Chapter 26: Don’t Touch My Tails

Clara pushed his hand away, and Mateo playfully hooked his finger. In an instant, Clara flipped over, climbing on top of Mateo. Her ample bosom pressed against his chest, sending a strange electric current through Clara's body, making her tremble slightly, her heart pounding like a chaotic deer. She reached out to push Mateo's chest, her warm hand touching his chest. Mateo felt an impulse to roll over and pin Clara down.

However, he restrained himself, blushing, his eyes fixed on Clara. He blinked rapidly, hurriedly ran out.

Clara felt extremely embarrassed. Back in high school, she once collided with a male classmate in the hallway while heading to the restroom. Her face had turned red for the entire afternoon. That classmate, who was academically excellent and good-looking, hadn't even noticed. It was a profound memory for her. She used to be naive, secretly infatuated with him for a long time, thinking he liked her. But he didn't even know her name. That time, she was foolishly innocent, and it took a while to forget.

Now, as a grown-up, feeling shy about such things made Clara look down on herself. But being so exposed in front of the opposite sex was really embarrassing.

Today, Clara didn't ask Mateo to go hunting. There was enough food at home for many days, and too much stockpiled food would spoil. After a satisfying breakfast, Clara took out the large pants she had sewn last night. After finishing the last touches, she asked Mateo to put them on. However, he put them on backward, with his tail tucked inside and the hole exposed in the front.

She asked him to change again, but he still didn't know how to let his tail out. Clara went forward to help, but before her hand could touch his tail, Mateo shouted, startling her.

"Don't touch my tail!" he warned, stepping back and covering his buttocks. He glared at her. "No touching my tail!" Then he fumbled for a while and finally managed to pull his tail out.

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The big pants were so comfortable, and Mateo happily hugged Clara, giving her a kiss on the cheek. Clara smiled, but she felt a bit unhappy. Mateo wouldn't let her touch his tail! Thinking about how he teased her earlier, Clara felt a twinge of sourness in her heart.

Mateo didn't notice Clara's discontent. He was too engrossed in admiring his pants. Clara had added leather strips to the pants, allowing them to be tied. Mateo didn't know how to do it, so Clara taught him. He quickly picked it up and happily played with tying and untying knots.

"Mateo, later go to the bamboo forest and bring back the bamboo I prepared. I'm going to teach Gloria and the others how to weave baskets. Let's have lunch together. Bye!" Clara said cheerfully, but there was a hint of heaviness in her mood. After speaking, she carried the basket and headed to the forest.

Mateo was still playing with the pants, nodding absentmindedly. "Hmm!"

With something new to play with, he didn't pay any attention to her. Clara, carrying the basket, looked back every three steps, noticing that Mateo didn't gaze at her as he used to. It made her feel even more disheartened.

Today she would teach them how to weave boxes. It was a good opportunity for her to make a larger box because she will have more and more clothes in the future. Would there be a future for her and Mateo? Thinking of her parents and the events of the morning, Clara felt uncertain, and the road ahead seemed murky.

In the forest, she unexpectedly found two more people, Gloria and another girl encouraged by Emma. Seeing new friends, Clara felt a bit happier. One was named Ava, similar to Emma, very shy. The other, Elena, was more like Gloria, not afraid of strangers, and always asks questions when she comes.

"I heard you bled a lot last time. Are you okay now?" Elena asked straightforwardly.

Clara was a bit speechless, awkwardly smiling. "I'm fine now. My body is in good condition."

Elena chuckled and took out a green-skinned fruit from the basket Emma brought. She handed it to Clara. "This is delicious, and it's hard to find around here. Here, I'm giving it to you."

Oh! This fruit looks a bit like a watermelon. Clara happily accepted it. No one had ever given her a gift before, let alone accepted one. Since coming here, she had received quite a few, and both the giver and receiver were happy.

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Today, Clara taught everyone how to weave boxes. She drew shapes on the ground, and Elena, seeing the drawings, expressed her inability to understand. However, her eyes, like Gloria's, showed admiration and fondness. She realized that this female beast wasn't as frightening and detestable as everyone described.

Not understanding wasn't a problem. Clara directly demonstrated the practical exercises. Emma and Ava had strong learning abilities, especially Emma, who already had a foundation and learned quickly. However, she couldn't help but envy Clara's ability to easily manipulate the willow branches. Her hands were sore from yesterday's practice, and her mate had been massaging her hands at home.

"Clara! Doesn't your hand hurt?" Emma couldn't help but ask. Perhaps Clara had better techniques.

Her hands didn't hurt because of her ability. Clara glanced at Emma's hands; her nails were too long, the back of her hands had fur, and the palms were delicate. Only the fingertips were slightly cracked. Clara felt a bit sorry for Emma and grateful for her own abilities. Otherwise, her hands would have been in a terrible state.

"Take it slow. My hands hurt too, but after weaving a lot, the pain diminishes." Clara slowed down her movements to accommodate them.

Today, Dani didn't come. Asking Gloria, she didn't know either. "Maybe Dani's mom had some trouble, and Dani stayed home to take care of her!"

Talking about Dani's mom, Clara became curious. As the conversation shifted, everyone became lively. Dani was a fox, and her mom was a lion. Lions giving birth to foxes raised questions. Some suggested that Dani was adopted. Gloria became a bit unhappy. She used to be like everyone else, often speaking ill of Dani. Back then, Dani would often hide behind trees, making other beast people dislike her, thinking she was eavesdropping on their conversations.

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Later, after playing with Dani, Clara learned that Dani wanted to be with everyone, but at that time, they saw her as a fox and didn't want to play with her. "From now on, don't talk bad about Dani. She's a good girl," Gloria scolded Elena and the others. Clara had taught them the term "girl," as she mentioned that they were all females and could use "girl" to address each other.

"Girl!" Several females started discussing, sometimes calling Emma "girl Emma," sometimes Elena "girl Elena," showing particular affection in their address. Clara taught them how to weave a small box, and Emma was the quickest to finish. After weaving, she hugged the box tightly, opening and closing the lid repeatedly. The others gathered around, expressing their admiration.

"In the future, follow the method I taught, and you can weave an even bigger one. If Emma encounters any difficulties, she can come and ask me," Clara said, feeling a sense of accomplishment seeing others happy.

"My family always says that Mateo has grass shoes, but he doesn't. Clara, can you teach us how to weave grass shoes?" Ava was a little embarrassed. She had secretly said bad things about Clara to others before, and yesterday she saw Emma bring it back. I am very envious of Clara's basket. I came here today. I was worried at first, but I didn't expect that Clara is very kind and gentle. She also likes this little female beast.

Ava's suggestion received a positive response from everyone, and Clara was happy to teach them how to weave grass shoes. Inspired, they even weaved grass hats and raincoats, preparing for future rainy days.

Lunchtime arrived, and Clara's stomach growled. She prepared to go home. The girls were a bit reluctant; they didn't have lunch here, only two meals a day. Clara faced a dilemma; because she had promised to have lunch with Mateo.