Ari

Chapter 12: Preparation for Winter

Our tribe had a good system for gathering enough food before the winter ever since I suggested to my father that we can plant our own food and domesticate some animals instead of constantly hunting. It took our tribe some years to properly adapt to the process of farming and domesticating animals to sustain our food during winter.

We also started to help the nearby allied tribes by teaching the said methods so we often visit their tribes to constantly check their progress.

One time, we went to the forest wolf tribe to check on the progress of their farming and animal domestication.

The alpha of their tribe was named Acwulf, a bluish-grey wolf beastman with silver eyes.

The body of a wolf beastman is smaller than an average lion beastman, but their muscles are firm and they are more agile and their nose is more sensitive, making it easier to detect the exact location of their prey even if they are hidden.

Their population is higher than ours, so it was harder for them to maintain their food supply especially during winter. They welcomed our help to strengthen our alliance and also in exchange for rare herbs that are only available in their territory.

My father and Acwulf became friends due to the alliance so they regularly meet to exchange thoughts about their plans in their own tribe.

"Hey Lev, my son, Lowell is soon to come of age in two years he can legitimately succeed as the alpha ones he is strong enough to defeat me. Why not let your daughter Ari marry my son? I assure you, he is the best-looking male and the strongest one in our tribe. The duel we will perform once he comes of age is only a formality. Every female here and even in the other tribes falls for his charm. Though I don't know why he keeps disappearing lately." Acwulf suggested while bragging.

My father looked at him sharply as if roaring inside of his mind for a moment.

No one outside our tribe knows that I am a winged lioness because I always transform into my passive form when I'm accompanying my father on his tasks unless we are hunting.

"She's allergic to males, only the beastmen goddess knows whom she will marry in the future so I have no plans of giving my daughter to anyone as long as I am the alpha of the lion tribe.", he answered firmly as he looked at me with a reassuring smile as if promising me that he will protect me as long as he is alive.

Acwulf tried to pat my head, but I was agile to dodge.

He was surprised and laughed while my father shot a scary glare at him, warning him not to do it again.

"Hahaha! I know! I know! I won't do it again. Geeze! I just want to pat her head because she looks so cute despite that mask." He responded to my father's glare while raising his hands in the air.

"By the way, Acwulf, it seems that your tribe is doing well with the methods we gave you. Do you have enough food for the winter?" My father asks diverting the conversation back to the main purpose of our visit.

"It seems we are still a little bit lacking since we only just started, but we can just set half of the adult beastmen to hunt since we have loads of manpower. How about your tribe?" He answered casually as he offered some help knowing the shortage of manpower of our tribe.

"*sigh* Yes, we do need some manpower because there was a boar attack incident a few weeks ago, causing deaths of some cubs and injuries of some elders and it interrupted our schedule for the courtship ritual. I need some manpower to speed up the delayed preparation. There were also quite a few incidents after that caused by my spouse and his other males but it's all settled now." My father responded.

"Why don't you just throw them outside the tribe, you can survive even without a spouse since you are their alpha and you already have, Ari. I doubt that you still undergo rut* after having Ari." He suggested sincerely as he tapped my father's shoulder showing his compassion to a troubled friend.

Rut is a condition in which a male beastman experiences an increase in exaggerated sexual desire and increased aggressiveness and interest in female. A beastman doesn't undergo uncontrollable rut anymore once he becomes a father, unless his spouse triggers it during her estrus. Estrus is a condition in which a female beastman experiences an increase in sexual desire meaning that her body is capable of conceiving. A female releases a special scent once she is in heat and that scent triggers her spouses and other unmarried males.

"I can't. You know I can't. I already promised her to help her settle in the tribe for good with her cubs and other spouses. I can no longer take back my words." My father insisted.

Acwulf sighed while shaking his head as he was speechless. The pride of a lion was so high that they can never get back on their word.

After their conversation, Acwulf assigned a few unmarried young males to accompany our group as we go back to our tribe by foot and help in the preparation for the courtship ritual. They will stay in the tribe until the preparations are finished.

When we went back to our tribe, there was a small commotion. It seemed that a few female younglings showed early signs of estrus including Lindie despite being a year younger than the usual age of a youngling.

In the Lion Tribe, all younglings are tested for early signs of the estrus and rut occasionally during autumn.

Once they show an early sign of the rut or estrus, they are given a higher dose of suppressant since younglings are more aggressive and active than adults during heat season due to their inability to suppress their sexual desires when they undergo estrus and rut.

Secret meetings are prohibited for younglings since unexpected pregnancies of minors can lead to a fatal death of the female during the egg laying process because their body is not yet fully developed for reproduction.