Shuu carried a lightly dozing Chiaki back into camp and headed to the family group. He hesitated when Qianhuang stood up with a sharp look and took her from his arms. "Mission complete." Chiaki mumbled with a a small 'heh' added to the end.
"You shouldn't push yourself. You used up all your strength." He chided her.
"I'm okay." She said opening her eyes. She stretched, knowing she was safe from falling while in Qianhuang's arms.
He glanced at Shuu. "As newest male, you will get the least wanted tasks for the family." He said sternly.
"Yes!" Skye called out happily. "No more, gutting fish and cleaning up cub accidents!"
"Hey!" Jiu Ruan kicked the panther. "I do that too!"
This caused all the males in the family to laugh. Shuu felt worried. Did this mean he was going to just be pushed around and used by the females other mates? Well, it would still be better than remaining mate-less all his life, and Chiaki herself was very kind to him. Maybe he wouldn't be bullied for long if she began to favor him.
"Guys, stop picking on him. Shuu will take you seriously." Chiaki said. "Key, let me down." The lion male placed her gently on her feet. She walked over to Shuu and tussled his hair softly. "They don't mean it, they are just having fun."
Shuu felt his face heat up. "Oh." He said softly. His tail began to wag softly.
Curtis hissed in annoyance. "Well I don't think the family needs anymore males right now. Six males is more than enough to protect my mate during the cold season."
"Seven males." Chiaki corrected him. "From what I was told, it stays warmer during the whole year if we go far enough south, you wont end up sleeping through one fourth of the year."
"And it's not just the cold season or Chiaki we have to worry about. We are traveling right now with seven young and who knows if there are any bands of wandering beast men or feral beast men between here and the horse village."
Curtis flicked his tongue again, but settled back with the thought of not sleeping through the cold season. He'd not loose any of Chiaki's attention that way. Plus she might take mates while he was asleep and he'd have even more males to put up with. He sighed. She'd still take new mates either way. she had said as much. At least this wolf was already a two-stripe and not as weak as the two no-stripes she'd taken. Even if they both had a stripe now after only half a year. She should only accept three -stripe males or even another four-stripe one if she could find more of them.
Shuu found himself pulled to sit around the family fire by the other wolf male, Jiu Ruan. There was no relation by blood between the two, so he'd only met the other when they arrived at the Rock Mountain. Chaki's cub inched his way over in curiosity. Sniffing at him as he drew closer.
"You smell like mama."
Shuu found his blush return.
Bai Di pulled the large cub back and onto his lap. "Remember when I came to your home? And when papa Winston, papa Jiu Ruan and papa Skye started living with us? Shuu smells like your mama because he's now part of the family." He explained.
"So," Kimba made a face, "Papa Shuu?"
The words went through Shuu like a lightening strike. Papa! A cub had just called him papa! His mind flooded with the image of a basket full of little gray wolf pups. His and Chiaki's offspring. His eyes glazed over at the thought. While Shuu sat there, images of a future filled with his children, the others finally gave him space.
Chiaki came over to Bai Di and Kimba. "That's right, you can call him papa too now if you want too." She said as she took his fluffy face into her hands
Kimba gave a happy chuff noise. "Okay." He stood on Bai Di's lap, completely blocking the males line of sight and filling his face with fur.
Bai Di gently pushed Kimba away. The cub was massive for his age. And to think he'd been fathered by Qianhuang who was only a one-stripe until just a few days ago. How fast and strong would the cubs fathered by Winston grow? Even though his three cubs were bigger now, would Winston's two over take them? Then again, Copper was the offspring of Curtis and he seemed to be hardly growing at all.
Curtis had pulled Chiaki to him and was kissing and licking all the places he could, trying to cover Shuu's scent with his own. "Kurt." Chiaki whimpered. "I can't handle any more."
"I still don't like you covered in the scents of others."
"I can't do it again." She pushed. "Actually, I should probably not mate at all while we travel. I haven't had time to really even started healing and you guys need your energy to keep a look out for danger." She untangled herself from her snake mate.
Chiaki sighed as she heard the newborn tiger cubs begin to wake in hunger. It was only the first night of travel, how long would it take them to get to the southern planes where the horse beast village was? Would they have to remain there for the Winter? Would they get to the rabbit village before Winter instead?
She settled on the ground, a leather between her and the slightly damp soil. She put her back towards the other males in their caravan and let the awake cub nurse. Being nude with her mates was one thing, she still didn't like outsiders being able to see her breasts. Sometimes the outgoing 'letting it all hang free' habits of the men and women born in the beast world was something she envied.