Jenny heard a crackling sound as she slowly rose and opened her eyes. She found herself near a campfire on a soft bedroll toward the edge of a rooftop, on a lofty building structure. Near her were three bedrolls and two sacks.  

How did I get here?

Jenny remembered running on the street until she got trapped inside an alley. Then a group of strange beast warriors brawled before she passed out. Whoever they were, they probably brought her to this small camp on the roof.

As she sat up on her knees, something moved on top of a water tower near the camp. It turned to her and jumped off the water tower.

After it landed near the fireplace, the light revealed the shadow to be the lion man, who was in the alley. He rose up and slowly approached her with a smile. “Good, you are awake!”

Jenny opened her mouth to scream, but a cold hand covered her mouth from behind.

“Be quiet!” a sharp feminine voice hissed into her ear. “You will attract the monsters here!”

Jenny turned her head, glancing at the zebra girl’s face. 

“When I remove my hand, you better be quiet,” said the zebra girl. “Understand?”

Jenny nodded her head.

“Good.” After the zebra girl released Jenny, she crawled away from Jenny.

Another figure rose behind the fireplace until the light revealed it to be the rhino man. All three of the beast humanoids stood in front of her.

“I am Huntar, this is Zena.” The lion man placed his hand on the rhino man’s shoulder. “And this is Torag.”

The rhino man smiled. “Torag.”

Jenny rubbed her eyes. “You’re all…..Walking…..Talking…..Animals…..”

“Hey, we are not animals!” Zena shouted. “We are Beastmen!”

“Beastmen? Are you descendants from animals?”

Zena gritted her teeth. “Are your ears too small? We are not animals!”

“Humans?”

Zena glared at Jenny with widen eyes, until she laughed softly. “You are a stubborn one, aren’t you?”

Jenny shouldn’t be surprised. Not everyone would believe they were descendants of animals. Jenny’s grandfather didn’t believe humans evolved from apes either. He was an extremely religious old man who believed in the story of Adam and Eve. Jenny respected his belief although she didn’t care. Nothing could make her change her mind about the true evolution of humanity.    

Huntar stared closely at Jenny. “Your scent is familiar. You smelled like our chief.”

Jenny’s cheeks flushed red. “You were sniffing me while I was unconscious?” 

Huntar waved his hands in shock. “No-no-no! I wasn’t sniffing! I only caught your scent.” 

Jenny crossed her legs. “What do you mean, your chief?”

“He meant Barry.” Zena sat down next to Jenny. “He is the leader of our tribe.”

“Torag,” said the rhino man.

Jenny widened her eyes. “Barry? Oh, my goodness! He is my father!”

“You are his cub?” Huntar asked.

Jenny nodded her head. “Daughter, yes. I came here by accident. Long story, but I thought he is dead. Where is he?”

“He is with our tribe,” said Zena.

“We are returning now from a quest, but it will take days on foot,” said Huntar.

“Good!” Jenny shouted with excitement. “Let me come with you! I really want to see him!”

Huntar smiled. “Of course. You are welcome to join us.”

Zena pointed her finger at Jenny. “But you must obey us at all cost. This place is very dangerous for humans.”

“Okay, I won’t be a pain in the butt,” said Jenny.

Huntar chuckled. “That’s more like it! But you need to rest first. The journey is very long.”

Jenny nodded her head and laid back down on the bedroll. She easily drifted into her sleep without letting her questions ruin her rest. Her journey will begin tomorrow.