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A Tale of Jaguars	By : Aline Category: +S through Z > Thundercats Views: 13095 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I don't own Thundercats, or any character or event associated to it, and I'm not making any money from this fiction.

Chapter List
- 12
- 13
- 14
WARNINGS: This contains Slash, and abuse, as well as mpreg. It is dark and treats themes only for mature audience, such as rape and sex with a minor. Do not read if you don’t like it.
*Disclaimer: I don’t own Thundercats, or any character or event associated to it, and I’m not making any money from this fiction.

CHAPTER 13. The Problems in Creating a Cub.

Jareid paced up and down the hall in front of the surgery room in agitation, growling from time to time. He hated waiting. It didn’t help that the High Shaman had informed him that he wasn’t going to be allowed to take Tygra to his den when the intervention was finished. The tiger had to stay in the Shamans’ wing at least one night to be monitored, and for the Shamans to be relatively sure that his body was adjusting to the new addition.
Jareid had always been more instinctual than your average cat. He tended to be primal, and as such he was a loner and more territorial than the rest of the palace’s inhabitants. He absolutely didn’t like the idea of his mate technically recovering from an injury in any place that was not their private rooms. He had protested to the High Shaman loudly, but the cat hadn’t caved. Tygra was staying in a room within the Shamans’ wing and that was final.
Jareid growled again and was about to start another circuit around the hall when female paws caught his right arm. He turned to his mother, who was sitting on a chair against the wall and looking amusedly at him. Lion-O was at her side, playing with Snarf to kill time.
“Come on my son. Sit with us for a while. Your tiger is going to be fine. The shamans know what they are doing.”
“They better!” He growled under his breath, and then sighed at his mother’s raised eyebrow. “I’m sorry mother. I don’t think I can sit still. I wish they’d hurry up.”
“You know this is not something you can simply hurry up. This is delicate, and they have to see to Tygra’s well being at every moment.”
Jareid groaned and passed a hand through his mane.
“I know, I know. But my nerves are on end. I want to take him home as soon as possible.”
Lion-O scowled. Jareid’s use of the word ‘home’ always confused him. It had taken sometime to realize that the jaguar prince used the word primarily to refer to his own set of rooms, and secondarily to the palace. Jareid considered his rooms his territory, and so they were more ‘home’ to him than the rest of the palace, which was his father’s domain. Xilara only smiled.
“Come here.”
She pulled Jareid to her side and made him sit down on a chair. The unhappy jaguar was still growling.
“Now, stop being paranoid. Your mate is going to be treated with all the attention required for his health. Tomorrow at this time you’d have him in your rooms, making sure that he’s fine.”
Jareid nodded and looked towards the operations room’s door. In five minutes he was up and pacing again. Xilara smiled in fond exasperation, and Lion-O really wanted to imitate him. By the lion’s standards they were taking too long. He wanted to be sure that his brother was ok and that nothing had gone wrong with the surgery.
Eventually, Bengali poked his head out of the room to see if it was safe to move Tygra. Jareid was instantly over him, asking a barrage of questions and demanding to see his mate. Xilara had a hard time pulling him back before he decided to jump over Bengali and invade the operations room. Lion-O didn’t know if he should laugh or be equally worried and try to get information about his brother.
Fortunately, Baal arrived at that moment. He put his son under control long enough for Bengali to give his report. Then he had to hold Jareid back while the Shamans moved his still unconscious mate to a recovery room. He didn’t stop his prince from joining Tygra in said room, but he instructed him to let the Shamans do their job and not take Tygra anywhere until the High Shaman said he could do it. Jareid growled unhappily, but nodded at his father and went in search of Tygra. Xilara and Lion-O went with him, both wanting to make sure that the tiger was fine and that Jareid was not going to do something stupid.
Baal sighed and turned to the High Shaman who was watching Jareid’s back with a serious expression.
“So, everything really in order? Did Bengali leave something out?”
“No. Tygra should be fine. The surgery went over without complications. It’s your son the one I’m worried about Baal. He must have more self-control. Having a mate has helped a lot, but now that Tygra is going to be out of sorts and hurting, we should do something to ensure that Jareid is not going to let his anger take hold of his actions again. I don’t want any tragedies.”
“There’s not going to be any. Jareid is fine. Is perfectly normal for him to worry about his mate.”
“Yes, but he exaggerates! Baal, you know that the intensity of Jareid’s responses is not normal. He looses all control over his instinct and acts like a wild animal. He doesn’t know where to draw the limit between reason and the pull of instinct.”
“He’s going to behave! You, along the rest of the council, agreed that he’s acting differently. That it was fine to let him handle more of his royal duties. He’s not doing a bad job. Besides, if he really were letting instinct to rule his actions, he’d have a full-fledged harem by now! Our wild ancestors didn’t choose life-partners, they only reproduced and that was all there was.”
“That’s true, and I’m really happy that your son is on the right path on that aspect. Finally. It certainly took him a while.”
Baal growled under his breath. Jareid had given everybody too much work over the years. The king didn’t like to be reminded of it. What was the point? His son was changing for the better. He didn’t really care to know how it had happened, only that it had. The only thing he wanted to know was what to do to keep it that way, and for Jareid to not go back to his previous behaviour. Xiar sighed and kept talking.
“Look, I know that you don’t like to be reminded of Jareid’s past misgivings. But it’d be a mistake to just forget they happened. Jareid has not changed that much, Baal. He just moved his focus. He’s putting his energy to better use, but the anger, the impulsiveness and utter disregard of everyone else’s needs are still there. We should be wary of the moment they decide to resurface.”
Baal gritted his teeth, but he didn’t answer. He just nodded and left to follow his family into the recovery room. He didn’t want to give much importance to the Shaman’s concerns. His son was fine. He had his quirks and acted impulsively most of the time, but he was controlling himself. He didn’t need to worry about his son.
&&&&&&&&
Jaried looked attentively as Bengali and a female shaman, whose name he didn’t care to know, connected the machine that would keep track of Tygra’s vitals. Lion-O asked a few questions concerning the surgery and how to read the signals the machine provided. He was only half-listening. He was busy staying quiet and preventing himself from grabbing Tygra and took off with him to their room. It helped that Bengali was the one tending to the younger tiger. Jareid knew that he wouldn’t have tolerated any one else close to his mate when the teen was so vulnerable.
The female went out of the room as soon as Tygra was resting comfortably and hooked to the machine. Bengali stayed longer to answer Lion-O’s questions. Jareid started to relax. The room smelled of antiseptic and it wasn’t his den, but at least it was private and there was only family inside.
Xilara and Lion-O were sitting on a couch in front of the bed with Bengali on a chair at their side. They were quietly talking about Tygra and what to expect during the following months.
The prince was ready to approach his mate and sit beside the bed. He needed to touch Tygra, to make sure that he was fine. He was only wary of the cats that were still with them, even if they were family. Baal entered the room, and Jareid turned towards him, already growling, until he realized it was his father. He relaxed again and Baal put a hand on his shoulder.
“Everything all right, Jareid?”
The prince nodded, not trusting his voice. He was still too put out. He would have preferred to be alone with Tygra. Baal noticed that Jareid was tense and most likely wanting to go to his tiger.
“Relax son. He’s fine. Everything went smoothly and he’d wake up soon.”
Jareid sighed and crossed his arms over his chest, not knowing what to do with himself.
“I know. I’m trying to be calm. It’s difficult when I can’t smell him very well and he’s unresponsive.”
“Nothing is going to happen to him. I know it’s not easy to let others attend to your mate’s health, but you have to have in mind that they know their job. Trust them Jareid, they are not going to let you down.”
Jareid narrowed his eyes and looked towards the group happily talking in the corner. He trusted Bengali. The white tiger was his friend and had proved to be very reliable and protective when it came to Tygra, but others…
Jareid knew he had to trust the cats that were there to help him in his future role as head and king of his clan. He knew that, rationally. But he just couldn’t make himself do it. There had been things that had shown him how very little the cats around him cared for anything but themselves. And there were things he could not forget… or forgive.
He sighed. He didn’t want to disappoint his father. He just couldn’t help how he felt. Still, he nodded firmly, because he knew that his father needed to be assured that he understood. Baal’s gesture softened almost imperceptibly and then he spotted the mark on Jareid’s neck. It was very light, and hidden by the fur and his son’s clothes, but it was there, Baal couldn’t be mistaken. The king lifted his hand towards the marked spot and Jareid’s own hurriedly covered it. The jaguar prince turned to look at his father with apprehension and found him smiling.
“So, how long have you sported his mark?”
Jareid shrugged, trying to hide his discomfiture.
“A couple of days. It’s not a big deal.”
If it had been anyone else, Baal would have dismissed the incident. Every couple carried mutual marks of claiming. It was a signal to other cats that they belonged with each other. But this was Jareid. The prince had never before let anyone mark him. The mark on the neck was also a sign of dominance and Jareid had never allowed anyone, apart from his father, to mess with his neck. That Tygra had bitten him, well, that was most significant.
“It is, my son. You two are a real couple now.”
Jareid looked taken aback for a moment, and then his face took in a soft gesture that Baal had never seen before on his son’s face. The prince inclined his head and went to sit at Tygra’s bedside quietly. Xilara noticed, and raised an eyebrow in question at her mate. Baal only smiled proudly at his son and went to stand by his queen’s side. Xiar could think what he wanted. Baal knew that his son was on the right path.
&&&&&&&&
Tygra woke up in the afternoon, feeling incredibly disoriented. Jareid was playing with his mane and muttering a song under his breath. Tygra moved his head to ask what was going on and his brother’s face poked in his line of view. The lion made a happy sound and ran for Bengali. Jareid’s hand stopped its motion and the jaguar asked how he was feeling.
Tygra blinked. He wasn’t sure of how he was feeling. He tried to talk and his tongue stuck at the roof of his mouth. Jareid helped him to lift his head a bit and offered him a glass of water. The tiger drank a couple of mouthfuls and then felt better. Bengali entered at that moment and shooed Jareid away with some difficulty to check up his patient.
After some questions and prodding with shaman’s magic, Bengali concluded that everything was running out smoothly. He disconnected Tygra from the machine that had been monitoring him and gave him some pills and an injection. He instructed the tiger to avoid sudden or forced movements. His thoracic muscles were strained a bit and would not take kindly to any stress on his part. The white tiger assured him that he’d heal quickly and he’d only need to stay in observation for the night. Jareid contented himself with the promise that he’d be able to take his mate to his own bedroom the next day and took mental note of the medicines and attentions that Tygra would need.
Lion-O hugged his brother’s shoulders, happy that the tiger was having a fast recovery, and then accompanied Bengali out of the room to give Tygra the chance to rest more. Ben promised to send something to eat shortly and left the couple alone. He knew that Jareid was barely restraining himself from checking the young tiger himself.
Indeed, as soon as the door closed after the Shaman, Jareid practically pounced on Tygra, moving the light sheets aside and sniffing every part of the tiger’s body, starting with his stomach. Tygra rolled his eyes in exasperation and tried unsuccessfully to push Jareid from him.
“Jareid! Please, I’m fine! There’s no need for you to exaggerate!”
He tried to laugh, but it was very painful, so he settled for a groan. Jareid ignored his protest and put his hands on Tygra’s flanks, carefully stroking the fur and making sure that the tiger’s body was still in one piece. He pushed Tygra slightly, making room for him to cuddle against the youth. He sucked and bit the teen’s neck and his hands continued roaming over the rest of his mate’s body, avoiding the bandaged patch on Tygra’s navel. The teen sighed resignedly as Jareid started to groom his face and head.
“You know, I’m not on my death bed here. You were the one who wanted me to do this! Why are you so anxious?”
He received a desperate kiss in answer and he started to worry. Perhaps there was something wrong after all? But Jareid’s next words convinced him that his mate was just mental and was trying to reassure himself.
“Let me be. I’ve been dying to have you in my arms from the moment you were out of surgery, but there were other people in here with us, and your stubborn brother refused to go away until you waked up.”
He continued kissing Tygra’s face and head. The tiger didn’t know if he should be relieved that Jareid had waited until they were alone to do what he was doing, or worried by the intensity of the jaguar’s reaction. He remembered when his leg had been shredded by a harpoon and shuddered at the memory of what his mate had done on that occasion. He was suddenly grateful that all of this having cubs deal had been technically Baal’s fault. If something went wrong Tygra was so going to place the blame on the king.
Jareid was calming down and trying to curl around Tygra without affecting the surgery wound. The youth sighed and held onto his mate’s body, trying to cuddle as much as he could.
“I’m fine. And you promised you were not going to go overprotective.”
“I did no such thing. I promised I’d be on my best behaviour, and I consider I was very patient with your brother. The brat should be grateful that I tolerated him here.”
Tygra groaned and leant his head on Jareid’s shoulder. He breathed deeply, grudgingly accepting that Jareid’s smell was better than the sterilized one of the room.
“You really should do something about that obsession with me Jareid. It’s starting to be creepy.”
Jareid chuckled and tightened his embrace.
“I don’t see any problem with my obsessing over you. I’m quite happy having you entirely for me.”
Tygra huffed.
“Of course, you don’t see a problem. Smartass.”
The jaguar chuckled again and continued kissing Tygra’s head sporadically. They remained like that until Bengali irrupted in the room again to bring them food.
&&&&&&&
The next day, early in the morning, Bengali made a final check up on Tygra and declared he could leave the Shamans’ wing. No sooner the words were pronounced than Jareid lifted Tygra from the bed to the utter embarrassment of said tiger.
“Jareid! Put me down! No one told you to bloody carry me!”
“Oh, shush Tygra. It’s easier this way. Besides, Bengali has just said that you are to rest as much as possible.”
“He didn’t meant that I have to stay off my feet the entire time!”
Bengali coughed discretely.
“Actually, I’d prefer that you avoid doing any type of exercise for today. You can be up again tomorrow and start moving normally around then.”
Tygra gaped incredulously at the Shaman, and Jareid smirked triumphantly.
“Ha! Shaman’s orders my tiger! You have no room to complain!”
“Ben! You traitor!”
“I’m sorry Tygra, but I want your wound to heal properly without any risk of infection, and as fast as possible. Tomorrow I’d give you a set of exercises to help your thoracic muscles to readjust, but today you are bedridden for all intents and purposes.”
“Beeeen!”
Tygra whined and Jareid chuckled in amusement.
“Come my tiger. You’d be all healed in no time!”
He promptly walked out of the room, taking his mate to their private quarters.
&&&&&&&
Tygra sighed contently as he showered. He let the water damp his fur and slide down his body. The past two days had been a nightmare. Jareid wouldn’t let him do anything! He didn’t want to know how it was going to be when he’d get pregnant. Right at the moment his mate had gone away because there was only too much work that he could do from his private study. Jareid couldn’t just ignore his responsibilities, as much as he’d want to, so he had had to see the commander and solve certain issues personally. He had ordered Tygra to stay in the room and not do anything strenuous. Honestly! As if he was going to fall from exhaustion from just walk from the bed to the bathroom! He was going to have a serious talk with his mate. He was not going to survive the pregnancy if Jareid continued to treat him like he had some kind of disability.
Tygra sighed. Jareid had been very anxious and wanted to keep Tygra on sight every moment. The young tiger didn’t know what to do to calm his mate. He gingerly touched the patch of exposed skin on his navel. The wound hadn’t given him any trouble, but he felt very weird. He had the subtle feeling that he had eaten too much and was full inside. He wasn’t hurting, but it wasn’t exactly pleasant either.
With a groan he finished his shower and walked to the changing room. He only put on a pair of forest green trousers and returned to the bedroom, just in time as Jareid entered by the arch to the study, almost out of breath.
“Tygra! What are you…?”
“Calm down, would you? I only took a shower, I’m not about to die!”
Jareid bristled and approached his mate with fast steps. Tygra felt threatened and growled, lifting his arms to try and stop Jareid from crowding him. Thankfully, the jaguar stopped at arms reach and narrowed his eyes.
“Tygra…”
“Look, I’m not a cub, all right? I can get up from the bloody bed and walk! You don’t need to be hovering over me every single minute of the day!”
Jareid blinked, somewhat baffled at Tygra’s outburst. Then he ran his fingers through his short mane and sighed.
“You need to rest.” He stated. “I don’t want you to stress yourself.”
“Well, I’m getting stressed from doing nothing! I can’t be lying down the entire day Jareid! I don’t have some weird terminal illness. You wanted me to do this! If I’m going to be carrying any cubs…!”
“I know!” The jaguar interrupted with a growl and Tygra automatically shut up and lowered his eyes, but he was still growling lowly. Jareid touched his cheek with his knuckles.
“Look, I know. It’s just hard to fight my instinct. I didn’t count on my own reaction to you being ‘hurt’. I have to keep telling myself that you are fine.”
Tygra calmed down enough to stop growling. He leaned on Jareid’s touch and held his mate’s hand close. He wasn’t sure how or when it happened, but he needed the jaguar’s caresses to feel reassured.
“I’m fine. I know everyone sees me too young. I am too young, but I can take care of myself. I believe it was you the one who was insisting to Bengali that I am strong enough to carry on with this.”
Jareid chuckled and closed the short space that still remained between him and the tiger.
“I was. I’d have to remember it myself.”
A rueful smile crossed Tygra’s lips and he leaned on his mate’s shoulder.
“I don’t like to feel useless, that’s all I ask. I chose to do this. I’m still not sure why I did it, but I chose to stay here with you.” He touched his navel and sighed. “Maybe I just want something of my own. Something to belong to.”
A strong arm surrounded his shoulders and Jareid kissed his forehead tenderly.
“You belong with me. My tiger. I’m never letting you go.”
Tygra sighed and allowed himself to believe that for the moment.
“Now, I suppose that you’d want to go and have lunch in the dinning room?”
Tygra’s ears perked up and he hurried to the closet to grab a shirt.
“Of course! What are we waiting for?”
Jareid chuckled in amusement and tried to control the impulse to carry Tygra out of the rooms.
&&&&&&&
The next week passed without much trouble. Tygra was getting incredibly bored and had taken to go see his brother’s training and help Jareid with paperwork. He soon was acquainted with the routines and moves of the royal guard and reading all he could on strategies and regulations. At the end of the week, the High Shaman declared that the surgery had been a success and, as no health problem had arisen and his body hadn’t given any indication to be rejecting the womb, it was deemed safe to start with the hormonal treatment.
Bengali explained what Tygra would have to expect and suggested to report even the smallest discomfort that the tiger could feel. The youth wasn’t fond of the idea, but he knew that Bengali needed to be aware of every reaction of his body in order to solve any problem that could arise on time.
Thankfully, Jareid had calmed down. With no visible wound on Tygra’s body and the teen practically staying in his own private study, Jareid’s exuberant possessiveness had toned down. Bengali was only worried of how Jareid’s instinct was going to interpret the sudden change that the hormones were going to bring on his mate. Tygra’s smell was bound to change, and his pheromones surely were going to make a number on him. So, the white tiger had a talk with the couple to warn them and hopefully prevent any crisis that could come from the fact of Tygra not smelling like himself.
Jareid promised to have it in mind, but both princes were dreading the moment the hormonal change was noticeable. They both knew that what the High Shaman and Bengali feared was Jareid’s instinct to stop recognizing Tygra as his mate, and for it to catalogue the new smell as unpleasant. It was a common complaint among male couples that underwent the “pregnancy procedure.” Many reported that the pheromones made them reject their chosen mates when they were too close. With Jareid’s instincts always in overdrive, the shamans were wary of the way the jaguar prince could react.
After two days, it turned out that their worries had been unfounded, or rather, focusing on the wrong end of the deal. Tygra’s pheromones made him smell like he was in heat. It provoked Jareid to be always horny and his sex drive went up straight to the sky. Tygra was going crazy. He thanked the spirits for his private room, because he just couldn’t have tolerated Jareid on top of him 24/7. It was bad enough at night. The tiger could barely sleep!
It took three days for his hormones to stabilize and another two for Jareid to manage to control himself around his mate. Tygra feared he wouldn’t be able to walk if the situation went on for much longer.
Finally, the High Shaman decided it was time for a first try, and Tygra was so nervous he couldn’t even eat properly. Lion-O took upon himself to be at his brother’s side the day before the procedure took place, and try to quell the tiger’s fears. The young tiger was very anxious and had chosen to go to the training courtyard to burn out some of it. The two brothers spared for the first time in more than a year, and Tygra found out that he didn’t need to hold back anymore. Lion-O had improved his technique and his attacks were stronger and confident. A far cry from the disorganized attempts he used to do at home. Tygra still won, but only because he was stronger and had more stamina than his little brother. Besides, Lion-O was very careful to tone down his blows without the tiger noticing. Both were exhausted when they finally decided to stop and sat on one of the courtyard’s benches.
“That was very good Lion-O. You have improved. I’m proud of you.”
The young lion smiled with joy at his brother’s praise. He crossed his legs, and leaned on the tiger’s flank.
“Thanks. I’m actually enjoying the training here. We are starting to use real swords!”
“Really? That’s great!”
Tygra messed his brother’s mane, and Lion-O swatted his hands away. They talked a bit more about their respective trainings. After a while, Tygra fell pensive and a worried frown started to appear on his forehead. Lion-O turned to look at him and sighed.
“Stop thinking about tomorrow Tygra! It’d do you no good to worry yourself sick!”
Tgyra chuckled nervously. If only he could stop thinking.
“It’s not easy. I’m starting to fear that this is not a good idea. What am I going to do with a cub?”
Lion-O hugged his brother’s arm and leaned his head on the stripped shoulder.
“You’d do great Tygra. Besides, you’re not going to raise him alone!”
“No. But that’s another thing that worries me. I don’t know if it is wise to trust Jareid with a cub! I can’t picture him as a parent, and I’m pretty scared of the way he reacts when he’s angry. What’s going to happen when our cub makes him loose his patience?”
“Then Ben would be there too, and Yeana and I, even queen Xilara. None of us is going to leave you to deal alone with the package.”
Tygra smiled gratefully at his brother, but his anxiousness was still there. Lion-O straightened on the bench and looked directly at the tiger’s profile.
“Ty, why did you choose to do this?”
The older prince bit his lower lip and looked down.
“I’m not really sure anymore. It was so clear at the moment.”
Lion-O pressed his lips and squeezed his brother’s hand sympathetically.
“Maybe you should remember the feeling. What exactly convinced you to accept to form a family with Jareid.”
Tygra’s smile became nostalgic for a second and then he nodded and played with Lion-O’s unruly mane a bit more. The lion growled and swatted his hands at him. They stayed outside until someone announced to them that it was diner time.
&&&&&&&&
That night, as Tygra lied awake at his mate’s side, his head pillowed on the broad chest and his ear listening to the steady beat of the jaguar’s heart, the tiger thought about Lion-O’s words. What exactly had happened to him? Did Claudus’ apparent abandonment have really hurt that much to decide not to return to Thundera?
Tygra sighed as he reopened an old wound in his heart. Claudus would always choose Lion-O over Tygra. Lion-O was his flesh and blood. His heir. As much as Claudus could love Tygra, the tiger would always be his adopted son. An outsider in a family that was not his own.
Tygra sighed inwardly. Was he doing the right thing? His relationship with Jareid was rocky and had not had the best of beginnings. He had been forced into it. Was it correct to bring a cub into a family that had been coerced into existence? To parents that didn’t love each other? Tygra shivered at that last thought. Jareid and he didn’t love each other. Was it possible to raise a cub without love?
Jareid moved, interrupting his train of thought. He turned to rest on his left side. His right arm went over Tygra’s torso and he mumbled something unintelligible. Tygra looked at Jareid’s sleeping face for a moment and caught sight of the side of the jaguar’s neck. There, very light, but still visible, was the mark he had done. He had bit Jareid about five different times in the same place, and the jaguar had allowed it. He lifted his hand and touched the marked spot gingerly. Jareid growled in his sleep, but almost immediately started to purr.
Tygra put his arms around his mate’s body and leaned his head against the jaguar’s sternum, rubbing his forehead against Jareid’s chin a couple of times. The jaguar prince responded with a grunt and his purring grew louder. Tygra smiled. Perhaps there was no love between them, but they had learned to care for each other, and they could still love their cub, no matter the circumstances that had led them to it.
Feeling somewhat calmer, he let Jareid’s purr lull him into sleep.
&&&&&&
The next day, Tygra was considering running away as a viable option. He was more nervous than the day of the surgery and he wanted to use his claws and scratch. Bengali of course was not going to let him do anything so self-destructive. The white tiger was keeping a vigilant eye on him as the final preparations were made.
Tygra gulped as he saw the thing that was to be used on him. This part of the procedure was not really difficult. He was not undergoing any major surgery like the first one. His womb was supposedly prepared to host an embryo and was only waiting for the implantation to take place. So, they were going to do just that. It wouldn’t require any surgery. It was going to be more like an injection. They were going to make an incision and insert a needle, wide enough for a microscopic bunch of cells to pass through and inside him. The wound would be very small, so he’d only need local anaesthesia.
Which meant he’d be awake for the entire procedure, and that was at the moment creeping him out. He was thinking of that big, huge, needle, more like a fencing sword in fact, maybe a bit wider, piercing his navel and stopping short from getting out through his lower back. Bengali approached him and put a hand on his shoulder, startling him.
“Hey, are you all right kit? You look pale.”
“Yeah, sure.” Tygra gulped and looked back at the fearful needle. Ben chuckled.
“You’re not going to feel it. Come, lie down.”
“You know Ben, I’ve been thinking. Wouldn’t it be possible for me to be knocked out for this? I really don’t want to see.”
“Then look the other way.”
Ben made Tygra lie down and injected the anaesthesia. The tiger sucked air. He swore he could feel the tiny needle moving under his skin.
“Whiskers.”
“You know you’re not actually feeling any pain.”
“Try to be in my place.”
“Look at me.”
Tygra turned his head to the side enough to see Bengali’s face.
“Come on, you can fight in the jungle and stand face to face to Jareid. You’re not afraid of pain when you’re training.”
“For your information, I’m not thinking about the pain when I’m fighting and this is not any kind of combat where I can defend myself. This is different, and I’m declaring myself incapable to treat it rationally.”
“Ok, let’s try to get you relaxed. Close your eyes.”
“Ben…”
“Just do it.”
Tygra sighed and followed his friend’s instructions. He tried to ignore the noise of the other shamans moving closer to him. Bengali’s hand closed over his right arm, grounding him.
“Breath deeply, once… twice… You better not faint because I don’t want to have to stop Jareid from destroying the clinic.”
Tygra scoffed.
“Oh, please! Do you really think he’d do that?”
“You don’t? It’s a miracle that no one has been hurt so far! The cat’s a menace!”
A smile graced the young tiger’s lips. He blinked to readjust his eyes, but tried to not look down, and he kept them closed.
“Ben, do you really think that Jareid and I are going to be capable of raising a cub?”
“Of course not! Are you insane? That’s why you’d have me, and the rest of the family, taking care of all three of you! Who knows what you’d do if left to your own devices!”
“Seriously Ben!” Tygra said a bit exasperated. The older tiger’s hand was immediately on his forehead, caressing him.
“Don’t worry too much kit. You’re going to manage just fine. The part of all of us being here to support you is very much truth. You’d have all the help you’d need, and more.”
“I’m trying not to think too much about it, but I can’t help it.”
“Every new parent is terrified at some point. I think it comes in the job description.”
“Jareid doesn’t look too worried if you ask me.”
“Just wait ‘till he has a crying cub in his arms and no idea of what is wrong.”
“Oh dear spirits. I’d rather not think about that!”
Ben chuckled and Tygra sighed.
“Why are you such an expert?”
“My oldest sister has a three years old cub, and is expecting her second. She used to run to our mother every single day with a new crisis for the first months. She got a hold of cub-caring eventually.”
Tygra opened his mouth to say something more, when a slight discomfort on his mid-section made him tense instantly. He whimpered and the High Shaman’s voice was heard.
“Relax. We are finished here. We only have to wait to see your body’s reaction and in a couple of days we’d be able to confirm if he embryo had completed the implantation and if it’s in fact developing as it should.”
Tygra blinked and lifted his head in surprise. The machine was being pulled away from him, and he could distinguish a small area on his tummy where the fur looked messed.
“Wha…?”
Bengali looked amused at him.
“See? Told you, you weren’t going to feel anything.”
Tygra blushed and the High Shaman smiled at him.
“You can go now. If you start to feel any discomfort call Ben immediately.”
“Mmm… Can I stay here a bit longer?” He asked, suddenly worried about having to face Jareid. Both Bengali and Xiar frowned.
“Is there a problem?” Bengali asked seriously.
Tygra sighed. He knew by then that everyone in the palace tended to be wary of Jareid’s bad moods.
“Not a problem exactly. Well, it depends on the point of view. I swear that the pheromones turned on some switch in his mind and I don’t know how to turn it off again! You think he only cared about sex before, you should see him now!”
“My, I rather not, thank you.” Said Ben, understanding the boy’s dilemma. Xiar’s frown however didn’t go away.
“I was under the impression that he was controlling his urges now.”
“Well, a bit. He tries to actually get to the bed before he jumps me, and he’s not hunting me down the entire palace because he has not seen me for more than a few minutes. But still, a good entire night’s sleep would be great.”
The Shaman’s fears seemed to quell and Ben took the word.
“Sorry Tygra. We really didn’t see that coming. The usual reaction to the treatment is in fact the very opposite. Though, in retrospective, we should have expected something like this. Jareid, after all, is more instinctual and he used to have no qualms about the gender of his bed partners.”
Tygra raised an eyebrow in confusion.
“How would that have affected his reaction?”
“Well, most of the cats that decide to undergo this procedure to have cubs are male partners, and they choose this option because they don’t feel even the least bit attracted to females. You have to know that only females have a heat cycle, thus the special pheromones that they produce.”
“Oh.”
Tygra nodded in understanding. That, however, didn’t help him to solve his problem. Granted, Jareid had been more in control for the past couple of nights, and had actually been mellow and more caring with him, but the young tiger really needed to sleep!
Bengali wanted to reassure the teen some more, but Jareid irrupted in the room at that moment, apparently tired of waiting for Tygra to get out, and assuming that there had been some sort of complication. He summarily ignored the High Shaman’s reassurances that everything was fine and glared at Bengali, clearly expecting an explanation from him. The white tiger sighed and proceeded to repeat what the High Shaman had already said. Tygra was fine, they were only giving him some advice and instructions on what to do if an emergency occurred. Jareid nodded at his friend, and once he was cleared to take his mate out of the clinic, he lost no time in doing so.
Tygra watched the exchange with apprehension. It was not the first time he saw Jareid looking for Bengali’s words rather than the High Shaman’s. Xiar didn’t seem offended by it, but Tygra felt uneasiness in his gut when his mate acted in that way. He had respected Jaga and held his advice. Even if he sometimes had doubted the cleric’s words, he’d never have dared to blatantly disregard the old cat, much less to his very face. He addressed the issue once they were clear of the Shamans’ wing.
“Jareid, don’t you trust the High Shaman?”
The jaguar prince huffed and his eyes hardened.
“I have some personal issues with him. But I know he’s the best. That’s why he is High Shaman after all.”
“But you don’t entirely trust him.”
“I would have preferred that only Bengali were in charge of your health. But apparently I have no say in this situation.”
“And, Bengali is still young. Not experienced enough to take charge of something as complicated as this.” Tygra said, lifting an eyebrow at his mate, who huffed again.
“There’s that too, yes.”
Tygra shook his head.
“You know he’s going to be your right hand one day, don’t you?”
“What are you talking about? As far as I’m concerned there’d only be you and Bengali at my side when I’d get to be the king.”
“You can’t dismiss the entire council Jareid.”
“Fine, Ben’s father can stay, maybe the Chief Commander too, but only because I’m fully intending to drop all things concerning to the military on their hands.”
Tygra groaned as he started to list the reasons why the council existed in the first place, and why it was a bad idea to dismiss it or overlook it. Jareid however didn’t seem to be paying much attention to what he was saying, until Tygra huffed in annoyance.
“You know, sometimes you remind me too much of Lion-O when he was taking his lessons in Thundera.”
“Hey! Don’t compare me with the kit! He’s a thirteen years old!”
“And that’s older than your mental age, I swear!”
Jareid suddenly pushed Tygra against the wall and kissed the living lights out of the surprised tiger. When he paused to breath, Tygra could barely stand upright.
“That looks to you like something a thirteen years old could pull?”
“Smartass! And I…”
“Wow. Not even a little awestruck? I suppose that is some kind of accomplishment.”
Tgyra turned his head to his right towards the cat that had interrupted them. One of the young noble females was standing a few meters from them, looking critically at their display. Jareid growled menacingly at her, and when that didn’t have the desired effect of she turning around and disappearing, the jaguar prince turned fully to confront her, putting himself between the female and his mate. Tygra rolled his eyes at the jaguar’s back, but let him be. He sincerely didn’t want to get into a verbal fight with Jareid in front of witnesses. Besides, the female in question was one of Jareid’s lovers. Let him handle his own screw-ups.
The jaguaress advanced to them and Jareid tensed as if he was going to attack her. Tygra reasoned that the jaguar wouldn’t just attack someone without provocation, but he was starting to worry. The female though didn’t seem concerned. She stopped just out of arm’s reach from them.
“How cute! Are you protecting him from the likes of me? Honestly Jareid, what he needs is someone to protect him from you. And I told you before, I don’t mind sharing.”
“And I told you to get lost Saixa! How many times do I have to repeat it?”
The female seemed unaffected. She looked past Jareid to the teen that was getting nervous.
“He’s too young Jareid, barely of age. He’s not going to give you a cub. His body is not going to resist the strain.”
Tygra tensed at the words, and Jareid’s growl intensified.
“Shut up Saixa!”
“Is he aware of that, Jareid? A male carrier has less chance to take a pregnancy to term as it is.”
“Saixa…”
“Considering his age, it’s going to be a miracle if he even gets pregnant at all. Sometimes it takes up to five tries for a successful pregnancy to happen. Sometimes they never succeed.”
Jareid roared and Tygra grabbed his right arm. The tiger knew everything that the woman was saying. He had read enough about male pregnancy. But at the moment he was getting more worried about the possibility of Jareid hitting the girl. He wished she’d shut up. Either she had a death wish or she couldn’t see the danger right in front of her!
“Don’t get mad at me Jareid! You know it’s the truth! You know that a female is your best chance to have an heir this year! A male that young can’t carry cubs! He’d get hurt trying!”
Ok, she had a death wish. Tygra couldn’t really do much about it, save try to hold his mate back.
“I said shut the fuck up Saixa! I don’t care what you think! Get the hell out of my sight before I make you!”
The female smirked at him and looked in amusement at the firm grasp that Tygra had on the jaguar’s arm.
“Don’t worry little one. Jareid likes to threaten a lot, but he’s not going to actually harm me.”
Tygra wasn’t so sure of that, and judging by the angry scoff that Jareid gave at the statement, he’d rather not take any risks.
“Just come a little closer and we’d test those words Saixa…”
The woman looked at her prince defiantly.
“If you wanted to really hurt me, the boy wouldn’t be able to stop you.”
Now Tygra was starting to be afraid. Thankfully, the jaguaress decided to turn around with one last statement for Jareid.
“Remember my prince, I don’t mind to share. I promise I can take good care of both of you!”
She disappeared behind a corner. Jareid was fuming.
“That little vixen! I’d screw her neck!”
“You’re not going to do anything of the sort Jareid!”
“Why not?”
Tygra looked incredulously at his jaguar mate.
“You can’t just go around hurting people that annoys you! You certainly can’t kill anyone unless there’s really no other choice!”
“Relax. I’m not killing anybody, I’m just going to squeeze her neck a bit.”
“Jareid…” Tygra growled. The jaguar embraced him.
“Don’t be upset my tiger. Cats like her don’t deserve your attention.”
He started to kiss Tygra’s forehead and caress his back. Tygra immediately felt the slight change in his mate’s touch.
“Don’t try to distract me with sex Jareid! I’m not like you!”
“Come on my tiger.” Jareid almost whined, refusing to let go of the teen’s body.
“No! We spent almost the entire night ‘playing.’ Wasn’t that enough?”
“I can’t help it. You smell delicious.”
Jareid lifted Tygra easily and kissed his mouth, then borrowed his nose in his mate’s neck and breathed deeply.
“So delicious… I want to be inside you and never let go.”
Tygra almost sobbed.
“Jareid, please. I’m really tired, and I seriously need to sleep more than a couple of hours!”
The jaguar resumed the walk towards his rooms, still carrying Tygra.
“Don’t worry, you don’t have to move a finger. I promise I’d let you sleep the entire day.”
Tygra groaned, knowing that he was not going to escape Jareid’s clutches anytime soon. He only hopped the jaguar was done quickly and actually leave him to sleep the day off. He was so tired that he didn’t care that it was still noon.
&&&&&&&
Tygra woke up curled on his bed and shivering. He felt disoriented and lifted his head just a bit to have a peak around. The room was dark. It was night, and a heavy rain was falling. The lightning illuminated the room from time to time.
Tygra scowled. He had not intended to sleep for so long. He shivered again and he tried to curl more and get under Jareid at the same time. He was cold and very, very thirsty.
He debated for a moment if he should wake up Jareid or go find a glass of water and some covers himself. He was wondering where he could find a heavy comforter when an acute pain in his stomach took him by surprise. He groaned loudly and braced himself. Jareid moved behind him, and soon the sleepy voice of the older prince reached his ears.
“Tygra? Are you awake?”
There was another peak of pain and Tygra cried in misery, clutching his midsection as if he was seriously considering gutting himself. He couldn’t stop shivering and his teeth started doing rattling noises. Jareid moved quickly and was in an instant crouching in front of his mate, who moaned at the loss of body heat.
“Tygra, look at me. Are you in pain?”
“…’ss … hurtsss…”
Jareid took his communicator quickly and called Bengali. Then, he covered Tygra with the sheets, but it was evident that it wasn’t enough to provide heat to the tiger. He opened a drawer and got out the covers he had used to travel with the warriors to the mountains to train. He covered Tygra with those, and it seemed to calm the teen a little.
“It’s ok Tygra. Ben would be here in a minute. He’d sort you out.”
Tygra wanted to answer, but the pain was getting worse and he could only gasp. He felt as if someone was driving a sword through him repeatedly. Then, his abdomen contracted and he cried out.
Jareid was at a loss. Tygra was in pain and he had no means to stop it. What was taking Bengali so long?
Tygra cried again, and Jareid was just about to lift his mate and carry him to the Shamans’ wing when Ben finally arrived, healer’s bag in hand.
The Shaman assessed the situation and quickly put himself to work. He didn’t like that Tygra’s belly hurt so much, and he needed to stabilize the youth’s temperature as quickly as possible. He instructed Jareid to help him and the jaguar prince soon had Tygra sitting on his lap.
“Open your mouth Tygra. Drink this.”
“… B-Ben…”
“It’s fine Tygra. This is going to make you feel better.”
Tygra swallowed the medicine and Bengali injected him something too. The pain lessened slightly and Tygra moaned.
“Put on some clothes Jareid. We are taking Tygra to the clinic.”
“What’s happening Ben?”
“He’s rejecting the embryo. Or, it never implanted in the first place, and his body is trying to get rid of the leftovers. I have to take his temperature down and stabilize him.”
Jareid clenched his teeth, trying to tell himself that it was just the first try. Something like this always happened on the first try. He had read all about it.
He followed Bengali’s instructions and carried Tgyra to the clinic, hoping against hope that his friend could help his mate and solve the problem quickly.
&&&&&&&
For two days the Shamans were trying to stabilize Tygra, until they had to give up and accept that the implantation hadn’t been successful. Tgyra’s womb had already shed the lining off, and the tiger’s body was trying to get rid of the resulting bloody mess. They had to drain the blood via a small tube that they inserted into Tygra’s belly. The cut they made was very small, as they didn’t want to upset the tiger’s body even more. They retired the tube and put a stitch in the cut as soon as there was no more blood getting out.
The High Shaman gave the king a full report, but Jareid wanted Bengali to explain him what had happened. The white tiger talked with both cats in the clinic’s room where Tygra was recovering from the ordeal. The youth looked very pale, but at least the pain was gone.
Bengali explained what had had to be done, and that they believed that the embryo had failed to implant properly. Another theory was that the embryo had formed a cyst and had failed to produce the hormones that would have had maintained the lining covering the womb. Either way, the womb had tried to dispose of the blood and tissue that was no longer needed, but it had no means to do so, as Tygra was a male. The tiger’s body had reacted rather strongly.
Tygra sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. He was lying on the bed; his head was leaning on Jareid’s thigh, and his mate was massaging his scalp in an effort to soothe him. He still felt terrible, but didn’t want to sleep. He heard Bengali’s explanation like he was listening to a lecture. He felt almost detached from the whole thing.
“So, it was too much to ask for a success at the first try, right?”
Bengali sighed at the teen’s attempt to dismiss what had happened. Jareid scratched tenderly the back of Tygra’s ears and looked at him worriedly.
“It’s very difficult to have a successful first attempt. There’s nothing to do but try again.”
Tygra felt weird. He had been conscious that on the 98% of the cases the first try was unsuccessful. Still, he had been praying to be among the extremely lucky 2% that made it without problems. He bit his lips. He had known beforehand that he’d probably loose the embryo this first time, but it still felt as some kind of failure.
Jareid looked down at his mate in concern. It worried him the apparent lack of reaction on the tiger’s part. Tygra was almost absent.
“Tygra, how are you feeling?” He asked while his fingers combed the stripped fur on the tiger’s head. His mate shrugged.
“I’m just… tired, I think.”
Jareid scowled and looked towards Bengali, who was also worried for the young cat.
“He needs to sleep and recover strength. Let him rest for a couple of hours before we do a last scan. Just to be sure that there is no more blood pooling inside him, and then you can take him to your room.”
Jareid nodded and he continued playing with his mate’s short mane. Tygra entered some sort of slumber, focusing only on Jareid’s fingers, and not thinking in anything else.
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A Tale of Jaguars