The sun had just set when Serena and Kiro approached the tiger beastmen campsite. They had to take the long way around the tribe, Serena wanting to avoid as many beastmen as possible.
Thanks to the fact she now was a snow leopard beastwoman, Serena's eyes could adapt to the darkness and she was able to look around as they walked.
There are about twenty beastmen hanging around a campfire, most of them tigers. The rest were wolves and there was even a hawk beastman.
Likely for quick communication since birds can travel far at a much faster pace. Serena thought to herself as the tiger leader from earlier walked over to them.
"You came early." The leader mused, glancing over at the siblings.
"Well, we're no longer welcome in this tribe, so I thought it was best to come here as soon as we concluded our business here." Serena stated. "We just need a spot for the night. I hope that's not too much trouble."
While the cave would probably be a better place to stay for the night, Serena wasn't really up to it. It technically belonged to the tribe and she doubted the tribe chief would allow her to stay after this afternoon's drama.
Best to move out before they were thrown out. That way she could avoid them scheming against her some more. The less drama in her life the better.
"It's no trouble." The leader said, a little taken back by her words. "You can sleep by the campfire to keep warm since we don't have shelters up."
It would take too much time to build any shelter so the caravan was sleeping under the stars since the beastmen could handle it. He had not expected this to happen otherwise he would've made a better plan.
Thankfully the nights were still warm, so the female wouldn't get sick sleeping under the stars. That would be a problem for them if she got sick before such a long journey.
"That's fine." Serena nodded her head in understanding. "Thank you…"
She paused, realizing she didn't know the tiger's name. He seemed to understand it and said, "You can call me Richard… And no need to thank me. It's a male's duty to provide for a female."
"Alright…" Serena murmured. "We'll get settled for the night Richard."
He gave them a small smile at her words and Serena moved closer to the campfire. Some of the beastmen were eating meat while others relaxed for the evening. As she walked over to them with Kiro, the group became quiet.
They watched as she moved to an empty spot by the fire, pulling out a large animal fur to lay on. Kiro helped her lay it out on the hard ground as Richard walked over to a tiger beastman guarding the campsite some distance away.
He was a large beastman, about 6ft, and brawny with scars covering his muscled torso and arms. His blue eyes scanned the area around them, white cat ears flickering at the slightist noise.
There were five stripes marked on his shoulders - three on the right and two on the left shoulder - showing his power. He was young, but a powerful beastman already.
"Theo, guard that female and the cub for the night." Richard said to his nephew once he got to the tree Theo was leaning against. "Michael can take over guard duty from you."
Theo's eyes glanced over at the campsite, quickly spotting the female. She was busy laying down a fur to sleep on, the fire's orange light highlighting her clean face and golden eyes.
Despite there now being no dirt on her face, Theo immediately recognized her from that fight between the leopard females earlier. He could never forget how cold those eyes got, threatening to rip the other female apart.
It was quite scary, something he'd never seen from a female. While there were always fights among females, they were mostly always verbal or between their mates.
Females almost never got into physical fights like that. If one could even call that a fight. It looked more like a beat down.
"Why are you making me guard her?" Theo finally asked, turning back to his uncle. "The males around the campfire should be enough to protect her."
"True, but I don't need any of them getting ideas." Richard shrugged. "I don't need them scaring her."
While he was acting like it was nothing more than that, Theo could see through his uncle's scheming. Richard was trying to give him a chance to get into the female's good graces in hopes they became mates.
However, Theo wasn't interested in that. But no matter how much he made that clear to his uncle, the older beastman was always trying to play matchmaker with him.
"I'm not interested." Theo muttered, crossing his arms over his chest "Have someone else do it."
He wasn't going to act as a babysitter for some pretty female. She would only cause him more trouble by having to deal with the other males and her possible attitude. It was already clear she started fights.
This whole thing was troublesome already. His uncle had forced him on this trip, wanting to find him a mate. Richard was keen on keeping his promise made to his sister, Theo's mother, to find him a female.
Much to Theo's dismay.
"You don't get a say in this." Richard stated. "I'm putting you in charge of her well-being for the whole journey back to Forest City. That's an order."
A growl rose from Theo's throat, his canines slipping out. Richard watched him with a blank look, not impressed with him at all.
"It's for your own good. That female is a good one." Richard continued, ignoring the glare Theo was sending him. "Don't be foolish."
"Tsk!" Theo clicked his tongue. "It seems you've hit your head and have gone mad. What kind of female that starts fights is good?"
Richard gazed at him with similar blue eyes before he finally sighed, "Fine… I won't force you then. Just don't come crying to me later."
With that he left Theo alone to go back to his night watch, moving to speak with another male. One that already had a mate. After introducing Serena and the tiger beastman, Richard went to check on other things.
Serena settled down on her makeshift bed as she watched Richard head off, glancing at the lone male he had been speaking to some distance away. She then turned away, laying down on her fur, another covering her body.
Kiro shifted into his beast form, a small snow leopard with black spots covering his greyish-white fur, and quickly snuggled into Serena's arms. She let him do so, making sure to cover him with the fur blanket.
But despite being settled in for the night and having someone keep the other males from annoying her, Serena couldn't sleep. Not when she had so much on her mind.