Entering the kitchen and seeing Xavier quietly sit there, chewing on some strip of meat, reignited the memory of me flashing him and flooded me with a wave of fresh embarrassment.
I tried calming my nerves by taking a deep breath, deciding that it was best to act like it never happened. My hunger overpowered the anxiety within me for once. Plus some things were best left forgotten in the past.
Nerves calmed, I stepped into the kitchen, heading for the floor table Xavier was sitting by. It wasn't there yesterday so I could only assume someone put it there. Meat was roasting by the fireplace and filled the air with a fragrant scent.
"You have a great body." Xavier stated nonchalantly as he glanced over at us.
And with those words, all confidence I had built up, hoping we'd all just forget about earlier, was gone. My face turned a fresh shade of red and my brain short-circuited, not sure how to respond to that.
My non responsiveness seemed to only fuel Xavier.
"I've actually seen a lot of female bodies as I've never seen one with so much muscle in it." Xavier added. "I don't mean it in a bad way, muscle is good-"
"Xavier, please… just shut up." My mouth finally remembered to form words. "It's better for everyone if we forget what happened earlier."
"Right… sorry." Xavier cringed, looking slightly embarrassed. Guess he was a loudmouth like me when embarrassed. "Should I leave?"
"I don't mind you being here…" I glanced over at Ahi who was grabbing some food by the dwindling fire. "What about you, Ahi?"
As much as I was embarrassed by the earlier situation, chasing Xavier out into the rain wasn't exactly fair. This place was also technically his we were borrowing.
"I don't mind. He did help make the meat". Ahi said, making his way next to me.
He passed a bowl to me. I took it and we sat across from Xavier. I sat on a cushion this time, but Ahi wrapped the end of his tail around my waist.
"Thanks for the food." I said before looking over at my bowl of food.
The bowl had some strips of meat, the last of my trail mix and some fruit, specifically a mango and red berries. Not sure what the berries were, but they tasted like a blend of gooseberries and raspberries. Picking up a strip of warm meat, I looked over at Ahi.
"Have you eaten?" I asked, noticing he hadn't gotten any food for himself.
"Yes. I ate after I finished hunting the buck." Ahi pointed at the meat by the fire. "Xavier also ate so don't worry too much. The buck is meant to last us for two days in case it rains for long."
"I see…" I murmured, nibbling on the meat.
This was going to be an awkward breakfast. Hopefully, I had some indigestion pills in my first aid kit.
***
Several hours later, Xavier found himself sitting in the main room of the hut in his beast form. Ahi was sitting across the room sewing something while Elisa napped in his coils, saying something about going into a food coma after lunch.
He had mentally panicked at her words until Ahi explained that it just meant she was sleepy after eating a big meal upon noticing Xavier confused. Of course, that made Xavier wonder if Elisa was a bear beastwoman.
She did eat the same foods they did, a mix of plants and meats, and slept too after eating like they did. But her height and appetite said otherwise.
Bear beastwomen ate much more than her 'big meal' and were much taller than Elisa. If she was indeed a bear beastwoman, she must be a sickly one.
Xavier frowned. Why was he even thinking about this? It wasn't like Elisa was his female to worry about. That was the snake's job and as much as he hated to admit it, the feral was doing a decent job.
Why else would his mating mark be by Elisa's heart?
It was hard enough for normal beastmen to have their mating mark close to their chosen female's heart, let alone some feral. They were lucky if their mating mark got anywhere near their mate's calf.
Xavier glanced over at the odd couple. The two looked peaceful and any male joining the family would be a happy one. His stomach churned at the thought.
He didn't like the idea of many males around Elisa, especially with how kind hearted she was. It was bound to attract weak males to her. She was better off with strong males like him.
What was he thinking? There was no way she'd be interested in him. She said so herself and after this morning, there was no way he'd ever get her to like him.
After all, instead of comforting her about this morning's incident, he made it worse and all because he couldn't keep his mouth shut. It would've been better if he stayed quiet.
Xavier shifted into his male form, irritation brewing inside him. "I'm heading out to check if any ferals are lingering around."
Ahi looked up from his work, silently gazing at him for a moment. It was clear they both knew that was a lie. No feral would be around in this weather. But Xavier wasn't willing to say he needed to clear his thoughts.
He didn't need Elisa's mate to know he couldn't stop thinking about her. Especially with how uninterested and how much distance he had been trying to put between them.
"Alright." Ahi finally said, returning to his work. "Just don't be too long. Otherwise Elisa will worry if something happened to you."
"Got it." Xavier muttered, inwardly trying to ignore the warm feeling bursting inside of him.
He headed out into the cold rain, somewhat regretting leaving the warm hut, but he wasn't going to stop now. He shifted back to his beast form and headed straight for the jungle, using his air ability to keep much of the rain off his wings.
As he flew aimlessly, Xavier tried to organize his thoughts, wondering where he had begun to care for the small female.
He'd never been this interested in a female, always laughing at how stupid some males acted around females they liked. Yet, here he was doing the same thing he once scoffed at.
Xavier hated this. Because he knew he was falling deep and there was no stopping once a male was in love with a female. Elisa was becoming his one and only and that scared him.