Chapter 60: Mating Season
The rest of that night and the following morning had been a masterclass in swallowing pride and strategic social manoeuvring that Tera was frankly quite proud of.
Tera had gone to wash herself at the lake shortly after the shelter reveal, and Ermin had accompanied her since she hadn’t wanted to be alone.
Being alone still felt a little too raw after everything, and having the quiet panther nearby was strangely comforting, even if he mostly just stood off to the side looking grumpy and protective.
While she was there, a few of the females who had been washing nearby suddenly approached Tera, looking awkward and apologetic. They mumbled things about how they shouldn’t have doubted her so quickly and that Kiri’s words had been too harsh.
Tera had been genuinely surprised, but she had also seen an opportunity, and she was not stupid enough to waste it.
She had apologised right back.
Not because she believed she was wrong—she knew exactly who destroyed those shelters, and that knowledge sat in her chest like a hot coal she refused to drop—but because she understood that being right meant nothing if no one believed you.
Strategy beat sincerity, even back in her workplace. Her being in a new, crazy environment had destabilised that, but she needed to bring a bit of herself back. Kiri was not the only one who could weaponise certain things.
Tera told the females that she had spoken out of turn. Accusing someone without proof was wrong, and she had only just panicked after seeing the shelters destroyed and noticing Kiri’s smile.
The females were scandalised and felt sorry for Tera, practically falling over themselves to reassure her, and a few had even apologised on Kiri’s behalf, agreeing that the fox had said things she shouldn’t have.
By the time Tera left the stream, her influence had quietly climbed two whole points, and the system had the audacity to congratulate her on "finally developing basic political instincts."
She chose not to respond to that particular comment.
The real shock came the next morning.
Tera had spent the night in her new shelter and had slept so deeply that she was half-convinced the silk bedding had drugged her.
When she had steeled herself to face the clan again, expecting awkward silence or lingering distrust, she had walked into their midst to discover that the two destroyed shelters had been rebuilt.
Not perfectly, not with her usual precision, but solidly. The walls were a bit bulkier where they had bundled the threads instead of using the needles, which Tera always kept with herself rather than leaving them behind when the clan was done using them.
It was amazing that they had even put the shelters together without sewing the leaves to the stick supports. The threads had been tied instead, but even with the imperfections, Tera noticed it was mostly well done.
And they were sturdy.
Tera was beyond shocked. The clan was scattered around the clearing in various states of exhaustion. Some were slumped against trees, their eyes half-closed. Others were sprawled on the ground with the boneless abandon of creatures who had pushed through an entire night of labour and had only recently stopped moving.
Some of them stood at alert when they noticed Tera, who was still in a state of shock.
It turned out that they had spent the whole day and night rebuilding the shelters while Xavi and Ermin had spent the day making her own.
And they had done a good job without her supervision.
Tera felt oddly happy, proud, and so impressed at the same time that she didn’t know what to do with those emotions at first.
But she felt so touched, almost as if they had done this for her. From the relief written across the beast folk’s faces and how they had looked eagerly at her, she realised they had.
And she felt a bit sad that they had worn themselves out for this.
[Construction: +3]
[Influence: +3]
[Clan Cohesion: Significantly improved]
[The Dow Clan has demonstrated independent initiative]
Even Kiri had approached her. The fox had stood in front of Tera with an expression that looked like someone had forced her to swallow a live insect, and had delivered the most grudging apology in the history of spoken language. Her words had been technically correct and emotionally vacant, like a letter written by someone who had been told exactly what to say and resented every syllable.
Tera had smiled, thanked her graciously, and apologised in return for accusing Kiri.
The look of pure irritated confusion on Kiri’s face had been extremely satisfying.
From that point forward, Tera made a quiet decision.
Even if it was to pretend, which wasn’t the case, she would curry the favour of the clan members thoroughly until her position was so solid that no amount of fox tears could shake it. She would do her best to remain calm and rethink every decision, and most importantly, she would need to properly pay attention to detail regarding the system.
It had told her from the beginning that it would never give her impossible tasks. Three months were enough for what she needed to do. Whatever came, be it the weather or any other unexpected situation, she would handle it properly.
She wasn’t about to have her second life be ruined by a silly system and someone with a pretty tail and no conscience.
By evening, Tera was already moving through the settlement, checking on the beasts who had clearly overworked themselves. The pregnant females especially looked drained, and she made a point of telling them to rest properly and not lift anything heavier than a water skin for the next couple of days.
That was when her body started feeling wrong.
At first, it was just a low, restless warmth under her skin, like she had been sitting too close to a fire. Then her clothes started feeling slightly too rough against her arms and the back of her neck. A dull, unfamiliar ache settled low in her belly, and every time she shifted her weight, she became uncomfortably aware of the space between her thighs.
It felt different from the usual arousal, so she felt a fever might be coming on.
Tera had finished inspecting the farm, taken a few herbs with her and some water to treat herself. She was making her way back to her shelter when a female paused near her, sniffing the air.
Her eyes widened slightly. She leaned closer to Tera, sniffing again.
"You smell... nice."
Of all things, Tera had not expected to be sniffed at. Only Xavi had done that. "What?"
"Your scent. It is sweet. Almost like..." The female tilted her head, confused. "That is strange. You have never had a scent before."
Before she could process that comment, she noticed two of the nearby males glancing in her direction. The moment their eyes met hers, they both looked away a little too quickly, ears slightly tense, like they’d been caught doing something they shouldn’t.
A third male, further away, was staring openly before he seemed to realise what he was doing and abruptly found the ground very interesting.
Tera’s skin prickled.
"What do you mean I have a scent?"
"I do not know how to describe it." The female sniffed once more. "It is nice. You smell very fertile."
’I smell WHAT?!’
The warm, restless feeling under her skin intensified, spreading lower. Her pulse felt a little too loud in her ears. She shifted her weight again, and the soft friction of her clothes against her body sent a small, unwelcome shiver up her spine.
’What is happening here? SYSTEM!’
[Congratulations, Host!]
[( • ̀ω•́ )✧]
[Your first heat cycle has begun!]