Beauty and the Beasts

“Winston?” Bai Qingqing called out in surprise upon seeing him. She then grabbed his thick and muscular arm and led him into the house, wanting to show him the baby eagles.

“Come and see the baby eagles. They’re really cute. They’ll look different once you take your eyes off of them later. Quickly.”

Winston felt conflicted as he looked at the string he’d been pulling on.

Muir walked out and quietly took the string. Winston nodded at him before entering the house with Bai Qingqing.

“Screech screech screech screech~”

Left and Right both turned around at the sound and opened their beaks to ask for food. However, they immediately closed them after seeing that it was a stranger.

“Eh? They can recognize strangers even though they’re so young.” Bai Qingqing raised an eyebrow. Did they already have memories?

Winston sat in the nest, now a little closer to Right. Right opened his soft mouth and grabbed onto Winston’s animal skin skirt with much difficulty, using the little strength he possessed to express himself.

“Pft!” Bai Qingqing sputtered with laughter and poked the tuft of feathers above Right’s butt. “This little fellow. He’s not scared.”

Winston’s expression suddenly turned stern as he stood up. “Maybe I shouldn’t have stepped inside.”

“Eh?” Bai Qingqing looked up at him in confusion and asked, “Why?”

“I’m afraid they’ll forget to defend themselves if a beast attacks them in the future,” Winston said as he glanced at Curtis, who the baby eagles had accepted, with mixed emotions in his eyes, his expression suddenly somewhat subtle.

Bai Qingqing nodded. “You’re right,” she said in a serious tone. “You should quickly leave.”

She then looked towards Curtis as well, and the word “imprinting” came to mind…

Curtis realized the situation as well and suddenly had mixed emotions.

Muir should really be thankful that eagle beastmen didn’t have a legacy. Otherwise, unexpected factors like him would have a very fun time in the future.

Muir had overheard the conversation inside. When he saw Winston walking out, he glanced at him gratefully before carrying the box of food into the shelter.

On the other hand, Muir secretly resented the baby eagles’ possibly friendly treatment of Curtis.

The good thing about Curtis staying here was that they didn’t need to bring food for him. Winston had brought food for Muir today, so there was just as much food as usual.

When Bai Qingqing and Muir were done eating, Winston nimbly packed up and headed downstairs.

Bai Qingqing slept with Muir at night as it was cold. This caused Muir to resent Curtis significantly less.

…

Later on, Parker and Winston avoided the baby eagles. Curtis, on the other hand, could only stay and protect Bai Qingqing every day since nothing could be done about the baby eagles’ attitude towards him.

The baby eagles’ appearances changed with each passing day. When they were three days old, they could already stand upright and run about.

They pecked and pulled, letting out tender screeches from time to time. With their fluffy golden feathers, they looked like huge chicks.

Bai Qingqing felt relieved. Continuing to stay here wouldn’t be an issue, she could just move here.

The shelter and other artificial elements were taken down. Muir and the baby eagles moved back to the narrow gap between the boulders, and Bai Qingqing decided to visit them occasionally in the future.

Bai Qingqing started to try making paint. She’d plucked flowers in various colors to make the raw material, but she didn’t make much progress.

However, after endless tries, she realized that the colors of fresh flowers could be printed onto paper, and this was enough to keep her going after several failed attempts.

In the blink of an eye, it had been a month since the baby eagles had broken out from their shells. After Bai Qingqing ate her breakfast, she asked Parker to bring her to the rock forest to visit the baby eagles.

In the rock forest, the tall and huge stones were partially covered by thick, white fog, and the air was humid.