Deep in her meditation, she doesn't hear that she's not alone anymore.
There was a presence in the woods in front of her, who got curious about the smell of food first, but then he smelled a sweet scent and now he's watching the most beautiful female he ever saw in his life. Her calm fair face looks smooth and soft.
He gets closer, getting into the clear near the river. He's tall, with white skin and long white hair, and his eyes are light blue almost gray. He's wearing a skin skirt to cover his parts, but the rest of his muscled body is exposed.
Astri is still deep in her relaxation, not noticing this man near her. He looks at the fire and sees that it is contained somehow and there is a fish near it, smelling quite nice.
Then he looks around to see if there are signs of other beastmen, but he doesn't see anything. His eyes go back to the beautiful female in front of him. Her arms had some scratches and cuts, but it didn't take her beauty away.
"Are you all right?" He asks, touching her head.
She gasps loudly, scared, and jumping away from him. She covers her breasts quickly and tries to stay away from him, finding a way to run. She keeps her eyes on him to know when he will move, and her eyes mesmerized him.
"I won't hurt you. Are you alone?" He asks. She doesn't answer, she doesn't know if he's a feral. "I promise you I won't hurt you. My name is Wayde. Why are you here alone? Did you get lost?" He asks. His voice is soft to show her he doesn't want to harm her.
"Yes.." She answers.
He smiled, happy that she answered and could finally hear her voice. He stands up, showing how tall he is.
He walks to the fire and then starts to throw water on it.
"No!" She cries softly. Then he stops and looks at her.
"Did you make this fire?" He asks and she nods. "It won't get bigger or spread? It might hurt you."
"No. I need the fire to cook my food and also warm me." She answers. "And it was super hard to make it." She thinks.
So the fire is from the female. She can create and control fire. This female is not simple.
"All right. Will you eat only this fish?" He points to the fish.
"Yes. And some plants and fruits I've found." She answers.
"You need more meat."
"This was all I could get in my condition. Errm.. Thank you for not attacking me but why are you here?"
"I smelled food first, but then I found you. You need help, right?" He says, looking at her face. "Are you of age?" He asks.
"…What?"
"Are you of age? How old are you?"
"20.." She answers, not knowing if she should have answered.
"Where are your mates? Why are you alone in such a dangerous place?"
"I don't have mates.."
Her answer impressed him.
"How can you not have mates? You're beautiful." He speaks truthfully, and that makes him even more interested in her.
"Well, thank you." She blushed and he found her even cuter when he noticed that. He never saw a female blushing.
"I can be your mate."
She got startled, covering herself more and walking back.
"You don't know me. What if I'm someone bad?"
"I don't think you're bad. And I like you." His answer is simple and, for him, those reasons are enough.
"You don't even know my name. How can you like me?" She speaks.
She raises her hand to ask him to wait, but she makes a funny face and then sneezes. He gets inside the water.
"You need to leave the water. You will get sick."
"Stay away! I'm naked!" She says louder and covers herself as much as she can.
"And?" He asks after stopping on his track.
"And no one ever saw me naked. I can leave by myself. Turn around." She says louder.
That female was raised not exposing herself, she for sure is not a female like others. He steps outside the river and turns around. He hears her leaving the river and he waits until he hears her dressing clothes.
He turns around again and sees her wearing only underwear, her body is more beautiful than he imagined.
"Who told you can look already?!" She squeals.
"You're hurt." He points to her rib, which is still bruised.
"Yeah. It's been two days." She dresses quickly, she stumbles when she starts to wear her skirt because she forgot about her twisted ankle.
He quickly moves and catches her before hitting the ground. She flushes when she sees his muscles so close to her and how warm his skin is compared to hers which is cold. She steps back awkwardly.
"Sorry." She says softly finishing wearing the skirt.
"Your foot is also hurt." He speaks.
Then he carries her princess style, taking her by surprise. He sits her on the ground next to her other belongings, to check on her ankle.
"How did you get so hurt like this?" He asks.
His worry looks genuine and that made her calmer, but it's still uncomfortable such a beautiful man so close to her and touching her leg.
She explains what happened with the ferals and when she fell that morning too. Then she takes the plants Claud told her to use on her ankle, and she starts to put them together and twist them.
"What are you doing?" Wayde asks.
"Medicine for my ankle." She answers.
"Do you know medicine?" He's getting more amazed by this female with each breath.
He takes the plants from her hands and asks her what he should do, she tells him to crush the herb until it's all sticky, then pass on her ankle.
She takes the ripped cloth she already had and rips more, he takes it from her hand again and starts doing what she was doing. Then he asks for directions again of what she wants to do, then he dresses her ankle making a tidy bandage.
"Thank you.. Wayde, right?"
"Yes. And you are…?" He asks, wondering if she would tell the truth. He already knows she must be a female with secrets since she is surviving on her own and knows medicine.
"Astri. My name is Astri." She answers.
He didn't feel she lied.
"Astri… Beautiful name."
She checks her fish and it's already good to eat. He watches her putting more wood on the fire to keep it on, then she focuses on eating.
"Do you want some?" She asks.
"No. Eat. Why the fish looks like this?"
"Because it's cooked. I can't eat it without being cooked. The fire cooks the meat. Try it. Tastes good." She explains and then hands him a good piece of the fish.
He eats it and is impressed that the fish tastes better than raw. She finished eating the fish, then sighed looking for the fruits she got. He stood up, then pulled down his skirt and she got startled seeing him completely naked.
Before she closes her eyes protesting, he shifts into a huge white tiger.
Her jaw was wide open and she felt like her breath completely left her lungs. The tiger walks to the river and jumps in it, then one by one he throws fish outside. When he got five more fishes he stepped outside the river and shook the water off his big body
---
He shifts back to his human form and notices that the little female turned her head away, blushing again.
He smiles, wondering if she liked what she saw. He asks her what he should do to cook the fishes, she tells him to remove the guts and then put them on sticks and where to put them near the fire.
"How long will it be ready?" He asks. She thinks he must have liked the roasted fish.
"It will take a bit longer. You don't need to stay close all the time." She answers. She sighs and looks around. "I need to build a shelter, so no animals can find me."
"You don't need to worry. With me here no animal or feral will come near." He says, looking very sure about that.
She wonders if he's powerful. A tiger is always strong and dangerous.
"Will you stay all night?" She asks.
"I'm not planning to leave you. I want to be your male." He speaks.
"W-what? Why?"
"You don't have to answer now. I just want to stay with you. Take care of you and protect you." He answers.
She sighs, thinking that beastmen must choose a woman to court for no reason. If they are like that, women might take advantage of them.
"You don't want me that much?" His question took her by surprise.
"No. It's not that. I just… think that giving yourself to another one for life is something very serious and shouldn't be taken lightly. Even if it's normal for females to have many mates, I think the least I should give him is my love and heart. In order to do that, only time will nurture such feelings between us. Mates shouldn't be objects, they should be partners."
His heart felt something he never felt. Warmth. It beat stronger and warmed his whole body.
"How old are you?" She asks.
"31."
"And you never had a mate?"
"No. No female caught my attention." He answers, with a smirk. She pretends she didn't see his smirk. "Most males can't survive the backlash of losing a mate. If they do, they wouldn't want a new mate."
"So you know you shouldn't choose your mate so easily like that, since you will be connected to her all your life."
"It's true. But I trust my instincts."
She can't say he's wrong, she's the same way.
"Where are you from? Why are you here by yourself?" He's really curious to know more about her.
She stays in silence for some moments.
"I don't know.." She softly answers.
"You don't know?"
"I never met my parents, nor remember anything about them. I don't know where I came from and I don't know why I was brought here." She didn't lie, but she didn't tell everything. And he could see she wasn't lying. "Do you live in a village or city?" She asks him.
"I stay in the Stone Moon Tribe mostly. I'll take you there to see the tribe doctor." He tells. She nods, so it would be easier to find a village now. "What kind of beast are you? I never smelled your kind of scent."
"Me? I don't know… I don't think I'm a beast." She speaks.
"What do you mean? Everyone is a beast. You never shifted?"
"No.."
She told him she never met her parents, and he thinks she was raised secluded. For this reason, he imagines she doesn't know her own identity.
"Don't worry. You will find out one day." He stopped asking her questions, sensing she was getting sad and confused.
He rubs his hand softly on her head, as to comfort her.
They eat together the fishes. Astri felt very satisfied, now she was grateful that Wayde had found her. He doesn't look like a bad person. She takes the apron from her old uniform and uses it to cover her arms and uses the other clothes as a pillow. She puts the socks back on her feet to protect herself from the cold and then she curls herself on the ground, looking at the fire.
Wayde removes his skirt again and shifts to his tiger form, then he lays down behind her. Instantly she felt warmer. She felt her eyes getting heavier and then she fell asleep without even noticing how tired she was.