Trouble

Jaegin hadn't uttered a word throughout the long trek back to his home.

Being a quiet, reclusive beastmen, he was never inclined towards talking for long periods, especially when alone, and like in this case, when he had a lot to think about.

The creel basket trembled and throbbed behind him in a repeated fashion, as the fishes moved about in a struggle. They weren't much, the most of them escaped after he threw the net back into river carelessly.

It was a mistake he did not intend to wallow on for long, especially when there was a more concerning issue at hand... quite literally.

The human was rigid like a piece of wood in his hands.

When he thought of it, she did bear a deal of resemble to wood---drift wood washed out on the riverbank, stiff, broken and with a sharp object sticking through.

Maybe he'd use her to light a fire afterall. 

'The smell would attract attention.' He smothered the thought before it even settled. 

One thing he disliked was attention, Jaegin didn't appreciate anything that bothered his peace, he was never fond of crowds, towns, cities or even small clans.

Only affiliating with them when necessary.

The reason was because his dealings in the past were mostly with the wrong sort of crowd, now his reputation preceeded him everywhere.

Not that he minded, it brought him quietude.

His home, an average log cabin was nestled far into the heart of the thriving woodland, parts not many neared.

The simpler folks stayed away for several reasons, minding their own business. The rougher ones who did not, usually winded up getting what they asked for.

It was a quaint life, a good one, and burning a human female as firewood would undoubtedly attract too much attention.

Water dripped down his trousers, although his lowers body had already been wet, the large fish basket wouldn't stop seeping water all over him. He disliked it, and disliked the fact that he was used to it even more.

Getting a better vessel for transporting his catch wasn't difficult, but getting the type he preferred required traveling to a town which was leagues off, the trip wasn't worth it so he simply had to make do.

Jaegin glanced down at the bundle in his arms.

The human was thoroughly wrapped in the thick mesh of the dripping net. It swallowed her small figure entirely, leaving only her head loose.

He'd been particularly careful when wrapping it around the knife, and even then she'd groaned in her unconscious state, whimpering pitifully like a small animal.

He all but forced his instincts not to take hold of him, pushing the beastly hunger to the back of his throat. 

The beastman dreaded touching her initially, yes he wished to help, but her scent remained as mouthwatering as before and it viciously tore at his sanity.

It didn't go away no matter how much he tried to rinse off the blood, eventually he settled on wrapping her in the wet net, it wasn't an ideal plan, but it masked her scent to a bearable extent, now she stank more of fish.

'How are you still alive anyways?' 

The question lingered in Jaegins mind.

Humans are weak, their women even more so. They died easily, and sometimes from the most insignificant things.

He knew a human who got killed by a single hit from an ox beastmen, it was pitiful.

Yet somehow this one hadn't died from her many injuries, getting stabbed or the biting cold at the riverbank where he found her.

She was a tough one alright.

'You still smell like trouble.'

He repressed the good thoughts he had of her.

Trouble, humans always bring trouble.

Jaegin hated the very thought of it, and yet didn't... couldn't leave her out to die.

It was a miracle that some wild animal hadn't eaten her before he got there.

Jaegins dark brown eyes studied her face.

Blood and dirt. 

She'd been out in the open for half a day at least.

'Why didn't something pick you off before I arrived.' he grumbled.

His home finally came in sight, the cabin was a simple one. He'd built it stone by stone and log by log almost ten years ago, since then it'd housed and protected him from the relentless forces of nature.

A simple, peaceful home.

Now he could only hope the presence of the human wouldn't stir up too much problems.

***

DAY 1

The clothes she wore were strange, odd.

'Foreigners.' He scowled at the thought.

Utterly confused on how to strip her of them, he laid her on a cleared table and simply ripped them apart, then began treatment.

A thin female, with pale skin and a wound riddled body. A wound on her head, dislocated wrist, long slash on the other hand, twisted ankle, knife wound and other injuries.

'How do I start?'

The scent of her blood returned in it's full extent when he peeled the clothes from her body, reopening some of the injuries.

He inhaled allowing the scent to wrap around him, and then exhaled, gaining complete control of himself.

Jaegin had every intention to help her, he'd made up his mind from the moment he took her from the bank.

Although, an actual healer would do a far better job.

But he couldn't guarantee their self control, only his own. Besides the nearest healer was a snake beastman in Thornslee, half a days walk south.

Involving someone like that was begging for trouble.

Clean water, clean cloths, bandages, candles, needle and thread, dagger, vinta, and a hearthstone.

'That should be enough...right.'

First was the knife wound.

The blade wasn't too big and had not been firmly lodged in her chest either.

Whoever attacked her had little experience, there was clearly a struggle and she must have fought for some time.

Her body tensed, she groaned as he grabbed the handle of the blade.

"This would have been more painful if you were awake, so being half dead isn't that bad afterall."

Jaegin muttered. It was a bad joke, plus she couldn't respond.

"Don't die now"

He pulled out the blade and another wave of her blood's scent filled the room.

The wound on her chest was as threatening as he imagined, and the bleeding didn't stop easily.

By some miracle, the knife missed the female's heart, although there was clearly damage to her breathing organs and chest cage.

He wondered how she hadn't died, it was nearly impossible to stay alive under such circumstances, yet she kept breathing... albeit in a relentless struggle.

The only medical treatment Jaegin was accustomed to giving was the needle and thread one.

She needed far more than he had to offer, fortunately he owned a hearthstone.

Like beastmen, humans had the the ability to absorb energy from hearthstones, it was like breathing to them.

He had only a single piece, one that caused a small fortune to attain, he used it on her without second thought.

Tying the small stone firmly to her wrist, he waited and her breath waned...finally it glowed, a soft, warm greenish glow.

This is the only thing that saved her. 

Jaegin tried to stop the bleeding afterwards, he tended the open injury, then disinfected with vinta.

Meanwhile the hearthstone did it's work, healing the damage to her chest and smaller wounds scattered on her body.

With it all of her internal injuries were out of his hands, they would heal soon, he could only hope they'd heal well.

However the piece was too small to do anything besides that, he still needed to cauterize the wound by hand and finally sew her skin back together.

Setting his small dagger to the flames of a large candle, he calmed himself, the effects of her blood was strong, but so was his self control.

The small rounded ears atop the beastman's short brown hair perked up again when a soft sound escaped her, he glanced back, she'd barely moved.

'Why am I going through with this again?'

No answer came in response to his thoughts, it was annoying.

The dagger was ready, the handle generously warmed against his hand.

He approached the female, carefully bringing the red blade to the open injury on her chest.

Would she survive it?

The thought stilled his hand. 

Humans are too weak, her breathing had all but dissapeared, he could only tell she was alive because of his acute senses.

The clean water and cloths already stank of blood.

Cauterization was a necessary step to stop the bleeding and prevent any further risk of infection. Jaegin didn't know of another effective, less painful method.

To the dying female, this was all he could offer.

'If you die now I'll be dissapointed.'

The red hot dagger hissed as it pressed against her skin.

***

Day 2

Cauterization helped, the bleeding stopped and Jaegin managed to stitch the wound close.

The beastman wrapped her chest in bandages, he'd taken care of the other injuries, at least in the best way he could.

Overall he'd done a good job.

Her body had been wiped clean of caked mud, filth and blood, he'd also managed to throw the smallest clothes he owned on her.

They were too big, but worked for the time.

The hearthstone steadily continued it's work, healing up the internal wounds Jaegin couldn't fathom what to do with.

 Her breathing and heartbeat became stronger as the stones glow increased.

Now however, a new problem surfaced...two actually.

The first was that he couldn't get her to eat anything in an unconscious state.

The second was her fever that wouldn't go down.

***

Day 3

Trying to feed the female was a hopeless endeavor.

Everything that went into her mouth, came out at the edge of her lips, or she simply choked.

A cold water massage did little to help with the fever.

He burned jesper flowers repeatedly, a healer from the north once told him it had calming effects on humans, plus it helped to mask her scent.

Her body burned with heat, and her face was contorted in a pained grimace.

Jaegin hated it.

He'd done this much, and she'd fought so hard, dying wasn't an option anymore.

It was time to take an even bigger risk.

***

Day 4

Ama owned a small herb-shop in Lowbrook.

The young beastwoman from the deer tribe was a herbalist, and the closest to a healer they had in town.

Jaegin had known her for almost ten years, she was a good woman, he trusted her.

That is the only reason he took her to his home, where she was shocked beyond words to find a dying human.

***

Day 5

Ama spent all day and night nursing the female, the grumpy bear could finally get some sleep.

Unlike Jaegin who was an omnivore, she came from a herbivore tribe, for them the desire to harm or devour humans was all but nonexistent.

Jaegin did well, so well that the human's injuries were healing nicely already.

The hearthstone continued to glow, it's warm greenish light glimmered softly like a heartbeat.

Ama didn't believe it when she saw the stone at first.

They were rare, expensive and precious, so very precious. Yet the brooding Jaegin used it on a stranger, she knew he had a heart beneath all that hardened exterior.

He did well, it was beyond kind.

Although cauterizing the main wound was never necessary as herbs could've done a similar job, but she didn't want to make him feel bad about it.

The female's fever finally subsided at nighttime, after the beastwoman got her to drink several medicinal mixtures and a warm bowl of soup.

Aima remained a skilled herbalist, so doing that much, especially with a human didn't pose any difficulty at all.

She would wake soon.

AUTHORS NOTE

Hello dear Readers,

Your author here. I'm going to drop some basic information to help clear the air.

The female protagonist isn't on earth anymore as you might have noticed, she is in a world of beastmen.

The events that led to this will be revealed as the story progresses.

Beastmen come in different species of animals. In their natural form they possess distinguishing features such as tails, ears, tusks, teeth, gills, wings and more, paired with a complete human body. However they also possess the ability to transform into beast forms.

Depending on their species, they can be far bigger than humans or about the same size. However humans are considered inferior to them.

The FL is discovered by Jaegin (Jay-gen), a beastman from the bear clan (specifically a grizzly). And yes, during their first meeting he did want to devour, as in eat her, this is because of the scent of her blood.

The existence of purebred humans, particularly pure females in this world is very rare, they are considered invaluable for multiple reasons, one being the powerful essence they possess.

Human blood has a great influence on beastmen, especially carnivores and omnivores. It triggers their most primitive instincts and sparks desire that is associated with feeding and mating.

Although the feeding part often takes precedence.

Ama (Ah-ma) is a beastwoman from the deer tribe (specifically a mule deer). She is the modern day equivalent of a specialized pharmacist.

Unlike Jaegin who is an omnivore, Ama doesn't feel the allure of human blood, thanks to her herbivorous origins, as such she doesn't pose much of a threat to the female lead.

The beastwoman does have the natural attraction her kind possesses for humans, but to her it is more of a fascination.

Vinta is a common infusion made from herbs, it serves as a disinfectant(primarily an antiseptic of sorts.)

Hearthstone is a type of rock that is used for healing. Hearthstones come in varying shapes and sizes, and can be used to heal all sorts of injuries, mostly internal ones. They are very expensive, due to their rarity and difficulty in obtaining them.

A pebble size can cost a small fortune.

Hearthstones work by emitting a warm, soft glow. In doing so they radiate energy which is then absorbed by the wielder and used to heal. The bigger the stone, the faster the results. A single hearthstone can only be used by one living being, and it's origin is shrouded in the history and legend of this world.

Some humans use hearthstones to obscure their presence, this is it's second primary function.