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

21. Qin

 Meeting Qin was anticlimactic. Yes, she was stunning. More so than the novel let on. It was to the point where I couldn't see anybody in this world, including Bai, being seen as more beautiful physically.

She was thin, but not unhealthy looking. With how pale her skin was, I doubt she got much sun, but it didn't look ghostly or ashy.

Her eyes were captivating and resembled blue topaz. Qin's wavy hair was similar in color and shined like she took meticulous care of it.

But the meeting was anticlimactic because she dismissed me after asking me why I gave an emerald away. No hello or goodbye, just a curious question asked.

I left feeling somewhat aggravated, but reminded myself that the day could get better.

Qin, on the other hand, was staring at the female from her window with an unreadable expression. She had not expected the female that gave up an emerald to be so pretty. Of course, Qin did not feel herself inferior, she was only surprised.

Surprised because the female her mate dared to compliment in her presence, however subtlety, was not nearly as intelligent as Bard claimed her to be.  Qin was not impressed in the slightest and was feeling irate towards her mate.  His attention should never fall on another female, no matter the reason...

Needless to say, the answer the female gave her was not satisfactory. But Qin had no way of finding out how the female really felt. Then again, she was only acting on mild curiosity towards a foolish female that would give up the most precious of things to someone else. What she had really called her here for, was to see Winston's mark on the female.

Qin had entertained the idea of approaching Winston over the years. As a tetra-marked male, he'd be able to get her emeralds whenever she wanted, but she was too late. As sheltered as she was, she knew that a mated male could never be stolen away.

While she was happy with the emerald she received, Qin was not one to feel complacent. Until she had handfuls of emeralds waiting for her consumption, she would not be truly happy. Her life is the most precious thing, after all.

Given that her mate was able to get her this emerald, she would give him another chance to provide her with what she deserved. And as for Grace, she can help by staying out of Qin's way. Or by making more foolish decisions that benefitted Qin.

...

With that out of the way, me and Muir took a walk around the city. I gripped his hand taking in the appearance of the stone architecture. "Muir, can anyone make houses like these?"

Muir, reveling in joy that their intwined hands brought him, answered without hesitation. "No. The art of building these stone houses was lost a long time ago."

I thought as much, but it still struck me as odd. "Did no one want to learn?" Surely, someone has at least tried?

Muir stopped and stared at Grace. "Would you like me to learn it?" If Grace ever moved from the city, she'd need a new den. He would have preferred a tree hut or a cliffside dwelling himself. But if Grace liked these stone homes that much, he could learn how to make one.

"No, no. I was just curious. Maybe we could all try to learn together sometime though?" I wanted to make this another potential project, but not a mandatory one.

"Yes." Muir agreed on reflex, but there was no reason not to.

I tried to enjoy the rest of the walk, but scalding stares burned into my back making that a difficult. My brow twitched as I tried to ignore them. But there were several males who ran up to try there luck with me.

I almost felt bad turning down those gazes full of stars; almost. Until I bear Harvey's mark, I am not going to look hard. That is to say, I wasn't going to put the effort into it while Harvey still lay healing.

That being said, I didn't completely brush off any with two or three marks and gave them consideration at least. Well... I did until they got over excited and started brawling with each other. I get that that's the way they settle things, but it still didn't leave the best impression.

I sighed and moved along. There was a lake calling my name...

Floating in the water was blissful and a much welcome cool down for the summer heat. Muir was not the biggest fan of the water, but he joined me anyway.

Wispy clouds streamed by overhead as I let myself find a moment of peace. No thoughts or worries, just an appreciation for the sky and the lake. With my ears covered in water, all sound was muffled and low. If I hadn't needed to stay afloat by monitoring my breathing, I would've drifted asleep.

My peace ended when a wave crashed over my face. I wiped the water off as my head whipped around to find the offender. Two males had stumbled into the water and were fighting over a female... go figure.

Since I was already wet, I swam around. The water wasn't crystal clear, but it was pretty close. Small fish darted around me with little fear, a few even tapped on my skin. It tickled, but I didn't mind them. They got me thinking of Bai's fishing traps.

Weaving was not something I knew how to do, sadly, but I could try. Females weaved baskets for their cubs, so maybe one of them could teach me?

But a cub-holding basket and a fishing trap had to be different by design. I might be better off making a net and handing it to my mates to use. I'm sure I could braid tree roots or vines together and make nets a lot easier.

I resurfaced and asked the serious looking Muir about fish. "Do you like fish?"

Muir held back his surprise and gave Grace a smile. She was interested in him. "I do. I ate fish a lot as a chick."

I returned Muir's smile. He gave me more information than I asked for. It was a nice bonus.

"Do you like fish?" he asked.

"Some fish. I don't like the oily ones with a strong flavor."

Muir hastily catalogued that information. "I will catch you some."

"No, you don't need to..." I blinked as a realization hit me. We were family, not business partners. I could ask for things that weren't important for survival. It was okay for me to live a little.

"Actually... I'd like to see you do it. Can you show me?" I wanted to see him catch them. I'm sure he could.

Muir puffed out his chest. "Of course, Grace." Muir shifted and showed Grace his ability to swoop down and snatch fish out of the water.

Thanks to Muir's efforts, we had fish that we could eat with dinner. I clapped my hands and thanked Muir for the show. It was impressive.

Muir would be grinning from ear to ear if he wasn't currently in his eagle form. He wished to keep earning Grace's admiration and continued to snag fish from the water.

Feeling a small burst of competitiveness, I tried catching one myself. I knew it was mission I would fail, but I tried anyway. I caught one pinky finger sized fish by splashing it out of the shallows. That was my only success, but Muir praised me anyway.

I blushed in embarrassment. His compliment was genuine, but it was hard to take considering his mountain of fish to my one guppy.

I released the small fish and helped Muir carry his catches back home. I had a nice time and planned to spend a lot of the hot season at the lake.