Huanshan Tribe.
Inside a Cave at the edge of the tribe, the owl Ayue was incubating three eggs.
From beneath her came the occasional “da, da, da” sound—the chicks inside the eggs were getting ready to hatch.
Ashi, the owl who had just returned from a hard day’s foraging, transformed into his human form, carrying a bulging bundle in his arms.
He approached carefully and handed some meat to Ayue, who was incubating the eggs.
Listening to the noises coming from the three eggs, Ashi’s face broke into an excited smile, and he whispered, “Ayue, are they about to come out soon?”
Ayue was in charge of incubating the eggs, which meant she had to stay inside the Cave at all times, so all the food gathering fell to Ashi.
Today, he had brought back a large bundle of food.
They ate most of it, saving only a small portion for later.
With the children about to be born, they would soon need even more food to raise them.
However, by then, things would get a bit easier—Ayue would be able to take turns with Ashi to rest and go out foraging.
After feeding his mate, Ashi finally took some wild fruits and scraps of meat from the prey, eating slowly.
Once he was full, Ashi transformed back into his original form and switched places with Ayue for a while, letting her leave the Cave and stretch her wings.
Ayue flew out, and a quarter of an hour later, she returned with a plump rabbit in her beak, tossing it aside before resuming her place to incubate the chicks.
Now, a larger crack had appeared in the eggshells—they could vaguely see parts of the chicks’ bodies.
Ayue said happily, “You should rest well now. Take care of the rabbit later.”
As a pair of newlywed Beastman, the two of them were filled with anticipation for the soon-to-hatch chicks.
This was their very first clutch of chicks!
The couple hadn’t lived here for long and hadn’t fully integrated into the tribe yet, but the environment here was excellent, with plenty of food resources nearby.
They had spent all their savings to settle down and join the tribe.
They had planned to take some time to adapt to life in this mixed tribe and only have children after they’d settled in.
However, an accident happened along the way, and they ended up with three eggs.
The once somewhat dispirited Ashi was instantly energized by the thought of the three little ones soon to join the family.
He went out every day to hunt, tirelessly gathering wild fruits despite being teased by other Beastman.
Although the food supply at home was just barely balanced, the couple was full of confidence.
Ashi nodded, then couldn’t help but cough a few times.
Meeting Ayue’s worried gaze, he smiled and explained, “It’s just my old problem.
I probably got up too early today and breathed in too much mist in the morning, so I’m coughing a bit. It’s nothing serious.”
Ayue said seriously, “Once the children hatch, we’ll take turns going out to hunt. That way, you won’t have to work so hard. Your health is the most important. If you really don’t feel well, just stay home and rest.”
Yeerongrong finally broke free from her shell.
She’d been listening to the voices of her family all this time, and while inside the shell, those two familiar voices had always been by her ears.
The moment she emerged, she instinctively felt close to them and wiggled about happily.
The sound of flapping wings came from nearby, then everything quieted down.
Ayue lowered her head to look at the newly hatched chick beneath her, then hurriedly called out towards the outside, raising her voice: “Ashi!”
Not long after, there was another flapping sound.
Ashi called anxiously, “I’m here, I’m here! What’s wrong?”
Ayue’s tone was full of delight. “Come quickly and look—they’ve hatched!”
As she spoke, Ayue carefully shifted her position, revealing the three little ones beneath her.
She pointed at them with the tip of her wing, joyfully saying, “This is the eldest, the second, and the third.”
When Yeerongrong heard the words “the third,” a feather gently brushed across her body.
She instinctively moved, realizing she was the third to be born.
Ashi came closer, eyes wide open.
The three chicks had just hatched; their bodies were still damp, and their feathers clung to them, making them look a bit scruffy, but the more he looked, the more adorable he found them.
Ayue let him take a look, then nestled back over the chicks, saying happily, “Alright, you can go hunt now. They’ve just come out of the shell; they can’t be exposed to the air for too long.”
The chicks’ bodies were still wet and needed warmth to keep them from getting sick.
Ashi reluctantly tore his gaze away and said earnestly, “You all wait at home. I’ll go hunt… ah, no, I’ll fetch some water.”
Ayue reminded Ashi with a smile, “The most important thing is for you to take care of yourself. Don’t get too excited and go running off on an adventure.”
She was afraid he’d get so excited that, intending only to fetch water, he’d end up hunting instead, and without enough rest, he’d tire himself out and get into danger.
Ashi affectionately rubbed his head against Ayue’s and said solemnly, “Don’t worry, I know what’s important.”
With the chicks, he would be even more careful.
Ashi thought to himself, even though he was a bit weak, he still contributed a lot to this family.
Without him, Ayue would be a single Beastman with three chicks… Ashi shook his head, chasing away that bad thought.
With a flap of his wings, he flew off into the distance.
He had survived so much hardship already—he would be careful and not take risks.
Not catching prey for a while wasn’t a problem.
As long as he stayed alive, he could always find more food!
Ayue sheltered all the chicks beneath her feathers, feeling their little movements from time to time.
She glanced at the other supplies in the home.
Originally, she had stored quite a lot of dried meat and nuts, but during this period, as she’d been incubating the eggs, Ashi’s poor health made hunting difficult.
What he managed to catch was barely enough to fill their stomachs, and most of the food in the Cave had been used up.
Ashi had to pick a lot of fruit to make up for the lack of meat, so the food at home didn’t run out quite so quickly.
Soon, Ashi returned with water skins and many fruits.
Although Beastman could see prey during the day, Ashi was weaker than most and couldn’t catch much.
“Ayue, try this fruit. It tastes really good.”
Ashi excitedly pulled out a bright red fruit from his fur bundle.
Ayue opened her mouth and ate it from his hand. As she bit down, a sweet flavor spread in her mouth.
Ashi stuffed a fruit into his own mouth, too.
The Sweetfruit Vine he’d found didn’t have many fruits on it—there were only fifteen in total.
Ashi happily ate the fruit and came over to Ayue’s side, asking curiously, “How are our chicks now? Are they hungry? What should we feed them if they are?”
He was so busy running around every day that he’d forgotten to ask about these things in advance.
The two new parents looked at each other.
After a while, Ayue recalled what the other Beastman in the tribe did and replied calmly in a low voice, “They’re so little, we should probably feed them a bit of meat… Ah, I don’t have any experience either. Later, take some meat and go ask Ashan Granny if there’s anything we need to pay attention to.”
Ashi nodded earnestly. “Alright, let me take a look at them, then I’ll go ask Ashan Granny.”
Ayue moved aside.
After some time incubating, the chicks’ feathers had dried, and they’d become fluffy all over.
Their white feathers puffed up, making them look like three little balls of fluff—so cute it melted your heart.
Ashi leaned in for a look, then, reluctantly, tucked them back under Ayue’s feathers.
He said happily, “Our chicks are so cute! I’ll go ask Ashan Granny how to take care of them.”
Unlike other Beastman, Ashi didn’t mind doing chores like a female Beastman.
As for being laughed at by others, Ashi didn’t care at all.
Ashi thought to himself, compared to the beatings and scoldings of the past, being laughed at now was nothing.
When others saw he didn’t react, they lost interest and stopped mocking him to his face.
At most, they’d say a few things behind his back, but Ashi didn’t hear them, so he cared even less.
“Ashan Granny, are you home?”
“I’m here. Ashi, you’ve come.”
An old woman slowly walked out of the Cave, a chick following by her side, looking curiously at Ashi.
Ashan Granny was a Goat Tribe Beastman with a kind heart.
When Ashi and Ayue moved here, she gave them a lot of guidance and helped them out.
Ashi handed over the fruit he’d picked and asked her with a smile about how to care for the chicks.
Ashan Granny said with a smile, “Have your chicks hatched? As long as they have enough food, don’t let them get cold, and keep them safe, there’s really not much else to worry about.”
“Our Beastman chicks are tougher than you’d think.”
Ashi nodded and said softly, “Ashan Granny, if we run into things we don’t understand, can we come ask you?”
“Of course.”
Ashi put down the fruit and happily went home.
He passed on Ashan Granny’s advice.
Ayue looked at the three little ones in her arms and nodded seriously, saying, “Then we’ll just have to be careful from now on. At least one of us needs to stay home to protect them.”
The chicks were too fragile—any random Beastman could hurt them.
The two of them huddled together, muttering quietly for a long while.
Ayue nudged Ashi and said, “Go get some rest first. You’ll have to go hunting again tonight. If you don’t sleep now and can’t catch anything tonight, don’t come complaining to me.”
Ashi looked at the chicks reluctantly, then leaned over and gave Ayue a peck, whispering, “Ayue, you’ve worked hard too.”
Then he declared, “Just wait—I’ll catch something delicious for you all tonight!”
Ashi had gone out once in the morning, catching a rabbit and picking a lot of fruit.
He’d just gone out again and picked more fruit.
Because of his past, his body was weak, not even as strong as an average Beastman, but the food he brought home was already the result of great effort.
Ashi dragged the nest a bit closer and leaned against Ayue.
The two similarly sized owls nestled together in the dim, cool Cave.
The two owls fell asleep together.