The catch was larger than Chiaki remembered anything that had been brought to her before. Of course ocean dwelling creatures could easily surpass land animals in size. What was dragged up on shore by the eleven males looked to be a type of whale, but not of a type she knew. It was a toothed whale though. The males were working together to render it down into usable chunks.
Chiaki had her camp fire going, it was best not to let it go out as she still could have difficulty starting a new one on the beach. liquid fat snapped and popped in the shallow iron pan she had claimed from the system some time ago. Thick slices of whale flesh, crisp around the edges, were being pushed around in the fat as she fried the meat.
The smell was not what she was use to. The female, Tina, and the three children watched Chiaki cook with a fascination she'd never seen before. The males were sharing parts of the carcass raw, she recognized the heart. She glanced at Lu Yue, who was not indulging in the meat. As a deer, did he even eat kills? Probably not much. At the moment he was testing the flavor of sea grass and red seaweed.
The group was upbeat and at the same time more quiet than Chiaki was expecting them to be. The older males spoke of hunts long ago, while the younger males attention seemed to stay on Tina. Lu Yue and Bai Kun where the only ones to pay attention to her, other than the children who seemed to drift around the entire camp.
Chiaki drifted to sleep with an uneasy feeling that night. Unknowingly so did the rest of the adults. The only ones to sleep soundly were Tina's three sons.
o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o
"The water is too quiet." The male said to one of the elder males.
"You noticed it too?"
A nod. "There's a fair bit of small sea life right near the coast, but as soon as we hit deep waters?" This time a shake of the head.
"Any idea what is the cause?"
"No. I could swim out further... or deeper... but I feel uneasy right here in my chest." He rubbed his sternum.
The older male nodded. "Kind of feels like being hunted."
The younger male looked over at the elder sharply. He'd never been hunted, beast men were the top of animal kind. Few animals considered them prey, giant reptiles in swamps that had seen few to no beast men might make the mistake. Feral beast men were probably the biggest threat. Sure animals they hunted could be dangerous and kill, but that was different than being hunted.
"I think..." The older male said slowly. "...we should not stay here long."
The younger male looked back to the tent, the camp fire, the group of others still sleeping in the early dawn light. They had just said it would be a good place to settle for some time, now to pull up and leave just as quickly?
o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o
Bai Kun rested within reach of Chiaki, his fingers just brushing the tip of her long braided hair. His heart pounded in his ears once again. He had only met two females in his life that didn't try to lure him into their bed. The first was the Ida, the female who was now the leader of her village. The second was Chiaki. It had been a little over ten years last he had seen the person sleeping near him, she had not aged a day. That meant she'd eaten a life extending crystal. It would take a strong male to get her one of those. So that meant she had at least one strong mate. One of at least four stripes or several elemental stars. Probably more than one mate.
That these mysterious mates seemed to leave their female alone for long amounts of time, bothered him. If she would have him, he would stay by her side every day for the rest of his life. He'd become the caretaker of her cubs and give up hunting in favor of using those traps she'd shown them! He'd learn a trade, like... like.. like.. he didn't know, but he'd do something that would not take him from their home.
o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o
When Chiaki woke, the fire was only hot embers and she was alone in her tent. Outside it was bustling, almost like a village. Though the group was much smaller, she'd been alone long enough for the normal sounds to be loud in her ears. The rest of the whale carcass was being rendered down and packed into newly woven containers. Large carriers made from woven beach grass were as tall as her. Meat was being packed into each with thin layers of some type of kelp.
"What's going on?" She asked Tina, who was not involved in the work.
"My mates want to keep traveling." She said with a shrug that said she didn't know much. "When I woke up, that was what I was told."
With a frown Chiaki walked over to Bai Kun. "You- are leaving?" Her words caught in her throat painfully.
"Lex and the rest are, Yue and I have refused to join them." He stood up from his work, his red-gold eyes meeting hers. "I won't leave without you."
Chiaki looked away. She'd seen the map, even if they walked to the most southern point of this continent, they'd not find a village. "Tell them, when they make it to the next river that drains into the ocean, to turn and follow it to its beginning."
Bai Kun looked at her. She was telling him some knowledge no one should have. This he felt. "I will let Lex know. He'll be leading them the rest of the way instead of Yue."
Chiaki nodded. "Why are they leaving?" She asked, wrapping her arms around herself. The wind coming in from the sea was cold in the early morning.
"Betta," Kun pointed at the male with looks that reminded her of Tobi, "says there's something 'wrong' in the deep water here. It's made everyone who went out hunting yesterday uneasy."
"You too?"
He nodded. "Even the deer." He said in reference to Lu Yue.