Reborn as a Side Character in the Beastworld

Chapter Twenty-six

I leaned forward until I was laying on Winston's broad back. Kit squirmed in my hug and jumped out of my arms, opting to walk instead of being squashed. He didn't get far though. Lance scooped him up with his tail and Kit perched on the weaving thing like he was riding a roller coaster. His eyes sparkled with excitement and his own tail wagged behind him furiously. The sight made me smile and I relaxed a bit more into my mate's fur.

Though Winston was injured, having him next to me again made me realize just how scared I had been and just how safe he made me feel. It was expected that males protect their mates, and I knew he would come for me, but something inside me had whispered doubts. Whispers that didn't come from my fox self , but somewhere else. It made me feel like I didn't know myself. I could be as commanding and prideful as other females of this world, but then other times I wanted to curl into a corner and hide from it all. My two lives raged within me.

I had been a people pleaser in my last life. I tried to make everyone around me happy, even at the cost of acting a fool. Despite my efforts, all of my personal relationships had been shallow and short lived. I was nothing more than a passing moment in their lives. I convinced myself that people had their own lives to live, and it wasn't anything personal. But the truth was, I just wasn't important enough to them to stay in touch. I was your average lonely nobody.

My fox self looked at those memories as having lived pathetically, while my human side looked on this life as having lived selfishly.

I understood that neither were really who I wanted to be.

Having Harvey and Winston and my son by my side, I finally felt like my existence meant something again. I had become someone worth remembering. And now that I knew how things would progress from here, I was starting to think that I couldn't just run away from it anymore. People were going to die and there was something I could do about it. They weren't just characters in a novel anymore. My fox side didn't want to get involved. Those people didn't care about me so why should I care about them? But my human side desired to see just how much I could change their stories.

I had already changed so much. There was no turning back. I would need to make a decision soon.

I let myself soak up the warmth of Winston's back and pushed the heavy thoughts to the back of my mind. For now, it was enough that I was alive and safe with the people I loved. For the first time since the flood, I let myself relax and soon fell asleep to the hypnotic movements of his steps.

Because we weren't as fast as a raging river, the journey back took a couple of days. Winston must have run nonstop to get to me as quickly as he did. He didn't appear fatigued, but we made sure to take our time and rest periodically on our way. When we finally crested a rolling hill and the village came into view, my heart sank.

The village was all but gone. House foundations were left, but everything else had been swept away. The water level had dropped back to normal but left mud in its wake. The roads had been washed out and hut floors were covered in at least a foot of mud. Harvey's hut was not in any better shape. The smokehouse, coop and oven had all been washed away. Harvey's furniture, my mattress, and the collection of herbs were likely all gone as well. Our home was beyond repair.

There were no villagers to be seen. It appeared as though the village had been completely evacuated. Most would likely have gone to the nearest large village, the City of Beasts, seeking shelter.

The thought triggered a memory.

This had happened in the novel but not this early. It happened after the Tiger King had been killed and Winston had taken his place, allowing the castle to be used for the refugees. Why had the flood happen so early? Was it that this area was simply prone to flooding? Then what had changed to make the villagers evacuate when they hadn't done so before? Was it because their healer hadn't been around to help them recover or was it simply that the story itself had changed? If that was the case, how reliable would my memories be?

Anxiety started to creep into my lungs until a voice broke me out of my thoughts. 

"Now that you're home, isn't it about time this guy woke up?" Lance said as though he saw the village as it was and not as a ruin. He proceeded to drop Harvey's unconscious body on the ground.

Shocked at the rough treatment, I started to get off Winston to check on him. But the leopard shifted form and raised his head as though just waking up from a nap. "What's going on?" he said drowsily before turning to look at me. "BAILEY!" He got up and ran to me. "Are you ok? What about Kit? Is he?"

*Yip* Kit called Harvey's attention to him.

"Oh thank goodness. You're alright. What happened? Who are you?" He was looking at each of us in turn, including Lance.

I didn't reply right away. I was a bit too stunned. His body was nearly healed except for a red scar across his hip. But that wasn't what stunned me. It was the stripe running over his left trapezius. Harvey was no longer a stripeless beast. He had leveled up.

I tentatively reached out to touch his upper arm. "Harvey, how do you feel? Are you ok?"

Drawing his attention away from Lance, he looked back at me. "I feel fine. But Bailey, your face..." He looked pained upon seeing my wound and he lifted his hand to check it.

"It's fine. I put yarrow on it like you taught me." I said, grasping his hand. "But more importantly, Harvey, look at yourself!" I smiled and jumped a little in excitement for him.

"Huh? What do you mean?" He cocked his head to the side and his ears wiggled curiously.

I patted him on the shoulder. "You have a stripe!"

He looked down at his shoulder and seeing what was there, brought his wide eyes slowly back to meet mine. "Bailey! I have a stripe!" He said with awe in his voice. Then he reached out to embrace me and swung me around, dangly bits and all, unable to contain his happiness. "I have a stripe!" he said again. I giggled and Kit barked happily at our feet.

"Pappa! Me too! Me too!" he was saying.

"Kit wants to be picked up too." I translated.

Harvey put me back on my feet and promptly picked Kit up, swinging him around in the same fashion.

Both Lance and Winston were looking at the scene with soft smiles while I had a giant grin on my face.

It was such a brilliant moment that losing my home didn't feel so bad anymore. I had my family and as long as we were together, it didn't matter where we went.

Even if it was back to the City of Beasts.