71 - Nursery (3.2k words)

Mitchell's POVOn my way, a familiar scent made me pause and change my course.It was the same lioness female, which was brought to me earlier. She was crying and begging as three males carried her through the dark hallways."Don't cry, we will treat you nicely, okay?" One of the males tried to soothe her, but she screamed louder, shaking and unable to calm down."I don't want it! Please don't do this! Please..." she cried."Shhhh," the second male tried to silence her by using the poison gas on her, his patience dropping dangerously low, "Don't say it so loud, or someone will hear you and take you away from us."She struggled to get his hand off her mouth, "My mates will kill you for touching me!""Pfff, your mates?" The third male laughed, "They won't be able to fight all of us."I stepped out of the shadows, causing the males to jump in surprise and freeze."You didn't remove her spousal imprints yet?" I asked, casually approaching them with a raised eyebrow.The male carrying her was too scared to move, "We didn't want to risk her turning us into rootless after mating. You know how it is..." he said, "Her mates' power won't help her here. There is no need to worry, Your Majesty.""Give her to me," I raised my stinger, pointing the tip against one of the spousal imprints on her shoulder. The female became paralyzed by the gas, unable to move but still conscious. She was falling when I grabbed her by the waist, "I'll remove the spousal imprints myself," I said and pushed the tip of my stinger through the imprint.Blood poured out, and painful tears began to fall from her eyes as the imprint faded away.I moved my stinger to the next imprint, then the next one, and the next, "It would be bad if you activated your mates' powers and provoked someone into killing you. They are not as kind as I am. They won't hesitate to hurt you if you make them think you belong to someone else, especially to another beastman."I passed her to the males, and they immediately began to lick her wounds to heal her. But instead of being grateful for them, she shuddered in disgust."Wait until I return before mating with her. I might have found a way to make it less painful and more enjoyable for her, but I need to check on some things first.""Yes, Your Highness!" they exclaimed in unison and rushed to hide the half-unconscious female, hiding their dissatisfaction.I waved my hand at them with a smile, but it dropped back into its neutral state once they were gone.I resumed my journey to the surface, thinking about how fed up I was with listening to the conversation between Vick and Muir about how much pain could a scorpion's dick possibly cause if their female could take two at the same time? It eventually ended with me calling her a foul woman with a big hole between her legs, which made Vick laugh."It's the only part of her that she let us enter. Everything else is out of reach, so we have to make sure it's extra spacious to accommodate us all," Vick cackled as he rubbed the fool's female head provocatively.She didn't react to his touch and continued to study the pile of female soul stones the mermen had mined and pilled up around the small island (from digging the canal)."How? By using the bones of the ferals and rootless you killed and shoving them in there?" I mocked provocatively.Vick threw a tube of thick liquid at me, which made me jump in surprise as I caught it, "It saves both the female's and male's skin from burning and tearing. I've seen plenty of dicks in this world, most of which belonged to the scorpions, and your kind's look like a dried-up root vegetable that would suck on the female's juices instead of pleasuring her. No matter how big a female's 'hole' is, she won't be able to enjoy herself with such a thing. Unless you are both wet and juicy, and ready to seal the spousal relationship.""Why are you giving me this?" I asked, already guessing that Vick was after my power and influence."Send some to your people," Vick answered, flicking the foul's female forehead this time, which she avoided, "It will help them not to burn a hole through a female's insides. They will still feel the pain if they decide to shove themselves into her without a proper preparation thought. The only difference is that the female's insides won't get torn in the process. If you want the scorpions to become more popular with their females, just maintain my spouse's interest, and you'll receive even more benefits."That's it? He just want me to entertain his female?I've noticed that she was a lot nicer toward Curtis, Muir, and Skaris than Bart and Vick, especially Vick. One moment, they would be fighting each other verbally and physically, and then another moment, they would be kissing each other aggressively on the lips.I observed how Vick lay on her lap as if he owned that place and didn't just provoke her into a fight.The foul female glanced up from the soul stones, "How many females do you have left?"I looked up in thought, "I believe about 15 are still alive. Why? If you want me to stop the scorpions and rootless from having the females, then forget about it," I crossed my arm, "I won't betray my tribe and my father for other beastmen's sake... or their female's."She was such a vile female. Why would I even think that she would want to save other females? Maybe due to her protective nature toward the cubs? Maybe?"How were they able to survive? Any similarities between the ones that survived and the ones who died?" She ignored my previous remark and began interrogating me, so I just shrugged and gave what she wanted in exchange for the liquid."There are only two common things," I told her, "All their spousal imprints get removed, and most of them are beautiful. More beautiful than you, that's for sure," I added with a teasing sneer, "The more beautiful a female is, the stronger her mates are, and the higher a chance for them to follow her to the Flame City. It's easier to kill and find their soul stone in my territory. It also makes the mating easier when the ferals or rootless wear her males' soul stones around her. Thanks to that, she can get an impression that she is with her males and ease the tension, thus not causing as much pain and damage."I always found it foolish how the ferals (scorpions, snakes) could become jealous and envious of their female's dead beastmen, but they eventually would. Didn't they learn anything from the soul stone?I even went to great lengths to remove her spousal imprints and let her dead mate's soulstone stay by her side, but still, neither the female, the ferals, nor the beastmen could come to an understanding.Nobody was satisfied. Everyone viewed themselves as a victim and me as a culprit.I don't know why I began to find faults in the foul female's actions when Skaris began to paint her in a good light. It's not like I never turned a female's male into a rootless either, but it somehow irked me that her males didn't hold any grudges against her, even Bart. All the while, I have been viewed with disdain my whole life.Logically, my actions have boosted the scorpion's numbers, and my ruling brought an agreement between the rootless and the scorpions (something not even beastmen from the Beast City could accomplish). We weren't in constant war, yet nobody appreciated my hard work ─ just because I was born a rootless scorpion and she, a female.· · ─────── · ⊱❈⊰· ─────── · ·The underworld was pitch dark and filled with danger. There was the smell of blood and death in the air as I passed a couple of dead bodies and a pair of rootless fighting to the death.As if sensing my approach, one of them quickly finished dealing with his opponent and approached me─or, more accurately, attacked me. "Unmated?" he asked."What do you think you're doing, huh?" I asked him coldly, using my pincers as a shield to block the claws.The male froze, "Mitchell?""Muir?" I was surprised by his appearance. "What are you doing here? And since when.""I arrived before you. Around three days ago," Muir answered, retreating, and the two of us stood side by side, "I need to get stronger."I noticed that his body was covered in injuries and dried blood. "You already have four stripes...what more do you want? Did she force you to get stronger or something?"He clenched his jaw, and I was expecting him to defend her, but instead, he answered, "I want to strengthen my bond with her.""By not staying by her side and connecting with her?" I asked in confusion. Beastmen couldn't stay away from their females for long. They would get homesick and depressed. "How does it make sense? You'll only suffer.""She always chases away anyone who comes near her. Even those who want to help her and be friends with her." Muir said, his smile stretching up helplessly, his voice cracked with sorrow, "Her pain and her scars run deeper than anyone could imagine, so if keeping my distance from her will help her to feel better, then I'll stay alone too and will only take care of her and the people she cares for... from the shadows. If we suffer together, then maybe one day, we'll be able to find happiness together."I looked at him unbelievably. Really? Just when I thought that this beastman was the only normal one in her group, he ended up being the most deranged male I've ever met. He admitted that his female was bad, yet he was okay with it.Muir handed me a stack of soul stones. "I got it from their bodies," he said. He looked at the bodies and noticed something chewing on them."What?" I shrugged, accepting the stack, "How do you think I manage to make the Flame City a livable place? I want to keep my territory clean and free of vermin. I don't like having bugs and maggots crawling over the ground and walls.""Right. Thanks," Muir thanked me awkwardly, embarrassed that someone had to clean after him, "I tried to spare unmated ferals.""Thanks too, I guess," I snorted sarcastically. I could hear him sigh and lean against the wall tiredly, "How do you like it here so far?""It's really... dark," Muir said, "It's hard to navigate and see things here. I was almost killed a couple of times by some rootless, who could see much better in the dark than me." Then, he picked himself up, "Go, you seem in a hurry."I began to walk away, but Muir's words made me stop, "Skaris hates the scent of other females, so don't get surprised if he offers you a bath and a change of clothes before you can go near our cubs. He offers it whenever I return from my rescue missions. Just accept it. It's actually not that bad once you get used to it.""How do you know I'm heading there?" I sniffed at my body, remembering the female I had touched earlier."Your orders can reach every corner of the Flame City faster than you think," Muir said, and I saw his outline fading into the darkness, "If I were you, I would try to keep my family's existence and our relationship a secret. The fewer people who know, the better."I scoffed, "I'm not a fool."· · ─────── · ⊱❈⊰· ─────── · ·Three hours later...Just like Muir said, Skaris nagged at me to take a bath and gave me a new set of clothes. He didn't want me to contaminate the lake water, and had me stand under a palm tree as he scrubbed me down with a sponge and a bristled brush, then poured water over me. It was a new experience, but not an uncomfortable one.The male was taller than me, but his body was thinner and leaner, which made him seem smaller than me at the same time. He looked the scariest, yet he was the warmest and nicest male I've ever met. He even washed and braided my hair, and when I complained, he replied:"You smell like a female," and that was enough to shut me up and accept his treatment. If Muir hadn't warned me, I would have probably picked up a fight with him. Now, I was just curious. "Why? Do you hate their scent?""I'm allergic to females," Skaris said, his tone calm.How was he able to tolerate being close to that foul female then?Skaris chuckled, "Vick made that soap based on her scent, so you can probably smell her on yourself and us as well.""Huh?!" I almost choked, and began to scratch on my skin and hair as if her scent was a parasite I could get rid of.Skaris picked up my dirty clothes to wash them, and yes, you guessed right, with the same soap, "It's not a real scent of a female. Dear does not have any scent, or she may have an ability to disguise her smell or something, but Vick said it's the closest we can get to it."I looked down at the dark pair of pants and thought how I looked like I belonged to their group. I could see myself benefiting a lot from her males. They didn't seem interested in my throne, which would explain why Gold kept full power over his reign and only lent his hand to them when needed. They must have helped Gold somehow, which made him indebted to them.I've only heard about the canal and the mermen, but never these guys. Something told me they had a hand in it, and if I could earn their trust, they would be my biggest advantage.· · ─────── · ⊱❈⊰· ─────── · ·Bart's quadruplets barked at me and lay down, their bellies up, waiting for me to scratch them, "Why are they tied up to a palm tree?""They keep causing trouble and picking up fights with the twins," said Bart, pointing at two other palm trees where the tiger and lion cubs were tied up separately. "It's a temporary solution until we build an enclosure for them."I caught the brush Bart threw at me and began to groom the quadruplets' fur, "You are such a fluffy and soft breed. No wonder you are among the favorite males among the females.""Alongside the tiger, leopard, lion, and fox breed," Skaris said, "Their cubs have a high demand because of their cuteness and fluffiness.""I wonder if it's also a reason why ferals are so unpopular," I mumbled."Definitely, yes," Skaris said."Would you mind if I brought some scorplings? They are usually abandoned, and I would like them to be raised here.""Okay," Skaris nodded, "But we will need your help, Papa Mitche.""Of course," I nodded. After I had brushed the quadruplets, I walked toward the twins, who weren't as playful and cooperative. They tried to bite and scratch me, which made it hard to groom them. But once they caught the familiar scent of soap on me, they calmed down and accepted my grooming.I summoned a few scorpions and ordered them to collect building materials for us. Depending on their behavior, the "nursery" should be big enough to separate the cubs into different enclosures. I dug a deep hole in each enclosure and placed a large boulder in the middle, so it could be used as the cubs' den.· · ────── · ⊱❈⊰· ────── · ·My scorpions returned, carrying everything needed for the construction. We built and hardened the fence walls like we hardened the underground tunnels and crafted doors out of beastmen bones so the cubs wouldn't break or tear them down like wooden ones. We worked for two days until the moon was up in the sky. Bart made a bed for the cubs out of beastmen's animal skin, and Skaris filled a small barrel with water for them to drink."Thank you for the help, Papa Mitche," Bart said, holding one of the tiger cub's paws together in a thank-you gesture. "We would not be able to do this without you."I proudly raised my nose and nodded, a smirk playing on my lips. "That's because I'm the smartest and greatest male in all of Flame City. No one else even comes close."Skaris bobbed the lion cub's head in a nodding motion, "Yes. You're the best, Papa Mitche."The quadruplets were jumping on me, howling for attention. They were used to having all of their parents' attention and couldn't adjust to the fact that other cubs were getting what used to be their privilege."If you accepted them as your brothers, you'd have more playmates," I scolded, using my foot to push them to their enclosure and closing the bone doors. "But no, you keep bullying them."· · ─────── · ⊱❈⊰· ─────── · ·Fast-forward, another half-moon has passed. Muir only showed up once. He brought soul stones for me, clear crystals for Skaris and Bart, and some teething toys for the cubs.Muir's body was covered in more cuts and bruises, and his aura was different. It felt...more sad and gloomy. He left quickly and didn't even spend a night here.My people managed to find one scorpling, and I brought it to the nursery. It was the size of my palm, and its shell was still soft and delicate. I built a big cage for it, where it could safely nest and grow. The base was filled with rocks to prevent it from escaping. Sand was placed on top of it so it could create a protective burrow. Compared to the high-maintenance cubs, it just ate, slept, and grew.I usually stayed two days in the oasis, then returned to the upper part of the Flame City for a day. I wanted to tame a vulture or a desert owl for faster travel, but the birds would rather die than let a living beastman get near them. I was sure they were under the control of another King, but nobody had been able to locate him or his tribe. So, for now, I had to rely on a cheetah rootless as my mount.I glanced at the leaving Skaris, "Where is he going again?"Bart followed my gaze, "He leaves every night for a short while. I don't know what he is doing, but he always returns in a better mood and a happy expression. Sometimes, he even brings some of our cubs with him.""What is he doing? Teaching them hunting or something?"Bart shook his head, "There is only one person, who can bring him so much joy."My heart sank. No way could she be here! I began to pace around, searching for a way to confirm or deny my suspicion. When Bart raised a brow at me as if he knew exactly who I was thinking about, I went to check on the scorpion cub, feigning nonchalance.╔═══ Author's note ════╗Nobody misses Yaya, lol. They are doing just fine even without her. 😭A vulpture or a desert owl? 😏I believe that Mitchell came into contact with a few females. He was a King, not a sheltered cub, and combined with his curiosity, it would be strange if he didn't meet or touch one. BQQ caught his curiosity because she was different (plump, healthy body with clean and adorable features, had a feral mate + Shuu's influence).╚═════════════════╝