It was a blessing in disguise that Benji was carrying her, because Samantha would have stopped in her tracks to take in the sights and sounds of Ten Thousand Beast City. They hadn't even passed through the city walls yet, but both the heads of Benji's passengers were constantly swiveling to take in as much as they could. Bub sniffed the air on more than one occasion, but when Samantha did the same, all she could smell was the aroma of heavily-seasoned food. The group hadn't eaten breakfast that long ago, but Samantha felt her stomach getting ready to ask for some of the city's specialties and not shut up until it was full again. The architecture of the buildings around them varied wildly, especially as they got closer to the gate in the stone walls. Most homes were made out of large slabs of stone, and nothing resembled the houses she had been used to seeing before coming to the world of beastmen. There were no two-story buildings, for example, aside from the very few she could see over the wall. They could probably be counted on one hand. Beastmen did enjoy putting windows in their homes, but as far as Samantha could tell, glass panes were not a luxury she could expect here, and even curtains would be unusual.

Although there were clearly streets and intersections that had been meticulously planned in this city, the housing density increased drastically the further they walked. Various beastmen went about their normal lives around them and cubs of several different species played together in the streets not far from the comparatively few females that made their lives here as well. Occasionally, a beastman would stop and stare at the odd configuration of travelers making their way to the gates, but the obvious markings on Benji alone kept them from getting too close. Spencer's focus on meeting his friend inside the city walls kept the group moving quickly, but the different structures of the buildings were remarkable, and Samantha couldn't stop herself from trying to take all of them in. Some houses looked like they were made from huge slices of ancient trees and hollowed out to form rooms inside; others were more like the den that Spencer had dug for her in the forest and were probably larger below-ground than above. The most interesting of all the styles of homes, however, became much more common as they approached their destination. Tall trees had been turned into multi-level houses, and although they weren't as wide as the wooden homes the travelers had already passed, they probably provided the same amount of room.

Passing through the gates to the inside of the city walls was easier than Samantha had thought, especially considering that the wolf beastmen who stood guard there might be able to smell Benjamin's race even though he hadn't shifted into his scorpion body for a while now. She nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck, hoping to rub some of her scent onto him at the last second while also looking affectionate, and hoped that Bub would have a strong enough bear smell that nobody would raise any questions about Benji's origins. The guards, as far as Samantha was aware, were none the wiser as they waved the four of them through. Samantha and Bub had been overwhelmed by the goings-on of the outer city, but the activity there was nothing compared to what was obviously the oldest part of Ten Thousand Beast City. The tree homes were much more common, but as many makeshift homes as the beastmen could build had been stuffed between them, and the streets were lined with market stalls selling the mouthwatering food that Samantha had been drawn to before. Other merchants sold basic dry goods that Samantha thought she and the others might be able to make themselves, aside from the seeds and grains that were on offer. When she had thought of a Beast City, Samantha had to admit she had envisioned something much more primitive than what stretched out before her, even though it couldn't hold a candle, technologically, to the cities she had lived in before.

Spencer led the way through the crowd, taking the group north toward one of the largest buildings in the city. This building stood out from the others at first glance; it was a castle, just like it came from a medieval fairy tale, and it must have been at least five stories tall. As Benji carried Samantha and Bub under the decorative arch and into the courtyard, Samantha gasped in shock. The courtyard was full of tall fruit trees, and many of them were in season; the contrast of the floral, fruity smell they gave off compared with the stenches of living in the wilderness for weeks was so welcome it was heavenly. Wild birds chirped from the branches of the trees, their voices intertwining due to their proximity to one another. There appeared to be a back portion of the courtyard, but it was closed off with wooden gates and guarded by wolf beastmen, their ears and tails showing through their uniforms. Samantha figured that whatever was back there was currently none of her business, so she marveled at the scenery while Spencer murmured something to a guard at the main castle doors. A few minutes passed before a giant, immensely muscular wolf beastman exited the castle. His ears stood up from the mess of burgundy hair that offset his light coffee-toned skin handsomely. "Hey, Spence. Hi, everyone else. I'm Scott, it's nice to meet ya. Welcome to Wolf Castle, make yerselves at home," he drawled, "Come on in, it's right this way, don' worry, I'm not gonna bite ya."

Author's Note:

I apologize for the short chapter today, my loved one's funeral was earlier this morning and today has really been a struggle. Combine that with storms and power outages, and, well, let's just say King Scott will show you much better hospitality next time! And thank you, as always, for your support, which means more to me than you know.