{Alex}

I was lying in bed next to Yen. She was sleeping, my new daughter nursing in her sleep. Yen had just given birth to a beautiful baby girl. She had her mother’s ears, tail and stripes. She had my ears too. It was still strange seeing two sets of ears, but I didn’t care. They were my children and I loved them all. The baby tiger girl smiled in her sleep around her mother’s nipple, and I brushed Yen’s hair making her smile in her sleep. I kissed the top of her head before moving to my new daughter. I kissed her head and whispered, “Welcome to the world little Angelina.” She smiled again and I saw a dimple. I had named her after Tigress from Kung Fu Panda. Calling her Tigress would be racist according to Lily so Angelina seemed fitting. I got up as carefully as I could. Both women stayed asleep, and I was able to sneak out. I was still running a little of a high from the excitement. I couldn’t sleep and wanted to check on everyone else. Mai and Filo were still sleeping, Filo was tucked under Mai’s wings. Both my bird women looked so cute. I made sure the room was warm and dark for them. I closed the door and saw the children’s room was empty and their blankets and pillows were gone.

I moved to the next room and saw Lily sleeping with Hena. Both looked so peaceful. I couldn’t find Uta and thought she may be spending the night at Midna’s house. The former assassin had chosen to keep her own place but would visit often. She said she liked the idea of being owned, but still being free. I understood that more than I’d like to admit. Midna would sometimes invite us over for a sleepover or sleep at our house. Her place was small but fit her personality.

Moving to the next room, I found all the missing blankets and pillows. Washu had taken them and was sleeping under a pile of blankets and cuddled around the pillows. Her horns and a small tuft of red hair poked out. She snored and muttered in her sleep.

“Chocolate… more… feed it to me… Savage… Kiss me.” She muttered in her sleep. Not going to touch that. I closed the door slowly and moved through the house. I moved down to the living room where I found a fire going. A sweet voice came to me, and I peeked around the doorway to see Lian talking to the kids. All three were wrapped in a blanket and listening to the pink princess. Moving closer I could see Kakarot on her chest hugging her. She was still wearing her white robe with pink flowers. It was like that was the only outfit she had. I stood there for a while listening.

“So then Sun Wukong ate the peaches making him immortal,” She smiled, and I saw the children were listening closely. Gen looked over at me and smiled. I put my finger to my lips making sure he knew to keep quiet. He nodded and put his hands on his chin. I moved closer. If I wasn’t wrong, she was telling them about the myth of the monkey king. All I knew about it was from the wire-fu movies I used to watch. Clearly, I had missed some parts or gotten some things wrong. How did she know about the myth from my world though? I moved closer, getting hypnotized by her storytelling. She had a gift, and I was getting drawn in. Suddenly she stopped and looked over her shoulder at me. A blushed formed on her face as she looked back at the children.

“Please go on.” I said.

“So, Sun Wukong was trapped in a cave,” I slid in beside her and listened to her every word. The fire crackled and I relaxed. Ket yawned and rolled into Gen, closing her eyes. Gen lifted his arm, and she was soon snoring wrapped around his arm. It was just too cute. Snow demanded he roll over and she tucked into his other side, her eyes were still on Lian and I. My son Kakarot was happily sleeping on her chest. She held him close and rubbed his back whenever she got excited about a part of the story. I couldn’t help but look at the princess in a new light. Normally I hated humans, but something about her telling an old story to children made me look at her in a new light. She smiled at me and kept going. One after one, the children fell asleep and soon everyone was out. The fire crackled and Lian yawned. “Looks like they all have passed out.” She said with a cute smile. Kakarot huffed in his sleep, and she looked over at me. It was clear she was at her limit and would be passing out soon. Without warning, she fell into me. I was worried until I heard her snore. She was asleep. I couldn’t help myself and stretched putting her arm around her. She hummed in her sleep tucking into my neck and licked her lips. I shuddered at the feeling of her tongue on my neck. She was just so close and smelled like cherry blossoms and her hair was so soft. I couldn’t help myself and leaned over to kiss the top of her head. She hummed and rubbed her head under my chin. Kakarot clawed at her robe and huffed in his sleep again. She was a human and normally I hated humans, but something was different about her. Was it her nature, sweetness or the way she acted? I wasn’t sure. I inwardly shook my head. I was thinking too much about it. I had enough women and didn’t need another one, but she did smell nice and was so close. I turned my head and took in her scent. She smelled so good as she made a pleasant sound. I watched the fire and listened to everyone sleeping. It helped me drift off to my own void.

{Gen Savage}

He woke up on the carpet, Ket and Snow were sleeping on either side like normal. He liked sleeping next to them. A smell had woken him, and he looked around. He looked up to see big sis Lian was sleeping and leaning against big brother. Big brother was sleeping too, his head laying on top of hers. The smell was coming from there and he saw little Kakarot. The baby was sitting on big sis’s lap and had made a mess in his diaper. He looked around the room and saw that it was dawn. Big sis Uta wasn’t here yet, she had said she was spending the night at big sis Midna’s house. The smell got worse. Should he wake them to tell them about Kakarot? Maybe Big sis Lian would get mad. He had not seen her mad before and didn’t want to. The girls protested as he got up but stayed asleep. Once up he stretched before moving to big sis Lian.

“Big sis Lian.” he said, shaking her leg. She hummed in her sleep and moved her head to big brother. She was making the happy love smell. Was she having a happy dream? Kakarot was starting to wake up and he knew the baby would cry, waking everyone up. Gen wanted to say a bad word, but knew it wasn’t right. “Big sis Lian.” he said, shaking her leg again. Her eyes fluttered and she looked around sleepily. “Sorry, but Kakarot used the bathroom.” She yawned and arched her back, waking big brother up. The moment he moved, big sis Lian looked over at him, jumping slightly and her face turned red. Gen wanted to giggle, but held back. It wouldn't be nice to laugh at people according to big sis Lily.

“What?” she asked sweetly. He liked how kind she was.

“Kakarot used the bathroom and needs to be changed,” he said smiling. Lian looked down and frowned at the sleeping child. Then she lifted him slowly and sniffed before recoiling. Big brother laughed and reached over to take Kakarot.

“I got him.” He said, getting up and taking the baby. “Wow, kiddo you are getting big.” He said as Kakarot woke up. Big brother left the room and Gen smelled something under the smell of poop. Big brother was making the love smell as he looked at big sis Lian. Gen was shocked. Big brother loved big sis Lian. This was a big secret. Should he tell her? He knew big sis Lian loved big brother but had said she didn’t think big brother loved her back. Gen would have to think about this. He went to the small bathroom so the adults could use the big one and washed up. It was nice getting clean with hot water on cold days. He brushed his teeth, hair and tail before changing his clothes. Big sis Washu had stolen all the blankets and pillows from their room again and Gen laughed when he thought about big brother scolding her. His mind kept going back to big brother loving big sis Lian and if he should tell her. Big sis Lily had said telling people about the love smell was a bad thing and wrong, but big sis Lian not knowing about big brother was wrong too.

He made his way into the kitchen and found big sis Lian cooking breakfast for everyone. She was nice and sweet and having her stay with them was something Gen wanted. If she knew big brother loved her, she would stay with them. Was it his place to tell her though. If only Snow were awake. She would know what he should do. He went back to the living room and down at the still sleeping girls. Ket was being held by snow and Gen should let them sleep. He grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch and covered them before moving around the house. the fire had gone out and the room was getting cold. Another blanket would keep them warm. Big brother was giving Kakarot a bath and talking with the baby. Big brother would give Gen baths when he first came to live with him, but big brother never got in the bath with him. His big sisters would, but lately he was taking baths on his own. Big brother had told him that men should only bathe with the women they loved, and bathing was mostly just to get clean and not to play, but big brother would play with his big sisters in the bath all the time. Maybe one day he would understand why, but today he needed someone to talk to about big sis Lian. He moved through the rooms and saw big sis Yen still in bed. She was awake and smiling at the new baby. Big brother must like kids because he had a lot of them, and Gen's big sisters had big bellies. He knocked and big sis Yen looked up, smiling sweetly at him. He liked her stripes, ears and the way she smelled. When she had come to live with them, she only had one arm, but big brother was able to grow her arm back. He had been told that it hurt a lot, but hugs were better with two arms and big sis Yen looked better with two arms.

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“Yes Gen.” she said, bowing her head. “Did you come to see Angelina?” She asked. Gen nodded and walked into the room. Big sis Yen patted the bed beside her, and Gen climbed up. The new baby was so tiny. Big sis Yen pulled him into a hug and Gen smiled tucking under her muscular arm. The baby looked up at Gen and smiled. Gen smiled back waving at the baby.

“Big sis Yen. I have a question.” He asked feeling uneasy as it would break his promise to big sis Lily. Big sis Yen kissed the top of his head before saying,

“You can ask anything you like.” He took a deep breath, his heart racing.

“Big sis Lily told me to never tell anyone if I smell love on them or who they love. I know you can smell love too.” Big sis Yen started rubbing Gen’s arm, settling him down a little. She wasn’t mad and wanted to listen to him.

“No, normally we shouldn’t talk about it. I do sense a but coming.” She said tickling him. He laughed and squirmed in her arm. When she stopped, Gen continued.

“But, what if it would hurt the person not knowing? What if finding out someone loved them back would make them really happy? What if they ran away thinking they weren’t loved?” Gen blurted out, his heart feeling like it was going to jump out of his chest. His ears were back and tail puffed up as he worried about all of it. He was laying it all out there. Would big sis Yen get mad at him for asking so many questions? He looked up at her, his eyes tearing up slightly. Men don’t cry Gen, he scolded himself. Much to his surprise and relief, big sis Yen was smiling at him.

“Then I think you should tell them.” She said kissing the top of his head again. “Go tell her now.” How did she know about big sis Lian?

“Won’t big sis Lily get mad?” He asked slightly worried.

“I will handle your big sister if she gets mad.” She lifted her arm and Gen left the bed. “Gen, you did the right thing by asking.” She said to his back. His tail waved in joy as he left the room. He ran through the house and back to the kitchen where big sis Lian still was. Gen was out of breath and had to stop, but he had to tell her.

“Big,” he panted, “sis,” She turned to him smiling and put a hand on her hip.

“Now sit down and take a breath. Whatever you have to say can wait a few seconds.” her words sounded harsh, but her strange eyes were smiling. He nodded and sat at the counter. It was still hard for him to climb up the stool, but he made it. His tail was still waving as he tried to catch his breath. Big sis Lian handed him a glass of milk and he sipped it. Once he could breathe, he told her.

“Big brother loves you.” he said, pride filling his face. She looked at the ground and looked sad.

“I don’t think he does.” Why was she sad?

“I know he does. He makes the love smell when he looks at you.” Gen said, taking another drink. Big sis Lian looked at him blankly.

“Love smell?” She asked, not understanding. He could see her forehead wrinkle between her eyebrows. She had tiny eyebrows and they looked strange but not bad.

“Yep. You make the love smell when you look at him and this morning, he made the love smell when he looked at you. It was when you woke up laying on him.” Gen beamed showing his white teeth in a huge smile. Big sis Lian looked shocked and leaned against the counter.

“Are you sure?” Gen nodded, his tail feeling like it was going to fall off with how hard it was waving. Big sis Lian came around the counter and pulled Gen into a huge hug, her hand moving to his ears to scratch behind them. It felt so nice and made his whole body shake and feel funny in a very good way. He pulled away from her and fixed the fur on the ear she was scratching. “I’m sorry, did I hurt you?” Gen looked up into her dark eyes and smiled.

“No, but beast ears are sensitive and big sis Uta said that I should only let the person I marry pet them.” Big sis Lian smiled and pulled Gen into another warm hug. He had done the right thing after all.

“Thank you, Gen, you’re a very good boy.” she said, kissing the top of his head. Gen smiled and loved the way big sis Lian smelled. She smelled like a flower Gen didn’t know the name of.

“Why do you smell like flowers all the time?” Gen asked, not able to hold back.

“It is called perfume and I spray myself with it to smell nice.” she said pulling away. There was a slight blush on her face as she went back to cooking. Big sis Uta had taught big sis Lian to cook eggs and other things and she was making a big breakfast for everyone. Gen looked out the window and smiled. It had snowed during the night and the ground was white and full of the white fluffy stuff. “Do you like my flower smell?” she asked, looking over her shoulder at him. He nodded and beamed at her.

“You smell like good flowers, but it does make it hard for me to smell other things.”

“Like what?” she asked, an eyebrow raised.

“Love, fear, anger, things like that?” She turned, shock on her face.

“You can smell all those?” she asked. Gen nodded.

“Some Beasts have good noses. Big sis Lily and Snow have good ears. Ket is just weird.” He said wrinkling his nose.

“Be nice to Ket. I get the feeling she had a hard time and is still getting used to being around people who love and care for her.” Gen nodded, draining the rest of his milk.

“Do you want to play outside in the snow when everyone wakes up?” Gen asked with hope in his eyes as his tail waved.

“We can, but you will need to bundle up. We don’t want you getting sick.” Gen nodded. It was going to be a wonderful day.

{Alex}

Today was a good day. Everyone came by to welcome my little girl to the town, the kids had a big snowball fight with all the other children in town, Onyx stopped by to drop off some things for Lian. It turns out all she had was that one dress. It was a good thing it didn’t get stained or ruined. He headed to the inn after and was happily drinking with the townsfolk. I get the feeling that the dragon will be a regular in this town. Lily was able to take the two new women shopping today and I spent time with Kakarot and Angelina. I even visited Filo, but she would be asleep until spring. Uta and Midna had returned, and Midna said she would be spending the night. Our house was going to be full, and it made me very happy, so why couldn’t I sleep again? I walked through the house checking on everyone again. Maybe I was just restless as I hadn’t been to my office in two days. I was needed here though. A sound came to me, and I moved through the house looking for it. It was soft and sweet like someone playing a stringed instrument. It was coming from the living room. I made my way down to see Lian sitting in a chair, the instrument was in her lap. It looked like a strange large guitar. It was high pitched from what I was used to, and her fingers plucked at the strings as her hand moved across the neck. She was wearing a red robe and smiling as she played, her eyes closed.

I sat down on the couch, careful not to make a sound. It was so beautiful. Back home I always had an earbud in and music going. This world had forced me to deal with my own thoughts and tinnitus was a real bitch. She moved slowly side to side as she played. I took a deep breath enjoying the sound and she froze. A blush made its way up her face, and she looked at the ground.

“I am sorry, I had hoped I wouldn’t wake anyone.” She was embarrassed. "I just found this in my things and wanted to play."

“You didn’t and I was enjoying the song. Please go on.” She nodded and refused to look up as she started again, but her hands were shaking.

“Forgive me.” she said, putting the instrument down beside her.

“Nothing to forgive. Sorry I made you nervous.” I said, unable to take my eyes off her. Maybe it was the firelight, but she looked so beautiful. “Can I ask you what that is called?”

“It is a Pipa. I am told it is from the land of my ancestors.”

“I was meaning to ask about that. Why do you look and act Chinese? If I am being rude, you don’t have to answer.” She nodded and risked a glance up. Never knew when things like that would offend someone.

“It is a long story.” She said with a sweet smile.

“We have time.” I said, leaning back in the chair. She nodded and looked into the fire.

“A long time ago a ship was sailing across a vast ocean. They were hoping to find a new land to settle and build a city in. A mighty storm came up and everyone on board feared they would die that night. Suddenly there was a bright light that cut through the dark storm. The ship fell and the storm was gone. When everyone went to the deck, they found they were in a meadow surrounded by trees.” She took a deep breath.

“How did they survive the monsters?” I asked.

“On leaving the ship they found a box that held a strange stone. Monsters that they later found could not go near the stone, so my ancestors were safe. They chose to build their town there. It was colder, but each year they got stronger. Some found skills and were able to fight, others supported those who fought and before long a city and empire grew from the settlers. They thought they were in the land of the immortals and would fight hard to bring the gods honor.” She was smiling, but it was slightly sad. “We still have no idea why we were brought here, but I am grateful every day that they were.” So, she was actually Chinese. That explained a lot.

“And Wukong?” I asked, a smile reaching the corner of my mouth.

“My grandfather loved the old stories and wished his son would be a great king. Wukong seemed fitting. We kept our traditions and hoped that if we met a god, they would recognize our devotion." I looked at her hands that were clasped in front of her.

“You seemed to have relaxed a little.” She nodded and blushed looking at her pipa. One steady hand reached over and picked it up. Soon I was relaxing and enjoying the sounds.

“How did you come here?” she asked as she played.

“I was summoned and tossed aside when I failed to meet expectations.” I said dismissively.

“Who would cast you aside?” She asked, horror on her face. I laughed at her question.

“A pudgy princess. A child barely fourteen in my years.”

“Your years?” She asked.

“My world has three hundred and sixty-five days in a year. Here you have four hundred and eighty.” I did some quick mental math. “She was roughly ten and a half winters old.” Lian nodded, but still looked horrified.

“What did she summon you for?”

“No clue.” I said with a shrug. “Never found out. Don’t really care now.” She nodded and let her fingers fly, making a wonderful tingling sound that made me smile. It sounded so beautiful and matched the woman playing it. After the fire had died down, I stood and stretched. “Thank you for playing for me. It was beautiful. You are very skilled.” She blushed and looked at the ground.

“Thank you, my lord.” the way she said it almost sounded like a pet name. Well, two can play that game.

“Rest well Princess.” I said sweetly, turning away. I didn’t see her hand reach out or that she wanted to say something, all I saw was the dark house. I crawled back into my bed and next to Yen and Lily. Both were holding my children and I loved how full my bed, house and heart were.