The pups were to be introduced that evening to the Skeksis family.
Shenzi was nervous about doing so, but Chamberlain was sure that they would be accepted. They were to be carried to the Throne room. Shenzi didn't want the boys trying to get at each other. So it was decided that Chamberlain would carry Shetani, plus she liked him, and Little Ed. Shenzi wanted Little Banzai. He reminded her so much of his father; the male she had loved.
In his room, everyone was awake now. It was now dinnertime. "I'll take Banzai. You take them." Shenzi said.
"Okay." Chamberlain said.
"But after dinner. Kids, right now, Mommy and Chamberlain need to go eat our own food. Then you get to meet the family right after. Be good." Shenzi said.
"Yes, Mommy." They all said.
"I mean it." Shenzi warned them.
"Yes, Mommy."
Chamberlain watched her authority over them. He knew he would need it.
Chamberlain and Shenzi left the pups on his bed. "What was up with the double statement?" The Skeksis asked.
"Chamberlain, those pups have to be watched and warned a lot. If they are going to grow up right, you have to use authority over them." Shenzi said. "Like any children, they will want to get into mischief. Yes, even so young too."
When they got to the dinner room, General asked. "So where are the little monsters? You two said we'd be meeting them tonight."
"After dinner, Emperor." Shenzi said. "My pups are not ready for the seeing of solid foods. They are too young for it. After dinner in the Throne room. We will bring them there right after."
"Very well. Eat!" General ordered.
Chamberlain sat down at his spot and Shenzi was given a bowl of meat down at his seat. Shenzi was kind of like a member of them now. She had proven herself worthy enough. She ate from a bowl now down at Chamberlain's chair, but she still did stalk the Castle for stray animals and cleaned up the scraps here in the dining hall that the Skeksis threw away.
Chamberlain ate with a little bit of worry of what Shenzi had said and about what the pups were doing alone in his room. They better not trash it!
...
The pups were bored waiting. They weren't hungry as they had been fed. So they began to play. Well, the boys began to fight again. They were still trying to decide who was boss after Shetani. But Little Banzai was clearly the superior boy pup. But Little Eddie, the runt of the three, didn't want his larger brother to win that role, he kept on fighting.
"You guys! Stop it!" Warned Shetani.
They kept on it. Then she had to intervene. She stopped it this time. "Mommy warned us to be good! No more fighting!" The girl pup was already starting to sound like her mother.
"Agh! But Shetani, it's so boring in here!" Banzai complained.
"Boring or not, we have to do what Mommy said." The older sister said.
"I want to get the meeting over with already." Eddie said.
"Me too. It was already hard enough meeting Mr. Chamberlain." Banzai said.
"I was scared too of him, at first. But I like him now. Do you think he is our daddy? His face has nearly same look as Mommy's." Shetani said.
"Mom never told us to call him Daddy. But he is too different from us to be our dad." Banzai said.
"I don't think Mommy has ever told us about our daddy." Eddie said. "Maybe when Mom comes back, we should ask her about our daddy."
"Yes. We will." Shetani declared proudly.
They might have been so young yet, but knew they had to have a daddy out there.
...
After dinner was through, Shenzi and Chamberlain made their way back to his room to check on the pups and bring them to the Council Chamber, where the other Skeksis were going to gather to get ready to meet the 3 new family members after so long of finding out Shenzi had been pregnant.
"They better not have messed up my room." Chamberlain said.
"Well, like I said, pups like to play and they will test boundaries until they know what they should do. I know I did when I was little. But of course, I hadn't been here when I was their age." Shenzi said.
"Nothing wrong with my world, is there?" He asked.
"Oh no! I love it here. For one thing, there are no stupid lions here! I get to run the show on my own when it comes to hunting. Not having to worry about them coming to steal my food." Shenzi laughed. "But the new creatures are still strange to me, but I'm getting used to them."
As he listened to her, SkekSil knew he had rivalry among his own kind as well, but he didn't have to worry too much about his food being stolen from him. They continued on.
Soon, they were back at Chamberlain's room. He opened the door and found the pups wrestling on his bed.
"Hey!" He shouted.
"Kids!" Shenzi did likewise.
They all stopped playing. "Hi Mom! Just passing the time." Shetani said.
"It's nice you are finding something to do waiting on us, but just remember this. Don't trash Chamberlain's bed or his room. You understand?" She demanded.
"Yes, Mom." They said together.
"Mom, can we ask something?" Eddie asked.
"What?"
"Is Chamberlain our daddy?" He asked.
Both Shenzi and Chamberlain's eyes lit up. She looked back at him. He was more than shocked by that question. Then she turned back to her pups.
"No kids. Chamberlain is a good friend of mine."
"Then who is our daddy?" Banzai asked.
This was hard for Shenzi, but they needed to know. She still missed her mate and other best friend, Ed.
"Before you were even born here, I lived on a different planet. That was where I knew your father. He was a hyena like me. You, Banzai, are named after him. And you Little Eddie, are named after your Uncle Ed. We were friends in the same clan ever since we were pups ourselves."
"We grew up together, lived with lions ruled by a lion named Scar together, we separated together, and then your dad and I fell in love. We were close. I got pregnant with you three. I wasn't very far along though with you when we were all eating a meal that we had caught ourselves one day. Then some lions came and attacked us. They killed your father and Ed. So I'm alone now. Until I came here, where I had you. And the Skeksis have been helping me live a better life." Shenzi finished.
"Do any of us look like Dad?" Shetani asked.
"I know you look more like me, Shetani. But your brothers look a lot more like their dad. Especially Little Banzai."
"When do we get our spots?" Eddie asked.
"It won't be too much longer. The black will slowly fade away and it will reveal all your own pattern of spots. None are alike." Shenzi said. "But come on now. It's time to introduce you to the rest of the Skeksis. It was promised tonight."
"Yes, Mom."
"Chamberlain."
He nodded his head. He stepped forward and picked up Shetani and Eddie. Shenzi picked up Banzai, and together, they walked to the door, where Shenzi scratched at the door until it came open. Chamberlain's hands were full with the two pups so he couldn't open it.
On the way to the Council Chamber, the pups looked at the walls and such, marveled at its looks.
Eventually, all three were brought into the room, where all other 8 remaining Skeksis waited and were watching.
"It's about time!" The High Priest said impatiently.
Shenzi and Chamberlain got close to the throne and then put her son down. Chamberlain put the other two down too.
General and the others looked down at the 3 tiny puppies. They were black instead of spotted.
"What's with the different colors?" The Scientist asked.
"My kind are always black when they are born." Shenzi said.
The pups were now more than scared of the whole Skeksis clan. They just looked so mean. They backed to their mother's legs.
"So who is who?" General asked.
Shenzi looked down. "The one on my left leg is Shetani, my daughter, and Eddie in the middle, and Banzai on the right leg." She introduced her offspring to her new family.
"Don't look like much." Gourmand said.
"They'll grow into themselves." Shenzi said. "And right now, they are too small to hunt or eat solid food. I'll teach them all the things they need to know about being what they are and how to hunt when they are grown up enough."
Then she proceeded to introduce each Skeksis individually to her pups and what they did. They were to always show respect to their elders, and especially their Emperor.
And it wasn't long after that that it was proclaimed time for bed.
Shenzi and Chamberlain carried the trio of fluff back to his room, where they would be sleeping in a special bed of their own on the floor. The Skeksis didn't want them on his bed roughhousing again, and most of all while he was sleeping. Shenzi would stay down there with them to make sure they didn't get scared or hungry.
...
After the scariest moments of meeting Chamberlain's clan, the pups still felt scared and cuddled close to Shenzi so they wouldn't hopefully have bad dreams.
Shenzi soon had to go hunting again and she brought back a good sized animal. But this time, it was all for herself. As she ate the flesh down to the bones, she would let her pups have the bones to play with. They needed things to chew on to keep from getting so bored.
After meeting Shenzi's offspring, the Scientist began to make a cage or playpen to keep the pups contained when they couldn't be supervised. The pups mostly stayed in Chamberlain's room.
When her pups were about 3 months old, their black coats had been starting to fade for a little while and the new spots were being revealed finally. Shenzi said that now could be a good time for them to start trying some solid foods, but they were to only be given on a bone, so they could have a good challenge for their jaws and they would be kept busy for awhile. But Shenzi would continue to nurse them for a long time yet.
The Skeksis were more than happy to give up some of the foods on a bone they didn't like. They became food and chew toys for Shetani, Banzai, and Eddie.
As SkekSil was the one who saw the pups the most, he marveled at how creatures so young and small could have such powerful jaws as he saw them chewing on the bones.
