Reborn as a Side Character in the Beastworld

Chapter Ninety-seven

The light green haired peacock didn't spare me a glance. I had my mask on, and he hadn't seemed to notice or even care that I was there. Winston, in beastman form stood a head taller than the peacock, and though his posture was relaxed, he still appeared imposing. The peacock, however, didn't seem intimidated. He appeared both brave and stupid in my eyes.

Winston sized up the male and then replied, "Yes. We have some ideas on how to stop the fire from spreading, but we would need the help of flying beasts. The fox and some others from our group are already on the ground, clearing away trees and anything that would feed the fire."

"I'm not surprised you would need our help." He said with a sneer. "But what is it exactly you would ask us to do?"

Winston ignored the arrogance and continued. "Flyers could carry tubs or skins of water to douse the fire from above."

"Hmmm." He tapped his lips with a finger. "I suppose that wouldn't be too difficult. Very well. I will inform our village. Have the buckets and skins ready for us." With his orders delivered, the peacock turned around, shifted into the most extravagant looking bird I'd ever seen and flew off the way he'd come. Despite his attitude, I knew the village needed our help just as much as we needed their.

Though my king probably already had a plan, I recommend a couple things, "We can cut down one of the larger trees into sections and hollow them out into a bowl. Then we could probably use leather strips or bark rope to make handles. We don't have a lot of skins, but you can use any of my clothes."

He looked at me lovingly and kissed me lightly. "We'll take care of it. You just stick with the other females and take it easy." He placed a palm on my stomach, "Keep Harvey or Olly with you."

I nodded. I had offered suggestions and now it was time to leave it to the males. While I wished I could do more, I couldn't think of what. Winston headed over to Shuu and when the other males saw their king on the move, they moved to meet him. Once they knew the plan, they immediately got to work.

A short time later, the green haired male was back with thirty other peacocks flying behind him. A relay of males making the containers, filling the water and the peacocks taking that water began. The flyers came and went on multiple trips high above the trees, back and forth through the suffocating smoke.

I sat with the other females on the rocks of the lake's shore. Tristan's mother came over to sit with me and we watched in silence as the sky got darker and the smoke thicker. I hoped it was more steam than smoke and that the water was helping.

The other females were quiet with anxiety, and they held the smallest cubs close. Kit and some of the other cubs were watching the activity from the safety of Lance's back in the lake. Many others sat near their mothers watching their fathers intently.

"If only it would rain." Laura said in a whisper. She had one of her three cubs sleeping in her arms.

I thought of Tristan, battling against a force of nature that made every cell in our bodies desperate to flee. I had to believe the capable male would be alright. But then the injured started coming back.

Tigers with patches of fur and skin burned black, peacocks coughing and struggling to breath, foxes with the pads of their paws bloody and oozing from the heat all came back to the lake seeking Harvey and Olly. My healer had to leave my side to help them and I unhesitatingly let him go.

It was like a battlefield where all I could do was watch as my mates were forced to join the fray. They fought for their females, for their cubs and for the land they had wanted to make their own.

If only it would rain, she had said. Though the drought had not yet begun, it hadn't rained in over two weeks. The ground was dry. The water we were pouring on the fire was being devoured by the earth, but it wasn't enough. We were losing this battle. If only I could call rain like the Ape King. 

Then I saw Tristan.

With his hands and feet a bloody mess, he came back to our camp carrying the charred body of another fox. He headed straight for Harvey, but from my vantage point, I could see the expression of helplessness on his face. The fox Tristan had so painstakingly brought back was already past saving. Tristan didn't take time to mourn. He simply placed the body on the soft bed of pine needles underneath a tree before heading back into the smoke.

If only it would rain. I saw Tristan in my mind, not as the rescuer, but as the curled up corpse and my heart felt like glass about to be shattered upon the shores of this lake. If only it would rain. My mind had become so focused on that single thought, that I stopped hearing the whimpering, nervous, and hurried sounds of beasts. I closed my eyes against the earie fog the smoke had created around us. Shadows moved in and out of it, but it had become so difficult to tell who was who, there was no point in looking. We would have no choice but to evacuate soon. If only it would rain.

Like all who face the possibility of death, I who had little faith made a desperate but unexpectant plea in an inaudible whisper. "Beast God help us. Make it rain."

At that moment the hot breeze that was bringing disaster to our feet changed direction. The air turned cold and the wind fierce. And the sky that I had not been able to see for the past few hours opened up as it released water in a torrential downpour. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked to the skies. The let the cool water wash over them and did not move until their minds accepted the rain was real and not a fantasy of their exhaustion. Then they started to cheer.

I stood up on the shore of the lake and continued to look up as beasts rejoiced around me. It was as though clouds were telling me that they'd been waiting for me to ask. Though the heavy drops of water stung my eyes, I searched the sky and whispered a quiet, "Thank you."