Story 1. Chapter 6.

Night had completely fallen over the dense jungle as Oren galloped along the thick undergrowth.

His golden lion form shone, vibrantly it was almost glowing in the dark, while tracking his nimble quarry. 

A froth of sweat had gathered along his barrel, glistened along his coat. His heart and mind distraught, he had lost his long found mate after just only meeting her!

His pride was entirely wounded, as a clear stripe beast, a male, and being of the Lion tribe- it felt like a triple blow.

The intruder must be a high beast level, or at least enough to be able to conceal his presence from him.

Undeterred he continued on into the night. No matter what, he would find his mate.

Elsewhere, high above ground in a stony cavern an awkward air settled between poor Naomi and this new beastman Hyfron.

Naomi quietly ate as she wondered how Oren was getting on; if he was still chasing behind them, how far ahead were they, could he even scale the sheer cliff face safely.

'I hope he's okay' her heart throbbed as she recalled the terribly pained sound of his roaring.

Lost in contemplation, she didn't at all notice Hyfron openly staring at her, fervently examining her once more.

Not that she would though, the dwelling was exceptionally poorly lit as Hyfron had refused to light a fire for now.

Instead she relyed on the glowing mosses to reach for the nuts and berrys the man had provided her for the time being.

Naomi shivered slightly from the gusts of cool night air that would occasionally blow into the cavern.

Hyfron frowned, his expression disguised in the dim, he really hated to deny his lovely mate a warm fire and a hot meal but unfortunately not this night.

No need to light a beacon for that pursuing lion- who he knew was a level stronger than himself, a four stripe beast.

The smoke would be guaranteed to hasten his search, and he would prefer to avoid a fight if he possibly could.

Swiftly, he gathered a few more animal furs and wrapped them around Naomi, squeezing her into his side wordlessly.

Startled by his a bit to familiar gesture , she dropped afew nuts from her palm and tugged the edge of the skin down around her, leaning slightly to the side.

"Um... I'm fine with the blankets..." she mumumbled awkwardly.

She was chilly but would rather not have to cuddle for heat with this newfound .... 'companion'.

This was a serious downer, she had just started her new life and it was already feeling very much- wildy out of control.

'It seriously better settle down when I do decide to get married. The rhythm of life is one thing but this takes the - ' she actually "humpfed" aloud!

At least she was fed, somewhat. The selections of fruits and nuts available in this land was as plenty and tasty as back home.

Some flavours seemed familiar or appearing to be some kind of hybrid; anyway it was a small miracle Naomi noted, wondering if she could somwhow journal any of the plants that's are consumable and such.

'OK at least that's the first thing I can do towards achieving some survival!' She decided, spirits somewhat lifted by her revelation.

Seeing that the woman seemd in better form now, Hyfron felt a little satisfied .

"Come, sleep now. It will be a long travel through the night I will try not to wake you in the nest as we fly." He suddenly, almost huskily barked. He opened his other arm towards her now too.

He was itching to get moving again, wanting to get at least at least some body of water between him and that top-tier beastman hot on their heels.

Hyfron was also excited to get his mate away and alone, just the two of them a little while. He wanted so badly to taste his apparently newfound mate.

Naomi had thought of refusing for a moment, but also wondered if he would just bind her up anyway- or get fed up and leave her up here in this 'penthouse' cave.

'He's been civil so far... barely. Well I don't know about their own standards but yeah, I suppose' her mind reasoned.

With a sigh, reluctantly she leaned into him and allowed herself to be carried to the nest, as he he lay her down in the skins and wrapped them snuggly around her swaddle style.

The audacious male had snuck in a few sly brushes and touches as he tucked her in, a few of which she had in fact noticed. However, she opted to fume silently, ignoring how it made her body tingle.

'Was that seriously meant to be subtle?! I take it back the civil comment!'

She had to stop herself from audibly groaning at that moment, frustrated and distraught at scattered thoughts and feelings.

"You will be safest bundled in the the nest now when I carry you in my woven net" he gruffly attempted to reassure her patting her cocoon, sensing her discontent.

He just wanted to ensure no chance of limbs poking out anywhere to get caught or hurt.

Naomi could only huff and try to ignore this overbearing man, inwardly trying to resist the urge to tell him where to stick his net.

Hyfron wasted no time in transforming into his beast form and gently grasping the pointed edges of his sturdy net together and securely hoisted it close to his belly.

He listened closely for a moment, checking Naomi for any discomfort with his large keen eye, tilting his feathered head down to the left side.

She was quiet at least and her heart beat was steady. She should be warm enough for now but prolonged exposure to the gusty air currents would slowly wick away at her body heat and chill her.

Destination in mind, Hyfron took flight with Naomi bundled up beneath him. It was a perfect night for a getaway, clear and bright as the moons were full.

The bird beastmans night vision wasn't perfect but he could manage almost perfect currently.

Swiftly he flew along, enjoying the nights breeze as he soared; ever concious of his previous passenger.

Naomi had to admit the gently swinging cargo she rode wasn't the worst. Angled with her back to the wind and buried in the grassy nest she could feel almost no wind force blowing against her, it was comfortable.

Exhausted, she tried her best to go to sleep, relaxing to the sway and low rhythmic sound of Hyfron flapping his wings above.

Naomi managed to fall asleep quite quickly, she was always gifted with easy sleep for the most part.

And like many other unusual occasions, she almost immediately fell into a deep slumber, dreams firing up as she slipped.