Chereads / Heretical Magus / Chapter 7 - Hunting Ain't That Hard When You're A Superhuman

Chapter 7 - Hunting Ain't That Hard When You're A Superhuman

We walk across the town in a good mood. Things have been going pretty well for us lately. Sis keeps my cock happy and my balls drained, the Strangler flowers are slowly increasing in number, Margit is our shared girlfriend, I have my own magic source, hunting feels like it could be an actual source of income, and even Mom is starting to get seduced by us.

I'm happy.

What else do I need in life? My only higher goal is to become a Magus, and that's a long way that we've just started walking.

Right now, the only thing I care about is playing with my source, and I do just that. I conjure a bit of dirt and dust every once in a while, testing out the different materials that I can produce, and I start to wonder which type of rock would be the best at killing stuff.

There are rocks that are very crumbly and some that are very heavy, so I know that there are "bad" choices. And since I'm already trying out different materials, maybe I can make one that's pure metal? Iron is just some refined rock with all the other impurities removed, so it's theoretically possible to conjure a lump of pure metal.

"Are you staring at your paw or is there something else going on?" Sis pesters me, but I don't actually dislike her curiosity.

"I'm conjuring dust," I grunt absentmindedly.

"I'm going to lead you into a pothole if you don't start looking ahead," she playfully replies.

And I frown at her as I grumble, "You wet fungus."

She smiles back at me, showing me her cute fangs as her tail waves mischievously. "I'm more of a crotch devil."

I decide to switch tactics and start a diplomatic negotiation, "If you stop bothering me, I'll lick your pussy."

She immediately folds, "Alright." Exactly as I predicted because I know damn well that my sister is a dirty slut.

So we continue walking while holding hands, but once we reach the gates, our silly smiles become slightly sour as we see Fodor's ugly face again. And there's something about his gaze today that's giving me a bad feeling.

Then he immediately validates my premonition by opening his filthy mouth. "Are you two roleplaying as soldiers while you fuck in the woods?" he taunts with a sneer as he leans against the wall with his arms crossed, trying to look cool, but there's still something about his eyes that's creeping me out.

"Yehws…" one of the beastman guards grumbles as he rolls his eyes. Fodor doesn't seem to be popular with anyone, and it's a mystery why.

Sis doesn't give a single fuck about his taunting, she just wants to get across the gate, so she just silently pulls me along, but with each step, I feel my body getting tenser and tenser. It's like Fodor has suddenly become a predator… no, a mimic, and I get the feeling that showing my back to him will be a mistake.

"The fuck is your problem?" I suddenly growl, surprising myself.

"You think that just because you're big that you can fight?" he instantly replies, as if he was expecting this, and starts walking in our direction with a (pretty gay-looking) macho-like gait.

Sis gives me a stink eye for provoking him, but my body is telling me that there's no way we'd be able to avoid a fight; it's just my mind that refuses to believe it.

"Try to deal with a tiger by yourself, then," one of the dog guards scornfully hisses.

"Fine. Show me you can give a punch, cat," the shit-colored human spits back and raises his little fists.

"He's Rigru's son, you fuck. I'll enjoy seeing you getting your ass stretched," a wolf beastman guard taunts back, surprising Sis and me with the mention of our father.

"You serious, Fodor?" a human guard questions his "comrade."

"Wretch's cunt, you're all fucking cowards," he caustically answers as he stops before us, looking absolutely resolute, which actually impresses everyone with his big pair. He may be stupid but at least he's ballsy.

But for some reason, I simply can't run from his challenge. I release Sis' furry hand and start to take off my backpack, making her turn her surprise towards me. Her amber eyes make me feel guilty, but I can't stop myself now. I need to give this scrawny fucker a punch.

"You grew another pair of balls, now?" she teases, but I can sense a bit of worry in her tone.

"Yeah," I growl absentmindedly. She may be worried, but she of all people should understand what I'm feeling as she's a bigger beast than I am. Then I take off my padded jacket and even my pants just so that Fodor can see my balls and sheath. "If I were gay, I'd also fuck you in the ass, Fodor," I taunt with a deep growl, and the way Sis' hair stands on end tells me my tone was just right.

"I'm not into bestiality, you filthy cat," the scrawny human grunts back as he steps forward, little fists protecting his face.

I grin and also raise my big, furry, clawed fists as I provoke, "You ain't denying that you ain't gay."

"You're all talk," he hisses, then he suddenly moves, and my body simply doesn't know how to react.

Next thing I know, my left cheek explodes in pain and my vision becomes blurry as my head is forcefully turned to the side, giving me a level of pain that I've never felt before. They say that a slap can wake you up, but how about a punch? In my case, it uncovers such a deep well of anger that it's almost like I sent the Strangler's energy to my balls.

The guards let out coos as they wince, then I immediately respond with a punch of my own, but it simply whiffs as Fodor leans back.

He's right, I was all talk… until now. I've never fought for real because nobody was dumb enough to go against someone as large as me, but I don't need any training when I'm twice his size and who knows how many times his weight!

I've woken up now, so I won't let a little shit like him land another free one, and I follow up with another hook, which he receives with his forearms as he protects his head, but then my fist hits something soft, and I realize my mistake. He's still wearing his militia armor, a thick cotton shirt made for absorbing attacks, while I'm wearing nothing.

So he easily counters with a punch to my ribs, and it fucking hurts!

Then I see him grin behind his fists as I wince in pain, and the well of anger starts to overflow.

YOU. FUCKING. LITTLE. RAT!

Instead of punching, I just spread my arms as I leap forward and give him a big fucking hug!

"Gruaah…!" he groans as I squeeze him tight like a virgin pussy receiving a thick cock, but he doesn't seem to enjoy it for some reason.

I start to laugh as I just know that he's fucked, but he's a stubborn rat who doesn't know how to ask for mercy, so he grabs my ears and starts to pull, which stings like hell because they're damn sensitive.

I'M GONNA FUCKING HURT YOU!

So I just grab his waist with my hands and then slam his back against the ground.

"Huhh…!" he lets out a pathetic wheeze as the air is forcefully expelled out of his lungs, but then he stays down and rolls to the side as he grabs his ribs, groaning in pain.

"Aight, that's a lesson," one of the human guards states with an appeasing tone and steps forward, telling me to back off.

My anger goes as quickly as it came, and I agree with the dude, so I end it here.

I feel a disgusting metallic taste on my tongue, so I spit, and a glob of blood lands right beside Fodor. I think his punch to my jaw made my fangs pierce my cheek, but it has already healed.

"We're done here," I grow then go grab my things, and Sis' amused smirk tells me we will be fucking in the woods, at least for a bit.

--

Intermission – Fodor

--

I groan a bit more and roll again so that I'm facing down, just waiting for them to leave, and I suppress a dark chuckle when I realize that nobody is coming to check on me. These cunts will get it! They'll get it!

But on the inside, I'm still ecstatic.

Once everyone is far enough away, I crawl towards the splash of blood, then I lower my head and get a taste of it.

Ah…! I knew it! I knew he had it!

And now he'll get it too…!

--

Intermission end.

--

I slam onto Sis' waist, pumping my long red cock inside her pussy as she leans against the tree, and her claws dig deep grooves into the bark, suffering from the pain of being stretched by cock while also drowning in bliss.

But on the inside, I'm a mess. I hate getting angry, I hate violence, I hate fighting, and I hate that I hate things. I just don't have the heart for it.

I really think that I'm not a full beastman. I must've inherited part of Mom's personality while Sis inherited Dad's. I still have some beastman urges, as my thirst for Sis and Mom have shown, but they aren't really such a deep part of me. Sis is a slut because of her beastman lust, but I'm not as much of a manwhore if we compare our libidos.

And of the beastman urges that I do have, some aren't really healthy, like the sudden anger that took over me. That fight was some big-meat, muscle-brain stuff, and I didn't even use magic! But I feel like it'd be "bad" if I did…

I slam my cock deep inside Sis, then I feel the tip hit some resistance as it touches her cervix, and she squeaks in pain, making a sound that's actually hot as fuck. Something about the pitch makes her sound like a small animal, and since she's a tall and strong beauty, this unexpected cuteness that only I know tickles my manly side.

My cock hits her cervix again, making her clawed toes curl and dig into the earth, then her pussy starts to spasm as she finally gets an orgasm, so I stop holding back and let myself cum as her insides squeeze tight my long shaft.

I slow down the pounding then soon after stop completely, and now the only sounds we hear are our quickened breaths along with the whispering of the drizzle that falls down upon the forest.

"That was really hot, Bro," Sis suddenly whispers, and her furry tail caresses my cheek, her gentleness provoking a pleasant chill to run down my spine.

"What was?" I hum absentmindedly as I savor the pleasant sensation.

She twists her body so that my cock remains inside her while she can stare at me, and her gorgeous face grins delightfully. "You slamming Fodor onto the dirt was so fucking hot. But I'd also really like to see you fuck him in the ass."

"If he was a pretty girl…" I hum as my cock twitches inside her. Raping the ass of such an insolent little girl is quite the filthy fantasy.

"We could dress him like one," she eagerly suggests with a fanged grin.

"What?" I grunt and blink blankly.

But her excitement only grows and her pussy gives my cock a few squeezes. "Turn him into a girl. A girl with a cock, but still a cute girl."

Fodor is a scrawny rat. I really can't see how she could ever make him into a cute girl.

"Damn, Sis. You're such a fucking filthy slut," I hum, impressed with her crazy perversion.

"You know that Gra-ah approves," she cheekily points out.

I suppress a long groan at the religious bullshit and just give her a half-hearted answer, "Yeah, whatever. If he passes as a girl then I don't see why not, but I fucking doubt that's achievable."

She raises her leg so that she can turn around while keeping my cock and cum inside her, making us both twitch at the sudden pleasure, then she grabs my face with her large, furry hands and gives me a kiss. "It's a promise, then," she whispers excitedly.

"No, it isn't," I grunt back.

"Hah!" she laughs once then shuts both of us up with a deep kiss.

--

We could still go for a number of rounds, but we have work to do, so cumming once is enough. And this work is actually important as we're going to remove half of the flower garden so that we can sell the flowers. We still want to hunt today, so we don't take the Stranglers with us just yet, and we stash them in a dark corner of the cliff for when we return.

Then we move deeper into the Dark Forest, but we don't have to go too far before we find something.

"Ay! These are tracks!" Sis suddenly exclaims and stops.

I look towards where she's pointing, but it takes me a couple of seconds to actually spot the gentle footprint upon the soft and mossy earth.

"Damn, good eyes," I hum, impressed.

She snorts and bumps shoulders with me. "You were always the distracted one."

I'm not into bantering right now, especially because she's right, so I just wave my furry hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. What animal do you think this belongs to?"

Her gorgeous face scrunches up thoughtfully. "It ain't very distinct, but I'd bet it's…" Then she grabs our journal and starts to flip through the pages until she finds the right one. "Flat-tail Meerak?"

"Was that a question?" I question questioningly.

She gives me an insecure glance. "No…? No! I'm sure it's a Meerak!"

I take a look at the journal entry and immediately spot the problem. "This footprint is too big to be a Meerak," I flatly point out.

Her eyebrows knit together in increasing lack of confidence as she tentatively suggests, "Could be a fat one?"

But I just frown in concern. A Meerak is supposed to be the size of my head, but this one could be twice as large going by its tracks. Then I realize something and assuredly point out, "The tracks are too light to be a fat Meerak."

"So a big but thin Meerak?" she stubbornly insists like the meat-headed psycho slut she is.

"Or just something else…?" I grumble as I glare.

"Fine, something else," she finally gives in as she turns to the journal again and starts to leaf through the pages, but then she suddenly stops, and her stunningly beautiful face brightens up with a fanged smile. "A Driftwood Snapper! And look! The tracks are leading to the Praguri river!"

This guess seems reasonable, so I kneel and look closely at the tracks. Yep, the distance between them seems to be compatible with a Snapper's body, which is a long and thin predator that floats down rivers disguised as driftwood. The problem is that it's a reasonably dangerous animal if we engage it in the water.

But its bark is said to be magical.

"How fresh are these tracks?" I wonder with a breathy tone, suddenly full of excitement.

"Very fresh because the moss still looks compacted," Sis shows a rare amount of wisdom.

Cursed carrion… I can't resist this temptation.

And I'm not one to half-ass something.

"Let's go," I whisper, resolute. I will get a piece of that bark.

--

The tracks do, predictably, lead to a river. But then a doubt comes to me. Why did the Snapper leave the water, to begin with? Perhaps we should've investigated where the tracks came from.

This proves unnecessary as my questions are then answered by the Snapper itself the moment we spot it.

"It's making a nest," Sis whispers curiously.

We see a thick piece of driftwood with four, muscular, black legs use its "head" to excavate a hole in the soft dirt by the river. And we just silently stare at the Snapper as it works for a long moment because it's a rather weird sight to see a log moving so energetically. Its camouflage is simply too good.

But the important details are that its limbs are as thick and its body as long and wide as an adult male human's. This animal is even able to get on its hind legs to wrestle with attackers, so this is the most dangerous enemy we've encountered by far.

"I think she'll protect her nest if we attack, so there's no risk she'll run to the water," Sis suddenly whispers in my furry ear.

Right, this Snapper is a female that's preparing to lay her eggs.

And I caution solemnly, "If she does run to the water, don't stop her and just retreat. We're going to lose hard if we try to fight this beast underwater."

But Sis ain't as serious. "She ain't that big. We can just overpower her and even capture her alive," she casually affirms.

I frown annoyedly. "I'd rather not wrestle with an animal fighting for its life. The healing from the Strangler's energy is very weak, you know?"

This time, Sis is being very stubborn as she insists with a chipper tone, "Fodor folded like a fucking twig and you didn't even use magic. I'm pretty sure you can keep it in place long enough for me to tie her up as long as you hug her from behind."

"And what if she bites me?" I ask sternly. It's in the fucking name of the fucking beast that the most fucking dangerous thing is its fucking bite.

"Then we kill it, no hesitation," she hums back with an infuriating smile.

The Snapper's teeth are made to tear through flesh while it uses its strong arms to rip off chunks of meat from its prey, so it's not as simple as "we kill it"… but… if I can keep its jaw shut with one arm…

"First you tie up the mouth, then the limbs," I start making a plan against my better judgment.

She grins excitedly and follows up, "But you gotta sneak up behind her."

I sigh and facepalm as I tiredly continue, "Easier if you keep her distracted. She'll try to protect the nest, so just look threatening and keep her attention while I move. I can also throw a stone at her head before I pounce to daze her."

She pats my shoulder reassuringly. "Sounds like a good plan, Bro."

Yeah, but I still hate fighting.

We set down our hunting equipment nearby, then we prepare some nooses that Sis will use to quickly tie down the Snapper. I think it's always good to have multiple tools ready to use.

Once we're ready, the Snapper has already finished digging her nest and has begun to camouflage herself in the wet dirt. She's so damn good at hiding in plain sight that we'd never realize that this chunk of driftwood was a Snapper if we didn't see her moving.

Then we separate, and I quietly take a long way around the animal while Sis cautiously steps towards the ambush predator. Good thing we have spears because poking a Snapper with your hand or foot would be the dumbest thing we could ever do.

"Hey! Wake up, you rotten log!" Sis taunts, partly to tell me what's going on, and partly because she just likes to swear at people. "Yeah! That's right, you, stinky! Get up!"

Then I come out from behind a bush and get a clear sight of the two.

"Wretch's cunt! Your mouth is ugly!" Sis groans out loud with a disgusted grimace.

The Snapper's mouth is a mess of blade-like teeth that can move individually to tear meat better, and the beast even secretes a type of bad-smelling oil to make the slicing and dicing easier.

And this one is on its hind legs as it tries to intimidate Sis to back off, its log-like body bent in an upside-down L shape as its jaw makes up half its length, so the Snapper looks short and stubby, ruining its fearsome image. I also have no idea where its eyes are, but we know that it's staring at Sis for it makes no reaction to my appearance.

Just to make sure the Snapper never takes its eyes off of her, Sis thrusts her spear threateningly and feints a charge, and the Snapper extends its surprisingly long arms, expecting to wrestle with her, but Sis keeps well out of the beast's leaping range.

I cautiously step closer, and my body begins to move on its own with a surprising lack of sound as my beastly instincts take over, then I raise my hand and conjure the biggest stake-shaped rock that I can. My heart beats like mad as I do the most dangerous thing I've ever done, and my blood becomes like fire as it fills my body with vigor.

But when I get to a mere five meters away, my instincts suddenly change, and I get the overwhelming urge to leap, so I flood my body with the Strangler's energy as I release the rock. Then I do as my instincts tell me to.

We hear a loud crack as my conjured rock hits the back of the head of the Snapper, but it doesn't even have time to react as I instantly arrive right behind it. Then my thick arms wrap around its mouth and arms, and I give it such a melon-crushing hug that no human would be able to escape.

Sis arrives just as the Snapper starts to wiggle, and she uses one of the nooses on its mouth, then a double-noose on its arms, tying them up together. But when she goes to tie the legs, the Snapper fully recovers and starts kicking and writhing.

"Yehws fuck!" I swear as the Snapper almost makes me tumble. She isn't strong enough to escape my hug, but she can make it damn hard to stay in one place.

"Don't give me a crotch-rot right now, Bro! Keep. It. Still!" Sis sternly yells.

"I'm! Trying!" I answer as I growl. Things are about to spiral out of control, so I can't fuck up right now. I can't, I won't fuck up, it's just that… it's just that…

I. Fucking. Hate. FIGHTING!

"FUUUUUUCK…!" I roar as I fall backward, but somehow, I manage to turn around mid-air, falling on top of the Snapper instead, and now with my weight pressing it down, the beast is barely able to struggle anymore.

"Good enough!" Sis shouts, and she ties up the double-noose on the Snapper's legs, so now all it can do is wiggle helplessly.

But we don't celebrate early and use the rest of the ropes we have to make sure the Snapper will stay bound, especially its mouth.

Once we're done, I stand up with a groan as I realize that the Snapper managed to sneak a claw between my boot and leather pants, giving me a painful cut. It doesn't bleed much but I think that my feet are the weakest part of my body (aside from my tail, obviously) because it fucking hurts!

And Sis never misses an opportunity to tease. "Awn… want me to kiss your widdle paws?"

"Kiss this, you bitch," I growl back as I pull down my pants and force my cock out of its sheath.

She likes what she sees, and her cat pupils open wide in excitement. "Alright, since you were such a good boy, I'll give you a reward," she replies as she kneels, then she opens her fanged mouth and swallows me whole.

I wasn't exactly serious, but I forgot that Sis is a slut, and I won't complain about a free blowjob.

--

The Snapper didn't have time to lay its eggs, so we're expecting a juicy bounty. But before we leave, Sis swallows a big load of cum, then I break off a piece of the Snapper's bark to study it.

A little globule of dark red blood leaks out of the piece, and temptation strikes me. We've written in our journal that Snapper's blood is heavily toxic and also harmful to the touch, but it's also magical and you can't really study magic without touching things.

I take off my gloves and let the globule fall on my pink pad, but the moment it touches the leathery skin, the blood is instantly absorbed, then a painful needling sensation spreads out over my whole finger. This pain is unnatural; it's caused by the magic in the blood, I can just feel it, but, unfortunately, I couldn't absorb any energy from it.

Technically, all blood is magical as it carries a magical energy called Lifeforce, which basically all Magi know how to tap into so that they can convert it into other, more useful magical energies. The problem is that it's considered "taboo" to manipulate someone else's Lifeforce (which is called blood magic), so magical blood has to be refined before we can access the magical energies in it. Unfortunately, I have no idea how to do that.

Some mages, called Vivicists, have learned how to manipulate Lifeforce and use it towards something useful, and Dad was one of them. He could "improve" his own body, similar to how I can use the Strangler's energy to become faster and stronger, but a Vivicist can do it better and in more ways, hence Dad's profession was called Enhancer Vivicist.

But Dad was a natural at Lifeforce manipulation while I'm not.

The Scriptures of Magic say that the most common way to train someone in how to manipulate magical energies is to let them experience it in small amounts, so I don't care if using raw blood is dangerous or taboo, I have to do what I can to become better at magic because I'll never become a magus if I don't get serious about this. And not only that, but the more power I get, the safer it'll be for us to make money with hunting.

Then I remember that the Strangler's entry in the book about magical plants said "it's impossible to extract this energy normally, requiring more forceful methods that should be taboo for any righteous mage." And I think that the author is making a subtle reference to blood magic.

Could the Strangler's energy help me with this…?

I squeeze the driftwood, drawing another goblet of thick, dark red blood, then I extend my finger towards it and use the flower's energy to push out my veins. But before they even touch, I see the goblet and the veins both attract each other like magnets.

"Cool…" I quietly hum.

Then the goblet is absorbed by my pulsating red veins, and a weird "itching" appears in my finger.

Is this…?!

My surprise is so great that my thoughts escape through my mouth, "A-an energy?! It feels like an energy! The Strangler's energy stole the Snapper's energy!"

But then a worrying numbness spreads all over my hand. I didn't "refine," the blood, I just "absorbed" it somehow. And now I've also remembered that the second reason you refine blood and other magical materials is so that you don't develop Magical Energy Morphism, which is a condition where parts of a person's body slowly transform, becoming similar to the original living being's that created the unrefined magical energy.

"Bah! I'm not going to develop Morphism with just a few drops of blood. That shit is for continuous contact over weeks!" I grumble to myself.

Then I draw a dagger and plunge it into the exhausted Snapper's "hips," who lets out an angry growl in response and attempts to futilely struggle in its binds for a moment. But I quickly remove the blade, allowing a small stream of dark red blood to come out.

I absorb every drop with my pulsating Strangler veins, and then I notice Sis's fascinated but also disgusted expression. "Still not used to this?" I teasingly remark and wave the veins at her face.

She leans back instinctively and her gorgeous face warps in a grimace. "Why veins? Why the fuck do veins come out of you?"

I shrug and stop tormenting her. "This is how the Strangler spreads. They're supposed to be roots, but since I don't have roots, the magical energy creates veins instead."

The knowledge of what it is comforts her a bit but still doesn't remove all her disgust. "It just looks creepy. I like cocks inside me, but not something as weird as that."

Now it's my turn to sadistically tease, "Want to feel them crawling up your pussy?"

And the fur on her back stands up on end as she visibly shudders. "Only if I ever become an extremely filthy woman."

"You're nearly there," I casually hum

"Ha-ha," she dryly laughs and punches my shoulder.

And I return to my experiment. I now have a little more magic in my hand after absorbing the Snapper's blood, but it isn't much, and the numbness has increased much faster than the amount of magic, so I don't believe that this is an efficient way of getting the energy. The bark is what's supposed to be magical, to begin with, so I think I should focus on it.

But once my hand gets near to the bark, the broken-off piece suddenly starts to twitch, scaring me a bit, so I pull back my hand, and the twitching stops, only to return once my hand gets close again.

Cool.

My other hand, the one without the Snapper's magic, doesn't cause any reaction on the piece of bark, so I'm sure it's related to the magic that I absorbed.

And so I decide to touch the little piece of wood with my magically-powered finger, but I feel nothing as it sinks into the bark, so I pull back, and the wood comes along with it, the two now merged.

"Oh… what?!" Sis mumbles in confusion.

"Huh…" I dryly hum in shock.

I may look calm, but on the inside, I really don't want to become Fiubun Bark-Fingers.

And because magic always responds to stray thoughts, the piece of bark simply detaches and falls down. I immediately inspect the pink pad on my finger, and it looks to be perfectly normal, though its color seems a bit pale, but I still let out a breath in relief.

"So, this magic energy is some sort of glue?" Sis questions curiously as she stares at the piece of bark while keeping a safe distance from it.

"Glue for wood, I guess," I mumble back with a shrug, but then I start to think about it more seriously. "It could have more uses. The Snapper uses wood to camouflage and…" -then I turn to our tied-up prey and notice something- "I think I did crack the wood at the back of its head, but I can't see any cracks anymore, so I guess repairing wood is also part of the energy's uses?"

And Sis states the obvious, "Hey, I could see that being very useful in this town." Almost every single building in Hatarvros is made of wood.

"I know, right?" I just hum in agreement.

With that in mind, my next test uses two pieces of broken bark, and I manage to fuse them together! Yep, this energy is what gives the Snapper its own self-repairing armor. It doesn't work with normal wood, though, so it isn't a miraculous magical energy.

But then my hand starts to feel really weird, making me believe that this energy is incompatible with my body. At least not without "refining" it first.

I manage to forcefully expel the rest of the Sapper's energy as a sort of dark-yellow sap with a herby smell. Could be used as a perfume, but I bet it's just as toxic as the blood without refining.

Now we have nothing else to do, so we go back to town. I sling the Snapper over my shoulder while Sis carries the pots with the Stranglers that we'll sell.

--

"Is that a Driftwood Snapper?" a guard questions as we approach the gate.

"A live one!" Sis proudly shouts.

"You're Rigru's son, alright!" a black Labrador guard cheerfully exclaims.

"You knew my father?" I reflexively ask.

The veteran militiaman nods and wistfully reminisces, "He was the only tiger in town, and he did catch a few Snappers just like you did."

I don't know how to take this. I don't want to be like my father because he died, but I also feel happy that he left a good impression on others.

And the fact that Fodor isn't here just makes me even happier.

"That was expected; the Shadah made tigers for hunting," Sis states scholarly.

"And us to be guards!" the Labrador shouts and shares a laugh with the other dog beastmen.

I don't really care too much about history, but every beastman knows the Shadah, the old knife-eared Fae dynasty who created the beastmen by mixing humans with Evolved Beasts, and then they used us as slaves until the… what's it called? The Uprising of Blood Soil, I think. Nasty stuff. But even the Shadah Fae that participated in it are long dead, so now all we can do is joke about it.

"Gra-ah smiles, tiger," another dog beastman guard whispers a blessing as he nods at me.

"Bless you too, comrade," I reflexively reply with a stiff smile. I don't want to be awkward and look like a heathen in front of the guards after they've given me such praise, so I just go along with the religious shit.

They don't even care about the flowers as they're all too interested in the Snapper to ask why Sis is carrying potted plants. And after bragging a bit about wrestling with the beast, we enter the town and make our way to the Hunters' Office to sell this big girl.

But then Sis has a rare relighting of the lantern moment, "Wait in line for a minute. I'll go ask around in the wet market for the price for a living, pregnant Snapper."

"Good idea," I hum with a nod.

And she snorts as her tail waves proudly.

--

The Appraiser opens up the Snapper's vagina with his fingers, then plunges his whole fist inside it. After just a bit of searching, his hand comes out holding a steamy-hot dark-brown egg covered in slime.

"He-yah! Ya got a full load in 'er!" he cheers with a crooked smirk then puts the egg back inside the Snapper.

Both Sis and I feel awfully disgusted by his action as he didn't even put gloves on, but the old human doesn't have fur, which is a bitch to clean slime (and cum) off of, so I guess it isn't that bad.

"I'll give ya a thousand leafies for 'er," he assuredly offers.

And Sis smirks ferociously. He's trying to rip us off, so I'll just let her rip him a new one.

--

Three thousand leafies. Better than the mimic but only because the Snapper was alive and had eggs while the mimic was shredded and the corpse lost a lot of valuable blood.

"Should we get you another source, now?" Sis suggests as she waggles her eyebrows.

But while a small piece of me is tempted, my protective instinct is still much stronger. "Oh, no. We need to get guns. This will allow you to pop a fool from range," I cheerfully answer.

This makes her really excited. "Oh, shit! You're right! But will Mom approve? Guns can blow up if you don't take care of them."

I shrug. "We'll just have to learn."

And she chuckles seductively. "Now you got me hot for my own brass cock."

"If you fuck yourself with a hand cannon I'll take it from you," I reply matter-of-factly.

But she pouts cutely at me, using all her charm to sway me. "I won't! And it doesn't look like it'd work, to begin with."

"Hmph…" I grunt noncommittally, but on the inside, I feel like I'd be unable to stop her if she wanted to fuck herself with a gun because that sounds hot.