Zale glanced at Sane's expression, which alternated between green and pale, and a profound sense of sympathy swelled in his heart.
Setting aside whether Sane dared to open his heart and accept Kaelen or not, his beast form was already blacklisted by Kaelen. It seemed these two were destined to never be together in this lifetime.
Hayman, however, didn't consider it a big issue:
"So what? Just don't transform into a beast in front of him. When it's time to hibernate or shed skin, just find some random place and that's it. Besides, ever since becoming a level 1 warrior beastman, I haven't needed to hibernate anymore."
Sorin rolled his eyes: "Then haven't you considered the time when he gets pregnant and has a child? If he gives birth to a Leopard tribe cub, it's not so bad, but what if he gives birth to a Snake tribe cub? Won't he be scared to death by his own child?"
Hayman scratched his head: "It probably wouldn't be that bad, right? Plus, his fertility mole is so faint it's almost invisible, so it's probably hard for him to have a child. I don't like children either, so aren't we a perfect match?"
Valerius nudged him and curled his lip: "Give it a rest. If Kaelen wants a mate, he should mate with me instead. He seems to like fluffy animals, and my fur just happens to be fluffy. If we are lucky enough to have children later, whether it's a leopard or a bear, it'll be a fluffy cub. Oh my, if we could have a sub-beast, how wonderful that would be; our child would definitely have two small dimples on their cheeks like Kaelen, how adorable."
The atmosphere grew colder and colder, yet the one snake and one bear still mindlessly bickered with each other, arguing over who was more worthy to be Kaelen's mate. Zale put an arm around Cael's shoulders and said:
"It's getting late, I'll take you home." Saying that, he scooped Cael up and used his fastest speed to get away from those two idiots. Survival instinct also urged Sorin, Elian, and Silas to automatically step back and distance themselves from the two of them.
Hayman shivered and turned to ask Valerius: "Why do I suddenly feel so cold? Do you feel it too?"
Valerius rubbed his arms, saying: "I feel cold too. Strange, could winter be coming early this year?"
Right at this moment, Sane's gloomy voice sounded from behind them: "It's not that, I just think you guys are too full and have too much energy, which is why you feel cold. Let's go, I'll help you warm up."
Saying that, not giving the two any time to react, Sane transformed into his beast form, swept them up, and with a *whoosh*, they vanished without a trace. Sorin crossed his arms, propped one hand on his chin in a thoughtful pose, and said:
"Do you guys think Sane likes Kaelen?"
Elian and Silas looked at each other, then looked at Sorin, shaking their heads. Sorin also convinced himself: "It must be me overthinking. That green snake even kicked away sub-beasts; as long as a sub-beast came within three meters of him with the intention of seducing him, he would scold them until they cried."
All three agreed with this thought, then parted ways, each returning to their own home. Silas took Elian home first, and only then changed direction toward his own home. Actually, in his heart, he felt what Sorin said made complete sense; the possessiveness in Sane's eyes was about to overflow, only someone dense wouldn't be able to see it.
As someone who had gone through life and death with Sane many times, a look of worry inevitably flashed in Silas's eyes. Sane's repulsive reaction to sub-beasts was truly severe; just because Rylan accidentally touched his arm once, Sane vomited profusely for an entire day, and then even forced himself to shed his skin early.
Sane being allergic to sub-beasts and Kaelen being afraid of snakes, Silas absolutely dared not believe they could become a couple.
---
When the stars in the sky had hidden behind the clouds, Sane brought a body full of moisture and sneaked into Kaelen's bedroom. Exhausted from the whole day, Kaelen had long fallen asleep. Without knowing for what purpose, Kaelen was lying on the inner half of the bed, leaving the other half empty.
Sane listened to his even breathing, hesitated for a long time, then climbed onto the bed and lay down, gently pulling the small sub-beast into his arms. Kaelen stirred slightly but didn't wake up; he only buried himself and rubbed twice against Sane's chest, found a comfortable position, and let out a soft snore.
The corner of Sane's mouth lifted slightly. He rubbed his chin against the top of Kaelen's head, whispering "sorry." *Sorry for scaring you.*
The next morning, when Kaelen woke up, there was no one beside him, only a slightly wrinkled corner of the animal-skin mattress proving that someone had lain there last night. He rolled his neck, which was a bit stiff from lying in one position for too long, then stretched and stood up.
After finishing his personal hygiene, he didn't eat breakfast but took the design drawings and the non-functioning stone mill to Elian's house. Uncle Cassian was so skillful; perhaps he could find the problem. Upon arriving at Elian's house, Kaelen ran into Theron, who was also there. Theron glanced at Kaelen, gave a nod in greeting, and then returned to his unfinished work.
"Kaelen, is there something you need?"
Kaelen set the items on the table and signaled: [I want to ask you to make a few things, but if you're busy, I can come back later.]
Cassian waved a hand: "I'm not busy, just helping Icarus fix the crutch. You haven't eaten yet, right? Go inside and have breakfast with Elian; I'll call you when I'm done."
Kaelen nodded and walked briskly into the cave. As he passed by Theron, Theron slightly raised his head, glanced at him once, and then looked back down. Theron's nose was very sharp; he smelled a strong beastman scent on Kaelen, however, this matter had nothing to do with him, so he was merely a bit surprised.
The crutch was quickly finished, and Theron also finished the pickaxe meant for digging earth in his hands. Bidding farewell to Cassian, he took both items and left, first bringing the crutch back to his Daddy, and then taking the pickaxe to Rylan's house.
It was known to everyone that Theron was Rylan's most loyal suitor; however, Rylan only treated him like the other suitors, always showing a lukewarm attitude. It was hard to understand what he was being so stubborn for.
"Rylan, I brought the pickaxe for you."
Rylan and his two friends were whispering something in front of his cave. Seeing Theron arrive, all three turned their heads, and Orion secretly hid something behind his back. Rylan smiled, stepped forward to receive the pickaxe, softly thanked him, and then stepped back to stand with his friends, showing absolutely no intention of speaking another sentence to Theron.
Theron was already used to this, so he nodded in greeting and left. A gust of wind blew past, carrying a slightly pungent smell. Theron's nostrils twitched slightly; he felt this smell was quite familiar but couldn't recall what it was.
Back over here, Cassian was examining the drawings and the model Kaelen had brought. He tried taking the stone mill apart and putting it back together, then pulled the wooden crank a few times, and very quickly found the problem.
"You made these two stone surfaces rub against each other too closely, and they are too smooth, so of course it can't grind." Saying that, Cassian took the stone mill apart and used his claws to carve the surface of the stone slab.
Male beastmen were born with astonishing strength.
Under Cassian's hands, the stone debris was easily sliced off like tofu. His wrist flipped nimbly, and after just a moment, countless small grooves appeared on the friction surfaces of both stone slabs, radiating from the center of the mill all the way to the outer edge, crisscrossing each other in a very orderly manner.
Blowing away the stone dust he had just carved, Cassian carefully lifted the upper millstone, fitted it over the wooden peg in the center, then brushed his hands and took a step back:
"Here, now try using it to see if it works."
Elian, standing nearby, hurriedly ran to grab a handful of dried Sima seeds and brought them over. Kaelen took them, dropped them into the hole in the middle of the mill, grabbed the wooden handle, and pushed with force.
The stone mill, which was previously heavy and stuck tight, now rotated much more smoothly thanks to the friction grooves. The "grinding" sound of stone rubbing against stone echoed rhythmically. Kaelen had only turned it a few times when, from the gap between the two stone slabs, finely ground Sima seed powder obediently poured out, fluttering down onto the rim of the mill and then cascading into the wooden tray placed below.
Elian pinched a little with his fingers to check, marveling in astonishment: "Wow, it's really fine, even finer than using a stone mortar to pound it!"
Kaelen's eyes lit up brightly, his white ears immediately flattening against the back of his head, twitching slightly. He happily looked up at Cassian, his eyes curving into half-moons, continuously clapping his hands in praise. Those clear eyes contained unconcealed admiration.
Cassian couldn't resist reaching out to ruffle Kaelen's hair, then turned back to study the stone mill. Kaelen quickly gestured:
[Uncle Cassian, can you make a larger one from this small model, large enough to grind wild seeds the size of a fist?]
Cassian nodded confidently: "Of course I can. Do you need it right away? I'll go find stones to make it for you right now."
Kaelen nodded: [You go find the Tribe Leader and give this drawing to him. Explain the purpose clearly, and the Tribe Leader will send someone with you. Once it's done, leave it right in the center of the tribe. You only need to bring me one that is slightly larger than this.]
Cassian hadn't expected this thing to be related to the Tribe Leader, but after a moment's thought, he understood immediately. It seemed this child wanted to contribute something to the tribe again.