How Did I Go To the Beast World in My Pajamas?

Chapter 28: Nighttime Confessions

Spencer finished his tasks before St. Benjamin, who was only a little bit behind on account of his perfectionism. Studying the two sleeping figures before him, he took the obvious preferred position behind Samantha. Still in his beastman form, he wove his way into the embrace Samantha and Bub had already begun. His arm cradled Samantha's neck, and he arranged himself so that he would cover the pair in warmth when he transformed. Emboldened by the affection already displayed before him, he whispered, "I love you," into Samantha's ear before shifting into a fox. Samantha and Bub felt the increase in temperature immediately, and Samantha turned them in closer to Spencer's body heat. With Bub nestled in between their stomachs, Samantha buried her own cold nose in the fur on the fox's neck. "I love you too," she sighed into his fur. Her lack of reaction told Spencer that she was still asleep, but the words she had whispered still made his brain tingle and a lump form in his throat. There was no way to continue the conversation he had started, so Spencer was left to run scenarios through his mind, wanting to know if she did return his feelings. Nearly every imagined situation reinforced his most precious wish, and now it was up to him to find a private moment to talk with Samantha while she was awake. Although he had been the one to whisper to her in her sleep, he still wanted a response from her while she was conscious. He would do his best to choose the right moment, but for now, he replayed her words in his head until he fell asleep as well.

St. Benjamin had only been in the cave for a few moments, contemplating how he was going to sleep in a formation that was much more complicated for him. He did not have the luxury of sleeping in his beast form out of consideration both for the bear cub and for his own safety. Bub may not be able to say anything meaningful to them, but he could easily tell another bear beastman about Benjamin's beast form and make life in the city impossible for him. This would be much less comfortable than he was used to, but he was unwilling to give up his place by Samantha's side while he could still fill it as a mere guardian beast. Her clothing was already disheveled from tossing and turning around two beastmen, but St. Benjamin was gratified that she had taken their warnings about the bear cub to heart and hadn't undressed in front of him. It would be impossible to extricate the female and change her into the pajamas in her bags, so he did his best to properly arrange her deer pelt clothing and silently promise her opportunities to change her clothing in the future. He was unable to surround her as thoroughly as he could in his scorpion body, but Benji did his best to make sure that the places Samantha was most likely to feel cold were covered by contact with his own skin. He stroked her neck, shoulders, and arms as he fell asleep. The way her skin felt against his was still incredible to him, and he wondered if he would ever be able to stop thinking of it as a forbidden indulgence. Her body was so warm in comparison with the cold night air, and St. Benjamin was asleep before he knew it.

Spencer was the last one to wake up the next morning. In addition to sleeping more peacefully than he had in years, he hadn't given himself much opportunity to recover from his race to save Samantha. He was grateful to her for allowing him to sleep in, especially knowing that with a cub in tow, there would be a lot of extra work to do every morning before they would be able to set off toward their destination. Just as he was finishing up stretching out his fox body, he heard Samantha approach him and he transformed back into a beastman. There was a mouth-watering aroma coming from a stone receptacle she carried in both hands, and he could see the steam still rising from it in the chilled air of the early morning. His stomach growled in response to the bone broth he had begun the night before, and Samantha gave him a knowing grin before informing him, "This is just an appetizer, I wanted to wake you up with a pleasant surprise. It's probably still hot enough to burn your tongue, but I can blow on it for you if you want to eat it right away." He responded immediately in the affirmative, his hunger roaring in his mind as if he hadn't eaten anything for a week. As she held the small container out toward him, he saw Bub tied against her chest with a deer skin of his own wrapped around him.

"What is that?" he asked her before receiving a spoonful of broth in his open mouth. "This," she responded, "is what happens when baby bears take off in the morning and don't wake an adult to accompany them. I assure you, he's perfectly comfortable, and we can let him out whenever he needs something. So," she continued, talking more to Bub than to Spencer, "he doesn't need to pee while he's in his wrap, or poo. He just needs to let me know he would like to be let down, and he can make his mess on the ground." Spencer laughed and nearly choked on his next sip of broth, guessing how this procedure had been put in place. "You do get the most unique ideas, Samantha," he chuckled. "Usually, parents weave bamboo baskets to carry their young, although Bub does look like he's getting too big for one now," he added. Samantha blushed, wishing she had thought to ask one of the males for advice before assuming a carryover from her own culture would do the trick. "Well, he seems comfortable like this," she muttered, embarrassed. She adjusted the pelt near Bub's bottom, bringing his short tail through the slot she'd made for it where it wagged back and forth as if happy to be free. "I think the broth is cool enough for you to drink now, so bring your bowl out when you're finished," she said as she handed the warm stone to Spencer. "We're packing up now, but there's still plenty of food left over for you when you're ready for it," she said over her shoulder as she exited the cave, Bub's small bear face peeking over her shoulder still in a state of bewilderment.

Spencer left the cave in a mood that was reflected back at him by the warm sun and fresh air of the light rainy season giving way to that which would follow it. He had confessed his feelings to Samantha the night before, and the knowledge that his feelings were probably returned was life changing. St. Benjamin, laden with bags and a bear cub, entered his field of vision and for the first time, he felt sorry for the feral beast. Whatever had twisted his outlook on females and mating in his youth would keep him from experiencing the elation Spencer was feeling now. Samantha returned from the direction of the nearest stream, feeling refreshed after washing up. She was carrying stone dishware that she must have cleaned while she was there, and filled waterskins dangled from her hips. The fox beastman suddenly felt guilty, holding his bowl that still contained remnants of broth although he had licked it clean to the best of his ability. He was about to head to the stream to clean it when Samantha stopped him. "It's okay, Spencer. These are too heavy to take with us, so we're going to leave them here in case the next person who needs a place to stay would like them. Go over to St. Benjamin when you're ready and let him load you with everything we are taking. You have to carry us all now," she reminded him. Trying not to let his expression sour at the thought of carrying the scorpion and bear males on his back, he obeyed. There really wasn't a better solution until they arrived at the Beast City, and in the fox's opinion, that couldn't happen fast enough.