The Matriarch looked worried after Ji Mo and Chiaki finished talking with her. "And you say only Lord Qianhuang also knows all of this?" the old woman asked.
"Yes, I couldn't lie to him." Chiaki said.
The Matriarch put a hand on the younger females shoulder. "You are a good female."
She then looked at Ji Mo. "I'm sorry for pushing you to pick a mate Ji Mo, I did not know. However I still believe that the safest thing for you is to pick a mate from the Winged Lion Clan. Without a mate a male of another Clan or Tribe or even a rouge could kidnap you and no one would have any way to find you."
Chiaki touched the mating mark on her shoulder. "Key-ang told me this mark holds some of his power."
"That is correct." The old woman nodded. "With it your mate can track you and bring you back to safety."
"I will think about it." Ji Mo conceded.
"Thank you. Plus, with all the females that were given 'salt' starting to feel less sick, males will have their attention on more than just you two. Ji Mo, you may not realize it yet, but you really are saving the Winged Lion Clans future."
Ji Mo blushed at the praise. "Thank you Matriarch."
"It's getting dark." Chiaki noticed.
"Indeed, the males will probably not get back until tomorrow, only Lord Qianhuang would be able to fly to the ocean and back before night." The Matriarch looked at Chiaki. "I will ask Lord Priest to take you home."
o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o
Chiaki blushed as Lord Priest sat her on the ground. Though an older man, he was still very good looking and she wasn't use to being carried by anyone other than Qianhuang. He seemed much more calm than the other males of the clan. She had to ask. "Why aren't you asking to be mates with me?"
Lord Priest chuckled. "You are a very lovely female, Chiaki. I have a mate though, so my heart is already taken. If I were a younger male and unmated, Matriarch would not have trusted me to bring you to your home alone."
"Oh." She said looking away. "Sorry."
He patted her on the head. "You are a good female, be sure to give birth to lots of winged lion cubs for Lord Qianhuang."
"Uh- I- good night Lord Priest." Chiaki said and rushed into the home she shared with Qianhuang.
Safely inside Chiaki sighed as she sat in the bed. There were still rolls of tanned hides laying around and the scraps of the ones Qianhuang had used to make her dress. She placed a hand on her belly. She knew Qianhuang wanted her to have his children, but she didn't know if she was ready for that. Other males wanted her to become their mate and have their children too! Things moved so fast in this world.
She needed to make a calendar, to keep track of her periods. She hadn't been thinking about the chance of getting pregnant even though she and Qianhuang had had sex many times. She grabbed a discarded piece of leather that had been too small to use in her dress and started to count back the days.
She'd been here, the day when she arrived, and another day, and another day... this was her third night in this world. Taking into account when she had her last period... she should be safe. It was about another seven days before she was fertile. She frowned, it wasn't perfect, but there weren't any better ways to measure these things in this world. It could be in the next three days or in ten days.
She shifted, trying to pull her legs up under her, but her knee protested. She'd walked on it too much today. She rolled up the leather hide after making a rough calendar on it with ash, it would rub off in a day or so but tomorrow she could find something better to write with. Knowing Qianhuang would be gone all night, she fell asleep.
