It was once more the rainy season and Iris was starting to feel terribly guilty. It seemed like nearly everyone was outside enjoying this rare sunshine-filled day. That was, except for her wolf cub daughters. They were kept prisoner in their home and never allowed to step even a single foot outside. Never allowed to show their faces to others.

Iris knew why they were forcing their daughters to remain at home. She knew that it was a necessary evil, but she still couldn't help but feel like it was too much. The male wolf cubs and all of her fox cubs, even little Rosemary, could go out to run and play whenever their fathers were available to watch over them. Iris was even freer than that as her mates would purposefully make time to take her out and about if she so much as even looked like she could use the fresh air.

Luckily, the wolf cubs were still fairly young at only about a year old. They likely wouldn't complain about how unfair things were until they were older. Still, Iris couldn't help but wonder if there was a better solution. Whether they could have their freedom and their safety too. It certainly wouldn't do them any favors for them to grow up as sheltered as this.

On several occasions, Iris had even considered whether she could convince one or multiple of her friends to adopt her cubs. Fawn certainly had enough wolf mates that having wolf cubs in their family would hardly seem strange. She still had yet to fall pregnant either, even despite her desire to raise cubs of her own. Iris felt bad for her friend, but she wasn't sure if entrusting her cubs to her was the right thing to do either.

Even when it came to her friends and sister-in-law Iris couldn't help but feel distrustful. What if they mistreated her children just because they were not their own? Worse, what if they treated them well, but groomed them in such a way that they would become mates with their male cubs when they matured? Even among those she trusted the most, she couldn't bring herself to put her daughters' futures in their hands.

Iris sighed, feeling much too stressed, just as she often did lately. Basil looked up at Iris with a concerned expression on his face. Wanting to comfort her, he got up off of the floor and moved to sit beside her, wrapping both his tail and arms around her in a warm hug. Previously, he had been resting on the floor while she mindlessly threaded her fingers through his hair, enjoying her touch. However, he'd much rather ensure she was comforted than leave things be.

"What are you thinking so hard about? Did you get a new mission from the Beast Deity?"

It wasn't a bad question, but that was certainly not it. While she often got her next system quest in the rainy season, she hadn't heard anything since she completed the last one. Iris shook her head as she replied

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"No, not yet."

Basil furrowed his brows, looking warily at his mate. He wasn't really sure what could be wrong, if it wasn't that. Everything has been going well for them lately. The others had continued to grow stronger over the last year, easily leveling up. Their cubs were growing up healthy and happy. Even the new resources they had gained access to were being well utilized.

The farmland and orchard had been expanded first thing when the snow melted. All of the new crops, save for the cotton seeds, had been planted and they were nearly ready to harvest. The cotton seeds were being grown on a lot of private farmland by Pearl's family and they would soon need to figure out how to utilize it. Iris didn't really know much about the crop, just a rough generalization, so it was limited in its capacity to be useful, for the time being.

Basil wasn't sure that it would be helpful to push Iris for an answer, even despite how worried he was, so he didn't continue to question her. Instead, he resolved himself to cuddle her and just keep her company. Now that he didn't have to help teach others first aid or how to read and write, he had a good bit more free time. The apprentices were looking over the clinic now while those knowledgeable in first aid, who he had hired, were taking care of the pharmacy side of things. If he was needed, they could summon him, but, otherwise, he was hardly in any hurry to return to work.

Iris was grateful for Basil's understanding. She didn't particularly want to rehash the issue with the cubs. She knew that it wouldn't have helped anything. Her mates were very much so in agreement that keeping their young daughters home was for both their and her protection. They had yet to agree regarding when their imprisonment should end either.

Iris knew that they couldn't keep them hidden from the world forever. Eventually, they would grow old enough to have their first shift. Then, just a few short years later, they would be considered mature enough to accept their first mates. They would likely have a strong desire for independence and freedom long before then, however. Watching their older sister, Rosemary, make friends and prepare for the role she would play in the tribe would only inspire them to want to do the same.

Rosemary was fortunate that she had been born first and as the only female in her birthing group. She would likely end up having advantages that her sisters would not. That would put her in a strong position to become the next leader of their city. Since she could garner influence through her interactions with others, take mates sooner than her sisters, and spend longer learning from her mother; it would all add up to make her a strong candidate for the next leader.

Iris didn't particularly care which of her daughters became the next leader. At least, she didn't care right now. Their personalities still had much time to develop and it wasn't like birth order determined her love for her cubs. Other things would matter later on down the road. Having someone who cared about the people of their city, who wanted to carry on her legacy, etc. was still important. However, that was something she'd have to wait many years to figure out.