A Novel's Beast World

16. What Are You Looking At?

Edited: February 17, 2023.

Hi, readers.  This is the 3rd update for today, April 8, 2022.  If you haven't read chapters 14 and 15, please go back.  It might be confusing otherwise.  Thanks for reading.

Ah. Peace and quiet has returned to my life...Not. A half-dead leopard man was wheezing on the doorstep. The guy is definitely going to pass out soon. What should I do? Leaving him alone would be a dick move. I don't pretend to be a good person, so I could just turn around and walk back inside. But if I do, the guilt will eat my ass. He really is in piss-poor shape.

Ugh. Why can't someone else play the good guy? I prefer the villain role. For some reason, the couple of leopards that had lingered were not helping.

I leaned down to try to hoist Parker on my shoulder. He had blood dripping from his openings and something smelt suspiciously like piss. Do I really have to touch him? Can I not?

Despite my urge to gag, I got Parker to lean on my shoulder and half-carried his sorry ass into the hut and dropped him on a pile of straw. I huffed dramatically as I tried to catch my breath. He was freaking heavy and I am clearly not in any shape that isn't round.

He seemed out of it. His eyes were open, but he wasn't responding much. Did Curtis knock his head? I laid him down and got some of Harvey's supply. I cleaned up his blood and barfed in my mouth. His eyes were popping out of his head slightly and that's definitely the smell of urine. Harvey, you can come home now.

Unfortunately, Harvey didn't hear me this time and I had to clean up Parker. However, there was not enough 'Good Samaritan' in me to clean his man parts. The piss can dry there and crust for all I care.

I didn't have a damn clue on how to treat him. Any wounds he had were internal. Even if I knew how to set bones, I wouldn't. I provided first aid to the best of my ability. I lit a fire, which was harder than I thought. Even with flint, I kept hitting myself with sparks.

"Fuck!" Out of all the things that could kill me here, death by fire is not the one I would choose. "Damn sparks, go fuck yourselves." I've had a rough day. I want a break.

Once the fire was lit, I boiled some more water. I used most of the clean water for Parker. I took a clean piece of small fur and wiped myself down.

"Fuck! It's hot!" Of course it was. I just boiled it. I want this day to end.

Harvey eventually came back home. It was probably only an hour or two, but I wasn't paying attention and it felt like forever. Instead of treating Parker, Harvey looked like he just saw a pair of ugly balls. Technically he did, but I doubt that was the problem.

"What's wrong, Harvey?" Please don't tell me I missed something important. I'm already cleaning up my earlier barf and am having difficulties not adding more to the pile.

"That's Parker?"

"Uhh, yeah." Was this a trick question? Am I being tested?

"You want to heal him? Are you sure?" Why is he looking at me like I need to be laying down?

"Yes. His brain was squeezed, not mine. Why are you acting like that?"

"He hurt you. He was chased out of the village for his crime. He should be exiled, but you brought him to be treated."

Oh. Ohhhh. Now it makes sense. It's taboo to hurt females and Parker did. Did I just ruin his life? He had no problem participating in our fight, so shut up Guilt.

"Can't I just hit him back instead?" That'd be fair, right?

Harvey stared at me like he saw a ghost. What is it? Come on man, enlighten me.

"Fine. If I can't do that, can I do something else? Or is it too late?"

Harvey blinked in surprise and something else. He was looking at me like I was some alien life form that crawled out of the ground. Dude, I'm already self-conscious. Please spare me.

"You could try, but the other villagers may not agree. If he was able to hurt you, even if it was an accident, they will worry about the other females' safety."

"So he still has to leave." I'm not bummed, but I feel slightly guilty.

"You would forgive him? I haven't met such a kind female before." Hold the phone. Me, kind?

"I'm not kind, I just don't want to feel guilty later." Harvey's eyes were sparkling again. Oh, come on. Don't have expectations of me. I hate those.

"Okay, Drew." Why do I get this feeling he said that to pacify me? "But I still believe you are kind."

This fucker. Where is my sinkhole? Goddamn it face, stop burning. How the hell was I kind? What he said isn't true, his standards are too low. This world is just too sad if I am considered kind. And he just had to get the last word in. Has he never heard of quitting while your ahead?

I grabbed the blankets and dived under them. I am so done with this day.

I woke up to something that smelled good. I wetted my mouth and tasted the remnants of my earlier upchuck. Gagging, I rushed to the bowl of water, tripping on my way. Instead of landing on my face, I was held up by the arm. Harvey had caught me. He's definitely a cat. Those reflexes are sharp.

Trying to ignore the fact that his super smell was definitely being assaulted by my rancid breath, I thanked him quickly and brushed my teeth with herbs. Once I was satisfied, Harvey handed me my dinner. I could feel my stomach fiercely grumbling. I did lose breakfast earlier.

We ate in comfortable silence until I remembered our conversation earlier, and every other failure I've had since I've been hear. Before I could devolve into a lesser being, Parker woke up. He seemed more surprised than we were. Harvey insisted he lay down and heal. Parker looked at me stupefied for a moment. I cocked my eyebrow at him.

"What are you looking at?" Where the hell does all my bravado come from? It's like it lays in wait before jumping out and screwing me over. It's not even there all the time.

Thank god Parker didn't want to fight me now.

"Don't you hate me?" Hah! This guy, seriously? I ugly snorted at him.

"You ain't worth my energy." Nailed that comeback. For once, I hit my target. Eat that leopard.

"Then why'd you help me?" Shit. I forgot, everyone here is literal.

"I didn't want you dying on the doorstep." Technically, that is 100% true.

"You could have moved my body somewhere else." This guy!

"Listen here! Just accept it and move on already. Don't you have other things to worry about?"

"I have to save Qingqing!!" Finally. Now get out or shut up.

Harvey tried to get him to stay and heal, but Parker had stubbornness in spades. He ran off, saying he'd repay his debt later. I accept cash, bro.

Harvey had experienced many surprises since his charge had come into his life. Today was no different. This unusual female was willing to forgive the male who hurt her. She wasn't even aware that the leopard she fought with was regretting his actions. Harvey hadn't told Drew that most of the crystals he had fed her came from his and Parker's combined efforts.

Parker was not his favorite beast, especially after what happened, but he was strong enough to hunt colossus. He had no intention of forgiving Parker, but knew that the leopard felt remorse for his actions. He wouldn't let Parker near Drew if he could help it, but would allow him to help gather the crystals for her.

Harvey felt happiness and concern at Drew's actions. He worried she may be taken advantage of, but also felt her future males would be lucky. He hoped they would be able to support her if he could not. He started to feel sad, but was grateful for the time he had so far. He could only wait to see what the future holds.