Jack softly hummed to himself as he carried a bowl filled with water to the room Nani had been in for over a month after discovering her pregnancy. The young man's knees wobbled a little at one point and he had to take a second to recover before moving on. He and Chase had just finished his training, more balancing practice, about an hour ago and his legs were a little sore from all of the jumping.
"How's my little princess..." Jack froze when he found the room empty. "Nani?" No answer. "Nani!" The young man ran away from the room. "Nani!" Jack checked the kitchen, no Nani. He checked his room, no Nani. She wasn't in Chase's room, the dining room nor the training room. "Nani!" The genius ended up at the entrance of the lair and finally found Nani sitting in front of the opening, staring outside with her ears down. "There you are!" Jack exclaimed. Nani glanced over her shoulder at Jack before looking back outside.
"What's wrong?" Jack placed the, now half-empty, bowl on the ground and saw down next to Nani. "You waiting for Liam and Niso to return with Chase?" Nani's shoulders only slumped at the question. "There's no need to worry, they'll be back soon." Jack rubbed Nani's side and noticed that she was still staring. "Are you worried about Xina going after Liam?" Jack let out a scoff. "Puh-lease, she's way too young for him." The warrior raised a brow at Jack. "Hush, me and Chase are different." Nani shook her head and continued looking outside. "You want to go outside?" Nani's ears perked up. "Why don't you then?" Nani meowed softly and drew a 'C' on the ground with a paw. "Chase won't let you go outside?" Nani nodded her head. "What about going to the bathroom?" The warrior tilted her head side-to-side. "Only exception?" A head nod. "Let me guess, you can only go so-so far away from the lair?" Another head nod.
"Alright, let's go." Nani meowed a question as Jack stood up. "We're going for a walk." Jack started leaving. Nani meowed again. "Didn't Chase put you in charge of watching me?" Nani gave Jack a look that screamed -that was before I got pregnant'. "Oh no, I think I'm falling." Jack stepped outside and sat down. "Oh no, I think I'm hurt, won't someone come out here and save me?" Nani rolled her eyes and padded over to Jack, nudging his shoulder with her head. Jack let out a fake gasp and put a hand on his chest. "You saved me, I might not have made it out here in the big bad world without you." Nani nudged Jack again and tried to go back inside. "Oh no, I think I'm falling again." Nani let out an amused purr as Jack walked backward. "It's a really slow fall." He explained. "You should make sure that I land okay." Nani smiled a little and followed Jack down the cliff and into the woods.
Nani leaped forward and crushed the rat under her paws before biting into its neck, killing the critter.
"The animals here make no geographical sense." Jack stated. "Does Chase just grab animals from all over the world and release them here to breed or something?" The young man's question was forgotten when Nani tore the rat in half in her jaw. "I could have gone without seeing that." He muttered, feeling his stomach turn at the sight. "No...no thank you." Jack said after Nani offered the other half of the rat to him.
Nani finished eating the rat and licked her lips, cleaning the blood off of them. She suddenly stiffened and her ears went up. The warrior crouched down, tucking her paws under her and wrapping her tail around her body. Jack watched as the panther took several slow and soft steps towards a small bush. One of Nani's ears twitched right before she jumped into the bush. Jak flinched when he heard a high-pitched shriek. Nani came out of the bush, looking very proud of herself as she carried a limp squirrel in her mouth.
"Poor little guy." Jack said and turned his head when Nani started eating the squirrel. "I don't think I can ear meat anymore." He groaned. "Or anything ever again." The young man plopped himself down on the ground, laying his head against a log while Nani sat down next to him, licking her paw and running it over her head. "I'm surprised that we never ran into Chase and the others." Jack mused out loud. "They must have gone a different way." Nani shrugged her shoulders and settled down, eyes closing for a nap. "That's not a bad idea, actually. Training was hard today." Jack was about to close his own eyes when he heard his last name being yelled. "Uh oh, we're busted."
"What do you two think you're doing!?" Chase roared as he, Niso, Liam and Xina walked through the trees and into Nani's and Jack's little patch of grass.
"Hi, Chasey." Jack laughed nervously.
"Do not 'Hi, Chasey' me." Chase grabbed Jack's arm and yanked him to his feet. "Not a single word of warning to anyone and you head out right before the sun sinks!? What would you have done if it got dark before you decided to return!? You can barely navigate through your own lab if the lighting is a little darker than usual!" Chase scolded the younger man. "And what are you doing hunting!? Chase glared down at Nani, who was hiding her face under her paws. "And do not try to tell me that she wasn't, Spicer. I can still smell the blood. You are pregnant, Nani! I told you to stay indoors to keep you and the cub safe and you deliberately disobey me!"
"It's not her fault, Chase!" Jack raised his voice and waved his hands to get Chase's attention. "She was following your orders. The one to make sure that I'm okay. Remember? Nani, Niso, and Raja were in charge of me before...you know and I took advantage of that so she could get some fresh air." Jack curled up a little and poked two fingers together, staring at them so he wouldn't have to look at the warlord. "She was going stir-crazy and fresh air is great for a pregnant person and their baby." The young man kept his head tilted down as he glanced up at Chase. Chase's arms were crossed and his eyes were closed in thought.
"Fine." Chase finally said after what felt like hours of waiting in silence.
"What?"
"If Nani needs to be outdoors, she muse have at least three other warriors with her and if you wish to join her, then I must be present as well."
"Really!?" Jack and Nani both perked up.
"Yes, really." Chase sighed. Jack let out a cheer and hugged Chase.
"Everyone says that you're a heartless, cold-blooded monster, but you're really a soft teddy-bear." Jack rubbed his face into Chase's neck.
"Don't make me go back to the three-second rule." Chase warned.
"You wouldn't do that." Jack said.
"Try me."
"Would that rule apply to kisses as well?" Jack poked Chase's lips with a finger and laughed a little when Chase moved the hand with his own and couldn't prevent himself from smiling a little. "Looks like I know one of your weaknesses." Jack chuckled.
"You have no idea, Spicer."
