Ari (Child of the Beastman Goddess)

A few days after Gurion was found in the forest, an unexpected guest arrived along with shocking news from the lion tribe.

According to what I’ve heard of the report given to Lowell from his confidante, my father suddenly vanished into thin air after his body emitted a blinding bright light. Everyone on the lion tribe was mourning.

Acwulf didn’t let the report finish as he already understood whom the report was from.

Lowell and Acwulf were in panic. They didn’t explain to me what was going on, but they asked me to hide from the visitor who delivered the report to the tribe.

I snuck out of the room to see the cause of commotion while hiding in a distance. Unfortunately, the said guest identified my location instantly.

“I know you’re behind the tree Ari.” He said while laughing.

“Brother Orson, why are you here?” I asked as I revealed myself.

“I’m here to look for you and to report the incident to the forest wolf tribe since Acwulf is one of father Lev’s friends… I knew Father Lev will trust you with him… Askook and I were too worried for you since the day of the duel so we tried to look for you all over the place, but you already fled from the tribe… After you left, your father’s body suddenly vanished and everyone was so terrified… Especially Lindie… Mother’s madness also worsened upon learning of father Lev’s sudden disappearance as if she was haunted by a terrible nightmare.” He explained as he approached me with a worried face.

He patted my head and smiled at me.

“Brother…” I mumbled as I suddenly let out a loud cry.

They had refrained from meeting me for a long time, so we had no choice, but to distance ourselves from one another. However, brother Orson was never indifferent to me.

He may have distanced himself just to follow their father’s order, but he always smiles at me or even calls my attention just to say hello.

He was also one of the reasons why our mother couldn’t get out of her treehouse and refrained her from hurting me again. He was secretly protecting me.

I knew it because a few years ago, I passed by our mother’s treehouse just to see her at a distance. I saw brother Orson scolding our mother defending me and saying it was not my fault. He also defended my father’s side when our mother suddenly shifted the blame to father.

He hugged me as I cried while Acwulf and Lowell were panicking.

“Hush… I went here because I was worried for your safety. Even though Dillon and I used to be close when we were young, I still couldn’t trust him with your safety. Askook was also worried. You know it too, right? He asked Chephirah to let me go outside the tribe without telling her that we were looking for you. We also asked permission from Bhari to go here and report the incident regarding your father to Acwulf” Brother Orson explained as he held me in his arms, hugging me tightly.

“Why don’t you head over to Ari’s room first so both of you can talk to each other better while we prepare the lunch for you?” Acwulf suggested.

We agreed, so Lowell accompanied us back to my room where we found Dillon and Gurion almost flipping the room just to find me. Lowell then left for some matters right after.

“Mommy! Antu! (Uncle)” Gurion exclaimed as he saw me and brother Orson by the door.

“Orson?!” Dillon mumbled in surprise.

Older brother waved, but got confused.

“Hey Dillon! Is that your cub? How is that possible? Why is he too small?” Orson asked then took Gurion in his arms.

“Antu, pway eed Guyon. (Uncle, play with Gurion)” Gurion said excitedly as he hugged my older brother.

“Guyon..? Wait… Gurion?!” He exclaimed in surprise as he looked at Gurion properly

“Yey!” Gurion screamed as he giggled.

“Why were you here? Did Chephirah or Lindie ask to spy on us?” Dillon asked in suspicion.

My brother laughed at Dillon.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“Is it weird for me to look after my little sister who suddenly disappeared from the tribe?” Brother Orson asked as a response while tapping Dillon’s arm before sitting on the chair.

The elders of the tribe prepared the table and food for all of us as we continued our conversation.

Lowell and Acwulf left the room to give us some privacy as we talked while eating.

“I was just surprised. I thought you favored Lindie over Ari. Even though Ari was a male that’s why you never left Lindie and cared for her all the time since she was the only female among the siblings.” Dillon replied.

“Nonsense! You know how despicable Lindie was, so I had to stay by her side all the time to stop her from hurting Ari especially after the boar incident.” My brother defended himself.

“Yes, it’s true. She was irrational at that time. I almost thought she was crazy while speaking so much nonsense.” Dillon responded in agreement.

“By the way, why did you bring Gurion with you? The elders can take care of him on your behalf, even if you were away.” Brother asked.

We started explaining why Gurion was with us and also informed him that we were about to go north because of the dream I had.

“I think you really should go as soon as possible. I believe it was the beastman goddess who took father Lev away since the tribe was in chaos.” Brother Orson stated.

I was shocked because he was the first one who didn’t react negatively to the idea.

“I will go with you.” He added.

“But what about Chephirah?” Dillon responded.

“Your cousin agreed to free me. We never consummated so we are still allowed to disregard our wedding. It is the hidden rule of the tribe. I only agreed to marry Chephirah because someone was eyeing her and Askook is still young to participate in the courtship ritual. Askook was the one who suggested that I find Ari here in the forest wolf tribe. She’s the youngest among the siblings, so I want to make sure she’s safe no matter where she has to go.” He explained.

“Does Lindie know?” I asked nervously.

They had a good relationship since young because they both grew up together in the nursery.

“Can I talk to you in private? There is something I need to tell you regarding Lindie.” He asked.