Nana managed to complete her bond with Karan the following day. As soon as the fact that he was welcomed into her family set in, he became very eager to seal the deal. Although Nana couldn't work up the courage to approach him, Karan did not suffer from the same impediment.
Nana was whisked off to the bedroom once Karan was given a small okay. Nana had to do nothing. Which was a good thing for her.
Waking up wrapped in the arms of yet another man would soon become a natural occurrence... or at least a less surprising experience. Nana tried to convince herself of that anyway. Her cubs mewled telling her that she missed their feeding.
Nana tried and failed to extract herself from Karan and found that her situation was more... delicate than she initially anticipated.
"Nana," Karan hissed in her ears making her heartbeat dance.
"G-good morning," Nana stuttered. "I need to feed the cubs."
"Mmm." Karan hesitated before letting her go. His bond mark on Nana caught his eye. A cobra in exact likeness to his beast form curled around her left arm and shoulder glaring with silent intimidation. His mark was was not on her hands or feet, and those were the only places Karan was scared to see it.
Nana pulled the covers with her and knocked into a waking Amil. Before she could fall backwards, Amil caught and held her up. Zen and Dakotah were not in the bedroom. Amil wrapped his arms around Nana's back causing her heart rate to remain elevated. She had no problems with cuddles so long as she was clothed first. And clothed she was not.
Amil nipped at her neck startling her into raising her voice. "Amil!" He let her go and bounded off looking satisfied. Nana tried to give him a quick, lighthearted slap, but he was long gone. Karan watched them, looking way less uptight than before.
"Do you hurt?" he asked Nana as she secured a blanket around her and her cubs.
The question reminded her very much of what they did last night and her face donned a strong red hue. Nana coughed out a response. "No. I feel okay." She meant it to. If fact, she felt better than that. While she wouldn't call Karan gentle, he wasn't too rough either. He was only aggressively forward towards her, not physically domineering.
Nana steered her thoughts away from that route sharply. "I'm going to feed the cubs," she announced.
"Okay," he said but didn't move an inch. Nana stared, and Karan stared back. Nana sighed heavily. After tying the blanket around her she let the cubs feed. Feeling nervous under the curious gaze of her newest mate, Nana broke down. "Can you please not stare?"
Karan blinked and looked away. It wasn't perfect, but it'll do.
Once she finished up with her seemingly always hungry children, Nana kicked Karan out so she could dress. She caught her own bond mark just below his left collar bone. He was the first her mates not have the mark covering the front or the back of the heart. It did not bother Nana since his own bond mark on her was farther from her heart than hers was on him. She was only making a curious observation.
Karan caught her staring and stopped mid-slither in the doorway. Nana waved him off and got dressed when he left her alone.
Nana carried her chubby babies out with her and sat down on the cushions that made up their sitting space. Now that they had more family members, home improvements would be possible. Couches and furniture weren't exactly commonly sold items in the market.
She was getting ahead of herself. They needed to reorganize her family again. Nana called everyone in to have a family discussion.
They spoke about more practical things and needs mostly, but other topics also came up. Karan and Amil were to be the primary hunters of the family. Zen and Dakotah's roles stayed mostly the same. Zen took it upon himself to spearhead home improvements. Considering how he volunteered for it, Nana suspected that he had been wanting to do that for a while.
Karan insisted that the days he hunted would not require Amil, but Amil felt slighted. The first almost argument of their family occurred, but was quickly snuffed out by Nana. "You two will alternate hunting," she ordered in a no-nonsense tone. Immediate acceptance was experienced and peace returned to the room.
Aside from that, they ended up going through a strange icebreaker kind of game at Nana's insistence. One where someone says a fact or something nice about someone present and the one chosen goes next. The intended effect was not had as everyone naturally chose Nana as their target.
"Nana is not a boring female," Zen said with a blank expression.
"Aw thanks Zen. You aren't a boring male either." Nana sent the figurative ball back to him.
Zen thought of something else to say that would stop Nana from selecting him again. "Nana is good at mating."
Nana choked before chucking a cushion at Zen's head. She blew up like a torch when several affirmatives agreed with him. 'Darn it, Zen!' She barely withheld her aggrieved exclamation. Given his satisfied expression, she knew he did that completely on purpose.
"Dakotah finds the best honey." Nana huffed out the words while still recovering from Zen's proclamation.
Dakotah puffed out his chest with pride at the specific praise. "Nana is cute n' tiny!" Dakotah boisterously complimented her without a shred of hesitation or shame.
Nana was not tiny and she felt she was prettier than cute, but the praise still made her feel giddy. "Amil is a reliable hunter who can perfectly clean prey." Nana passed the ball.
Amil glowed while receiving the compliment. "Nana loves kon and her eyes sparkle all pretty when she counts it," added Amil.
'Darn it, Amil!' Nana thought. Karan and Dakotah were going to think she was obsessed. That wasn't the impression she meant to give.
"Karan's strong presence is assuring," Nana said. She was half tempted to say his random acts of clumsiness were cute, but she wasn't sure how well he'd receive that kind of compliment. Maybe next time she would.
Karan sat a little taller and smiled. He was glad he could be a male that Nana would depend on for safety. Before Karan could respond, he was interrupted.
"I can be a strong presence too," Dakotah assured.
"Kotah, it's Karan's turn to speak." Nana felt like she was chiding a cub. Speaking of, hers were watching the exchange with some interest while trying not to nod off.
"Sorry," Dakotah apologized with drooping ears.
Before Nana could spare the bear anymore attention, Karan said his piece, "Nana is... one of a kind." He couldn't think of a better way to say that. He really hadn't met a female like Nana before.
Once again, sounds of agreement were made by the others presence. If Nana had thin skin before this session started, she wouldn't by the time it ended. This icebreaker session turned into a compliment Nana session instead. At least the males present seemed to bonding slightly over their mutual affections for Nana, right? Even if it was at her expense.
By the time Karan had to go hunt, the atmosphere in the den was light and only Nana was suffering in any way.
"You asked for this one," Zen reminded her.
"As if I could forget that," she retorted as her head lay in her hands. "It still had the intended affect..."
"I see. Good job then," Zen half-heartedly praised her.
"Don't think I forgot your comment," Nana griped as she looked up with a mock glare.
"Which comment?" he asked innocently.
Nana rolled her eyes. "I see. Guess mating is forgettable. We don't have to anymore."
Zen's face scrunched up immediately. "I know my wrongs."
Nana clutched her stomach as she laughed hard. At least she knew one area where she would have Zen beat. She would have to save that threat for special times.
Of course, Nana held no grudges. Insincere apology or not, she wouldn't burn the necessary energy on being upset over something like that.
Dakotah didn't really follow the conversation and didn't try to. Instead he focused on the honey and garlic marinade he was making for tonight's meal. Amil worked on increasing their stock of stoneware that Dakotah had started thinning out. He listened to Nana laugh and felt more relaxed than earlier.
Zen was somewhat impressed by the tactic Nana used to soothe her family. She created a way for her to compliment each individual's strong suit without inadvertently pitting them against each other. It also helped settle Amil down since Karan's presence had wound him up. Zen watched Nana move on to help Dakotah prepare food and felt pride well in his heart.
Their family was made up of very different individuals, but she was smoothing out any wrinkles that arose in her males' relations readily. Looking in from the outside, no beast would know that they were Nana's first males since no blood was spilled to determine roles or establish a hierarchy.
Most first time families had a pecking order set and adhered to. It was easier for a female to pick a male to be in charge of the rest. Females with more experience knew the limitations of having that kind of family structure, but not the newly mature ones.
It could certainly work out, but a lot of times it did not. More due to the incompetence of the male in charge as opposed to the system itself. Strength did not necessarily equal smarts, after all. Not all strong males had the capability to lead others, but they were always the ones put in charge.
Zen knew a lot more than most due to extensive teaching he received from his royal upbringing and the cynical advice Akito would often leave him with. He didn't need to experience something himself to recognize potential mistakes.
Zen watched Dakotah feed Nana a fruit slice. He did not fail to notice Amil quickly washing his hands and approaching the pair to do the same. He continued to sew clothes where he was not feeling the need to compete.
If Nana left the structuring of her family dynamics to a male, it'd be Karan. It would have to be considering the sheer divide in strength between him and the rest. Karan was not particularly social and Zen would question his ability to handle the family males well. Karan also seemed prone to possessive tendencies which would not bode well for the rest. Unless Nana found a stronger mate in the future, Zen hoped she would continue to act as the one in charge.
The family spent the day doing things in a fairly laid back manner. Karan finished hunting quicker than Amil ever could, but Nana distracted Amil enough not to dwell on it. Food was prepared and eaten. Crafts were made and cubs were played with. The night ended on a high note.
Maybe it had something, or everything, to do with the increasing temperatures, but Nana was much less motivated than usual. Days passed with her making the bare minimum of crafts and practicing very little with the instruments. She played with her cubs and took care of them too, but outside of that, Nana had nothing to brag about about.
Unlike Nana, Zen achieved goals. He made a couch with Dakotah and Amil's partial assistance and upgraded their outhouse to include a sink. There was no running water, but it was still a welcome improvement. It may not seem like a lot, but Zen had other things to do besides those semi-ambitious projects.
Karan and Amil brought in many furs with their kills and it was about time to replace a lot of theirs. Amil caught her a reptile that he turned into a bathing suit for Nana. Zen helped him with the fashion aspect, but procuring the material was all Amil. She liked the idea since she planned to spend time at the lake to cool off.
Dakotah gathered her enough fruit and veggies to last a week and started helping her with her garden. He collected young trees and transplanted them for her. Nana wasn't sure if she'd be around long enough to get fruit from them, but the thought did count.
Karan was doing well and looked far less unimpassioned than when Nana met him. His expression was so lax in comparison to the one he usually sported. It really helped tone down his intimidation factor. He did more than hunt too, but not cooking. That duty was stealthily revoked. Instead, he helped with simpler crafts. He even started investigating kilns to try and build one for them.
And what ever happened to Troy? Nana wanted to know that answer too. He didn't give her a time frame on when to expect him back. He didn't seem to have the word 'quit' in his vocabulary, so Nana did not believe he gave up on courting her. Whatever mission he was on, it took him time.
Nana grew concerned once a week came and went. When the second week passed she assumed the worst and hardened her heart. They may not have been very close, but he was still a male that Nana had planned to accept into her family. The loss stung, but she didn't focus on it. There was a chance he was fine and was taking the long way around or the scenic route. She tried not to let it bother her and focused on her significantly more active cubs instead.
Her babies were now going on five weeks old. Nana had the healer out once to check on them, but they were doing great. They were healthy and even a little on the chubby side. Nana did feed them whenever they asked and they asked a lot.
Kaito came to visit twice in the that time frame. Nana was grateful for it. And since Kaito was her father, no one felt aggravated by his presence. Nana couldn't say the same for anyone else. It was a good thing she didn't get many visitors.