly, it wasn't what I asked but it was conversation non the less.

"Eh? My eyes?" I haven't really ever thought about it, my eyes are just blue. Was blue eyes strange in this world.

"Yeah…"

"W-what about my eyes are strange?" I asked curiosity peeking, my head ached slightly.

"Well…" he went silent, and then shrugged.

"I've just never seen someone with black hair and blue eyes." He went silent again, keeping his eyes on the path way.

"Oh…" awkward silence filled the air again, I started to twirl my hair around my fingers again as I looked around.

"So… y-your name is Will? Is that short for something?"

"No…Its just Will…" he rubbed the back of his neck with a strange expression.

He glanced at me warily and then looked away. There was a long awkward silence that followed.

"S-sorry I'm not good at talking with females…" he blew out a nervous breath even though his face was turned away from me I could see a hint of pink on his cheeks.

I took him for the quiet type, it seems he is just really shy.

I silently admire his quirky charm, but yet still had my guard up around him.

"O-oh! That's fine, I'm not good with talking period." I laughed nervously.

"I just can't really stand a awkward atmosphere."

He glanced at me again, his ears perked in curiosity.

"Atmosphere?"

"Hm?"

"I-ive never heard that word used before…"

He said adverting his gaze, I looked at him.

How do I even explain that word?

I took a deep breath and began talking.

"Well a atmosphere, is like uh… the air around us?"

Will looked at me with a slightly amused face.

"That sounded more like a question…"

And just as quickly as he looked at me he adverted his gaze.

"Well I don't really know how to explain it." I laughed nervously, twirling my hair around my finger I looked off into the forest.

My head started getting hazy from the pain, just at that moment Roy caught up with us a slightly concerned look on his face.

He grabbed my shoulder I jerked up in shock.

"Ack!"

"Why didn't you tell me you didn't feel well this morning!?!" Roy looked into my eyes our faces almost touching as he had a hold on my shoulders.

My face flushed as I looked at him but my vision started to get blurry.

"I-I…uh…Y-your to close Roy." I said wanting to be released, Roy huffed a iterated sigh and picked me up.

"Ehhhhh!?! R-R-Roy! Put me down I'm fine please!" I squirmed and tried to get out of his grasp but his hold held me in place.

Roy turned to Will and nodded his head.

"Thank you for walking her, but I got it from here."

Will watched the situation warily as I thrashed my legs.

I had tears in my eyes while looking at him, Will looked a bit troubled but nodded.

"Anytime…"

"Let me go! Please I promise I'm fine!" I d scream trying to dislodge my self from Roy's arms.

Roy being unfazed calmly walks towards the house.

"Roy! L-let me go! I'm fi-"

"If you were fine you wouldn't be throwing up Maria!" Roy snapped looked down at me in his arms his ears pinned.

I flinched at the sudden aggression putting my hands in front of my face shielding myself.

Roy eased up on his grip, and came to a stop.

"Why?"

"W-why what?" I say nervously looking at him from behind my hands.

"Why do you flinch at everything I do? You act if I'm going to have a fit of rage and hurt you…"

Shocked I put my hands down slowly and look at him with wide eyes.

"Did…someone hurt you?"

I went silent at those words, it was like I had forgotten that night in the back alley… My vision got blurrier and blurrier. My head buzzed with a unfamiliar feeling, all of a sudden Roy's face turned into a worried expression.

He is opening his mouth but nothing comes out, my vision tunnels and finally all went black.