Nana sank to the ground where she was. "You've got to be kidding me." She groaned and tried to breathe.
Karan hissed at the uncouth male for upsetting Nana, but Troy did not pay him much attention. "What should I do with them? Didn't think you'd want me to leave them behind."
"Bring them here," Nana ordered and Troy obeyed.
She inspected the cubs closely and found one unresponsive. She sucked in a breath of air and poked the child. It was fine, right? He had to be. The main character's children can't get hurt. The readers would throw a fit. Please, let that be the case.
The little body moved slightly before stilling. "Kon, now." Nobody was going to disobey Nana when she used that kind of tone. Karan moved like lightning and got what she wanted.
Karan was about to say something, but Troy shook his head. Troy knew that Nana would not be dissuaded. It didn't matter if they thought that using a life kon on another's cub was not worth it because Nana clearly thought differently. Troy would get her more if she needed it. He was not going to antagonize his mate over it. He knew how to pick his battles.
Since she had her power mark, Nana should be able to activate the kon herself. Unfortunately, she was too new to the idea of circulating energy and had to leave it to Karan.
The boy recovered and started whining like the other three. One crises averted, it was time to face another. They were hungry and Nana had no way to feed them. If Elizabeth didn't miraculously show up soon, Nana was going to have to beg some lactating females for milk.
An hour passed, then two. Amil woke up groggy, but he was up. Dakotah still slept and the babies were still crying.
"Of course the main character would be kidnapped. It's practically a rule," Nana muttered. "God, this is why she needed more mates." Nana's stress was peaking. She couldn't afford to wait too long. She got up to leave with the babies in her arms. "We're going."
Karan took her to the village center and called to whoever would listen. Her reputation may be ruined after this, but Nana just didn't care. "I have young cubs that need milk. If there are any females willing to help them, I will compensate."
No females were out and about after what just went down, but many males did hear her. She instructed any who would listen to return to their females and ask. Nana fidgeted nervously as she waited. The sun climbed higher and higher until finally, someone came back to her.
"My female is willing in exchange for prey and fur," he said looking depressed.
His scent told Nana he was a rabbit as much as his ears did. But that was neither here nor there. "Done. Does she have enough to take them now?" Nana asked.
The male nodded. "You can follow me."
Nana and Karan did. Once they were standing in front of the stranger's den, she handed the cubs over. She almost couldn't make herself, but Karan and the rabbit male's stares weighed heavy on her. They wouldn't harm them and the cubs needed milk. After prying her fingers off the basket handle, she passed them along.
Nana listened with her sharpened hearing as sounds of suckling began and ended before beginning again. Once the babies were done, they were brought back out. Nana heaved a sigh of relief before discussing payment as well as future feedings with the male.
When Nana got back home, she sat everyone down to talk. Nana was planning to watch and care for her siblings until Elizabeth came back... And she better come back. Nana didn't think for a hot second that the woman was going to die. Main character's can't die. Not unless the book was a tragedy, and the one Nana read was not tagged as one.
Did that mean Elizabeth was incapable of dying? Of course not. Nana just felt like the chance was so minute that it wasn't worth worrying over. The woman going thorough hell, however, was another thing entirely. Nana was almost glad the cubs were spared joining their mother.
She questioned Troy who said the cubs were strewn across the the floor of Elizabeth's den when he found them. The den carried the scent of strangers, but it was clear that Elizabeth was the target. The young female cub was likely missed in the frenzy since her scent was still weak. The other potential explanation being the cub was too young for travel and was purposefully left behind.
Nana checked over the rest of the cubs carefully for any missed injuries. There were no issues that she could find. She'd need to have a healer check them over to be sure. Since her head was clearer now, Nana could acknowledge the potential of Elizabeth's cubs dying. One almost did already.
Nana shivered at the thought and went back to talking about the problem. They discussed the options, and her family did not oppose the cubs staying with them. They could sense that Nana was not looking for a 'no' on the matter and let it be. There were one or two males present who did not feel entirely comfortable with taking care of the cubs, but something else held priority in their thoughts. They were still worked up from the attack and did not care about much so long as Nana was safe.
One thing that was unanimously agreed on: they could not go after Elizabeth. As much as Nana wanted to help her father and friend, she could not sacrifice her mates for that. If everyone was here, she may have been able to send Paulo to at least help track them down, but that was the best she could offer. And she would, yet again, be imposing on a male who was not her mate. Lives would come before principal, but Nana would never like doing that to someone. But he was not here, and no one else would go.
Amil and Dakotah were not strong enough for Nana to feel comfortable sending them off. Troy was no tracker and Karan would not leave her unless he felt very comfortable in her safety without him by her side. In short, they were not going to do anything other than caring for the babies while waiting.
That night was spent quietly. Everyone around was in a tense mood after the recent events. Nana did what she could to try and calm down. She would have faith that Elizabeth and Kaito were fine and do what she could in the meanwhile. That was all she could do.
Preparing for the coldest season was Nana's biggest priority aside from caring for her siblings. Since her father and Elizabeth were busy, they weren't going to get much prep done. Nana was going to do extra for them and kind of hated them for that. She should be hating herself though. No one told her she had to be nice, but she volunteered anyway. This was definitely going to be the only time.
Nana slept restlessly that night, but she managed to catch a couple of hours of sleep. Napping was in her plans for the next day before she even crawled out of bed.
Nana got started on the grueling preparation along with her mates. She had so much to do now that she had to stop often to take the babies into town for feedings. The little cubs were noisy, but Nana didn't let it get to her. They wanted their mom and she wasn't her. Her presence could not sooth them, but she tried anyway.
Nana's cubs treated the babies gently and as instructed. They were also going hunting with Amil on occasion. It was too early for that, but her boys were capable. Unfortunately, it was still more of a burden to help them hunt than it was to do it for them. At least they stayed out of trouble while out. Everyone in the family was so busy, that the boys could not be played with and entertained to the same degree as before. The boys wreaked havoc when not properly supervised. Nana's family was now replacing broken kitchenware...
During her winter prep, Nana was often joined by Mundo, Kibwe, and a dejected Aspen. The deer male looked tragic, telling Nana that the female he was interested in must have been taken. After all, no females died... Though Nana did assume the male wasn't close enough to other males to cry over them. The one exception may be Kibwe, but she was still sticking with that assumption. Mostly because she had a feeling about which female he was pursuing. He was good at being subtle, but not that subtle.
Kibwe looked pretty disheartened over the events, but his spirit was not broken. Nana decided to officially hire them to help with the prep for Elizabeth's food. As soon as she mentioned the other girl's name, Aspen was on board. His willingness to agree told her that her assumptions were spot on.
Mundo attempted to help out, but he often fell asleep in the cooling weather. He was sluggish and didn't accomplish a lot, but Nana was grateful anyway.
Everyone recovered within the week from the attack. At least, everyone Nana was on first name basis with. While there was a lot to be upset about, it wasn't like they only experienced losses. Desperate times made for stronger beastmen. Nana wasn't the only one who gained a power mark from the ordeal. Kibwe gained one and many other beasts from the village did too. She wasn't saying the marks were worth what was lost, only that not everything was bad.
Nana anxiously awaited for the return of Zen and Paulo. She really wanted to learn how to access the bond marks as soon as she could, but they would probably be back before she accomplished that. In her moments of free time, which were few and far between, Nana asked for advice from her mates about it.
Dakotah said to her, "Ah. Just feel it." And Nana had sent him off to gather the bounty of the forest. Dakotah was not teacher material.
Amil tried to help her find it, but she failed. Karan was of the same opinion as Dakotah, but he worded it better. Her last hope was Troy who actually taught her something.
"Shift. You will feel it best when you shift. Once you are able to pick up on it, you can focus on it without having to switch forms," Troy said.
Nana's mouth formed an 'o' as she stared at her mate.
"What's that expression for?" he asked.
Nana was genuinely impressed. "I didn't figure you to be a teaching type."
Troy scoffed while wearing an expression of disbelief. Why couldn't his mate just compliment him directly? "I have been teaching you for a while, haven't I? You forgot who helped you gain that mark?" he asked as his expression relaxed. He was still slightly irked that Nana questioned his teaching ability before now, but he was more glad that she acknowledged it.
"Well..." He wasn't wrong about that. She just assumed his mentoring ability was limited to fighting technique. Shame on her. "Thank you. That's the first bit of advice I've gotten that makes sense. I'll try it now."
Troy smiled and all irritation left him. "Ask anytime." Troy placed his hand on her head and ruffled her silky hair until it was a mess.
"Troy, really?" Nana grumbled. Now she had to brush out the tangles again.
Troy just grinned. It was his payback for now. He was going to make a remark about getting a reward, but held himself back this time. There wasn't really a reason for him to, he just did. Maybe he was distracted. A lot had gone on and was going on. Now his break was over and he had to get back to work.