After they ate the rest of the fruits and peanut butter Amber felt sleepy again. She got ready for bed. She brushed her teeth with a stick and a mint leaf.
She missed her toothbrush and toothpaste from her world, but this was the best she could do for now. She took a quick bath with the water they brought for her in the stone tub.
Amber didn't mind taking a cold bath, but they warmed the water for her just to make sure she didn't get sick. Amber used to take cold showers at home and her siblings liked it because they could take hot showers and not worry about the hot water running out.
She was still shy about bathing completely naked in front of all the beast men, so she just washed her hands, face, feet, and underarms quickly.
She lay down on the rug and Oliver laid down behind her and hugged her to keep her warm. Tyler slept in his nest and was excited about his flying date with Amber the next day!
Barry and Fred lay near Amber, but not too close. They were not mates yet and didn't have the right to hold her when she slept. They only stayed close enough to guard her.
The next morning Amber woke up with the sunrise. She was excited to try and make pancakes this morning. She washed up quickly and got ready. She had a few different fur dresses to choose from. She chose a short hair brown fur dress. It might have been deer skin. She didn't like to think about it too much.
She also had some leather boots and sandals that she had asked Nick to make for her. Today she wore her sandals since it wasn't too cold yet.
The males were already awake. Fred had retrieved some fresh water for Amber. Tyler brought some eggs to boil for her breakfast.
Amber told them, "I want to try and make some pancakes with the flour."
They were all excited to try her new recipe. Oliver asked, "What are pancakes? What do you need to make them?"
Amber explained, "They are similar to tortillas, but are fluffier and are usually made for breakfast. I will need a banana, eggs, flour, and a little bit of salt. I will use animal fat to cook it."
Oliver gathered the ingredients for her and a large stone bowl to mix them. Amber started with the banana. She peeled it and mashed it with a bamboo spoon. Next, she cracked 2 eggs and mixed them with the banana. She added flour until the mixture was the right consistency.
She sprinkled a little bit of salt to give it flavor and told Oliver how to cook them on the hot stone griddle. He had experience cooking tortillas, so he was confident in his ability to cook the pancakes.
Amber used the spoon to scoop some batter onto the hot griddle after the animal fat had melted. It made a satisfying sizzling sound.
The males all watched the pancakes cook. They noticed little bubbles start to form. Barry was conserved that the pancakes were ruined. He asked, "Is it ok to bubble like that? Do we need to start over?"
Amber replied, "Don't worry. The bubbles let us know it is cooking. It's supposed to do that. It means they are ready to flip."
Oliver nodded and went to flip the pancakes. He was expecting it to flip like the tortilla, but these were softer and the first one fell apart.
He looked horrified for messing up Amber's beautiful creation! Amber just laughed at his scared face. She told him, "It's ok, they are harder to flip than tortillas. It will still taste good."
Oliver sighed in relief. He told her, "I will eat that one and give you the other ones." Amber just shrugged and told him, "It's fine. They will still taste good. You can try it if you like."
She knew it would be hard to flip the pancakes with the bamboo spatula. She had some at home that were bent to make it easier to handle. The beast world was limited since they didn't have metal or plastic.
For now, she didn't care what the pancakes looked like as long as they tasted good. She was already imagining putting some peanut butter and apple slices on top of her pancakes. She didn't have a fork, so she would just roll the pancakes with the topping as a filling.
She asked Barry to make some tea for her using the sweet water. He was happy to make it for her. Fred and Tyler waited for instructions on what to do.
Amber asked Tyler to boil some eggs and asked Fred for some bacon. Oliver focused on making the pancakes. He soon mastered the flipping process and the rest of the pancakes were prettier than the first one.
He tried the first pancake and was pleasantly surprised! It was delicious! He placed a couple of pancakes on a banana leaf and gave them to Amber. She thanked him and spread some peanut butter on top of the pancakes. She asked Tyler to slice an apple for her and she placed some apple slices on top of the pancakes. Then she rolled the pancakes up and handed one to Fred and one to Barry.
She made 2 more and handed one to Tyler and one to Oliver. Oliver handed her 2 more and she made them for herself. They all enjoyed the pancakes!
After breakfast, Amber washed her hands while the males cleaned up the dirty dishes. One nice thing about using banana leaves was fewer dishes to wash. They were like the beast world version of disposable plates.
After everything was cleaned up Tyler asked Amber, "Are you ready to go search for more sweet water trees?" He had the leaf Barry had given him to identify the tree.
Amber nodded excitedly and got up to go with Tyler. She waved goodbye to the others and left with him outside of the Lion King's castle. On the way out she noticed the Lion guard who refused to be just her beast guardian. She waived at Larry and he ignored her. He was hurt that she didn't immediately accept him as a mate.
Amber just chuckled to herself at his reaction and shook her head. She thought he was acting like a pouting child. She didn't want to encourage his temper tantrum, so she just walked by with Tyler.
Tyler was happy that Amber didn't interact more with Larry. He needed to guard her against beast men who didn't appreciate her.
Tyler was stronger than Larry and didn't feel threatened by him. He knew he would win in a fight if it came to it, but for now, they needed to be civil.
Since they were still living in the Lion King's castle he would just ignore Larry unless Larry made a move first. If Larry decided to start a fight, Tyler would gladly finish it.
They left the castle and Tyler transformed into his flying form. He lowered his wing and head so Amber could climb onto his back.
She was experienced now on how to ride a beast man. She had flown before and loved it!
Tyler made sure she was secure on his back before he gently took off. Amber held on tight and didn't worry about accidentally pulling out feathers.
Tom had told her before that it didn't hurt the male beast men to lose a few feathers. They were more concerned about the female's safety.
They flew outside of the Beast City into the forest. Tyler was a strong Eagle Beast man and was confident in his abilities to keep Amber safe.
He flew around for a while before they spotted a tree with similar leaves to the one Barry had given him. Tyler surveyed the area to make sure it was safe before he landed.
They were near a lake with a waterfall and Amber was excited to explore the area.
When they landed, Tyler used a long pointy talon to poke a hole in the tree. He wanted to test it.
The sweet water gushed out quicker than they expected and got both of them wet. Tyler quickly found a stick to plug the whole. When he finally was able to stop the sweet water from gushing out they were both wet and sticky.
Amber just laughed and licked her hands. They were slightly sweet! Tyler was glad that Amber wasn't upset. He gave her a sheepish smile and apologized. "I'm sorry you got wet. I didn't expect the sweet water to rush out so fast! Do you want to bathe in the lake? No one else is around. I will guard you."
Amber just nodded and looked towards the lake. The water looked clear blue and inviting. It was a little warm today and she was already sweating from wearing leather.
Amber started to head toward the lake. Tyler picked her up and walked into the lake. He told her, "I will help you bathe."
Amber blushed and felt embarrassed. She remembered the hot springs with Nick and Tom and decided it would be ok for Tyler to help her wash her hair.