A males fate in the beast world

Silent tears

For a few hours it appeared that her condition improved. But than as if a button was pushed, it got worse than before. The female started to sweat profoundly and her skin color changed to white. Her breathing was unsteady and so faint that even the males with their good hearing needed to listen carefully.

Seeing her in this state, Harvey and Winston heart felt like being crushed by a huge boulder. Kathy looked so fragil... and they could do nothing to reduce her pain.

Both of them would do anything to change position with her and endure the misery instead of her. They tried to stay day and night besides her and only left if really neccessary.

When it was Winston's turn he always stood next to her bed and blamed himself for his failure in protecting the female, while watching her silently. He was the reason she needed to go through this hardships. A few times he even thought about ending her torture, but in the end he could not do it.

There was still so much he wanted to tell her. How she changed his world and how he planned to give her the comfortable live she deserves. As well as that he wanted to see her smile every day, even if he just could see it from a distance.

On the other hand Harvey sat everytime next to her,  holding Kathy's hand. While he painted small circles with his fingers on her pale skin, the leopard talked to the female. He hoped to comfort her a little bit and let her know that they were right beside her.

After one week of suffering in this state,  her breathing finally steadied and her skin color slowly improved.

....

It took another two month for her fragil body to completely expell the poison. Harvey had wished she would regain consciousness faster, but the heat of the summer shook her recovery up.

Until one day she suddenly moved her left hand. Just this small movement made Harvey grin from ear to ear. 'She made it. Kathy really survived. I am so glad. Winston will be overjoined.'

The leopard estimated that the female would finally wake up in a couple of days. On the one hand he felt excited, but in the other he was also scared. 'What will i do if she does not like me, because i am just a weak one striped beast?'

Without realising it, Harvey that grown accustomed to Kathy's presens. His hut would feel empty, when she would soon leave with Winston for the beast city.

While smiling sadly he remembered himself of his purpose. 'I am a healer. My join is it to nurse patients back to health. From Kathy's wounds i learned a lot and this knowledge is going to be useful in the future. Even if most of the beastman relay on pure strenght, i am going to prove that knowledge is a strenght by itself!'

'Alright! This is a cheerful occassion.', so Harvey decided to wash her and dress her in fresh clothes. This way she would at least feel comfortable when waking up.

As he slowly started to undress her, the leopard eyes widened in shock. "Blood!", Harvey voiced out. Without thinking further, where she could have gotten an injury from, Harvey ripped her top off.

"No! - I-it ca-can't be...", he stuttered. Being completely overwhelmed Harvey let himself sink to the ground.

Having heard Harvey's words as well as the sound of ripping clothes, Winston came rushing into the hut.

Both of the males starred at her exposed chest.

Left by his strenght Winston fell on his knees, his arms were hanging limp by his side, while his eyes slowly filled with tears.

At this moment neither he nor Harvey where mentally inside the hut.

Winston was again under the bush. The bush were his brother nursed him back to life. He remembered the pain he went through in this week. It felt like he imagines laying inside a fire, meanwhile every bone in your body slowly breaks into small pieces until it finally rejoined back to its original form.

Harvey in the other hand was inside a dark deep cleft. This place was his personal hell. While searching for new herbs he was attacked by a wild bear. After barely killing it, Harvey lost his footing and fell. If he just closes his eyes , he can still remember the excruciating pain that comes with this memory.

While his hands shook violently, Harvey slowly reached for the skin between her breasts.

Just as he feeled to sensation of her soft dry skin, a single tear rolled down his cheek.

'It would be better if it was just blood...', the leopard retracted his less but still shaking hand.

...

After a while both males slowly got a grip of themself. "I still can believe it." Harvey muttered. "Kathy must have endured so much in live, even though she is so young."

"A stripe ... for her hardships.", was all Winston was able to say. Afterwards he turned around and ran out in his tiger form.

///

How could that happen?! She is supposed to be pampered and protected by her family. Later by her mates. There should not be any hardships in a female life.

I feel devasted.

I know that she did not get the stripe from this incident alone, but still...
Her life must have been so difficult...so painful.

After i traveled a few days with her, i already realised that she was different from other females. I was confused that she never complained, but it made my plan to bring her to the city easier, so i just ignored the fact. Never would i imagine that she had been through so much worse.

I do not deserve to be near her let alone to be her mate. The sighs were so obvious... and i was still ignorant.

She needs someone more attentive and warm like Harvey to help her overcome the past. A twisted and cold personality like mine is just another burden to her fragile soul.

The female had been through enough. A undamaged, strong, confident and mental healthy male would be best suited for her.

The total opposite from me.

I think it is best to just support her from the background until she has enough strong males.

Its best to talk to Harvey about my plans. He also should not mention that i came to look for her. Otherwise the female might feel guilty, maybe even accept me for this reason. But i do not want to be accepted just for this reason.

///

Of course Harvey did not like the idea. He knew that Winston had feelings for Kathy, so he wanted him to stay by her side. This way she also would have someone familiar when she wakes up.

But the tiger was stubborn. He told Harvey about his plan to help him until winter and when the winter preparations are finished, he would leave to the city without the female. There was still the assignment from his brother, which he totally forgot until now.

Still not happy with this decision, but with no chance to change Winstons firm resolution, Harvey had to relucantly agree in the end.