B+Bs: To Stand In A Beast's World

18. Odd Dream

I made it all the way home before I collapsed. That was exhausting.

Shuu fussed over Grace and brought her fruit and water. While he did not smell excessive sweating, he did not want her to dehydrate. Harvey had told both Shuu and Muir just how important hydration was and Grace had agreed with him. As serious as he was, he could not help the bright expression on his face or the wagging of his tail.

Muir's eyes continued to follow Grace as he got a leaf fan ready to cool her down. The pride swelling in his heart for his mate must be showing on his face. He genuinely thought Grace was brilliant. Her declarations would surely be known, insuring that any suitor that had a speck of interest towards her wouldn't act against her wishes.

Muir was also thrilled about Grace's claim over her males; after all, that naturally included him.

I felt the gazes of adoration boring into me. They do know I was acting, right?

I sighed, but didn't correct any misunderstanding that may or may not be happening. If they were happy, I was going to be happy too.

...It was easier said than done. I do feel satisfied with that performance. Actually, I can't believe it went so well. Now I only had to wait to see how fast word spread.

I can go out more to show off what is 'mine' later to let it sink in. It is getting hotter out, so a trip to the lake or river would be a nice thing.

I will go when Harvey gets better.

While Harvey was healing, I did some cleaning. Shuu joined me and Muir left to hunt. Muir typically took hunting duty because he was faster. I remember when Shuu was sad about that, but I reminded him that we'd have more time together. That perked him up quick. The memory made me chuckle.

There was only so much to be cleaned when a certain eagle and leopard had been meticulous and diligent. So I took a look at our food and material stock.

I usually left food preservation and management to the guys, but it didn't hurt for me to see what we had. Shuu usually brought good fruits and vegetables by using his connections. Him being one of the two favored princes had really given us an edge resource wise.

It wasn't close to winter, so we didn't have to worry about smoking or preserving meat, but it might be a good time to start practicing. I knew how to can food since my grandparents insisted on teaching me 'real life' skills when I was younger. I didn't hate it back then, but I knew it wouldn't be useful.

But joke's on me. It was going to be useful here, even if it wasn't on earth. My only concern was how to make vinegar. Preserves were easier since honey could be a substitute for sugar. Unfortunately, honey was a limited resource and dangerous to collect, so I couldn't take it for granted.

Maybe I can try and find a sugar producing plant. It didn't hurt to ask around. I could start with Shuu, Muir, and Harvey.

"Shuu, do you know if there are any plants that produce sweet substances that are safe to eat?"

Shuu cocked his head in thought. "Sweet? ...I think my brother found a tree that made sweet stuff after he clawed into its trunk." Shuu wracked his brain, but he never asked what kind of tree it was. That brother of his had died because of his desire for sweets so Shuu never pursued the tree.

"A tree?" Was it sap? Could we make maple syrup or something close? But turning sap into syrup wasn't included in the life lessons my grandparents gave me. That would mean experimenting was on the horizon.

"I will find out," Shuu said enthusiastically.

I gave him a pat to calm him down. "Thank you, but don't prioritize this." We had a long time and I didn't want him to push himself to find this unknown tree.