Beauty and The Beasts: Rain

53. Time Flies

Update 1/5. Today, May 26th.  Hope nobody minds me starting the updates early.  Enjoy.

     The seasons came and went. No trouble brewed from the ape king's side, but Rain did not believe he came to the city with good intentions. She often left the cubs in Harvey and Vern's care while she and Brice would hunt. Asher joined her often and they were able to target colossus and the occasional band of scorpions. Rain could tell that she had reached the peak of strength for a two striped beast by the time her next cycle came.

     Isabella had begged to go to the ocean after a discussion involving her appearance in this world. Rain had brought up the strange stone she saw and Isabella's hope was refueled. She still wanted to go home. She wasn't sure how to explain Ezra if he followed her there. She didn't think it would be easy to take care of a giant spider, but some woman over there was doing okay with beastmen as husbands. Nothing on the news mentioned giant animals and she imagined that would be a hard topic for the government to suppress.

     Rain had complied at the time, but only after her children were eating solids. Rain wasn't comfortable leaving Harvey and the cubs without additional protection. She asked Asher to help and he agreed.

     Their journey to the sea wasn't an easy one. Isabella lost weight from stress and took the trip hard. Due to Isabella's slower pace, Rain was able to enjoy the trip. They still moved much faster than the caravan and the round trip only took several weeks. Rain even picked up a merfolk suitor. Rain wasn't interested and made it very clear to the male. Merfolk would not be much use on land.

     They did not find what they wanted and returned home after several days of searching. Rain could tell that Isabella was depressed, but was glad she was able to see the ocean more. They ran into some trouble on the way back that Rain was happy to resolve.

     Once home, Rain planned for the rest of the season. When cool season came, she had her usual cycle. Rain's cubs were still young and she didn't think it was the best time to get pregnant again. Still, she wouldn't be very active during the cold months. It may be a decent time to try.

     Once her bleeding stopped, Rain alternated mating between Vern and Brice. The former's cubs would help keep her warm, but hawk eggs only take a couple of days to lay from conception. She gave them both a chance.

     Brice didn't think there were any hawks luckier than he. Sure others have found females, but none of them were like Rain. He nuzzled into her neck as they lay in bed. She was just as aggressive and decisive with mating as she was the rest of her life. He never expected to leave the position of guardian behind, unless he died fulfilling his roll. Of course, he had no objections when Rain decided for him.

     Harvey prepared the food that Vern hunted while Rain slept. It was only a matter of time before she came down looking for some. He finished his preparations while scolding his cubs for knocking over some herbs. He heard the soft sound of scales sliding across the floor. He felt arms around his middle and nearly purred from the contact. This was Rain's new favorite way of morning greeting and Harvey relished it.

     "Almost Rain." Harvey was able to steel himself well. He had been berated by the scent of mating for sometime. Rain's fertility period should be ending soon, but the smell was strong. He was not upset, quite the contrary. He felt a great amount of pride knowing that Rain gave him the honor of siring her first cubs. He couldn't and wouldn't ever ask for more.

     Rain did indeed get pregnant again and laid two eggs several days later. Brice was over the moon and Rain felt good. She was no expert on hawk young, but Brice insisted that the two had especially sturdy shells. Rain had a strange sense to incubate the eggs as the Legacy instructed her, but she let Brice do it. Her knowledge was strictly for snakes and she wasn't certain if she could apply the same care to bird eggs.