Note 1 - Looking at the story arcs, Chiaki might get more mates than I originally planned for.
Note 2 - Just to be clear, I gave Bai De animal ears in his humanoid form to keep it consistent between web-comics. His are black with a white spot on the back, so his cubs have those. Winston has all white ears like in canon, so his cubs have those. This is the only way Chiaki is able to tell the two sets apart at this age. She can't tell them apart from each other though.
Note 3 - I'm slowly posting a bunch of other stuff I've written, I'm at 20 stories and have around 50-60 more (most are single chapters, so more like 'plot-bunnies') so don't be alarmed if you see lots of new things that isn't this. I'm mostly cleaning up work on those and they shouldn't take too much time away from my two large ongoing stories.
Note 4 - My user name has nothing to do with the Darkmoon from Huanhuan's web-comic. I was floored reading that part the first time. LOL
Kimba crouched low under the fallen log he'd found. The pressure was getting closer to the village, Should he run and tell them? Should he stay hidden? Stay out of sight his mind told him. He was bright white, running would get the attention of... whatever... whoever... that power was rolling off of. He pushed further into the muddy soil and rotting leaves that had piled up around the fallen tree. If he could just-
A huge black serpent crashed through the woods, nearly crushing the log and the hiding cub in its hurry. Sang De had been gone a long time from his wonderful Huanhuan, the female who loved him. However, the Temple had found him. Somehow- somehow they knew about the fall of the Beast God into slumber. Huanhuan had said her female friend needed that information. He would do anything for Huanhuan. A single scroll was hidden in his scales. He'd almost made it back to the mountain. But the Darkmoon Temple had followed him, had nearly caught up to him so close. He was so close!
Kimba was squished down into the muck, covering his bright fur in the colors of the forest. It wouldn't be until years later that he would realize it had saved his life that night.
o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o
By morning the Rock Mountain Wolf Tribe and the Feather Tribe that lived on top of the mountain had protected their home. There was little loss of life on their side. This was Chiaki's first interaction with the winged beast men that roosted above the wolf village, at the top of the mountain.
"Mama!" Kimba wailed, pushing into her arms as she tried to wash the filthy fur of her son. "I'm sorry! I wont go out alone again!"
She hushed him, wrapping her arms around the terrified cub. "It's okay. It's all over now." She soothed.
"There was fire n'd ice! The black snake ate all the other ones!"
Curtis's eyes narrowed, remembering the early morning after the fight. The female, Huanhuan, had protected the giant snake from her own mate. Then she'd been able to pull the bone dagger out of his forehead. What she'd done... was unthinkable. He had little knowledge of such things, but that had to be a cursed item.
He looked in the water Chiaki was trying to maneuver the cub into. The water was still clean and unmoving, his reflection met his gaze. He lifted a hand to his neck, where he had once had four marks... there were none. He could see the same, if not so dramatic, level up on all of Chiaki's mates. The snakes had been a fight, a loosing one at the start. It had push many beyond their limits, not just the males of this family. When the cub was finally calmed and then cleaned it took only moments for him to fall asleep on his mothers lap.
"I don't want to stay here." Chiaki said quietly to her family.
"It- it was only a-"
"No! I'm tired of this. I'm tired of getting settled just long enough and then everything going to hell. Qianhuan's home, Highcliff, now this village!" She sobbed out, her hands fisting at her sides. "I don't want to stay here as more bad things happen."
Qianhuan looked around at the other males, seeing most of them looking to him for his opinion first. This was a big ordeal. "Then we will leave." He said clearly. "I promised I would take you wherever you want to go."
"But the cubs-" Jiu Ruan started. How would they keep their offspring safe while this young if not in a village?
"It doesn't matter. If my mate wants to leave, then I will protect her." Curtis said. "I have broken through to a point that is only whispered about." His hand again touched his neck. "Five or none, whatever you say, I'm stronger than a King. No one will ever get close enough to hurt my mate." Slowly each male promised. They would follow her lead. Where ever she wanted to go, they would make sure she got there.
o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o
Somehow life at the wolf village continued on. Though everyone was on edge and many had to recover for a few days. Healer Langzhu had been hurt, so Huanhuan had taken over in his place while the old wolf rested. This brought the young woman into direct contact with those in his care. She'd brought a reluctant Tam, the one legged female from Highcliff, outside into the bright day and warm sunshine. Along with her bear cub son. Well not much of a cub anymore, the chubby male was in a humanoid form, having transformed in panic the night before in an attempt to keep his mother safe. He already sported one stripe on his face.
Huanhuan had also forced Rosa to sit in the yard and let her two quickly growing wolf cubs finally free to play with others. They hadn't been out of their mother's sight from the moment they arrived. The biggest surprise was watching a slowly limping Bart exit the healers home to join his mate in the sun. His back was a mass of burn scars and he moved stiffly. A crying Rosa was seen rubbing medicine Huanhuan had handed her into Barts back.
Chiaki's eyes drifted across the village. She'd never heard of Darkmoon Temple until they had attacked. She'd learned of Darkmoon City and Sun City, too. She wasn't headed to any of these, they were places she would rather avoid. They were heading to warmer places. The herbivore village belonging to the horse beast men, then the one after that belonging to the rabbit beast men. Past that was open plains before they would end up near the bad lands and beyond that, the wild lands.
They'd pulled up the fish traps the day before, leaving only those belonging to the village males in the water. She'd said her goodbyes already. The family was packed lite. The trunk her mates had gifted her was holding the few non-food items they were taking. The food was in woven reed baskets. They had traded off many things, including the fish traps, the clay pots, and all of the furs, leathers, and hides. In their place, the family had a bag filled with Spar.
Chiaki, along with the five newborn cubs and Copper, were on the back of a transformed Bai De. Each of the other males in the family had one of the packed items. Their group was joined by Shuu and Faolan, each with even less possessions. Along with a few males from the wolf tribe wishing to travel with them until the next village. A surprise was seeing the four-stripe wolf male, Mu Ye, come to them with a small bag over his shoulder too.
The group quietly left The Rock Mountain Wolf Tribe Village and headed south.