Shelly woke up with the sunrise. She cursed in her head about not having curtains. She was really starting to miss her modern day comforts. She missed her bed, warm water, indoor plumbing, comfortable clothes and so much more. She started to get sad when she thought about her husband and family she left in her old life. She pulled out the phone from her bag and started to go through the photos.
Harvey was making breakfast in the kitchen while Shuu was hunting. Harvey had just pulled out the boiled eggs and was coming into the bedroom to ask Shelly if she was hungry. He stared at the pink rectangular object in her hand that she was looking at with curiosity.
Shelly felt his eyes and interest on her and she looked up. Her light blue eyes met his bright blue eyes and she knew she had to tell him about the phone. She wasn't sure how he would react, but she felt like she could trust him.
Shelly said, "Harvey, is there anyone else around who can hear us?" Harvey listened for a second and shook his head no. He walked closer to her slowly and looked down at her hands. More specifically the pink object in her hands.
Shelly smiled at him and said, "Where I am from, this is called a phone." She thought, more specifically an iPhone, but we don't need to get into that right now. Harvey looked interested and wanted to touch it.
She handed it over gently and said, " It is breakable, please be gentle. I can't replace it once it's gone." Harvey looked at it and took it as gently as he would a newborn female.
Harvey saw a picture of Shelly with her family and asked who they were. She smiled and said, "This is my family. They are still behind where I came from." At this, she looked sad. Harvey noticed her sadness and asked, " Why are you sad?" She said, "I miss them and don't know if I will ever see them again." Harvey handed the phone back to her and gave her a hug. He said, "We are your new family. We will give you everything you need and love you forever." Shelly wiped away a tear and smiled at Harvey's sweet words.
She said, "Thank you Harvey. You are so sweet!" He smiled and purred at the praise. Then he heard her stomach grumble and said, "I boiled some eggs and Shuu went to hunt. Would you like to eat now?" She nodded and headed to the kitchen. She was thinking, I would love to have some bacon with these eggs. Pancakes and bananas sounded really good too! Shuu came back with a wolf pig and a bunch of bananas. She said, "Wow, you read my mind Shuu! I was just thinking about pork and bananas." Shuu looked pleased at the comment. Harvey took the pork as was about to roast it. Shelly got up and said, "Wait, let me show you how to make bacon." Harvey nodded excitedly. He wasn't sure what bacon was, but if it was anything like her other food, he was sure he would love it!
Shelly instructed them to cut the fatty part of the meat into thin strips. She then instructed them to cook them on a large flat rock. She added salt to the bacon and waited till they were crispy. She had Harvey remove the bacon with a wooden spatula. He tried it first to make sure it was suitable for females. His eyes widened in surprise at the crunchy and salty delicacy in his mouth. She looked at Shelly in approval and gave her some. She said, "It's good by itself, but try it with the egg. They taste good together." Harvey took a bit of the peeled boiled egg and a piece of bacon at the same time. The combination of flavors and textures was amazing. He said, "You are right, they are delicious together." Shuu looked eager to try, so Shelly motioned for him to try it. He eagerly wolfed it down and his tail wagged in happiness. Shelly asked Harvey, "How is Winston?" Harvey said, he is still asleep. He will be thirty and hungry when he wakes later today." Shelly said, "I will teach you how to make soup after we eat breakfast." Harvey nodded and was excited to try this soup.
Shelly started to think of what else they could use in the soup. She figured chicken soup would be the best. The short birds were easy to catch and there were plenty of them in the woods. She was not worried about running out. She could also make him a fish soup if she could catch some. She still had to weave baskets to use in the river. Weaving baskets made her think of weaving some screens for the windows. It was a start. Maybe she could plant some ivy or a plant that had vines around the windows. That would take too long and she wasn't sure how long they would be in the City of Beasts. She figured the plot had not changed too much considering Winston was still poisoned. She started to plan what to do next. She could stay here during the winter and make inventions they could bring with them when they moved after the rainy and cold season. She would mostly be inside all winter, so she figured she would have lots of crafts. Time to gather supplies. She would need cotton to try and make some new underwear. She had been using the same pair and washing it when she bathed at night. Then she had to go commando while she slept to let them air dry. She knew the females in this world all went commando, but she was not used to it. Definitely not with 3 hunky beastmen sleeping close by!
She asked Harvey and Shuu, "Where are the cotton fields?" Shuu looked exited to help. He said, "I can take you to the cotton fields when you are finished eating." She nodded her head and thanked him. He smiled. She finished her bacon and egg and then went to the banana bunch. Shuu knew that Apes loved bananas so he brought it back on his way after he fought the wild pig.
Shelly enjoyed the banana. It was fresh off the tree and bright yellow. She thought, if only I had pancakes and syrup. This would be perfect. Oh well, she would be happy with what she had now.
She finished and asked, "Harvey, could you stay here and look after Winston? We will be back as soon as possible." Harvey agreed, "Don't worry. I will look after him. He will be fine. No need to rush." Shelly thanked him and set out with Shuu. She told him, I want to gather a lot of cotton so I can make things with it for the cold season. Shuu nodded his head and shifted into his wolf form for her to ride. She brought her hobo bag and got on Shuu's back. It was different to ride a wolf than the leopard. Shuu's fur was longer and easier to hold on to, but he wasn't as smooth a ride as Harvey. Harvey had cat-like grace, while the wolf was more jumpy. She held on and hoped he wouldn't get mad if she accidentally took out some of his fur.
Shuu brought Shelly to the cotton field and transformed back. He helped her gather cotton after he put his clothes back on. Her bag was overflowing and she figured this would be enough for now. They headed back to the den after she gathered enough cotton. On the way, she noticed some vegetables and asked Shuu to stop. She walked over to the carrot tops sticking up from the ground and saw some pea pods nearby. She was happy to find them and thought they would go great in the chicken soup later. Shuu helped her dig them up and carried them back. He offered to leave them there and go back to get them after he dropped her off, but Shelly declined. They weren't too far from the den. She said, " It's ok. It's good for me to walk a little." Shuu nodded and they went back to the den. When she returned to the den, she showed the vegetables to Harvey. He seemed to recognize them, but didn't eat them. She asked Shuu to wash the vegetables in the river and get some more water. She asked Harvey to kill one of the short birds. He nodded and went to gut and clean the bird. Shelly instructed how to cut the bird and vegetables to add to the water. She also added salt and garlic. She had some parsley that she would save for last. She thought, I wonder if they have rosemary. She would have to keep an eye open.