Trapped in the beastworld

Part 16 ~ Making a hard decision 2

Everyone was getting tired but they had to finish making a decision. Tram decided to start cooking but would be able to contribute to the conversation if he wanted. Alma was hungry she had not eaten since the morning so she was thankful to Tram to start cooking for them. Alma and Keith just sat down not talking for a moment. Alma just trying to relax while Keith was admiring his mate.

Keith decided they had gotten a long enough break and asked what she felt about Sama, the porcupine. Alma smiled thinking about him. He was a good beast and she liked him but she was not sure she could see him as a romantic partner. Keith started to talk about how well he fought but he was still rather green behind they eyes and needed much improvement. He liked him though and told Alma he had potential to be a strong beast, he just needed practice. Tram agreed with Keith even though he did not know much about fighting. There was something about the porcupine he did not like but Tram was sure it had nothing to do with him being attack by one when you was a lamb, yeah he was sure of it. Alma crossed him out of the list but wished him well in his life, she was sure his future was bright and she hoped he would find a female right for him.

The next beast Keith talked about was Oscar, the skunk. Keith immediately frowned, he was not impressed by that skunk at all. During the fight the skunk had fought hard but when he used is main weapon, the smell it went wrong. The poor skunk did not time his attack very well so when he released the smell it went mostly on Keith. Keith gaged and later hurled his lungs out. The smell was so horrific that he did not think he would ever be able to smell nothing else but it. Keith wanted to retaliate but could not. He had to endure it until their fight was over. The skunk won but not by much, after his win Keith went to the lake to shower. Oscar felt really bad, he had not meant to attack Keith, he was sure he had just sabotaged himself. He went to the forest to collect the herb that would deactivated the smell and ran to the lake. He ran to Keith and apologised. He gave him the herb and told him to scrub it everywhere then wait for a while before rinsing it off. Keith did so and thankfully it worked, the smell was gone but he could still smell it. Keith did not want to tell Alma, he was sure she would laugh at him, and he was right she would have laughed so much that she would have cried, this was a secret he would take to his crave unless someone squealed on him. Alma just looked at Keith frown and asked what was wrong, Keith just told er her he was not that impressed with Oscar, he relied too much and scent attack and had much to learn before getting better. Keith did not want Oscar in the family or else his secret would be out and he had an idea someone would not be able to let it go. Alma just agreed, she thought he was nice but that was it. She had so many quality men and she had to cut someone out, she wished him well in her heart, he was a strong beast that would make something of himself, of that she was sure of.

Keith asked her what she felt about the Meerkat, Oli. Alma smiled and told him that he was wonderful. She showed both Keith and Tram the honey he had given her. Tram was very pleased he loved honey, he could use it in many ways to make delicious food for his Alma, he was happy, since it was hard to get honey, the bees guarded it too well, you could get stung to death if you were not careful. This was a precious gift and he told Alma about it. Alma felt bad and hoped Oli had not put himself in danger for her, she felt that this honey was way too precious, she did not dare to eat it but she knew there was a way to get the honey more safely, she would tell her mates how to do that so beast could harvest honey without getting hurt. Keith was on the fence with Oli, he was a good fighter but he was not the best. Still he liked the beast, he was level headed and could clearly take hard decisions in a dangerous situation. He watched as Oli watches his opponent, Keith could see that Oli was looking for his opponent weakness. He was pleasantly surprised since most of them did not. Oli was one of the few four stripes beast that had done so but still he needed a lot of work. He did not protect his core well enough so he would have been easily defeated if he had been attacked by a beast with similar strength. Keith told her he had been impressed with him but he was not so sure if he could protect her well enough during winter, he knew he would not be. If ferals were to attack Alma would be taken away. Odin had told him about his spiderfriend. He was the only feral that knew about Alma at the time being but it was just a matter of time until more ferals knew about a female in the village. Beasts talk and so many ferals steal females. He had to make it certain that Alma would be protected, best if it was a flying beast since he could fly her away until the danger had gone. Alma really liked Oli so she wanted him in her top five. Keith reluctantly agreed but he hoped she would pick the hawk.

The last beast on the list was Fannar the vulture. Alma remember him well and she smiled just thinking about his cringe lines, such a funny guy she thought. Keith reluctantly told her he was an excellent beast and he and Askell were very similar in strength. Keith did not like Fannar much neither did Tram, they both felt the beast was just a little too full of himself. They were not sure if that beast could love Alma more than himself. They were sure that beast would cause problems, better to not pick him, he would not be considerate when in regarding to Alma and other beast, he would put himself in front and try his best to steal her attention and he might just well achieve that goal, better not to take the change. Alma loved Fannar and said that he was nice and really funny. Tram and Keith just looked at each other and knew this beast was danger for them so Keith did his best to dissuade Alma from him. He told her that even though his fighting techniques were good they were not on par with Askell. Keith told her that Fannar had much to learn and he could very well put her in danger with his mouth. Alma could see that happening but he would not let her or her mates get hurt she was very sure of that. She said she was sure that he would fit in, at least in time. She could tell that her mates were discouraging her not to pick him and she wanted to know why so she asked. They told her he had been overbearing and full of himself. Alma could see that but she was sure if they got to know him better they would grow to like him. He was a nice guy, they just had to give him a chance. Still Alma did not want to create tension with her mates. They were all going to be a family and they all had to get along. She told them she wanted him in her top five. Alma told them he was a five stripe beast and deserved to be placed in the top five but that did not mean that she would pick him but he deserved a shot.

It was time to eat finally, alma loved the meat Tram cooked. Even though he was not a meat eater he was an excellent cook, she had told him many times that he did not have to cook meat, she could do it for herself. She was afraid he did not like it and would be sad. He told her he would not, he did not mind handling meat nor cooking it, he just could not eat it since he would get violently ill. They ate in silence but it was a peaceful silent. Alma was in her head thinking of whom to choose and they were hoping for her not to pick Fannar. Alma just ate spacing out thinking about them all. All of them were wonderful, she hated having to pick only one but it had to be done. She had to make a decision before tomorrow. Life can be hard for a female she thought to herself.