Curtis confirmed by scent that Chiaki's heat cycle had came to an end for the month. Now all they could do was wait to see if she developed any symptoms of pregnancy. It was another sweltering day inside the walls of the City of Beasts, the hot-dry season living up to it's name once again.
The whole city was quiet as the noon day sun reached it's zenith. The females of the city were hidden away in their homes. Their mates had hunted in the early morning in an attempt to also avoid the heat. Even the young unmated males lounged under trees and in any shade they could find instead of their usual antics. There was movement in one home though as a dark haired female and her red haired mate cleaned up the mid-day meal.
"How far is the river?" Chiaki asked as she and Curtis finished cleaning up. She moved on to changing her loose dress for a new piece of clothing, a snake skin swimsuit. The bright red scale pattern two piece had been made with a leftover bit from Curtis's shedding the year prior.
"If you walk, perhaps an hour. Riding on my tail will be much quicker." Curtis was learning the words for Chiaki's cut up time telling. Watching her flounder as she attempted to show him how far the sun moved had been fun. Chiaki had stood under the sun at mid-day with both her arms pointed up, then moved one arm away mimicking the distance the sun would move. Then she moved her arms again, one remained pointed to the sun above and the other towards the spot of the rising sun and gave it a number. What numbers had to do with the time of day he hadn't a clue. But she moved her arm towards the one pointed up in small movements, naming out each time until she came back to mid-day and both arms were pointed up to the sun. It was like she was doing a little dance with just her arms and he teasingly made her repeat the movements several times "so he could understand". Then she had done the times after the mid-day, until she came to sunset.
Chiaki sighed. "I can't wait, it's stifling in this heat. Swimming in the river this afternoon after staying inside all week will feel wonderful!"
Curtis let his gaze roam over his mate's form. The snake skin swimsuit clung to her like a second skin, covering only the most intimate parts of her body. Even after mating so many times lately he felt his desire for her grow. Pushing aside his body's reaction he transformed into his giant snake form, lifting Chiaki up on his body and exited through the large open window of the upstairs bedroom. The sudden appearance of the four-stripe snake male from the window startled the young unmated males lounging nearby and sent them scattering.
Chiaki laughed in delight as the giant snake form of Curtis weaved it's way through the streets. Few were outside and the streets were clear for him to use as his own personal highway. They were quickly outside the Beast City's outer gate, nearly giving the guards there a heart-attack. "Sorry!" She called back, waving to the frightened guards. She felt Curtis chuckle underneath her.
o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o
"Ji Mo has been a boon to our Tribe." The Matriarch said to Qianhuang as they walked down the village street. "The sea-salt collecting method has been refined to make it faster and cleaner, salt is now one of our biggest trade items!" She boasted. "And the amount of edible plants she has been able to point out in our territory is astounding. We lions may not eat as many fruits and vegetables as meat, but we suffered less hardships this past cold-season by padding out the preserved meat with it."
Qianhuang nodded along with the old females words. Ji Mo had became the central figure of the Winged Lion Tribe. He wondered if she had the same kind of contact with the Beast God that Chiaki had discovered. He was unsure if he could ask, it would tell others of Chiaki's ability and he feared it could cause her to become a target of other rival Tribes. "Salt is known in the City of Beasts and the surrounding villages, but it is all traded from the Fish Beast Tribes and is very limited. That is one of the reasons I travelled home. I brought a food Chiaki calls 'Lentil' to trade, she said Ji Mo would understand."
"Hm, I see." The Matriarch said. "So the Winged Lion Tribe and the Winged Tiger Tribe might be the only tribes on land with the knowledge of turning ocean water into salt."
"The Winged Tiger Tribe know this?!"
The female sighed. "Ji Mo shared the process with them in exchange for them making as much of it with our tribe as possible for the big trade gathering before last cold season. It was shortly after you left. She talked your old rival Amos into a 40-60 split in the salt produced too." She smiled. "From what I have heard, only one Winged Tiger Tribe female was too sick to survive after they added the salt into their food. Ji Mo has saved countless lives and both of the tribes."
"You seem to have a lot to say to me about Ji Mo, Matriarch."
"Very perceptive of you, Lord Saint." The female lifted her nose in the air. "It's true, everything that has happened in the past year has revolved around Ji Mo. So much so that I believe the Winged Lion Tribe look to her more for leadership than they do me. Perhaps it is time for a new Matriarch of the Winged Lion Tribe."
Qianuang was surprised by the news. "You plan to pass leadership to Ji Mo?"
"Yes, she is young and brave and smart. Good things to be when faced with leadership. Still I worry. Being Matriarch is like being the mother of the whole tribe, and being a mother is one thing Ji Mo knows nothing about. It is something I fear you can not help with, unless you know some secret about females like Ji Mo and Chiaki that I do not."
Qianhuang shook his head. There were no secrets to understanding Chiaki and he doubted if there was that it could also be applied to Ji Mo. "I am sorry to agree with you, Matriarch, but I do not."
The Matriarch looked to the ground. "I see. I expected as much, but all I could do was ask and hope. I will have to leave the matter of Ji Mo for later."
o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o
Chiaki found the river water to be cold and refreshing, both to drink and to swim in. Curtis playfully swam around her in his snake form, reminding her of a giant sea monster. The river was wide where they were and the water slower moving, but in the distance the sounds of waterfalls both upstream and downstream could be heard.
The local animals had not been bothered lately and Curtis had hunted small game right after they had arrived. Knowing his mate didn't mind his eating habits he had swallowed his prey whole and then sunned himself on the shore while he watched Chiaki swim. Eventually he had joined her in the water, swimming under her and lifting her out of the river. Quickly he had become part of her play as she slid down his scaled body and back into the river only to climb back onto him moment later after she surfaced.
Currently they lay together on the shore, he in his giant snake form and Chaiki draped over his back. The sun was still high in the sky and warmed him from the water. Chiaki was 'sunbathing' as she called it and promised not to stay in the bright sunlight long enough for her skin to burn. A few minutes, whatever a minute was. More of her time dividing she had explained.
Actually, she was shifting off of his back right now. He had hardly began to warm up and dry off from the water, so "a few minutes" must be a very short amount of time. Curtis opened his eyes and watched Chiaki slip back into the water. With a yawn he closed his eyes again.
Chiaki swam to the far said of the river and pulled herself out of the water. She glanced back at Curtis sunning himself on the other shore, his large bright red body easy to see from a distance. She'd noticed fruit bearing trees while swimming and wanted to investigate. The trees made up the edge of the forest and were growing a pale green fruit she didn't recognize. The trees were quite small, short enough that Curtis in his snake form would be able to reach the top while on the ground. She didn't know if they were edible.
After a moments thoughts she spoke. "View the World." The blue light shimmered in her vision for a second then became a screen. It had worked! Chiaki took a deep breath, divine gifts, what a trip. She looked at the tree through the glow of the screen. "Identify tree?" She asked, she hadn't tried this before.
A copy of the tree appeared on the screen. 'Pawpaw Tree - Bears Edible Fruit' There was a long list of other information about the tree and how they could be used. At the very bottom of the screen a small line said '1 Plant Identified'.
This was so awesome! Chiaki's eyes widened. It worked! It all worked! Just like she wanted it to! She quickly turned to one of the other types of trees. "Identify tree!"
The screen flickered and the image changed to the new tree. 'Pine Tree - Bears Edible Nuts' Chiaki glanced over the other words. 'Every part is useful including the bark, needles, resin, nuts, and cones.' There was another long list of the actual uses. '2 Plants Identified'.
Oh, oh she was going to enjoy this. Swimming forgotten for the time, Chiaki bounced from plant to plant on the riverside, collecting the information from the basic grass growing under her feet, to the reeds, flowers and bushes. She had to be pretty close to the item in question, so she couldn't identify any of the other trees without moving away from the river, so she decided it wasn't worth leaving the waters edge and her direct sight of Curtis on the other shore.
Curtis was roused from a light sleep by the sound of a large splash. He looked up quickly, gazing out over the river. He saw Chiaki surface near the far side of the river and begin swimming towards him. She must have climbed up on the other shore and just dove back in the water. Heart rate returning to normal he uncoiled himself with a stretch and then transformed into his half beast form.
He must have dozed off for a while, because the sun had shifted noticeably in the sky. Far in the distance to the north dark clouds had gathered over the mountain ridge. From about mid-way in the river Chiaki noticed he was awake and waved to him with a large smile. He waved back, a little too far away to call out. The day had been good, lazy and fun. Just him and his mate, playing. It was a dream come true for any feral beast male.
The water had become colder Chiaki noticed as she swam. Something brushed against her. She was startled, but it was only debris from upstream. Then the sound started.
-CREAK!-
-CRACK!-
-CRASH!-
The sound of roaring water intensified. Louder than the waterfalls in the distance. Chiaki was hit with a surge of wavy water, filled with upturned debris from upstream. She screamed!
"Curtis!"
The male had started moving as soon as he realized there was a rush of water from the mountains. A flash flood. No warning. He dove into the water, trying to zone in on his mate who was now being battered by rough waves. The water was faster, pushing her down river as she struggled to stay above it. The water was now muddy brown and choppy, bashing broken logs into each other and the pair of people.
Curtis lost sight of Chiaki.
