A Novel's Beast World

11. Red Flags Are Red

Originally posted: April 2, 2022. Edited: February 17, 2023.

Hello, dear readers.  This is a double update, brought to you by me.  This is the second chapter of the day.  Enjoy.

Of course it is. Why the fuck wouldn't it be? My luck has never been good, how could I possibly forget that?

"What is that?" While I was lost in my head, Bai had already approached that taboo thing. How can she not see how sketchy this is? This is such an obvious red flag, literally. It's red, it's shining, and it's completely out of place.

"Did someone leave it here?" Oh Bai. You poor thing. The author has done you dirty, making you so stupid.

"Obviously." I'm not even going to try to play nice. "It's the only thing in here and it's placed on a literal pedestal, neatly folded I might add." I wasn't even smart, but I get this much.

"What if someone lost it, or threw it away?" Before I could stop her, she reached out and touched it. "It's so nice too. It probably wouldn't hurt to bring it with us. We can see if anyone in the village lost it and keep it if not."

I don't even know what to say to her right now. What kind of logic is that? And I am pretty sure she ignored what I said. Was it Bai's or the plot's fault?

I stood next to her and that red piece of not-fabric. Despite my better judgement I reached out and felt it. Damn, it was smooth. Should I take it after all? Curtis would make a good ally.

No. That wont happen. Although Curtis doesn't care about looks, he likely kill me unintentionally. Since Parker isn't courting me, he won't get his pops to save me. I would have to rely on my own ability to convert Curtis into a respectful and reasonable beast. Yeah, that's not going to happen.

"It is beautiful, but we shouldn't take what isn't ours."

I removed my hand and thought about the options. I could convince Bai to leave it, but Curtis may still come for her. If he doesn't, than Parker will continue being a dick. At least, he will until someone other than Curtis rips him a new asshole.

All right. I'll leave it to Bai, but I'll give her a hint. It's possible she'll blame me later, so I need to sound stupider than usual.

"This reminds me of something. What is it? Hmm. Oh! It's like snake skin, but way bigger. I wonder if there are snake beastmen? That would be cool. Snakes are awesome."

Bai dropped the red fabric like it caught fire and looked at it like it might bite her. I may have laid it on thick, but I knew she wasn't a fan of snakes.

I said too much. What if Curtis heard me? I'll have to pray he doesn't understand what cool means, but I may be out of luck with 'awesome.' Shit. I got to play it smooth and get us out of here.

"Oh. You're not going to bring it?"

"Umm. I think it can stay here. Like you said, someone may miss it."

Now she listens to me? Guess she wasn't deaf before. Now, before the snake in question shows up, we need to scram.

I hoisted myself out of the ground. It wasn't too hard, my height gave me an advantage and my adrenaline was pumping. I reached down and helped Bai out of the hole. I didn't want to show it, but I was really nervous. My palms were sweating and every moving shadow made me think of a certain snake.

In the comic, Curtis came out of the water. We'll need to put enough distance between use and the water, but I don't know how to find my way back without the river. Not that it would make a ton of difference since Curtis had four stripes. There is no distance great enough if he wants to reach something.

Swallowing my pounding heart, I looked at Bai who was taking her sweet ass time following while pouting. I should just take off and leave her. She almost got us in big trouble. I don't mind being a bitch if it saves my life.

I rubbed my clammy hands together. There is a chance Curtis wouldn't kill me, but what about Harvey? Parker would survive because he was strong, but Harvey isn't.

My momentary lapse in judgement could have gotten him killed. It was finally hitting me. It didn't matter how or why I was here, if everything felt this real, I had to act smarter.

We ran into Harvey and Parker on our way back. Both were frantic and were relieved to have found us. I really wanted to bathe, but wanted to get as far away from the river as possible. Parker glared at me as if I was somehow at fault.

"What happened?" Parker demanded. Before I could answer, Harvey stepped up to the plate.

"We need to check them for injuries. Are you both okay?"

"Some scratching and bruising." I answered. "We fell into a hole after the ground collapsed." I humored Parker since I wanted to move on fast.

"What's that smell?" Parker sniffed my hands and then Bai. Clearly, this guy doesn't understand personal space. I chose to ignore him and asked questions instead.

"Harvey, are there snake beastmen?"

"Yes." Harvey answered with no hesitation. He didn't mind that I asked a question that should be common sense. Harvey gets some points for that. Before Parker could throw a bitch fit at the mention of snakes, I kept going.

"I think we found some of its shed." Both leopards panicked at that info. Before they could summon a hunting group, I insisted that we leave to treat our injuries. After we made it back to the village, I finally let out a deep breath. Harvey treated us both and Parker assembled a hunting squad.

Not a single one had more than one stripe besides Parker. They were all going to die. I should say something, but what can I say? If I don't say anything and they all die, I'll be an even bigger piece of trash than I thought.

"Harvey, are snake beastmen strong? They don't live in villages right? This one's really close to the village, but nobody noticed it. What if has like three or four stripes?" I made sure to raise my voice, not that I needed to. I bet I'd seem real smart if I didn't sound so unnatural. Got to work on these shitty acting skills.