Weak Rabbit

The next day, while the tribe was packing up everything before setting off, Caspian brought Fern away to talk. Iris trusted Caspian to explain all the peculiarities of their family to their new family member. However, Iris also knew it was unlikely Fern would simply believe what he was told.

To offer some form of proof, Iris had Caspian put away the bedding into the dimensional bag in front of Fern. Iris also did her party-trick-like ability of pulling crystals from nowhere before swapping them out for different colored crystals.

Fern was very confused and unsure of what to make of everything. Fern couldn't exactly deny that the things he was seeing weren't normal, but it was hard to say whether his new family was telling him the truth either. It wasn't as if Fern planned to run off and tell others regardless of what the truth was, but he wasn't sure he could accept what he was told right off the bat either.

As Fern wasn't primarily a warrior-type beast, he did not feel inclined to swear to protect Iris as the others had. However, this was not a huge deal since the mate bond tied their lives together anyhow. There was no way a male wouldn't protect his female with his life, even if it meant sacrificing their own.

As Iris got ready to set off with the others, she took note of Fern's beast form. Iris was surprised that despite being more than twice the size of a normal rabbit, Fern was still much smaller than her other mates. Of course, Basil's fox form was also smaller than Caspian's or Ember's beast forms, but, at least, he did not look out of place.

As they traveled, Iris began to worry for Fern. His human form was quite scrawny without the muscles her other three mates had while his beast form lagged behind quite a bit. Fern was a two-star non-elemental beast as was proven by the faint white tattoo on Iris's left arm. However, his small form made him lag behind to the point of traveling with those of one star or lower rank in their tribe.

Iris sighed in her heart as she tried to reassure herself that things would be fine. They would only be in the wilderness for so long and Fern should be able to cope with this easier stretch of the journey well enough.

When they settled in their new home Iris wouldn't have to worry about Fern anymore. Fern could happily weave and try out many other domestic activities to his heart's content. He may even be able to help with farm work since his tribe was, after all, one of the few tribes who practiced farming.

When they stopped for their mid-day meal, Fern remained with Iris. When Holly and Fawn came over, Iris gave the introductions

"This is my new mate Fern from the rabbit tribe. Fern, these are my friends Holly and Fawn."

Holly gave Fern a shy look as Fern looked equally nervous. Iris giggled at how similar the two were. The sound of Iris's laughter startled Holly who offered a polite smile as she greeted

"Nice to meet you, Fern. I hope you don't mind my company. Iris often invites me over to visit so you'll probably see me a lot in the future."

Fern glanced around nervously, unsure of how to handle another female acting politely towards him. Most males avoided and ignored other females once they found their mate so their female wouldn't become jealous. On top of this, Fern simply was not used to females acting politely in front of him.

Iris cleared her throat awkwardly as she interrupted the awkward silence

"Anyhow, I've got a special treat today! I sauteed these sunflower seeds with some salt last night, but I haven't had the chance to pass them out yet. You have to crack the outer shell with your teeth and eat the inside before spitting the shell out."

Iris demonstrated this after passing out the seeds to her friends. She had already given Caspian five other bags to pass out to their tribe's other females when they first stopped. Since it didn't feel right to leave Fern out, Iris pulled some carrots out of her bag and handed them to Fern.

"Here, these can be eaten as is. They're a vegetable called carrots that my mates and I grew and dehydrated ourselves a while back."

Iris was happy to see that Fern did seem to enjoy the carrots much like rabbits from her world. Iris felt it was too bad that she was unable to have fresh carrots since her dimensional bag only got its upgrade that prevented spoilage after the fact.

Fern wasn't very picky and didn't mind if the food was fresh or dehydrated. Instead, he was just grateful for his mate's kindness. Previously, Fern was worried that there might not be enough plants for him while they traveled. He had packed about a hundred pounds of various plants he had at home, but that was unlikely to be enough for three weeks on its own.

Fern knew that Iris's other mates were primarily carnivores while he was the only herbivore. So, it was a pleasant surprise to find out that his mate was an herbivore who enjoyed both meat and plants. Of course, females might prefer meat due to their beast, but they had an easier time than even males at digesting plants.

This was due to females favoring their human forms over their beast forms. Females were able to transform into their human forms far earlier than males at only twelve years old. Of course, it wasn't until sixteen years old that a female would have their first heat, but this did give them a leg up on adjusting to their human forms.

There was, of course, also the matter of half-orcs being looked down on. The fact that half-orcs were known to have worse fertility than complete females meant that most females would avoid changing into their beast form unless their lives were in danger.

When Iris's mates returned to camp and Basil began to cook dinner alongside Iris, Fern studied their actions curiously. Fern's tribe had even less use for fire than most tribes since they didn't even have a witch doctor. So Fern's initial reaction was, of course, fear, but he tried to push past it. After that, Fern tried to learn more about what they were doing, even asking questions.

Iris happily explained about the various seasonings, meats, and veggies and even allowed Fern to try them to see for himself. Fern was uninterested in the meat but he happily tried the herbs and even a potato Iris cooked for him.

After learning that Iris required cooked food to eat, Fern felt he should also try to learn how to do so. However, he was uncomfortable making meat and had little experience with it so he planned to focus more on cooking with the various plants.