Inside the cave there was a pile of straw covered with some animal skins and small flowers.
[Acquired: Cave house! Will protect you from rain, hail, snow, wind and lightning! It also keeps you cool during hot weather but will freeze you during the cold weathers so prepare in advance.
Current season: Middle Season. The weather is changing between the warm season and the cold season please start preparing for the cold season.
PS: In the modern world, this is the equivalent of Autumn.] The screen glowed above the straw mass.
Crypt watched Bloom as she kept staring at the bed on the floor. He didn't know why she was staring at it, maybe she didn't like it.
"You don't like it? We can change it." He said to her, while slightly pulling at her arm.
She blinked before opening her mouth to answer him when Crypt felt a male's presence near the entrance. This is now a claimed territory, why would another male approach?
"Someone's here." He hissed at her before slithering to the entrance in his half form.
There, at the entrance, a male with dark hair and grey eyes was waiting.
Azrakai, the last remaining of his tribe, the black tigers, was silently watching the entrance of the cave that was just assigned. He's been alive for nearly a century, and while he's seen multiple pretty females, this one was prettier than the mermaids. She didn't have the same ethereal appearance as the sirens however, which wasn't a problem since the Sirens' beauty was a trap.
And Sirens refuse outsiders as mates, and no other tribe want a Siren mate.
Moreover, this female, with her unique eyes, didn't feel as cruel and selfish as the females he's used to seeing. Although that still needs to ne verified.
Finally he felt the snakeman approach. Just as he blinked his eyes, a snake tail launched at him.
He dodged.
"I am here to talk." He said quickly, his voice deep yet soft.
"Talk about what?" A softer voice came from the cave. Crypt hissed in annoyance as he looked at the tiger in front of him.
Bloom followed him from inside the cave, saying that she wanted to see what was going on and he didn't have the heart to tell her no.
Rhaëlya was looking at the man...male(?) in front of her with wary eyes. He's a bit smaller than Crypt but not by much. Moreover, right now when Crypt attacked him, he reacted pretty calmly.
"Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Azrakai." He said with a hand on his heart and his eyes closed. A sign of respect.
Rhaëlya looked at him with a slightly raised eyebrow. The people here wore primal clothing made from animal hides and skins, only covering their genitals. Even the females walked around without tops on.
She only saw a few with a small hide covering their chest but that seemed to be only because they were pregnant. Probably due to the milk. Thus, him having such manners seemed a bit unusual. But then again, she hasn't interacted much with the locals.
"Mhm. So, what is it that you wanted to talk about, Azrakai?" She asked him while making a sign for Crypt to come to her side and stop staring at the male with such murderous eyes.
Azrakai was a bit disappointed that she didn't introduce herself as well but he was glad that she didn't directly reject him. With her beauty, the fact that she didn't have any males around her besides the snakeman was a wonder and a mystery.
"I have come to court you. I wanted to ask for your permission to do so." He answered, his eyes still closed and his head was now in a slight bow.
She opened the mouth, wanting to refuse but–
'Accept!!' The system yelled at her.
'But I don't want to?' She teased it back.
[Mission: Spread your DNA around the Beastworld in order to bring back the balance of the realms!
Acquire ■■ mates! The gender doesn't matter but they must be strong and have a strong fertility!]
'What kind of joke was this....' Rhaëlya decided to accept it but she wanted to ask for Crypt's opinion first. While they didn't specifically talk about mating, she started to have a guess of what was going on.
"What do you think?" She asked him.
Crypt was surprised. Females asking their mates for their opinions before accepting another mate was extremely rare. So rare that in his nearly two hundred year old life, he's never witnessed it.
"It's up to you. He's pretty strong so he wouldn't be useless either. But on one condition." He stated while still glaring at the tiger.
Azrakai could feel his heart beating so fast in his chest that he could feel his ribs hurting from it. He had made a good choice. He's never seen a female so considerate of her mates.
"What is it?" Rhaëlya asked him, truly curious about the condition he could have.
"I want to be your first mate. I want you to mate with me first." He said, as if what he was asking for was a piece of candy.
"..." Rhaëlya was a bit stunned before busting into laughter. She wasn't a virgin nor was she a prude.
"Sure hahahaha!!!" She continued laughing while Crypt smiled and Azrakai was confused.
They weren't mated yet? Come to think of it, hadn't seen any marks on any of them. Maybe the snake was still in the process of courting her.
'For someone who wanted to refuse a second mate you sure are happy right now...' The embarrassed system said.
Rhaëlya just continued smiling while waving Azrakai off.
Back at the academy, physical relationships were encouraged. For her, it was just a way to unwind and to keep her abilities in check by sleeping with other students. Sometimes, even the council would send in some night workers* for the elite students to get pampered before the exams.
Homophobia was non existent in the Academy as they all had bigger issues at hand. Everytime she remembered that people outside cared about what other people did with their body she was always stunned. Although she was in the "outside" until she finished high school, she has never seen or felt things the same way that "normal" people do.
Then, when she entered the academy, everyone was so focused on surviving that nobody cared about you or who you slept with. Thus, same gender couples formed and became the norm within the academy.
Even the council didn't care. For them, as long as their students succeeded, they didn't care about what they did. The only thing they had warned their students about was pregnancy.
[New quest: Prepare for the cold season! Change the bedding, add blankets and stock on food! Don't forget about wood for fire and a way to block the entrance of your cave!]
'...couldn't you let me finish my thoughts at least?' Rhaëlya said while sighing.
-----------------------------------------------------------
*S◇x workers
Edit: There was a mix up between chapter 8 and 9 so I had to fix it, sorry for the inconvenience!