Once the meat looks a bit crispy on the outside, Ves watches Luca cut through it with his claw.
Luca ensures it is fully cooked till the inside but still soft before bringing it to her. He also brings a small packet made from leaves tied together to hold whatever was inside.
He carefully sprinkles a little amount of the packet's contents on the roast and begins chopping it into small pieces with his claws before giving it to her to eat.
Ves accepts it gratefully and takes a bite and slowly chews the roast. The packet seems to have salt in it and that is the only thing added to the otherwise plain meat. Ves swallows the bland roast and looks at Luca.
Luca smiles seeing her eat. He had always kept some salt with him for whenever he would find a female. He knew females like salt sprinkled on their meat and hence, he made sure Ves did not lack it.
The meat was perfectly roasted and would have tasted heavenly if it had been marinated well. It was soft and tender, the texture felt good on the tongue. The only thing missing was taste.
Seeing his tender smile, Ves cannot bring herself to tell him she did not like how the roast tasted. She wills herself to eat it all knowing she is hungry and has not eaten all day.
She does so easily due to her body's need for food and even her taste buds don't find the meat as bad as she would have if she wasn't as famished as now. Once she is done, Luca puts out the fire and carrier her in. He gently places her on the bed and tells her to sleep.
Ves did not think she would be able to sleep since the hay was uncomfortable and she had also already slept a lot, but sleep came to her easily once she laid down. Even she had not realized how tiring the whole new world experience was for her.
Once Luca heard her calm breathing, he shifted into his panther form and slowly circled Ves before laying down beside her.
Meanwhile, Mathew went to check on the village leader's pregnant female. The village leader had requested him to check on her every morning and night just to ensure everything was going well and the cubs were healthy.
When Mathew was done and was on his way out of the village leader's cave, the village leader stopped him, "What is this new female everyone has been talking about?"
Mathew was surprised that Luca had not informed the village leader of the female he found.
"Luca, the panther, seems to have found a female when he was out hunting. She was injured and brought to me for treatment before he left with her."
The tribe leader, Jeremy, raises a brow at the information but nods. He decided to summon Luca and the newly brought female tomorrow since the sun had already set and the female should be resting since she is hurt. He also needed to remind Luca of the rules.
It was a rule of every village that every new female found or brought must be reported to village leader for him to prepare for the Pali ritual so willing males could fight other males for the female's affection.
Once the sun rose, Luca was the first to wake up. He stared at Ves's sleeping form, admiring how beautiful and calm she looked.
After an hour or so, he slowly nudged her shoulder and licked her forearm. Ves stirred in her sleep for a few second before slowly opening her eyes. Seeing the enormous panther as soon as she woke up, stunned her.
'I doubt I will get used to this...' she tells herself mentally before she stretches her limbs and slowly sits up, still yawning.
Luca licks her cheek making Ves giggle before he shifts into his beastman form. Ves sleepily admires his beauty whilst rubbing her eyes off the sleepiness still in them.
Luca's tail swishes around happily upon hearing Ves's soft and sleepy giggle. It was the sweetest sound he had heard after her voice.
'How can everything about a female be so enchanting?' He wondered in his mind, 'But of course, my female is bound to be the best of them all.'
"I will make you breakfast..." Luca's deep voice makes Ves's ears tremble in delight as she watches he walk out of his cave.
She glances at the hay bed she slept on. It was not comfortable and kept poking at her and her skin is also a bit red and itchy now, but she slept through the night not feeling any of this discomfort.
She sighed thinking about how she will have to figure out what to do about the situation fast.
She slowly got out of bed walked to the area outside the cave where Luca cooked food for her last night.
Luca immediately looked her way when he sensed her presence and heard her soft footsteps. He watched her as she walked up to him and noticed how her faced slowly turned red.
His brows furrowed wondering if she is sick and just as he was about to ask, Ves stood close to him and slowly poked his side, "I uhm I need to uhm... relieve myself." She spoke in a small voice and lowered her head feeling embarrassed.
Luca tilted his head in confusion, "What do you mean, Ves?"
Ves gulped and answered in a meek voice, "I need to... need to uhm p- pee..."
Luca nodded once he realized what she meant and then took her to an isolated place with large trees and bushes so she could help herself.
Ves asks Luca to go back but he refuses. After trying for quite a while, she finally gets him to at least turn away and stand at a distance. She hurriedly finishes her business and rushes to Luca, her face beet red from embarrassment.
Bathrooms were everywhere on Earth, and this was the first time Ves encountered such a situation where she had to pee in the presence of another person.
Luca holds her hand and walks her back to the clearing in front of his cave. He felt a presence close by when returning back and hence, kept an eye on his surroundings.
When they reached, another beastman was waiting for them outside Luca's territory. Upon seeing Luca holding the new female's hand, he rolled his eyes.
"The tribe leader has called for you both..."