B+Bs: To Stand In A Beast's World

85. Unease

 Despite the fact that this could be bad in more ways than one, we weren't entirely pessimistic. It wasn't like twins couldn't be born here. The mother wasn't guaranteed to die. And I wasn't in bad shape at all.

With two marks, my healing rate would definitely be better than average. I would also stay as healthy as I could which should improve my chances of recovering from birth too.

Panicking about that aspect wasn't necessary or helpful. But two little girls were going to be a handful to take care of. And they were going to need a lot of protection and a lot of planning.

I licked my drying lips as I thought about it. They'd need a crib, a baby-proofed den, and padded floors. They'd need toys too. Maybe rattles or a mobile too? And baby clothes.

Despite myself, I kind of looked forward to it. I loved my boys, but I couldn't watch them grow up the same way I could a female child. They'd reach their full size at four or five years and stay the same until they shift for the first time. It just wasn't the same.

I sat upright and joined my family who were all talking in a hushed, but animated way. "What should we do?" I asked.

Harvey noted the lack of tension in Grace's tone. "Are you alright?"

I nodded. "Yes. We can do this, can't we?"

Harvey wished he could say yes and soothe any worries Grace might have, but he couldn't. "It will be tough on you..." His ears drooped.

I gave him a pat on his back. "But I'm pretty tough, aren't I?"

There were multiple agreements from the rest and Harvey smiled a little. "Yes."

"So let's talk about what we should do and figure out how much this changes." We can determine what we can control and work from there.

There was no guarantee that this was going to be a bad thing. I didn't know a great amount about childbirth, but I have little cousins and their mother's experience that could help. I racked my brain for the details and included everything in the conversation.

We spoke all day on the topic. Several plans were drafted and discussed thoroughly. Keeping the ape king around would be ideal in most scenarios. His power was comparable to an ultrasound and it could help me a lot in making sure that there won't be complications. Or it could help detect those complications ahead of time so we can try to do something about it. Like breach birth, for example.

But knowing the ape king's personality, I couldn't trust him with that role easily. It was a shame there was no other ape male that could match him.

I thought about the emerald I still had. Would that be enough to secure his help again? Even though Qin wouldn't need another for years? If not, we will find a way to hire one of the weaker apes. Whatever we have to do to make this birth a safer one, we will.

When I fell asleep late that night, I told Muir about what he missed. Although he wanted to rush back, I insisted he stay and do what he needed to do. We needed to have a place to safely move to. My pregnancy did not change that.

The next day was noisy. Too noisy. I was visited by everyone that mattered and a few that didn't. I was asked too many questions that I didn't have answers to. No, I didn't know who the father was and it wasn't their business.

I get Holly and Memi wanting to know if they had a female grandchild on the way since neither ever had a female cub themselves, but still. I didn't know what I didn't know. I might be able to ask the ape king when he recovers, but it wasn't the most important thing to me. They would still be my children who will be raised by my family... I was curious though.

In the name of fostering a better relationship with the ape king, I sent a get-well gift that included a pan of fried rice and a single impure, transparent crystal. This was a matter of potential life and death for me and my babies. Buying favor was the easiest step to take. There was another...but that was the last resort and one that wouldn't be so easy to pull off.

I shook the doom and gloom from my mind and turned my full attention to my guests. Once I was able to chase them away, I took reports of the city. It was crucial that we use every opportunity to get the city on our side now if we wanted to capitalize on our later moving date.

Bai Qingqing was essentially forgotten. The girl felt a little lonely without Grace around. They lived in the same castle but rarely interacted the past days. Grace was always surrounded by others which made it hard for Qingqing to get close.

So Qingqing worked on the one thing that would guarantee some time with the busy queen; her projects. Making a loom was not going as well as she hoped, but creating dye was not so hard.

She ground the right flowers and berries together to create the colors she needed. So far, she had blue, yellow, pink, and purple. And by default, she could create green and orange. Those were not the only contributions that she slaved away on.

Qingqing wiped the sweat off her forehead and went out to check the heating system. She was able to give pointers for improvement. Once she passed the group of guards managing the ovens, Qingqing joined Gordon at the kiln he was re-building. This was the second version and it was looking better than the first.

It was not going well as the kiln would get too wet in the rain, but Bai Qingqing was hopeful that it would be operational once the rains subsided. After Gordon sent her a confident smile, Qingqing hurriedly thanked him and left. She put a hand on her heart as if to steady it and shook her head. Now wasn't the time to think about things like that. She needed to make paper.

Bai Qingqing was on a roll and she wouldn't stop. No, she couldn't stop. If she did, she would remember things she didn't want to. Clutching her arm that she still had wrapped despite the wound healing already, she hurried off with two of her guards in tow.

She didn't go far, having been scared plenty bad from the attack that happened last time. But she apparently got far enough away because a wolf male called her. "Bai Qingqing, the wolf queen has summoned you."

Qingqing clenched her fists, an angry tremor shaking her body. She knew. Thanks to one of her guards, she learned that Rosa was involved in the last attack. And she couldn't forgive her.

"I'm sorry. I'm working under the tiger queen's orders." Although it was a stretch, it wasn't completely untrue. Grace required Qingqing to work on improvements which is what she was doing. So, in a roundabout way, she was on Grace's orders.

The wolf lifted his lips in distaste but found it hard to truly dislike the little female in front of him. "But the queen demands it."

The guards stepped forward and the wolf male of the two spoke. "This is the tiger territory."

The other male sneered. "And you are not a tiger."

Tensions rose and Qingqing tried to diffuse it. Thankfully, or not, her auntie's irregular appearance saved her this time. All nostrils flared and the eagle guard grabbed Qingqing to fly her back to the castle.

Qingqing let out a shriek as she wasn't expecting to be yanked up, but the unknown wolf male wasn't following them. Once she realized she wasn't going to plummet to her untimely death, Qingqing heaved out a shaky sigh. Unfortunately, the scent of her cycle carried on the wind, causing chaos below.

As soon as Qingqing got back, she locked herself in her room, mortified. Everyone would know she had another cycle and would surely pester her. She cried inside and decided to not leave the castle's immediate area until spring.