Chapter 58: Eli's Birthday
The cold season came and everyone was inside their homes. The Cheetah castle was well stocked with food and wood for heat. They had made extra fur blankets and clothes from the animals they hunted.
Amber was excited to get ready for Eli's Birthday. This would be the first one since he was born that she got to celebrate with him. In her world, it was common for a baby to have a smash cake for his birthday.
She planned to make him a banana bread smash cake and make more for the others to enjoy. She had been keeping the sourdough starter well-fed and had enough to make the banana bread loaves.
She had experimented with the sourdough starter bread mix and made many delicious types of food. She was excited to try the banana bread. She asked Oliver to gather a bunch of bananas and let them turn brown.
He usually picked fresh bananas for her, but it was the cold season and the fruit was not growing as much as before. Luckily she wanted them brown. That would be easy.
She asked Barry to gather sweet water from the Maple tree and boil it until it turned into syrup. She also had honey if the Maple syrup was not enough.
She didn't know the exact date of Eli's birthday since they didn't use calendars. She guessed it was around Christmas Day, so she made his birthday the day after Christmas, December 26.
Eli didn't care about dates and holidays. He only cared that his mother was happy and she spent extra attention on him. He knew he was going to have some brothers soon to play with and wanted to get as much of her attention before they came.
Oliver and Dr. Tony had confirmed that Amber was pregnant with Nick's cubs. Nick heard 2 small heartbeats inside Amber's womb and knew she was having male cubs.
Amber had already thought of names for her sons, Nate and Raj. She was excited and couldn't wait to meet them, but also a little scared.
She remembered the pain of childbirth when she had Eli. It was all worth it when she saw his cute monkey face, but she was not looking forward to having twins.
She distracted herself by teaching the family about games and Christmas stories. She tried to start a band, but most of them didn't have any musical talent.
Barry was a good dancer, but he was hibernating during the cold season. Blue Tang was not used to the cold dry air. He would frequent Amber's indoor hot tub to help his dry skin.
She made a basic cream out of oil and animal fats. He was grateful for it and thanked her. She also made a lip balm out of beeswax and coconut oil.
Amber made the banana bread loaves and Eli was watching with excitement in his eyes. The day before she had given him a cape made from animal fur that she had sewn together.
It was made from white rabbit fur. She used the rabbit tail as the button on the front. Eli loved it and wore it around the castle to show off.
Amber explained to the rest of the beast men the tradition of gift-giving for Christmas. She made cookies for the rest of them. They were excited to receive gifts and the cookies were delicious.
They never thought wheat would taste so good. To think of all the wheat that was thrown away because no one wanted it. Now they knew how foolish it was to waste it.
They all gathered together after dinner to sing happy birthday to Eli. Amber gave him his banana smash cake and let him smash it and eat it with his hands.
Oliver was going to reprimand Eli when he saw Eli smash the banana bread his mother made. Amber stopped him, "It's ok. This is what we do in my world for the first birthday. It means he likes it."
Oliver was ok as long as Amber was happy. Eli enjoyed the taste of the banana bread and ate it all. Amber distributed slices to the rest and let them try it.
Oliver loved it and hoped Amber would make it again. Barry would have loved it. She made a mental note to make it again when he woke up from his hibernation.
Tom, Tyler, and Fred liked the banana bread. Blue Tang didn't like sweets. He preferred seafood or salty snacks. Nick preferred meat to anything else.
They had prepared plenty of food thanks to the salt and dehydration methods Amber taught them last year. She even showed them how to use an ice box.
They could freeze food to help it last longer. The cold season went by before they knew it and spring had come. Amber was ready to give birth.
Her stomach was twice as big as when she was pregnant with Eli and she was having a hard time walking. She also needed help to go to the bathroom.
Oliver was her personal doctor and the rest waited on her hand and foot. She was the Queen of the castle and had everything she needed.
When it was finally warm enough to go outside, Amber decided to show Eli and the others how to make snow angels. She bundled up to stay warm and asked to be carried to the snow.
Nick carried he outside and gently placed her in the snow. He was confused about what she wanted to show them. They didn't know what an angel was.
Amber lay in the snow and moved her arms and legs to make a snow angel. Nick picked her up gently so she could see it. Tyler and Tom noticed it and asked, "Is it like a bird?"
Amber didn't know how to explain angels to them, so she just went with it. "Yup, it's a white bird with beautiful wings." They all nodded and she encouraged them to make their snow angels.
Tom and Tyler transformed into their flying forms and just lay on the ground. They were already birds, so they didn't need to make wings with their arms.
Eli's snow angel had a tail and he was trying to scoop snow over it. Amber laughed and called out to him, "It's ok honey, I love your tail. Your snow angel can be a snow monkey angel."
Eli clapped and made another one. Nick hugged her to keep her warm. They turned around when they heard a loud yawn. Amber screamed in excitement, "Barry's awake!"
Barry went to freshen up and eat something. When he returned, Amber told him about what he missed while he was sleeping. He was excited to see how big she was and that he didn't miss the birth of her cubs.
Nick was extra cautious and took Amber back inside when she started to get cold. He made her a hot cup of tea and asked if she wanted to take a bath.
Blue Tang was currently inside the bathtub trying to warm up. She responded, "It's ok. I'll be fine with the tea." Nick hugged her to warm her up faster.
Amber was drinking her tea when she felt a cramp. She looked down and saw the floor was wet. She knew the twins were coming. She wanted to call for Oliver, but he showed up before she could yell.
He helped Nick get her onto a soft fur rug and told Tom to boil some water. He asked Tyler to get a piece of fur for her to bite down on. He helped her to breathe through the pain.
Amber's contractions were getting closer to each other and she was crying in pain. Nick was so angry at the cubs for hurting his mate. He would have killed them if he didn't know how much Amber loved them.
Barry came inside and gave Amber some honey to help with the pain. He had also picked some herbs. He added them to the boiling water to help with her pain.
Amber was crying in pain one minute and the next she was relaxed. She didn't know what he gave her, but it worked! Oliver nodded at Barry gratefully. He knew the herbs were not harmful to her or the cubs.
Amber wondered where were these last time. Barry told her as if he could read her mind, "After Eli was born, I asked the other beast men if there were any herbs to help with the pain. They told me these herbs only grow in the springtime."
Amber made a mental note to gather as many herbs as she could and dry them if she needed to. She could make them into tea leaves or powder. If it helped this much, she could use it for the mermaid she would have to give Blue Tang next.
Amber pushed when Oliver told her to and she had a tiny baby Cheetah cub. He had hazel eyes like his father. She named him Nate. Then she pushed again and her second son was born.
He had green eyes like hers. She named him Raj. They looked like baby kittens with their eyes closed most of the time. They smelled her and knew she was their mother.
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