Ari

Chapter 18: Ruined Wedding

I hurriedly flew back to the tribe in a mess because I wasn't able to fully remove the dust on my body due to the male beastman who was teasing me while hiding himself.

I sneakily flew over the high fence at the back of the tribal territory.

Upon landing on the ground, a figure of a muscular being appeared beyond my eyes.

I was surprised to lose my balance as I stepped back and fell on the ground.

"F-father, w-what brings you here?" I asked while trembling in fear of being scolded.

"*sigh*Where have you been? Do you know how worried I was looking for you all over the territory? I also pushed back my tasks and almost stopped the ongoing ritual just to get the tribe to find you? Look at yourself. You looked like a beastman working on a stone made wall." He nagged while sighing in relief.

I hugged my father while smiling sweetly as I asked for forgiveness. "Sorry father, everyone was so busy with their task and I was not assigned to any of them since Lindie will be one of the participants and you all know she has an irrational grudge against me so I decided to briefly enjoy the spring in the mountains that I discovered recently. I'll bring you there next time when you are no longer busy, okay?"

"You took a bath in the spring? Then, why do you look... Hahaha! Never mind, you do have the scent of the flower essences you usually use when taking a bath." He said while laughing at my messy appearance.

"Oh! You can only enter the spring by the small hole beneath the rock formation covering it or even by climbing up the huge trees. I stupidly tried exiting from the huge dog hole so I got dirty. Hehe!" I answered him while clinging to him like a child.

"Okay, but you have to inform me next time you leave the territory no matter how busy I am. You are my only cub and you are the most precious thing to me. You are always my priority." He answered while patting my head.

"Ahaha! Father, I am no longer a cub. I have already turned thirteen since the beginning of spring." I mumbled while laughing.

It was natural to forget one's age since celebrating birthdays was not common in our tribe.

He suddenly got taken aback and stared at me looking guilty and shocked.

"Is it true?!" He asked for confirmation.

"Yes, father. I am already thirteen after the winter." I declared seriously.

"Damn it! Why did it slip from my mind? Wait... Does it mean... No, it's impossible! He said that the female youngling might have been from another tribe so he asked for permission to look for that unique female." He mumbled through the air causing me confusion with his words.

"He who? Looking for a female youngling from a different tribe? What are you talking about, father?" I curiously asked.

"It was Dillon, he refused to participate in the courtship ritual with your sister because he said he wanted to look for the unique female youngling he saw recently. He said she might have been from another tribe so he asked for permission to leave the tribe and search for her, but when we asked for the appearance of the youngling, he didn't answer specifically as if he was hiding something and only said that her beauty was on par with the goddess so the other males were also curious and there was quite a commotion during the opening of the courtship ritual." He explained.

"Anyway, go back first to your room and wait for the elder healer. I'll go fetch her now." He instructed.

I went back home; removed my cloak and gloves, then waited for the elder healer to arrive.

She was running hurriedly to my room with a worried and guilty face. I asked her to calm down while reassuring her with a smile.

She then started checking for early signs of estrous as soon as she saw me.

"*sigh* Good thing you are still not showing an early sign of estrous, but just to make sure, you still have to drink a suppressant. Wait here, I will get the suppressant first." She sighed with relief upon learning that I won't undergo estrous yet.

After feeding me the medicine, she then asked me to take a rest, but despite the delay on my estrous I can no longer accompany my father with his task during winters.

She explained to me what I was supposed to do for that day onwards, then we heard a loud scream from outside.

"Ari!!! Show yourself, you chimera fox!" Lindie screamed furiously from the foot of the treehouse.

I put on my mask, gloves and cloak without putting on the hood, then hid my ears, wings and tail before heading out. The elder healer accompanied me downstairs to check why Lindie was so furious.

When we opened the door, we saw Dillon on the side trying to calm her down begging not to make things complicated.

"Is it her?! The youngling you are talking about?" She angrily pointed at me while Dillon looked at me stunned, then looked away.

"N-No, It's not her. I t-think she's from another tribe who visited us for fabric production this morning and lost her way... I... I don't think it is Ari. I even thought that Ari was a male if you didn't tell me just today." He insisted while trembling with nervousness.

I stared at him seriously trying to read his thoughts. He flinched and looked away when I stared at him blushing as if thinking of something embarrassing.

"No! You are obviously lying. It is her! It's really her! I am sure of it." She insisted angrily.

"You can both solve your issues on your own. Don't involve Ari in any of your misunderstandings since she cannot be involved with any male. She is allergic to males so she had to cover her whole body ever since she was young. It's Dillon's discretion whoever he wants to choose to marry. Lindie, you should respect his decision and he is not the only candidate for you to wed this year, so you should calm yourself and go back to your residences. You both are being rude in front of an elder." The elder healer scolded them trying to keep her temper.

She rolled her eyes and walked away rudely like a spoiled brat.

"I sincerely apologize. Please forgive our rudeness." He bowed down to us asking for forgiveness.

"It's ok as long as you know your faults." The elder healer responded.

"Ari..." Dillon called as he tried to grab my arm when we were about to go back inside. Luckily, the elder healer caught his hand.

"I already told you that she is allergic to males so you should refrain from approaching her arbitrarily if you don't want to anger the alpha." She warned seriously.

He flinched like a surprised cat when the elder healer mentioned my father.

"I'm sorry." He apologized, then ran away in fright.