The sun was setting over the horizon when they arrived at the Bear Tribe. The hawk beastman had been sent ahead to alert the tribe of their arrival, so there was a small group of bear beastmen waiting on the outskirts of the tribe.
They stood by a large wooden gateway with one massive beastman standing in the center with the rest circling behind him. Meanwhile, the hawk beastman stood to the side of the group.
The beastman in the center wore a fur clock over his shoulders and was at least a head taller than the rest. His hairy arms and torso were covered in battle scars and he had seven stripes across his chest.
He looked to be around middle aged and had a full grown beard. The other bear beastmen, meanwhile, had fewer stripes and looked much younger than him.
Must be the leader of the tribe. Serena mused to herself. Or the most gifted warrior… Of course, he could be both considering this world is ruled by strength.
The caravan came to a stop a few meters away from the group and Richard shifted into his male form to greet the bears. He spoke to the group quietly for a few moments before he turned back to the caravan.
"Females follow me." Richard ordered. "The rest of you set up camp here."
The tigers roared in agreement and Rex crouched down to let Serena get off. She did so and grabbed Kiro to help him down. They then both headed over to Richard.
When all of the beastwomen got to Richard, the massive bear beastman directed them into the tribe. Round mud huts were everywhere with some wooden structures here and there too.
A dirt pathway allowed one to go to different paths of the tribe and in the center burnt a huge bonfire with a short stone wall around it. Beastmen were hanging around everywhere going about doing their chores.
Serena spotted a few beastwomen and even a few cubs running around. Eventually, they made their way to a small mud hut away from the rest of the homes.
A strong scent of herbs filled the air and Serena knew immediately where they were. The healer's home.
It didn't take a genius to figure out why they were here. At least for Serena. The tiger beastmen were clearly worried she might have some illness thanks to this morning's outburst.
And honestly, she couldn't blame them for reacting this way. Illnesses in this world were deadly and the caravan couldn't risk bringing it into a major city, even if the person was female.
"Since there's a healer here, we're going to do a quick check up to make sure you're all doing okay." Richard explained when they got to the wooden door. "Long journeys can be hard on a female's body."
As he spoke, the bear beastman knocked on the wooden door. There was rustling before the door creaked open to show an elderly man behind it.
"Chief?" The healer gazed at him in surprise. "Is something the matter?"
"Just have some females for you to check." The Bear Tribe Chief replied. He then turned to Richard. "I'll have someone waiting outside to escort you to an empty hut when you're done."
Richard nodded his head in understanding and with that the Bear Tribe Chief left them. The healer looked at them before widening the door and beckoning them in.
***
"Everything seems to be normal." The healer mused, straightening up and turning to Richard. "Could use some more meat on her bones, but otherwise is healthy."
"I see…" Richard murmured, his arms crossed over his chest. "And no pregnancy?"
"Not pregnant either." The healer replied.
Serena quietly sat on the straw bed as the two spoke, seeing the confusion in Richard's eyes. He was clearly surprised that there was nothing wrong with her.
Except for her messed up head, but it wasn't like the healer could detect that.
"I see…" Richard sighed. "Well, thank you."
"Of course." The healer waved his hand. He was quiet for a moment before he asked, "Could you check if that escort is here yet?"
"Oh… sure." Richard stared at the elderly beastman in confusion, but headed out like he asked.
The moment the tiger beastman left, the healer glanced over at her, brown eyes seeming to search her soul. Serena felt her body stiffened, wondering what the healer wanted.
"You have a mind sickness it seems." The healer stated. "Something bad happened to you and now your mind is dealing with it… Making you seem like you're physically sick at times."
Serena bristled at his words, not expecting him to hit the nail on the head. Guess he purposely didn't want Richard to hear this, so sent him away. Which she was kind of happy for.
Of course, it made her wonder how such a society already had an idea of what mental illness was. Perhaps, it was because of the constant dangers around them causing possible PTSD and other disorders.
"I can't heal your mind, but I'll give you some herbs to calm it when the thoughts get too much." The healer continued, moving to a table filled with different plants. "However, you should rely on them too much. Facing what happened might do you some good too."
As he spoke, he picked up some herbs and placed them in a fur before heading back over to her. He quickly explained the use of each herb and how she could take it.
Richard walked back in as the healer was finishing up. He glanced over at them curiously and asked, "What are those for?"
"Just to help with sleeping." The healer muttered. "Since it was nightmares that caused this all, I suggested Serena take something to help with them."
"Alright…" Richard nodded in understanding.
The healer smiled before handing the fur to Serena. She took it and thanked the healer who waved her off. They soon left the healer's home and headed for the hut they'd be spending the night at.