Beastmen: She Tames the Land-Chapter 38: Memory Loss

Heta sat looking at the pool of water in the grotto. She wanted to join their celebration, but she couldn’t. Although she had seen what happened, her mind was still set on going back.

However, now they were a tribe. Would they be willing to help her go back?

A sense of desolation washed over Heta. She wondered if she really made the wrong choice. Her partner and son didn’t want to leave. She was the only one who seemed to long for life in the tribe.

Their conversations became background noise as she thought about her choices.

"Heta," she heard her name being called.

She looked up to see everyone standing in front of her. She hadn’t even noticed them coming.

"I know you said you wanted to go back, but let me ask you again. Do you want to stay with us? Your son and partner are here." Visha said.

Heta looked at her, at them. She thought about whether she should stay. Her eyes looked at Nimo and Cato. She saw his eyes pleading with her to stay.

But no matter how much he pleaded, her heart didn’t change. She knew where she wanted to go. She didn’t want to stay with them. Her heart, which had wavered, now stood firm.

Her back, slightly hunched before, now stood straight. "I will not stay."

Cato moved towards her, but was held back by Fil. He shook his head, telling him not to move.

Uri stepped in, "A tribe cannot have a divided heart. Since she does not want to stay, we can only let her go. May she find peace in her choice."

He looked at Cato, his eyes sharp. "Don’t force her to stay."

Taking a deep breath, Vish walked to Heta, "I understand why you want to leave." She took her hands. "We won’t force you to stay. As for helping you go back, we will need to discuss it as a tribe. I hope you can understand that."

Heta looked at her hands in Visha’s. She didn’t expect they would even consider helping her. Seeing the sincerity in her eyes, Heta nodded.

This woman, whom she has disliked for so long, didn’t have any ill will towards her. It seemed she was the one who was petty and unwilling to change.

She looked at her son and partner.

Although she would be sad not having them by her side, she considered that she was still young. She could have another partner and another child. What mattered most was being able to stay in the place she had known her whole life.

She watched them walk away, as a group, a tribe.

She didn’t say anything, simply watched them walk away.

The tribe stood on the other side of the pool. None of them spoke. They were digesting the fact that Heta truly wanted to go back to the Tiger tribe.

"I know how conflicted you’re feeling," she looked at Cato. "You want her to be a part of the tribe. But when people make a choice for themselves, we should respect it."

Cato bowed his head.

"What do you intend to do about her?" Visha looked between Uri and Xeno.

"We can just send her back. We don’t have to stay. When she’s close enough, she can go her own way." Xeno responded.

Uri was pensive. "If we go, the Tiger tribe won’t let us leave that easily. Unless we have someone escort her, and we stay far enough away that no one notices. If they see us coming, they’ll want to know how we survived. Heta may tell them when she goes back, but it isn’t something we should reveal ourselves. Remember, we are our own tribe now."

"I can take her back; we don’t need to risk anything," Cato suggested.

"No," Xeno replied. "They’ll make you stay. You haven’t noticed, but I have. You look much stronger now than when you left. Even after not eating for an entire winter, you are still strong. Plus, they’ll use Heta being your partner against you."

Willa made a suggestion, "What do you think about Leader Uri taking her back?"

Uri touched the missing left arm. The lower arm was missing. It did not affect his beast form, but people seeing it would consider him a rogue.

Visha touched right arm. She could see the sadness in his eyes. She knew he wasn’t happy about the missing arm. She herself didn’t mind. She wondered once again if there was a way in the system to help him.

She saw him looking at her. She tried to convey what she was feeling. Letting him know that she didn’t despise him. Letting him know that he was no less of a man because of his missing arm.

He was hers.

She raised her hand to touch his chest, over his heart, and smiled.

Uri’s eyes softened. Willing himself to let go of his melancholy feelings. He was a leader now. He couldn’t allow himself to wallow in pity. He had Xeno and Visha. The two didn’t despise him for the missing arm. So why should he despise himself?

Uri’s eyes drifted from Visha to Xeno. Uri saw Xeno’s usual grin plastered on his face. But his eyes were soft as he looked at him. Uri didn’t see any of the disgust he expected to see.

He knew he wouldn’t see it, but he needed this moment to be able to accept it.

From the moment he lost his arm, he had been grieving for his arm. When Visha showed up, and he felt the closeness he felt for her as he had for Xeno, he couldn’t help feeling insecure about the arm.

Most females would never look at a man like him. Being injured like this was a sign of not being able to provide. But from beginning to end, he had never seen any negative emotions.

Although he knew her tribe was different. He had never seen it, so he couldn’t tell the difference.

Yet, now, looking at them both. He wanted to let go. He didn’t want to think about it anymore. Whether it was there or not, they wouldn’t leave him.

Uri agreed, "I can take her. When they see I’m...defective, they won’t ask questions."

"You aren’t defective. You’re my partner. One of the leaders of The Warm Pack. You are anything but defective." Visha stated.

Xeno nodded in agreement.

The rest of the tribe also nodded. Of the people standing here, not including Kit, who was sent away to play. Two people were previously considered defective by the tribe.

"We don’t use the term defective. We don’t consider ourselves rogues. Right now, we are The Warm Pack. A pack stays together." Visha addressed the group. "No matter whether you lost a limb or not, as long as you don’t betray the pack, you are always welcome."

The mood of the group visibly lifted as Visha said that.

A tribe that doesn’t cast its members out when they get hurt after hunting for the same tribe. That was a tribe they would enjoy.

They have seen too many heartless things done in the tribe. And while they had hope in this new tribe, they didn’t want to follow the same pattern.

Cato decided he would be the one to tell Heta. He was still her partner. And while they were separating, he would still like them to be on good terms.

He also told them that he wanted to give her a warning.

At first, Visha said he didn’t need to. But when Uri explained that tribes usually keep their methods secret, she could understand why they wanted to warn her.

They discussed what to tell her that she could or couldn’t reveal. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Visha didn’t see the need for secrecy, but she still checked the system mall.

There she found it.

[Name: Lethe-spore]

[ Category: Consumable/Ritualistic]

[Cost: 250 CP]

[Description: A fine shimmering silver-grey dust. Harvest from the caps of a rare fungi that grows in a place of forgotten memories.]

[Effect: After ingesting, it puts the subject in a dream-like state, slowly erasing one month’s worth of memory.]

[Side note: Only a pinch is needed. The larger the dose, the more memories are erased. May make suggestions to the subject to fill in blank memory.]

Looking at the price, she couldn’t help feeling a slight ache. She only just got the points, and now most of it is gone.

Uri touched Visha, bringing her out of her thoughts. She smiled, hoping he hadn’t noticed her heartbreak.

She bought the Lethe-spore. It was in the system space, waiting for her to use.

"You don’t need to warn her. I have something that will work."

This time, she didn’t hide the space. She opened her palm, and a small bag appeared. She saw the look of astonishment on their faces, not including Xeno and Uri, who already knew.

She didn’t waste time and continued speaking.

"When we’re ready to leave, or we’re close enough, we can have her eat or drink something with this in it. It’s a powder that makes people forget memories."

Scanning the people standing there, she didn’t feel any malice. There was only surprise.

"Spring has begun, and sooner or later, we need to leave. You all said we need to make sure she doesn’t reveal anything. This is the only way I have."

There was no resistance to the idea. It made Visha aware that their acceptance of certain things was higher than her own. She needed to reassess once again.

The pack made the decision that they would leave in a few days. The Tiger tribe was apparently not far from here. It was closer to the previous cave than the marshland.

Xeno told Visha she didn’t need to think about it.

That she would understand when she saw it.