According to Hati there should be a large clan by the mountains to the far north that'd take us, the frost claws. It'll be a damn long trip but it should be safest for us, far away from humans and with little threat of being attacked by other clans.

And so that's the direction we've been moving in for the past three days, and after all the walking I can finally start to see some smoke in the distance. Hati says it must be one of the smaller clans if it's this close to the border, and as good company as she is, I'm getting pretty excited to finally meeting some people other than Hati, hoping to learn some more about this world.

After about another day of walking we spot the small camp, and although we're still a miles off we can see it pretty clearly due to the flat profile of the plains. It's by no means small though, made up of dozens of wide tents, which look to be roughly made of thick pelts, seems comfy.

From the edge of the camp I notice a small group of beastmen departing, running straight towards us on all fours. I guess they saw us, too.

[I did not know we could run like that though, really could have used that sooner. .]

The party gets here pretty quickly though, spreading out in front of us.

"Hold!" calls the one in front at he stands up; A huge silver beastman, he's at least 2 metres tall and wearing some roughly stitched leather armour strapped around his vitals.

"You're both pretty far out alone, what's brought you here?", he asks as he approaches.

"We're just coming home from human territory." Hati replies. "We got away just recently, and have come to seek refuge in the north."

They look us up and down for a moment before nodding to each other, waving us over.

"Come then, you can speak with the chief, he may let you stay with our Taro clan for tonight" says the large beastman as we head towards their camp.

It's pretty boring as we walk though, and I'm still infinitely curious about the beastmen.

So, "Are many beastmen as tall as you?" I ask the large one.

But they all just go silent at that, glaring at me.

Hati's the first to speak up, quickly explaining on my behalf.

"I'm sorry, kin. The cub's lost his memories and doesn't know anything since before waking up as a slave."

Their expressions quickly soften at that, and the larger approaches me.

"Well glad to be receiving ya then, cub. The name's Huskar", he says, pulling me firmly under his arm with a friendly grin.

"And if you ever need anyone to teach you how to use that sword around your wait, I'm your warg!"

"But, try to just say wargs, boy. 'Beastmen' is their word and it's not something we use" he adds firmly.

We walk like that the rest of the way like that, with Huskar and the others happily boasting about their clan.

Their camp is made up of dozens of large tents, made with stitched together

We make it to their camp grounds after a little while and Hati immediately walks off with Huskar to speak with the chief, leaving me to roam the village and have a look around.

"Make sure not to do anything weird!", she calls out over her shoulder.

"Just how much of a lost cause do you think I am?" I yell at her back, and she just smirks at me over her shoulder as she walks off.

Having just arrived at my first real beas- Er, warg camp, I couldn't wait to have a look around. The smells were just unbelievable, and it seemed like every tent here cooking something different. After having eating mostly hard bread and beans for nearly two weeks I just can't stop myself from salivating as I walk around the tents just sniffing the air with my new nose, losing track of myself.

I'd been wandering around for about an hour before Hati finally caught up with me.

"Mars!", she calls out as she approaches, "I thought I told you not to act weird?"

"Huh? why, what'd I do?" I say with my nose still peaking into into some strangers tent

"Ugh, nevermind." she sighs, rubbing her hand into her face.

"Anyone can tell what's on your mind and you can relax, I've arranged with the village chief to stay for supper, so you'll be able to try some real warg delicacies!"

I perk up at the prospect of food, immediately following Hati as she leads me to the chiefs house, catching all the scents from the tents nearby, I can't wait to see what it all tastes like~

When we arrive at the large tent in the middle of the camp the clan chief immediately welcomes us in, sitting us down on some of the cushions thrown around a large pot gently boiling in the center.

He and Hati talk for a while as I space out, just thinking about what's in that pot as the steam wafts out to meet my nose. I'm salivating again. Eventually though they finish their talk and look at me with a pair of worryingly large grins.

The chief quickly gets up and brings over a small pot full of black paste and some bread.

"So I hear you're a special case. Want to learn more about your culture, yes? Well I hope we can show you much here" he says.

Hati hasn't said anything but she's still grinning at me like a madwoman as the chief spreads the thick black paste over the bread, handing it to me, he eagerly invites me to try it.

"We call this Burmite, it's our clans specialty." the chief says.

I hesitate for a moment, watching their expressions.

I take a bite of the bread and I'm immediately hit by the most intense flavour. The saltiness of it is overwhelming, and there's an intense burn on my tongue.

This is amazing! It even reminds me of the kento beans we pulled from the ocean. And then the second wave of flavour hits me once the saltiness mellows out, giving way to a wave of pure umami. [oh this stuff is just heavenly, I could eat the whole damn jar.]

I quickly finish off the rest of the bread, watching the chiefs and Hati's faces fall. "More please!" I ask.

The chief just hands me the spoon full of the thick paste, dumbfounded as Hati just bursts out laughing, holding her sides as she rolls on the cushions.

"Hah! with how much of those damn beans this cub's eaten he didn't even flinch!" exclaims Hati

"well I'll be damned", says the chief, "usually this stuff takes a lot of getting used to, most people would spit it out and run for water with their first tasting" he admits, clearly having expected this to go differently.

He seems to realize something as he looks up and asks "You think try one of those beans of yours, cub?"

I don't see why not, "yeah, sure, I've just been snacking on these most of the way here, they're pretty good" I say, handing him the pouch.

The chief eagerly takes the bag, throwing a bean in his mouth.

"Good, right?" I ask. But the chief just drops the pouch and starts coughing furiously, getting up and running for the nearest water jug.

After the chief recovers from his ordeal we pass around some hot bowls of stew, eating as we talk.

He invites us to stay for a few days before we move on, even offering us a tent to stay in, which we gladly take. I was getting pretty used to sleeping outside, but I'll still happily take a warm bed any day.

He also takes the opportunity to invite me to join their hunting party with Huskar tomorrow, which I eagerly agree to, wanting to take him up on his earlier offer.

Finished talking, we say goodnight and take our leave, being directed to the tent set aside for us.

When we get to the tent we settle in pretty quickly, setting our things aside and lying on the soft rugs provided.

"So you're joining Huskar on his hunt tomorrow, Mars?" Hati asks.

"Well yeah," I respond, "I still need a lot of practice with this sword, and Huskar says he can teach me a few things"

"Well get some rest then, you'll need to be up really early for a hunt" she says, rolling over to sleep.

And realizing she's right, I quickly follow suit, not wanting to make a bad impression.