Chapter 119: Not That Kind Of Meat
More wolves were filling the area again, arranging themselves in loose clusters.
The females gathered in one place, a lot of them darting strange looks at Tera, including the rest of the elderly wolves that were equal parts shocked and irritated to find a shiftless female in their midst.
The cubs were scattered amongst the various groups, and they were the most curious ones. Tera pulled the furs around her, but the evening chill was already creeping in. Her silk leaf clothes were designed for a warmer climate, and it was only now that she was noticing just how cool this area was.
The soggy air of this place wasn’t helping matters.
With how the wolves were huddled together and the strong smell of meat and blood, Tera knew it was dinner time.
Chunks of raw meat finally arrived, torn and bloody, and passed from clawed hand to clawed hand. The wolves shifted and ate in their beast forms, their jaws working through flesh and sinew with wet, tearing sounds that made Tera’s stomach turn.
One cub, no older than three, was gnawing on a strip of meat that was still partially attached to a bone. His face was smeared with blood, and he looked perfectly content.
Tera pressed a hand to her mouth.
Several wolves had plopped their meat directly onto the ground, dirtying it before eating it.
Why were they behaving like this?
Calis walked up to her. "You have not eaten."
Tera looked up at him. "I have not been given anything to eat."
He frowned. "I told them to bring you meat."
Tera looked around, finding the three wolves who had been distributing the meat. They caught Tera’s eyes, flinched, and immediately looked away.
"Well, no one gave me any." Tera sighed, then her eyes landed on the raw meat Calis was holding.
’That is a crime scene! Don’t tell me he’s going to give me that?!’
He did give her that.
Calis followed her gaze, then held it out to her. "Eat."
She shrank back. "OMG! Get that thing away from me."
Calis reared his head back, stunned by Tera’s absolute refusal. "What is that reaction? The meat is fresh!"
"It is RAW."
"Meat is eaten raw."
"What the fuck? No! Urgh! Especially not by me." Tera tightened the fur around her. "I cannot eat raw meat."
"You are saying very strange words. What is fuck?"
Tera jerked, coughing as she had nearly burst into laughter. She slapped her hand over her mouth and weakly looked up at Calis, who was taken aback by the sudden reaction from the female.
Why was she in tears?!
[ꉂꉂ◟(˃᷄ꇴ˂᷅๑)༡]
"N—no—" cough "Nothing."
Tera slapped her cheeks hard, and Calis stiffened. That reaction had also earned a few jumps and shocked stares at Tera.
What sort of idiot hits herself like that?
Tera’s eyes continued to water as her cheeks stung in pain. She hadn’t meant to hit herself that hard.
[This system would die of laughter if it were capable of breathing]
[₍₍⚞(˶>ᗜ<˶)⚟⁾⁾]
"Are you dying?" Calis asked, deeply confused.
Tera cleared her throat again. "I cannot...hmm hmm... If I eat that, I will be sick for days."
Calis looked at the meat, genuinely confused, as if the concept of a creature that couldn’t eat raw flesh was entirely new to him.
"That does not make any sense."
Tera shook her head. "I am shiftless. My body cannot digest uncooked meat properly. I need fire to cook it."
The words landed like a stone dropped into still water.
Every elder wolf within earshot went rigid.
The younger wolves looked confused, glancing between Tera and the elders, clearly not understanding why a single word had just electrified the atmosphere. But the older wolves’ reactions were immediate and visceral.
Several stood up with expressions ranging from alarm to outright horror.
’Holy hell! What did I say that would warrant this reaction?!’
[(⊙_⊙)]
[I do not know]
’The hell you mean by you don’t know?!’
Calis looked very serious all of a sudden. "What do you mean by fire?"
Before Tera could answer, Greymaw was already on his feet, shifting into his human form so fast the transformation blurred.
"FIRE?!" He cast that wrinkled finger at Tera with such vitriol that she felt like he was calling her a witch.
"Alpha!" The old wolf marched towards them. "She wants to bring that dangerous element into the pack!"
Tera stood up. "What?"
Greymaw whirled on her. "You want to summon the burning death? Here? Among our cubs?!"
’Burning death?!’
"Do you remember what fire does, Alpha?!" Greymaw’s voice was shaking. "Do you remember when the great tree was struck by the sky thunder and burned for days?! The heat! The destruction! The beasts that nearly died!"
Calis’ eyes hardened. "I remember."
"Then you know! Fire is death! Fire is the end! This shiftless thing wants to bring death into our home!"
Calis turned to Tera. "Why would you want to bring something so destructive to my pack?"
Tera’s mouth fell open.
’Are they serious right now?’
She looked around the pack.
Were they not familiar with fire?!
The wolves looked angry, but the elders appeared even more sinister, like they had witnessed something terrible and had collectively decided it should never be spoken of again.
’I mean, yes. Fire is dangerous, but I thought fire was not a new concept to these beasts!’
Tera stared in disbelief.
She had assumed fire was a universal staple. The Jackdaw tribe this body had grown up in used fire a lot. The Dow clan, as primitive as they had been, had known how to create fires before she even arrived.
What was their deal?
[This system is sure that the Glimmer Pack has no knowledge of controlled fire]
[Many beast folk knew how to make fires in the past]
[While they weren’t entirely advanced, they weren’t completely primitive either]
[The Collapse had caused many beasts to regress]
[Still, this system is surprised]
[Many wolf packs used to make pack fires for festivities in the past]
This meant the elders knew how to make fires. A quick look at them confirmed her suspicion.
Maybe they had seen the danger it could cause and had decided to label it a taboo.
But still...
Tera raised her hands. "Okay. Everyone, calm down."
"Do NOT tell us to stay calm!" Greymaw snapped.
Tera flinched at his intense ferocity.
’For heaven’s sake!’
"Fire is not just destruction." Tera kept her voice steady despite the rising frustration. "It is one of the most important tools for survival. You can use it to cook food, to stay warm, to—"
"We do not need it!" Greymaw snapped, screeching like a little girl.
[ ಠ ͜ʖ ಠ ]
[This one has such impressive vocal range!]
’I sure fucking hope I am not dealing with a Kiri 2.0!’
"YOU don’t need it." Tera japed a finger in the old one’s face, causing him to jerk back.
Tera was almost reminded of the spat she had with a former landlady, and they had spent hours arguing into the night like spoilt little children who did not have anything better to do.
This old crone better not summon that energy out of her.
She would make sure he got no wink of sleep!