Chapter 109: You were about to lick me
"No fire."
Dagan’s order spread through both camps before darkness fully covered Splitstone.
Several Riverbone survivors stopped gathering dry branches.
Raku looked toward the gray wolf leader.
"Why?"
"The things released from the forest are drawn to heat and smoke."
Dagan stood beside one of Ashclaw’s cold fire pits with his hands folded behind his back.
"If you light a fire here, you invite them directly into camp."
Swanly frowned.
Most of the ancient creatures they had faced from rot nest itself were not infected.
That was the terrifying part of this world.
Sometimes the danger carried rot.
Sometimes it was simply a living predator that wanted flesh.
Sometimes it had been sleeping beneath the earth long before the infection appeared.
The Rot Nest had released a mixture of them. Ancient beings, corrupted animals, infected creatures, and things that did not belong in any reasonable food chain.
The same survival rule did not work twice.
Swanly looked toward Thalara.
"Is he right?"
The Aelari sat near a split stone with black cracks still visible across both arms.
"Some things follow warmth."
Dagan smiled.
"Exactly."
Thalara’s forehead eye shifted toward him.
"Some fear it."
His smile tightened.
Before Swanly could question him further, Soren spoke from where Nahla was examining his damaged core.
"No fires."
Raku looked at him.
Soren’s face remained pale. Dark scales flickered beneath his jaw and disappeared again.
"We do not know this land," he said. "Until we do, we do not announce our location with smoke."
Dagan inclined his head as though he had won something.
Riverbone prepared to spend the night in darkness.
Swanly did not like it.
Neither did Kael.
His black ears remained angled toward Ashclaw’s side of the stone basin while he settled beside Swanly and the cubs.
The combined camp was surrounded by steep gorge walls, fallen leaves, and narrow cracks disappearing beneath the rocks.
Too many hiding places.
Too many unfamiliar scents.
Too many men watching Riverbone’s females.
Kael pulled Swanly closer.
His injured shoulder was still wrapped, but the rapid-healing medicine had begun working. The claw marks were closing beneath the binding.
Slowly.
Not quickly enough for Swanly’s peace of mind.
Miko crawled into her lap.
His little nose touched her cheek.
Swanly caught his chin immediately.
"No."
Miko blinked.
"No what?"
"You were about to lick me."
"No."
"Your tongue was outside."
"Tongue looking."
Swanly narrowed her eyes.
"We have been running through blood, dirt, dead leaves, and things I refuse to identify. If you lick anything tonight, I will tie a clean cloth around your mouth and call you Little Silent until morning."
Miko’s golden eyes widened in horror.
"No mouth?"
"No licking."
He covered his lips with both hands.
Kairo sat beside Swanly, trying to look like a serious guard despite his tiny bare feet sticking from beneath his hide covering.
Nilo quietly examined Miko.
"You cannot stay silent."
Miko removed one hand.
"Can."
Kairo looked at him.
"No."
Miko gasped.
"You brothers bad."
He launched himself at them.
The three cubs rolled across the hide mat, kicking and laughing quietly.
Swanly caught Miko before he could tumble into Kael’s injured arm.
"You little menace."
Miko twisted in her grip.
"Fast menace!"
Kael watched them.
The night had swallowed most of the gorge, but beastmen saw well in darkness.
He saw Swanly’s silver-white hair falling over one shoulder.
Dirt stained her cheek.
Black blood remained beneath one nail.
Exhaustion shadowed her eyes.
She was still the most beautiful female he had ever seen.
Not because she looked untouched by the world.
Because the world had clawed at her all day, and she was still making their cubs laugh.
She had nearly fallen into a ravine.
She had fought ancient creatures.
She had watched people die.
Now she was threatening to name their youngest son Little Silent while Kairo and Nilo attempted to bury him beneath a fur.
Kael’s chest tightened.
His female was alive.
His cubs were alive.
For this moment, that was enough.
Swanly caught him staring.
"What?"
"You are beautiful."
She froze.
Kairo stopped wrestling.
Nilo looked up.
Miko shoved his head out from beneath the fur.
"Mama dirty."
Kael did not look away from her.
"Yes."
Swanly’s mouth fell open.
Kael continued, "Still beautiful."
Her face warmed.
Miko pointed excitedly.
"Mama red!"
Swanly grabbed the fur and threw it over all three cubs.
"Go to sleep."
Tiny laughter erupted beneath it.
Several nearby survivors looked over.
Some appeared confused.
People had died that morning.
More were wounded.
Ancient things followed them through the forest.
How could Swanly’s family still laugh?
But the sound travelled through the dark camp.
A frightened female smiled despite herself.
Tilla sat nearby with Tavi tucked against her chest.
Her eyes softened.
Their laughter was not disrespect for the dead.
It was proof that death had not eaten everything yet.
Across the camp, Soren’s tail struck the stone.
Crack!
Nahla looked up from his bandages.
"What offended you now?"
"Nothing."
"You keep attacking the ground."
"The ground remains irritating."
His gaze stayed on Swanly and Kael.
Nahla followed it.
Then she looked back at him.
"You are going to split your core from jealousy before your venom finishes the job."
Soren’s eyes turned slowly toward her.
"I am not jealous."
"Of course not."
Nahla tightened his binding harder than necessary.
Soren’s claws scraped the stone.
Tilla covered a small smile and looked away.
Nerin sat alone several steps beyond the family group.
A strip of hide remained tied around the bleeding base of his broken antler.
He watched Swanly press her forehead against Kairo’s.
Something soft and painful moved through his chest.
He was not angry at Kael.
He was not angry at the cubs.
He only remembered what it felt like when someone cared whether he came home.
He lowered his eyes before Kael noticed him looking.
Swanly leaned against Kael and opened the private task menu inside her vision.
She had been ignoring one small glowing mark for days.
{Pending rewards available.}
Swanly blinked.
Pending?