Chapter 21: Family Matters
Amber wanted to eat them quickly so they wouldn't go bad. Fred was hesitant and asked her, "Are you sure? Are you done eating?" Amber nodded and responded, "I'm sure! I'm full. Don't worry."
Oliver showed Fred how to peel the egg. Fred had only eaten raw eggs and was very impressed with the cooked egg. He liked it a lot and ended up eating 3 before he decided to save some for the other beast men.
Amber laughed at how fast Fred ate the eggs. She asked, "Is this your first time eating eggs?" He replied, "I have never tried them cooked before. They are much better than raw eggs!"
Amber thought about drinking raw eggs and agreed with him. Only bodybuilders in movies drank raw eggs! Gross! She never tried it and didn't want to try it.
Tyler told her, "If you like eggs so much I can gather some for you every day." Amber nodded and told him, "That sounds great! Thank you!"
Fred asked, "What about the nuts and berries? Should I gather more every day as well?" Amber nodded and replied, "They are a great snack, and the nuts will stay good all through the cold season! If you can gather a lot that would be great!"
Fred had a mission to gather as many nuts as he could before the cold season! He would fill an entire room for Amber if she asked him to!
Oliver added, "I can gather as many fruits as you like from the treetops. The only problem is they might go bad quickly."
Amber told him, "That's not a problem. We can dehydrate them like jerky just without the salt. Or I can make jam! It will last a long time as well."
They all looked at her in surprise. How many more life-saving ideas does this female have? They were lucky to be a part of the family.
Nick and Ray returned home and saw a Bear beast man headed toward their room.
Barry saw Nick and nodded. He will not challenge him for the head male position of the family if the female accepts him.
Nick nodded back. He appreciated the courtesy the Bear beast man showed him. He would not interfere with him wooing Amber.
Amber invited Barry inside when she saw him and welcomed Nick and Ray back home. She asked Oliver to share some eggs with them.
Barry looked at the family with longing and wanted to be a part of it. He offered some more honey than yesterday to Amber. He told her, "I found a bigger honeycomb than yesterday and brought it all for you. I hope you will accept me into your family."
Amber accepted the gift. Ray had to help her because it was in a heavy stone jar. Amber was a pregnant female and should not lift heavy objects.
She smiled at Ray to thank him. He was stunned by her smile for a second and then went back to eating.
She asked Barry, "I like honey very much, but would you be willing to be a beast guardian? I'm not ready to accept more mates right now."
Barry thought about it and nodded. She was willing to accept him into the family. He would rather be her mate, but he could wait until she was ready. For now, he will keep her safe and well-fed.
Amber was so happy! She gained a big happy family! She told Barry about the no-fighting rule, and he agreed. He was usually not the one who started the fights anyway. He could take the fights away from his beloved female to keep her happy.
Nick and Ray enjoyed the eggs and offered some to Barry. He tried one and liked it as well. Since Amber was full, she told them, "Go ahead and eat the rest. I'm full and have lots of snacks for later."
The eggs were delicious but were like a snack to the males. They did not need to eat as often as the females. Once a day was fine if they ate a large prey, but they would not waste food.
Food was not easy to find in the beast world. They had to enjoy it when they could. Oliver asked Amber, "What are you going to do with the honey?"
She replied, "There are a lot of good things about honey. It can be used on foods to sweeten them. You can add it to tea. It can also be used in your hair or on your skin!"
Barry had not heard of most of the uses for honey. He usually just ate it by himself or with some meat. He was excited to try more ways to eat honey. No wonder she liked his gift so much!
He planned to bring her all the honey she wanted and hopefully, she would mate with him one day. He wanted to have cubs of his own.
Bears hibernate in the cold season, so he had to enjoy his time with his female now. This also meant that he would not require food during the cold season but would help them stock up. He was happy to help provide for his female.
Amber thought about all the recipes she could make with the ingredients she had. She thought about honey peanut butter! She will have to try it with the nuts Fred brought for her.
She loved apple slices with peanut butter and cinnamon. She wondered if they had cinnamon here. She asked Oliver, "Have you ever seen a tree that smells sweet?"
Oliver thought about it and pulled out a cinnamon stick and handed it to Amber. He asked, "Like this?" Amber smelled it and got excited! She exclaimed excitedly, "Yes! This is exactly what I want! Thank you!"
He blushed at her exaggerated praise. He replied, "It's no problem, sometimes we grind the bark into a paste and use it to make bruises heal faster."
Amber explained, "It's also good in small amounts on fruits or in tea." She would also add cinnamon to baked goods. She was happy to find new ingredients.
She didn't know how to make baking soda, but she could experiment and maybe make cookies or a pie! Then she thought about flour and asked, "Have you found any wheat or rice?"
Nick remembered all the green gems he had. He showed them to Amber and told her, "I can buy as much as is available with these gems." Amber thought about it and remembered he got those gems by killing dinosaurs.
She told him, "Those are the gems that you earned. I don't want to waste them." Nick hugged her and replied, "I earned these gems for you. You can use them as you wish. I can always get more later."
She remembered Nick told her that the gems could heal beast men and extend their lives by 10 years. She asked him, "Could I give one of the gems to each of the family members? I already ate one and I want to make sure my family lives as long as I do."
The males were surprised to hear her concern for them. Most females would simply replace a male when he died. They thought of males as expendable as necessary pieces of the family.
Nick replied, "I already ate one when I was hunting the behemoths. The rest are yours to do as you please." She nodded and he handed out one green gem to each of the family members.
The beast guardians were surprised to be included in the distribution. They hesitated at first, but Amber nodded in encouragement to them. They each ate their green gem.
They all noticed an increase in their strength. It increased their marks by half a level. Fred leveled up from a one-striped beast man to a two-striped beast man! He was so excited!
Barry leveled up from a two-striped beast man to a three-striped beast man! He was thrilled to level up before the cold season. It would help him catch better prey. He could also protect Amber better now.
Oliver leveled up to a three-striped beast man! He was also happy about the level-up. The higher levels required more experience to level up, but the three-striped beast men were closer to four stripes now.
Nick was surprised to see the level-ups from the lower-level beast men. He was happy that Amber had stronger beast men to protect her. He agreed with her idea to give them green gems more now. His mate was very wise!
The more high-level beast guardians she had, the better her chances of survival in the beast world. He wanted to make sure his mate lived a long and happy life.
They all congratulated the two beast men who leveled up. Oliver hugged Amber and kissed her lips. He was so happy. He remembered how his parents died from the Behemoth beast tide and felt it was justice to be able to level up from a gem.
His eyes sparkled as he told her, "Thank you so much for thinking about us! I will cherish you for the rest of my life!" Amber was blushing from his kiss in front of the others. The rest of the beast men were jealous but said nothing.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone