World of Ranicke Bk. 02 Ch. 05

Welcome to the last chapter in this installment of the World of Ranicke. I know that I mostly focused on just Jim and his family but as I mentioned previously I wanted to show more in the life of the tribe.

I am almost done with the next chapter of Silver Moon and will submit it this weekend. I am also in the process of working on Dog got your tongue bk 2 and the next Sholan Alliance chapter. Please check my bio for some additional information. Any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading.

As mentioned in all my submissions all intimate relationships are the equivalent of 18+. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter.

Chapter 5

After Sorrel left Jim almost snarled in irritation, he did understand Sheeha's irritation with him but what she did was wrong. Jim was going to need to talk to her about it. Thankfully from the looks of it the kids were either awake and at the bathes or still sleeping. With a sigh he collected some clean cloths and headed for the showers. He definitely wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone today.

Jim was grumpy enough that he was tempted to cancel classes for the day since he had been taken off the duty roster. As tempting as it was he wasn't going to since it would just give him more time to contemplate what was going to happen. He really wasn't worried about any of his ladies leaving him but it would cause strain and stress. None of them needed that right now.

With a grunt he left the tent and headed towards the showers and started on his morning routine. For the morning he was going to eat at the food tents for the same reason. He really didn't want to be grumpy with the kids or his mates. As he was eating Sheeha came over and settled down next to him.

She could tell he was upset and she felt bad but she was still upset with him as well. That wasn't saying she didn't want the cub but Sheeha wished that Jim had asked more questions. Her tail was lowered as were her ears and her body showed her feelings. "Sorry Yim I shouldn't have done that. Do as you wish and if you feel a punishment is in order I will accept it."

Jim continued eating as he contemplated what to do. He wasn't going to punish her since he could understand her anger at him. On the flip side he had to make sure that she understood that how she had handled it was wrong. "You are going to be there tonight when I talk to my mates." He glanced at her and managed not to smirk. "As far as punishment I think a few years of diapers will work."

She nodded at his command and lowered her ears a bit more. Well they were lowered till he mentioned her punishment and her ears popped straight up and her tail shot out. "What? That is..." Her brain finally clicked and she facepalmed. "Right if I am pregnant I get to do his or her diapers. I understand." Good god diaper duty was going to suck. She loved the kids but certain aspects she just didn't like and that included the stinkies.

Jim settled for a smirk and kept eating without saying anything else. Before he left he would talk to Agnon again and ordered a good meal for the five of them. It was sort of an apology as much as anything. Good food would always help calm things down. He was going to need to talk to the kids as well so they knew that they were having an adult conversation. "I will talk to you later. I have a class to teach." He picked up his plate and left. He did talk to Agnon first though.

When he arrived back at the tent he mentally had to sigh since all three ladies were sitting there. They weren't glowering and weren't obviously staring or glowering at him. Sorrel was cleaning some nuts, Nora was working on some generic utensils for the kitchen and Nasha was feeding one of the babies she took care of. If you looked at the scene from the outside it would look fairly normal but he knew better.

"Saulo please get my Corwith." Jim asked as he sat down and looked out over the children, young and old, gathered in his tent. "Today I am just going to be playing some songs from my world. The chief told me I am off duty for a few days and I am going to milk it for all I am worth." He flashed a smile at them and then frowned. "That doesn't mean you get to slack though since when I start teaching again I am going to test you."

The kids had started to clap and then paused for a moment before clapping again. Once in a blue moon Jim would get this way and they really liked hearing lots of songs from his world. One group had even listened very carefully to some of his songs and started something called a rock band. That still confused them since to them rocks were just that rocks not music.

Jim sort of diddled with the Corwith as he tried to decide what to play. Yes he was grumpy and he could think of a number of songs that would show that but was that what he really wanted? Music could impact on your moods and if he went through the day being grumpy and expecting the worse then it would happen. He made a decision and started strumming. "This is How Sweet it is to be Loved by you. Since my ladies are here I dedicate it to them." He started singing and the kids started clapping to the beat.

That set the mood for Jim and he kept pulling out various love songs and singing them. At some point Sheeha tentatively came into the tent and after standing there for several minutes Sorrel looked at her and pointed to the ground next to her. Sheeha curled her tail around one leg and slowly walked over and settled down on the carpet next to the seat Sorrel was in. Sorrel wasn't really angry with her though she was upset since she knew what Jim needed to talk about. As she was listening she started stroking the young Puma's hair and ears.

Sheeha tensed when Sorrel touched her head and then slowly relaxed into the petting. Eventually she leaned against her legs and rested her head against her side and was purring. She knew that both she and Jim were going to get grilled that evening and she wasn't looking forwards to it. At the moment she was still trying to figure out how she was feeling about it. From her bodies reaction having a cub with Jim wasn't a problem. What was a problem was that he had most likely gotten her pregnant without realizing it. Now that upset her and was going to take some time to deal with.

All of his assurances last night didn't help a great deal. Sheeha knew the baby would be cared for and loved but for him to do that and not asking more questions really upset her. He should have known better than to not ask questions about what might get her pregnant. She knew he had talked to his other ladies about it but why hadn't he talked to her. As she was thinking Sheeha didn't really realize that she was trying to place all the blame on Jim. She was young enough that it hadn't occurred to her till now that he didn't know and couldn't. She should have mentioned it or asked Sorrel to talk to him about it but she had made the mistake of many younglings. She made an assumption and didn't question it.

Eventually Jim finished and with a sigh he handed the Corwith to Saulo to put away. "Okay kids that is all for today. You know what you need to do so scatter and I will see you tomorrow." As they were scattering he turned to the ladies. "I have some things to take care of but will be back later this afternoon." He slung his axe after pulling on his cape and walked out of the tent into the rain.

~~~

That morning Ana rolled over and yawned as she stretched before realizing she had a companion curled up next to her. That almost freaked her out till she realized it was one of the little kids. When she looked she found Tonya had at some point crawled in next to her and was curled up in a little ball with a hand holding her tail and a finger in her mouth. She had to smile even though it was strange to wake up with a kid next to you. "Hey silly what are you doing sneaking into my bed." Her fingers tickled the girl's ears as she spoke.

Tonya yawned and blinked sleepy eyes at her before giggling. "My ears no tickling." Her small hands playfully batted at Ana's hands before stretching herself. "Not sneaking, walked in and curled up." She wrinkled her nose at Ana as she was talking.

Ana rolled her eyes at the little girl. "I think I might tickle someone just because." She noticed Allie sit up and smiled at her and Tonya. "I don't know about you but I need the tents, a bath, and food. I am pretty sure I heard a little tummy rumble a moment ago."

Tonya hopped out of bed and scurried a few feet away. "Can't tickle if not there." Her little tail was twitching in amusement. "Get up, bath and food." She needed the tents as well and would go to them with the girls.

Ana rolled her eyes and started to get out of bed and had to smile as one of the other girls groaned. "It's raining; do I have to get up?" That got a laugh from some of the others.

Josilin started laughing at her. "It is always raining at this time of year so that excuse doesn't hold water. If you want I can go and get a bucket for you." That got a pillow tossed at her as the other girl sat up and stretched. "Some food and a bath does sound good. Maybe we can chase the boys away by talking girl stuff." She grinned at Allie when she said that. They were close in age.

Allie snickered. "I sort of like that idea. I am still most definitely not comfortable with bathing while males are around." She made a face. "I know that it is normal for you and you are used to it but before now about the only time we bathed as a group was in school after gym class and that was all females."

That got blank looks from the others since what she had said made no sense. They knew what school was but gym class? What was that? "Well for the duration you are stuck with us so there." She giggled and stood up and grabbed her bucket. "Let's go." Ana and Allie stood up and grabbed some buckets as well.

By the time they walked out several of the boys were there as well with their buckets and both Allie and Ana traded looks but didn't say anything. Both had to admit the various males had been fairly nice about not staring at them. Usually it was a glance to see who it might be before they turned back to whatever conversation was going on.

Saulo smiled at Ana and held an arm out to her. "May I offer you a helping arm ma'am?" He was usually pretty shy but Ana was such a nice person that he wasn't nearly as uncomfortable with her. At the moment he was in a sort of gangly stage as he grew and he felt like all elbows and knees and hated it.

Ana blushed and then rolled her eyes. "I am not a ma'am and you know my name silly. Mom might be a ma'am and maybe Jim's ladies but me? I don't think so." As she was talking she was pulling on the rain cape and was glad it covered her. Walking around in the loincloth and long shirt was really weird. Once she had it on she hooked her arm around Saulo's and they left the tent.

Allie didn't even bother waiting for Farion to offer before she took his arm. "Good morning and what a lovely wet day it is. Someone was trying to use the rain as an excuse to sleep in longer." The girls were giggling when she said that. As she was talking Tonya grabbed her hand and walked with them.

Eventually they finished using the tents and bathing before heading to the food tents. "I am starving for some reason." Saulo grumbled. He was growing again and it was showing in how much he was eating.

One of the serving ladies grinned at him. "If you keep growing son you won't be able to fit in the tent." She did add more food to his plate much to his gratitude.

Allie was feeling more than a bit pensive at the moment since things were really starting to sink in. From what she had learned Uncle Jim had been here five years before being somehow pulled back. It would be fun to be there for a short time, sort of like going back to Nang's village, but she had a life back home. She had friends who were going to be really worried about her and since they would never find out what happened they would assume she had died somehow and the same with the rest of her family.

On top of that this was so different. It wasn't just that most of the people were furred and not human but everything. They lived in tents and caravans, had communal baths, communal eating, and just everything. She didn't have any sort of frame of reference on which to base how to react. The clothing she could deal with though the loin cloth was odd but the rest of it was close enough to back home. The food she could deal with as long as she resisted asking what it came from. The rest of it though was almost too much.

Farion could feel and smell her being upset and he moved a bit closer and wrapped an arm around her and gave her a quick hug before letting go. "Do you want to talk about it Allie? I can't begin to imagine what it might be like for you. I know it was hard for Poppe Yim but he was much older than you." His voice was quiet but Ana could hear him and she looked down at her plate.

Allie leaned into the hug even though Farion wasn't human. Both he and Saulo had been very attentive toward her and her sister. She was sure some of that was simply because they looked totally different than any other females. All of the humans she had seen tended towards the pale Nordic type. There were some with darker skin but nobody had their skin tone or coloring not to mention they were all taller as well. She shook her head. "Not right now but maybe later." If she started talking now she would probably cry and she couldn't do that.

Saulo didn't hug Ana but he did move a bit closer to her hoping that would help comfort her. He simply kept eating as the others were talking. By the time he was done he noticed Ana had an amused look on her face and he gave her a blank look. "What? Do I have something on my fur?"

Ana started giggling. "No but I will make sure not to come between you and food when you are hungry." He had eaten with such a focus it was almost scary. "For a moment I thought you were going to eat the tray when you picked it up." Allie had to smile a bit which Ana had been aiming for as well.

Farion frowned at her and then looked at the tray as if contemplating eating it. "Nah, I hate picking splinters out of my teeth." He gave her a toothy grin which made her giggle even more.

Allie had to. "My what big teeth you have grandma..." Ana lost it though she tried to cover it up and Allie snickered. When both boys looked totally confused she grinned. "It is from a story where we come from called Little Red Riding Hood. I will tell you it later Mr. Wolf but no eating anyone."

Both boys were still very confused as they carried the trays to the cleaning buckets and headed back. "So are you going to pick an instrument to learn to play or are you going to have Poppe Yim pick one for you?" All kids learn at least one instrument even if they weren't good at it. That got them involved in a conversation on differences in education.

Once they were back at the tents all four of them paused since they could feel a tension inside. They didn't have any idea what it might be from but it was fairly obvious though the adults seemed to be trying to hide it. All of them settled down and listened to Jim. What he was singing added to the feeling of something going on since a number of the songs were directed at the three women. Even Sheeha wasn't acting normal.

When they were chased out of the tent all of them shared a look before going to start the chores waiting for them. All of them wondered what was going on but none of them broached the subject.

~~~

The rest of the day went both to quick and dragged past. As time for dinner approached he became tenser and he was glad that Sheeha hadn't bothered him. In a way he missed the pouncing but at the moment it just wasn't right. He finally walked into the tent shortly before the meal was to be delivered. He used his parental rights as he very rarely did. "Kids I need some parent time with the ladies. I need you to take the kids to the food tents for a while. Come back in about an hour or a bit more."

They looked at him and blinked for a moment before trading looks. "Yes Poppe Yim. I will make sure all the kids are fed and taken care of." Farion stood up and started gathering them up and gave out directions to get their rain coats. The kids under the age of three or four stayed since it was easier for their parents to take care of them. In this case that was just Sorrel and Jim's little girl and the twins.

Allie stood up as well as did Ana and they all started getting ready and left the tent. Sheeha slowly walked in and stood to the side and behind Jim. She was looking very subservient at the moment. Her tail was lowered, her ears were down some, and she was looking down towards the floor. Her entire body expressed knowledge that she was the most junior adult in the tent.

Jim moved over to the table and settled down at the head of it and waved the others to sit down. "Please sit down Sheeha and relax." He gave her a smile and waved his other ladies to sit down as well. "Food should be here in a moment and we will eat and then have our discussion." As each female came over to the table he gave each a kiss and hug.

When Morgan came over he picked her up and settled her on his lap and gave her a peck and good hug. "Hey sweetie how was your day?" Once dinner was over she would be heading towards bed and she had already been taken to the privacy tents and would use a diaper overnight just in case. She chattered about her day as best possible and he played with her ears as she did.

Eelios and Keirie were in their basket next to the table and were sleeping soundly. Jim would have liked to pick one up but chances were that would wake them up. The table was quiet while they waited for the food to arrive and thankfully that didn't take very long. "Thank you Agnon. We will have the dishes brought back tonight or first thing in the morning."

Agnon smiled at him. "Not a problem Sub-Chief. We have plenty in the pantry." The servers put the plates out and made sure that everything was perfect before they left. Agnon had a feeling that this was one of 'those' discussions that families occasionally had. He had made sure to bring some good wine as well and poured some for each adult before bowing slightly and leaving.

Jim sighed once Agnon left and looked down at the plate. "It does look and smell good doesn't it?" He started eating and made sure that he fed Morgan as well. Normally she would have the equivalent of a child seat but for tonight he wanted the contact.

Even during the meal the talk was quiet and nobody really said anything of any real importance. Eventually they had finished eating and Jim carried Morgan to the little's tent and tucked her into her bed. He sang a quiet song to her even though she was asleep and then went back out. Sheeha had cleared the table of everything except for the cups for the wine.

He settled back down and noticed that Sheeha was sitting on the floor next to Sorrel much like when she had originally been introduced. She also did that during some of the serious family discussions and especially when they dealt with her. Sorrel was stroking her ears as she usually did as well. The three ladies were all looking serious as well.

Jim finally spoke. "I am not going to beat around the bush and get straight to the point. Sheeha might be pregnant with our child." He looked down at her and sighed. "I suppose I should say probably is and I will not make any excuses. I will say that I was trying to make sure she had a good heat and bit her neck. I knew that it was something Puma women enjoyed but not the implications when they were in heat."

"I have told her that I take full responsibility for this even though it wasn't intended. I will inform the Chief when her pregnancy is confirmed." Jim looked down at Sheeha and stroked her ears as well. "She is part of the family and though not intended I am going to take care of her and our child." He looked at Sorrel to see if she wanted to speak.