Curtis lifted Chiaki onto his shoulder once they exited the building. With thoughts about what his mate might like from the market he turned towards the busier streets.

Chiaki yelped at suddenly being lifted, she hadn't grown use to the male desire to protect her even inside of a city. "Are there really markets in the city?" She asked from her vantage point of being several feet higher than normal.

"Any city large enough should have at least one market. I was never welcome inside a city walls though and have only heard of such things."

~Father! Mama! I'm so high up!~ Kimba said to the two adults, they didn't understand. The cub didn't mind though, his other father said they could not understand the language of lions but he would one day learn to speak the common tongue of the land. Then his mother and other father would be able to understand his words. Still the cub was excited and could not hold back from speaking.

Chiaki chuckled as Kimba squirmed in his carrying sling. She was glad he only seemed to be trying to look everywhere at once and not to get down. "You'll get to see lots of the city, baby." She said placing a hand on his head and scratching behind the cubs ears. "Can you hear all the people ahead?"

~Yeah!~

Chiaki almost understood the word, but in the end only the enthusiasm came through. "It's a market!" She said as the narrow street they were in suddenly opened up into a huge open square.

~Market!~ Kimba mimicked.

Curtis grinned at the excitement in his mates voice and even the cubs meowing. He'd paid more then a little attention to the map on the wall back where they had bought the house. He'd seen several large open areas placed around the city that must have been made for markets, festivals, and other large events. He'd headed to the closest one outwardly confidant, while internally hoping he wasn't wrong. Thankfully his plan had worked out.

"What would you like?" Curtis asked.

Chiaki raised a had to her mouth. She'd never seen a market in the beast world before and had no idea what would be sold in one. "Ah, let's just look around."

"Okay. Hold onto me, it's very crowded here."

The first thing Chiaki noted about the market was that like her all the females were being carried on a shoulder or in the crook of an arm. They looked uppity and paid no attention to any of the other females, just directing their mates to take them here or there. Like the females in the Winged Lion Tribe and the Leopard Tribe, every female had facial features that on Earth would cause them to be considered less pretty, from simply plain looking to unattractive. Most females had short cut hair that made Chiaki wonder if it was viewed as a pretty hairstyle for females, while many males had long and often very silky hair.

Chiaki touched her own hair. It was long and smooth. Because of the modern know how of herself, Ji Mo and Qingqing the three of them could keep their hair soft and clean. Water, certain plant oils and even fragrances combined into a rare item for females. An all in one shampoo and conditioner to keep their hair just as luxurious as the natural hair of the beast men.

Not many females paused to study Chiaki, but the looks of envy from the males put Curtis on edge. Not every male in the marketplace was mated, with unmated males looking to trade for items to impress the female they were pursuing... or even just looking to find a female to pursue. Chiaki's combination of only two mate marks and holding a healthy cub made her very attractive. Many males didn't even bring her actual looks into their thoughts when seeing her.

It was Curtis that kept any male from approaching the new female in the city. His unfriendly demeanour and four-stripe status was too much for the weakest males to even think about pursuing Chiaki. They felt they would surely always be the last status male in such a family group.

"Look at these items." Curtis said as they stopped at one of the stalls.

Chiaki looked at the items. They were carved figurines! The male behind the stand puffed out his chest in pride. He had carved these during the last cold season, a way to use the bone from food and pass the time. He had grown very good at reproducing prey animals in carved form. "Hand carved!" The male said. "Bone and horn and tusk."

Chiaki shook her head. None of the carved items caught her eye. Curtis moved on before the other male had a chance to try and talk up his wares.

There were lots of furs and hides for trade, some finished clothing, small amounts of food. Pots made from clay, baskets woven from different kinds of reeds and grasses, and even bowls carved from wood. Some of the items were basic, others were higher quality, a few even ornamental. Still Chiaki noticed a lack of something. There were no items made from metal. No items made of glass. There was no jewelry. No toys for children. It was like the idea of items made for anything other than survival did not exist.

The only stall with anything of the sort was the very first one, with the carved animal figurines. No one had been looking at his wares though. It was bizarre, that a society that had evolved to the point of large cities of thousands had no arts.

Chiaki gazed back to the stall at the far end of the market. She almost couldn't see it through the crowd of people between the distance. "Kurt-" She said twisting to look down at her mate. "Take me back to the first stall, the one with the carved animal trinkets."

Curtis nodded. With a smile he worked his way through the crowd. Perhaps his mate had chosen something he could buy for her after all. That would make her happy and when she looked at the item, she would think of him. "These?" He asked as they neared the stall again.

It was still empty, no one else looking at the carved pieces. The male looked down, obviously having not sold or traded a single item all day. Chiaki studied him as they neared. He had long chestnut colored hair, that reminded her of the winged lion male she and Ji Mo called Chestnut-feather. But he had no wings and the ears on his head were black as was the smooth tail that hung limply behind him. He had no beast-stripes that she could see.

He perked up as they came closer to his stall, opening his mouth to proclaim his wares. "Hand-"

"I know." Chiaki cut in, trying to be polite and still not have to listen to the description. "I was here earlier in the day."

"O-oh- Sorry female!" He said as he rubbed the back of his head. "Then you saw a carving you liked?" He asked hopefully.

"Well- not exactly." Chiaki began. "I was more interested in the fact that you seem to be the only one in the market that has items that are not just for being used. You have... art."

"Art?" The male said as he tilted his head.

Chiaki nodded. "Art is an item made to be enjoyed, not just something that is useful."

"Hmm, art." The male said. "I like this word you have came up with!" He smiled up at Chiaki. "You are very smart, female!" He complemented.

Curtis hissed at him. The male was being too friendly to his mate. "Enough talk no-stripe." He said.

The male shrunk back a little, but he nodded after a moment. Taking a breath he spoke. "Are you interested in the carvings?"

Chiaki sighed. She didn't know why this was so difficult in this world. "I'm interested in why you made them... instead of something that can be used. Tell me."

The males ears drooped. "I know they are not useful. But all the stalls have things the males have made, there are lots of males with baskets and hides... I'm just a low status no-striped male. My ability to make those items can not stand up to the work of males who have years of experience. During the cold season, I passed the time carving the leftover bones. I thought... maybe the females would like them and I could earn a few spar, but no one has had any interest at all."

Finally a proper explanation. Chiaki smiled. Seeing her smile, the male stood a little taller and his ears perked forward. A female smiling at him was a very rare thing. Curtis hissed in displeasure. "How much for them?" She asked.

Surprised by the question the male blinked owlishly at her for a moment. "Ah! I-I'm not sure." He blushed. "I- guess... make an offer?" He said as his eyebrows came together in worry.

"What one do you want?" Curtis asked.

"All of them." Chiaki said confidently. She was sure the spar that they had gotten back from buying the house could cover the couple of handfuls of small figures sitting on the wooden board.

The male and Curtis both had the same reaction of coughing in surprise at the statement. "All?!" The male squeaked. At Chiakis nod he quickly began to count up the items he had for sale. "Ah- one hand... eleven... three hands... eighteen!"

Chiaki was surprised at the odd counting method. Each time he came to a number divisible by five he would call it a amount of hands. He was also counting very quickly compared to the male who had sold her the house.

"Eighteen." Curtis repeated the final total of items on display. "Five green spar."

The male thought for a moment, green spar was the most common spar after clear. "One light blue spar and two green spar." He countered.

"Five green spar and two clear spar. I wont go higher." Curtis said while he narrowed his eyes. This no-stripe male had a sharp mind. None of the beast men he had dealt with in the past had the nerve to not accept his first offer. That might have been because he was a lone feral snake or because he often overpaid just to get what he wanted with as little interaction as possible.

Another pause, then, "Deal. Five green spar and two clear spar for all the carvings." The male repeated the terms of the agreement.

Curtis pulled out the spar, noticing the males eyes widen as he saw the red spar and the clear crystal amongst the rest of the more common gems. He counted out the gems and handed them over to the speechless male. Without a fight Curtis had proven his ability to the other. He was a four-stripe male, he had killed a colossal beast, he had rare spar to spend on the desires of his mate.

Chiaki pulled Kimba out of the carry sling so she could place all the carvings into it. They didn't have a hide bag with them, so the sling would have to do. She held onto her cub, placing him on-top of the full sling.

~Many things!~ Kimba announced. Then his belly rumbled. ~Mama! Hungry!~

The male chuckled "You have a very talkative cub. Last years litter?"

Chiaki shook her head. "He's only about one season old."

A look of surprise crossed the males face. "He's much bigger than the cubs from my Black Panther Tribe at that age!"

Chiaki looked at Kimba. He looked the size she guessed a three-month-old tiger cub would be on Earth. Was he really that ahead for this world?

"We should head home." Curtis interrupted. This male had been given much more attention than was needed. Now he wanted to head back into the narrow twisting streets of the city where Chiaki would only pay attention to him and the buildings. With a careful grip on his mates side, Curtis quickly turned away from the now emptied stall.