Taming the Beast World with a Frying Pan

Ren was genuinely taken aback by the shock on Vex’s face.

She blinked, staring at the usually smug trickster who currently looked as though he had been struck by lightning. ’Is Selestia a ghost or something? Well, Syris could see her,’ Ren thought to herself. She hadn’t expected Vex to react like this at all.

Her mind immediately started spinning theories. ’Maybe they were childhood friends who had a tragic falling out? Or even... lovers?!’

"Yeah, I saw her," Ren confirmed, her voice cautious. She leaned forward, studying his stunned expression in the dim moonlight. "She’s a pink fox. Very pretty, very arrogant. She was hanging around this handsome fish beastman named Uriel, and let me tell you, she was being really touchy-feely with him."

While Ren continued to babble on, Vex wasn’t really listening. His mind was reeling, plunged deep into a past he thought he had left behind forever.

He never thought he would hear those two names ever again.

It had been a very long time since Vex had left the temple of the moon goddess. If Nirvana truly existed down there beneath the swamp, Selene must have built it in the time since he left. But how could a secret of that magnitude escape his notice? He made it his personal business to know everything.

More baffling than the existence of Nirvana was the strange pairing Ren had just described.

He understood Uriel being there. The fish beastman was obsessed with Selene. Uriel following the moon goddess into an isolated underground paradise made perfect sense. But why was Selestia there too?

Selene and Selestia hated each other with a burning passion. They were practically sworn enemies. Why in the world were they cohabitating in a hidden cavern? And why were Selestia and Uriel acting like mates now? Vex remembered clearly how much Uriel despised anyone who wasn’t Selene. None of the pieces fit together.

"Hello? Earth to Vex?"

Ren’s voice snapped him out of his spiraling thoughts. She was waving a hand in front of his face, her green eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Are you okay?" Ren asked, tilting her head. She couldn’t contain her burning curiosity any longer. "Were you and Selestia friends? Or... were you guys more than friends?"

Vex blinked, the shock quickly fading as his smirk slid back into place. He leaned back, resting his arms casually on the wooden sides of the small boat.

"Why do you ask, Little Rose?" Vex purred, his tone teasing and smooth. "Are you jealous?"

Ren let out a loud groan, rolling her eyes. "I am not jealous! I was only curious. You literally reacted like a man who had tragically lost his first love, spent years mourning her, and is just now finding out she is still alive and kicking."

She pointed an accusatory finger at the dark water. "You were so stunned you dropped the paddle! We are stranded in this creepy, monster-infested swamp, and I am doing my best not to freak out right now!"

Vex chuckled.

"Do not worry your pretty little head," Vex soothed, waving a dismissive hand. "I have known Selestia a very long time, but she was not my first love; we didn’t have a relationship. She was a disciple of the moon goddess. And in the end, she betrayed her."

Ren’s brows shot up, "A traitor? What did she do?"

"It is a tale of classic, boring greed," Vex sighed, looking up at the pale moon struggling to peek through the fog. "Selestia was always vain. She coveted the pure, radiant power the moon goddess possessed. During the climax of the Great Lunar Eclipse, Selestia attempted to steal the primordial spark of the goddess’s core."

Ren gasped softly, though she wasn’t sure what he was talking about.

"She wanted to elevate herself to true godhood," Vex continued. "She was banished for her treachery, cast out in disgrace. To hear that she is now lounging in a secret paradise with a fish... it is quite the plot twist."

Vex shifted his gaze back to Ren, his orange eyes gleaming with renewed curiosity. "But tell me, Little Rose. Why do you think they live down there in the cavern?"

Ren pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. "Syris told me," she explained. "He said that Uriel and Selestia live somewhere in the swamp. He just doesn’t know where exactly. He hasn’t been able to track them."

She conveniently left out the part where Uriel had also accused her of trespassing.

Just thinking about the handsome fish beastman sent a strange shiver down her spine. Her mind flashed back to the moment Uriel had washed her in the pond in Syris’ garden. He had touched her...between her thighs.

And he had called her Selene.

Ren felt like she had all the puzzle pieces. Uriel and Selene, Selestia’s betrayal, the old Japanese woman’s prophecy, the hidden Nirvana beneath the swamp... it was all right there. It was just a matter of putting them all together.

"Well," Vex said, breaking her train of thought. He looked over the side of the boat, studying the sluggish movement of the black water. "Since our mode of transportation is currently resting at the bottom of the bog, we are going to rest."

Ren snapped her head up. "Excuse me?"

"The tide," Vex pointed out calmly. "It is moving. Very slowly, mind you, but it is moving. We will simply wait until the slow tide pushes us toward one of those large cypress trees. Once we bump into some solid wood, I can use my claws to carve us a new paddle."

Ren stared at him, her mouth hanging open in outrage.

"Are you insane?" she shrieked, her voice echoing into the misty darkness. "I am not going to sleep in this creepy swamp! We are in a tiny wooden bowl floating on top of monster soup! If I close my eyes, I might wake up in the belly of a giant swamp gator!"

"You will be fine," Vex assured her, sounding completely unbothered by the prospect of impending doom. He stretched his long legs out, crossing his ankles and resting his hands behind his head.

Ren glared daggers at his relaxed form. She looked around. The gurgling water was indeed moving at a snail’s pace. The nearest tree was a dark, twisting silhouette that looked miles away.

There was literally nothing else to do.

With a loud huff that clearly communicated her displeasure, Ren shifted on the hard wooden bench. She wiggled around, trying to find a decent angle, and eventually gave up, laying down a bit in the bottom of the boat with her back resting against the curved wooden bow.

She stared out into the foggy sky, her brow furrowed in deep anxiety. The mist was a thick blanket overhead, making it impossible to see the stars.

With her vision limited, her ears began picking up on everything.

The swamp was alive, and none of it sounded friendly. A wet, slithering noise echoed from a nearby patch of reeds. A hollow splash sounded too close to the boat. Something clicked rapidly in the dark. Ren shivered, pulling her knees tighter to her chest. She was terrified.

Vex shifted on the wooden planks, his orange eyes watching her.

"Little Rose, you are shivering," Vex observed softly. "We should cuddle to keep warm."

Ren stiffened, shooting him a glare through the gloom. "No. You are a pervert. I do not trust you to keep your hands to yourself."

"You wound me," Vex sighed, placing a hand over his heart. "This is purely a matter of survival. I am a fox. My body runs much hotter than yours. I don’t want you to freeze to death in this boat."

"I said no," Ren stubbornly refused.

"Come now," Vex coaxed smoothly, his voice a low, persuasive purr. "Be reasonable. I give you my word as a Shaman. No tricks."

Ren hesitated. She wasn’t really that cold thanks to her dress, but the eerie sounds of the swamp were making her imagination run wild with thoughts of tentacled monsters rising from the deep.

"Fine," Ren finally relented, her voice tight with warning. "But we only lay down beside each other. No grabbing. No weird stuff."

She cautiously moved toward the center of the small boat, laying down on the flat wooden boards. Vex smiled, a victorious glint in his eyes, and lay down beside her.

Almost immediately, his arms snaked out. Vex pulled her backward, wrapping his large frame around her.

"Hey!" Ren gasped, stiffening as her back was pressed flush against his broad chest.

"Hush," Vex murmured, resting his chin near the top of her red hair. "We need to share body heat more closely. It is simple science."

Ren opened her mouth to argue, but the words died on her tongue.

He was really, really warm.

The Fox Shaman radiated heat like a living furnace, chasing away the chill. His three fluffy tails curled around their legs like a thick, luxurious blanket.

Ren lay rigid for a few moments, expecting him to try something annoying. But he just held her securely. She listened to the sound of his calm, rhythmic breathing right next to her ear. She felt the steady thump of his heart beating against her back.

The steady rhythm was surprisingly grounding. It drowned out the terrifying slithers and splashes echoing from the murky water.

Against her own better judgment, Ren found herself calming down. The tension slowly bled out of her shoulders. She relaxed her muscles, settling herself deeper into his warm embrace, and actually found herself getting quite comfortable. The scary swamp faded into the background, replaced by the soothing warmth of the fox.

She let out a soft, contented sigh, her eyelids growing heavy.

Then, she felt something poke at her butt.