Chiaki was amazed that nothing happened during their trip to the City of Beasts. With the two males each spending time at night keeping watch nothing had entered the camp. They moved swiftly during the day, covering much distance. It was still Spring when they arrived.

"I'm glad that the Spring in this world is the light-rainy season." Chiaki said. "The Autumn heavy-rainy season makes it cold travelling. How long until the hot season of Summer?"

"A few more weeks until the start of the hot season." Qianhuang said as they overlooked the huge City of Beasts.

"I can't believe we got her so quickly! And this city is huge!" Chiaki widened her arms as she gestured out to the city below. "There must be thousands of people living here!"

"Yes." Both males agreed.

"They wont try to run Curtis off will they?" She asked. "He's considered a feral beast after all."

"I have a mate." Curtis said placing his hand on the snake mark on her thigh. "No male will try to make me leave."

Chiaki blushed at the contact. She hadn't noticed that the skirt she was wearing had slipped up so high as to show the top of her thigh. She gently touched the top of Curtis' hand. He smiled at her and removed his hand. "Now that we are mates, I will use my shed skin from last hot season to make you cooling clothing."

"First we need to find a home in the city. And you need to pick up the jars you placed down to transform." Qianhuang informed Curtis.

The two males bristled at each other. Though Curtis could beat him in a fight he listened to Qianhuang. The winged lion male seemed to be the favourite mate between the two of them. Curtis wished for that to change. Perhaps when they had settled into their new home, he could persuade Chiaki to give him a clutch of eggs. Having his children would make her think about him more often.

"Oh my goodness! The houses here are so much more modern that back in the Leopard Village!" Chiaki exclaimed as they walked into the outer ring of the City of Beasts.

"These houses are more advanced than the ones in the Winged Lion Village too." Qianhuang added. Carefully he sniffed the air. "The hoses near us are occupied though. We will have to look further. Chiaki, do you want a house in the outer layer of the city, or would you like to look further in first?"

"These houses have a lot of yard, let's look here first."

"It isn't as safe." Curtis said. "A home deeper into the city would be more defended."

"These houses are stone and have a second story. That already makes them more protection than when we were living in the Leopard Village."

"That's true." Curtis nodded.

They drew many looks as the walked down the stone path leading through the outer ring of the City of Beasts. Many gasped at the sight of Curtis, still in giant snake form, as he slithered behind Qianhuang. Chiaki was seated at Qianhuangs neck, in-front of the reed baskets, the cub in the sling around her chest.

Qianhuang followed his nose through the city, investigating each house before moving onto the next when it became apparent that it was occupied. He traced through about half the outer city ring when he paused at the gate to one home. With a nudge, he pushed open the gate and sniffed up the path. Then he sniffed the door. "No one is living in this house." He said. He pushed open the door, it gave way easily.

"Are you sure?" Chiaki asked as she saw inside. "There is furniture in here."

Qianhuang sniffed the floor, walking into the house a step before he became to large to go further. "I smell no new scents here in the entrance." He backed out slowly, he'd almost gotten his head stuck in the door frame.

"Then I will go pay for this house." Curtis said. Carefully he lowered himself and began to transform. As his body shrunk in size the clay pots touched the ground and remained standing. He shifted into his half-snake form and was able to slither free one by one from the harness of each set of jars.

"Kurt, in full legged form!" Chiaki called. With a pause Curtis transformed again, this time becoming fully a man. "And a hip wrap! You can find finished ones in there." She added while pointing to one of the woven reed baskets. Curtis nodded, pulled the basket open and grabbed a dark brown hip wrap, fastening it around his hips in one fluid movement. "No one should guess he's a feral... right?"

Qianhuang looked at the other male. "Unfortunately any male close enough to him will still be able to smell that he is a snake, he wont frighten any females though."

"Darn, should we go with him?"

Qianhuang looked at the house and then at all of their belongings. He really wanted to stay with Chiaki and not let Curtis have time alone with her, but weaving his way through the narrow streets further inside the city would become troublesome. "I will watch our things and start moving them into this house." He said and transformed once Chiaki was safely on the ground with all of the packs and baskets he'd been carrying settled next to the clay pots. "Come back quickly!"

Curtis smirked at the winged lion male as he left through the gate with Chiaki.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

"Should I carry you?" Curtis asked as they looked for the gate that lead into the next ring of the city.

"I've been sitting all day. I'd like to walk for a while." Chiaki said as she lifted Kimba from the carrying sling. The cub was a couple months old now and still being given breast milk, along with meat. He was growing so fast!

The cub happily pawed at his mothers nose. ~Mama!~ He said in the language of lions.

Curtis looked at the cub. He was healthy and large for his age. His father was only a single-stripe male though, so he wondered how strong the cub would be when he came of age. He shook his head. The offspring of most males did not have to be run off. This was not a future rival... it was... family?

Curtis looked at Chiaki, his eyes becoming lidded with a soft happy feeling settling in his chest. His mate had survived a cold-season because she had a second male to look after her during the time he was asleep. It was a hard task for a single male. She would need another mate to make it easier. He didn't like the thought of her splitting her attention between three males, but that was the way of the world.

He would make sure the next time she went into heat that he was the father of her offspring. After she was pregnant, he would allow other males to pursue her affections. The City of Beast was filled with many, many more males. They were also many stronger males than what was in the leopard village. Chiaki wouldn't have to take another no-stripe male as a mate.