Chapter 206: A Clan Member?
A few days later, things continued in the same light as before. Everyone’s mood had improved, and they continued living in the same bustling atmosphere they had in their improved home.
One afternoon, while others were busy back at the tribe, Eris volunteered to go out and gather some rare herbs for the meal. Ronan was pretty much sick so he wanted to go and get some which would be used later on to prepare some medication for him.
Plus he was also bored and needed to stroll around the wild forest.
Eris went alone and made his way through the vast woods of the evil forest. The destination where he would find the herb was far—almost at the edge of the evil forest. He was aware of this but still made his way down.
That afternoon, Eris arrived at the thick bushes where he would pick up the herbs. He made his observations through the thick bushes before he proceeded to collect them one after the other.
"This should work... and this too..." He nodded to himself while he made his selection, picking them off the bush. When he was done, he smiled at his little collection.
"This should be enough. I should get going now." He said to himself as he got up and began setting off back to the tribe.
On his way, Eris encountered something. While heading back home, he heard a sound in the woods—a soft, tiny voice that didn’t belong to a wild beast or monster.
At that moment, Eris paused and looked around. He couldn’t help but wonder who this voice belonged to. He wanted to ignore it and continue moving, but the voice came again and again.
He paused as he turned and stared in the direction it was coming from. Having confirmed it was from there, he made his way toward it.
Eris slowly approached the scene and pushed the bushes aside—only to see a lady lying there on the ground with her leg hurt.
It wasn’t just any lady. It was a fox lady—one with brown hair and red ears. One that Eris recognized as being from his own tribe.
At first, he paused and stared at her, confused. He couldn’t believe his eyes. He couldn’t believe that he could possibly see someone from his own tribe around here.
The female, who was sobbing, paused and stared up at him. The delicate-looking female stared at him, fear in her eyes. "Who are you...?" she asked in her soft, delicate tone.
Eris casually smiled as he stared at the female. "I was just passing by and then heard a sound... I guess you were the one making it." He stared down at her leg, looking at the bleeding injury she had sustained.
"Are you okay?" he asked her.
The female sobbed softly as she shook her head. "I’m not okay... I was hurt while strolling around here by some wild beasts. I was lucky to have escaped." She said as she stared at Eris. "You... you look like a fox from my tribe. Are you?"
Eris hesitated before he smiled with a nod. "The same thoughts. We seem to be from the same tribe, don’t you think so?"
The female slowly smiled as she stared at him. "That’s great. I never expected to see someone from my tribe out here in the wilds. I’m so lucky. Now I know that I’ll be saved for sure." She smiled softly at Eris.
Eris smiled back with a nod as he slowly approached. "But what is a female fox like you doing around here in the wild all alone?" he asked.
She smiled as she said, "I had a fight with my people at home. They’re forcing me to marry someone I do not like at all. And so I escaped and ran as far as I could. Who would have thought that I’d end up here?" She smiled as she stared at her leg. "And then I encountered a wild beast around and while on the run, I hurt myself." She sighed. "And you?" The lady stared up at Eris. "What is a fox doing out here in the wild?"
Eris paused, staring at her. He was surprised—surprised that she was asking him that sort of question. Because if his memories were still correct, everyone from the fox tribe knew about him.
Who didn’t know about the cursed monster like him? So he was surprised when this female was asking about him without recognizing him.
"Oh me?" Eris forced a smile as he said, "I just left and came to stay around here. So yeah."
The female shook her head in admiration. "You staying all alone out here in the woods? That sure is remarkable, I must say."
But Eris casually smiled while he shook his head. "It’s nothing much at all." He looked around as he said, "This place is dangerous. Why don’t you get yourself healed and begin making preparations to leave? I’m sure your family would be worried about you."
The female suddenly broke down into a sobbing session again. Eris stared at her, confused. "What’s wrong...?"
"Well, I can’t go back. I definitely can’t go back because they’re just going to hurt me and force me to marry him." She said as she looked up at Eris with tearful eyes. "Please don’t send me back. Don’t force me to head back at all."
Eris hesitated and then nodded. "Okay, sure. I won’t."
"And please..." The lady hesitated as she said, "I’m only a female in this wild land without any help. If you leave me, I’ll probably be eaten by these wild beasts anytime soon. So please... since you already have somewhere to stay, can you take me in? Can you house me for the meantime?"
The female had a soft expression of pity as she pleaded, as if her life depended on it. "So please don’t send me away. Take me in and let me stay with you for the meantime."