Antelope Village

Six hours, two stops, a few painkillers and pad changes later, we finally made it to the village Xavier mentioned. Xavier landed on the outskirts of the village and I ungracefully got off, my body jelly at this point. 

Thankfully, Xavier was quick in transforming and caught me before the floor and I became friends. He held onto my arm to keep me stable as he put his fur skirt on.

Once he was done, Xavier lifted me up, holding me in a princess carry. Normally, I would be embarrassed, but his body heat was comforting like being wrapped in a cozy blanket. It also helped that the warmth eased some of my pain.

"We'll be in the village soon." Xavier murmured softly as I curled up against his chest. "Just need to wait for Ahi before we can head to the village."

"Mmmm." I replied, closing my eyes.

Exhaustion from the cramps had me fighting sleep and the painkillers didn't help either. However, I wanted to at least stay awake until we were settled in the village. Then I'd sleep to my heart's content.

We didn't have to wait long because Ahi arrived a few minutes later. I opened my eyes a little just as he shifted the top part of his body into his male form.

"Rest, love." Ahi said as he came over to place a kiss on my forehead. He then turned his attention to Xavier as he gently ran a hand through my hair. "You'll speak to the village elder?"

"Yeah." Xavier nodded his head. "But you'll need to change to your full male form. They don't really like snakes here and if you scare them...."

"I understand." Ahi replied, swiftly shifting his tail into legs, putting a fur skirt on. He picked up our supply bags and turned back to us. "Lead the way."

With that we made our way to the village, Xavier in the front with Ahi walking slightly behind. There was a lot of tall yellow grass everywhere and round mud huts soon came into view.

There were quite a few males walking around along with various types of antelope gazing on the grasses. As we approached the village some of the impalas and gazelles leaped away, either in fright or to call the village head.

Laying my head back down, I closed my eyes once more, deciding to let Xavier handle the village. I didn't want a repeat of the jaguar village. I was cranky enough as it was and didn't need more stress.

Xavier came to a stop suddenly and I heard a strange voice speak, "Welcome Prince Xavier… What brings you here?"

My eyes immediately snapped open in surprise. I stared at Xavier, wondering what the other male meant by calling him a prince.

"Please, Elder Steven, Xavier is fine…" Xavier responded, knowingly keeping his gaze away from me. "I actually need a place to stay for a few days… Elisa, here… needs some rest from our travels."

Realizing he wasn't going to answer my unsaid question now, I turned my attention to the elder he was speaking to. The male was slightly shorter than Xavier with long grey hair and a face full of wrinkles.

He wore a cotton cloak and leaned against a long, wooden staff with a jewel in it. Honestly he seemed more friendly than Elder Williams. Like the grandfatherly type.

"I see…." Elder Steven murmured. "You can use one of the huts on the south side of the village. It may be a bit small, but it's clean at least…"

The elderly man paused for a moment, gazing at Ahi. "I'll let you stay here since this female is your mate, but please keep to the south side of the village… I don't want any of our females or cubs to get frightened."

"Of course." Ahi nodded in understanding. "Thank you for letting us stay here."

Elder Steven smiled. "Of course. I'd never turn away the village's savior's son…. Anyway, I'll let Harry here take you to the hut so you can rest." 

He waved over a nearby male, quickly instructing him to show us the way. The younger male was nervous, jumping around as he led us to the village, avoiding the main paths.

Soon we got to the hut, and true to Elder Steven's word, it was spotless. A hearth sat in the middle and there was some straw in the corner. Otherwise, it was bare.

"Must be a single beastman hut…" Xavier muttered under his breath before turning to Harry. "Thank you."

The other male nodded and hurried away without another word. Ahi ignored him, setting all the supplies down while Xavier carefully set me down on the straw.

I groaned, disappointed not to have the warmth. It was really helping with the ache in my body. Mustering up my courage, I grabbed Xavier's arm before he could pull away.

"Can you keep holding me? Your warmth really helps with the pain." I asked with a slight blush on my face.

Xavier's mouth opened and closed like a fish, like he was trying to process my words. Finally, he turned his head to Ahi who was staring at us silently.

Oh fudge balls… I groaned to myself.  Ahi is my mate, but here I am asking to be with some other male during my heat-

"Stop staring at me, Xavier." Ahi muttered, tossing my sleeping bag to the other male. "If your warmth helps with the pain, then you better hold her. Maybe you can explain this prince thing?"

Xavier caught the sleeping bag before it hit him in the face and grumbled, "I'm not really a prince, okay…"

He handed me the sleeping bag which I gratefully got in. I was ready to sleep, but there were some questions still bothering my mind. And I knew I wouldn't sleep until they were answered.

"I see…" Ahi murmured as Xavier sat down on the straw while I wiggled into the sleeping bag. "Well, I'm going hunting… Fresh food will be better for everyone."

He left without another word and I knew I needed to talk to him. Sighing, I turned to Xavier and curled up against his stiff body, letting his body heat seep into mine.

When we were both finally comfortable, I asked, "Why did Elder Steven call you their savior's son?"