Chiaki sniffed herself again, sure she had to still smell like a hot mess. There was a light lingering scent, even after the bath. She sighed. "Okay, it looks like we need to move up the plans for Winter a step." She said as she fastened a loose wrap around herself.

"How come?" Curtis asked. "We've got five animals worth of Pemmican and another two in dry meats."

Chiaki nodded. "Yeah, I know. And two of the large jars of salted fish. All the potatoes we've been able to find. Carrots and onions too. Plus all the stuff we have smaller amounts of. If it was just the four of us and Kimba I would agree that we were sitting at a good amount for three or four months without needed to go hunting at all during the Winter." With a sigh she continued. "But after the events of last night I've came to the conclusion that there will be three more males in this house by the time we get snowed in like last year."

Curtis turned away, "I'm not hunting for more males. If they want to eat, they need to bring the food for the cold season with them."

Chiaki hugged her mate from behind, her head resting on his back. "No worries, I wasn't going to ask that. I was just bringing the truth of it up."

"Truth of it?"

"By Winter, I will have three more mates. That's three more mouths to feed, but that's also three more able bodies to share the work. I don't think this is going to make the Winter harder on us, just the opposite." She paused. "What I wanted to bring up though was... I want to move them into the house in the coming days. And I know how territorial you are about the house."

Curtis cupped his hands over hers, looking at how small they were and how they fit in his own. His mate was asking his permission to move the other males into their home. She wanted him to be okay with it. "Fine." He said. He turned in her grasp and picked her up. "I'm still your most beloved mate."

"No other snake could ever catch my attention."

"I want to make love to you." He said, twisting a ribbon of her hair in his fingers.

"I'm still not up for it." She said as she butted their foreheads together.

"You smell like the lion. You let him put his scent on you."

"We were in the bath together!"

"Let me put my scent on you too then." He licked the shell of her ear.

"Help me try to render some jars of fat this afternoon?"

"Of course."

She kissed his nose. "Okay, but no Mr-" She frowned, what kind of cutie nickname did you give a double penis?

"Mister what?"

Chiaki rubbed her leg against Curtis' groin. "No using these!"

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

"So... you just got all this knowledge given to you from the Beast God?" Winston asked slowly as he looked at the underground room filled with giant clay jars, tightly sewn closed leather bags, and dry hanging foods.

"Well, I knew a bit already, but last Autumn proved that I lacked much of the finer details."

"Autumn?"

"The season between the hot-dry (Summer) and the cold (Winter). I'm going to use my peoples words for it, I got tired of trying to remember which rainy season it is!"

Winston smiled at the heated words of the female. She'd came looking for him and when she found him, offered him a place in her home. He'd agreed right away. Now she was showing him around. The entire hidden room filled with food under the house was astonishing!

"I've got a lot more to tell you about my gift from the Beast God, but I want to get Skye and Jiu Ruan sat down at the same time, because it's a long story by now."

"Alright."

Chiaki lead him back up the steps and into the main part of the house. "I'm really glad you agreed to come here." She said, glancing back at Winston. "I realized that... well, we will be mates by the time it starts snowing and trying to combine households with Winter breathing down your neck would be a pain-" She rambled.

Mates before it snows. This line dug it's way into Winston's brain and he didn't hear her as she continued to talk. His hand grasped for the stone he was carrying. "I- here!" Chiaki stopped talking and turned to face the blushing tiger male. He was griping a slightly glowing green jewel and offering it to her. "I want you to have this."

Chiaki stared at the jewel in her hands. It gave off a soft glow and felt warm to the touch. "An Emerald?"

"It's a gem from a plant eating colossal beast."

"These- I'm suppose to swallow it right?" Winston nodded. Chiaki held the gen to her lips, the feeling of warmth spread from it and just as it slipped inside her mouth it seemed to melt away into nothingness, the warm feeling flowing through her whole body. "It- disappeared!"

"The life force that it was made of became part of you." Curtis said from the doorway. "Your body wont start aging again for several years now."

"Wait- what?!" Chiaki looked from Winston to Curtis and then back.

"The life force of the colossal beast is now yours." Curtis said. "I've eaten a couple of the gems myself."

"No wonder you only look half your age!" She looked at Winston. "I'm not even your mate yet."

He smiled brightly. "Yet."

"You could have eaten it yourself."

Winston shook his head. He hadn't been concerned about extending his own life, at almost thirty years old he had started to consider the idea that he would never have a mate and cubs. So why live longer? "I'll get another."

"I can get one for him in return, if you are really concerned." Curtis offered.

The two males each had four stripes, the only males who could single-handedly take on a plant eating colossal beast and survive. The tension in the room grew thick. Curtis and Winston stared at each other, first one to look away would loose the battle of wills.

Chiaki stepped in-between them, forcing a drawl. "These gems must cost a fortune!"

Curtis shook his head. "No male would ever give up such a prize for any amount of spar, they are more sought after then even clear gems."

"So... clear gem, emerald gem... are there more types of gems that aren't spar?"

Both males shook their heads. "I've never heard of such a thing." Winston added.