[Kaelum's POV]
Pain.
That was the only thing I had known for years.
The Curse of the Fire God wasn't just heat; it was the sensation of molten glass flowing through my veins instead of blood.
Every breath burned my lungs. Every step scorched the earth. The snow didn't melt because I was warm; it melted because my existence was a violation of nature.
I was a walking catastrophe. A monster who destroyed everything I touched.
And yet, there was a... tickle.
On my left foreleg.
It was a sensation I hadn't felt since I was a cub. It was cool. Soothing. Like a block of glacial ice pressed against a festering wound.
I looked down, my vision swimming in a haze of red rage.
The human female was still there.
She was clinging to my fur like a burr. Usually, anything that touched me turned to ash within seconds. But this fragile, hairless creature wasn't burning. In fact, she was drooling on my shin.
'Why isn't she dead?'
I flared my aura. I pushed the curse outward, letting the magical fire surge. The snow around us evaporated instantly into a cloud of steam.
Instead of screaming, the human let out a long, contented sigh. She nuzzled deeper into my fur.
"Mmm... toaster mode..." she mumbled.
Toaster?
I didn't know this word, but her audacity was infuriating.
I couldn't walk like this. The snow was too deep, and dragging a parasite through the drifts was undignified for a Chieftain.
I stopped. I focused on the fire in my core and pulled it inward.
Whoosh.
A pillar of steam exploded around us as I shifted.
My bones cracked and reshaped. Fur retracted. My massive paws became hands and feet. The change was usually agonizing, but today, the cool sensation on my leg anchored me.
I stood up in my humanoid form. The cold air bit at my bare chest—or it would have, if my skin wasn't currently 150 degrees.
I looked down. The human was now clutching my bare thigh, her face pressed dangerously close to my loincloth.
"Let go," I growled, my voice rough from disuse.
She didn't open her eyes. She just tightened her grip on my quad muscle. "No. The air is chill. Put me back on the heater."
"I am not a heater. I am Kaelum, the Calamity of the North. I eat things like you."
"Eat me later," she slurred, patting my thigh aggressively. "Right now, you're property of the survival committee."
I raised a hand to crush her skull. It would be easy. Snap her neck, leave her in the snow, and end this confusion.
But as I lifted my hand away from her, the pain in my leg returned. The fire roared back, ten times more painful than before. I gritted my teeth, a hiss escaping my throat.
I needed that cold.
I looked at the human. She was small, weak, and looked like bird.
'Fine,' I thought, lowering my hand. 'I will not kill her. Yet. She is... a portable ice pack.'
I reached down, grabbed her by the back of her flimsy silk dress, and hoisted her into the air.
"Hey! Gentle!" she squawked.
I ignored her. I swung her around and threw her over my shoulder like a sack of dead deer meat. Her head bounced against my lower back.
"This is uncomfy!" she complained, her voice muffled by my back muscles. "I requested 5-star accommodation!"
"Silence, meat," I grumbled, starting the trek back to the camp. "Or I drop you."
She instantly went limp, hanging defeatedly over my shoulder. "Fine. But walk smooth. I get car sick."
[Elara's POV]
Being carried like a sack of potatoes wasn't exactly the romantic fantasy I had when I read about "Beastman Romances."
My face was bouncing against his rock-hard glutes. My blood was rushing to my head. But most importantly: I was alive.
The heat radiating off his back was incredible. It was like wearing a heated blanket set to 'High.' My frozen fingers were starting to tingle as circulation returned.
I focused my eyes on the floating blue screen hovering upside down in front of me.
[Survival Check Passed]You have survived the initial hypothermia event.HP: 12 / 100 (Recovering...)
[Achievement Unlocked: The Tick]Description: You clung to a legendary boss and refused to let go. Dignity -100.
[New Main Quest: Into the Tiger's Den]Objective: Survive one night in the White Tiger Clan's territory without being eaten or freezing.Difficulty: SReward: A Warm Blanket (Common Item) + 50 EXP.
"A blanket?" I whispered, outraged. "That's it? I'm hanging off the shoulder of a literal monster, and the system gives me a blanket?"
"Did you speak?" The deep, gravelly voice vibrated through his back and directly into my chest.
"I said your walking is terrible," I lied. "More hips, less bounce."
He swatted my butt. Hard.
"Ouch!"
"Quiet. We are here."
He stopped walking. The wind died down slightly. I lifted my head (with great effort) to look past his massive shoulder.
We weren't in a forest anymore. We were standing at the entrance of a massive canyon. Carved into the black rock were hundreds of caves, glowing with torchlight. Massive white banners with tiger insignias snapped in the wind.
Dozens of beastmen—some human, some hybrid, some fully tiger—stopped what they were doing.
They stared at their terrified Chief. Then they stared at the small, pale human girl dangling off his butt like a keychain.
A massive warrior with a scar across his eye stepped forward, sniffing the air.
"Chieftain!" he barked. "You... brought dinner?"
Kaelum shifted his shoulder, adjusting my weight. "No," he said, his voice echoing off the canyon walls.
"This is not food."
He patted my leg possessively.
"This is my personal pet. Anyone who touches it dies."