Ari

Chapter 13: Lion Tribe Rules

It was the mid of winter as the heat and laying season was in full swing for the lion tribe. Different types of scent can be smelled all over the tribe indicating that most mature and youngling members of the tribe are undergoing their estrus and rut while some have already laid their eggs and are in the process of incubating the eggs.

Me and the elder healer were busy brewing a tremendous amount of suppressant for the younglings and the unmarried males to prevent any unwanted incidents.

When a female youngling suddenly rushed to the elder healer's abode asking for help. She was bleeding tremendously.

We immediately placed her to the bed for the patients while the elder healer was checking on her.

"Ari, brew some blood replenishing herbs as I instructed before." The elder healer instructed.

I did as I was ordered and carefully brought the medicine to the elder healer when I found her face darkened in fright.

"Ari dear, call our alpha. Tell him there is an urgent situation and I need him here." She ordered while being terrified.

I was confused, but I immediately flew out of the treehouse to find my father in the midst of the snow.

I saw my father supervising the tribesmen on creating a bigger weaving tool, not far from the elder healer's treehouse.

"Father! Grandma Lony is looking for you. There is an urgent matter on her abode. She looked terrified." I shouted as I approached my father at a distance while flying.

He suddenly let go of the thing he was holding then tapped the shoulder of another tribesman bidding goodbye in a hurry.

We rushed back to the elder healer's place and there we found the female youngling named Athea screaming in pain in her stomach.

She seemed to be having an abortion and was in a dire condition.

They asked me to go back to my room as the situation was dire and terrifying.

When I got back to my room, I heard my father's terrifying roar calling all the tribesmen furiously.

I was trembling as the scent of the males surrounding the treehouse suffocated me, causing me to almost faint, so I had to cover my nose using a few layers of handkerchiefs.

Male and female younglings are separated during heat season to prevent unwanted incidents like this since they are naturally reckless and uncontrollable due to physical and mental immaturity.

A female beastman normally goes into heat only during mating season, but there are also reported cases where a female goes into heat even before the mating season so the tribe occasionally test the female younglings for early signs of estrus once they turn thirteen because their scent can literally drive the unmarried males crazy.

Both male and female younglings are given heat suppressant to help them through their estrus and rut during the mating season and suppress their scents.

Any male who were caught disregarding the rules shall be forced to become the guardian* of the female and shall be forced to take a stronger rut suppressant while under the supervision of elders until they are allowed to be wed on the female's coming of age while the female youngling shall be banned from going out of their room except if necessary until their coming of age.

Guardian males are unofficial partners of the female, but are not allowed to enter the female's room unless an emergency occurs. They are expected to provide the needs of the female youngling such as clothing, food and other necessities

The rules don't apply in an emergency situation or if the situation was forced by the male.

Any male who was caught forcing a female to have an illicit relationship shall be sterilized and shall be chased out from the tribe; else the female admits their relationship to be mutual.

Sterilization is a process whereby a male beastman is deprived of the capacity to produce offspring by means of medications against infertility or removal of the reproductive organ.

The rules in our tribe are quite strict regarding relationships and reproduction, though the age they considered as an adult is quite younger compared to the world where I lived in my previous life.

The next day, the elder healer was so busy tending to Athea but she still refrained me from helping directly. I can only help her brew the herbs needed for the treatment.

A few days later, Athea miraculously survived despite the huge loss of blood with the help of the elder healer.

As soon as she was able to regain her strength a week later, a tribunal trial held against a male youngling claimed to be her lover named Arvad.

He said that they loved each other and had a relationship as they promised to each other that they will be wed a year later on their coming of age. However, according to him, Athea kept skipping her suppressant for a few days just because the medicine was too bitter for her. It was the reason why he lost control despite the suppressant he drank regularly due to their close distance when she had undergone the peak of her estrus.

I can feel his sincerity in his tone. I know he was telling the truth based on his calm and compassionate way of explaining his side. There was no trace of fault in his gestures and mannerism while he was speaking.

The parents of the female youngling were extremely hostile to him and Athea couldn't look at him as if she was the guilty one.

Despite the hesitation, she refused the claim at the end and said she was forced and had no intention of accepting him as her guardian male while hiding in the embrace of her mother.

I knew she was lying, but there was no supporting evidence or witnesses that the male youngling did not break into the female youngling's room and all the witnesses claimed that the Arvad was a stalker and was allegedly caught skipping on taking the rut suppressant.

The elders along with my father decided to exile the male youngling and fed him with an infertility poison despite the plea of his mother to reconsider the case.

It was extremely saddening to see a mother scream in agony as her precious son was dragged away and was forcefully fed with poison forcefully, then thrown out of the territory despite the extreme cold weather.

I can occasionally hear her cries for a few days and the tribe's heat season was disturbed by the incident so the number of eggs for that year was lesser than the previous year.