𝚃𝚁𝙸𝙿𝙿𝙴𝙳 𝙸𝙽𝚃𝙾 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙱𝙴𝙰𝚂𝚃𝚆𝙾𝚁𝙻𝙳

047

The trip had been long, with many days of arduous travel. The group had started out with only twelve people, but as they continued they began to pick up more, bringing their number to twenty.

Two leopard females, Cora and Kitty

Sixteen males excluding the cubs and snakes.

Since, the summer season was on it's peak. It was impossible to travel during the day. Everyone rested in caves or burrows, that were digged with enough depth to accommodate all the four females. And, when the night shone - so did the group.

Travelling at night was dangerous in it's own ways. Even the wild animals preferred to come out at night because of the scorching heat.

During the three weeks they had been travelling, Kitty had gotten close to the females in the group, teaching them basic hygiene - to which the females agreed that they felt cleaner and prettier.

The males of those females have been practically beaming suns out of their mouths. It had been a good three weeks for them, mostly because their females seemed happier with the newfound ways to make themselves pretty and asked for things they could actually provide.

Females were also showing their favour to the bachelors in the groups, mostly the leopards or lions. The food chain was a really big thing in this world  and carnivores were obviously more favoured.

And Kitty, had for the first time experienced morning and motion sickness in her four months, almost five months of pregnancy.

She hated it

Kitty was already exhausted, with swollen ankles, a tight and bloated stomach, and a head full of pregnancy hormones. This morning sickness was the last straw that she could take. She had tried all the tricks to avoid it, but nothing worked. She didn't understand how something so small could make her feel so awful.

And this kept Alpin and Harvey quote busy.

"How long?" Eve whined, eating her meat

"Just a few more hours" Winston gave a curt reply and went back to massaging Kitty's legs.

"You did bring the mattress right?" Kitty turned to Eros who was holding their luggage

"I did"

"Then forget about cleaning or anything. The first thing I'll do is sleep" Kitty leaned back on Alpin's chest "I'm exhausted"

"Just a bit more. I'll rub your back with oil" Alpin kissed Kitty's shoulder

They travelled for a few more hours, the night had already faded by now and soft rays of the sun had painted the sky a orange hue. Winston have a roar and the males stilled. Kitty, who was sleeping on Alpin woke up, moving one of his tails from her body to look at the front.

They had finally reached the village.

The quaint primitive village was surrounded by tall, fathomless trees that towered over it like an old sentinel. The village was composed of curious dwellings that almost seemed to blend into the background. Each one was nestled snugly in the hollow of an ancient tree trunk and made of heavy mud and straw that melded with the bark. The doorways into these passers were crafted from heavy logs that cleverly fit to the shape of the tree holes, almost like they were tailored for it.

The gaurds that were patrolling the gates came running up to Winston to inquire about them. They did not even try to hide their disdain at Eros and the snakes but they were barely paying any attention to the tiger gaurds.

Ophiuchus and Serpens had their tails wrapped around their mother's ankles.  Sure their tails were heavy but, Kitty didn't have the heart to tell them that. And, they icy coils did reduce her inflammations in her ankles.

Winston discussed about their situation and how he also had four females with them. The chief was called and he had decided it wouldn't be a good idea to turn away a tetra marked beast.

He had his reasons, how selfish they seemed but nothing ever came for free.

As Kitty and her family entered the tree hole, they were met with a rather cramped and primitive interior. There were no stairs or furniture, yet somehow, miraculously, five stories were contained within. Curiously, each of the five stories was connected to the ground level with doors located in odd angles, hidden by the tree branches.

The walls were rough and wooden, and the floors were also wooden, although they seemed to have been more recently laid. Rays of sunlight streamed through the branches, giving the place an almost ethereal feel. It was almost like an enchanted hideaway.

Winston took kitty in his arms and jumped up to the third floor, followed by the males in the family, they noticed the presence of a straw mattress, which added a comforting homely touch to the place. On the top-most level, there was a flat surface that could be used as a roof terrace, which provided an excellent view of the surrounding nature.

The air in the house was fresh and inviting, and Kitty felt as though she could almost feel the calm and serenity of the place filling her heart. It certainly wasn't luxurious , but it was a welcome break from the monotony of the outside world.

She could imagine herself staying in this primitive house inside the tree hole forever, living this life of peace and nature.

Kitty giggled to herself. It reminded her of the fairies that lived inside mushroom houses. While, this wasn't a big ass mushroom - it was still magical.

"There. I've placed your mattress beside the one that was already here. Do you want to go rest?" Eros stretched his muscles grinning at Kitty

"I think I'll wash up first"

Eros agreed and jumped down the third floor, extending his tail for Kitty to slide on.

He skillfully caught her and let her on the ground.

"Katherine?"

Kitty quickly turned around

"Bai Qingqing?"