A New Life In The Beast World-Chapter 92: Wild Birds

The next day, Theo headed over to Healer Kai’s hut to let Jason know he was only going hunting in the afternoon. The bird beastman was a little confused by the sudden change, but rolled with it.

Once everything was cleared up with Jason, Theo headed to the village entrance to meet up with Kiro and Serena. He found them waiting by the gates, Kiro already shifted into his beast form.

It seemed Serena was right about Kiro wanting to go hunting again. He would’ve taken the young cub out more often seeing how well the cub hunted, but he needed to go deep into the forest and didn’t want the cub getting hurt trying to keep up with him.

They could probably go hunting more in the rainy and hot season when it wasn’t necessary for them to stockpile a lot of food so quickly.

When Theo got to them, he shifted into his beast form, crouching down in front of Serena so she could get on his back. Kiro would walk next to him. Once they got close to the birds he spotted the other day, Theo would set Serena down.

It was a bit risky bringing both with him, but he doubted Serena was going to let this go easily. She had a strange determination to go with him and he knew she wasn’t going to back down.

He’d just have to be extra careful today.

At least they weren’t hunting anything big and just catching a few wild birds so they could stick closer to the village. He would’ve never agreed to his, no matter how much Serena pushed, if they had to go deep into the forest.

They travelled quietly through the forest for a few minutes, Theo listening for bird calls. He heard a few a bit to the south and headed closer, stopping a few meters later when he spotted bird prints in the dirt.

"Stay close and hidden." Theo murmured softly in beast tongue as he crouched down.

Serena nodded her head silently and Theo continued on ahead. Kiro followed close to him while Serena followed behind him, having him turn his head a few times to check that she was following him.

The snow leopard beastwoman was barely making any noise as she walked, keeping her presence hidden. It made him almost feel like he was being the one hunted down.

Theo shook his head at the stupid thought, trying to focus back on the task at hand. He couldn’t get distracted now because while they were close to the village, it was still quite dangerous out here.

Eventually, they came to a stop in front of a tiny water hole that had a few wild birds wandering around and pecking at the ground. Theo slowed his breathing as he took in the sight, deciding which ones to catch.

They planned to start with three birds and if it worked out perhaps expand the coop a bit more. After all, it would be convenient to have food nearby whenever they needed it.

It could supplement whenever they weren’t able to get enough food for the day or when they were dealing with heavy rain. Because it was never great to hunt during that time.

You could easily lose your way in the forest, lose tracking, your vision would get impaired leading to dangerous situations. And when the rainy season came, there would be a time when they’d need to stay indoors for a few days at a time.

Having eggs and wild birds would definitely help with that problem. Of course, he’d still prepare extra food for that time as he always did during the harvest season, but it was always nicer to have fresh food.

While Theo was looking for the healthiest wild birds to catch, Serena was on her own mission. She purposely stayed some distance away, one not to get into Theo’s way and two so she could easily slip away.

Like she was doing right now. Neither Kiro nor Theo were aware that she had disappeared and slinked off a few meters away. There in the tree tops was a bird sitting in a nest snoozing.

Serena smiled at the sight, shifting her hands into claws and making her way up the tree. She was careful not to make a sound, stopping every time the wind rustled past her.

Soon she got to the branch where the nest was resting on and gingerly crawled over to it. The bird’s eyes snapped open when she was a few inches from her, wings flapping to look bigger and scare her.

It tried to squawk but in an instant, Serena’s hand was around the bird’s neck, snapping it quickly. She then murmured softly, "Exchange."

"One wild bird has been exchanged." Liz responded, the bird soon disappearing from Serena’s hand. "Mission has been completed. Rewards will be sent to your subspace."

Serena nodded at those words, happy she finally had a way to jot down her notes. Making mental notes about everything was getting a bit much for her. She wasn’t able to organize anything properly.

Especially her water system. She needed to go over the problems one at a time and write the solution. Otherwise, it was going to be a disaster.

Serena soon got down a tree, grabbed some nearby herbs she spotted on her way and headed back to where Kiro and Theo were. She made sure to cover her tracks along the way.

No need for them to know what she was really up to. If they asked where she went, it was just to pick some herbs she found. Simple as that.

When she got to the tiny water hole, she spotted Kiro chasing several birds around carelessly into some nearby bushes. It was then that she realized Theo was lying in wait for them.

The sounds of wild birds squawking and wings flapping filled the air along with lots of feathers. Kiro looked like he was having the time of life chasing those birds and he probably was.

Eventually, Theo appeared by her side in his human form with three squawking birds in his hand. Kiro continued chasing the rest of the birds, trying his hand at catching one for lunch.

"Where did you disappear off to?" Theo asked as Serena silently opened her basket.

She pulled up some vines to tie the birds up before placing them into her basket. As she did this, she answered, "Spotted some herbs and went to get them. Don’t worry I didn’t go too far."

"You should’ve been more careful." Theo sighed. "This area isn’t the same as the foraging area. Who knows what would’ve happened if some..."

Serena let him have a go at her neglecting her own safety, knowing it was better than him knowing what she was really up to. She bet he’d lose his mind if he ever found out she’d been hunting on the sly.

No beastman in his right mind would let a beastwoman go hunting by herself. Or hunting at all. It was considered way too dangerous for them to be doing. They could help, but some things like hunting were off limits.

Which Serena did kind of understand even if she didn’t really agree with it.

Hunting was dangerous. One wrong move could get you killed and even if you did survive, some injuries could have you disabled for life.

And there were many clans who saw those disabled as burdens to their clans, especially in predator type clans. Hunting was how they got food and if you couldn’t do that, you were useless in everyone’s eyes.

Some disabled beastmen would get help if they were maimed helping their village or tribe during a raid or something. But if you were injured badly during a simple hunting trip, then you were on your own.

Which was why some beastmen choose to die from their injuries instead of getting any help. They thought they could keep their dignity that way and would be less of a burden to their families.

It was quite scary when Serena thought about it and she didn’t want that kind of thing happening in the city they were building. Perhaps it was because she’d seen many of her comrades die or get life changing injuries in battle.

Life would a hundred percent change, maybe not all for good, but it wasn’t something that made you a burden. There were other ways one could make their livelihoods while getting around their physical disabilities.

The problem was there were little to no tools to show anyone that.

Kiro soon came over to Theo and Serena, ending Theo’s little lecture about the dangers of the forest, with a bird in his mouth. Serena tried to ignore the blood staining his mouth and face as he shifted.

"Sister!" Kiro exclaimed, giving her the bird. "I found a few nests by those bushes. Can we take the eggs?"

"Just three eggs okay. We gotta leave some, so there are future birds." Serena replied, wondering what she was going to do with the bird.

She couldn’t exactly put it in the basket with the other birds, which had finally quietened down, realizing that squawking wasn’t going to get them anyway. Seemed she was just stuck carrying it.

Kiro nodded his head, running off and soon coming back with a nest of three eggs. Once he was back, Theo shifted into his beast form and Serena got on, the trio soon heading back to the village.