Lana smiled when she saw the cave entrance. She also saw a flattened area more than big enough for the dome. She removed it from her bracelet and called Paul to come near. Kyle assisted by using telekinesis to pass it along. Once they were at the mouth of the cave, she removed a bunch of food, enough for now and in the morning so her team could eat.
She and the others followed Levalis in with the rest of the panteri following behind. They knew she was an honored guest and made sure to give her proper respect.
Like the cavern that she found the scimmia in before, this cave also ended up being cavern-like. In this case, it seemed like it was more of an intentional thing. There was a large area with many rooms carved out branching off it. If Lana didn't know any better she'd swear it was reminiscent of caves ancient ancestors of humans used to live in.
Levalis pointed to an offshoot in the back. Lana was quite shocked how big it was. It even had smaller rooms off it that had stone slabs, clearly to be used as beds.
Lana went into one of the rooms and pulled out a bedroll for Dobin.
"It's a little chilly, do you need a blanket as well? Extra light stones? I'm going to start cooking if you want to rest."
Dobin dropped his voice to a whisper knowing his voice would carry. Kyle was right behind Lana and Kent was at her feet. He couldn't see anyone else, but beasts had good hearing.
"Are you crazy? Are you going to trust that we'll be safe here? They will eat us while we sleep!"
Lana's laughter echoed. It was a short laugh, though. It would be much easier if he could speak to animals as well.
"Dobin, have you been paying attention to the body language of the panteri who brought us here?"
Dobin pinched his lips together clearly not wanting to answer the question.
Lana chuckled, "they are not hostile toward us. He's letting me raise his only son! I'm sure that's considered an honor if not unheard of in their society."
"Society?" Dobin's jaw dropped, "are you hearing yourself? They are beasts…"
"And yet you rode on the back on one to get here. Kent is a beast. He calls you his uncle. Are you going to belittle him?"
Dobin sighed, "that's not what I meant. It seems to be more like a pack than a society. Like wolves once were on Earth.
Lana chuckled, "Well, they have a nice home!"
Kyle, while standing behind Lana, was also paying attention to the entrance. His world was in the area. Lana may trust these beasts, but he wasn't sure if he could. The fact that he could hear faint tapping sounds approach them and nothing else unnerved him.
Before long, thanks to his light crystal, he saw a 4-tentacled panteri step into the opening. Her back was only as high as Lana's hips. She lowered her head, her nose almost touched the cold stone they stood on.
"I'm Rosalie. I'm here to take the young Prince Kent hunting."
She directed her words at Kyle who was unable to hear her. Luckily, Lana was right there and heard her. She looked at the ground where Kent was just a moment ago to find he was gone. She felt a tentacle wrap around her ankle and let out a sad, loving smile as she turned around.
Lana knelt down and pulled her baby close to her. "Kent, your father isn't trying to hurt you. This world is dangerous, not just this planet. Look what we've already been through. If you don't learn these essential skills and practice them, you could end up like your mother. I know your dad seems rough, but you were too small to remember his reaction at hearing of her death. He can't lose you, too. Quite frankly, we would be devastated as well."
Lana stroked his fur, soothing the tension that overwhelmed his body. With each touch he relaxed a little more. "Can you come with me?"
"I fear I would be a distraction."
Rosalie took two steps into the room, daring to approach no further, "Young Prince, your mother Leila was my sister. I will protect you, but you must also learn to protect yourself and your new mother."
With that, Kent's sharpened eyes took a closer look at the other panteri. He could see the tenderness and sincerity in her eyes. "I don't want to lose mommy or daddy!"
He gently left Lana's arms and went to Rosalie's side. "If you can help me keep the bad people from hurting mommy and daddy, then I want to learn."
Rosalie was both impressed and saddened by her nephew's response. He was only 2 and a half months old. He should be pouncing butterflies. She hated this was the world her sister's kitten had to be born in. But she wasn't going to let him see that.
She purred to him as her eyes glinted with happiness, "your mother would be proud."
Rosalie turned toward Lana and Kyle, "I'll have him back as soon as I can but it's going to be a while."
Lana nodded then smiled brightly, encouragingly at Kent. She spoke out loud so her husband and brother could hear. "We're all very proud of you and love you very much. You behave for your aunt and pay very close attention to her instructions. I may save your life someday."
With that, Rosalie led Kent from the safety of the cave into the pitch blackness of the Purple Forest.
As soon as he no longer heard the sound of claws tapping the stone, Kyle turned to his brother-in-law with a very displeased look on his face, "excuse us."
He picked up his wife and took her to the other room where they would spend the night. He put her back against the wall, legs around his waist. Lana simply responded to his fierce gaze with calmness.
"How could you let our son leave with her!" he said between gritted teeth.
Lana smiled and touched his cheek lovingly. "You need to find a speak with animal ability. You already know the leader of the pack is his father. Do you think he'd allow his only son to be harmed? We can't teach him to hunt as well as his own kind can. We might as well take advantage of it while we are here and have him learn some vital skills."
She reached up and kissed him tenderly. "Besides…" she kissed his jawline halfway between his chin and ear. "Why can't he go with a babysitter," she kissed behind his ear.
Lana heard his breath catch and smiled, "we need to get some dinner cooked… Then we can spend some time cooking in here…." She smiled with a twinkle in her eyes.
Kyle leaned in close, disarmed, "have I told you lately how much I love you?"
She started to giggle before responding. Kyle had different plans as she was quickly consumed by a passionate kiss. Hands caressed backs and shoulders, fingers were run through hair. Gasps were heard in the stillness of the cave's air.
After what felt like a few seconds to the impassioned couple, they heard a throat clear, then again a little louder.
"Are we going to eat dinner tonight?" an irritated Dobin asked.
Lana smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry, we were arguing…"
Dobin nodded, "that's what it looked like…"
She smiled softly while Kyle started getting selections from the bracelet of things that didn't need to be cooked. He didn't want to wait that long for his wife.
He also removed the table and chairs from the bracelet into the main room and put lighting around for additional visibility. Soon they were all eating, only now realizing just how hungry they were.
Lana took this time to answer any questions about what happened between her and this Mortimer character. They were hoping with three heads they could think of some kind of counter. None could think of anything helpful.
Once the meal was finished, Kyle burned all the wrappings in the back corner then stretched with his arms in the air and yawned, feigning exhaustion. Dobin rolled his eyes and went to his room after getting his bag from her.
Kyle wanted to leave the table and chairs up since they would have breakfast in the morning. The only thing in the room he felt needed his attention was a short blond with a cute grin spreading across her face the closer he got to her.
He carried her into the room then used an earth ability to expand a slab. It needed to fit two as well as a growing 6-legged boy who took up a surprising amount of bed space for one so small.
They put out bedrolls and blankets. Kyle extended some rock from the wall to hang a light on so they could turn their personal lights off.
Kyle sat her on the bed and stood in front of her, close enough to touch and started removing things he would not need in bed. Soon he was down to his usual sleep attire.
He never took his eyes off his wife. He noticed the fire in her eyes grow brighter with each garment that got stowed in her bracelet. He noticed every time her hot tongue left her mouth to moisten her slightly parted lips. His heart rate started off slightly elevated. Watching his wife made it hard for him to breathe. She hadn't even touched him yet.
He then did the same service for her, ensuring as much flesh was exposed as possible. Tonight, they didn't need to worry about disturbing their son's sleep or comfort. She was right about that. He hated having Kent away from him, but he was going to take advantage of this opportunity. Repeatedly. For as long as she could stand it. And he did.