"Kaelen!"
Sane transformed into human form and rushed to the cave, his claws extending to tear apart the layer of vines covering the entrance. Kaelen was sitting and weaving a net out of vines; hearing the familiar call, he was slightly stunned for a few seconds. In just that brief moment, the vines outside were torn apart, and the light from outside shone into his eyes, causing Kaelen's pupils to sting slightly.
Before he could regain his senses, his entire body fell into a warm embrace; the familiar scent rushed into his nose, causing the restless and uneasy emotions in his chest to gradually settle down. The newcomer hugged Kaelen very tightly, as if wanting to embed Kaelen into his own flesh. His calls also carried an irrepressible sob; Kaelen could not believe it, his trembling hands embracing that broad back.
Safe, warm, solid... All the fears and anxieties of so many days vanished at this moment; he gripped tightly onto Sane's back, scratching out several bloody lines, and burst out crying with a "waa".
"I am here, I have arrived, do not be afraid. I am sorry, I am sorry, it was I who did not protect you well. Kaelen, my Kaelen." Sane comforted him while kissing all over Kaelen's hair, ears, eyes, nose, and lips. Not only his voice, but his body was also trembling incessantly. Beast God bless, he thought he had lost Kaelen forever.
"Kaelen, let us become mates when we return this time, alright? I will never leave you again. Can you give me a chance to make up for my mistakes?"
Kaelen did not answer, only rubbing his head against Sane's chest, a wave of frustration rising in his chest again. Previously he was saying something about being lovers, then he rejected his mating proposal, and now he was demanding to be his life partner. It was still daytime, he hadn't even gone to sleep yet to be having such beautiful dreams!
Recalling the morning sickness and the lack of pheromones that had tormented him half to death these past few days, the fury in Kaelen's heart flared up, and he opened his mouth to bite into Sane's shoulder. Then...
"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"
He hurriedly pushed Sane away, opening his mouth and spitting repeatedly. Dammit, how many days had this stinky snake gone without bathing, causing Kaelen to bite into a mouthful full of dirt!
Seeing the Sub-Beast continuously hugging the water pot and rinsing his mouth, Sane's entire body petrified. He had been rushing about searching for Kaelen for so many days, not even having the time to eat, where would he have the mood to think about anything else. Now that he recalled it, he had not bathed for half a month, and moreover, he had been constantly rolling around during this time, so his body was covered in quite a bit of mud and dirt...
Disdained by the Sub-Beast, Sane faced the wall in the corner, sulking.
After Kaelen finished rinsing his mouth, his mood improved a little. Looking at the snake squatting in the corner, frustratingly poking a hole in the cliff wall, he found it extremely eyesore; thus, he waved his hand, and a series of vines extended, wrapping around Sane and throwing Sane outside.
"Oh wow, Kaelen's throwing motion is getting more and more proficient." Walter chuckled while looking at a certain beastman being thrown and rolling around, eating nuts and bouncing his leg while laughing gloatingly.
The group of beastmen from the Obsidian tribe also let out a snort of contempt. So much for being cold and abstinent, so much for being allergic to Sub-Beasts. Serves him right!
Anthony watched Sane getting thrown into a roll, then standing up to grope his way back into the cave, only to be thrown out again, and smiled helplessly. He then turned around and spoke in an anxious tone:
"If that is the case, can those small tribes on the other side of the magical beast forest hold out through the blizzard?"
Collins shook his head, his face full of helplessness: "They might not be able to hold out. On our migration route, we encountered no less than five medium and small tribes. Medium tribes were slightly better; at least their supplies were still abundant. As for the small tribes, forget about it; in our tribe right now, there are nearly a hundred people who joined midway. Those were the only survivors from their tribes."
Anthony still wanted to ask if they wanted to come to the Obsidian tribe, but the words that reached his mouth were swallowed back down. Even though he was the clan leader's son, he could not make decisions arbitrarily; this matter still needed to be approved by the council of elders. The young man's thoughts were written all over his face, how could Collins not understand? He said directly:
"I know what you want to say. Initially, we also had this intention; however, as for what your tribe's internal affairs are like, you know it yourself. We still want to wait for the blizzard to melt and return to the other side of the magical beast forest for a trip, to see if we can save any more tribes. On this point alone, your council of elders will definitely not agree."
These words poked right into Anthony's mind, making him unable to help but feel frustrated internally. To be honest, he had long been sick to his stomach of this council of elders. Even for matters as trivial as wild chicken feathers, they would argue noisily for three days without resolution, and whatever the clan leader wanted to do had to be approved by the council of elders.
Do not let the peaceful surface fool you; in reality, there was always hidden infighting within. Just looking at how the group of beastmen warriors also formed factions was enough to understand. In his heart, Anthony also had some calculations. His Daddy had long been discouraged and disheartened, and through this incident, he was even more disappointed.
If they were going to give up on the current tribe, then why not try establishing another tribe? There were definitely still many tribes needing salvation on the other side of the magical beast forest; if they brought them back, and then rebuilt from scratch together, it wasn't impossible. They had Kaelen, they had Priest Nyx, and they had hardworking and loyal beastmen.
These things could not be said right now; he would discuss them with Daddy after returning.
"Anyway, the conditions here are not very good, would you all like to come over to our tribe to sit for a bit?"
Collins extended the invitation. Partly because he couldn't bear to see the youngsters tired and still having to endure the freezing cold, and partly because he also had his own hidden motives. From his observations over these past few days, Kaelen and Walter had definitely suffered many grievances in the Obsidian tribe; if they met the passionately fiery clan members of the Crimson tribe, it might perhaps move their hearts.
Furthermore, he also wanted to speak privately with Anthony about the danger coming from the other side of the magical beast forest; there were many people here, so it was not convenient to speak out.
Anthony thought for a moment and then nodded. Since the person had been found anyway, delaying for a day or two would not be a problem. He also wanted to observe the situation of the Crimson tribe to conveniently report back to his Daddy.
"Quinlan, you go over there and tell Sane and Kaelen that we are going to visit the Crimson tribe, and ask if they want to go together."
That young couple was still busy flirting with each other; they didn't necessarily have to go bother them, they just wanted to give them a notice.
Quinlan flew to a bush not far from Sane's location and relayed Anthony's words. Although Sane still wanted to be alone with Kaelen for a bit, thinking about the Sub-Beast suffering in the wilderness for many days, Sane couldn't bear to let Kaelen endure more hardship, so he said:
"I will talk to Kaelen and ask for his opinion. You guys wait for me a bit, I will answer right after I ask."
However, without waiting for Sane to go in and ask, Kaelen stepped outside, waving his hands: [We will go with everyone. But I have something to say to Sane, you go ahead first.]
When Kaelen stepped out of the cave, both Sane and Quinlan could not help but be stunned. Who is this?
Loving beauty is the nature of the Avian clan; Quinlan unconsciously spread his wings and tail, puffing his chest out to strike a posture he considered the most handsome. Afterward, he used this standard courtship posture of the male Avian clan to hop back and forth in front of Kaelen. Sane snapped out of his astonishment right after; seeing Quinlan's actions, his face instantly darkened, and his eyes contracted into beast pupils. He grabbed that bright yellow bird without hesitation, swinging his arm and throwing Quinlan toward the forest.
"Ahhhh! Sane! You bastard! Just you wait!!!"
Quinlan was thrown with the speed of an electric spark, zipping past patches of leaves. By the time Walter found his cousin, Quinlan was struggling to pull his beak out of a tree trunk. He curled his lips and scolded "serves you right", then used his strength to pull Quinlan out. During this process, Walter also conveniently plucked a few of Quinlan's tail feathers, putting them into his animal skin bag.
In any case, the feathers of a Yellow Sparrow are quite beautiful; taking them back to make jewelry isn't bad at all.