Beauty and The Beasts: Rain

31. Drama

I finally got a little ahead in Rain's story, so I'll be posting two chapters today.  This is the first update for April 26.  Enjoy.

     Two months passed quickly.  The dry season was nearing its end and cool season was coming.  Rain trained with Brice and Third frequently.  Brice achieved his third stripe and Third and Rain grew better established with their seconds marks.

     If they weren't sparring, they were hunting.  They had another colossal hunt, that all three participated in.  A herd was approaching the city, so Winston organized and participated in the hunt himself.  He allowed all three to participate.  Harvey stood on standby with other doctors, to heal any injuries.  The hunt was successful and Rain, Third, and Brice improved their teamwork.

     Third and Brice got along very well and chatted regularly.  Brice and Rain had a respectful relationship that was improving.  Harvey and Brice were not particularly close, but were polite to each other.

     Winston insisted on visiting a few times a week and did not grow close to either Brice or Harvey.  He remained distant, but still authoritative.  No beast was foolish enough to show discourtesy to the king.

     Rain met with Damon.  She did not kill him or condemn him, much to the surprise of the others.  She was far from forgiving him though, instead she challenged him.  "In the future, we will duel again."  She didn't leave room for compromise or rejection.  Her icy tone cut through the tiger and he agreed with a spark of hope in his resolute eyes.

     Winston utilized Damon, since he could not kill him without aggravating Rain.  He intended to use him for all his worth.  The city always needed strong protectors and lacked resources.  As punishment, Damon was required to serve the various females of the city on a rotation.  He would provide them with additional protection as well as resources.  Damon did not protest and accepted his punishment without batting an eyelash.

     The dry season was not as bad as the previous years, much to the relief of the city inhabitants.   Rain's well had been manually filled with water form the river.  It took some time to fill it, but the family was able to manage well.  The well that had once been full was close to dry, but the river was still flowing.

     Rain had grown accustomed to living in the city, albeit in the outskirts.  She would soon get her estrous based on how it went last year.  She got hers twice a year and was fertile for 10 to 15 days after.  A gift from from her mother, more than likely.

     All was well, until an unexpected visitor showed up at Rain's doorstep.  Rain scented the air and hissed.  She knew this was inevitable.  She told Harvey the identity of their visitor, before heading down to greet them.  She was glad that Third and Winston were not here now.

     Rain opened the wooden door and stepped out into the cool weather.  She stared at the entourage of males and the familiar female they followed.  Rain noticed that the four males were leopard, tiger, wolf, and hawk.  'So the leopard king did not accompany her today.'  Rain thought to herself.

     "Rain!" Big, round, reddish brown eyes stared at Rain, tears threatening to fall.  Rain felt a sense of guilt and relief.  She was glad her sister recognized her this time.  Auburn hair as long as her own flew wildly as her sister ran towards her.  Rain was wrapped in a hug and failed to respond immediately.

     "Snow." It had been a while since Rain called her sister.  She hadn't seen her in over two years.   Having spent their first fifteen years dependent on each other and their sixteenth year in close proximity, she found that she had missed her sister more than she thought.