Chapter 2: System 316
BEEP!
[Host confirmed: Iris Hart]
[Information confirmation begins]
Iris is startled by the sound of a female-sounding AI voice and nearly falls out of Caspian's arms!
"Little female, are you okay?"
Iris takes a few deep breaths as she calms down. Maybe she is imagining things? Looking around, there is no one here and Caspian doesn't seem to have noticed anything.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just started to doze off and was startled awake just now. You can call me Iris, since we exchanged names it's only polite that we use each other's names."
Iris gave Caspian a timid smile and he couldn't help but give her a big smile back as he gently stroked her cheek.
"Okay, Iris. I'm going to keep going now. We should be able to reach my tribe by sunrise but it'll still take a little while longer."
[Information confirmed, system is now active.]
[Host welcome, this is system 316!]
This time, while Iris is surprised, she can more calmly approach the situation. She tries talking to the voice she perceives as her imagination in her head and asks
'System?'
However, she is met with no response. Soon Caspian comes to a stop in front of a tree. He bends down and sets Iris down to rest against the tree.
"Wait here, I'll be back soon. I'll be back after I greet the tribe leader and witch doctor."
Looking around, Iris sees that ahead is a large clearing and a small mountain range. The mountain appears to have a large cave opening towards its center with rough steps carved out of the side of the mountain leading down to the ground.
From where Iris is sitting she can just barely make out two figures walking down the steps towards Caspian. When they meet they quickly begin an animated conversation.
Quickly growing bored of watching them from so far away, Iris looks around some more. Looking at the trees around her, Iris notices a bunch of wild onion grass sticking up in tufts beside her. Feeling bored she pulls up a few pieces and sticks the ends in her mouth, enjoying the slight bite they have to them.
Much like green onions or garlic, the wild onion isn't spicy but has a lovely kick to it. As it was an herb commonly found even in backyards where Iris grew up, it was one of the easiest to remember. Iris quickly dug up the rest of the bunch of wild onions when she heard the system's voice again.
[One bunch of herbs acquired. A newbie quest has been triggered.]
[The host needs to collect five different herbs. Upon quest completion, a reward will be issued.]
[Current quest progress: 1/5 herbs collected.]
Upon being issued a quest, Iris couldn't help but feel curious. What if system 316 was real and not her going crazy? Soon Iris is startled from her thoughts by Caspian.
"What's wrong?"
Iris shakes her head as she stands up.
"Nothing in particular. I just found some wild onion grass and was wondering what other edible herbs might grow around here."
Caspian gave a perplexed look as he looked down at Iris. Upon seeing some grass in her hand he grabbed some from her and stuck it in his mouth.
"Wha- hey! Don't eat all my wild onions!"
Caspian shook his head and petted Iris on the head as he chewed the grass slowly and then swallowed it.
"You can't just eat anything. Females like you get sick easily and it's up to their mates to protect them. I had to ensure it wasn't poisonous. As for these other herbs you want, we could ask the witch doctor or go to the nearby beast city tomorrow. They hold weekly markets where they sell many goods."
Iris couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of Caspian's statement.
"I know how to identify herbs, I'm not going to poison myself. While I'd love to go to this market, I'm afraid I don't have anything to trade for herbs. It would only be a waste of a trip. It'd be better if I just looked around the forest and put the effort in myself."
Caspian snorted as he picked the female back up into his arms.
"You don't have to worry about that. You're a female, it's only right that your mates provide for you. While you only have me, I am a three-star celestial beast. I am more than capable of providing for my female."
As Iris was used to the modern world where everyone earns their keep, the way this beast world works was quite different. While she wanted to argue that she hadn't agreed to be mates with Caspian, she felt the matter should be discussed after she found shelter for the night.
Caspian carried Iris up the mountain and to the mouth of the cave where the witch doctor and tribe leader greeted her. The tribe leader was a somewhat older beast with a few battle scars and wrinkles but who looked strong all the same. Much like Caspian, he only wore a beast hide skirt around his waist.
Meanwhile, the tribe witch doctor was even older with a head of gray hair and many wrinkles. He wore a robe made of beast hide, a necklace made of blue crystals, and a beast hide skirt.
Iris was intrigued by the crystals the witch doctor wore and couldn't help but stare in his direction. The old witch doctor smiled at Iris and introduced himself.
"Hello, little female. I am the Arctic Wolf Tribe's witch doctor, Oliver. Is something the matter?"
Iris looked down and blushed, clearly caught staring.
"I'm Iris Hart. Sorry, I was just admiring your necklace. I've never seen such crystals before."
Oliver gave her a pitying look as Caspian explained.
"These blue crystals are ice elemental crystals. While rarer than uncolored crystals, which are commonly used as currency, our tribe has a few. They're also used to enhance one's power depending on one's celestial beast element."
Oliver followed up and told her
"Don't feel too bad, little female. Blue crystals are one of the more valuable crystals with only black and gold crystals being more valuable. Most tribes aren't rich enough for colored crystals to be commonplace. Even here, we don't have many."
Iris heaved a sigh of relief in her heart. She felt grateful that she didn't appear suspicious for not knowing what seemed like common sense in this world.
The tribe leader, now having the chance to speak, stepped forward.
"Hello, Iris. I am James, the tribe leader here. I hear you lost your home and require a place to stay. Caspian seems quite taken with you, are you interested in becoming mates with him? If not, I can introduce you to several other eligible male beasts in our tribe. As a female, you need protection so finding you a mate as soon as possible is necessary."
Iris nervously swallowed. It seems there would be very little time for her to adjust to the way this world works before she'd be forced to pick a mate.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
AutumnPlunkett
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