Gentle Beast

When Ryan made the fish soup, he borrowed her kitchen. Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu thought she was one of Ryan’s females.

At the time, she also thought she couldn’t hear their dialogue because of the planks between them, but now. . .

She just really could not understand.

“Teach her the panthera tongue as soon as possible.”

Ryan also said to Suzanna, but Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu could not understand it.

She had always thought the leopard race was like Eric’s and also used the human language.

They had their own system, but she had only been in contact with Ryan and to accommodate her, Ryan always used the human tongue.

Ryan left and Suzanna stared at Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu.

Suzanna opened her mouth and said a mouthful but Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu could not understand. She crooked her head to the side and looked puzzled.

Suzanna’s tail swung flexibly behind her, pointing first to Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu then to the outskirts of Camuda. Again, she asked, “What species are you? Where is your race?”

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu could sort of understand what she meant, but could not answer her questions.

Although the animals here could become humanoid, they still had more or less remnants of their original forms, such as Eric’s horns, or Ryan’s tail. . . and she had none of them.

Even speaking casually, it would be exposed quickly.

“My race is very far away. The easternmost part of Bornia. . .” Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu said euphemistically after thinking for a moment.

She saw that Suzanna’s face was warped with bewilderment.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu could not help but sigh. It seemed that Suzanna also could not understand her.

She pointed her finger to the east then at Ryan’s house and said, “Home, east. . . do you understand?”

Suzanna revealed an enigmatic expression and said in the leopard language, “You mean, your race is in the East?”

Soon afterwards, she remembered, “Mostly herbivores live in the east of Bornia. Are you also herbivorous?”

This sentence was too long and Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu couldn’t understand it, only vaguely hearing “Bornia”. So she blinked and did not respond.

However, this silence was admission in Suzanna’s eyes and her face contorted with shock, as if she discovered something secretive.

Ryan’s favorite girl was herbivorous?!

Was he crazy?

In this day and time, it was impossible for herbivores and carnivores to coexist. The herbivores were so weak they could do nothing to help on the hunt, and there were so many differences in lifestyle. The leopards could only eat meat and the herbivores could only eat plants. The leopards were solitary and the herbivores tended to live in groups. The leopards could live anywhere, and the herbivores could only live in the forest. . .

Most importantly, their physical fitness was not too great.

Suzanna looked at Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu’s small, delicate body then at her chest and felt very curious.

. . . How could she endure Ryan’s sexual desire?

Ryan was the most powerful male in the leopard race. In their race, physical strength could be equated to sexual prowess.

Suzanna couldn’t help but look at Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu in awe. She was so small. . . wasn’t she going to be spoiled by Ryan?

” . . .”

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu could only think the look in Suzanna’s eyes was strange. She did not know what was on her mind.

The two females spoke for half an hour in gestures, but after half an hour, Suzanna gave up.

Communication was too difficult. . .

Ryan actually asked her to teach the girl the leopard language in just a few days. It was impossible!

“I’ll come back tomorrow, if you need something go to the third house on the opposite side in the south.” Leaving just this sentence, regardless of whether Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu could understand or not, Suzanna fled.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu watched her back and sighed in relief.

Finally gone. . . in fact. During that long conversation, she could understand some of Suzanna’s words more or less. After all, it was derived from the human language.

But she deliberately pretended not to understand just to get Suzanna to leave early.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu did not now why Ryan was doing this, but it was obvious that after Suzanna came, she couldn’t leave as she pleased.

Fortunately, Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu did not intend to leave immediately. She was not familiar with the terrain here and the compass had not been repaired. There were still many things that she needed to prpare.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu turned back to the house and fiddled some more with the compass.

Perhaps Suzanna’s arrival had opened her mind some, but Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu looked at the swaying polarized pointer and suddenly remembered seeing something familiar before on a forum.

The forum seemed to say. . . that it was magnetism?

After the compass becomes magnetized, it would malfunction. To fix it, she could only demagnetize and then re-magnetize it.

Where was she going to charge it?

When Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu tried to think about it, the wound on her belly ached and she dared not to continue standing, quickly returning to bed.

To recover quickly, Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu wasn’t careless at all. Every day, according to the doctor’s advice, she obediently stood and walked around for about an hour.

*

The next day, Bethan came to see her again and Suzanna also came back.

The weather was good and the sun shone bright. Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu took the cotton she had collected the last time from her space and laid it out to dry.

When she picked the cotton, she had intended to make a quilt but that day she had been driven out by the elks and the matter had been put aside.

Although things would not rot in her space, Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu was still worried about how damp the cotton was.

In addition, Bethan said her wound was healing well and the stitches could be removed the next day. She was in a good mood and wanted something to do for herself.

“What is that? What are you doing?” Suzanna asked.

This sentence Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu could understand, but she did not know how to explain.

Well. . . how could she say she was drying the cotton and going to use it to make a quilt. . .

Sure enough, Suzanna took a close look at the cotton puffs and asked in a succession of questions, “What do you want to do with them? Can you eat this kind of stuff?”

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu shook her head and pointed to the cotton. Then referenced the skins Suzanna was wearing, “No. Cotton is very warm. . . it can be used to make clothes and quilts.”

Suzanna could not understand this statement and she shrugged, saying to herself, “You herbivores are hard to understand.”

In her eyes, these plants could be found everywhere and they had no use at all.

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu did not intend to explain more. After drying them out, she went into the house and took out a few bowls and washed them with water, putting it on the table.

Before Suzanna had come, she had taken out some shiitake mushrooms, corn and carrots from her space, then washed and chopped them.

Ryan was not there and she planned to make breakfast herself. If it was successful, she could use the kitchen here to learn how to cook more foods.

Suzanna seemed interested in her cooking. When Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu stood in front of the fireplace busy with the pots, she watched her carefully and asked questions from time to time.

But the two of them could not understand each other’s words, and occasionally exchanged one or two sentences that were a bit mismatched.

After a while, Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu did a good enough job and she held out two bowls of soup, setting one in front of Suzanna.

“Would you like to try it?” Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu made an eating motion.

Suzanna looked at the colorful soup in front of her and muttered, “Do you eat these things all day?. . .”

——There appeared to be no appetite.

That said, Suzanna still tasted a bit.

Unexpectedly, the taste was slightly better than she had thought.

Unfortunately, it was a little too vegetarian. Suzanna only drank a few bites then her mouth twitched.

However, for Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu who was still recovering from her injury, it was just right. It was not suitable for her to eat too much meat or heavy foods.

After that, Suzanna often came over to Ryan’s house to accompany Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu.

Sometimes she watched her cook, sometimes watched her tidy up the cotton, sometimes taught Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu the basics of the leopard language. . .

After three days, Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu could understand some of the language. But, not to say there weren’t some things she still wasn’t used to.

In the evening, Bethan came from the neighboring village to take out Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu’s stitches.

This place had no anesthetic so when the stitches in Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu’s belly were pulled out, her eyes clenched shut with pain and she silently bit her lips.

After the last was taken out, Bethan said, “Keep an eye on the wound’s healing. Avoid getting water on it and do not pull on it. Do not exercise. I will come back in ten days. If there are no abnormalities, there will not be any serious problems.”

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu nodded and opened her eyes. There was a bloody pink mark on her lip. “Then can I walk?”

“It is best to rest for another day or two,” he said. “After that, there shouldn’t be any problems if the roads aren’t dangerous.”

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu quickly thanked Bethan.

Bethan waved it away frankly, “Don’t misunderstand. I’m still waiting for Ryan to come back and bring our winter food. If not for that, I would not have been so dedicated to you.”

Jǐ Xiǎo Ōu pursed her lips and did not speak further.

*

This was the Ramos Valley.

The morning was mottled with light, the mountains covered with green. Sunlight poured through the forest leaves casing on the ground in a sparkling kaleidoscope.

All of a sudden, several leopards with different markings and body shapes burst out of the forest and rushed a group of mountain pigs facing the other side——

The prey was frightened and snarled, fleeing.

But the leopards had marked their prey. Baring sharp teeth and claws, they attacked one after the other in orderly fashion.

One of the boars was particularly fierce. It was probably the head of this group and its fangs were harp and eyes vicious. It closely guarded all that stood behind it.

Once a leopard came forward, it would be ready to fight to the death and not hesitate regardless of its own injuries, charging forward to defeat the opponent.

A few leopards couldn’t take it.

Just as the boar was waving its fangs, he threw a leopard under its body and tore at his flesh. A grey and black spotted leopard leaped suddenly from above, teeth biting into the boar’s throat. A breath was wrenched from the boar’s chest and the leopard’s claws dug into its heart——

The boar died, breathing its final breath.

. . .

. . .  . . .

A few of the leopards shifted to their human form, and sat freely on a pile of rocks, surrounding the boar.

“Winter, you’re too useless. Even being attacked by a boar, you’re really losing face for the leopard race!” one said.

Winter tried to defend himself, “Don’t insult me. I was ready to fight back, if it wasn’t for the chief. . .”

Half his words suddenly died, and he looked to the side at the leisurely seated Ryan.

Ryan’s leg was bent slightly, his elbows propped on his knees, as he absently said, “Hmm, then next time, I’ll give you the opportunity to fight back.”

Winter blushed and said no more.

“Chief, in addition to the boards, we captured several females. Do we need to bring those back to the race?” Dole asked.

This time he, too, was arranged to hunt.

Ryan lifted his head, “What do you want to bring back?”

Dole said in an official, business like tone, “There are fewer and fewer females in the race. These can be brought back for people to vent their excess energy.”

Ryan suddenly laughed and his voice was low, “If you don’t mind the future generations being black and ugly herbivorous monsters, I have no complaints.”

Dole: “. . .”

The leopards laughed and another said, “These make me lose my appetite. The female has to be soft and sweet, of course, like the one the chief brought back. Tender and white, her human face looks good too. Though a little thin, that kind of thing can be ignored in the face of desire. . .”

Because the leopard females were all shared, this kind of topic was not taboo.

“And she sounds soft too. If it’s in bed, I bet it’d be nice to listen to. . .”

“Crack” sounded from Ryan’s hand, the wooden branch having splintered to pieces.

Ryan’s blue eyes narrowed and he slowly looked at the one that had spoken.

“Say that again?”

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