Surviving The Beast World With My 'Sassy' System-Chapter 21: Foraging Party

Tharn stepped forward slowly. When he reached the human woman, he shifted his weight and lowered his head, studying her face.

He froze.

Up close, she didn’t look like any creature he’d ever seen. Her features were soft in a way their females only had during the end of their adolescent years — but even then, none of them were this... delicate. She was pale to the point of translucence, lashes trembling against skin that looked like moonlit porcelain.

To Tharn, it wasn’t the pallor of blood loss. She was an otherworldly beauty almost ethereal.

He exhaled slowly through his nose. Then with a thought, his beast form receded. His human shape took its place, lean and scarred, a hide skirt forming around his hips as naturally as fur.

He crouched.

The baby in her arms was still wailing, little face scrunched tight, tiny claws—no, fingers—curled into Lavayla’s pajama top. Tharn leaned in, tilting his head in instinctive feline curiosity.

"A beast baby?" he murmured under his breath.

He reached out, hesitating only a moment before attempting to scoop the child from her arms.

The baby screamed harder.

Tharn flinched and drew his hand back instantly, ears twitching in irritation and bewilderment.

Garrick approached, now in his human form as well. He had already checked Tark and now stood beside Tharn, staring at Lavayla with wide eyes.

"Cousin..." Garrick whispered, awe dripping from his voice. "She’s—she’s so small."

Tharn didn’t reply. His gaze flicked past Garrick to Tark’s frozen body, then returned to his cousin.

"What happened to him?"

Garrick tore his eyes away from the human with effort. "He’s breathing, but... stiff. Like a corpse that’s been dead for days, except he’s not dead. No wounds either—aside from the ones he already had from earlier."

Tharn’s brows furrowed. "Strange."

Garrick blinked at Lavayla again, excitement breaking through his confusion. "Cousin... is she really a human female?"

"Yes," Tharn answered simply. "It appears so."

"Gods," Garrick breathed. "We’ve only heard stories. Never seen one before. But the baby—"

"Yes, but forget about that," Tharn cut in, voice sharp. "She’s bleeding. Badly. And even after all our work clearing this area, blood will still drag predators from miles away. Not to forget the rest of Tark’s companions."

Garrick straightened instantly. "Right. Okay."

"I will carry the baby," Tharn announced, shifting forward.

But the moment he tried again, Lavayla’s arm tightened — even unconscious, her grip was iron, her body curled instinctively around the tiny child.

Tharn paused.

Then sighed through his nose. "Fine. She holds him."

He slid his arms beneath her, lifting her effortlessly despite her deadweight. Her head lolled against his shoulder, hair brushing his collarbone like silk.

Garrick shifted back into his panther form, muscles rippling.

Tharn adjusted Lavayla carefully, securing the baby between them where her arms naturally shielded him. Then he gave Garrick a short nod.

"Move."

And without another breath wasted, the two panthers sprinted into the forest.

...

The Shadowclaw tribe’s foraging party consisted of five females, two male teenagers, and five Beastman guards including Tharn and Garrick. They were gathered around their temporary resting spot — a clearing softened by broad green leaves they used as mats — waiting for Tharn and Garrick so they could finally begin the long trek back to the tribe.

"Why have they both not arrived yet?" an impatient male growled, pacing in front of one of the tall, lanky trees whose wide, smooth leaves shaded the area.

Kal, muscular and sharp-eyed, had his long black hair tied back in a rough knot and was scowling hard enough to wrinkle his entire face. His hide skirt brushed his knees as he planted his hands on his hips, irritation radiating off him in waves.

He wanted nothing more than to get back home and find someone to spar with. Anything to burn this restless energy crawling under his skin. But no — here he was, stuck searching for tasteless forest plants he despised. He’d rather eat meat boiled in plain water without rock salt than stomach another leaf or root.

Across from him, another tall figure rose from the grass. Eiran, slender and easy-going, brushed dirt off his palms and chuckled softly.

"You’re always impatient, Kal," he said, shaking his head. "They haven’t been gone that long. And even if they take a little more time, it just means more chances to find something useful if we are lucky."

Kal snorted.

"But instead of helping," Eiran continued, "you’ve been scowling at that tree for the past ten minutes."

Kal rolled his eyes and leaned back against the tree. The cool bark surprised him for a moment, but he shrugged it off. If Lavayla had been there, she would’ve recognized those tall, thick trunks and their massive, smooth leaves immediately — banana trees, just in a more wild form with no bananas on them yet.

"Eiran, cut the crap. I’m not like you — obsessed with plants to the point you nearly died from eating that poisonous mushroom."

Eiran winced, shooting him a glare. "That was years ago. And what about you? You almost died stepping into a fire ant territory."

Kal’s scowl deepened. His mouth opened, ready to fire back, but a sharp voice snapped across the clearing.

"Hey! You two! Quit bickering and search!" a long-legged female shouted from the other side. Her wild coppery hair flew around her as she straightened up from checking under some brush. "Ressha said we’re leaving as soon as they come back!"

Eiran lifted both hands defensively. "It’s not me! Kal’s the one standing around complaining — as usual!"

"Don’t tell me," the female — Nima — shot back. "Tell Ressha. Besides, you two are always either bickering or causing trouble, so it doesn’t matter."

"What? Nima, you’ve got it backwards. He is the one always causing trouble," Eiran insisted, pointing straight at Kal.

Kal ignored him entirely, turning his head away, arms crossed.

Just then, footsteps broke through the nearby trees. Everyone turned as Ressha, their foraging group leader, stepped into view, carrying a bundle of wild roots in both hands.

"I found some wild roots — two types," she announced, lifting them for everyone to see. Thick wild yams and knobby forest potatoes dangled from her hands.

Ressha stepped fully into the clearing, her dark skin catching bits of sunlight. The female was tall, broad-shouldered, her thick, short dark hair tied in a low bun. She dropped the roots onto one of the leaf mats with a sigh.

"But when I searched for more around the patch," she continued, brushing dirt from her palms, "there was nothing. Completely picked clean. Something or someone got here before us."

Sela who also just arrived groaned loudly, her arms empty. "Great. So we’re going back with the smallest haul we’ve ever had."

"Again," Kal muttered under his breath.

Ressha shot him a sharp look, and he instantly straightened, "We take what the forest gives," she said firmly. "Complaining will not make it grow."

Tali walked forward, dropping the fruits she found onto the leaf, saying quietly, "This was what I was able to find."

Eiran brightened instantly, stepping towards the mat and looking at the fruits. "Tali, you found wildberries! And a lot of them!"

Kal muttered, "Tch. More plants." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"It’s called fruit, idiot." Sela rolled her eyes at her younger brother’s friend’s stubbornness then she frowned, turning to Ressha. "But what’s taking those two so long? They should have returned by now."