Fan Number 1

Astri takes a relieved breath when Wayde walks away from the center of the tribe and goes to a wooden cabin near some big trees. The shitty smell is far from them and she's happy that Wayde's house doesn't smell the same.

"It smells so much better here. I'm relieved." She softly says.

"What do you mean?" He asks.

"The tribe houses and tents. There were feces and urine outside, and it smelled horrible. How can they live like that? Is it common?"

"Yes." He nods.

"Do females die young?" She asks.

"Most of them.. in their thirties. Forties sometimes." He answers not liking to think that Astri might die before him. "I'll take care of you. Even if I have to build my own village and find our own doctor. Don't worry."

"I'm not worried, but all that… "dirt" might be the reason. It can cause many health problems. Too many to count. It can cause people to poop like water. It can bring worms to their bellies and die with a big belly. Skin problems. There are so many diseases caused by a dirty place. I prefer to run away from ferals than live there. I have a chance to live a long life if I escape the ferals, living in the dirt I don't have a chance." She explains.

He trusts her knowledge now, and he's impressed that the reason for so many deaths is actually a simple thing to solve.

"You don't need to live there. You will live here and I'll keep it clean for you." Wayde promises. He puts her in the front of the house, and the medicines too. "Stay here for a while. It's been a long time since I haven't come here, it must be dirty."

"I can help." She says.

"No. The doctor said you need to rest. And I don't want you to get sick from the dirt."

"When I said dirt, I said poop and pee. If there's any of those inside, you shouldn't go inside without proper clothing." She speaks.

"Oh... Now I understand. No, I didn't poop or pee inside. Still, stay here. It won't take long."

She thinks of a way to have a toilet that is not smelly and not dangerous for their health. Then she decides to taste a bit of the salt, realizing it's common salt.

Maybe they use the salt to make their blood pressure higher and give them the feeling of being warmer. It makes sense to her, but she will use this for cooking and not as a medicine at all.

She tries the other medicines and one has the taste of black pepper, but the grains are bigger than the ones she used to see in the other world. She can try cooking with those too. She will ask Claud about it when she contacts her again.

When she thought about Claud made her realize he hadn't contacted her that day. She thinks that he didn't contact her because now she has Wayde and he doesn't have to worry anymore. He will contact her only when it's time for her to go meet him.

She sighs, disappointed. Many times that happened and she shouldn't be disappointed anymore, but she was. Wayde might act the same if he doesn't get what he wants from her.

She hears someone arriving and then she turns around to see Dieg arriving with a big skin bag.

"I brought your clothes. And lines and fish bones to sew if you need." Dieg speaks.

"Thank you. Leave it here, please. Wayde is cleaning the house." She says.

She's so polite to him that he thinks she's being gentle to him.

"Sure. Do you want help with anything else? I can go hunt while he cleans." Dieg speaks.

"I don't.." Astri softly says, but Wayde interrupts her walking outside.

"You can hunt. Will save me time." Wayde tells Dieg. Dieg nods and then shifts into a black and caramel wolf, running into the woods.

Astri shrugs shoulders letting Wayde do what he thinks is better. When Wayde is finished with the cleaning, Astri goes inside and it's a simple one-room cabin. There's no bedroom or kitchen, but she imagined it would be very simple. She's happy enough that if it rains she won't get wet.

Wayde spreads the bedsheets on the ground and then organizes the rest in a corner. Astri starts thinking about building closets, shelves, a bed, and a bathtub. Her mind is full of projects.

"Is there sand near here?" She asks Wayde.

"I think so. Why?" He's always curious about the requests and questions of his female.

"Can you put it in a box around this big? Fill it with sand. It will be where we will poop and pee. Keeping in the sand won't be dangerous for us too, and being kept in a box will be easier to get rid of too." She says gesturing with her hands.

"All right. I'll do it now. Stay here. It won't take long."

She nods, and he smiles at her cute obedient nod. She already made him smile more than he smiled his whole life. He leaves and she takes the chance to look at her new clothes.

She's a bit uncomfortable because they will expose her body a lot. It's basically bras and skirts. And no underwear.

While Wayde is coming back home, he's met with a female who has long blond hair, and blue eyes and wears a bra and a skirt of tiger skin. Her body is a bit fat and her face is not bad compared to the other women of the village, even if her long nose calls for a bit more attention.

"Hi, Wayde! I heard from my father that you are back. I'm happy to see you." She says.

"Hi." He answers.

"He also told me you have a female now, but your beast mark doesn't show you're mated. Are you just babysitting?" She asks, following him, and behind her five males.

"No. We're not completely mated because she's recovering from some injuries. But I'm her male."

"Oh, come on. My father said she's beautiful, but I'm sure that she's not as beautiful as me. And I'm the chief's daughter. You can own this village if we become mates since you're the most powerful." She says, trying to sound sexy with her voice.

"No, thank you. Not interested. Astri is my female."

She keeps trying to convince him until they arrive at Wayde's home. Astri walks outside limping a little bit. She heard a woman talking to Wayde, but she didn't imagine so many males were behind her.

"She must be his number one fan. I'm outta here. She smells like crazy." Astri thinks.

Astri starts turning around again to get inside when she hears the other female say:

"She's so thin. Can she have cubs like that? She will die pregnant, Wayde. It's risky for you."

Wayde ignores the female, showing Astri the sandbox.

"Where should I put this?" He asks Astri.

"Behind the house. Thank you, Wayde." She answers with a little smile.

She felt eyes burning her and it was the other female.

The other males also think that Astri is very beautiful even if they are already mated. Dieg arrives carrying a deer, then he shifts to his human form. Astri looked somewhere else since he was naked.

"What are you doing here, Dieg?" The female asks.

"I'm courting Astri to be her mate. And what are you doing here, Ana? Wayde is already taken." Dieg says with a mocking voice.

"Not yet. He's not completely mated."

"But he's courting Astri. He never did with anyone here, so he will be her mate for sure. Just leave with your mates." Dieg speaks.

"Are you kicking out your sister?!"

"Yes. You will bully Astri just because she's new here."

"She's the daughter of the chief. Double the problems." Astri thinks as Ana and Dieg keep arguing back and forth.

Astri sighs and starts going inside again, ignoring this commotion. Wayde smiles with the maturity Astri has, but he doesn't like that Astri can't be comfortable around her own house. He releases his aura again and that makes everyone mute.

"You're bothering. I need to prepare dinner and Astri needs to rest. Leave now." Wayde says very seriously.

Ana clicks her tongue and leaves, fuming in anger.

Astri didn't say a word to Ana, but Ana already hated Astri with all her might.