As Rayna stepped outside beside Soren and the village elder, her eyes widened in shock.
"What the heck is this...?" Rayna asked.
Rayna was immediately met with the sight of twenty to twenty-five beastmen gathered outside the chief's hut—arguing loudly and practically chest-bumping each other.
"I'm the strongest here! I was even placed third in last year's duel competition—I should get to talk to her first!" one fox beastman shouted, puffing out his chest.
Another scoffed.
"Strength isn't everything. Females also want kindness and love. She'll choose someone like me, gentle and who actually knows how to treat a mate."
The arguments kept growing louder—each beastman trying to one-up the other with strength, skill, or sensitivity. The scene was pure chaos.
Rayna stood still, her eyes wide—but not with fear.
"I... didn't expect this," she thought.
Sure, she'd always joked about having multiple mates in her fantasies... but now, with so many handsome beastmen openly arguing over who gets to speak to her first?
Well, it was overwhelming... but not in a bad way.
"So this is what it feels like to be the center of attention...Okay, it's a little chaotic. But also kinda fun." Rayna bit the inside of her cheek, trying to suppress the pleased smile threatening to spread.
The chief, stepped in.
"Soren," she said calmly, "escort Rayna to her hut."
Soren stepped forward without hesitation and gently guided Rayna away from the crowd. As she walked beside him, she glanced back one last time.
The village chief was already raising her voice, commanding attention—
"Enough! Is this how we present ourselves to a newcomer?"
Some of the beastmen shifted awkwardly, ears flattening.
The village chief continued, "I understand the Wet season is around the corner and you all are eager to get a mate. But that doesn't mean you'll lose all sense of respect and reason. Let her breathe. Let her settle. When the time is right, she'll decide for herself. Until then, I expect everyone here to act with dignity—understood?"
A murmur of agreement followed, most nodding or looking sheepishly at the ground.
Rayna blinked, a little awed.
"Okay... she's kind of awesome," Rayna thought looking at the village chief.
Then, Rayna while following Soren comprehended the chief's words, "Hmm... the Wet season, the season when the beastmen mate and reproduce. Well...I guess it will get a bit uncomfortable and difficult to sleep with all the beasts making love and howling."
Soren and Rayna continued to walk for a minute more and then Soren pointed.
"There you go. Your haven in the Vukari village." Soren indicated towards the hut.
Rayna walked closer and entered the hut. It was pretty decent, had a similar structure like the other huts she saw on her way in the village. It was a bit smaller than the chief's hut. But it was neither too small nor too large. She went further in and well the hut had two rooms. Basically a space divided by a wall in the middle.
"That's great!" Rayna thought. So a living room kind of, in the front and two rooms divided by a single wall. The rooms were satisfactory there was nothing except some heap of grass. No shelfs, no furniture just windows.
"The hut looks a bit bland. But yeah what did I expect, a five star room here?" Rayna thought to herself.
"With a little bit of remodeling and decorations the hut will suit to my needs." Rayna already started planning.
However Rayna's thoughts were interrupted by Soren,
"My hut's nearby. But it's up there—in that tree," Soren said, pointing toward a massive tree with a broad canopy.
"I stay there. Like the chief said, you can call me if you need anything. But I'm not your servant, so don't bother me unless it's important."
Rayna followed his gesture, eyes widening slightly. A treehouse—made entirely of bamboo, tucked neatly among the branches. It looked sturdy yet elegant. She had to admit... it looked really cool.
However there was no ladder. No ropes. Nothing. To reach the treehouse.
"Figures," she thought. "A bird beastman doesn't need stairs."
Rayna couldn't help but feel curious about what the inside looked like. "But with Soren's personality? Yeah, no way he's inviting me up there." Rayna sighed.
Rayna replied back to Soren, "Yeah, yeah... thanks for bringing me here," Rayna said, crossing her arms.
Soren nodded, "No problem." And he flies to his treehouse.
"I also want a treehouse." Rayna sulked a little.
But it's fine she will make her hut look pretty too.
"I can paint my room's wallpaper. That Starry night painting, by Vincent Van Gogh will look so cool. I can also paint the other walls with colors. But yes I need paint for all this. I'll ask Soren about this later otherwise I'll need to make the paints myself if they don't exist here." Rayna started planning out how to decorate her hut.
But, one thing she noticed the hut didn't have a kitchen space.
"Hmm...since I'll live alone and don't need two rooms plus I need a kitchen after all. I'll just make the second room a kitchen. I'll need shelfs however and a space to cook." Rayna began racking her brain.
She entered the second room and looked around, with her hands on her hips. There was some dirt and dust. But she could work with this.
"Alright, this is going to be my kitchen. I may be stuck in a beastman village, but I refuse to live on uncooked food forever."
She walked to the corner nearest the window.
"Ventilation is key. I am not dying of smoke inhalation after surviving all this chaos... but I'll need some tools and things to furnish my kitchen."
She went out. She remembered the village chief had said her hut was near the river. She could very well hear the sound of flowing water. She followed it and yes, she reached the bank of the river.
The river was sparkling clear, devoid of any pollution. She went near the river and could also see something moving in it.
"Fish!" Rayna exclaimed. "Yayy, the issue of what to eat today is sorted. But I don't have tools to hunt right now...I'll come back later, just wait for me my dear fishes."
Rayna saw some big pebbles on the bank. She gathered and picked some of them, went back and dumped them at her hut.
Rayna then headed towards a bush, careful not to wander in too far. She scanned the ground for fallen branches and dry trunks—nothing too heavy, just the right size for firewood and support poles.
She yanked a sturdy branch from a thorn bush with mild irritation.
She tied the gathered wood together using strips of bark and thick grass, forming a makeshift bundle. With a determined grunt, she hauled it back to her hut, the bundle bouncing against her back.
"Well atleast that stupid nature night camp in school taught me some skills. Didn't know they will ever come in handy, that too in this way."
Rayna went back to her kitchen laying down all the supplies. She cleared the ground, brushing away dust, then began stacking flat big pebbles she'd collected earlier from the riverbank. It took time to fit them together, but she managed a tight square base—a stable platform that could contain the fire.
She took a few smaller pebbles and circled them around the base to contain the flames.
Next, she gathered some of the thinner twigs, branches and dry leaves she had bundled earlier and arranged them in the center like a tiny nest.
"Okay this is set, now let me go catch those fishes." She grabbed one of the sturdier sticks she hadn't used for the fire—long and pointed—and headed to the riverbank. Kneeling near the shallows, as she didn't want to go deeper, she stayed quiet, eyes scanning the clear water for movement.
"There!" A silver flash darted near the rocks.
She waited patiently, her breathing slow, then stabbed forward. The stick hit something with a soft thump. She pulled it up—and grinned.
A small but fresh fish wriggled at the end of the stick.
"Thank you, dinner."
Rayna caught one more and returned to her hut, proud of her first hunting attempt—even if it was just spearing fish in a shallow stream.
Back inside, she muttered "Okay, now the tricky part," looking around.
She didn't have a lighter. No matches either. But she did remember how, in that cursed nature camp, they had taught them to use friction.
She found a slightly curved piece of wood and a stick with a pointed end. Placing some dry bark shavings underneath, she crouched down and began rubbing the stick into the base in fast, circular motions, huffing and muttering as sweat began to form on her forehead.
"Come on... come on... I know you wanna burn. Just a little spark, that's all I ask!"
After several minutes of effort—and sore hands—a tiny wisp of smoke curled up from the bark. Her eyes widened, and she immediately bent down and blew gently. The smoke grew, and with one more puff of breath, a small flame flickered to life.
"Yes!" she whispered triumphantly. She went out and picked some dry leaves for fuel to the fire. She carefully put them in, and the fire was now growing stronger.
Rayna sat back against the wall, brushing her sooty hands on her dress, satisfied.
"Primitive fire? Check. Next goal: roasting some fish."
She cleaned the fish with a sharp-edged strong branch, scraping off the scales and cutting a shallow slit down the belly to remove the guts. It was messy, and her hands smelled fishy, but she managed. She grabbed two Y-shaped sticks from her pile and planted them upright into the ground near the fire, then rested the fish-laden stick across them so the fish would roast slowly over the heat.
The smell of roasting fish soon filled the small hut. It was smoky, earthy, and oddly comforting.
Rayna's stomach growled.
She sat on the floor, eyes fixed on the roasting fish.
"First fire, first hunt, first meal. If this tastes decent, I'm officially declaring myself a beastworld survivalist."
A soft smile tugged at her lips as the fish sizzled over the fire. Moreover, she had done all of this alone. She felt proud of herself.
And in that moment, with the fire crackling and the scent of roasting fish in the air, Rayna felt a tiny sense of peace in the chaos.