Chapter 38 - Shut Up, Mate

Chapter 38: 38 - Shut Up, Mate

The eagle Nugget waited, his eyes darting to my worn boots, then to the cloak I stole from him. The blush on his cheeks deepened.

He hesitated before speaking again. "...I have returned to court you properly. I offer you my heart and feathers, to nest by your side and keep you safe. Will you... give me a chance?"

I wanted to gag. Or rather, stick my finger down his throat and dig out his heart. His feathers could be used to wipe my ass. But, as my previous rejection had proven useless, my fists rendered ineffective, a new approach was in order.

I made my stomach growl in hunger and rubbed my belly, signaling that my need for food outweighed any courtship discussions at the moment.

"..." Three pairs of eyes locked on my stomach, as if it were the oracle that had spoken.

Noodle was still covering my mouth, his head bent over my shoulder, "You said you weren’t hungry, mate..."

I made my stomach growl louder, a sound so deep and rumbling it could have woken the dead. All three of them recoiled in unison.

Vick, quick to take control, snapped his fingers at Nugget, "Alright, Moyu, you may court our female, but first, prove your worth. Find us some food."

"Right away." Nugget bowed, then sprang into the air, ready to take off.

"Eagle meat," I thought aloud, my voice muffled by Kurus’s palm, "I want eagle meat. The deer beastman was not enough."

The flying Nugget snapped his neck back and returned to the ground in order to answer me, "You can’t scare me that easily. If eagle meat is what you wish for, I will provide it."

I cursed internally.

Dickhead stopped him, "That won’t be necessary. Her jokes are... a form of bonding."

"Bonding my─" Noodle pressed his palm harder against my mouth. I licked it with my tongue, tickling him, which earned me a hiss in return.

"Listen, Moyu," Dickhead stepped in, "If you insist on courting our female, you’ll have to prove yourself, but not by following her every whim. Give her a chance to loathe you, and you can forget about this whole courtship. Understand?"

Nugget nodded solemnly, "I’m willing to accept any challenge to win her favor."

"Accept my─" Just as I opened my mouth to tell them all exactly where they could shove their courtship bullcrap, Noodle turned my head around, lips crashed against mine.

The tongue shoved inside, silencing me with a wet force. The bastard who’d preached about one-mate fidelity was now making out with me right in front of the bird-brain he’d tried to recruit.

Who taught him to silence someone with a kiss? Noodle was picking up some seriously bad quirks.

Allow them to stay in your company for too long, and their bad habits will rub off on you. The silly noodle and his simple solution to my mouthy attitude. A silent ’Shut up, mate’ that came with a side of saliva.

He should do this more often, considering his tongue was talented in putting me in my place, and by ’talented,’ I meant it shut me up. For now.

As the kiss deepened, a sharp pain pricked my tongue, and I pulled back. He bit me. Not just a nibble, a full-on chomp, his fangs leaving a mark that throbbed in protest.

"That hurt." I clapped my hand over my mouth.

"As it should." Satisfied with himself, Kurus waved at the two gawkers, who had been watching our little exchange, "Mate is quiet. You can talk."

They blinked, then returned to their conversation, not hiding the thoughts that went through their heads, ’I’m ready for this? Ready to see her go down on someone else?’.

One was a warmblooded among coldblooded, the other a Dickhead, who could have his own harem but chose to follow his crazy ex...as if her worthiness made up for all the humiliation he faced, as if he didn’t deserve any better than her.

"Secure a place for the night, and food for our female," Vick instructed, "I will handle the rest."

Nugget followed his words, but something in the way he listened to the two cold-blooded’s orders, like an obedient soldier, raised some red flags. It made me think that he was planning another assassination attempt under the guise of peace and his desire to court me.

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The night fell, and Nugget managed to find a cave that served as our shelter, even though he had to clear out the former occupants, which now became our dinner.

We sat around the campfire, observing the eagle’s attempt at cooking.

The creatures looked like a cross between a squirrel and a hedgehog, but the size of a bear. The natives called them spikehogs, and their spikes could be made into strong weapons, or so Nugget claimed.

"It’s not poisonous," Nugget explained, slicing a piece of roast meat for himself with his bone knife, and eating it with no sign of discomfort. "I always hunt for these when I travel in this area."

He handed a chunk to Dickhead and Noodle, who rejected the offer.

"We had our fill earlier," said Dickhead.

The spikehog’s core was a pale yellow, and it sat on a rock next to the fire, pulsating faintly.

Noticing my gaze, Nugget picked up the core. "It can be used to hold its body parts," he collected the sharp spikes from the ground and pressed them against the core. They sank in, as if the core was a living sponge.

To release them, he had to squeeze the core, making the spikes pop out for him to pluck them out one by one.

Noodle immediately took one of the spikes. He had been looking for a good needle to start a new project. He had been collecting skins of his kills, now he just needed a thread.

As resourceful as he was, Noodle ordered Nugget to get some, "Thin and strong, warmblood. Bring back as much as you can."

Nugget, standing over the meat roasting on the fire, glanced at Noodle for clarification, "I would appreciate it if you used my name, surely you remember it?"

"No." Noodle replied, and clarified himself as well, "No. I don’t remember."