Chiaki found herself deposited under the tree in the yard. The sun was warm, thankfully not burning hot. Several young males called out greetings at the sight of her, and she gave them a small wave to let them know she saw them there. Above her in the branches was Skye, though from this angle she could only see the bottoms of his feet. She could hear him scratching away at the item he was carving with his claws. Jiu Ruan was boiling something over the main fire in the yard.
"Just stay here and rest, okay?" Qianhuang said as he squatted beside of her.
"I'm just happy to have the sun and wind after being in the house for a few days."
Qianhuang nodded. His mate had been very good about staying in bed while she was still suffering the after effects of the sudden birth. Her normal energetic personality quieted. She had never been one to want to stay holed up inside like so many females he had seen.
The sun warmed Chaiki's skin. While her skin was peach colored by nature, the time spent in the Beast World and outside all the time had left her skin bronzed, a warm tan color and covered in freckles. A loop dropped into her lap. Chiaki picked up the item, recognizing it as a bracelet. It was simple, just a loop of animal horn. It was smooth and the only decoration was 'X's' carved along the outside.
She looked up and saw Skye looking back, his eyes wide. "S-sorry."
She shook her head. "Is this one finished?"
"Yes."
Chiaki slipped it over her hand and shook her arm around. The bracelet didn't fall off. "The size is good!"
Skye's ears perked up at the comment. "A gift!" He quickly said, not giving Chiaki a chance to remove it.
Chiaki smiled. He may be shy, but he was quick to take advantage of anything that came his way. "Thank you." She called back up.
He dropped down, not quite landing with ease. His hands were full of bone loops. "You want more?" He asked as he offered the easily dozen item to her.
"I'll keep this one." She said, "Besides, the aim is to get the other females in the city to want them. I'll wear this one around and comment on how nice it is while in the market where others can hear. With luck some of them will want to know where it came from and I can send them to your stall."
"And then I sell them!" Skye added.
"Exactly!"
The black panther male blushed. "Why do you want to help me?"
"I see something I want." Chiaki said. The blush on Skye's cheeks deepened. He was unsure if the female meant him or not, still the words rushed through him like lightning.
"Let's mate!" He said suddenly. The bracelets had been dropped to the ground around his knees and he leaned towards Chiaki.
"Whoa, down boy!" Chaiki said as she stopped him with a lifted foot against his chest.
Skye's ears drooped. "But-"
"I just had Curtis' offspring." She said, not sure if he knew why she'd not been seen for a couple days.
"You- birthed offspring for your mate?" He said as the blush on his face began to lessen.
"Yes, snake eggs." Well egg, but whatever. "So I'm sore."
Skye licked his lips, eyes shifting to the area between Chiaki's thighs. She was in pain there? He leaned away. "I- sorry." He said as his ears once again turned back and lay against his hair, almost hidden in the chestnut waves.
"You should get back in the tree." Qianhuang said.
Skye jerked upright having forgotten that one of Chiaki's mates was sitting with her. He'd been so focused on the female. "Right!" He squeaked and scrambled back up the tree, leaving the bone jewellery scattered on the ground.
Chiaki couldn't believe her thoughts. He was just so cute! So different from the males who had spent several or more years being on their own and in the search of a willing female mate. She had three husbands already. She shook her head. Three was apparently considered the least amount of mates a female needed to survive. Maybe, she thought, if the females did more to help their mates!
