Chapter 44: Running On Fumes
A number of seeds had been uprooted, and the tubers were scattered across the dirt like someone had yanked them out and tossed them aside.
Tera’s blood went cold, and then very, very hot.
Someone had done this on purpose.
She looked around the clearing. The early risers were already up, and they stopped short upon seeing the mess.
Tera, however, had noticed the mysterious smile on Kiri’s face before it had been wiped off. She had also realised that this particular female was not pregnant like the rest, and she had been the same one she had noticed buddying up against Ermin. Tera had decided not to focus on that, even though it had bothered her a bit.
It was a bit of a relief that Ermin barely gave that pesky fox the time of day, but now Tera was realising that Kiri was going to be a problem.
Their eyes met.
Kiri didn’t flinch or look away. She just held Tera’s gaze with a calm, steady expression that said, very clearly, ’prove it.’
This gave Tera a terrible dilemma. She couldn’t accuse Kiri without proof, and she had already learned an earlier lesson with the clan confrontation. Most liked her now, but there were still some who were disgruntled.
And even those who liked her were not too happy about the workload. Even so, Kiri had been with them longer, and her throwing accusations without evidence only made Tera look like the villain.
The clan members had already discussed getting to the bottom of this matter, but were confused as to why someone would damage the crops that had just started to grow.
To solve this issue, Tera had suggested posting a watch.
Four beast men would rotate shifts by watching the farmland through the night. It was a simple solution, and when she explained it to Xavi, he approved immediately.
But it had taken extra effort to put everything back together, and Tera had made sure Kiri did a large portion of it, much to the fox’s annoyance.
Towards the end of the second week, and a third shelter in progress, Tera was running on fumes. She could feel the exhaustion stacking, one layer on top of another, like bricks being placed on her shoulders.
This was starting to feel like she was back on site again.
Why couldn’t she have gotten some break in this new world?
Her mind was constantly running. Calculating timelines, adjusting plans, troubleshooting problems, watching for sabotage, watching Ermin, watching Xavi, watching Kiri, watching the sky for signs of rain.
Her body was frustratingly weak compared to the other beasts around her, but she could feel small improvements. Her agility had ticked up. So had her strength, barely.
But it didn’t feel like enough.
The system had started pinging her with alerts she didn’t want to see.
[Warning: Host’s stress levels are elevated]
[Physical fatigue: High]
[Mental fatigue: Critical]
[(ᗒᗩᗕ)]
[This system is genuinely worried]
’I do not have time to be tired.’
She was hoping to just construct a third shelter, and the females and cubs could sleep in them while they took a break in the third week.
At times, Tera felt guilty that she might be overworking the clan, but no one had complained so much.
[This system has seen Host stumble three times today]
[One of those times, Host walked into a tree!]
’The tree was in my way.’
[The tree has been in that location for several decades]
[(·•᷄_•᷅ )]
It was Xavi who noticed first. Or rather, Xavi, who said something about it first.
He had been watching her all week with an increasingly troubled expression, the kind of frown that started in his eyebrows and worked its way down until his entire face was a monument to concern.
Unlike the rest of the clan, she was working herself the most.
His efforts to have other clan members sneakily take tasks away from Tera because of her stubbornness had failed. When Tera had nothing to do, she went to look for something to do, and would not rest until late in the night after most of the clan had slept off.
As he saw Tera dragging one bundle of heavy sticks across the ground, he walked up to her and grabbed the load out of her hands.
She was having such trouble moving something so light.
"No... I was almost there," Tera whined, reaching for the sticks.
Xavi frowned.
"You are doing too much. Tell me what needs to be done."
Tera blinked up at him, too tired to process the sentence. "What?"
"You know what needs to be built, tell me what to do so I can instruct the clan. Go and rest. You do not need to do everything with your own hands."
Tera opened her mouth to argue, but when she realised that would take even more of her energy, she gave up.
’What message does he think will translate to the others when they all work and I barely do anything?’
"I am fine."
"You are not fine. You are small and tired, and you forget to eat unless I bring you food."
Xavi had been sneaking her morsels of meat and fruits throughout the days, and Tera’s eyes widened as she realised just how frequently he had been doing that.
’Am I really overworking myself that much?’
[(っ◞‸◟ c)]
[Host...]
[Xavi is worried about Host’s well-being]
[This system shares his concern]
[(◞‸◟)]
Tera sighed. "The others are working hard. And we need to do this quickly. I promise you will all rest this coming week and—"
"You have been working since before the sun rose. You are small, and you need rest more than the others."
He stared down at her, leaving no room for excuses. Tera finally let go of her stubbornness and walked away to rest, promising herself to only close her eyes for five minutes.
She was asleep in thirty seconds.
And somewhere in Tera’s body, a biological clock was ticking toward a heat cycle that was going to catch her unawares.
But that was a problem for another day.
Ermin was resting near the farm, his sleep going longer than usual as he felt a fever developing.