As we entered the city, I had to stop myself from gasping in surprise. It was bustling with all kinds of beastmen of different shapes, sizes and colors. Some were in their male form while others were in the beast forms.
I saw everything from big cats like lions, cheetahs and leopards to different kinds of primates, rhinos, a few wild dogs and even a few different types of birds.
It was amazing to see so many different types of beastmen in one place. So much more different than the two villages I'd been to.
The streets were lined with huge stone slates and were quite wide, being able to fit at least two car lanes and had two storey buildings on either side of them.
Stalls littered the streets outside the buildings with vendors yelling their wares to nearby beastmen. Some spots even had cloth hanging above the street to provide shading from the hot sun.
I spotted a few females around, all of them being carried by someone along with a group of beastman around them. Some had stopped at various stalls selling food or clothing while others were just gazing about the market goods.
Ray kept close to us as we walked through the streets and Xavier pulled me closer with his other arm, almost trying to hide me from others.
His face was tense as we walked so I decided to snuggle closer to him, trying to make myself smaller. A few beastmen tried walking over to us only to earn a warning growl from Ray or Xavier.
The smell of spices, sweat and animals filled the air as we headed for what I assumed was the palace. The giant building sat in what seemed to be the center of the city and could be seen even from the streets on the edge of the city.
As we continued, I noticed the buildings got much bigger and the market stalls soon disappeared along with the amount of beastmen around. More guards appeared and I even spotted some more females.
However, they were different from the ones that I'd seen earlier at the market on the edge of the city. Unlike the females at the market who had animal-like features, these females looked more like human women.
Their clothing was also different and looked much more fancier. Perhaps it had to do with the fact they were covered with accessories and had an air of attitude around them. One even turned her nose at the sight of us.
Eventually, we made our way through the chaotic streets to the palace stairway. Guards were stationed by the entrance and watched us curiously.
"Go find the king and tell him we have a new female here." Ray ordered as he walked past them without a second glance.
Xavier followed behind him as one of the guardsmen shifted into his beast form and flew off. It was some kind of bird, but I wasn't sure exactly what kind. Vulture perhaps?
Mentally shaking away the thought, I turned my attention to the present. Ray's attitude change from happy to cold was gnawing at me, making me wonder what was going on.
Was it because he smelt Ahi's scent on me? I knew ferals weren't welcome here for obvious reasons and hated by many, but his reaction was still quite shocking.
Perhaps it was better if we ditched the whole city idea. I didn't exactly like the idea of having Ahi living in a place where there would be a constant target on his back. I would take a peaceful life in a small village any day.
"What are you doing here, Ray?!" A deep voice suddenly yelled, snapping me out of my thoughts.
Turning my gaze to the voice, my body immediately went stiff in fear. A bigger and meaner version of Ray stood at the top of the stairway with the biggest scowl on his face, making the scar across his left eye worse looking.
"Apologies, Prince Rowan, I asked him to guide us to the palace." Xavier called out as he bowed his head. "We need to speak to the king."
Rowan turned his attention to us, eyes flashing with something making me gulp a little. Finally he sighed, "The king has an important guest right now… The female needs to wait."
"That's fine. Can we wait in the courtyard?" Xavier asked.
"As long as it doesn't bother the queen." Rowan answered before turning his attention to Ray. He bared his teeth at the other male and growled, "And you better get back to inspecting the city guards. I'll deal with this."
"Of course bro… Prince Rowan." Ray bowed quickly before suddenly shifting into a huge lion.
He glanced at us once more before hurrying back down the stairs. Once he disappeared from sight, Rowan turned away swiftly, making his long flowy pants shift in the wind, and walked off.
"Let me down. It should be safe for me to walk around now." I whispered to Xavier.
He glanced at me for a moment before he sighed, nodding his head. "Alright, but stay close to me."
With that I was back on my feet and made sure to link my arm with his free one. Xavier went still for a moment before he suddenly followed after the prince, making me stumble for a moment.
I sent a small glare at the bird brain, but otherwise kept quiet as we followed Rowan. The palace was as big as it looked with long hallways that never seemed to end.
There were a few trees and plants here and there and I even heard the noise of flowing water. At least I assumed it was flowing water, maybe a waterfall.
Despite the beautiful scenery around me, I couldn't quite focus on it much because there was something else bugging me. Namely the prince in front of us. It didn't take a genius to figure out he was likely Xavier's brother.
As well as Ray's brother.
However, the way he acted was so different from the other two. It was so strange. I didn't expect them to be the same, no siblings were like that, but it felt almost as if he was cold towards them.
"Hey Xavier." I murmured softly. "Does Prince Rowan hate you or something?"
"Hmm… Oh, he's always like that." Xavier shrugged nonchalantly as he leaned closer to me. "But I think it's because he's expected to rule Grasslands City next… Then again he's always had a stick up his butt like you like to say. Even when we were cubs."
"Wait, his father is the current king?" I asked with wide eyes.
Xavier nodded. "Yeah, but don't bother getting interested in him… There's rumors that he doesn't like females. Of course, I just think he's scared of talking to one, so acts like a big, scary beastman to hide that fear."
Before I could say anything, Rowan's gaze snapped to us and he snarled, "Watch how you speak about your prince, Xavier. I'll take your words as a challenge."
My face immediately went red in embarrassment. Did he actually hear everything we said? Oh gosh, how could I forget about beastmen hearing. He must hate us now.
"Yeah, sorry Prince Rowan." Xavier rolled his eyes, not at all bothered about Rowan hearing us. "Wouldn't want to upset you and make Elisa here even more scared of you."
"Hmph!" Rowan huffed before he continued walking.
Meanwhile, I sent Xavier my meanest glare and smacked him on the arm, almost injuring my own hand in the process. Letting go of him, I muttered, "Don't drag me into this."
"Don't worry, I'll protect you from the big scary lion." Xavier smirked. "I'm quite-"
Next thing I knew Xavier was flying across the room, landing on the floor with a boom. Rowan was standing next to me with his arm in the air, having punched Xavier in the face.
"Let's take this outside now!"