Surviving The Beast World With My 'Sassy' System-Chapter 37: As A Guest

Lavayla tried—honestly tried—to keep herself from chuckling, but it bubbled out anyway. "Thank you for your reassurance, Garrick."

"You’re welcome, Miss Lavayla!" he replied immediately, beaming as he’d just accomplished a heroic feat.

She sighed then, letting her gaze sweep over each of their faces before she spoke. "What if I go to your tribe as a guest?"

Confusion rippled through them like a breeze. Several blinked. A few tilted their heads. One of the younger women mouthed the word ’guest’ as if it were a foreign fruit she wasn’t sure how to bite into.

"So... does that mean you are going with us?" Tila asked, her voice soft and careful when the silence stretched too long.

Slowly, Lavayla nodded. "Yes, but I won’t be a permanent member of your tribe. Instead, I’d come with you, but only as someone visiting. Think of it like... someone spending some time at your home. I do need safety—and a place to rest—but I can’t just decide on something as big as joining a tribe right away." She exhaled, thumb brushing absently over the baby’s tiny fingers. "So we try something like an evaluation period. While I’m there, I’ll see whether joining your tribe will be the best thing for me."

Not only was it the truth, but it was the most reasonable bridge she could build between herself and a future she wasn’t mentally ready to commit to. She wasn’t used to being surrounded by tall, muscular, semi-wild men who could snap a tree like a dry twig—not in modern life, not in this world. And yes, they seemed kind, genuinely so, but joining a tribe wasn’t just signing up for a neighborhood membership card. Once she joins the Shadowclaw tribe, their lives would be tied, their choices interconnected, their futures woven into a single rope. It wasn’t like modern society where everyone minded their business behind closed doors, even married people could be separated. Here, a tribe was a single organism—if one part suffered, the rest felt it. If one advanced, the rest followed.

It was a level of unity that deserved respect... and caution.

And realistically, as her system had reminded her earlier, she couldn’t survive forever alone.

Garrick straightened with all the conviction of a man accepting a sworn oath. "Yes! You can come with us as a guest. And in no time, you’ll accept joining our tribe. I promise you!" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Tharn grabbed him by the arm and tugged him back down before he could go off on a full speech, while Dark simply nodded once, firm and accepting.

Lavayla let a quiet breath escape—relief slipping into her smile. "I’m glad you accepted it. But you don’t need to worry about providing for me. Even if I stay in your tribe, I’ll take care of my own food and everything else. I’m used to managing myself. I’ve been doing it for years, and I’m pretty good at it. Thank you. Truly. You’ve all been incredibly kind."

Dark shook his head, but it was Ressha who answered for him, her voice gentle but sure. "You don’t have to thank us. The things you taught them just now... that knowledge alone is worth more than any gift. It will ease the burden on our foragers and enhance our source of food in many ways. Offering safety in return is the least we can do."

When she finished, Ressha clapped her hands lightly, drawing everyone’s attention. "Alright. If you’re all done eating, pack up. We’ll leave soon. We shouldn’t stay here any longer than necessary—we’ve already spent enough time."

Lavayla stood up and walked back into the stone hollow, adjusting the baby as he squirmed. He’d been awake for a while already, soft little whimpers rumbling in his tiny chest— the system had commented that it was the classic hungry signs. She took the last mildly warm potato, mashed it with the flat of her palm, and began feeding him bit by bit as the others cleaned up.

She really hadn’t wanted to feed him mashed potatoes but she couldn’t pull out baby formula in front of them. Even giving him some last night had been reckless; Beastmen didn’t sleep deeply unless completely safe, and if any danger had stirred, they would’ve woken immediately. She’d acted on instinct... and risk.

Still, she fretted as she fed him, checking every second to see if he could swallow properly, if he’d choke, if his stomach would handle it. Beastmen babies were stronger than human ones, but that didn’t stop her from worrying.

Turned out she didn’t need to.

The tiny boy inhaled the mashed potato like a miniature force of nature. The moment her hand so much as slowed, even a fraction, he leaned forward urgently and grabbed her wrist with surprising strength, trying to shove the food into his own mouth.

Her laugh escaped before she could stop it—bright, helpless, and genuine. She eased his frantic attempts, helping him guide her hand properly before he worked himself up into tears. He ate every last bit, and Lavayla stared at him with fresh wonder.

Definitely around seven months, she decided. And absolutely adorable.

Too adorable.

She kept playing with him until Sela approached, hesitant but polite, telling her they were almost ready. Lavayla blinked, realizing she was still sitting on one of their hides, and immediately packed it up, handing it off before following Sela out of the stone hollow.

...

By early noon, they were moving through the forest at a brisk pace. For Lavayla, it was basically a light jog. For the Beastmen, Eiran had said, this was "normal walking speed," which she privately translated as ridiculous but kept to herself.

Vira, who had been quietly stealing glances at her for several minutes, finally spoke up. "Ms. Lavayla, um... your clothes. Where did you get them from? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to—I was just really curious."

Lavayla smiled faintly and shook her head. "No, it’s okay. I got these clothes from where I came from. They were my mother’s... after she didn’t make it."

"Oh..." Vira’s ears drooped immediately, embarrassment flooding her expression for unintentionally poking a wound.