Beastmen: She Tames the Land-Chapter 119: Curing a little cub (1)

At the gatehouse, after Visha and the others left, a different drama began to unfold. A female Stone-horn, athletic with small curled horns, approached Uri. It was Bryn, Gorn’s daughter.

Gorn had already taken the hinge from the wrapped furs. Everyone had been crowded around looking at the interlocking plates. They moved around, ready for installation.

Uri was focused on his work. He didn’t notice Bryn until she spoke.

"Focused on your work?" Bryn asked. "I saw your challenge with my father. As male as strong as you is worthy of being my partner."

Uri looked up, his hazel eyes meeting hers. They were calm, clear, and devoid of any interest she expected to see. "I have no interest in you. I already have a mate."

Bryn was taken aback. She hadn’t expected him to be so straightforward. She had never been dismissed so easily before. "In my tribe, a strong male chooses a strong female. Is your partner stronger than I am? I don’t believe it."

Uri shook his head. A flicker of something unreadable in his eyes. "If you want to know, you may ask." Uri tilted his chin towards Xeno, who was standing nearby. He had heard their conversation.

Xeno didn’t entertain the conversation. He only stepped towards Uri, kissed him square on the lips, turned to Bryn, and said, "Mine."

Bryn’s face turned red, her embarrassment even more evident than before. She took in Xeno, who was standing next to Uri. She knew this was the other leader of their pack. She hadn’t expected the two leaders to be partners.

It wasn’t the first time she had seen two males as partners. Usually, they had lost a female partner and already had offspring. She wondered if Uri or Xeno already had a cub.

"Do you have a cub?" The question was directed at both men.

"We have no cub," Uri stated, his voice flat.

Xeno looked at her as if she were stupid.

"Since you have no cub, you will need a female. I can be your partner. Both of you. We will have strong cubs together." She smiled, her chin held high. She expected them to accept.

"We already have a female, and we have no intention of changing. We don’t need you. If you talk about strength, our female is stronger than you." His tone let her know he was no longer interested in talking.

Gorn, who was standing nearby watching the exchange, let out a low rumbling laugh. His daughter had never heard a male tell her no. She was confident she would be able to get Uri. He had told her it would not work, but she insisted on coming with him.

"Leader Uri has two partners. I can see that he is capable." Gorn turned to Bryn. "He has said no. When you go back to the tribe. Choose someone."

"I apologize for my daughter. She is stubborn. She wouldn’t give up unless she heard you say no herself." This was addressed to Uri.

Bryn’s face was burning with shame. She had been publicly rejected and rebuked by her father. She sidled away from the crowd, going to lick her wounds on her own.

The rest of the people continued to work on the gate.

On Visha’s side, she made her way to the square. She had told Kaelen to meet her here after getting the flower. She had seen it on the rim when they did the perimeter search before; however, when she used Commune, she realized it wasn’t something she could pick. It would lose its medicinal properties two hours after being picked.

It was better to leave them there than to pick them. Leaving them felt safer than having them stored in her space. Even though she knew they wouldn’t lose their properties in the space, sometimes it is better to leave things as they are.

The son’s name was Brin. The daughter’s name was Lila, and the mother’s name was Lara. She steered the family to the bench in the square. While they waited, Visha decided to tell them the process of the treatment for their daughter/sister.

She kept her voice calma s she spoke. "I have taken a preliminary look at Lila, and as I said, I can cure her."

They shuffled when they heard what Visha said.

"But it won’t happen in an instant. There is no ritual for this. I am not sure what your experiences are with other priests or priestesses. But I do not need a ritual." She leaned forward. "The good news is, I know what she has. It’s called Crystalline Scurvy. Her body is lacking something it should be able to get from everyday life."

The treatment she will be getting will help her to produce these things. At the end of the treatment, she will be a normal, healthy little cub. The bad news, as I said before, this is not instant. You will need to stay here for a while."

"We can stay. We can definitely stay," Lara said quickly. She sounded like she was afraid Visha would tell them to leave.

"Good," Visha smiled. "Then we can talk about two things. The first is how long the treatment will take, the second is something I will give you time to discuss among yourselves."

At this moment, Kaelen walked up to Visha with a small basket of V-shaped flowers. "Thank you, Kaelen."

He responded to Visha before leaving.

She held up the basket with the flowers. "This is a part of her treatment. We will begin today if you have no objections."

"We don’t object," Biron stated. "Priestess, thank you so much for helping our daughter. You don’t know what this means to us."

She saw the excitement in his eyes. The hope. Visha’s heart swelled seeing their happiness.

"You don’t need to thank me. I told you there would be something you need to discuss among yourselves." She stood up, "Follow me."

Visha brought the family to an empty house. It was one of the extra houses they decided to build. She stepped inside, and they followed.

She turned to face them. "This is where you will live while Lila receives treatment." They started to protest, but she stopped them. "Let me say this first. I’m not giving this house for free. There are conditions. First, I need your help to check the mineral deposits in the caldera. Second, you will have to live as we do. You go out foraging, farming, and hunting, just like everyone else. Third....well, I’ll leave third for later."

"You can settle in while I get this ready," she lifted the basket. "I hope you will be comfortable."

She walked out, closing the door behind her.