Amber nodded and kissed his cheek. She told him, "Hurry back and be careful." She said that last part to Tom as well. She knew he was tired from flying all day after he was almost eaten yesterday by the crocodiles. They nodded and left.
It was already afternoon, and the sun would set in a few hours. Beast men could see in the dark, but Amber couldn't. She asked Oliver, "Can you make a fire for me when it gets dark?" Oliver didn't know how. He had been a bachelor beast man and never learned how to cook meat for a female.
He looked sheepish as he replied, "I don't know how to make a fire, but I can get all the things you need." Amber nodded and was about to instruct him on what to get when they heard someone approaching.
5 beast men approached the room and waited outside the door. One of the beast men was a 3 striped Wolf beast man. He stated loudly for Amber to hear, "The Lion Queen informed us that a beautiful new female had moved into the Beast City. We would like to meet you if you are available."
Amber thought, damn this Lion queen is fast! She looked at Oliver and he nodded. He couldn't go against the Lion Queen's orders. He also couldn't fight all 5 beast men himself.
Amber told them, "I'm available now. You can come in if you want." They all came forward and were silenced by looking at the beautiful young female in front of them. They had never seen such beauty before.
The Wolf beast man regained his voice and told her, "My name is Ray. I am a 3 striped Wolf beast man, and my father is the Wolf king. I would be happy to be your mate if you will accept me." He was a grey Wolf man with grey hair and light blue eyes.
He stepped forward and presented a banana leaf with roasted meat on top of it. Amber took the leaf from him and thanked him. He was again stunned into silence.
This beautiful female was also nice to males. They all looked at her as if she was a goddess!
The next male to introduce himself was a 2 striped Bear beast man. He had brown hair with 2 brown furry bear ears sticking up and honey-brown eyes.
He stepped forward and presented some honey in a stone bowl to Amber. He told her, "My name is Barry. I am a 2 striped Bear beast man and would like to be part of your family."
Amber accepted the bowl and was happy to see it was honey! She had not had anything sweet other than fruit since she came to this beast world. Barry was glad that she liked his gift.
The next suitor was a 1 striped Fox beast man. He had red hair with fox ears and hazel eyes. His fluffy fox tail wagged behind him as he presented his gift to the female.
He gave her some nuts and berries wrapped in a banana leaf. He knew females liked to snack on them in-between meals. He introduced himself, "Hi, my name is Fred. I am a 1 striped fox beast man and would also like to be a part of your family. Even if it is just as a beast guardian."
He knew she was already mated to a 4 striped Cheetah king. He was only 1 stripe, but he was good at foraging and could help provide for her. Amber thanked him for his gift and smiled at him.
The next suitor was a 2 striped Lion beast man. He approached Amber with a bone necklace that had a large tooth in the center. Amber was a little surprised at his gift. The others had given her food. She didn't know what to do with the bone necklace.
Oliver took it for her and placed it next to the other gifts. He would help her to reject the beast man if she did not want him. The lion was a little surprised by her reaction. He had presented the bones and large tooth of a behemoth. He was hoping to show how capable he was as a hunter.
He introduced himself, "Hello beautiful female. My name is Larry. I am a 2 striped Lion beast guard for the Lion Castle. I hunted that behemoth with a few other Lion beast guards when it got too close to the Beast City. I can hunt and provide for you if you accept me into your family."
Amber was a little unsure of what to do and looked towards Oliver for guidance. He told her, "You can accept the gift even if you don't accept him." Amber just nodded and thanked Larry.
The last suitor was a 3 striped Eagle beast man. He was a little hesitant to approach such a beautiful female, but Tom had already told him about how nice she was and about her beautiful singing voice.
He approached her and presented her with a beautiful, feathered cloak with white, black, and grey feathers. He had black hair with white tips, his feathers were probably white, black, and grey. Amber gasped at how soft it was when she received the cloak. She touched the feathers gently and loved them!
It reminded her of the soft blanket that she used to sleep with when she was little. She wrapped it around her and looked deep into his black eyes. She said, "Thank you. I love it!"
He blushed and introduced himself, "I'm glad you like it. My name is Tyler. I am a 3 striped Eagle beast man. I have already talked to Tom about you, and he told me that you are nice. I would also like to be a part of your family even if it is only as a beast guardian."
Amber blushed thinking that Tom had talked to this other handsome flying beast man about her. She thought he was very cute and shy just like her.
She nodded and thanked him again. They all looked at her with expectant eyes. She told them, "Thank you all for the gifts. I will talk to Nick and my other beast guardian and give you a response soon."
They all nodded at her response and left the room. Ray led the other suitors out of the room. He would come back tomorrow with more gifts to court Amber.
They were eager to hear back from her but didn't want to upset her with their persistence. She was the nicest female they had ever met.
She even thanked Larry for the bone necklace that she did not like. He was a little upset, but at least she thanked him. Most females would just scoff at him or refuse it if they did not like him or his gift.
They all hoped to become part of her family. Most of them would even be willing to become beast guardians. Larry was too proud to become a beast guardian. If she did not accept him as a mate, he would still be able to get another mate.
He was an important member of the tribe as a Lion guard. He would earn his third stripe soon and then females would take notice of him. He just liked Amber most of the other females. Even if she had spots on her skin. She was nice and smelled nice.
Fred had his fox tricks to help win the female's affection if she did not accept him right away. He was sure she would accept him eventually. Fox females were known to be the most beautiful land females, but he had never seen one as nice and beautiful as Amber.
Barry was unsure if she liked him but saw how excited she got when she received the honey. He would gladly brave the bee stings to provide more honey for her.
Tyler was the shy one of the group of suitors, even though he was triple-striped. He didn't have a lot of good experiences with females. They treated him as a luxury item to own. He wanted to be appreciated and not just used. He would rather stay single than just be collected as a trophy.
He could sense that Amber was different from the moment their eyes met. He was still thinking about her big green eyes. He was mesmerized!
Amber stayed quiet until they left. She knew that beast men had better hearing than she did. She asked Oliver, "Have they left far enough not to hear me?" Oliver nodded.
She asked him, "What do you think about them?" Oliver replied, "It is not up to me to decide. I will agree with whatever you decide." Amber sighed. How was she supposed to decide something like this?
Nick and Tom returned shortly after the suitors left. Nick asked Amber, "Did the queen send them to you?" She nodded and told him, "They all gave me gifts, but I don't know what to do."