Curtis stood over the dead Colossal Beast, then began to tear through it's body. He dug his hands in deeply to find what he was after. Finally his hand closed around his prize. He pulled the clear crystal from the body. He'd been unable to find any Colossal Herbivore Beasts in the week he'd been hunting. This was the first of the beasts he'd found at all. They were plentiful where he'd been living in the past, but near the leopard village they were sparse. It was a safe place to raise cubs... Curtis frowned.
The damn winged lion had fathered their mates first young. She was so small though, the cold season must have been harsh on her. Where she had one been plump and round, she was now twig thin. There was still the chance she'd loose the cubs. Curtis held up the bloody crystal. If anything went wrong, this could keep Chiaki alive.
Curtis smirked. No male would call him a bad mate now. Gathering crystals was life threatening, getting the emerald crystals that stopped aging even more so. Only a four striped beast male like himself could kill a Colossal Herbivore by themselves. This clear crystal was a bit easier, the Colossal Carnivore Beasts were dangerous but manageable one-on-one for a male.
He looked at the dead carnivore and shifted into his giant snake form. It was a large meal, even for him, but it would feed him for the hunt.
o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o
"Small birds." Qianhuang said as he pointed to the forest canopy. "They are arriving by the hundreds. It's the best choice for fatter prey."
"Hibernating animals." Parker said pointing to the ground. "They are bigger and more filling."
"They are too lean this early in the light-rainy season." Qianhuang disagreed.
"It takes too many tiny birds to make a meal." Parker countered, crossing his arms.
"My mate needs fats. She could have cubs any day now!"
Parker's ears flattened. "Well when Qingqing goes into heat again, I'm sure we will have cubs on the way too!"
"What are you two arguing about?" Chiaki asked as she walked up to the group of gathered males.
Qianhuangs ears perked up at his mates arrival. "We are trying to pick the best animals to hunt now that the season is changing."
"I think the animals waking up from hibernation would be best, they are as hungry as we are and wont be as careful as they will be later in the season." Parker said.
"And I disagree." Qianhuang replied. "The birds migrating back to this area will be fatter from a cold season in the warmer lands."
Several other males had chosen each side. It seemed about evenly divided. Of course the answer was clear. Chiaki nodded. "I see. Well, there are more than enough males to do both hunts, right?" She said with a a smile. "If it's going to be a group hunt anyway, the food will get shared. Take the groups different directions. When you all return, the village meal will have both!"
Several males from both sides brightened at the idea. "Oh, the female is so smart!" "Female are you looking for another mate?" "Female, I will hunt the animal you want, just for you!" "Female, please eat the prey I bring back!"
Chiaki sighed as the unmated males began to gush over her simple solution to keep the two groups from fighting. "Please, please. Thank you males." She said as she motioned with her hands for the group to stay calm. "I'm not looking for another mate right now! I have cubs on the way! And two mates already!"
As the groups separated Chiaki heard a laugh from behind her. She turned around to see a female holding a basket. "Eudora! You are out of the house!"
The snobby female nodded. "It looks like you are just as popular after the cold season as before it. Thankfully I'm not interested in any of those no-stripe males." She said as she stuck her nose up towards the group. "And yes, I am out. I wanted to show off my new cubs." She nodded at the basket. "I was first to give birth this season!"
Chiaki chuckled at the way Eudora turned the statement into a way to brag. She walked over to the basket and peaked in. Three tiny faces looked back up at her from inside. "Oh Eudora, your cubs are so cute!"
"Of course my sons are cute." Eudora said with a large grin. "This litter belongs to my sixth male."
"Sixth male?! How can you handle them all, don't they fight?"
Eudora made a noise. "Humph. Of course they fight, how else will they keep themselves organized!" She jerked he nose upwards again. "You don't know much."
Chiaki looked down at the cubs again. Eudora was right. She didn't know nearly as much as a woman born into this world. Right now she was realizing her babies would be born in animal form! "You're right, I do have a lot left to learn. I'm trying though."
"That's good." Eudora said. They walked a ways in silence, before Eudora sat down and placed her basket of cubs on the ground. They curiously looked over the basket edge, still too small to run around in the grass. "You must have been sheltered growing up."
"Qingqing is the sheltered one." Chiaki said as she sat down.
Eudora bristled. "Augh, don't even mention that male stealing little female! I wanted Parker as a mate!"
"Well he chose differently. Nothing you can do about that."
Eudora pouted. "I'm going to make her life miserable for it anyway. She had no right just showing up and upsetting how things are done!"
"Trust me, she is miserable already."
Eudora raised an eyebrow. "How so?"
"Qingqing is spoiled. From what I heard her and Parker are still not getting along very well, even though they mated a whole season ago." Chiaki shook her head. "Parker wants cubs right away and Qingqing..."
"How selfish!" Eudora burst in anger. "It's a females most important job to have lots of cubs! I have always made sure to give all my mates a litter!"
"Didn't you try to seduce Parker with a chance at cubs last season?"
Eudora had the decency to blush. "I might have said something like that." She looked away. "Really! I was just upset that some newcomer had gotten Parkers attention so quickly!"
Chiaki laughed. "You know, you aren't as bad as I thought you would be."
"I'm the most popular female in the village." Eudora boasted. "Being aloof is part of who I am. The other females can be angry all they want. I get the pick of all the males here." She paused. "I may also be mean to females who are getting the attention of a male I have my eye on."
"So you are a bully?"
"Only sometimes!"
Chiaki and Eudora looked at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing together.
