Beauties and Beasts

Chapter 106: brought to you by a control freak

Today on "Be a Man!": Neara gets a female friend and the two engage in emotional manipulation to convince Benedict to dig them a hole.

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Lawrence proved to be more of an annoyance than a threat in the coming days, more interested in standing by a window than actually engaging with any of them in conversation. Neara made it a point to clear her throat whenever she needed to talk strategy with the other beastmen and eventually, he got the hint that she wanted water. He'd heave a sigh and pick up his buckets, the earlier fear completely gone.

Neara, for her part, found playing the point of nagging brat emotionally draining and spent most of her time sitting by the section of the wall that ran through Winston's land. The shade helped cool her down and it gave her a good view of the lake. She still hadn't thought of a plausible reason to go digging in the lake yet, although beastmen still spread rumors that a female on the salt caravan had found it before they got to the City. Thankfully, their memories were more concerned with the fact that they found water rather than obsessing over who found it first. Even though Winston mentioned her by name, none of the beastmen brought it up and most of the credit seemed to fall on Ethel.

Ethel... was a mystery. She refused to talk to anyone, or see anyone, until late morning which in and of itself wasn't unusual, but she didn't seem to acquire any mates either, despite the numerous beastmen hanging on her every word. Lawrence, in particular, almost always left a small bucket of water outside her door, despite the scowls of her assigned guardian, a particularly thick-set beastman named Isaac. When she did come out, she spent the time wandering around the City.

Neara tried not to feel sorry for her, after all the eyelash-fluttering she'd aimed at Winston, but couldn't help it. She'd been the pretty one in the City once, and it felt incredibly lonely, especially since Shay wasn't there. Ugh. Shay. It stung her heart again to think of her friend under the mountain. What would happen to her babies? How long would Curtis survive if he... Aetius said he felt the instant his female's heart stopped beating and although the thought of him, particularly his betrayal, sent angry shivers down her spine and stomach, they hadn't gotten to the bad part of their relationship yet and she didn't think he'd lie. What would Curtis do with the babies once he found out Shay was dead? Or rather, what had he done?

What about Ryan? He seemed to be better with the kids, although she hadn't had much contact with them once they'd transformed. If Curtis went crazy, Ryan could still protect them. What about Parker? He wasn't mated, so he probably wouldn't go too crazy, right? Even if he couldn't take on Ryan or Curtis one-on-one, he seemed to like kids enough to take care of them on his own, and he was a good hunter, son of the old Leopard King, so maybe he'd bring them back here. Or Camel Hump Valley, where his old hut used to be.

Even if she couldn't see her friend again, she could maybe help take care of her kids. First, she had to free the City so they had someplace safe to live. Even if she got rid of Ape King, though, she'd still have to work to convince the greater population that Snake kids didn't pose any threat. One problem at a time though... civil war first, then getting rid of racism. Where had she heard that before?

Not that she wasn't motivated before, but the new goal refreshed her and she felt more of a push to accomplish her goal. It felt... different when she did it for someone else, like she had to succeed in order to properly honor her friend's memory. She could do anything if it was for Shay. She finally got an idea and presented it to the beastmen that night, after sending Lawrence to get 'enough water for a proper bath'. Maybe not prudent in a drought, but restricting water would mean restricting the power of the god and Ape King wouldn't risk doing that. Besides, she didn't intend to actually bathe in it; the beastmen would appreciate a long drink of water not from... animals.