My Beastly Fertility System Chapter 18: Soaring

"You can't tell any other beastfolk you know how to make fire. Not a single one. Otherwise, you'll never even see it coming when they kill you."

A lot of clans would go to extremes to get their hands on you.

And if they couldn't have her, they'd rather destroy her than let her fall into someone else's hands.

Rufus knew exactly how dangerous that kind of thing could get.

Back in his clan, there had once been a fertile female whose womb drew half the continent into a tug-of-war, and in the end, she died right in the middle of that fight.

Claire nodded.

"Relax, I'll only ever tell Zane about this, and no one else."

Hearing her mention her beast mate made Rufus's chest tighten, and when he saw her bent over the grass, still raking through it with her fingers, he quickly asked.

"What are you looking for?"

"Lemongrass, have you seen it? It's a kind of grass that smells really good."

Claire had been searching for ages and still hadn't found a single blade of it.

In her mind, grilled fish and lemongrass were the perfect match, sure to wipe out every last trace of that fishy smell.

Rufus thought for a moment, then said slowly, "I've seen a kind of grass that smells amazing, but I don't know if it's the one you want."

"Where is it?"

Claire's whole body lit up with excitement.

Just imagining lemongrass grilled fish was enough to send her salivary glands into overdrive.

Rufus shifted into his massive gyrfalcon form and crouched to invite Claire onto his back.

"Climb on. I'll take you there, you can see for yourself."

Even as he said it, he still felt a little awkward inside.

No female beastfolk had ever ridden on his back before.

Not even his mother.

And definitely no male.

But things were urgent now, and for the promise of Claire's cooking, Rufus decided he could swallow his pride for once.

Watching the proud gyrfalcon lift his head high while his huge body lay flat on the ground to make it easier for her to climb up, Claire couldn't help laughing.

She didn't stand on ceremony and scrambled onto Rufus's back in just a couple of moves.

"Hold on tight."

Rufus gave the warning and then shot straight up into the sky.

Claire grabbed his feathers in a hurry, feeling the wind whip across her cheeks as her body rose and dropped in midair.

"I think I've dreamed of this before!"

Claire had to raise her voice to be heard over the rush of air.

Those dreams belonged to her previous life, when she often saw herself soaring freely through the sky.

"Rufus, if I could fly too, that would be incredible! This feeling is unreal."

Claire couldn't stop herself from shouting in pure excitement.

Rufus replied with obvious pride, "At least you've got taste. We of the Eagle Clan are born to fly, and this kind of freedom in the sky is addictive."

Her words made him feel like he'd finally met someone who truly understood him.

"The sky's the limit. There's nothing holding us back."

She tried stretching her arms wide, like she was hugging the wind itself.

Out of nowhere, Rufus tossed out a suggestion.

"Want to try something a little crazier?"

The moment the words left his mouth, he kicked up his speed, rolling and diving low, skimming past tree trunks by a hair as he strung together a whole series of high-difficulty maneuvers.

Claire felt her adrenaline spike and her heart pound like it might burst out of her chest as she clung to his feathers, screaming and cheering at the same time.

Down in the forest below, Nina looked up at the pair laughing in the sky, jealousy twisting her face out of shape.

"Just wait, I'll wipe those smiles off your faces soon enough."

By the time Rufus landed beside the lake, and Claire slid off his back, her knees were so weak she could barely stand.

"That was wild, I never knew flying could feel that good."

She already kind of didn't want it to end.

Unfortunately, her newly borrowed body couldn't keep up, and her legs kept buckling on their own.

Rufus shook his head proudly and pointed one wing toward the grass by Claire's feet as he said.

"That's the fragrant grass I was talking about. See if it's what you're looking for."

Claire dropped into a squat and recognized it at a glance—the thriving little clump in front of her was definitely lemongrass.

At first glance, it looked no different from any ordinary weed.

But the moment you leaned closer, a bright citrus-and-lemon scent rushed up, fresh and strong.

"Perfect, this really is lemongrass."

Claire pinched off a small handful and deliberately stopped there.

"This is plenty for now, if we need more, we can come back and pick it next time."

Rufus's mind went spinning off in ten different directions at once.

There's a next time?

And we?

Instead of feeling put off, he found himself a little eager and surprisingly pleased as he said, "All right, I'll bring you back again next time."

The two of them headed back to the grilling spot the same way they had come.

Claire washed the lemongrass clean and stuffed it into the bellies of the fish.

In no time, the roasting fish were letting off waves of mouthwatering fragrance.

"Almost done."

Claire turned one of the fish, and suddenly, a small fur pouch was held out to her.

"What's this?"

She took it and peeked inside at the fine white powder.

"Salt, sprinkle it on, and it'll taste even better."

Rufus sounded a little awkward as he said it.

He had fully intended to sit back and wait to eat, but somehow his hand had moved on its own and dug out the precious salt he always carried to hand it over.

That tiny pouch was worth as much as ten full-grown wild boars.

"Thanks."

Claire sprinkled a careful dusting of salt over the fish and made sure not to waste a single grain.

She knew exactly how rare salt was and silently gave Rufus high praise for being willing to share it.