Pearl must have been eager to return to Blue Springs City because it was only a few short weeks after the snow had thawed that Iris was notified of her return.

"Caspian told me to let you know that your friend returned. I don't know how trustworthy that is, though. I've never seen this female before. She certainly wasn't among the ones that were with you and my sister at the last festival."

Ash complained. Iris shook her head, hiding a smile as she replied

"She's back earlier than expected. I'm guessing it's Pearl? She went back to the Mermaid Tribe to give birth last harvest season."

Ash frowned as he grumbled

"I suppose that's why she stinks of fish."

Iris rolled her eyes at his comment before going to give Fern and Birk her goodbyes. Fern accepted her hug happily as he asked

"Should I feed the cubs or wait for you to return?"

Iris shook her head as she answered

"Don't wait for me. More than likely we will end up going to Holly's to celebrate her return."

Fern just nodded in acceptance. Birk, similarly, offered

"Would you like me to inform the others?"

Iris nodded gratefully as she replied

"I'd appreciate that. Maybe send Fern out after you return so that he can tell his sister. Alicia doesn't seem comfortable around very many people."

Birk had the feeling that Iris was being generous in leaving it at that. Fawn and Holly were both shy and antisocial in their own way, but the problem seemed to be something a bit different with Alicia. Birk had seen and interacted with plenty of females during his time in the Owl Tribe. Alicia tended to act more like the spoiled complete females who were new to his tribe did. She refused to interact with anyone who wasn't up to her standards and only came and went according to her own schedule. Most males weren't that bothered by such behavior as it wasn't exactly abnormal for a female to be like that. However, Birk had spent enough time with Iris and her friends to know that there were plenty of females who were much better behaved than that.

Ash picked Iris up, intending to carry her down the several flights of steps, then out to the outer city where her friend was waiting for her. Iris was likely going to give birth any day now, so there was no way he was going to let her walk anywhere. As they walked down yet another flight of stairs, Iris commented with a giggle

"You know, it's a little funny. When we first met, I was pregnant then too. I remember you commenting about how ridiculous it was that I didn't have a mate to carry me around. Who knew you'd be so eager to play that role."

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Ash suppressed a smile as he just continued to look forward, carrying her down the stairs quietly. Now that he felt like worshiping the very ground she walked on, he could only be grateful that his words hadn't ruined his chances with Iris. He could remember feeling like she was interesting and somewhat pretty back then, certainly more interesting than most of the people he normally interacted with. However, he wasn't entirely sure when his steadily growing relationship with her had changed into an almost obsession for her.

It wasn't like he was completely clueless. He had a feeling it had something to do with her strange powers that he had only heard about in stories from his tutor. As the man had come from Golden Plains City and had lived for hundreds of years, the man had seen plenty in his time. Ash's tutor had heard even more than he had lived through and he, at times, even told his curious pupil stories about tribes like the Unicorn Tribe and the legendary Dragon Tribe. There wasn't anyone from the Dragon Tribe left, but the royals in the city had known of them in their youth and the story was occasionally shared among those in their city.

As for the Unicorn Tribe, they were, supposedly, hidden away in the deepest forests, rarely interacting with anyone. Yet there were said to be quite a few of their beautiful females in Golden Plains City. Ares used to boldly claim that he would one day grow strong enough to join those in Golden Plains City and become the mate of such a female. However, Ash had always known that such a dream was impossible. No male could grow strong enough to join their city because only mated males could grow stronger than he was now. It was almost funny to think that he had ended up mated to Iris, despite never having dared to dream of becoming the mate of such an impressive female.

Of course, Iris was hardly a mind reader, so she paid no mind to Ash's smile and instead eagerly asked to be set down when she saw her friend. Pearl gasped as she exclaimed

"You're pregnant! Again!"

Iris laughed as she happily hugged her friend, who had rushed forward to embrace her.

"Yes, well, I'm supposed to be due any day now."

Pearl's eyes grew big in surprise as she said

"Wow! So, you became pregnant not long after I left then. That's so soon after the last set of cubs. You must truly be blessed by the Beast Deity..."

Fawn, who had arrived not long after Iris had, declared

"Of course she is!"

Iris frowned, feeling guilty. Fawn was the only one among her friend group who had yet to have cubs of her own. Princess Viola, apparently, had cubs that she tended to leave in Red Wood City with some of her other males whenever she visited their city. That wasn't at all surprising considering she was an older complete female who had many years to give birth. Well, Iris wasn't younger than Viola, but Fawn and Holly were so young that they set the standards as such.

Once Holly also arrived, Iris said

"Well, shall we go to the teahouse? I'll happily pay for everyone's meal to celebrate Pearl's safe return and then we can catch up."

Pearl excitedly shouted

"Yes! I missed the food here so much..."

The girls laughed as Iris teased

"That's why you rushed back, isn't it? It's not because you missed us!"

Ash might have been rubbing off on Iris a bit, but her nature had never been quite as harsh as his, so her sarcastic comment hardly stood out. Their group headed to the tea shop where they continued to gossip about various things from Holly's new wolf cubs to the recent wild beastmen attack to the new foods on the teahouse menu.

Pearl felt a little left out and behind on everything. She wanted to learn how to read, write, and do math as well as start her own business as well. Iris reassured her that she could, but she'd have to wait until the hot season to start the classes. In the meantime, she'd be happy to teach her and her mates how to sew the various clothing designs, as she had promised so long ago. This appeased Pearl's feelings of being left out and they spent the rest of the day happily together.