Meanwhile, in Eli's cave.
Eli was excited to show his cave off to his mother. He was a proud independent beastman. Some beastmen didn't have a single stripe. He had earned one stripe before he transformed. He was on his way to earning his second stripe.
He had not started to look for a mate yet but knew the more stripes he had, the better his chances of finding one. He remembered when his mother told the tale of how his father rescued his mother from the floating beasts. He also wanted to level up enough to rescue a female if the occasion arose.
For now, he was happy with his independence. He had a bachelor cave. It would not be big enough for a female and other mates, but it was plenty for him now. He would build a bigger cave or maybe a castle later if he leveled up to a 4 striped Monkey King.
Oliver and the cubs had been to the cave, so they knew the area well. It was not too far away from the Cheetah Castle. The cheetah guards stayed far away to keep an eye on their Cheetah Queen and still give her space. They were respectful of the Cheetah King.
Eli was shy at first, but he gained confidence as his mother showed her interest in his place. He led her to his room. "This is my bed. Uncle Barry helped me skin a big bear to make it softer. Father helped me start a medicine garden and is teaching me medicines for cooking and healing. Uncle Tom and Uncle Tyler helped me build a short bird cage so I can have fresh eggs to eat every day."
Amber could see how much her mates cared about Eli and she knew it was all because of her. They knew how much she loved her cubs and she would be happy if they helped her cubs, so they helped as much as possible.
Over time, they developed a paternal love for Amber's cubs and treated them as family. They hoped to have cubs of their own with Amber and knew she would love them just as much as her other children.
At the thought of having more children, Amber placed her hand on her stomach. She blushed at the memory of being with her mate a few days ago. The last time she was pregnant, she was able to find out quickly.
Beastmen pregnancies were much quicker than human pregnancies depending on if the child was a male or female. Males only needed a few months or less depending on the father.
Tyler was an Eagle beastman. She wondered how it would be to lay eggs instead of birthing a baby animal. Her cubs and Eli were born as smaller versions of themselves. The deliveries were difficult, but they were so adorable that Amber forgot about the pain as soon as she held them.
While Eli was busy showing his mother around, Raj and Nate circled around her looking for affection. Amber absentmindedly pat them as she tried to remember how long Eagle's pregnancy lasted on Earth.
She remembered raising chickens when she was little at her grandfather's farm. The chickens laid eggs every couple of days. She was worried about eating the eggs at first when she found out that baby birds were hatched from eggs. She had looked at her grandfather in horror and refused to eat the baby birds.
Her grandfather told her that she didn't have to worry about eating baby birds since the rooster was separate from them until the spring. She didn't understand what that had to do with baby birds. Her grandfather tried to explain to a young girl as delicately as possible about the birds and the bees.
Amber laughed at how embarrassed her grandfather looked when he explained that the male rooster would "dance" with the female chicken and then a few weeks later, a baby bird egg would come out of the momma chicken. It didn't happen unless the daddy rooster "danced" with the momma chicken.
Amber was so scared to dance with boys until she grew up and learned the different types of "dancing" her grandfather was talking about. She learned about the mating dance in middle school when she took a Health class. She also learned about the different bases, and that a girl couldn't get pregnant unless the boy and girl went all the way to home base together.
Amber was brought out of her memories when she noticed her cubs were sniffing her stomach. She looked at Oliver in confusion. He understood the cubs' body language since he had helped raise them. He translated for them since they could not communicate with their mother yet.
"They think your scent is different than before." Oliver Explained and asked, "Do you mind if I check your pulse?" Amber nodded her consent. Oliver led Amber to sit on the soft bedding and checked her pulse. Eli and the cubs watched silently.
Oliver was a talented beastman doctor and was quickly able to tell Amber was pregnant through her pulse. He smiled at her and congratulated his mate. "You are carrying eggs, you should be laying eggs in about one and a half weeks." She was truly amazing! She had the most amazing fertility that he had ever heard of.
Amber was stunned at first. How did he know it was eggs? She remembered she had only been with Tyler when she returned. How did he know she wasn't with Nick when she was in her world? She asked, "How do you know they will be eggs and not cubs?"
Oliver raised his eyebrows. Was his mate questioning his skills as a doctor? He explained, "The smell was different from Nick when you came back from Bird Mountain. I'm not sure if it was Tyler, or Tom, but bird beastman pregnancies are much quicker since the female only needs to lay eggs. The male will incubate the eggs for a month until the baby birds will hatch."
Amber blushed as she remembered how passionate Tyler was when she returned, "It was Tyler. He was the first mate I saw when I came back over." She felt like she needed to explain to her other mates. She did not want them to think she was playing favorites. She planned to give them all children but she didn't want to choose who was next.
Amber knew that it was common to have multiple mates in the Beast World, but she was not from here originally and had grown up being taught monogamy. She still felt guilty when she thought about how the other mates would feel when they found out she was pregnant again.
Oliver could tell Amber was not as happy as she should be because she was worried about how he and the others would react. He assured her, "It is good news that you are pregnant again. It doesn't matter who the father is. We are all your mates and will all help to raise the children. Your fertility is amazing and the best in the Beast World. Reproduction is the most important thing to help our species from going extinct."
He looked at Amber like she was a treasure. He hugged her and she smiled at his kind words. Her hormones were a little out of balance and she started to cry silently. Rar and Nate rubbed against their mother and licked her cheeks to cheer her up. They gave her cheetah kisses. She started to laugh and hugged them back.
Eli felt awkward since he was a fully grown beastman, he was not supposed to be too affectionate towards his mother anymore. He didn't want his future mate to be jealous. Amber looked up and saw her oldest son standing off to the side. He obviously wanted to hug her too, but was standing away awkwardly. She opened her arms and motioned for him to get in the group hug.
Eli thought to himself 'I don't have a mate yet, so it is ok to hug my mother.' Oliver allowed his son to hug his mate, but he would talk to him later not in front of Amber. He knew that Amber didn't see Eli as a grown beastman, but he was. Eli needed to learn to be independent if he was ever going to find a mate.
'Mamma's boys' were not a thing in the Beast World. Once a beastman was able to transform to his 2 legged form, and especially after he earned his first stripe, he was considered fully grown and expected to leave his mother. For now, he would allow this sweet family moment for the sake of his beloved mate.