Chiaki woke to the feeling of being nursed on and a very warm chest. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at the tiny striped cub latched to her. It- he was dry now, and the markings fuzzy. The other cubs were resting on her, apparently already full.

"Five cubs!" Skye said excitedly from beside her.

"Yeah... I... how can we take care of so many?" She voice the worry as she even counted the five tinny balls of fuzz. "Five!"

Curtis was asleep in a corner, while Qianhuang and Jiu Ruan were nowhere in sight. Winston and Bai Di were sat on her other side, weaving a basket between them. Apparently, they had decided that they would share in making a basket to carry the cubs together. Chiaki couldn't tell them apart, the five of them.

"Here." Skye said as he lifted a bowl of broth up. "The others are delivering the good news to the village and out hunting."

Chiaki nodded. She would need to stay hydrated if she wanted to produce enough milk to feed five growing babies.

"Once they come back, you can have a bigger meal." Winston said as he looked over at the two of them. His eyes were sparkling with joy.

"Alright." She felt the cub unlatch from her nipple and looked back to him. His mouth was covered in milk. Eyes closed, ears folded back, unable to do more than lift his tiny head. She remembered when Kimba was this young, though not this small. "No... complications?" She asked nervously.

"All five seem healthy, the last two are a little smaller, but they were able to eat just fine." Those two were Winston's own cubs, the two that had been hidden behind their brothers for most of the pregnancy or at least when the healers had given Chiaki checkups.

"Don't worry about taking care of them." Bai Di said. "The Rock Mountain Wolf Tribe females can have litters as large as two or three times this size."

"Ten to fifteen?" She said as her eyes widened.

"Jiu Ruan said as much." Bai Di nodded.

"I couldn't even imagine being that pregnant! I'd look like a walking parade float!" None of them knew what a parade float was. Skye almost asked, but she continued. "I think... this bunch should be as many as I have for a while. My body isn't made for being pregnant over and over so quickly."

Skye's ears drifted down as he thought about what that meant for him. He'd have to wait longer for cubs of his own. But he looked at the cubs that were sleeping on their mother and realized that with a whole hand worth of cubs there would be plenty of young for him to also be busy. One hand and two actually, counting Kimba and Copper. That was seven offspring to feed and keep safe, and six males to do so.

Chiaki had finished the broth and drifted back to sleep before either Jiu Ruan or Qianhuang returned. Harvey and Langzhu had came in and checked over the cubs, surprised by the number given neither had ever been able to find more then three extra heartbeats during exams. Chiaki too was in no danger after the birth, and was free to return home whenever she wished.

Qianhuang noticed the empty broth bowl. "She woke?"

"Yes." Skye nodded. "She sounded tired, but fine."

"Good." The white lion male said as his ears perked up a little. "I caught wild piglet, Jiu Ruan is cooking at the cave."

The smell of the food being delivered roused Chiaki again, though she wasn't sure how long she had slept. The cubs had been removed from where they had been sleeping on her and were now in the finished basket right between Winston and Bai Di. She sat up carefully, but found it too much and leaned back down. Of course this cause all of the males to quickly let her know she needed to rest.

"I will, I will" She promised softly.

Skye helped her lean up just slightly, tucking a soft fur under her head and neck so she could see the room easily. Jiu Ruan brought over the roasted meat and roots, feeding her little bits by hand. There was more broth too, to wash it down with, instead of water. "You need all the food you can get." Curtis said. "The broth will give you plenty of water and more."

She wasn't going to argue, she'd lived on sugary drinks most of her life without drinking much water. It was bad for her, yes, but it hadn't really done any harm as far as she could tell. Drinking what was mostly vegetable stock and meat broth was better than caramel coloring and random chemical concoction number eight-thousand.

So she ate what was very tender pork, potatoes, carrots, celery all roasted together with a bit of salt, and the broth was drank. She couldn't tell who had been the cook, but it was rather bland. Given she wasn't sure her body would want more spices and herbs, she thought it might have been intentionally left that way.

"Do you want to go home now?" Curtis asked as the food slowly disappeared.

"I don't think I could get up right now." Chiaki admitted.

"Let her rest here for the night. I'm sure that when she needs the sandpit her body will let her know, how well she handles that will determine how easy it will be for returning to your family home." Langzhu said as he waved a hand in-front of his face. "Nothing better than a cozy night with the new family, yeah?" His eyes twinkled in the dimming light.

The room of Langzhu's home was indeed much smaller than either room of their home, keeping the lot of them sat closer than typical. As night approached everyone settled in for a rest, knowing the day ahead would be hectic.