The stall she and Amil ran was not doing as well as before, but it was enough to generate income. Since less people were buying, Nana focused more on quality than quantity. She also added her bamboo crafts into the mix. Nana was planning to make soap in the future too.
Soap already existed, but there were not many to choose from. Soap was also used for both the body and hair. While there were no chemicals that were damaging in the products like those on earth were, Nana figured hair care here could use some improvements.
There did exist an oil that some females will use on their precious locks, but it was hardly a conditioner. Nana could add that to her potential list of future experiments. Though she made it sound easy, she was going to have to find a willing craftsmen to teach her how to make basic soap. That may not sound difficult, but beastmen, especially those of this city, were greedy hoarders of knowledge. She had a chance because of her gender and looks, but it may not be enough.
Nana sure did have some grand plans.
While Nana was working on securing her ideal future, Kaito learned of Nana's next closest acquaintance. He had sat her down in a very serious manner and proceeded to lecture her thoroughly. Nana had never sweated so profusely in her life.
Kaito did not reprimand her for bad behavior. Instead, he told her what he knew of royal politics and Zen's position among them. It was considered important knowledge that could save Nana from offending her future mate's family.
Nana had choked on that part. Kaito was assuming a lot. Okay, maybe it wasn't as much as a reach as Nana wanted to make it out to be. Friends were not a thing here. In addition, there was no such thing as innocent interest when it came to beastmen on the cusp of adulthood. At the very least, Kaito was convinced of this.
Thanks to his serious attitude on the matter, Nana felt inclined to believe him. It wasn't like the thought never crossed her mind. She just never let it stick. At least Amil was older than her by enough that Nana could see him as an adult. Zen was close, but not yet there.
He would be soon though. She would be too. And Nana did need more males. Males who were strong or had a lot of potential... Zen did fit the bill almost perfectly. Him being a literal prince may have complicated the idea if she wasn't of noble blood. Since she was, no one would kick up a dramatic fuss about their status's being too different. There were no excuses to be found outside of her secret aversion to royals. Even Kaito acknowledged the potential.
While they were on the topic, he had carefully asked Nana about Zen's scar. It was more of a probing to find out if Nana harbored any negative feelings towards Zen. While she had not come to see the scar itself as attractive, Nana didn't think it took away from his appearance entirely. Foxes were beautiful. Nana had never seen an ugly or average one, Zen included.
Kaito was worried that Nana may pity Zen. Since Zen was a royal, he could cut the bond as easily as she could. That concerned Kaito. If that happened, Nana could be shunned from the inner sanctum. It would depend on how much influence Zen had, but it was likely.
Kaito's fears were not shared by Nana. If anything, Nana was glad he had that ability. It felt fair and proper. Actually, the more Nana thought about that, the better she felt. There was something she had worried, ever so slightly, about. What if she failed to make a happy family? What if one or more of her mates became dissatisfied with her?
Nana was confident she could give a husband the love and respect one would expect from a wife. But that was a singular husband. Nana had to split up her affections and share them with all of her future males. She didn't have an unshakable faith that she could do that. Nana would rather have the option available for them just in case.
Kaito had long since gotten used to his cub's peculiarities, but sometimes, she would surprise him. Kaito did not believe another female existed who would be happy that their male could sever their bond easily. Sighing, Kaito accepted that his points would not sway Nana.
Once the two of them finished the conversation, Nana had to wonder... Was she supposed to ask Zen or him her? There was never a definitive set of rules for this usually, but would their positions affect that choice? Kaito did not have that much info on royal mating practices, so Nana would have to work up the courage to ask Zen.
Then again, she was getting pretty ahead of herself. The first person she had to talk to was not Zen, but Amil. The two males did not have the best impressions of each other. If that stayed as it was, Nana would no longer consider Zen as a potential male.
Nana sighed and resolved herself to future, awkward conversations. It was necessary and had to be. Nana kept repeating that in her head. She would do it sooner than later. Nana didn't like the extra stress and wanted to dump it off her shoulders.
Nana wasn't really scared of Amil's answer. Her attachment to Zen did not go far enough that she couldn't walk away now. If Amil had an issue with him, that would give her the perfect excuse to say no... She should not allow a male to influence her decisions like that, but she couldn't tell Amil to suck it up either. That felt wrong to her. Amil did know that Zen was coming around more often, but he didn't say much to Nana. When Nana had the opportunity to talk to Amil about it, she took it.
"Amil," Nana sat outside with Amil and watched the clouds build in the distance. "About Zen," Nana felt her heart skip a beat, "I know you don't get along great, but I want to hear what you think."
Amil's mood dropped. He never thought of himself as dense. He'd seen the way the two interacted. Nana looked like she enjoyed the other male's presence. "I... You will take him as your mate in the future?" he asked in a hushed tone.
Nana sighed and looked Amil in the eye, "You remember what I told you before?" Nana waited until he nodded. "I want to know how you feel."
Amil hesitated as he fiddled with his fingers. "I don't like him," Amil squeezed out the words, "but I don't know if I would feel differently had it been another male."
Nana blinked. Amil was... jealous? That was logical, but it isn't good. How would he feel when she added more males to her family?
"I can't not take more males Amil," Nana stressed. She really couldn't avoid that. Even if she didn't read how Elizabeth messed up some lives and ended others by trying to keep her monogamous practices, Nana had seen and experienced enough to know that only having only Amil will never work. Not for her and not for him.
"I know!" Amil panicked and raised his voice unintentionally. He brought his volume down and explained himself. "I know Nana. I do. I just got used to be the only male, besides your father, around you. I'm fine with him. He makes you happy."
Nana frowned. She didn't think she felt especially happy around Zen. They were exchanging banter more often. Zen did take her jabs and give them back to her now. Nana did enjoy that... Was that what Amil was talking about?
Nana spoke to Amil more on the topic. She made him aware that she had not discussed this with Zen yet. Amil seemed baffled at the possibility of him not wanting to join her family.
Nana chuckled at first, but now she wondered if he was right. The customs here were pretty clear-cut. If a male hangs around a non-family member female, they were either interested or harboring dubious intentions. Nana hoped she was a good enough judge of character to eliminate the second potential.
It was possible that he was interested but not committed. It seemed unlikely considering how many times they interacted... Okay, she wasn't going to think about that anymore without talking to him first.
The following day, Nana and Amil went out to the market early. Today, Nana only intended to trade her smaller kon for larger ones. Nana's dramatically stuffed purse looked beautiful to her, but it was getting too big. They didn't have a bank, but there were sometimes individuals who needed to trade their bigger kon for smaller ones. If they didn't, they'd be paying for a simple meal with a enough to buy a small house essentially.
Amil found such a male in less than twenty minutes. Nana's purse deflated rapidly, but she accepted the necessity. Nana's earnings were now enough to buy a small den in the outskirts. But it wasn't enough to buy a house in the Middle. At least it was progress.
Nana used some of her looser change to buy a cotton sheet and a sewing kit. One more skill Nana had to work on. Her gut churned at the thought. Why was she getting busier when she was wishing so hard for an easy life? She had to remind herself that this was all for her perfect future. The harder she worked now, the harder she could rest later. It sounded wonderful, yet it was so far away. Nana fake cried.
They dropped off the money at her den and Amil left to hunt. Nana sat on a stool, that Amil made for her, outside the front door. Nana practiced repairing her old clothes with cotton and twine. She wasn't about to ruin her new cloth with untrained skills. While she was refiguring her old clothes, she got a visitor.
Zen casually walked up and sat on one of the other two stone stools that made up their den's outdoor seating. Nana continued her hateful task of sewing as she thought of a way to broach the topic.
After stabbing herself for the third time, Nana growled and set her work down. "Don't like your new hobby?" Zen teased in a cool tone.
Nana snorted, "What gave you that impression?"
"That mangled cloth and your bloody finger," he said with a hint of worry seeping into his voice.
Nana eyed her puncture wounds and got up to wash them. Zen watched her carefully as she slipped into the den. she washed her poor finger and applied herbs to it before re-joining Zen.
Nana exited the den to find Zen holding her project. In that short time, he already fixed most of her mistakes. Nana whistled, "Nice skills. I'm surprised."
Zen smiled at the praise. "That royals receive better education than nobles? Working must have taken it's toll on you," Zen made a strong dig at Nana.
She wasn't going to lie, Nana was impressed. His comebacks were getting sharper. It was hardly appropriate to talk to a female like that, but Zen knew Nana didn't take it to heart. Quite like how he never let Nana's careless words offend him.
"How long did it take you to come up with that response?" Nana rolled her eyes in playful spirit.
"Less time than it took to fix this," he handed her newly repaired clothes back to her. Before Nana could respond to that, Zen looked at her now treated finger. "How's your finger?" he asked.
The genuine concern on his face caught Nana off guard. "It's fine," she shrugged after regaining her composure. "Treated and already healing." Nana felt smart. He could smell the herbs. Nana had no reason to state the obvious.
She continued to work even when her nose started to freeze. Zen gave her some lessons on sewing and she wasn't going to pass the opportunity up. Her work still turned out ugly, but her finger was spared more abuse. Nana would gratefully accept that improvement.
Amil came back to find the two of them having their lesson. Nana gave Amil a compelling look. She hoped he would relax around Zen enough to at least tolerate his immediate presence. Amil caught her message and did behave. The two males only paid each other a glance.
Nana felt her fingers sting. No, she had not assaulted them with a needle. It was the weather chilling them. For the first time since their acquaintanceship, Zen and Amil agreed on something and insisted Nana go inside. They had a fire going a moment later.
Nana went to her bathroom and blew her nose into a rag. She let herself get too cold. Warming up by the fire was her next goal. She peeked outside to make sure the two males were not at odds with each other. They worked in silence, but Nana only felt slight tension. That was good... probably. The rest of the night went peacefully without incident.
Soon, it got too cold for Nana to operate the stall. She decided to close up for the year and focus on making it through another bone-chilling season season of frost. She helped Kaito and Amil dry meat and vowed to make preserves the next year. Elizabeth introduces them, but Nana would beat her to it. It wasn't like it was revolutionary. The apes from the City of Stone knew how to jar. But the City of Stone wasn't anywhere close to them to do trade with. Nana would have to accomplish it on her own.
Zen came around very infrequently now and even Amil's visits became less. He had to prepare his own den for the season. Like most single males, Amil lived in a communal den. It wasn't realistic to expect young and inexperienced males to buy a den or build their own. Those who did choose the latter option ended up at the very edge of the territory.
Once the season of frost officially began, Nana married her bed. At the coldest part of the season, Kaito joined Nana to help keep her warm. Even with so much time spent underneath blankets of fur, Nana still managed to get some carving, weaving, and sewing done. She was often joined by Kaito and they worked together peacefully.
Nana liked winter in this world better than its summer, but she would still say the season of frost had a firm position as her second least favorite season. The cold did not bother her as much as the heat from the season of scorch, but it was far more boring.
Nana had enjoyed the snow for a while, but it gets old. There are only so many snowmen one can make before one gets bored of it. Kaito would not try a snowball fight and that wasn't something she could do by herself. Snow angels did not work when furry, and that's how Nana mostly went out in this temperature.
Yeah, Nana was bored.
Needless to say, Nana did prepare enough goods for her stall to last awhile. The biggest problem she would have is with supply and demand. There were only so many figurines and hair pins people would buy before they said enough was enough. Nana focused on more practical items like mats and baskets weaved from the bamboo-like plant. She did make some wooden wind chimes that worked and weren't ugly. Not that they were useful, but females took dressing up their dens seriously.
Nana sighed. She needed more practical or consumable items. Nana spent the later half of the season coming up with ideas and trying to achieve them. Kaito provided his opinion on everything she made after Nana asked for it. Thanks to the insight he gave her, Nana was able to make a few more goods that could appeal to the masses.
Nana separated her goods by use. She had a nice pile of hair accessories in one. The second pile contained her bamboo bowls, baskets, and mats. In another, she had wooden carved decorations and toys. Finally, she had a small basket of miscellaneous goods.
Nana felt like it was a lot, but it really wasn't. This was all Nana did anymore, besides sleep. Her pile should be bigger... "Oh well," Nana shrugged. It was what it was, and she would profit from it. She saw no point in stressing about it anymore.