~Hungry!~ Kimba said again as they entered the house together for the first time.

"Looks like he's hungry." Qianhuang said, noticing them.

"Oh so that's what he's been repeating all the way home!" Chiaki said with a blush. "I wish I could understand the beast languages-" She was suddenly surrounded by a bright blue glow.

A soft voice, almost in a whisper came to her. (A-analyzing lin- linguistics... Pow-er.. g-r-an-t-...) The light faded away quickly.

"Chiaki!" Curtis and Qianhuang were both calling out to her. Both males were gently shaking her shoulders, their faces pressed close together as both tried to look into her eyes at the same time. The sling of animal carvings was on the floor, some scattered about.

Kimba was sitting on the floor behind his fathers crying out. "~Mama! Mama!~"

Chiakis eyes came into focus. With a gasp she pushed between the two males to pick up her cub. "Kimba! It's okay! Don't cry!"

"~Mama!~"

"Yes, yes, mama is here." Chiaki soothed the frightened cub.

"~You stopped.~" Kimba said as he snuggled into his mothers arms.

"Stopped?" Chiaki questioned. "What does he mean?" She asked Qianhuang as she turned to face the two males. Qianhuang and Curtis were staring at her, the same look of surprise on their faces. "Key? Kurt? Is everything alright?"

"You understood Kimba?" Qianhuang half asked, half stated as he pointed to his son.

"I- I did?! I did, didn't I?!" She looked at the cub in her arms. "Kimba?"

The cub sniffled and looked up at his mother. "~Mama?~"

"I can understand you!" She looked at Curtis. "Curtis, can you understand him?"

The red-headed male shook his head. "No, I hear the same thing I have heard all day."

"This is amazing!" Chiaki said and hugged her cub closer to her. "It's okay now baby. Let's get you some food."

Quietly the cub nodded his head, tired out from the shock of when his mother stopped moving and his own crying. "~Yeah.~"

Curtis picked up the sling and animal carvings, placing them on a table. Qianhuang helped Chiaki squeeze out her breast milk into a bowl for their cub. Kimbas baby teeth had grown in and it made breast feeding him painful, but she insisted he still needed the milk. Her mates would not disagree with the choices she made with her raising of the offspring. While the cub lapped up the milk from the bowl, Qianhuang sat another bowl, this one with tender cooked meat in it, down beside the cub.

"You should rest." Qianhuang said as he looked at Chiaki. "Today has been full and you are tired." He brushed her hair from her face and cupped her cheek in his palm.

Chiaki nodded. She hadn't felt tired when they arrived home, but now she felt all her energy had left her. Qianhuang picked her up gently and headed up to the second story of the house. He hadn't had time to make a proper sleeping place with soft grass, but a few layered up furs would do for an afternoon nap. By the time he placed her on the furs Chiaki was sleeping soundly. Qianhuang kissed his mates forehead before returning downstairs.

"We should get everything put away." Curtis commented when Qianhuang returned downstairs.

"You should be worried for our mate. Chiaki stood gazing at nothing for several moments and would not respond! Now she can understand the language of the lion tribe."

Curtis looked at Kimba, causing Qianhuang to look towards the cub. Kimba was watching the two adult males, worry easily seen on his face. "Now is not the time." Curtis said. With a nod Qianhuang could only agree.

Curtis moved all the clay jars filled with food to the room Qianhuang directed him to store them in. It was cooler below the ground and the room was below the house, dug out of the dirt and lined with stone. While he did that Qianhuang placed all the woven reed baskets filled with the rest of their things into a side room connected to the main living area.

"Cub." Qianhuang said as his picked up Kimba. "Curtis and I are going hunting and to scout out the area around the City of Beasts. You stay in the house and watch over your mother."

~Yes father!~ Kimba growled happily. He got to protect mama! The cub puffed out his chest in pride.