Beauty and The Beasts: Rain

36. Presence

     Rain and Brice approached the group. Rain stayed on her side of the obscure territory line and looked at the spider. The spider stared back at her. Frustrated, she motioned with her hand at the imaginary line and the spider nodded.

     Rain approached as the king questioned her. "What business do you have here female? And what did you mean by that?" The bear king was as aggravated as she was and their personalities threatened to clash immediately.

     Rain lifted her head up proudly displaying her stripes. She may be weaker than the male in front of her, but she wasn't just another female. She did not allow herself to be intimidated by his beast pressure, though she did feel her skin crawl and twitch in response to it.

     "My den is there and you woke me up. I mean that he cannot speak. He lacks the ability to." Rain gauged the reactions around her. The bear king lost some of his edge as it was replaced with disbelief.

     "I've never heard of a beast being unable to speak." The bear king admitted.

     "Have you ever met a spider beastman before?" Rain asked with a frosty expression.

     "No female, I haven't. I am sorry to disturb your sleep, but this male has likely killed my clansmen and action must be taken." The bear king who had regained some composure was back to his angry self.

      "The bears attacked him first. Is it worth the risk to fight a tetra marked beast?" Rain questioned.

     "You witnessed it? And it is. It is my duty to protect my clan and make sure our females feel safe." His logic was there and Rain couldn't blame him.

     "My mate did. I understand your reasoning." Rain felt a slight sting of loss. She couldn't stop this unless she wanted to make an enemy out of a strong clan. At the very least, she would need to leave the city or put Winston in a precarious situation.

     "Then this feral is not your mate." Asked the bear king. His sharp features and expression probed for more information. His sense of smell told him that they weren't newly mated at least.

     "No he is not." Rain looked at the spider and spoke. "Do you understand your situation?" He nodded. "You understand that I am not going to help you clean up your mess?" Another nod. "Alright." Before Rain could turn away, he lifted his finger and motioned towards his coop. It seems like an odd time to receive tips so Rain raised an eyebrow.

     The spider male went and grabbed the bird, while the bears snarled. He carried the creature by it's legs upside down. He handed it out to Rain and a small crease appeared on his face. His brown eyes looked at Rain's.

     "You want me to take it?" He nodded his head and Rain felt strange. 'Why isn't this beast responding to the situation?' She wondered. He seems to understand what is happening, but is worried about a bird instead.

     The bear king was growling, but watched the situation first. No matter how aggressive he was, he was still a king who held his position for years. He did not understand what happened. It seemed as though the snake female was not willing to defend the male which is expected. What he didn't anticipate was the friendly and out of place exchange. He allowed it, as he did not want to endanger the female.

     Rain took the bird from his hand and held it the same way. In return for the gift she tried to offer advice to both parties. "Bear king, if you wish to communicate with him, it's best to ask yes or no questions. As he has lived in solitude, he is unaware of common practices and lacks common sense. My mate has been trying to teach him, but there is a limit." Rain turned back to the spider. "Thank you for the bird. If you survive, I will pay you back."