The Village

It was midday when I spotted mud huts and smoke in the distance. We were finally leaving the wild jungle and heading for civilization.

Joy filled me at the sight of the nearing village and soon I had a shit eating grin on my face. What can I say, I love civilization, even if it's primitive.

Goodbye wild jungle. May I never have to travel through you again.

"You seem glad about us arriving here." Ahi mused as he gazed at me.

"I'm just glad we've made it here." I answered, pausing for a moment. "Ahi, could you set me down? I wanna walk."

"Walk?" Ahi frowned, looking at me like I had asked him to commit an act of terrorism.

A.k.a like I was out of my mind. Which at this point, I've probably lost a bit of my mind in the jungle. But jokes aside, I just wanted to stretch my legs out a bit. 

"Yeah… I wanna walk the last part." I stated before adding, "Besides, the villagers will be more accepting if we walk to the village holding hands. They'll see you're not a threat."

Ahi was silent for a moment before he set me down next to him. Guess that hand holding really sold the idea to him. I made a mental note of that.

We soon set off, going a little slow as we got used to the hand holding because of the height distance and Ahi tended to move faster. Still, it was great to walk again, even for a few meters. 

Beastmen quickly appeared, along with a few giant jaguars, as we got to the entrance of the village. It seemed my guess of jaguars being feral was wrong. We were just unlucky to meet a jerk.

The beastmen growled at us, clearly hostile, while a few others raised spears which was a little surprising. I thought this world hadn't discovered metal yet, but I was wrong. Now that I think about it, the mud huts had a few streams of smoke rising in the air.

They seemed more advanced than what I first thought. Was it possible that this world was going through the Iron Age instead of the Stone Age?

A man who looked to be in his fifties with graying hair, cat ears and tail suddenly stepped forward from the growing crowd. He held a clear air of authority and his blue eyes were filled with hostility.

"What brings you here, feral?" The man spat out, hatred clear in his tone as he glared at Ahi.

I immediately stepped forward, feeling a little protective of Ahi. They were being prejudiced against him because of his feral nature and that angered me. Ahi was the nicest feral they'd likely ever meet.

"We're looking for someplace to stay-" I started explaining.

Before I could finish, someone interrupted, running towards me. "Female! You're safe!"

I stared at the beastman that interrupted me in shock before it clicked. This was the weirdo from yesterday. But how? He looked half dead when I last saw him.

He then turned to the other beastmen. "See I wasn't lying. This feral stole my female and ran off-"

"No one stole me!" I exclaimed, my eyes glowing with anger as I glared at the jerkface jaguar. "Ahi, here, has been protecting me while he brought me to this village. If anything, you were trying to steal me away from him. I'm not your female, never was and will never be."

Some of the beastmen gasped in horror, giving the jaguar a pitiful look. But I didn't feel one bit guilty about my words. He was pushing it and now I made it crystal clear that I'd never become his mate.

His face fell at my words, ears drooping, "B-but I saved you… I have a right to be your mate."

"And I rejected you. Want me to do it again? Fine..." I shot back. "I will never become your mate."

The beastman looked ready to say something back, but the old guy held up a hand to silence him. "Enough Jasper. The female is clearly not interested in your advances… We must get back to the matter at hand."

"And that would be?" I asked, raising a brow.

"The feral." The old beastman waved a hand in Ahi's direction. "We cannot allow a feral into our village. It'll put our females in danger."

"Ahi won't be a danger to any of the females here." I declared. "I swear by the Beast God."

"Female, you…" The old beastman murmured in shock, trailing off a little. He shook his head. "No. Even with a vow, I can't accept this. That feral is a danger to-"

"Elder Willaims, are you really going to turn away a female after she's promised her mate won't be a danger?" A voice suddenly asked.

A tall, slightly muscular man stepped out from the crowd. He had sharp, dark blue eyes, even darker hair and scars covering his chest, back and arms. He looked like a mix of a K-Pop idol and a Spartan warrior, which was the weirdest good looking combination ever.

He gave me a quick glance before turning to the old beastman, Elder Willaims. I then noticed a bird tattoo on his right arm with four stars surrounding it. I wondered what type of bird he was, maybe a raven.

"Xavier, this is a matter of Green Valley Village." Elder Willaims hissed at the bird beastman. "Do not interfere in our matters. You are just an outsider and I'm sure the King of Grasslands City will not be happy to hear of your troublemaking."

"I'm sure the King will be fine if he hears about me saving a female from being turned away." Xavier retorted before suddenly turning to me. "You don't plan on staying here long, do you?"

With this village's attitude, not really. This Grasslands City did sound promising and it wasn't like I had to live here. Just needed to get to the village to complete that stupid quest. I turned my head to glance at Ahi.

He gave me a short nod, letting me know this was my decision. Which I was grateful for. We could discuss the details later. He probably knew of better places.

"We're just looking for a rest stop to get some goods and we'll be on our way." I finally answered before adding, "We know when we're not welcome."

The last part was directed at Elder Williams and it seemed to work as he shuffled nervously on his feet. He clearly understood what I meant by those words. I mean, it was kind of obvious.

"I see…" Xavier mused before turning to Elder Willaims. "Guess they could stay with me then. I'll keep an eye on the feral for you, since I am here to help with your feral problem. That should appease you?"

Elder Willaims was silent for a moment before he nodded, giving up. "Fine. But they better leave soon."

With that, he turned away and walked off with a huff, some beastmen following him. A few lingered, but a hiss from Ahi had the rest scurrying off until we were almost completely alone.