Whispers of the Beast Realm

Dinner

Sitting beside the smaller bonfire, I found myself unusually quiet. The warmth of the flames flickered against my face, and though the lively energy of the beastmen festival surrounded me, I couldn’t focus on any of it. I wasn’t even watching Ace anymore, even though he was still in the middle of that wrestling match, commanding the attention of half the crowd. My thoughts had shifted to Felix—and the entirely mortifying incident with his tail.

Iker, thankfully, had fallen into silence beside me, though I could still feel his occasional amused glance in my direction. He wasn’t going to let me live that down anytime soon. I sighed, pulling my cloak tighter around me as I stared at the flickering fire.

I didn’t know how long I sat there, waiting for Felix to return, when finally, I heard familiar footsteps crunching against the frost-dusted ground. My head snapped up just as Felix appeared through the crowd, looking uncharacteristically flustered.

His face was already turning red, and the moment he saw me, the color deepened until it almost matched the fiery glow of the bonfire. Without a word, he stomped over and practically shoved a small bundle of meat skewers—wrapped neatly in broad leaves—into my hands.

"Here," he said gruffly, his eyes fixed somewhere to the left of my shoulder. "Take these. And—" He huffed, dragging a hand through his hair. "And don’t touch me again. Or—or my tail." His voice dropped, almost growling. "Ever."

I blinked up at him, momentarily stunned, before glancing down at the skewers in my hands. "Uh—"

Before I could say anything, Iker let out a snicker from his spot beside me. "Poor Felix," he teased, leaning forward to grab one of the skewers from the pile. "You look like she just stole your first kiss in public or something."

Felix whipped around, glaring at his older brother. "Shut it, Iker."

But Iker was enjoying this far too much to stop. He took a bite of the skewer and chewed thoughtfully, gesturing at me with the half-eaten stick. "You know, she’s a herbivore, little brother. Not that it matters to you, since you’re too busy sulking."

Felix froze, his eyes snapping to me in surprise. "Wait—you don’t eat meat?" he asked, his voice softening just enough to make me blink in surprise.

I shrugged, trying to downplay it. "I don’t, but it’s fine. I wasn’t expecting—"

But Felix was already stepping back, his expression grim. "I didn’t know. Sorry." He ran a hand through his hair again, "I’ll get you something else."

"Don’t bother," I said quickly, stopping him before he could run off again. "It’s getting late, and I was planning to eat at home with Allmer anyway. Let’s just head back."

Felix hesitated, his brow furrowing. "You sure? I can—"

"I’m sure," I said firmly, already standing. I glanced at the darkening sky. The festival lights were lovely, but I was more than ready to go back, especially after a day this long. "It’s late. We should head back before it gets colder."

Felix nodded reluctantly. I handed the skewers to Iker, who accepted them with a smirk that made me want to shove him into the fire.

"Don’t worry, Felix, I’ll finish these for you. Waste not, want not."

Felix shot him a glare. "Thanks, brother. Don’t choke."

With that, Felix turned on his heel and motioned for me to follow him. "Come on. Let’s go."

I fell into step beside him as we left the bonfire behind, weaving through the thinning festival crowds. The walk back was quiet, the only sounds coming from the distant hum of the festival and the crunch of our footsteps on the frosty ground. Felix kept his gaze fixed straight ahead, his usual confidence replaced with a slightly awkward tension that made me suppress a smile.