After Shelly gave Winston his mini facial, they set off to the Ape king's banquet. She wanted Winston to hold his head up high, so she walked holding hands with both Winston and Harvey. She wanted others to see how well she treated her males. Maybe it would encourage other females to treat males better as well. Shelly started to think about how she could change this world's views towards males. They take all the good males for granted and then there are feral and rootless beasts!
Shelly had taken a bath before they left. She tried out the lemon juice and aloe Vera on her hair and was pleasantly surprised. Her hair was clean and shiny! It smelled nice too. She had cleaned her dress and was secretly wearing her underwear from Earth that had been cleaned and dried. She needed to find a way to turn cotton into cloth. She thought to herself, I know they used to use a loom to stretch the cotton and what about a cotton gin. She wasn't exactly sure how to make those, but thought if she could get a comb or a brush she could brush out the cotton seeds. She also wondered if they had silk worms here. She figured she could wear furs since it was fall and the weather would only get colder. Hopefully she can figure out some lighter clothes for summer. Shelly remembered how the snake shin was lighter, but shivered at the thought of the possessive snek. No thank you! I will just work with what I can find. She thought to herself.
When they reached the banquet, everyone was surprised at Winston's glowing skin. They wondered what happened. Some asked, "Did he eat a crystal?" Others were heard saying, "I've eaten crystals before and they don't make you glow like that, plus he smells different." Shelly just gave a knowing smirk to Winston as she led them to a campfire. Winston was not used to getting positive attention and he was a little unsure of what to do. Shelly told him, "Let's eat! Harvey will show you what I've taught him so far." Harvey nodded and picked up some meat. He cut and mixed the spices into a paste and smeared them on the meat as it roasted. Winston observed the process in silence, but his eyes were glowing. As soon as he smelled the aroma from the seasoned meat he started to salivate and his tail wagged slightly. Harvey said, " This is the recipe that Shelly showed me. It is the most delicious meat I've ever had. She had so many good ideas!" Winston wondered what else she knew. Shelly just gave a mysterious smile. Some of the beastmen from the previous banquet had tried to duplicate her recipe. Some were not able to find all of the seasonings, and others didn't get the ratios correct. They still enjoyed the seasoned meat over just plain meat they had eaten all their lives. Shelly was already bringing positive changes to this beast world.
Once the meat was finished, Harvey gave Shelly the first piece and then one to Winston. Winston's eyes widened when he tasted the meat and the juices ran down his chin. Harvey was right! This is the most delicious meat he had ever tried! He finished it and looked at the meat like he wanted more, but waited for Shelly to finish her piece. She said, "I'm done, you guys can eat the rest." She really couldn't eat that much meat. Winston looked concerned that his female did not eat enough even though she looked healthy. He said, "You should eat more. The cold season will be here soon and we don't want you to lose too much weight." Shelly thought, Not bad, I would like to lose some weight! Since she arrived in the beast world, she had been on an unplanned diet. She was already starting to lose weight and she was happy about it. Ever since her hormones were unbalanced in high school, she had a hard time losing weight. Maybe this world is just what I needed. She thought to herself. Winston and Harvey finished the meat and Harvey started to roast another one. While they were waiting for it to cook, Shelly had to go answer nature's call. She stood up and told the guys, "I'll be back, I'm just going to find a sandpit." That's what they used here. She laughed to herself. They were giant cats anyways, but I wouldn't want to be the one who cleans their litter boxes. Lol!
At first Harvey and Winston offered to follow her, but she refused. "I'll be fine, we are inside the city in the Ape courtyard, I should be safe." They both nodded and went back to eyeing the meat. Shelly snickered to herself and went towards the river. She saw a wolf beastman dressed in a long leather robe. She asked him for directions, "Hi, excuse me but can you help me find the bath-sand pot?" He nodded and pointed towards a corner of the castle. She thanked him out of reflex and hurried to the sand pit. Shuu thought to himself, " She is beautiful and she spoke to me so politely. She even thanked me!" He was wagging his tail happily when the Ape king approached him. He said, " Do you like that female? She is barren, but she is with Winston. You should court her." Shuu thought about it and nodded in agreement. He didn't care about having cubs if he could be with a beautiful female who was nice to him. Having a 4 striped male in the family would provide extra protection. Shuu was a 3 striped male, so he was confident in his ability. He would be able to reach 4 stripes soon.
Shelly made it back to her campfire and Harvey asked, "Did you get lost?" She nodded and said, " It was foggy, but luckily I was able to ask for directions." Harvey was about to ask who, but was interrupted by Shuu. He held out a banana leaf with various fruits and berries for Shelly. She accepted them and thanked him. He looked bashful at the thanks. Shuu said, "Hi, my name is Shuu. You spoke to me earlier by the river. I would like to court you." Shelly was a little surprised. She had not met someone who was so upfront about courting her. She still wasn't sure if Winston and Harvey really liked her or if they liked the seasoned meat. She even remembered when she was the one to court her husband in high school. She had gone up to him freshman year in the hallways and asked for help opening her locker. David smiled at her and happily helped her with the combination lock and then offered to carry her books. She let him and since then he followed her around and carried her books to every class. Even if it meant he was late to his own class, he wanted to spend every minute talking to her. She always made the first move. She looked at Harvey and Winston to see their reactions. Winston didn't have any change in expression, and Harvey nodded softly for her to accept the fruit. Shelly looked at Shuu and said, "I'm not looking for a mate right now." Shuu said, "It's ok even if I can be your beast guardian, I will be happy." She thought about it and nodded. It wouldn't hurt to have more protection. "Ok, you can be my beast guardian." He wagged his wolf tail happily and she motioned for him to join the campfire. "Would you like some meat?" She motioned to Harvey for him to share with Shuu. Shuu nodded his head and accepted the meat. When he tasted the seasoned meat, his eyes widened and his tail was wagging faster. He finished it quickly and was licking his lips staring at the meat for more. Shelly said," You guys can eat the rest. I'll have some fruit." They looked at her curiously and Harvey asked, "What are guys?" Shelly mentally face palmed herself. She was trying to use their diction to replace hers so she wouldn't draw too much attention. She quickly said, "It means males in my tribe." They all nodded and went back to eating with relish.
Shelly looked around and noticed the interested stares that Winston was getting. She felt proud that her mini peel and facial had improved his skin so much. She was also a little jealous of the men in this beast world. It took her almost a year of regular treatments to improve her skin and he showed improvement only after one mini peel. Imagine what would happen if she had access to her old spa equipment here! She was thinking of opening a spa here with all natural products. Everything in this world is naturally organic, so she wouldn't even have to specify. She started to plan out how to advertise. I guess word of mouth will have to work for now.