A night of stormy snow falls that night, covering everything that reaches the poor visibility of the guards, they walk along the almost endless black wall.
"Horrible and long night, don't you think novice?" says a guard covered in a guard suit and half armor, he may look like a big bear because of his size at a distance even.
"A little bit, Captain Orgen," says the boy, gnarledly his teeth, even though his suit has more animal skin to protect him. "Is it always like this at this time of year?"
"You will get used to it boy, give yourself some time, this is just the beginning. At least be grateful to be an Orsuns, you will resist better."
"But I am one of the low mountains, not of the icy plains like you, and I am only twenty six years old." The young man complains rubbing his bare hands against his pants.
"Not having chosen the guard as a profession, boy, go up to the observation tower. we are waiting for a caravan of the mines. We will need to be aware of everything."
The young guard walks towards the tower still shivering, muttering the injustices of being novices and cursing any madman who decided to cross that monstrous blizzard. He enter the stone interior of the tower to pick up a woolly bison skin, it will be of better help against the winds, and a canteen full of hot mead. Once he had it all, he climbs to the ceiling by the wooden staircase that led to the trapdoor and his personal hell for the next few hours.
The cold hits his face hard when he peeks out, almost regretting having to get out of there, sighs and finishes reaching the ceiling, rubbing his arms.
"Fucking cold, my father and his ideas of straightening out my behavior in the service of the king," he curses as he approaches the edge.
His species sees well in certain extreme conditions, it assumes that's why they sent him there and at that time; but at that moment he can barely see the forest and mountains in the distance.
"Hopefully it will be a busier night than the last two weeks, the only thing that has happened are the arrival of the traveling caravans." the guard blows hot air in his hands before looking for his canteen.
But it is not even enough to open the lid when a deafening roar shakes the area to the stones of the same wall.
"Newbie, what can you see!?" Shout the captain.
The boy approaches the edge and sharpens his eyes to what he is capable of. Managing to capture what looks like an animal with antlers, but his eyes fall directly on another figure that comes out of the forest.
A giant golden antler deer runs along the main road that heads towards the wall. The guard finds it strange to see the rider on the back of the animal, holding only the reins with his hands.
"Open the doors, ask for help!" shouts the boy when the beast that was chasing the rider came out of the forest. "Kirin!"
The strange beast is a bizarre and strange animal, whose face is that of a reptile with mane and lion's body, adorned as scales and deer antlers.
"Prepare to open the doors, the frontal attack team with me!" The captain growls as he looks out onto the road, where the deer and his rider further accelerate the pace.
He knows that in that region humans are scarce, especially at that time of year when storms are unpredictable, which makes one wonder what one does running through these places. At last he saw the silhouette of a woman hunched over the deer before jumping to the ground from the top of the wall, his body is violently agitated and his bones creak before he undergoes transformation, turning into a huge white bear.
The captain standing on his two hind legs reached 11 feet high, the same size as the Kirin at that time when it braked before it. Orgen roars at the animal by extending its free legs to look even bigger, the other should hardly be a young creature with new territory when it tilted its head with its antlers towards it.
The Kirin races against him without thinking, being stopped by the claws of the bear preventing him from destroying the wall behind them, the Kirin's antlers half another foot with about eight points on each antler. The beast barely moves the bear a few meters, dragging its hooves against the snow to hit it against the stone wall.
Both animals snort and growl, fighting to dominate and make the other fall. Orgen pushes it back, holding it with his teeth by the neck armed by its hard scales, using his own weight to push the Kirin away from the wall, allowing the visitor to safely enter the wall. Orgen waves his adversary's neck from side to side until he throws it against the snow, while three other grizzly bears join the fight for the Kirin to be forced to retreat.
The Kirin roars and begins to take steps backwards, being outnumbered even though the other three were barely smaller than him. Orgen growls and begins to walk towards him now on his long four legs, forcing him to return to the forest leaving him no other option peacefully.
"One less problem," Orgen growls before trotting back to the wall, returning to its other form when it's already passing over the bridge. "Did our visitor come in?"
"Yes, Captain," says Emily, one of the soldiers. "But she is not a human, her smell is from a Ycanien."
Orgen frowns and approaches where the woman is.
A young woman, no older than twenty-eight years at least is what Orgen calculates, he sits on a bed of straw and skins that is held like a hammock on the ground. She seems to have difficulty breathing because of how agitated she hears as one of the doctors checks on her, her clothes are warm, and reddish-brown hair falls on her face.
Orgen must admit that she is beautiful even though this one is of another species. I notice among the almost invisible spots on the skin of the arm a particular symbol, one that few women have the privilege of wearing or wishing to have.
"I understand why she comes that way, she's a breeder, she's probably pregnant or I'm wrong, doctor?"
A breeder are females chosen among the species, especially royal and noble families who pay high prices for the characteristics of the breeders, they can carry more than one cub of different parents and what allows their genes to be distributed, their genes not only allow them to have heat at different times, they are known to have other special abilities. The mark that she has on her arm and neck indicates her as one of the breeders, that could give her protection in her own kingdoms and communities or put them in danger in foreign places.
"No, Captain, you got it right. She is pregnant and will go into labor shortly, so her breaths are agitated."
"How many offspring? I don't see her belly grown," Orgen frowns.
"One of my special abilities, Captain," the woman says between gasps, feeling uneasy about the pressure of her belly and the pain in her lower back, is not her first birth but that doesn't stop it all from starting with pain and discomfort. "Thank you for saving me and sheltering me, I don't know how much more Elitio could have endured the persecution."
"No problem, the Orsuns and the Ycanien have a good relationship with each other. How many offspring will you have this time?"
"Nine cubs, one of them is from the same royal family of the Ycanien."
"You will not be able to give birth in that way to so many offspring, even with a good team." The doctor speaks alarmed by the number of offspring, she is the first breeder she has known who is capable of fathering so many babies. "We will need a safe and warm place, preferably clean."
Orgen looks at one of the girls, giving a couple of orders who together with the doctor help the breeder to take it to the stairs that descend to the basement, where the rooms were located for when this time of year arrived.
The woman reaches one of the quarters at the end, where she can have more privacy. Inside the guard arrange several bison and sheep skins on a straw mount, while the doctor used some special stones to improve the heat in the room, these when in contact with wood turn red and emit a hot sensation, he put them on several plates that hang from the ceiling like lamps.
"Thank you, it will be enough like this," gasps the breeder feeling more discomfort and walking a little around the room.
"Will you need help with childbirth?" asks the doctor" "I can stay or one of the girls, if you need support.
"This is my fourth diverse litter, doctor, I was returning to my camp towards the golden savannas, that area begins to thaw and the young can survive what is left of winter; but you see that the cubs decided for me." She responds by starting to crouch to the ground as she begins to transform.
The body of the female begins to modify, her arms and legs lengthen a little, becoming legs full of black fur halfway. The whole body becomes of a yellowish-brown fur with large black and white spots. Its shape closely resembled a wolf even its size, tail and ears, but the rest of the canid body is from a hyena with a crest of reddish hair along the back. She is about 5.5 feet tall, an outstanding height even for her species, but she is probably a high-status breeder.
"Okay, we'll be up in case you need us, Miss..."
"Ashanti," she responds with a growl, quite anxious to be left alone.
The doctor and the woma leave the room to close the door behind them.
Ashanti gasps again when she feels the new contractions, if she is lucky it will not take long to give birth, but with the cubs it is difficult to know for sure. She walks around the room enjoying the warmth it is providing, that will be the first time she will not have one of her partners for birth, not even her official mate, and father of four of them: The Clan Prince Dalmar.
Its species is ruled by clans led by the sons and daughters of the king of the Ycanien; although their position is always a power struggle, since their society is based on dominance but it is difficult for anyone to surpass those of royal blood. They coexist with other breeds of canids or that have a similarity.
Ashanti is grateful that her birth will be brought forward before reaching the clan, one of her partners is considered a danger to her species and many others, she hopes that none of them are his; but at that point she can't be sure. She groans in pain from a new contraction, these are becoming more continuous, she walked to the skins and arranged them a little before lying in the middle. The time has come.
Four hours pass for her to finish giving birth, the nine cubs squeal and moan near her belly where they began to suckle, fighting to have the best breast to feed. Ashanti is happy for his new offspring and his characteristic black color and light white or gray spots on the legs, when they turned two months old they would begin to have their true color. She can recognize those in her mate because they have the white mark on their head or the same grayish crest of Dalmar.
She can't help but smile proudly, it is his most numerous litter and the first to not give him complications; at least not for her physical health. Her eyes fall on the cub closest to her front legs.
The fur of the other cub is white as snow that still falls outside, the long legs with half of them black although it goes in gradient upwards until it reaches white, between the shoulders it has a single reddish pattern in the form of a star, the only sign of the crest of its mother. But that is not what has Ashanti pale and worried, the cub has no tail, also its ears are somewhat wider and taller.
How can she explain that to Dalmar? The child has achieved certain obvious characteristics of his father. What should she do?
The door opens letting Emily in with a tray with some food and a feline owl in her shoulder, a kind of bird similar to a small faucet with the body of a wild cat but with an owl's head and wings on its back.
"I see you're done, I brought you food after so many hours of the trip and the birth you will be hungry," Emily cautiously approaches Ashanti.
Ashanti growls covering her puppies with her tail instinctively, but let her get closer, starting to eat the meat when Emily left him nearby; but it doesn't let its guard down. She can tell from the smell that the guard who had a litter a long time ago.
"Can I see them? My twins are eight months old and I won't see them until the end of winter, they are with their father.
"Do you miss your children?"
"Quite a lot. they sleep during the cold season. I almost forgot, I brought you a lion owl so you can send a message to your clan. They can help you take your cubs."
Ashanti somewhat nervously let her see them.
Emily only smiles in wonder at the small newborn pups, without intervening in the fights they have between the siblings. Although that allows her to see the white cub, opening his eyes with surprise when she notices that the tail is missing.
"This one doesn't have..."
"Don't say it out loud," Ashanti growls menacingly and silencing the girl.
"Calm down, I didn't plan to do it. Do you want the doctor to check it? "
"It's nothing like that." Ashanti feels uncomfortable
"Her father is not a Ycanien, correct?"
Ashanti looks at the ground although the answer is obvious.
"Her father is a species considered treacherous and dangerous," she does not wish to say the name of the species. "But he was very different with me, all an adventure I had when traveling between clans, it was only for a couple of nights." She looks at her cub almost on the verge of tears.
"She won't survive without you alone, she only has a few hours at most."
"She also can't come with me to the clan, they would kill her as soon as they come looking for us.
"I can take care of it, if you let me, I can make them never see it again."
"Don't kill her," she growls
"No, I will take her to a place where they can raise her safely, I know some people who will not ask questions."
Ashanti with no other choice, let the girl grab the last memory of her adventure.
"Tell them her name is Kitani, please."
