Quest Two Completed

Xavier quietly worked on the jewelry he'd been making for Elisa's courting gift, using this opportunity to measure the bracelets and necklaces on her wrists and neck as she slept in his lap. He wanted them to be a perfect fit.

However, he wasn't really getting much work done, his eyes constantly moving back to Elisa's sleeping figure. A sweet citrus scent lingering in the air wasn't helping his instincts either.

Working on my gift was meant to clear my mind, but it isn't working. Xavier sighed to himself. He was too distracted to do anything.

Suddenly the sound of footsteps outside the hut caught Xavier's attention. He glanced up, ears trying to detect the noise. Something big was moving around outside.

A quick sniff of the air and some concentration told Xavier it was just Ahi. He had to admit the other male was a quick hunter, catching something big in only a few hours. 

At least he assumed it was something big by what he was hearing. The door soon opened to reveal Ahi in his male form with a springbok carcass over his shoulder and a firewood bundle in his hand. 

"Did you drag that through the whole village?" Xavier asked, raising an eyebrow.

Xavier knew that while Ahi just looked like he was bringing back food, his choice of prey made his intentions obvious. It was a clear warning to all the males in the village.

Stay away or become like the carcass.

"No." Ahi answered, placing the firewood so he could remove his animal skirt and shift into his half beast form. "I stayed to the south side like the village elder asked. Causing unnecessary trouble will lead us to getting chased out. We can't have that right now."

As he spoke, Ahi shut the door with his tail before using it to hold the carcass. He then picked up the firewood and moved to a hearth sitting in the center of the room to start a fire for cooking.

Meanwhile, Xavier just shook his head at the snake's words. Ahi clearly paraded through the south side of the village to scare off any potential suitors. Still, Xavier wasn't going to say anything about it.

"Want some help?" Xavier asked instead, putting away the jewelry in a fur bag. 

There was no point keeping them out if he wasn't going to be working on them. He would just get accidently caught with them and have the surprise ruined.

"No." Ahi glanced over at him before turning back to the fire. "You need to keep her warm…."

While Xavier wasn't the best with emotions, he was an expert in detecting tension. Especially from other males. It was how he was able to stay alive so long hunting down ferals and rootless beastmen.

"Is something the matter?" Xavier questioned, watching as Ahi prepared the meat for roasting.

Ahi was silent for a moment before he finally sighed, "I can smell her everywhere… and it's painful. Don't say anything, I need to overcome this, so sit there. I need to learn to tolerate this."

Xavier remained silent, a little at awe with the older male though he'd never admit it. A feral denying their instincts to protect their mate was something he'd never heard of.

It was both an incredible and strange thing to see.

***

Two days later and I was sick of my period. Especially because I was cooped up in a small hut with two overprotective males. They wouldn't let me do a damn thing.

Which left me stuck with nothing to do other than keep writing in that Beastworld Guide.

Thankfully, I'd been able to collect enough information to keep up with the daily requirement quest. It was hard since we were traveling, but now I only had half a page to fill up to complete this quest.

So, I was putting all my energy into writing this last bit about courting gifts. Xavier had explained to me earlier that different beast clans had different courting rituals, but one thing was common among them.

A courting gift.

It could be anything from food, clothing, accessories to a den or even crystals. The main idea of the gift was so a male could prove their worth to a female. If the gift was accepted, the male had permission to court the female.

Of course, the female was only required to court them for one blue moon before they could be chased away by the female's other mates. I understood the idea, but had a feeling females often abused this system.

At least that's the idea I got from the way Xavier spoke about courting gifts.

Sighing, I glanced over at the finished page before closing the book. It was completed now, so I'd just need to wait for the system to…

[Quest 2 Completed]

[Skills unlocked and bonus rewards given. Check mailbox to receive rewards.]

The system notification popped up suddenly, making me almost smile. It was much faster this time and I was a little excited to know what bonus rewards I'd be getting. 

Open mailbox. I thought to myself as I looked over at Ahi. He was coiled up in his beast form in a corner, snoozing while Xavier had gone out to hunt.

[One Unread Message]

[Quest 2 Rewards]

[Open Message] [Delete Messages]

I quickly clicked on Open Message, the screen glitching a little as I touched the notification screen in front of me. Soon it changed to the message.

[Quest 2 Rewards]

[Congratulations on completing your second official quest before the time limit. Please enjoy these rewards and continue completing quests. A new quest shall be sent soon.

Rewards - Skills Unlocked, 3 Stat Points, 1 Blue Lottery Ticket, 867 EXP]

[Claim rewards] [Close message] [Delete message]

I shouldn't have been surprised by the low rewards considering how annoying this stupid system was. But it was still a little disappointing to see the bonus rewards were only some stat points and a lottery ticket.

At least I had a skill I could now use. Once, I clicked on the claim rewards button, a new message appeared.

[Level 3 Unlocked]

[Congratulations on unlocking level 3. You have earned 5 Stat Points and unlocked Skills. To use stat points, please open your status page and add points to whichever stats you wish to. You have one chance to use points and can't change allocation once done.] 

[Examine Skill has been unlocked]