Chapter 52: Return to Beast City
Tyler carried Amber back to the Beast City. Tom offered to carry Nick, but he declined because Amber could just summon him to her when she got there. He didn't want to ride on another beast man unless he had to.
The rest of the group set off on foot. Blue Tang left the mermen again after talking to the second in command. They were less worried now that their queen had returned.
It took two days to reach the Beast City, but Amber called Nick and Blue Tang as soon as she landed. Blue Tang was surprised by the Cheetah castle. He had never been this far inland before.
He knew some beast men from the annual salt trades, but they usually came to the sea. His skin was starting to dry out.
Amber showed him the river that ran behind the castle. He quickly jumped into the water and found a deeper area to stay.
Amber was excited to see Eli and the others when she got back. It had only been a day for her, but it had been months for the rest.
Eli was eating a banana when he heard his mother call him from outside the castle. At first, he thought it was his imagination.
He had dreamed of hearing her voice since she left. He missed his mother every day. Now she was calling him and he couldn't believe it.
When he saw his father and Uncle run towards the entrance of the castle he quickly finished his banana and headed outside as well. He blinked a few times to make sure he wasn't imagining things.
His mother had returned! She was flying on his Uncle Tyler and she called his Uncle Nick and the new Uncle Blue Tang. He also saw Uncle Tom.
Eli had grown into adolescence while his mother was gone. She almost didn't recognize him. "Eli, is that my little man?"
Eli jumped up and down happily and let out happy oohs and ahhs to let his mother know it was him. He ran up to Amber and jumped into her arms.
Oliver caught him and hugged Amber instead. It turned into a gentle family hug instead of an attack hug.
Oliver spoke to Eli in his monkey language, "Don't jump on your mother. She may be pregnant. You don't want to hurt her. Be gentle."
Eli reluctantly agreed with his father's warning. He was content with just hugging his mother and feeling her warmth.
Amber was amazed at how much Eli had grown and asked Oliver, "He got so big, is that normal? How fast do monkey beast men grow?"
Oliver smiled at Amber and replied, "He has been training with me and Barry. We taught him survival skills so he could survive on his own. He has already earned his first stripe. The more experience he gains, the faster he will grow. Soon he will be able to transform into his human form."
Amber was surprised. Eli was more motivated to level up faster so he could communicate with his mother better.
Amber let go of Eli and Oliver carried her into the castle. She looked around and noticed the differences. The guys made more stone furniture and decorated it with fur rugs and blankets.
She liked the changes. Amber remembered her backpack and asked Nick, "Did you bring my backpack?" He picked it up and showed it to her.
"It's right here. Do you need it?" Amber reached out her arms and Nick brought it to her. She took out the things and placed them on the stone table.
The other beast men had never seen anything like that and looked at it like it was a portal to a new dimension. Amber pulled out a stuffed teddy bear that she brought for Eli and handed it to him.
It was her favorite teddy bear when she was little. She explained, "This is from my home world. It was my favorite little sleeping buddy when I was a little girl. I want to give it to you so you can hug it when I am not around and think of me. I hope it helps you to sleep at night."
Eli picked up the soft toy and hugged it to his chest. He nudged his face on the teddy bear and inhaled its scent. It smelled like his mother. He would cherish this toy for the rest of his life.
The rest of the beast men were jealous when they saw Amber give Eli a toy from her childhood. They knew she loved her child, but what about them?
Amber saw them getting jealous and pulled out the deck of playing cards. "Don't worry, I didn't forget about the rest of you. I brought some things to help us have fun in the cold season. These are called playing cards. I am going to teach you all how to use them and some fun games."
The guys all lit up in excitement! They only played simple survival games. They had never seen something like these playing cards. Amber secretly hoped the playing cards would help to teach them to read and write.
"I am also going to teach you how to read and write, and art. We will have lots of fun activities during the cold season." They all cheered. Amber had to cover her ears due to their excited cheers.
She put the rest of the things away for now and placed them in her bedroom. The soap and other daily necessities went into the bathroom.
She also brought some spices and things to cook with. She placed them in the kitchen. She had looked up how to make bread when she was in the modern world and made a starter dough.
This would let her make bread all year round if they had enough wheat. Oliver noticed the jar of strange goo and asked, "What is that? It smells different."
Amber explained, "This is called a starter dough. I can use it to make bread if we have enough wheat." Barry was excited and announced, "We planted more wheat seeds when we returned to the Beast City. It should be ready to harvest soon."
Amber smiled at him. She was so grateful to have these beast men take care of her and her son. "That will be perfect, this starter dough will take a few days to be ready and it will keep for a long time."
They were all happy that Amber was happy. Blue Tang and Nick had already tried bread in the modern world. They were happy that Amber was able to bring things to this world to make her happy.
They talked and told stories about what happened while Amber was away. A Cheetah beast man tried to take over the castle while Nick and Amber were away.
He told them that he was the strongest Cheetah beast man and would fight to take over. He argued that a monkey should not be the Cheetah Prince.
Barry was able to fight him off, and he left reluctantly but promised to return when he leveled up. Barry was a 3 striped beast man and the Cheetah was only a 2 striped beast man.
Barry was not worried. Especially since Nick was back and had passed the fifth level. Nick announced, "I will go to the Cheetah Village tomorrow and declare that I have returned. I will bring Dr. Tony to check on Amber."
As long as he was around, no one was going to steal their castle. The castle had only meant to be temporarily vacated while they went on a trip to the sea. It just happened to take longer than expected.
Now that he returned, he would declare his dominance and see if there were any challengers for the Cheetah castle. He knew he was the undisputed ruler since the other Cheetah beast men were all lower than him.
He was ready for a fight. If they wanted to die, he would grant their wish. If they submitted peacefully he would allow them to move to the Beast City as guards.
They made a big feast at night to celebrate Amber's return. Fred and Ray were not back yet but should return the next day. It was faster to fly, and teleportation was the fastest way to travel.
Amber used some of the spices she brought from her home world and made a delicious dessert. She had Tyler slice some fruits and added some cinnamon and honey. It was a simple desert, but they had never tasted anything like it before.
Barry was happy that he had collected more honey for Amber. It stored well for a long time, so whenever he found a new honeycomb he would break off half of it and bring it back to the castle.
He stored it in stone bowls with waterproof skins. As long as it was airtight the honey would stay good for a year.
Eli especially loved this new dessert! He loved fruits and honey and when his mother combined them with this new seasoning it was heavenly.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
stone