Taming the Beast World with a Frying Pan-Chapter 199: Tiger Stripes

Ren turned around with high hopes and even higher expectations, ready to see her jungle couture.

What Kael held up was... well, it was definitely green.

"Ta-da," Kael would’ve said, or at least that was the vibe his proud grin was giving off.

He was holding two distinct pieces of greenery.

"These are Heart Leaves," Kael explained, shaking the garments slightly. "They retain water for a very long time before drying out. They are thick, so you will be warm, and they are not easy to tear. Water cannot soak through them."

Ren leaned in to inspect the pieces of leaf clothing.

The top was a long, rectangular strip of thick, waxy leaves, stitched together with impressive precision using thin vines and what looked like acacia thorns. There were long vine strings attached to the ends to tie it behind her back.

The bottom was a skirt—if one could call it that. It was a layered arrangement of leaves, overlapping like dragon scales, held together by a sturdy vine waistband.

It was beautifully made. It was intricate. It was primitive art.

It was also tiny. Actually, calling it ’tiny’ was generous. It was microscopic. It was a suggestion of clothing. A whisper of a garment.

"Kael," Ren said slowly, eyeing the dimensions of the ’skirt’. "That is... breezy."

It looked less like a two-piece outfit and more like skimpy carnival wear. It was the kind of outfit one wore to Samba in Rio, not to trek through a leech-infested jungle. If she sneezed, she was pretty sure the whole thing would disintegrate. If she bent over, she would be mooning the entire ecosystem. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

’Why didn’t he measure me first?’ Ren wondered, looking at the breast-band. ’Did he just eyeball it and think, "Yes, this covers the essentials!"?’

She decided not to ask. He looked so proud of his handiwork.

"It looks very nice," Ren said, smiling genuinely. "You did a good job. I’m impressed you could do this with just leaves, vines and thorns. Seriously, look at these knots! Your hands are the size of catcher’s mitts. How did you not crush the leaves? Do you have secret sewing needles hidden in your fur?"

Kael’s ears perked up, and his long, striped tail swished happily behind him like a metronome set to ’joy’.

"I learned from the females in the Clan," Kael admitted, puffing out his chest. "I spent a lot of time with my mother as a cub. She taught me how to weave shelter and clothes."

Ren’s expression softened. "Aww, a momma’s boy."

"Is she still around?" Ren questioned gently.

Kael’s smile faltered slightly, his golden eyes dimming for a second. "She died. Feral Madness took her a long time ago."

Ren felt a pang of sympathy. "I’m sorry, Kael."

"It is but the way of the world," Kael stated simply, shaking off the melancholy. He held out the green bikini. "Do you want me to help you put it on?"

Ren nodded. "Please. I’d rather wear a salad than that wool torture device."

She dropped the muddy, itchy wool sack onto the grass and turned around.

The warm sun hit her skin, but it wasn’t nearly as warm as the gaze burning into her back.

Kael stood there, holding the leaf outfit, but his hands didn’t move to tie it on her. Instead, his golden eyes traveled slowly down her naked body.

He traced the indent of her spine. He admired the flare of her hips. And then, his gaze settled on her round, soft buttocks.

He stepped closer.

Ren’s breath hitched in her throat as she felt his large, warm hands land on her skin. She expected him to dress her in the leaf skirt. Instead, he seemed to have forgotten the outfit entirely. The air was cool, but his palms were like heated iron brands, searing the memory of his touch into her skin. His touch was incredibly gentle, his calloused fingers feather-light as they grazed her lower back and drifted down.

"What... what are you doing?" Ren whispered, her voice trembling slightly.

Kael didn’t answer immediately. His brow was furrowed in deep concentration.

His thumb traced a line across the upper curve of her butt cheek. Then another line on her hip.

"You have stripes," Kael murmured, his voice filled with wonder.

Ren froze.

"Stripes?"

"Here," Kael said, tracing the faint, silvery lines on her skin. "And here."

His hands moved to her outer thighs, his fingers following the jagged, pale patterns that ran against her tan skin.

"They are on your thighs too," Kael observed. "Small stripes. Paler than the rest of you."

Ren’s face went hot. Her heart hammered against her ribs.

’Oh god,’ Ren thought, mortified. ’Stretch marks. He found my stretch marks.’

She had always had them—faint, silvery lines from puberty—but she had been pale enough before that they blended in. Now, after weeks of running around under the Beast World sun, she had developed a lovely tan, making the pale scars stand out like... well, like stripes.

"Kael," Ren started, feeling self-conscious. "Those are just—"

Before she could explain the concept of skin elasticity to a tiger, Kael spun her around.

He gripped her hips, his face inches from hers.

Ren stared into his golden eyes. They were searching her wide green ones with an intensity that made her knees weak. His expression was deadly serious.

They were so close that Ren’s stomach bumped against him. Through the thin fabric of his loincloth, she could feel a very distinct, very hard ridge poking her.

Ren gulped.

’Why is he staring at me like this?’ she panicked. ’Do Beast World women have Photoshop skin? Maybe they are born airbrushed. Does he have a problem with my tiger stripes?’

She braced herself for a comment about her skin flaws.

Kael took a deep breath, his nostrils flaring.

Then, his eyes began to sparkle with pure, unadulterated excitement.

"Ren," Kael whispered, his voice hushed with awe. "Are you turning into a tiger?"