Lost and Found

Division

Several days later I finally get the all clear to travel from Marsh. We continued on our journey to the next village; Hogsback Ridge.

We had a couple of pit stops along the way.

We spent a day catching crickets and grasshoppers for Arron amongst a field of tall grass. The change of pace and scenery a welcome relief from the endless trees.

There was also the initial excitement at finding cacao plant. The pods not quite ready to harvest, the pods small, red with feint traces of green. A couple of pods were taken as samples and my mates promised to return, either with the assistance of a villager or by themselves.

It's the main ingredient of chocolate. I would return myself, if it were not for this pregnancy.

As we get closer to the village my baby bump started showing, much to the delight of my males. They were taking every opportunity to touch and caress it.

Despite the loving touches and endearing behaviour, there has been very little sexual activity. I am becoming more and more sexually frustrated.

My mates though, they all seem content. I have a sneaky feeling that Marsh has cautioned them against anything strenuous i.e., sex.

I have yet to mate with Felix and Luca. They have insisted that they are happy to wait.

It's driving me insane.

Emmet seems a little distant still. I know we didn't promise mating, but he, Umber and Thorne are the only ones not in the 'family'. I am not sure how I feel about them. Yes, I care for Thorne, but I don't think I am at the stage to mate any of them. I may be horny as hell, but sex will always be done with love. I want my mates.

Speaking of family dynamics; Thorne and Alder were once close, but since Thorne's reveal, there has been tension and animosity from Alder. Unfortunately, I have not had any time to speak to Alder about it.

Hopefully being stationary for a week at the next village will allow us some time to address these issues I have.

Just as we did with the previous village, two of our group approached Hogsback Ridge whilst the rest of us waited.

Surprisingly, we were allowed access to the village straight away and were allocated two huts in the centre.

There was no visible boundary to the village. As the trees opened up, we could see huts spread sporadically, large spaces between each.

As we approached the village centre, we could feel the tension in the air. Whilst the huts here circled an open space, there only appeared to be older beastmen around.

They were openly staring at us. They showed no emotion, just avidly watched us as we were escorted to the huts we were to use.

With just one look between our group, we quickly erected a screen around our huts for a little privacy.

There was a clear division between the villagers. Within the privacy of one hut Luca and Felix explained that the 'predator' beastmen of panthers and pumas are housed along the southern border, whilst the 'prey' beastmen of sloths were housed on the northern edge.

The beastmen here prefer a solitary existence, and reluctantly gather for safety and breeding.

There are very few females at this village, all of them born to the sloth clan. The only reason the panther's and puma's linger is for a chance to be mated. There is an unwritten rule that the panther's and puma's must protect the village, and if found worthy, they would be invited to the female's family.

Do not be fooled by the sloth's 'prey' title. They are more aggressive than their wild beast counterparts. Their claws are just as ferocious as a tiger's, and they have tremendous upper body strength. When riled they can rival a predators deadly ferocity.