Oria, along with her two twins, were looking over several Feral cubs. Except these weren't Imbushko's Ferals. Each of these was the remains of an Olavin-Faa Feral pack.
"Hey, Ori, this little guy seems very stressed out. You said you had a Yonie friend, right?" Mila said while examining the cub.
Oria walked up behind the smaller Feral, making sure to note down his every detail. He had a similar tan skin with messy purple hair and green eyes.
She placed her arms around him, giving him a soothing hug before gently chirping into his hair. The gentle motions made him feel welcomed despite the massacre.
"Do you know how to speak Kenekuor, little one?" Oria asked.
He nodded. "Y - yes. I am too afraid to talk. They came out of nowhere and slaughtered my Neddy!"
Oria's heart sank. Hearing him talk about his parents like this showed a lot of innocence.
"Listen, little one, it's difficult to explain this to you. But they came from Yarno to here and expected Etek Dur to belong to them. I am part of the dominant pack, meaning we need to keep order here," Oria explained.
"But did they have to die? What were we doing wrong?!?" The cub bursted out into tears.
Tenni brought some Abako meat for the cubs to eat. When she got to Oria, she realized just how sad this Feral was.
"What happened to him?" Tenni asked.
Oria slowly turned her head to her. "He asked what did his Neddy and pack do wrong to deserve this."
"Hey, little guy, we work in a weird way. Your pack looks so different from ours so we feared them, and that's why we attacked. We suffered deaths on our end too, everyone lost. But it so happens we loss less," Tenni explained.
"How?" The cub cried.
Tenni pointed at his legs, hands, and feet. "Do you notice how much bigger your legs are? They are made for jumping through forests and taking heads off. Meanwhile, you climb using the sets of claws on your hands and feet."
He unsheathed the small buds that would later become claws. The tiny nails seemed innocent and adorable, especially when considering what they were capable of.
"What's your name?" Oria changed the topic.
"O - Orako, and who will be my new Neddy?" Orako gently replied.
An idea sparked in Oria's mind. "How do you feel about Yonies?"
***
Several loud knocks followed by a sudden shocked scream echoed through the house, catching Ether's attention from the map he was focused on.
The door swung open as Ether slowly made his way down the hall and around the corner to the living room. When he stepped inside, he realized why Jakery screamed.
Oria was trying to push Orako inside, but the Feral cub seemed hesitant to step through.
Jakery watched in shock as the strange-looking creature tried to bolt out of the house. He never thought something like this would happen, which caught him by surprise.
"Oria, what is that thing?" Jakery questioned.
She picked Orako up, then stared at Jakery with a straight face. "This is a Feral that came from Yarno, and it is afraid of you! And rightfully so, if I may add!"
"Well, what's it doing here?" Ether's voice caught their attention.
Oria smiled. "Odi Etheeeer!"
"Please, don't play those 'Yonie' jokes with me," Ether suddenly asked.
Which bewildered Oria. "Didn't you like this?"
"Me and Pearl are in a relationship. I want to show her I am loyal," Ether answered.
Her smile dwindled, realizing Ether wasn't in the place to play with her like that made her understand just how far they both came.
"Oh... sorry. W - well, I brought this little guy here hoping you could do some of that Yonie magic on him and probably raise him as your own. It will do great practice for when you and Pearl have a baby," Oria replied.
Despite trying her hardest to sound normal, Ether caught onto her emotions. Which made him feel horrible. She was the original girl he grew attached to after escaping the Light Legion.
"Oria, I'm sorry. Pearl and I have grown closer to one another. I've known her for longer and saw her as an enemy until recently. You're beautiful and all, but Pearl is just right for me. I love her," Ether ignored the cub.
Jakery crept closer to the frightened cub. Every step he took caused him to scream and flail around harder. Which caused him to stay back.
Ether took a turn and walked closer to the Feral. Unlike Jakery, Ether kept going even after Orako showed discomfort.
Until he was right beside him. Ether smiled the typical Yonie smile, then picked him up from Oria's arms.
Orako instantly fell silent, allowing the unfamiliar character to comfort him.
Ether nibbled the tip of his hair while making adorable Yonie noises with his throat.
"Hey, little guy, what's your name?" Ether's warm voice asked.
Orako wrapped his arms around his new caretaker. "Orako."
"That's a good name, Orako. Since you're going to be under my watch from now on, maybe you should follow me. I'll raise you with lots of care and love," Ether whispered.
He let go of his new son, then he pointed down the hall towards his room. Orako slowly made his way through the house until reaching the next hallway, where he stopped and waited for Ether.
"Good girl Oria," Ether turned his attention to her. "Thank you. I'll prepare some Eteni meat exclusively for you. To show there are no hard feelings between us."
"No thank you. My pack needs me back home. And I don't like the cold. The snow feels weird on my feet, anyway. I'll see you later. Bye," Oria concluded.
Jakery shut the door behind her as she walked away.
While on the flight back home, Oria's true emotions spilled out. It was just like she feared, but worse.
She knew who Ether was going to try for a baby with, something that broke her. Despite not directly loving him, she still highly respected Ether and wanted to continue these games with him.
It was the care he showed her and the fun times they had together since the accident. She still remembered her reaction when Ether wrapped her in a soft hug.
But all that was a long time ago, despite being less than a year. It was crazy how distant they originally were and how that transformed into this.
Did she feel hatred towards Pearl because of this? No, she was happy for her. They both know Ether is a very gentle guy who wishes nothing but the best for those around him.
Ether making a great father was not a guess; it was a given.
When Oria landed on the platform, Kellenas greeted her. His face lit up with joy after watching her dismount without a cub.
"He accepted, right?" Kellenas asked for confirmation.
Oria nodded. She had successfully found a good home for one of the several cubs. But there were others inside the pack that needed homes, and quickly if they didn't want to sleep inside with each other.
"What about the rest?" Oria asked while pointing towards the leaves above them. "Are we going to dump them into random homes for now?"
Kellenas slowly stepped towards the edge of the platform. "Deterna isn't capable of producing cubs, her body forbids it. Having three cubs to call her own is a dream. Find me the weakest cub, the youngest, and the oldest."
"I'll see it done. Stay here, they will get here soon. So you can deliver them to your mate," Oria replied.
She jumped off the platform to the ones hanging below them, where the other cubs recovered from the trauma.
Mila was hand feeding the youngest cub there. It appeared to be only a few weeks old because of its featureless body and extremely soft texture.
"Ori, you're back! Come here and look at this cute little one," she said with a giant smile.
"Sorry sis, but Kellenas asked me to bring him the youngest, weakest, and strongest cubs for Deterna. She really wants some cubs to raise," Oria explained.
Her sister closed her eyes with a slight smile. She understood Deterna's struggle and hopes to one day raise some as her own. That's what every Feral wants to do at the end of the day: help the next generation.
"Sizo and Tekeni, follow this girl. She is my sister and will bring you to your new homes with the alpha couple!" Mali called out to the group.
From behind several other cubs, a male and a female cub walked forward. The male appeared to be the oldest, judging by his size. But the female appeared to be much stronger because of her marks.
Mila turned to look at Oria. "And this is little Tinaki, I named it!"
"Thank you so much, Mila," Oria said while picking up Tinaki. "Sizo and Tekeni, follow me up the tree. I'm bringing you three to a new home."