[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: New Character Detected!]
[Name: Hei Yan (黑焰 - Black Flame)]
[Species: Black Panther Beastman]
[Rank: Alpha of the Shadow Claw Tribe]
[Threat Level: EXTREMELY HIGH (especially when claiming females)]
[Warning: Host has triggered his claiming instincts! Good luck! ☆]
"Wait, wait, WAIT!" Xin Yi scrambled backward. "Before anything else, COVER YOURSELF FIRST!"
Hei Yan tilted his head, genuinely puzzled. "Why?"
"WHY?!" Xin Yi's voice went up three octaves. She gestured frantically at him, keeping her eyes firmly locked on his face. "Because you're—you're too big! And you're distracting me!"
He blinked those brilliant purple eyes at her. "Big?"
"YES! VERY BIG! NOW PLEASE—" Her face had gone a bright tomato red and she thought she would actually combust.
Hei Yan looked down at himself again, then back at her, still completely unbothered by his nakedness. "But when I shift, I'm always naked. And the female panther-kin always love it."
Xin Yi swallowed hard.
Of course they love the sight of it, she thought miserably. Who wouldn't? He looks like he was carved by the gods themselves—NO! Bad thoughts! Focus, Xin Yi!
[Detecting Host's elevated heart rate! ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)]
"SHUT UP, SYSTEM!"
Hei Yan's ears perked up. "System? What is system?"
[Allow me to help, Host! New Quest: Civilize the Barbarian!]
[Objective: Make leaf clothing for the naked Alpha before you die of embarrassment!]
[Reward: 20 System Points + Temporary Relief from Visual Stimulation]
"Fine! FINE!" Xin Yi threw her hands up. "Just—just stand there and don't move!"
She yanked down more large leaves, grabbed some vines, and worked with shaking hands. The whole time, she could feel Hei Yan's intense gaze watching her every move.
"You're very small," he observed.
"I'm average height!"
"And very pink."
"That's called blushing! Now hold still!"
She fashioned a crude leaf....wrap? Skirt? Whatever it was, she tied it firmly around his hips, covering the extremely distracting situation.
"There!" She stepped back, wiping sweat from her forehead. "Now you're decent."
Hei Yan looked down at his new leaf covering, tugging at it experimentally. "Hmm." He looked back at her. "Are you comfortable now?"
"Yes! Very! Thank you for asking!"
"What is your name?"
"Xin Yi."
"Alright."
Before Xin Yi could process what was happening, Hei Yan scooped her up into his arms like she weighed nothing.
"Wait—HEY!"
He looked down at her, his face very close to hers. "You have very big breasts."
Xin Yi's brain short-circuited. "WHAT?!"
"They will do well with feeding cubs," he said matter-of-factly, his gaze dropping to her leaf-covered chest.
"AUGH!" Xin Yi thrashed in his grip. "PUT ME DOWN! PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW!"
He set her down, but kept his hands on her shoulders, looking confused. "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong?! You can't just—just say things like that!" She forced herself out of his grip, stumbling backward. "NO! I'm not feeding anyone's cubs! I'm not—we just met! I don't even know you!"
Hei Yan's expression grew serious. "Don't go."
"I'm going!"
"You're very soft and fragile." He took a step toward her. "Someone else might come and find you, and they might rush to claim you because of how sweet you smell."
Xin Yi froze. "Eh? Someone else?"
He nodded gravely. "Many beastmen in this forest. Tigers. Bears. Wolves." His eyes flashed. "Snakes."
"S-snakes?"
[He's not wrong, Host! You smell like catnip to beastmen right now! ( ̄▽ ̄)]
Before she could protest, Hei Yan moved. In one smooth motion, he had her back in his arms.
"Let us go."
"Wait, don't talk about my breasts again!"
"But they're big. I like them."
"STOP!"
He considered this for a moment. "Hmm. I will stop."
"Thank you—WAIT, WHERE ARE YOU TAKING ME?!"
Hei Yan didn't answer. He just started running.
And not normal running. Not even Olympic-sprinter running.
This was full-beast-mode, supernatural, trees-blurring-past, wind-screaming-in-her-ears running.
"AHHHHH!" Xin Yi clung to his neck for dear life. "SLOW DOWN! WHAT IS THIS?! HOW DID I GET HERE?! AM I DREAMING?!"
[You're not dreaming, Host! Welcome to the Beast World, where everything is faster, stronger, and mostly naked! ヽ(•‿•)ノ]
Hei Yan ran and ran, his powerful legs eating up the distance, leaping over fallen logs and streams like they were nothing. Xin Yi squeezed her eyes shut and prayed she wouldn't throw up.
Finally, FINALLY, he slowed down.
Xin Yi cracked one eye open.
They had arrived at.….a village?
Well, "village" was generous. It was more like a collection of poorly constructed huts and caves scattered around a clearing. Crude but functional.
People started emerging from the dwellings.
Lots of people.
They all looked similar to Hei Yan, tall, powerful builds, sharp features. Except their eyes were blue instead of purple, and they all had the same black fur and white-violet spotted patterns marked on their skin.
Children ran forward, curiosity bright in their faces. The women wore leaf coverings similar to hers. The men...
Oh god, some of them are naked too.
Xin Yi buried her face in Hei Yan's chest.
"What is that?" a child's voice piped up. "Did Alpha return with a snack? Can we eat her?"
"NO!" Xin Yi's head shot up. "I AM NOT FOOD!"
Hei Yan's arms tightened around her possessively. His voice rang out, deep and commanding: "This female is mine. Prepare for the mating ceremony."
The clearing went silent.
Then erupted in excited chatter.
Xin Yi's brain stalled. "Eh?"
"Mating?" She twisted to look at him. "MATING?! But we just met! How can you—"
"Hmm." Hei Yan looked down at her. "I like how you smell. If other Alphas smell you, they will want to claim you." He said it like he was explaining something very obvious to a child.
"But—"
"Shh." He placed one finger over her lips.
Then he turned to a group of women standing nearby. "Take her to the river. Clean her. Make her ready."
"WAIT—"
But the women were already surrounding her, pulling her from Hei Yan's arms with excited giggles.
"Hmm, she's so fragile," one of them murmured, poking Xin Yi's arm.
"She will break!" another laughed.
"The Alpha will split her in half!"
"CAN EVERYONE STOP TALKING ABOUT THAT?!"
[Emergency Quest Update: Teach These Feral Men Civilization!]
[Step 1: Survive the mating ceremony!]
[Step 2: Introduce concepts like "consent" and "dating" and "NOT MATING STRANGERS YOU JUST MET"]
"How?!" Xin Yi hissed under her breath as the women dragged her toward the sound of running water. "System, HOW?!"
[First, survive the mating! ♪]
"WAIT!" Xin Yi dug her heels into the dirt. "My first time will happen NOW?!"
[Yes! Your presence has triggered the Alpha's heat cycle early! Congratulations! (ノ◕ヮ◕)ノ*:・゚✧]
"THAT'S NOT A CONGRATULATIONS SITUATION!"
But the women weren't listening. They pulled her to the riverbank and immediately started stripping off her precious leaf clothing.