Ari (Child of the Beastman Goddess)

The snake beastman’s tail caught my foot gripping it tightly while trying to pull me towards him, but I already left the ground, pulling him up in midair instead as I flew towards the opening in the ceiling of the cave.

He tried to crawl his way up to me, but the force of the wind created by my wings and the force of gravity made it hard for him to do so. He screamed in agitation as soon as we came out of the cave.

He soon managed to crawl up to my foot, making me flinch so I flew as high as I could, hoping he would soon let go before the height became more dangerous for him to fall. I tried to kick his face to shake him off, but he didn’t budge. A spear suddenly dashed near his arm. Though it missed, it inflicted a huge wound causing him to suddenly let go. His upper body dropped, but his tail was still clinging to me.

I glanced into the distance where the spear came from and saw Lowell getting ready to make another shot. I signaled him to stop, then I spun around tossing and pulling him in a circular motion until he loosened the grip of his tail. He flew in the distance after letting go of my foot.

I stopped spinning and looked in the direction where he landed and saw Brother Orson in his aggressive form furiously surrounding the snake beastman who was currently dizzy and confused on the ground. His injuries looked quite serious while Lowell hurriedly ran in the direction where the snake beastman landed.

Dillon was at a distance with Gurion, who was currently crying in his back. I couldn’t hear them, but all of them seemed frustrated. I hurriedly went down to their location and landed near my brother who suddenly transformed back to his passive form to hug me while trembling.

Lowell started to tie up the snake beastman quietly while Dillon approached us silently. They both looked guilty and couldn’t look straight to me.

“Mommy! Wahhh!” Gurion cried as he jumped down from Dillon’s back to run towards me and hugged my left leg.

My brother was still hugging me while crying silently.

“Brother… Gurion… I’m back…” I mumbled while hugging them back.

I suddenly lost my strength and felt the aftershock of the incident. My brother held me tightly so I didn’t fall on my knees. I was already relieved, but my body still kept trembling.

Dillon and Lowell suddenly knelt down in front of me trembling with guilt and regret on their faces.

“Lowell… Dillon… Stand up… Please… Let me get some rest first… Bring him along… Tie him up properly and treat his injuries. There is a cave nearby… We can stay there for the meantime.” I mumbled without letting them utter a single word.

I was so exhausted that I couldn’t even speak properly. Even so, they all followed my instructions obediently.

I sighed as I tried to calm myself down. My brother carried me in his arms while Dillon took Gurion, hushing him while trying to calm him down. Lowell pulled the juvenile snake beastman and followed us from behind.

Upon reaching the cave, Lowell started the fire while treating the snake beastman with minimal care as we waited for Dillon to bring our belongings that were left in the century tree. He stuffed a pelt in the snake beastman’s mouth to keep him quiet while I was resting beside Gurion. My brother was making a bed for all of us to sleep in for the night. Luckily, it didn’t rain that day, but the sun was already starting to set.

The snake beastman kept looking at me as if he wanted to say something. He looked ashamed for being defeated by a female.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“Mommy… I’m izcewd (scared)… Bad guy ovew thew (over there).” Gurion hugged me tightly while pointing to the tied snake beastman on the other side of the cave.

“Hush… Don’t be scared… Mommy is here… I already defeated the bad guy…” I whispered as I hugged him tightly.

“Mommy iz tow awetom (mommy is so awesome)!” Gurion screamed as he rubbed his face on my cheeks.

I smiled at him and stroked his curly blonde hair.

“Ari… Why do we have to treat that beast?! He doesn’t deserve your mercy.” My brother asked in agitation after he was done making the temporary bed.

He helped me and Gurion to move to the bed.

“Brother, I have a reason… Please understand my decision…” I responded as I held his hand.

“But he’s dangerous!” He insisted.

“I know brother… But he is inferior to us… So please… I’ll explain everything once we are settled and Gurion is already asleep.” I plead while rubbing my cheeks with his palm.

“Okay, I’ll start cooking our dinner. Just rest here for a while.” He replied while trying to calm himself down.

Dillon came after two hours and carefully placed our belongings on the side without uttering a word. He then helped Lowell and my brother prepare our dinner and the medications for the snake beastman while Gurion suddenly fell asleep in my arms. He looked extremely exhausted from crying, but he still kept on holding onto me tightly despite being in deep sleep.

During dinner, I explained to them what happened and told them that I wanted to bring the snake beastman to teach him properly. He was rude, only because there has been no one who could teach him since he was young, so I can understand partly his actions.

They were not quite convinced at first, but I pleaded with them to trust my decision.

The snake beastman was just listening while drooping like a guilty child. Lowell fed him some medicine and nutritional herbs so he was not allowed to eat solid food yet. I still don’t know what he was thinking, but I need to fix him so that no other female would go through the same experience that I did from his hands.

“Starting today, your name will be Blake. Whether you like it or not, you won’t be able to escape until you learn how to respect a female and other beastman.” I said sternly while looking at him seriously.

He flinched as he drooped like a scolded pup.