Over a week had passed by since they stopped by the Bear Tribe. The caravan had been on the constant move, only stopping for short breaks in the evening. It was a rough schedule, but necessary.
The area they were traveling through was known to have lots of rootless beastmen hanging around. They were even attacked by a few individuals trying to get lucky.
Thankfully, nothing too serious happened and only two beastmen got some minor injuries that took a couple days to heal. Still, by the time Richard called for them to take a proper break everyone was exhausted.
They were not completely out of the woods, but the clearing they had chosen to rest for a few days was relatively safer than other places. Thus, a stop was ordered so everyone could gain a bit of strength back before they continued into more dangerous territory.
And boy was Serena glad they had finally stopped.
There was barely any time to wash and Serena was beginning to wonder whether she hated the stench of unwashed beastmen or the grime beginning to build on her body more.
She didn't even want to think about her clothes because by now they were likely a bio hazard by her standards. If they weren't her only clothes, Serena would've burnt them by now.
Of course not only was she dirty, but her body was also exhausted from the constant traveling. Which was made worse by the nightmares haunting her almost daily, making it hard for her to sleep properly.
The herbs the healer had given her were helpful, but Serena had only used them twice since she had gotten them. She feared not getting more soon and wanted them on hand in case things got worse.
Serena planned to use this break to search for more as well as research more plant life in the area. She also needed to work on her shifting skills, so she could hopefully get into hunting monsters.
Crystals were the only other way to gain coins and with the system not being as helpful as she thought it would be, Serena decided to just rely on her own skills.
The caravan was quick to set up camp, having to use large sheets to create rough looking tents since there were not really any natural shelters around. Once they were done, a few took off to go hunting.
"Serena, are you coming?" Trix called out to Serena as she finished putting some supply baskets down. "We're going to the river to wash up."
"I'm coming." Serena replied, looking around for Kiro. "Just give me one moment. I need to find Kiro."
The young snow leopard had been asked to give something to one of the beastmen and had yet to return. Her eyes scanned the campsite, finding Kiro a few metres away carrying some firewood.
He was eagerly following two beastmen who were also carrying firewood over to a medium sized circle made with some rockets and pebbles. Serena quickly walked over to them.
Immediately spotting his sister, Kiro exclaimed excitedly as he held up his firewood, "Sister look! I got so many firewood sticks!"
"It looks good." Serena smiled, gently ruffling his head. It was becoming a bad habit of hers. "I'm heading to the river to wash up. Do you want to come?"
The kid was in desperate need of a bath, somehow looking and smelling worse than Serena despite her efforts to keep him away from dirtying himself. Seemed at the end of the day while he was a quick learner, he was still a kid.
"I…" Kiro glanced over at the two beastmen before turning back to look at Serena. "Can I stay here instead?"
Serena looked at him a little surprised by his words. Since coming to this world and watching over Kiro, the cub had always wanted to be by Serena's side whenever he didn't have to do something.
But now he wanted to stay around other beastmen. Serena was pleased that he was slowly growing out of his shell again. But she also couldn't help, but worry.
She wasn't blind to how some of the beastmen within the caravan saw Kiro as nothing, but a burden. It was why she allowed him to stick as close to her as possible. Because he needed her protection from others bullying him.
Serena shifted her gaze to the two beastmen, wondering if she should let Kiro stay with them or not. Could she trust them not to hurt him in any way?
"You don't have to worry about us!" One of the beastmen suddenly declared, sensing her unease. "We'll make sure nothing happens to him."
The other one nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah. Kiro has been helping us, so we thought we'd teach him how to start a fire."
Serena pursed her lips at their words. Learning how to make a fire was an important skill in a world where it could be life or death. But teaching a young child…
Was it really okay for her to allow such a thing?
"Ssster, you'll let me stay, right? I promise to behave." Kiro added, giving her puppy eyes. "I won't cause any trouble. I swear!"
Serena shut her eyes, unable to say no to that face and his pleading. "Fine, you can stay. But you need to take a bath later okay."
"Okay I will!" Kiro promised, looking excited.
Serena wanted to sigh. She hoped she was making the right decision here and that it wouldn't land up hurting Kiro. She glanced over at the two beastmen, making note of their faces.
If anything did happen she would be going after them with the full might of her wrath.
"Then, I'll be heading over to the river." Serena finally said. "Go there if you need anything."
Kiro nodded his head in understanding and went off with the two beastmen. Serena watched them for a moment before heading over to Trix and Rebbeca. The trio then made their way to the river to bathe.