Reborn as a Side Character in the Beastworld

Chapter Thirty-seven

For not the first time in his life, Shuu lied. This cub wasn't his nephew. He had watched the older cub push a younger one out of the way of some falling ice. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough to avoid the ice himself. When he took the bleeding cub to his parents. They asked Shuu to end the cub's life. Males could heal most injuries quickly and almost never got sick, but a break like that would never heal right and would prevent the cub from hunting and finding a mate. In their minds, it was better to die.

Shuu didn't altogether disagree, but he had seen the cub's bravery and wanted to at least get a healer's opinion. So, he sought out the newly arrived healer that was nearby. Most of the other healers belonged to the ape clan and it would take a long time and a lot of gems to get their assistance. Shuu thought the leopard healer might be more willing to take on a new patient.

When he arrived though, the healer wasn't home. It wasn't unexpected considering there would be quite a few with minor injuries from the ice storm. What was unexpected was the healer's mate. She was a beautiful female of the fox clan, with red hair high in a ponytail and amber eyes that shone with intelligence. She was also Winston's mate.

At one point he had been commanded by the Ape King and Wolf King to find Winston during his weakest hours and take him to a healer. Winston had been poisoned by scorpion venom and it would get worse on full moon nights. He never found Winston that night and was punished for it. He learned later that the tiger had taken his fox mate to Camel Hump village.

It felt odd to be standing in front of Winston's mate, asking for help. But she didn't even bat an eye. She allowed him into her home and treated the cub with care. When Winston walked into the room with the bowl of water, Shuu had felt all the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He wondered if he would die right there for having chased the tiger a couple months ago. But nothing happened. Winston simply followed the fox females orders just like her other mate, the snake.

It was when she asked Shuu if they were related that he felt the need to lie. If he wasn't the cub's family, then he would have no say in whether they should keep him alive or let him succumb to his injuries. So, he told the female he belonged to his brother. Even if the fox female knew who he was, he didn't think she would know his brothers. So, the chances of his lie being discovered was small.

He also thought the fox female would take pity on the cub. She herself had a fox kit. He knew she had had a fox mate before she was brought to the City of Beasts, but he didn't know she was pregnant. It was surprising to see the kit running around doing his mother's bidding. He knew many females that would abandon their male cubs if their mate wasn't around to raise it. Seeing as how she hadn't done that; he felt his choice to come here was correct.

She took care of the cub and expertly repaired his wound. Now, he stood outside the healer's cabin, he didn't know where to go. Did he take the cub back to his parents that might kill him when they found out he couldn't walk? No. He didn't want to do that. The cub would soon be coming of age if he lived through this. Though it would take time out of his other duties to care for the cub until he was healed, once he was, they could decide what to do next, together.