"Let's go," Si Lu nodded.
The group walked over to a clearing and saw two little cubs lying on the ground, playing.
And next to them… was a half-meter-long crocodile!
Si Lu was a bit surprised.
That half-meter-long crocodile… could it be…?
"Look, this is my first child. He's already six months old. You've seen these two little ones before—they're just over a month old," Tatta said with a smile.
This was her second litter.
Only the six-month-old had survived from the first one.
But in this second litter, she had two surviving babies.
Among the young females in the tribe, she was considered quite fertile.
There was nothing to be done—crocodile cubs had become rare in recent years.
"They're so cute. Do they have names yet?" Si Lu asked, not daring to approach the half-meter-long cub and instead focusing on the two younger ones.
The two little cubs recognized Si Lu and began happily circling her. The older crocodile also crawled over, tilting its head and staring at Si Lu like its younger siblings.
Then, it joined them too.
Si Lu nervously stared at the six-month-old crocodile.
At that moment, the cub in Bai Di's arms started struggling to be let down. Helpless, Bai Di eventually placed the little one on the ground.
"They don't have names yet. We just call them Eldest, Second, and Third for now. Don't worry, my eldest is very gentle and well-behaved," Tatta said with a chuckle, noticing Si Lu's nervousness.
She hadn't expected LuLu to be afraid of her six-month-old child.
To her, that was quite adorable.
"Mm-hmm, it's just… seeing a crocodile that big makes me a little nervous," Si Lu said as she crouched down, gently petting the two smaller cubs. As the older one slowly came closer, she hesitated but eventually reached out and stroked its head too.
Whew!
It really wasn't aggressive.
Si Lu immediately broke into a smile.
She happily continued petting them.
"Can they eat solid food yet? Like meat and such?" Si Lu asked.
"They can. Generally, once they're a month old, they can start eating. Some cubs with special constitutions can even eat meat earlier—though it's usually soft meat or meat broth. It depends on their natural aptitude and body," Tatta explained.
She was surprised. Apparently, Si Lu didn't know this.
But thinking about it, it made sense. Most females were well-protected, and this was Si Lu's first litter.
So, it was understandable that she didn't know much.
In fact, many females didn't know these things—it wasn't just Si Lu.
Si Lu was genuinely shocked. She remembered that human babies didn't start eating solid foods until around seven or eight months old. Yet here, these little cubs could eat meat after just one month.
Clearly, predatory beast cubs couldn't be compared to regular children.
But now that she thought about it, she hadn't asked her mates about any of this. When she got home, she definitely needed to have a proper talk with them. As a mother, she really was a novice.
She absolutely needed to learn about how cubs in this world grew. Otherwise, how embarrassing would it be if her own cubs asked her something she couldn't answer?
"It's really normal not to know. This is your first time as a mom, and I'm sure your tribe protected you very well. Many females don't know these things. There's no need to feel guilty."
"But now you do know, right? If there's anything you want to ask, just ask me. I've already had two litters, so I know this stuff inside and out," Tatta offered warmly.
She could tell what Si Lu was thinking just from her expression.
After all, she'd been through it too. And Si Lu was clearly a very pure and sincere female—whatever she was feeling was written all over her face.
That's exactly why she was more willing to be genuine friends with her. Among females, things weren't always peaceful. Some were even hostile toward her simply because she had two litters already, while others hadn't had any yet.
Some even made snide remarks at her.
But what could she do? Being fertile was something others envied.
And it wasn't like it was her fault.
She felt lucky to have met Si Lu—a little female who made her want to form a close friendship.
"Really? I can ask you anything? I honestly don't know any of this stuff…"
"Look at me—I'm already a mom, and I don't even know the basic growth milestones for my own cubs. It's kind of a small failure, but I'm going to start studying this stuff properly now," Si Lu said firmly.
"Of course! Ask away. I've had two litters, I'm practically an expert. Come on, let's go sit over there and chat," Tatta said, pulling Si Lu over to some beast furs laid out nearby.
The two of them started chatting, while Bai Di taught Tatta's mates how to use some tools and items. Some of them had never seen or used these things before, and certainly hadn't tasted them.
Meanwhile, the four cubs were happily running around.
Tatta's eldest even let the other three climb onto his back, carrying them around as he crawled.
Not only that, but the three cubs on his back were all chattering away non-stop. No one knew what they were saying, but Si Lu could tell her son was extremely happy.
Honestly… she still couldn't understand what her own child was saying.
"Um, can I ask something? Can you actually understand what your cubs are saying?" Si Lu asked, voicing the biggest question on her mind as she turned to Tatta.
Tatta was stunned by the question. Why ask something so basic?
Of course a mother could understand her own child! They were beastfolk—it was normal to understand each other.
But seeing Si Lu's expression, she didn't think it was weird. She just looked shocked.
"You… don't understand what your cubs are saying?" Tatta asked, staring at Si Lu like she'd uncovered something huge.
That look made Si Lu flush red on the spot.
So it was true—everyone else could understand their cubs. Only she couldn't.
Thinking that, Si Lu felt even more discouraged.
Was it because she wasn't a full beastfolk? Was that why she couldn't understand her own cubs?
"I really can't understand them. So every time I talk to my baby, I have to ask one of my mates to translate for me."
"Tatta, is this something that only I'm going through?" Si Lu asked nervously, eyes filled with worry.
She really did care about this.
"Well… honestly, I've never heard of another female not understanding her cubs, but this continent is huge. There's always exceptions. Nothing is absolute," Tatta replied gently.