Larry was a two-striped guard at the Lion Castle. There were a few females who wanted him as a mate. He was holding out for Amber, but it seems like Amber did not even care about him.
Larry decided to make Amber jealous and maybe she would notice him. He chose the most beautiful Lion female who was interested in him and began to woo her.
When Amber brought Eli to the Lion castle, Larry took the opportunity to bring flowers to his intended mate. He made a show of picking the prettiest spring flowers that had bloomed and purposefully walked in front of Amber to get her attention.
Amber noticed him briefly, but then Eli made a noise and her attention was back on her cub.
Larry was upset. He had planned to get her attention, but she was too focused on her cub. It wasn't even a female cub!
Larry decided to think of other ways to get her attention.
While Amber went inside the castle to visit Clara, Larry went to retrieve his "intended" mate. He brought her to the castle to show Amber his "true love".
Amber went inside and met Clara and the Lion King. Nick, Oliver, and Tyler came inside with her. Her mates could follow her inside, but her beast guardians had to wait outside.
Barry had noticed Larry's deliberate show of picking flowers.
Fred knew that Amber didn't really like flowers. She would much rather have something edible like berries. He had been bringing things for Amber since they met and it didn't seem to move her heart.
Amber still treated her beast guardians as her brothers. The only one she treated as a mate was Nick. She would occasionally blush around Oliver and Tyler, but Nick was the most loved mate.
They tried to think of the reason that Nick had captured Amber's heart. They would do anything to mate with her. She was the most beautiful female they had ever seen and had so many amazing ideas.
Amber introduced Eli to the king and queen. Clara was intrigued by his human-looking eyes. She had never seen a baby monkey before.
Most of her mates were Lion beast men and they had little kittens. Her flying beast men would give her eggs that would hatch into little birds.
She noticed how Amber carried Eli and how he clung to her. She was glad she did not have a monkey mate. Monkey babies seemed like a lot of work!
Amber had no idea of the Lion Queen's thoughts and continued to tell her about the baby. Clara was like most females in the beast world.
Once she gave birth, other than nursing the cub the majority of the tasks would be completed by her mates. She asked her mate to bring her cubs to play with Eli.
Clara wanted to see how they would get along. Her cubs were a year older and much bigger. Eli was scared when he saw them.
Oliver could understand his monkey shrieks and communicated with him in their beast language.
Oliver told Eli, "Don't embarrass me and your mother in front of the Lion Queen. Her cubs are older, but you can climb faster. Go play with them around the vines and they will not be able to keep up."
Eli was reluctant to leave his mother, but his father had a point. He didn't want to embarrass his mother and father. Even though he was only a month old, beast men had their pride.
Eli jumped down from his mother and ran outside. Amber was startled at first and wanted to chase after him.
Oliver held her hand and whispered, "Beast men need to be more independent. Don't coddle him too much or it will make him weak."
Amber hesitated but decided to listen to Oliver. He was raised in this world and knew how to survive.
Amber was still thinking about how the lion cubs were so much bigger than her cub. Clara laughed at the cubs playing together and asked, "Should we go watch them play?"
Amber nodded and followed Clara outside. This was free entertainment in the beast world!
As they walked outside, their mates followed them. Larry just happened to walk past them with his "intended" mate.
Clara noticed her as the most popular female in the Lion tribe. She called out to her, "Hello Lola, how are you today." Lola replied, "It's a good day my Queen. I have a new admirer."
Amber looked at her and noticed the way Larry was watching Amber's expression.
She was happy that Larry finally moved on to a new female. She hoped he would be happy.
Amber smiled at Larry to show she was happy for him. Lola saw the smile and thought Amber was trying to seduce her newest admirer.
Lola was instantly enraged and yelled at Amber, "Don't even think about stealing my newest mate!" Amber was stunned for a moment and didn't know Lola was talking to her.
Nick stood in front of Amber in a protective pose. He replied, "My mate is the Cheetah queen. She is not interested in your newest mate. She has all the admirers she needs."
At first, Larry was happy that Lola and Amber were fighting over him. Then Nick ruined his happiness when he announced Amber didn't want him.
Amber replied, "I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. I was happy that Larry found a female he likes. I hope you two are very happy together."
Lola flipped her hair and replied, "We will be. Don't worry about his happiness." She walked over to Larry and grabbed his hand to drag him away.
Larry was conflicted at first. He didn't want Lola as his mate. He was only trying to make Amber jealous so she would fight for him.
He knew Amber had a higher rank than Lola and if she fought for him she would win. Her mates were better than Lola's mates.
Amber had the Cheetah king, two three-striped mates, a three-striped beast guardian, and two two-striped beast guardians.
The highest level mate of Lola's was a two-striped Lion beast man. This is why she wanted Larry. She wanted another two-striped beast man.
Now that Amber had told him she was happy for him, he couldn't just tell Lola he didn't want to be her mate. He still had his pride.
He thought about it and decided to just mate with Lola. He might not get a better chance and Amber did not want him.
He couldn't lower his pride in front of his Queen, so he took Lola's hand and led her away. The Queen smiled as she knew what would happen next.
It was good to have guards with mates. They were more loyal and less likely to be tempted by other females.
In the end, Larry's revenge backfired, but he did get a mate. Everything worked out.
Nick carried Amber to the back of the castle where the cubs were playing. Eli was swinging in the vines and the Lion cubs were roaring at him.
The Lion cubs were frustrated when they could not reach the baby monkey. Eli was taunting the Lion cubs. He kept swinging back and forth laughing.
Oliver was proud of his cub! Nick and the others were laughing at the cubs. Clara was slightly embarrassed.
She called her cubs back. She told her mate to take the cubs back to the castle. She was done with her visit.
Amber called Eli back to her. He was happy to return to his mother. She was so warm.
Oliver caught Eli before he could jump into Amber's arms.
Eli was getting older. It was time he was weened from his mother. Oliver needed to help Eli grow up.
Amber looked at Oliver with a question in her eyes. Oliver looked at her with a knowing gaze as if to say, "This is the way."
Amber hesitantly looked away. Nick carried her back to their castle and the rest followed.
They all understood that Eli needed to grow up strong. Nick wanted to distract Amber so he began to discuss their plans to go to the sea.
Amber was excited to go to the sea. She grew up in a city by the sea and missed the beach. She also wanted to see Eli play on the beach.
He loved to play. Amber had made some sodden toys for him and he had his stuffed rabbit.
She wanted to teach him how to build a sand castle and collect sea shells. She was also excited to get some coconuts and other tropical fruits.
She could use coconuts for so many different things. Coconut water was from the young green coconuts and was very rich in electrolytes.
Coconut milk comes from the brown mature coconuts and is sweeter. She could use it in her recipes or as a beauty ingredient.
Coconut oil is good for the skin and can be used to cook with. Amber was excited about the trip to the sea!