After the couple had been quiet for a while, King Scott poked his head around the curtains shielding them from the rest of the room. "Are the two of you okay in here?" he asked in a quieter voice than Samantha had heard him use since meeting him, "I got some food waitin' for ya, but it ain't easy keepin' leftovers from that bear cub o' yours, so you better hurry over if you want anything." Spencer gave an inquiring look to Samantha, who nodded, and lifted her in his arms and gently carried her back to the group. "Thanks, Scott," said the fox beastman, "I think we're all tired, and some refreshments are probably just what we need." He received a huge grin in response, Scott's prominent canines enhancing the effect when shown off in such a harmless manner. "It's not a problem, friend, just come on and enjoy yourself! We'll talk about getting' ya settled down here, too, if you're plannin' to stay in the city for a while," he added. Scott saw Samantha's eyes brighten slightly when he raised the topic of accommodations, and he met her gaze with the same wide smile, "We'll find you your dream home before long, don't worry. Whatever it is you're wishin' for, King Scott is gonna grant it for ya." He winked at her and made a cheesy clicking sound with his lips before sitting back down with Eira. She yowled in surprise as he not only pulled her back onto his lap, but dipped her over his legs and nuzzled her nose playfully with his own. "Scott!" she yelled before their noses touched, then she blushed yet again and tried her best to hold in a giggle at the charming wolverine's antics.

Although Bub was entertained by the lively couple's interactions to the point that Samantha worried about his childhood development, Benji, in contrast, ignored them completely and looked Spencer dead in the eyes as if daring him to avoid responsibility for upsetting Samantha. "We talked," Spencer offered, clearly nervous when his explanation was insufficient for the scorpion. He turned his intense gaze to Samantha, demanding something more reassuring from her. She sighed sadly, repeating Spencer's words; "We talked," she said, but Benjamin's stare didn't let up. "It's complicated," she tried to reassure her, but the look on his face only assured Samantha that he was unimpressed. "It's fine," she tried, "It's going to be fine, it's just a lot to take in right now." Benjamin wordlessly held his arms out to Spencer, challenging him with his eyes to see what would happen if he didn't hand Samantha over. Fox ears drooping, Spencer surrendered the female he loved into the arms of her guardian beast. "She needs to eat something," he said in a defeated voice, his only goal to see Samantha taken care of no matter its effect on himself. "I can take care of it," Benjamin said smoothly as he easily cradled the depressed female in his own muscular arms, where it felt like she belonged. "What would you like?" he asked her as he settled them into a bench, caressing her cheek with the backs of two of his fingers. "Anything is fine," she responded, not sparing a glance at the spread Scott had sent for. "Okay," Benji replied, "Raw earthworms to start, then? They're nutritious and you should feel better after eating a lot of them." Samantha nearly hit her head against Benji's as she sat straight up. "Agh! What?! I can't eat earthworms, at least not raw!" Samantha exclaimed, pushing Benjamin's full fist away from her with all her strength.

Everyone at the table froze at Samantha's sudden outburst and looked at her and Benjamin. "Who's eatin' earthworms?" King Scott asked, puzzled. "Eww, not me!" Eira said from her mid-canoodling position on his lap. Scott looked at her with fake concern and showed his own wiggling fingers to her. "But what about... these?" he asked jovially, starting to tickle the little Pallas cat. "You're gonna pay for this!" she shrieked between bouts of laughter. "I'm gonna bite all your fingers off one by one and feed 'em back to you!" she continued as she laughed so hard she let out small snorts. Scott must have whispered something dirty in her ear at that point, because Eira's face became a shade of red so deep it was nearly purple, and not a peep came out of her once Scott's tickling let up. Samantha looked at Benjamin and grabbed his hand, prying his locked fingers open until a handful of almonds began falling to the floor from their spindly prison. "You!" Samantha exclaimed, embarrassed that she'd fallen for such a low trick, and doubly so now that her host was under the impression she believed he'd serve her such a thing. She rescued the remainder of the almonds from his palm and shoved them two at a time into her mouth, both because she was starving and because she was too embarrassed to say another word. Now it was Spencer's turn to hold in his laughter, and Samantha turned on him as well. "If you say one word about worms," she berated him with a mouth full of almonds, "you're going to pay for it big time once I start gardening!"

"So you'd like a house with room for gardening, then?" Scott interjected with a smile. "Yeah, I have a few things I'd like to try my hand at growing," Samantha said shyly, still flustered by her semi-accusation from earlier. "Anything else you'd like?" he asked her as Spencer studied her reactions like he was committing each of them to memory. "Well, it would be nice to have a big kitchen, with room for storage, um, and a room for Bub to have for himself along with any other," she gulped, and blushed, "siblings that may come along for him in the future. I don't really know how the bedroom situation works here, but would Spencer, Benjamin, and I be sharing one room?" The faces of both those males turned pale as they loudly and jointly proclaimed, "NO!" "Uhh," Samantha stammered, shocked that the two would agree with one another so loudly and instantaneously, "Then I guess however many bedrooms are needed for the three of us, too," she finished, confused. "I think I can setcha up with somethin' nice, but why don'tcha go out and take a look around the city first? Maybe you'll find something you like on yer own, or find ya've got a preference for one style of building over another," Scott said as he explained more about the various neighborhoods in and around the city and the pros and cons of living in houses preferred by the different races that lived in them. Benjamin was busy filling Samantha's stomach, so she didn't have much opportunity to take part in the discussion, but she was definitely satiated by the time Scott had finished talking. "If nothin' else suits yer fancy, yer more than welcome to stay here at the castle with us," he said as he led the group toward the main doors, personally opening them for Benji, who still carried Samantha but with the addition of a ridiculously swaddled Bub, and giving Spencer a few rough pats on the back as they exited. "I'll see ya soon!" Scott called after them as they waved, walking back through the courtyard and out into the streets they'd entered from.

"Could we go back outside the city walls to look at some of the houses out there?" Samantha asked with pleading eyes. "It looked a lot roomier out there, and, well, less crowded," she said, turning her eyes down. "Of course we can," Spencer said understandingly; if Samantha was anxious about fitting in in the city, it made sense that she'd want to live somewhere that would be easier to conceal any mishaps she might have as she climbed the learning curve of beastman culture. He also remembered what she said about wanting an extra bedroom for future cubs, and if she wanted a bigger house to start a family, he would give her that and more as soon as she said the word. They made their way through the streets and stalls, weaving their way through the throngs of beastmen, many of whom turned to stare at Samantha. Benjamin carried her higher on his chest, exposing his four black beast stripes and liberally distributing glares to any parties who seemed interested in her, while Spencer tied his hair back ever so casually with a strip of hide so that his stripes were also visible. Samantha might only have two males by her side, but a sole beastman would have to be crazy to decide to take both of them on in order to fight their way into her family. Samantha's attention while they were in the city was focused mostly on Bub, who was in the middle of a sniffing frenzy, and she wasn't sure that he could be held by his carrying wrap for much longer if he didn't calm down.

After the group exited the city walls from a different gate, Samantha was hopeful that Bub would quiet himself with less around to stimulate his growing mind. In that, she could not have been more mistaken. His squirming became so intense that Benjamin had to let Samantha down from his arms so he could help hold the rioting bear. "What's the matter, Bub?" Samantha asked, worried beyond imagination. "Are you sick? What do you need? Can you tell us?" she asked, every question bringing her closer to tears. Benjamin's focus was on holding the cub still without hurting him, but also making sure Bub's strength, as well as his teeth and claws, wouldn't accidentally injure Samantha, to whom he was still tied. "Spencer, what do we do?" Samantha asked in a panic. However, in all his experience, he had never seen a cub act like this, not unless- His train of thought was stopped there by the nearby cry of a female, crying, "Cub! Cub! Baby, where are you? Mama is here! Come here, baby!" in a frenzy that could only belong to a mother who had been separated from her child for far too long. Benjamin untied Bub's animal skin carrier just in time for Samantha to watch Bub lope forward and wrap himself around the legs of a tall, dark-skinned female with a sturdy build. The two females locked tear-filled eyes, fear and desolation in Samantha's, desperation and suspicion in the other's.

Edit: gave Jewel the wrong skin color, sorry!