Reborn as a Side Character in the Beastworld

Chapter Forty-three

When we got back home, Kit escaped Lance's clutches and ran up to me asking for breakfast. I normally leave the cooking to the males. Harvey especially liked to experiment with different herbs. I am not a good cook by any means, nor am I picky. I like raw fruits and vegetables and don't mind unseasoned meat as long as it has been cooked really well. But this morning, we had guests, and I was feeling inventive. And maybe a little guilty.

I was sure it might taste strange, but I wanted to try. I decided to make a breakfast burrito of sorts with oat flour flatbread, honey glazed bacon, potatoes, and eggs with onion. Being the middle of winter, there weren't many fresh ingredients, so I worked with what I had. When I had decided my masterpiece complete, I dished some out for the males and myself. Even Lance had gotten up to try the food before going back to sleep. No one complained but that didn't mean much. They didn't taste quite like I had imagined, but they were healthy at least and would provide good energy for the rest of the day. When we had eaten our share, I packed up the rest in my version of a bento box carved from wood.

Before winter, I had attempted to make some wild berry jam with honey in place of sugar and it hadn't gone bad yet. Fingers crossed it would last through the rest of the season. Instead of using the jam like a spread, I used it like a tea and put a spoonful in a bamboo thermos of hot water after dishing out some for Kit, Winston, and myself. It was sweet but the tartness of the berry offset the honey. It was the perfect winter drink. Making a thermos wasn't hard as anyone with claws could carve a twist cap. It wasn't completely leak proof, but good enough.

I placed the bento and thermos into a small satchel and put my boots back on.

I looked down at my son with his now full belly. "Well Kit, should we take some breakfast to Papa Harvey?"

"Yip!" he said affirmatively and ran in a circle, eager to go.

I picked up the basket and Winston, who had changed to his beastman form to eat, picked me up with one muscled arm before the three of us headed back out into the snow. Winston didn't let me walk this time, but Kit had to bound from one Winston footprint to the other in order not to be buried in the ankle-deep powder. The sight made me giggle and a small smile also graced Winston's face.

Once we arrived, we again entered without knocking and Winston put me down. I walked over to the tall table in the center and set down the food. Harvey had been in the back and poked his head out when he heard us enter. The adolescent wolf was sitting on a stool next to Shuu's prone form whose back was now covered in a yellow green poultice.

"I made breakfast. Come and eat." I said to Harvey. His eyes widened and his tail flicked in pleasant surprise. Grabbing a stool from one of the other patient bedsides, he came over. I looked at the dark-haired youth. "You too cub."

All the males froze for a moment before resuming their activity. The young boy looked at me in bewilderment. The confusion was expected. Females typically only gave food to their mates and only accepted food from those they wished to court. I wasn't going to court this cub and my mates knew it, but it was still out of the norm. It's possible the cub misunderstood because it was common for there to be large age gaps between mates.

"Don't think too much. It doesn't mean anything. Come and eat. You did a good job bringing your uncle here. You deserve some good food." I clarified for him.

He got up shyly and limped over with his stool. Kit wandered around his feet curiously and then fixated on the slowly wagging tail.

"Do you have a name yet?" I asked, dishing out a burrito and some tea for him and Harvey. Cubs didn't get their names until they came of age, and he looked as though it might not have been that long ago.

"O-Oliver." The boy sat down, and Kit took his chance, pouncing on the tail in one not-so-smooth move. Oliver's ears perked up at the sudden attack but didn't brush my baby off. Earning him some more brownie points in my book. I didn't chastise Kit because practicing hunting skills would be good for him. We could go over manners later.

"That's a good name." It reminded me of my favorite cartoon character. "I haven't seen you since your uncle brought you in for your leg. Is it feeling better?"

"Yes..." He took a bite of the burrito and his captured tail broke free from Kit as it wagged wildly with the burst of flavor. "But why do you keep calling Shuu my uncle?" Kit was undeterred and ran zigzags to catch it again.

Oh? Did Shuu lie to me about their relationship? Why. "Sorry. You seemed close so I just assumed." I said. Whatever the reason, if he felt it necessary to lie, I wasn't going to oust him for it.

The boy finished the burrito in two bites and looked like he wanted to take one more but wasn't sure if he was allowed. "We aren't blood, but he took me in when my family rejected me because of my leg. I owe him my life." He said matter-of-factly.

Ohhh. The lying makes sense now. He needed to be blood to make the decision for the treatment, so he lied. I looked over at Shuu's form with admiration. I knew his character to be kind and noble, but I hadn't expected it to extend to male strangers.

Winston interrupted my thoughts. "Would it be alright if I went somewhere for a moment?" His base voice asked. The fact that he wasn't telling me where right off the bat meant it was something serious.

I looked at him questioningly before nodding my head. He gave me a kiss on my brow before promptly leaving. Goodbye kisses had caught on. Oliver had watched the PDA and blushed.

After my tiger left, I noticed both leopard and wolf were looking at the remaining four burritos, but neither were willing to reach for one until permitted.

"What are you doing? Aren't you going to eat more? Do you not like it?" I prompted.

Thinking that they had somehow offended me by not digging right in, they dug right in. I smiled in satisfaction.

After Oliver's tail had been caught for the second time, he started to pay more attention to it. Swinging it this way and that to attract Kit and make him work for the hunt. More brownie points.

Once Harvey and Oliver were full and Kit had grown tired from chasing the ever-elusive appendage, I went over to Shuu's side to check on his complexion. Harvey had done a great job of covering the wounds on his back but when I looked closer at the wolf's face, I noticed a scratch across his neck. The whip must have missed its mark. The poultice was still in a bowl on the side table so I scooped some out and leaned over him to apply it. My long hair brushed his face, and the sensation made his eyebrows scrunch together as though he wanted to sneeze. It was a cute expression but I went back to focusing on applying the poultice. When I raised myself back up from my bent position, I noticed two ice blue wolf eyes watching me carefully. The intensity of his gaze indicated he hadn't yet decided if I was real or not.

"Hey there handsome. It's not time to wake up yet. Rest." I said and brushed some stray hair from his face. 

He must have still been fevered as he decided I wasn't real and closed his eyes, falling back into a healing sleep.