Beauties and Beasts

Chapter 27: brought to you by Not-Chickens

In which Neara rejects more suitors and discovers her best friend's mate is her worst nightmare. Curtis brings rice, conflict, and an impeccable fashion sense. Will they succeed in making soap? What about making their males get along? Absolutely NO progression of the 'A 'storyline, but romantic fluff is found in abundance and, baby, this is what you came for.

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Roars filled the house behind Shay as she ran and she tripped over Neara in the process.

"Shay! What's going on?" She looked back at the house and pinched her lips. She picked her coughing friend up from the dirt. "What happened?"

More yowls filled the house and the wet thud of bodies hitting stone. "Neara..." she whimpered and buried her head in her friend's chest. "I sorta told them."

"Told them what?"

"About where we're from."

Neara squeezed her friend briefly before holding her a little out so she could assess her reaction. "Is that why they're fighting? They're pissed at us?"

"No..." Her newly healed body doubled over with sobs. "I can't..."

"Don't worry, hey, come back to center, be present. They don't know yet... they don't know anything yet." Neara collapsed with her friend and ran her fingers through her straight, smooth hair, occasionally massaging her scalp. "We'll be ok." Her eyes flicked back and forth from her friend to the house. "We'll be ok."

Shay sniffed and wiped her nose on her arm. "Can we go sit by the water please?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll show you where the fish basket is." The women carefully walked away from the screeching and settled by the river bank. Neara pointed out the fish swimming in the water and described their colors so ridiculously that Shay laughed. "That one looks like burnt orange stuck on the roof of peanut butter's mouth. That one is more day-old baby turd. That one's more like the crushed RedHots you find stuck to the bottom of your shoe after leaving the movie theater."

"Where?" Shay looked for the distinctive red.

Curtis rose slowly from the surface, the water dripped from his ruby hair and drained down the scales on the snake half of his body. His red eyes stared at Shay with an intensity that might have burst her into flames.

Shay squawked and fell backwards, nearly knocking her head on the tree trunk behind her.

Gurgling whispers escaped Neara's throat as she stared just as fixedly at the snake beastman in front of them. "Shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit."

Panicked shouts filled the air around them as beastmen swarmed the river bank. Hackles raised and ears pulled back in fear, they glared as Curtis slunk from the water and piled his coils next to Shay.

"Stop, feral." Winston rumbled, standing outside the house. Parker limped out in leopard form, his bloodied body still managing enough energy to bear his fangs. "There are too many beastmen, even for the likes of you. Leave the female."

The other beastmen took a step forward, the shaking in their limbs more evident the less strips they had. Several of them changed into their beast forms, lining the road with bears, leopards, tigers, eagles, and wolves.

Curtis focused on Shay and carefully laid a package of snakeskin at her feet. "These are Shay's clothes." He straightened and warned Parker, "Take care of her." He disappeared into the water, although the tension didn't dissipate until the eagle beastmen saw the last of his red tail vanish into weeds.

"Shay..." Neara's voice broke on the simple syllable and tears ran down her face.

Winston bent and picked her up. When had he gotten there? "He's gone, Neara."