I'm NOT a Female!

Chapter 25

Hey all! Sorry for the late update. As some of you might be aware, I have changed my update schedule this semester. For now it's between Wednesday and Thursday until it settles on one.

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After Ekon firmly expressed Yule's and Dakota's ban from entering his hut without explicit permission from either himself or August, the group had moved on to dividing tasks amongst the males.

As August's only mate, Ekon happily received guarding duties unless he chose otherwise. He was quite likely to spend most of his time fixing and rebuilding sections of his hut to August's standard's. Though based on what August had alluded to, he'd likely have to rebuild and refurnishing the entire hut...

Yule and Dakota on the other hand would be on hunting duty interchangeably, with the other remaining to build their own temporary dwelling. Ekon had reluctantly allowed the males onsite residence after a number of choice words and pointed arguments had been exchanged between the three. Once their shared hut was complete, whoever stayed back from hunting would aid Ekon with meeting August's 'basic' norms of living.

One thing all three males had come to agree on was that August had their work cut out for them. They would be plenty busy until the cold season reared its nasty head.

Hence, the work began.

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Three weeks and three very tired beastmen later, August now slept in a comfortable nest of furs inside a cozy hut. Much to Ekon's dismay, he'd employed all three beastmen in building his nest and home.

Why avoid putting talent to good use simply to protect Ekon's ego?

Plus, as it turned out within the first week, Dakota was an expert at home economics, which had been quite the surprise given his gruff exterior and shear bulk. One evening, he had seen August struggling to sew a pillow from pelts stuffed with feathers from the previous night's dinner. Dakota had lumbered over, plopped his massive form next to August, and quietly began a crash course on sewing.

Apart from ruffling Ekon's fur, the final product pillow had by no means been comfortable but met all base line requirements of a pillow.

The surprise, however, came later.

Two days later, Dakota had shown up at the door with his arms full of evenly stitched pillows and a 'yard' fully occupied by a herd of four enormous, bald creatures that August could not recognise. The beastmen had introduced the animals as a'rmbools. The creatures were huge, about the size of moose but with the horn of a highland cow. They would have been intimidating if not for their bald, fleshy pink skin.

Though, for all the animals were large, they were far from wise. They stood on awkwardly jointed legs, grazing while tethered to wooden posts speared into the ground. Essentially waiting to be 'harvested' over the cold season if need be. Had they tried they could have easily broken loose from their bindings...

Dakota had gotten Yule to put his refined hunting skills to good use. The snow leopard beastman had round up the four a'rmbools and then herded them towards the settlement. Together, both beastmen had done the primitive equivalent of sheering the large mammals.

Leaving Dakota with the primary element for the pillows.

After seeing August's gleeful response to Dakota and Yule's combined gift, Ekon's wounded pride had demanded that he up his efforts.

And hence started the pissing contest.

The competitive nature of the three males constantly trying to one up each other had been frustrating. And the steamy nights with Ekon that followed due to the male's increased level of testosterone might have been fun at times. Might. Though, mostly, the three had been a pain to deal with – mentally, emotionally, and one in particular, physically.

However, there had definitely been a very distinguishable positive outcome. The dilapidated hut that Ekon had once called home had been completely rebuilt and refurnished.

The old musky furs that the couple had slept in those first few nights? Long gone. Instead, the couple now had a proper nest with fresh, warm furs. Not to mention pillows.

Ekon had been against having anything made by another male in his nest at first. However, there was no way August was ever parting from those pillows. It was either Ekon could sleep with August in a nest with pollows, or he could make himself a separate nest without pillows and sleep alone.

The answer had been simple.

The males had also been rather pleased to source sufficient furs to line the dusty dirt floor of Ekon's dwelling. They'd even been able to build a few small shelving units for storage and organization. Ekon's once empty hut was now well on it's way to becoming livable.

As a fun side note, August had come up with pet names for each of the males after Ekon and Dakota had made fun of Yule's.

Dakota was 'care bear.' He had nearly been called fairy god mother for his contribution in refashioning August's bed. However, that was a permanent change and not one that August planned to allow to vanish at any future midnight. Hence care bear for the soft side he tried so hard to hide.

Ekon had become 'king of the cabin' due to how territorial he was when it came to his hut.

Yet, in August's opinion, the best stilled belonged to Yule. Whose nickname was now firmly shepherd for obvious reasons.

Moving on.

Come present time, three weeks later, August now felt reluctant to leave his mate's embrace and venture out of the nest. Not because he had feelings for the male... Nope. Not yet.

Noticing the dangerous thought worming its way into his mind, August swiftly thought of other reasons to remain cuddled up in bed.

In recent days, the temperature had dropped noticeably. Now, the ground was permanently coated in a layer of frost.

The males had mentioned that witch doctors would soon be making their rounds of the houses to check the health of females. If all was good with the female's health, the witch doctor would allow the mates to leave in search of goubei berries.

Apparently, when ingested, a goubei berrie would encourage a female's body to go into 'heat.' Boosting the chances of conception during the matings that would take place over the cold season.

And with females only entering a natural heat twice every full cycle, the berry's ability to induce such fertility was highly prized.

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Thank you all for reading! Pls *like* if you are enjoying. The feedback is really encouraging and honestly a huge part of what keeps me motivated <3

Any support is greatly appreciated :)

Feb. 4, 2022

Update Posted June 14, 2023