Chapter 59: The Furless One’s Strange Monthly Curse
(At river)
Nuan slowly climbed down onto the muddy bank, putting all her weight onto her good leg.
With a soft poof of thick grey smoke, Selka transformed back into her human form, immediately catching Nuan’s elbow to steady her as they walked down to the water’s edge.
Nuan sat heavily on a flat stone. Looking around to make sure the coast was clear, she carefully slid off her new leather panties. They were sticky and completely uncomfortable from the morning’s bleeding.
Since her right palm was securely wrapped in the Whiteclaw herb leaves, she had to work clumsily with just her left hand, rinsing the leather underclothes in the cool, flowing current.
Selka watched her closely from the bank, her arms crossed. "You always place a massive amount of importance on keeping your body clean, furless."
"Hm... well, I don’t exactly want to catch a nasty infection and get sick in the middle of a primitive jungle," Nuan murmured, wringing out the leather with one hand.
"Do you need any help?" Selka asked.
"No, I’ll wash this up quickly. But... could you actually help me with my elephant blanket?" Nuan asked.
She tossed her wet panties onto a sunny boulder to dry, then willed the heavy, ruined blanket out of her system inventory. "Once this fabric gets fully soaked, it’s going to be way too heavy for me to handle alone. I don’t want it slipping from my grip and getting washed away by the river." She gestured awkwardly with her wrapped right palm.
"You want to wash the blood out, correct?" Selka asked.
Nuan nodded.
Selka didn’t hesitate. She stepped forward, yanked the heavy fabric right out of Nuan’s lap, and let out a sharp sigh. "Give it here. I am more than strong enough to handle a piece of cloth alone."
"But—" Nuan started to argue.
"Look at yourself," Selka cut her off firmly, throwing her a strict motherly glare. "You already lost an absurd amount of blood yesterday from cutting your own hand, and now your body is bleeding entirely on its own! Sit down and focus on washing your own skin. Let me dip this blanket into the rushing current."
Selka unfurled the massive blanket and threw it expertly across the surface of the river like a wide fishing net.
She held tightly onto the top edge, letting the rushing river water pull at the fabric, allowing the heavy current to naturally flush the fresh crimson stains straight out of the fibers.
Once the bulk of the blood was carried away by the river, she could easily use a smooth river stone to scrub out whatever faint stains remained.
While Selka managed the heavy laundry, Nuan willed her carved wooden mug out of her inventory.
She scooped up fresh, cool water and began carefully washing her lower half, wiping away the sticky discomfort.
"So, what exactly is this... breeding cycle and bleeding?" Selka asked, her eyes fixed on the river as she anchored the heavy fabric against the current. "How do they connect?"
"Oh, it’s actually completely different from a typical beastman breeding cycle," Nuan explained, splashing cool water over her skin. "You see, in my kind, a female bleeds monthly even when there is no baby involved. Think of it as... cleansing the inner walls to make sure the space is entirely fresh and ready to house a baby later on. It’s something like that." Nuan decided she was absolutely not going to explain the complex cellular biology of mammalian eggs, hormones, and sperm to a wolf.
Selka raised her eyebrows in genuine fascination. "So your body is actively cleaning itself out to make a proper space for a cub inside?"
"Ahh, well, yeah... exactly. And if a month passes and she doesn’t mate, the body just cleans the space out all over again and waits for the next cycle," Nuan said. Done washing her lower half, she quickly scooped up a few more mugs of water to rinse the sweat and sawdust off her torso.
"I see..." Selka murmured, her ears twitching. "And you are feeling such heavy pain simply because it is bleeding?"
"Hm... well, okay, let me be a bit more specific," Nuan said, adjusting her posture as she gave a proper, simplified medical lecture. "Every single month, a woman’s body prepares a thick, soft lining inside the uterus—the womb—to nurture a potential baby. If there is no pregnancy, the body realizes the lining isn’t needed and sheds it. To push that tissue out, the womb has to squeeze and contract tightly, just like a flexing muscle. Those intense squeezes are what we call cramps, and they cause the sharp pain I’m feeling right now... Well, that’s the absolute best way I can explain it. I hope it makes sense."
"A body prepares for life every month even when no life comes... your kind is strange." Selka whsipered.
Nuan nodded and pushed herself up to a stand, willing her wooden mug back into her inventory.
She looked down at Selka, her expression turning hopeful. "Miss Selka, do you know of any specific jungle plants, soft leaves, or wild cotton that are incredibly good at absorbing water? You know... to help catch the blood?"
"Hmn..." Selka paused, her eyes rolling upward in deep thought. Her vertical pupils expanded significantly as she scanned her memories of the surrounding botany. "Oh. There is a very thick, fluffy plant that absorbs moisture perfectly. But it grows on the opposite bank of the river."
"There is?" Nuan asked, a massive wave of relief washing over her. "What’s the catch?"
"That side of the river is the strict territory of Bramor, the brown bear beastman," Selka said, nodding toward the dense, untamed treeline across the rushing water.
"Bramor... well, I don’t think crossing over will be much of a problem," Nuan murmured, a small smile touching her lips. "He should have started his long journey to find a mate two days ago. And even if he hasn’t left yet, Bramor and I aren’t on bad terms at all."
"Hm? You and the solitary bear are not on bad terms?" Selka repeated, looking highly skeptical as she slowly hauled the soaking, heavy elephant blanket out of the river.
"Yes! I actually gave him an incredibly moving motivational speech to boost his confidence!" Nuan said proudly. "Though, to be honest, I don’t know how he’d react to us suddenly foraging in his territory."
"Well, if you truly need those absorbent plants to help your bleeding, we can simply cross over," Selka said, hoisting the wet mass of fabric. "He frequently wanders onto our borders anyway; it is only fair."
Careful not to let the clean blanket touch the muddy ground, Selka held it up. Nuan stepped in, catching one heavy corner with her good left palm and pinning the fabric tightly between her arm and her torso.
"Keep spinning it from your end, Miss Selka," Nuan instructed. "Twist it tightly, like a coiled snake wrapping around a tree branch."
Selka nodded, immediately understanding the mechanics. She began aggressively twisting her end of the blanket in a spiral motion, effectively wringing the fabric out until a heavy stream of water drained back into the river.
Satisfied, they tossed the damp, clean elephant blanket across a hot, sunny boulder to dry completely.
"Let’s go," Selka said.
With a quick, practiced motion, she shifted back into her massive, powerful wolf form, dropping low to the ground so Nuan could climb aboard.
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