Daily Life with Furry Girls Ch. 30

30 - Run, Guy, Again

Guy looked left and right at the sasatch equipped with spears, and Feli and Cani next to him. 'Ready?'

Cani stretched. 'I don't think I can be more ready after hunting these hirri during the last couple of days.'

Feli loosened her feet. 'I have to agree. I didn't think I'd become used to running around this quickly.'

Egra and Thekka were the sasatch in charge of the others, and gave a nod.

'All right.' said Guy and looked once more over the map before signalling to the sasatch to head out.

They split up into two groups and moved out to the left and right of the herd located in the stretch of forest between the settlement and the grass plains they stood on.

'Be careful, you two.' Guy said.

Cani grinned as she wrapped her arms around his neck. 'If I'm not, will you come with me to keep me safe?'

Guy chuckled. 'I doubt I could keep up with you. But don't make me have to nurse you back to health.'

She kissed him and giggled. 'I'll try, even though it's tempting just to have you take care of me.'

Feli shuffled with her foot and blushed. 'I make sure I won't be hurt anyway.'

Guy smiled and kissed her. 'I'm glad to hear that.'

She smiled quickly, then walked towards the herd. 'Come, Cani, we have a job to do.'

Cani sniggered and skipped after her. 'Yes, coming.'

They moved slowly to give the sasatch enough time to form two lines on either side and flank the herd, and halted when they caught sight of the nearest grazing hirri. They kept still until they were sure the animal hadn't noticed them. Cani took a deep breath and let it out. 'Ready to play the hound?'

Feli chuckled once. 'It doesn't lessen my feline dignity, so let's do this.'

They jogged towards the hirri with a little distance between them and enough noise for the animal to notice them. It looked back at once from grazing on a tree, saw the two by now familiar predators, and bolted while bleating its alert call.

Feli and Cani matched its speed and kept at a distance as they ran after it, and more bleats ahead of them revealed the whole herd was on the move. When it moved to the left, Thekka's group of hunters moved and made noise, and when it moved to the right, Egra's group chased them back.

The herd ran the way it was intended to until one stag bleated loud, turned back, and charged at Feli. 'Watch out!' she shouted when she dodged its head-on attack while the stag kept running.

Guy, who had followed his girls, gazed at the animal charging towards him with growing eyes. 'Oh shit.' he said as his adrenalin spiked at the sight of its large and painful looking antlers. He bolted at once.

The rest of the herd turned around and Cani grumbled. 'Run, Guy! We have to keep the herd in check!' she said and barked and growled to stop the animals from passing her while Feli hissed and roared at the hirri heading her way.

'Try going around and lead him back to the herd!' shouted Feli.

'I'll try!' Guy shouted with the stag breathing down his neck. 'If I'm not stabbed and trampled into the ground before that.'

He made a feint to the left, then took a sharp right around a very thick tree. The stag didn't fall for it though, and Guy double backed the other way around the tree.

They circled the tree several times before Guy saw an opening through the herd leading towards the corral behind the scattered herd, and dashed towards it, hoping the other hirri would distract the persistent animal from chasing him.

Feli, Cani, and the sasatch regained some control of the herd again when Guy ran past them, muttering curses under his breath. The hirri blinked in surprise as he ran through the herd with the stag, but their instinct to follow their leader kicked in again and they ran after the two.

'Way to go!' shouted Cani. 'They're coming after you!'

Guy increased his pace. 'Just one is bad enough thank you!'

He ran through the gap of the corral's rope and wood fence in front of him, dodged trees, circled the area with the stag and the herd behind him, and ran through the fence gap again where everyone was waiting for him. The stag braked hard in front of the sasatch who blocked his way with spears, and exhaled hard in frustration through his nose while stomping its hooves into the ground.

Feli and Cani hurried up to Guy and caught him before he fell face down on the ground, and he gave them an exhausted grin. 'At least it wasn't a bear this time.' he panted hard.

The sasatch finished the last work on the fence to keep the herd secured while Guy caught his breath, and he addressed the whole group with a few words he had learned and gesturing. 'Great work, everyone.'

The sasatch cheered. They had gained a reliable source of food and materials that didn't require them to walk far distances when the herd had moved away, as they did with the change of seasons. It saved them time which they could spend on other important tasks.

***

After a long break, Guy walked up next to Pierre, who was observing the sasatch wade through a nearby small river with their newly made nets. 'How're they doing?'

'Good.' said Pierre. 'They're becoming better at using the nets to trap the fish.' He gestured at two sasatch gutting and cleaning the pile of fish they'd already caught. 'It's going to be a feast tonight.'

'That's good news.' Guy said and observed a young sasatch girl collecting the fish guts in big leaves. 'What's she doing with that?'

Pierre looked at the girl. 'Oh, they just throw it away in the bushes over there.' he said as he gestured at a spot further away at the edge of the trees.

The girl picked up a load, but the slippery leaves caused it to fall and she barely kept the rest together. Guy moved up to her and gestured at the mess and at himself. The girl understood and smiled. He repacked the remains in the leaves and picked them up. 'I'll dump this.' he said, and went up to the trees. The fish smell guided him to the spot to throw it all away, and he tossed it unceremoniously over the low undergrowth.

A sharp hiss and yowl startled him.

His heart pounded as he looked over the top of the bush and straight into the fierce eyes of a very irritated feline. It was as big as a medium sized dog, and fish guts dripped from its body and unmistakable angry face.

'Not again!' he shouted as he ran with the hissing feline on his tail.

Pierre pointed quickly at the river. 'Try losing it in the water!'

"Water?" thought Guy. "Yes!" He turned towards the river, sprinted with all his might to avoid the feline's claws slicing his calves, and ran into a shallow part of the river while the sasatch gazed at the spectacle.

A splash sounded behind him, and he yelped when the feline still came after him, undeterred by the water. He waded quickly into deeper water, but the feline still followed and glared at him, wading with its head barely above the surface.

'I'm sorry, all right?' he said, thinking of what he could do to calm the feline down. He noticed silver flickering around his feet and thrust his hands into the water. 'Here! Does this make up for it?' he said as he held out a fiercely flopping big fish by its tail.

The feline stared at the fish, then at Guy, and back at the fish again. It chomped on the fish and snatched it from Guy's grip. He watched in relief as the feline returned to the river bank with its tail held up high and walked away in dignity.

Pierre chuckled as he approached Guy wading out of the river. 'So, was that offering of food a spur of the moment idea, or experience in dealing with furry creatures?'

Guy groaned. 'I certainly hope that wasn't an automatic reaction on my part.'

***

Guy arrived at the field the sasatch had tilled and planted with more plants foraged from the forest later, and stroked Mami's back while she inspected the work. 'How's it going here?'

'I calculated a little, and I think this should be enough for twice the harvest that they need, so even when some crops are lost, there should still be more than enough left to feed everyone all year round.'

'Nice.' Guy said. 'With the herd and the fishing, they won't have to worry about food shortage soon.' He strolled through the patches where sasatch planted and tended the various plants they had gathered, and noticed movement in a patch filled with low shrubbery and a young tree in the middle. He noticed a couple of rabbits sitting up straight close by. 'Oh no, you're not going to feast on this.' He went over to the shrubs and shook them with his hands. 'Shoo! Out of here! Or I'll make rabbit stew out of you!'

A shout from a nearby sasatch grabbed his attention. The man waved quickly with his arms and said something that sounded urgent, but he didn't recognise it. The cacophony of whistles and fluttering wings was the next thing that grabbed his attention, and he stared at a flock of fist sized brown birds with red chests rising from the shrubbery.

'Guy!' shouted Mami. 'Run! Those birds are aggressive when you agitate them!'

Guy let go of the shrubbery. 'Oh no. More angry animals.' He bolted from the garden with the flock in close pursuit of him.

Mami pointed at the edge of denser forest nearby. 'Try losing them in the thicker forest!'

He ran into the forest, but the agitated cloud of feathery balls of fury still followed him in, zipping between the trees and through the branches. There was only one other nearby possibility Guy could think of as he looked back over his shoulder for a moment. He changed course at once.

Pierre and Anah gasped when Guy stormed out from the trees and jumped into the river again, this time followed by a wildly fluttering and fiercely chirping brown flock twirling above the water.

The birds flew around for a while, then gave up and returned to the trees.

Guy's head rose through the surface cautiously, and he spit out water as he looked around. 'They're gone now?'

Pierre and Anah laughed as he waded out of the water for the second time in the day. 'I didn't know you enjoyed swimming that much.'

Guy shook his arms and legs and sighed. 'Yeah, I'm a big fan.'

***

'Oh, that looks great.' said Guy when he noticed the pile of red, blue, and black berries collected in a round piece of hide. He had decided to stay away from the garden and river for a while and head over to see how Avia was doing with the sasatch foraging for fruit and other edibles, and was glad the weather was warm enough to dry his clothing quickly every time.

Avia put the few berries she held in her fingers into his mouth. 'These are really good.' she said, and he hummed in agreement as he ate them. She gestured at a basket full of light green fruit, shaped like thick, short sausages nearly the size of a hand. 'Those things are something between green apples and pears. A light sweet and sour taste.'

Guy looked curiously at the fruit. 'Interesting. I wonder if we could take some home and grow them there.'

Avia gestured at two sasatch women moving around an open area filled with shrubs reaching up to their hips. 'Have a look over there. They're gathering another type of berry.'

'All right.' he said, and headed over to where they were busy picking from the dark green and red coloured bushes. He noticed the light green-yellow berries they picked and looked around for more of those. One bush was filled with them and he moved towards it, and picked a berry to taste it. The soft, sweet flavour exploded in his mouth when the berry burst as he bit it, and he hummed at the refreshing taste. He turned towards Avia. 'Avia, it's really good!'

Shouts from the sasatch and their wild gesturing towards him surprised him, then sparked a familiar suspicion in him. 'Please let me be wrong.' he muttered.

A bright red and yellow striped insect buzzed suddenly in front of his nose. Startled, he stepped back.

The crunching sound of something made from rough and dry paper underneath his foot unnerved him even more.

'Why does nature hate me!?' shouted Guy as he ran from the aggressive buzzing cloud.

The sasatch pointed into a direction as they shouted at him. One he had hoped to avoid the rest of the day, but the only place that he knew he could flee to for safety.

Pierre laughed when Guy resurfaced a minute later and spat out water. 'I think this is one of those days you should have stayed in bed.'

Guy groaned. 'Stayed in bed and covered by a heap of blankets.'

***

That evening, the sasatch celebrated their visitors and the advancements they brought that lessened the burden of daily living. A couple of them presented crowns of flowers to their guests to honour them, and they gratefully accepted. Even Guy, after he carefully checked for any bugs to the amusement of the others before wearing it.

One of the highlights of the feast were the stories of the speed of the foreign man and his mighty dives into the river, and the person in question grumbled softly at the laughing Cani. 'If I come back here, I'm taking your brother with me so I'm not the only one running.'

Ara nudged him and gestured at Anah and Pierre with a nod. 'Looks like they're doing well.'

Anah fed an amused Pierre titbits of food, and he teased her back by feeding her. Guy chuckled. 'I had a hunch they were enjoying working together a lot.'

Miss Tesha leaned closer. 'For once, you're not the first one to attract a member of another species.' she said, and the girls giggled at his embarrassed expression.

The celebration went on until deep in the night, and when it was done, the girls, Miss Tesha, and Guy went to bed first, while Pierre walked Anah to her hut. 'This was fun.' he said.

She smiled softly at him and nodded. 'Much fun.' she said and blushed. 'With you.'

He gazed into her innocent eyes and his heart pounded slowly harder. 'Thanks to you.' he said softly and took her hand in his. 'I really enjoy being with you.'

She bit her lip, then kissed his cheek quickly. 'See you in morning.' she said, and disappeared into her hut.

Pierre chuckled once, and went to the guest hut with a wide smile on his face.

***

Miss Tesha watched the red sunrise a couple of days later. 'We might have ourselves bad weather soon.'

Guy peered at the horizon and the faint dark line above it. 'Could be. Maybe bad enough to trigger a thunderstorm.' He looked at miss Tesha. 'One that could zap us back home, if we're correct about our hunch.'

She nodded. 'We can only try. Better prepare ourselves for the trip.'

They went to the tribe elders and told them they might leave if a thunderstorm did occur. The elders understood and they discussed the last details of their change to a farming society during the morning meal.

Anah left as soon as they were done and Pierre went after her when he noticed her sad expression. He caught up with her at the field where they had planted fruit bushes and took her hand to stop her. 'Anah, what's wrong? You looked sad the whole time.'

'Anah don't like you leaving.' she said softly and touched her chest. 'Anah feel bad here.'

Pierre sighed and gently squeezed her hand. 'I've been thinking about staying here, if the elders will allow it.'

She looked back at him with wide and hopeful eyes. 'Stay?'

He nodded. 'I love it here. This simple life, all this nature. I know there are also drawbacks but I don't mind.' He swallowed. 'And I'd like to stay with you, if you'll allow it.'

She threw her arms around his neck and held him tight. 'Anah wants you to stay.'

Pierre smiled and hugged her back. 'Then I'm staying.'

They returned to the hut where the others had prepared their luggage to be taken at a moment's notice. 'Ladies, Guy, I have other plans.'

'You're not coming with us.' said Cani while the others nodded in agreement with the statement.

Pierre chuckled. 'How did you know?'

Guy gestured at Anah's hand in his. 'It became obvious lately.'

Pierre laughed and shook his head. 'I guess it did, yeah.' He looked at Anah. 'I like the life here, and Anah only made my resolve to stay with the tribe stronger.'

One female elder stepped up behind them and spoke to Anah, who smiled shyly as she replied. The elder touched her arm, and Anah's eyes shone bright at her words. She grabbed Pierre's arm. 'Elders feel honoured to have you stay!'

He put his hand on hers. 'Then today I'm beginning a new life again.'

'What about your home?' asked Guy. 'Well, the home on the other side.'

Pierre turned to miss Tesha. 'I expect you'll have people working on creating a stable passage to here.'

She nodded.

'Then you could use my old home as a base of operations?'

She pondered for a moment. 'Indeed. I'm grateful for your offer.'

'I'll make a list of items I want to keep, the rest is up to you what to do with it.'

Guy looked back at the horizon and the thickening dark area in the distance. 'You might want to do that now. I have a feeling we will really leave today.'

***

The first drops of rain fell down from the yellow-grey cloud cover while lightning and thunder were still at a distance. Mami looked up at the light show approaching them. 'No doubt. Lightning will strike here.'

The sasatch tribe had gathered near the edge of the clearing and talked in excited but also nervous tones amongst themselves. Some presented last minute gifts of small carvings in wood or stone, and Feli examined her stuffed bag while holding a pack of dried fish. 'Where am I going to put this?'

Guy chuckled and opened his bag. 'I still have some room.'

'Good.' said Cani when she held out her pack with meat. 'I don't have any space left in my bag either.'

The hair on Ara's legs and large abdomen tingled slightly. 'Guys? I think we're going to experience impact soon.'

Mami rubbed her arm. 'I can feel it as well.'

Miss Tesha nodded. 'All right, we'll move a little closer to the centre.'

Pierre and Anah directed the tribe farther away from the clearing for safety, and they watched in eager anticipation of what might happen next while lightning pierced the clouds during the symphony of deep rumbling overhead.

Guy checked on the girls and miss Tesha. 'Everyone all right?'

Feli shuddered. 'Apart from my fur itching, I'm fine.'

Cani rubbed her arms. 'I don't mind. Guy will just have to give me a good brushing massage with his fingers when we've returned home to relax my skin.' she said and gave him a mischievous grin.

Ara put her arm around Guy's neck from behind. 'Terrific idea. I want one as well.'

'Same here.' said Mami and looked up at Guy with a not so innocent smile. 'You'll be busy for a while, darling.'

Avia and Feli nodded in agreement, and Guy laughed. 'All right, I'll service you all when we're home.'

Cani turned to miss Tesha. 'Ah, but what about you?'

A corner of her mouth curled up. 'Maybe I'll have him suffer doing the same on my furless figure.'

Guy blushed while the girls sniggered, until lightning struck the stone at the centre and drowned the area in bright light and a loud bang.

***

Miss Tesha, the girls, and Guy arrived at their familiar neighbourhood later and gazed at the sight. The street was the same, but instead of the people they knew, everyone resembled one of the girls' species. Guy looked at miss Tesha. 'You don't suppose we didn't arrive home and ended up in yet another dimension?'

She looked around. 'This must be home. It's too alike.'

Cani giggled as she looked down the length of the street. 'I've never seen so many of us.'

'Yo! Harem king!'

Guy stared at the black canine headed their way, and blinked. 'Uncle?'

His uncle pulled up his mask. 'Where have you all been all this time?'

Miss Tesha laughed. 'I see now. Time passed at the same rate over here, and the three days of carnival have begun.'

Guy's uncle chuckled. 'We conspired to surprise you all by looking like you, but then we worried you might be gone when we hadn't heard from you in the last couple of days.'