A New Life In The Beast World-Chapter 112: Help

"You called, Mother?" A chubby looking rabbit beastman called out, poking his head into the Council hut.

His green eyes gleamed brightly with curiosity as he bent his head slightly to enter the room, grey rabbit ears flickering as he moved. He had similar features to Emelia, making Serena guess that this was Finn.

"Finn!" Emelia exclaimed happily, hurrying over to him. "You got here just in time. Serena’s over here has a few things to craft."

The oldest member of the Council, Tevor, crossed his arms and muttered, "I would do it... But they say I’m too old."

"Oh hush." Emelia waved her hand. "Don’t act like you’re not supervising the project. The youngin’ just need to learn how to do things too."

"Hmph!" Tevor huffed, but said nothing else.

Serena could tell he was quite interested in her beehive idea and was the one hounding her for details. However, she wasn’t a craftsman like him and could barely get the right words to explain how to build it.

In the end, she landed up drawing the blueprints in the dirt and Tevor figured out how to achieve the design with what material they had. Because even the simplest design she chose was difficult to get done.

Reading more about beekeeping had made her realize just how ambitious she was with this project. But they had to at least try it out once. If they failed, then that was that.

They’d move onto other things.

"Eh... So what do you want me to build exactly?" Finn asked, scratching the back of his messy, grey hair. "I might be able to help, but Tevor is the better craftsman here..."

Serena gazed at him, wondering if he could really help. The Council all vouched for him, saying he was their next best craftsman after Tevor. And that it would be good for him to be a part of this so he could build more in the future.

She didn’t doubt them, it was just his massive size didn’t seem like the type to do such detailed work. He seemed more like the kind of guy someone would call to help with some heavy lifting.

But I’m being judgemental like that... Serena mused, gazing down at his hand.

There were multiple scars and callouses covering his hand. It was in rough shape. Proof he was someone who worked with his hands.

With a sigh, Serena looked back up at the young rabbit beastman and answered, "We need help building a beehive. I have an idea-"

"But she lacks the skills of a craftsman." Tevor interrupted. "Do you think you can build something based on some designs?"

Depending on Finn’s answer, this could likely make or break the project. If he refused, then it was over. Tevor could probably build the beehive, however, not in the timeframe that they needed it to be built.

They needed to relocate the bees as fast as possible because they were causing chaos where they were right now. The beastmen living there had been relocated to the east side for safety, but it wasn’t for long term living.

And with the cold season coming in, they didn’t have much time either.

The Council only agreed to her plans on the condition this problem could be resolved within five days. Any more than that and they’d have to find another way to remove it. Likely by killing the bees.

"I..." Finn pursed his lips, unsure what to say. "Can I look at the designs first? I can’t be certain until I see them for myself..."

"Sure." Serena nodded her head and got up. "They’re outside the hut, so I’ll show you."

The plans were drawn a bit away from the hut, somewhere people wouldn’t wander close too. Of course, if someone did wander there and make a mess of things, then she’d just have to redraw it.

"You should really introduce paper to this world." Liz mused on her head as Serena guided Finn to her drawings. "It would make things much easier."

Serena ignored the system, it knowing full well that she couldn’t do that. She already was eccentric enough with all the thoughts in her head, she didn’t need others questioning her more.

Especially after Theo questioned her about the soap making. She wanted to lay low for a while. Even if the things she was doing to improve this world were the exact opposite.

Guess it was just one crazy thing at a time.

Serena finally came to a stop in front of the drawing she had made and picked up the stick she had used to draw. She then began pointing at different parts of the drawing, explaining what it was.

As she spoke, Tevor would occasionally add in his two cents to better explain the things she couldn’t. After a few minutes of talking, Serena fell silent and watched as Finn mulled over at what she said.

Finally, the rabbit beastman said, "Alright... I think I’ll give it a try. But I might need some guidance."

"Of course." Serena smiled. "I’ll be happy to help in any way I can."

***

Serena walked through the forest, stopping every now and then to harvest some plants. After working things out with the Council and Finn, the two made plans to meet up in the afternoon to start building.

Finn needed some time to collect materials for the beehive and Serena needed to finish harvesting the last bit of food to give to Emma. So, it made sense to start building later.

A large part of Serena was giddy at the thought of them building the beehive. However, there was a larger part than wanted her to fine tune the rest of the plan for relocating the bees.

To say the whole thing was dangerous was an understatement. Especially when they didn’t have all the fancy tools they used on Earth back when beekeeping was a thing.

And it wasn’t just the risk of them getting stung to death that was an issue. It was the fact that they could also lose the colony of bees in the relocation itself.

They needed to get this right or things just wouldn’t work for them. And if this didn’t work, she doubted looking for more wild bees and trying to tame them would go well.

She knew spiraling like this and thinking negatively wasn’t going to help in any way. But she couldn’t help it. Especially with how delicate the task was and that she had to rely on someone else to do the work.

Serena knew there was no way anyone would let her move the bees herself, but that didn’t stop her from wanting to do it herself. The only person she could truly rely on was herself.

It was safer that way...

Serena closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She needed to stop that train of thought. Stop thinking that someone would stab her in the back. But...

Every time she tried doing that, her mind would replay Mark’s face moments before she died. His look of glee as he watched the light slowly fade from her eyes. As she realized his true nature all too late.

Her hand grasped her chest, it feeling like something was squeezing her chest. Tightening its grip and making it harder to breathe. The world around her seemed to tilt and it was hard to keep standing.

"Serena!" Liz suddenly called out, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Serena snapped her eyes open, realizing she was on the ground, heaving. When had she fallen? Liz was standing in front of her in its raccoon form, looking almost worried.

"Are you okay?" The system asked. "I was calling you..."

"I’m fine..." Serena moved to get up, only to find her legs were like jelly.

Her breathing was still uneven and she had to take in huge gulps of air to steady it. She couldn’t believe what had happened. How could she show weakness?

Liz gave her a pointed look. "You’re not fine. You were suddenly breathing heavily and then just dropped... What were-"

"I’m probably just tired." Serena brushed it off, refusing to tell the truth.

Liz might seem concerned for her, but it was only because she served a purpose in this world and it wouldn’t be good for her to die until she did whatever it was Liz’s creator wanted to do.

Liz didn’t really care for her. No one did...

She was just another pawn on the chess board. To be used and tossed aside.

Liz opened its mouth to speak, but Serena spoke first, "I’ve been working a lot lately, so just need to rest for a bit. You don’t need to worry about me. A bit of food and sleep is all I need."

"Serena..." Liz called out, not believing a word she said. "You..."

"Drop it, Liz. You’re overreacting." Serena narrowed her eyes before quickly turning away. She straightened up once more, finally stabilizing and ran a hand through her hair as she muttered, "Now let’s get going. It’s almost midday and Theo’s probably halfway done with lunch."

And then she walked away, not looking back to wonder if Liz would follow her or not.