"Ao-ao", who was decidedly NOT a fox, and who had already acquired that day's provisions, was shocked that Samantha had let her guard down so completely. He had done his job entirely too well, and this female did not suspect for a moment that he was anything but a common fox, despite the fact that common foxes were about a tenth of his size at their largest. He marveled at his work being so thoroughly enjoyed by "his" female, who he was growing to care about more and more with each passing minute. He loved the trust she placed in him implicitly, he loved how hard she tried to communicate with him despite thinking he could neither undertand nor reply. He loved that she treated him entirely as an equal, which was something he had never seen a female do before. The females in the beast world were so rare that they could treat their mates in any way they chose and never want for a multitude of partners. Most were by no means cruel to their mates, but they absolutely saw them as servants as well as lovers, and if one died, it would usually be valued not by their individual self, but by the amount of effort it would take to replace them.

A male could take only one female mate in his entire life, and he would devote that life entirely to her. A female was bound in no such way, and families could contain twenty or more males at a time if the female was especially desired. Females would have cubs with whichever of their males they chose to, and this choice was her decision alone. Even then, females and sometimes even males did not care especially for their cubs, which were overwhelmingly also male. Females were born at a rate of about one in twenty litters, and only one would be born at a time, whereas a litter of males would contain at least twins and as many as twenty siblings depending on the species of the father. The males were often neglected at best, being shown the basics of survival and not much more, and they were thrown out and left for dead at worst. It was a painful and thankless existence, and there were definitely more pleasurable things to pay attention to at this precise moment.

Things like the delicious sighs and moans coming from the stone tub he had carved for Samantha. He had never known a female to enjoy bathing so much, but then again, he had tried his best to put as much thought and care into the design as he was able. The stone was completely smooth and extremely strong; it would not be carried away by the river unless conditions were so bad that it would be impossible to be outdoors anyway. It was shallow enough to allow the sun to warm all of the water inside, but still deep enough to allow a good soak if one was desired. It was all so extremely gratifying and worth his efforts, though he couldn't bring himself to disturb Samantha when she was enjoying herself so much. She would find "Ao-ao" waiting for her patiently when she was finished even if it took every last ounce of willpower he had to stay put. Her moans were causing changes in his body that he did not think Samantha would currently appreciate or want to see, but they were utterly out of his control. He couldn't help but wonder if that was how she would sound if they mated, and each sound she made sent a jolt of excitement down his spine.

Suddenly, Samantha was quiet. The fox looked in her direction in concern only to get an eyeful of glistening skin reaching out from the tub. His breathing grew shallow and the physical discomfort he felt in his lower body shot through the roof. He had seen her in the nude for almost their entire acquaintance, but this was somehow different. It was like she had become one of the elusive merfolk tribe, who were known for their incomparable beauty. Her hair looked different wet and smoothed to her head and neck, and the water droplets on her face, shoulders, arms, and chest made her shine like a living jewel. He watched as she began to caress her own body with silt in her hands, and he involuntarily gulped. Although she seemed unaware that she was doing so, Samantha began to hum and sing intermittently; mostly love songs and phrases, but other songs in languages unknown in this world but just as beautiful in a mystical, mysterious way. A female had never caught his attention to this extent, and he finally understood what had happened to his fellow males when a female attracted them enough for them to wish to make her his mate. Silently apologizing for what he did not know before, he continued to watch Samantha until she did something strange, and ceased to move.

"Ao-ao" ran to her side, attempting to ignore the swelling between his legs. She did not respond to his approach, and he nudged her with his nose as he had done before. Samantha still did not awaken, and so the fox abandoned his shape and became a common male. As far as males went, he was very slender, but still muscular from continuous activity. His skin was paler than that of other beastmen, but that was typical of his particular tribe. His wavy copper brown hair framed his face in the most naturally attractive way, and his kind brown eyes were brought out by his hair color. He had high cheekbones that were enhanced by the waves and length of his hair, his pink and full lips begged to be kissed, and he had the slightest cleft in his chin that sometimes you could only see if you already knew it was there. Beastmen were stunning, as a rule, but it was easy to argue that this one in particular stood out among the others. He reached a veined hand out to check his beloved's head, and was surprised by the silt that clung to it. Apparently, Samantha had merely exhausted herself before she could finish cleaning, so before she could wake up, his strong fingers massaged the silt into her scalp. He washed it away carefully, scooping up water from the tub and shielding her face so that none would get into her face, eyes, nose, or ears.

Finally able to study her face in greater detail, "Ao-ao" saved this image in his heart to revisit later. Samantha's skin was unbelievably smooth and soft to the touch, accented with a few beauty marks near her cheekbone and chin. Her eyelashes and eyebrows were thick and dark, standing out all the more against her pale skin. Usually, her hair was a medium brown, but it was as dark as her brows and lashes because of the moisture still trapped in it. She had a prominent nose that only added to her charm, and he longed to touch or kiss it just to let her know how beautiful he found it. Below it were her plump lips, which turned out in a natural pout and were a natural berry color, reminding him of the berries he liked to eat and making him wonder if they would taste as delicious and sweet. The drops of water that were drying on them gave them a juicy look, reinforcing the idea of berries in his mind, and he longed to lick the drops away and find out what she would taste like.

A slight murmur from Samantha snapped him back to reality, and he reached underneath her arms to quickly bring her back to the lush grass to dry off and hopefully awaken. He lifted her carefully to avoid bringing her delicate skin in contact with the stone tub, however smooth it was. Easily lifting her to his face, the bounce of her large breasts distracted him by immediately weakening his knees, and he almost stumbled. Thankfully, he recovered without rousing her, and noticing that her nipples were stiffening from the cold, he laid her in a sunny spot to briefly warm her as he shifted back into Ao-ao. He tried to turn his thoughts from his observations of and reactions to her body, and buried his nose and eyes into the grass so he could neither hear her nor smell her while he perked his ears up, waiting for her to rouse herself or for enough time to pass that he would need to help her up himself. There was still so much more to get done today, and though his ailing female obviously needed her rest, he could not ignore the fact that he had not yet seen her eat.