(Moyu’s POV)
I returned to the Raccoon Village after dropping off the final group of rescued females. The hope clung to me like morning mist. Somewhere in this village, she had to be here.
Why was she lying to the raccoon beastmen about the rescue team reaching the village? Why was she giving them false hope?
I flew to the lake she had mentioned and spotted two raccoon females. They were floating and holding onto wooden logs, their eyes frozen in horror. The water around them had swamp lizards’ bodies floating around. Those beasts were dead, all of them.
’What happened here?’
A loud hiss snapped me out of my thoughts. I turned my head and saw a cold-blooded male snake charging at me from the shore. His fangs were wide open, and he was ready to bite. I quickly turned to my right, avoiding his attack.
I was too late to realize my mistake. As I was turning, the snake’s tail whipped out and hit me with enough force to send me tumbling to the ground. He was stronger, much stronger, at least a whole rank above me.
"Noodle, stop playing around. We are leaving."
I froze as her voice wrapped around me. I spun toward the sound. There was nothing but empty trees and rustling leaves. She was close, yet when I scanned the forest, no one was there. The voice drifted again, this time from behind a thick oak to my left. I turned, heart thudding. Still nothing.
"You told me to kill any danger that gets close." The snake, or rather Noodle, tried to argue, but the female cut him off.
"I told you to eliminate threats to the females, not the only rescue that showed up. Anyway, let’s go." The female ordered. "Hurry before the whole horde of his kind appears."
"I thought you hated them and wanted them dead too." The cold-blooded snake beastman hissed one last time before his tail coiled around my midsection, constricting with bone-crushing force.
My muscles screamed in protest as he hurled me through the air like a discarded stone. I crashed through branches and hit the ground with a sickening thud. Groaning, I watched his massive form slither into the forest, following the female’s direction.
My heart was beating so fast. I almost died. The thought of dying didn’t scare me, but the thought of not seeing her again did. I had to know what she was, why she was, and who she was. It was driving me insane. I needed answers.
I quickly swallowed the beast cores I obtained from the scorpions, took flight, and started my search again.
’Where is she?’ I circled the area again. It was then that I saw her.
She was sitting on a broad tree branch next to the snake beastman, her eyes fixed on the sky above. The rescue team soared overhead. They were busy transporting the two females from the lake to safety.
I finally saw her face clearly. Deeper than I’d thought, a web of silver lines crisscrossed her jaw. Some were old and faded, others fresh and pink. A purplish bruise spread across her left cheek like a storm cloud, while uneven scar tissue showed beneath.
These weren’t from one fight. Each was telling a story of pain I couldn’t imagine.
Who hurt her?!
Why was she hurt?!
Why was she covered in bruises and cuts?!
Her clothes were dirty, and her hair was in disarray. It was obvious that she had been through hell, yet she still seemed to care about some random beastmen’s life instead of worrying about herself?!
I flew closer and landed on a branch opposite her. "Come with me. You are hurt and need medical attention. You can’t stay here."
I wanted to reach out to her, but she suddenly jumped off the branch. I knew she could hear me and see me, but she ignored me as a snake’s tail came into my view and whipped in my direction. I had no choice but to fly into the air, dodging his attack.
"You are not welcome here, flying rat. Leave or die." The coldblooded warned me. "She is my mate."
"I can’t do that," I replied, looking down at him from another branch.
"Then, die." The snake beastman showed his fangs, hissing and getting ready to charge.
I avoided his attack and flew directly at her, my arms changing into wings.
"My duty is not yet complete. I will return for you, and when I do, I will formally request the honor of claiming you as my mate," I declared as I flew away.
Composure, my lifelong shield, now lay shattered by a single glimpse of her scarred face. My talons curled reflexively, already defending her from some unseen threat.
The cold-blooded called her his mate, but I saw no affection in his eyes, only possession. He would break her further, grind her down until nothing remained of that fierce spirit that had called to something deep in my bones.
She reflected my own purpose, my reason for existing. Someone who gave without expecting anything in return, who fought because it was right, not for glory.
In that moment, I understood what had drawn me to her across the whole forest and bloodshed. She carried the same weight I did...the burden of responsibility for those who couldn’t protect themselves.
I didn’t understand females, never had. But with her, for the first time, I didn’t need to understand her every thought to understand her essence.
"Blasted feathers!" I cursed and flew faster, determined to get her some healing cores as soon as possible.
My anger was rising again, and this time, it wasn’t just because of her wounds. It was because she was a massive swindler!
What rescue team? This whole time, the raccoon village’s so-called aid was nothing but a cold-blooded and cunningly disguised female!
Half the day passed before I gathered what I needed. Females required more than just beast cores. The cores had to be blended with specific herbs before they could safely consume them.
But when I returned, she was nowhere to be found. The snake was gone, and so was she. It was nothing unexpected.
I knew how to track a beastman. So, I did just that. It didn’t take long for me to find the snake’s trail, which led me toward the monkey village.