Chapter 3: Talking Along the Way
After washing my hair, everything happened so fast that it felt surreal — not in a romantic way, but in a quiet, unbelieving sense that I'd taken one more step toward my goal. Honestly, this was a gamble. If Kai had turned aggressive when I first saw him, I was prepared to hurt both myself and him if that's what it took.
Ferals are considered criminals and wanderers without a clan or territory. And for people like that, you'd be surprised that they have a territorial innate nature. Even if they settled somewhere briefly before moving on, weaker beasts stay away; even the stronger ones avoid confrontation altogether. The beast world is ruled by strength, and their system of governance is brutally simple.
There are four main clans. The Northern Beast Clan lives in icy terrain where winter lasts most of the year. Their main trade is in spirit stones, gems, and rare ores mined from frozen caves. The northern beastmen are stoic, powerful, and mostly wolves or bears, trading their treasures and hides for salt and grain.
The Eastern regions are covered in rivers and forests. The season similar to this region's climate is spring. It's rich with herbs and strange flowers, and they also specialize in alchemy and healing. Most herbalists, healers, and spiritual guides come from there. Many of their people have wings or fins — harpies, sirens, merfolk — living close to water.
Western beastmen rule the deserts and dry plains, trading in salt, hides, and spices. They're cunning traders and skilled navigators of the dunes, mostly lions, hawks, or foxes. They are sharp-eyed. Sometimes scorpions and poisonous predators live there too. You have to be sharp and alert if you're a western beastman.
The Southern Beast Clan is warm and humid all year, thriving on farming and craftwork. Fruits, grains, and livestock mostly come from there. Their people are lively, social, and love big gatherings. Boar, tiger, and monkey beastmen fill their villages with noise, laughter, and stubborn energy. If other clans mostly trade salt as a priority, southerners love wine and nuts and are mostly social. You can call them the busybody clan — it's also the liveliest.
Between them are smaller mid-clans — some loyal, some barely surviving under whichever Great Clan offers protection. The ferals, though, bow to no one. Aria is in the mid-clan of the south. Although there are various races of beastmen, having a clan is something they have pride in because of close relations and teamwork. It's easier to survive than being an outcast. The weak part of this is that there isn't always a form of identification; any random fox or beast can claim he's from a southern clan and another from the west. As long as you can hunt, folks will gladly welcome you. The life of beastmen is pretty simple.
This thought makes me think I'm quite lucky. I can't imagine being in a place that's always cold. Am I a polar bear? I could freeze to death. No wonder there are fewer females in the north.
With my small woven basket, we both headed into the nearby forest. Hunting wasn't exactly my thing, but gathering fruit felt safe enough. I thought strength could come later, and I might learn to hunt. I actually didn't learn all this since a lot of people hunted for me. I don't plan on hunting myself, but just to learn some basic skills. I believe survival comes first in any situation, and I still need to make Kai my official mate before taking him on my mission. Also, I could gather herbs while I'm at it to make the mate ritual myself. Like I care about the taboos.
"Hey, Kai," I called, pointing at a branch heavy with green-and-red fruit. "You're tall, help me reach that one, okay?"
Kai's tail, long and scaled halfway up his waist, shifted against the ground with a low hiss. In his half-beast form, his upper body looked human — broad shoulders, muscles taut under smooth skin — with a lower half serpentine, scales glistening under the light of breaking dawn. With an expressionless face, he said, "That's not edible," but still proceeded to pick the fruit.
"Show me everything you find first… got it?" he said in a low, tired voice, enough for me to hear him clearly and sense his mood behind the stretched words.
I rolled my eyes. "Bossy much!" I said as a matter of fact, proceeding to ignore him before looking for other edibles.
We moved slowly through the trees, and I reached for a cluster of round purple fruit. "This one's called Serin fruit, right? Or was it Moonberry?"
Kai glanced over lazily. "Serin. Moonberries are sour."
"Right, right." I plucked it and tossed one into the basket. "When I first came here, I called these plums. But apparently, they're not even related. It still tastes like honey, though."
Kai hummed. "When you first came here? You're not from the south, I assume?"
Oops, I thought. Still smiling, "No, I meant when I first came here to the forest and went fruit gathering with other females. Hehehe."
"Oh, okay," Kai said, giving me a strange look.
I somehow felt defensive and retorted with a question. "What clan are you from?"
He looked at me like, So you asked a feral to be your mate and expect him to be associated with a clan?
"Well, just asking," I said with an awkward smile, trying to change the subject. "I'm still learning the fruit names, though."
"But you still can't tell the difference or their names," he said without batting an eye, like he was sure of it.
"I don't forget," I said, fumbling with the fruit. "They just all look the same sometimes, and I don't see the point in memorizing fruit names like it's a school test."
"A school test?" Kai asked, one brow raised.
Oh no. I hoped he didn't notice how flustered I suddenly felt.
"Well… never mind," I muttered with a sigh, giving up before I embarrassed myself further.
"I mean, you can't blame me though, I have zero farm knowledge. The only fruits I really knew in the modern world were strawberries and apples. Well, maybe I'm exaggerating, but who even has time for fruit picking?" I said, half to myself. "I tried all kinds of fruit when I was in my second life, but I never bothered learning their names. Like, why would I? They were just… available."
Still caught between the familiar memories of both lives, I almost missed the soft, low sound of Kai's chuckle. We gathered more as we walked: Sunfire Seeds — taste different but have a nutty flavor and aroma; it's like cracking sunflower seeds. They are bright yellow pods, good when gossiping with friends. Lura Fruit are small orange berries that last long through winter. Mistleaf Pods are bitter and sharp, but their effects are similar to caffeine or energy drinks, used to stay awake during long travel.
I kept talking while we worked, rambling about which fruit spoiled fast and which didn't. At times, I said the names wrong, but I didn't want it to be silent. Since my persona right now is cheerful and innocent, I kept talking, and Kai mostly listened in silence, occasionally flicking his tongue like he was answering. I pretended not to notice, but when his gaze shifted toward mine — green meeting emerald — it was hard not to shiver. Something I never knew in me wanted to have him to myself and claim him as mine. The thought was fleeting and strange. I thought I was only getting a strong mate to survive. Who knew this would be the start of my obsession with only having strong mates and keeping them as mine.
After a while, my basket was half full. I sat on a smooth rock near the stream. Kai stayed standing, tail coiling lazily beside him.
"Do you ever sit?" I asked, wiping my hands on my skirt. "You just stand there like some statue. A really big, cold statue."
Kai tilted his head slightly. "And you just keep looking for mates by the stream?"
"That's not an answer."
"It's my answer."
I grinned. "You're impossible."
"Mm." A small curve tugged at his mouth. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was amused. I tossed a Lura fruit in the air and he caught it.
"So this one lasts through winter if you dry it right, right?"
He nodded. "Depends on the temperature. The North Clan freezes them."
With a fake exaggerated gasp, "Oh, I thought it was drying with fire, not freezing," I said.
"You—" He stopped, eyes narrowing a little. "—you burned half your food trying to copy them."
"Excuse me?" I gasped. "That was one time! And for the record, that was a decade ago."
He gave a low hum that might've been laughter — or maybe just a snake noise. Hard to tell.
"You know," I said, narrowing my eyes, "for someone this cute and cold, you barely speak."
"Cold doesn't need to talk," he replied evenly. "And I wouldn't call myself cute."
I smirked. "You wouldn't. That's why it's funny."
His tail flicked once, smooth and unbothered. "You talk too much."
With a grin, I tilted my head. "But someone has to make up for your silence. Or maybe I just want to annoy you."
His tail flicked lazily again. "Mission accomplished."
I snorted. "Wow. Real deep. Did you practice that one?"
"No." His tone stayed flat, but the corner of his mouth twitched — almost a smile.
I smiled back, trying not to show it. "You're impossible."
"Mm." His golden eyes glinted faintly. "Takes one to know one."
It was silent again, but not uncomfortable. The breeze shifted, brushing my hair across his arm — perks of long hair. I hadn't expected him to be accommodating. Quite a different experience, I guess — new life, new experience. Both lives' knowledge is useless; I don't know much about snakes, just the collective logic of people. When you hear snake beastmen, you think cold — simple logic. But this cold might be refreshing in summer. Heheh, always be positive.
Still giggling quietly like some fanatic, he caught me staring.
"What?"
"Nothing," I said quickly, brushing my hair. "Just… didn't expect you to be refreshing. Snake and all."
His eyes narrowed slightly. "You have a way with words."
"I didn't mean anything," I muttered. "I just assumed you'd be cold like winter instead of like morning dew or midnight spring."
"Do not assume — and you sure are poetic."
I didn't respond to that. After a long pause, he added, "You're something."
I blinked, not sure how to take that. "That's… not an insult, right?"
Kai didn't reply. He turned, tail sliding through the grass as he started walking. "We should move before nightfall. You talk too much when you're comfortable."
I hurried after him, smiling to myself. "Slow down, you're gliding, not walking!" I shouted.