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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
- 20
- 21
- 22
WARNINGS: This contains Slash, and abuse, as well as mpreg. It is dark and treats themes only for mature audience, such as 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.
AN: Thank you Dragon77 for your continued reviews. I’m glad you’re liking the story.
CHAPTER 21. CUBS AND POLITICS.
Tygra looked lovingly at his cubs cuddling comfortably in their bassinet. Both had seemed really happy and Tygra had felt reassured in his belief that they had missed each other. The contrasts of their colouring made Tygra think of day and night together. He had worried at first that Akbal could hurt Itzamma-Kim, who still had a bandage protecting the stitches on his belly, much like his dad. But Itzamma didn’t give any sign of discomfort when his brother cuddled to him. Both cubs just curled around each other, fitting perfectly.
Tygra ran his hand along the back of his first-born. Akbal looked every inch like a tiny black tiger, but Itzamma resembled more the hybrid he was. The white fur on his face was only marred by two slightly darker lines below the eyes; the mane on his head was relatively abundant and it stood on end; the light yellow of his fur became darker, almost copper, on his back, and he had three stripes running across it; the rest of him was covered in spots, broken rosettes like Jareid’s. Both cubs were only on their nappies. It was a very hot night after all, and Snarf was at their feet already.
The tiger scowled at the furry pet curled tightly at the bottom of the bassinet. He wondered how Snarf had managed to fit in there. He hadn’t realized that the critter had followed him until it was making itself comfortable in the bassinet. He caressed his two cubs again. They didn’t look disturbed by the pet, their tiny feet didn’t even reach the spot where Snarf was. Either the bassinet was too large, or his cubs were unusually tiny. He decided to hold onto the first option, as Jareid was known for choosing the biggest thing he could find of everything.
He was interrupted in his considerations when Jareid stood at the entrance of the bedroom and coughed to call his attention.
“Is it safe to approach you now?”
Tygra blushed and covered his face in mortification. Jareid chuckled and walked towards his mate to hug him. Tygra leaned on the jaguar prince, still not looking at his face.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened to me. I just wanted to make sure that Itzamma was fine…”
“It’s ok. Ben said that it’s normal. They’re sleeping now, don’t they?”
“Yes. I have to make sure that we have enough bottles. I fed them in the nursery.”
Jareid kissed the tiger’s forehead and pulled him to the bed.
“Don’t worry. Saixa is going to bring you fresh milk. Now, how about a bit of time for us?”
Tygra gulped, feeling Jareid’s hands under his shirt. He was not ready yet to have sex, but he couldn’t find words to stop Jareid from fondling him. Before he knew what has happening he was on his back, half undressed with Jareid over him. He whimpered and tried to close his legs, but the jaguar put one of his own in the way, big hands trapped his wrists and pinned them at both sides of his head. Jareid attacked the tiger’s neck and forced the legs to open with his knees. Tygra gasped. He could feel his hips starting to protest.
“Ja… Jareid… please… I’m not really in the mood…”
“I’ll put you in it…”
Tygra moaned as Jareid started to explore his body in earnest. In short moments, both cats were naked, and Tygra was worrying about his wound. He still had the stitches and Bengali had clearly said that he couldn’t do forced movements. He wasn’t in pain though, he only felt a dull discomfort, so he supposed that he could let Jareid do the work and have his way with him without moving too much. That notion however, flew out of the window when Jareid grabbed his thighs and pushed his legs up to almost touch his chest. He cried out in pain then. His claws imbedded themselves in the mattress, ripping the sheets, and he was out of breath. Jareid stopped all motion and kept himself still, looking at the tense features of his tiger, who was trying to get air into his lungs again.
“Tygra?”
The tiger gasped and tried to relax. The pain wouldn’t go away. He tried to beg Jareid to stop, not realizing that the jaguar was no longer moving.
“Ja… Jareid… please… s-stop…”
“Sh… relax Tygra. Breath.”
Jareid let Tygra’s legs go and helped the tiger to lie on his side, so he could breath easily. Tygra curled and one hand went to his stomach, protecting the caesarean wound. Jareid held him from behind, still giving him kisses and sucking on his neck. After a while, the pain diminished and Tygra was more relaxed. He moaned again and turned around to cuddle against Jareid.
“I’m sorry. It just hurt too much suddenly.”
“It’s ok. I’m sorry I forced you. I got impatient. I’m just dying to feel you around me again.” He kissed Tygra again tenderly. “But it’s ok. I’ll wait. I don’t want to hurt you.”
Tygra sighed and caressed his mate’s flank. It had taken time to get used to the body of another male so close to his. Now, those nights feeling like he was suffocating in Jareid’s bed seemed so long behind. Now it was comforting to feel the jaguar’s arms around him. Like he was wanted.
He ran his hand lower, and soon he found the prince’s half-erect member, which stood to attention as soon as he brushed past it. Jareid groaned in his ear.
“I can help with this at least.” Said Tygra, getting a firm hold of his mate’s length. Jareid’s embrace tightened. He didn’t oppose to his tiger’s offer.
&&&&&&
Later that night, Tygra put Akbal in the bassinet after giving him his milk. The cub immediately returned to his position against his brother’s body. Itzamma barely stirred. Tygra waited for his yellow cub to wake up completely and ask for food. However, the minutes passed by, and Itzamma went on sleeping peacefully.
Tygra frowned. He had given Itzamma his last bottle of milk four hours ago. Just after his brother. His cub should be hungry. He pressed his lips together. He couldn’t remember if Itzamma-Kim had actually cried for food the previous time. He had just finished with Akbal, put his black cub down, and immediately lifted Itzamma to feed him too. He still had been in full ‘mother-with-newborn-cub’ mode, and hadn’t waited to listen for a cry. But his cub had been awake, and had taken the bottle readily. It had been in fact the first time that Tygra had fed his first born, and Itzamma had eaten an ounce less than his brother, but Ben had warned him that it was normal for the first time, especially with the surgery.
Tygra looked at his yellow cub worriedly, not sure what to do. After a few minutes, he lifted Itzamma out of the bassinet. Akbal stirred unhappily and stretched out. His tiny feet barely touched the sleeping Snarf. He didn’t cry though, and went back to sleep. Tygra cradled Itzamma-Kim in one arm and tried to coax him to take the bottle with the other. His cub didn’t take notice.
“Come on Itzamma. You have to eat.”
He pressed the tit of the bottle against his son’s tiny lips, trying to force it past them. Itzamma scrunched his face and turned his head away. Tygra tried again. Itzamma made an angry noise and allowed the tit to enter his mouth, but he wouldn’t suck on it. Tygra was frustrated.
“Itzamma… Son, eat something, please. You are recovering, you need your milk.”
He moved the bottle around and pushed it gently. Itzamma whimpered unhappily and wriggled his entire body. He disengaged from the tit and his hands went up to his face and down again. Tygra sighed. Jareid stirred on the bed and lifted his head.
“Something’s the matter?”
“Itzamma-kim doesn’t want to eat.”
“So, he’s not hungry. Let him be.”
“But he has to take some milk. It’s been four hours since his previous bottle. He should be hungry.”
“I don’t think he cares. Look, leave it for now. In another four hours he’d be hungry enough.”
Tygra looked doubtfully at his son, who seemed to be sleeping again.
“I don’t want to starve him.”
“You’re not starving him. If he cries before the four hours are done, you’d feed him then.”
Tygra sighed again and gave up. He put Itzamma back in the bassinet and returned to the bed. He still remained awake about fifteen minutes, waiting for Itzamma to cry, but there was no luck.
Akbal woke up right on schedule and started his mewling. Tygra got up and tended to him. He changed his cub’s nappy and gave him his milk. Then he burped him and rubbed his little belly to stimulate the cub’s bowels. Soon enough, Akbal was back in the bassinet, contently resting against his brother, who hadn’t even stirred in all that time.
Tygra waited again for Itzamma to ask for milk, but the cub didn’t wake up. Tygra looked at the window worriedly. It was early morning already. He could tell that the sun will appear in the horizon soon. Itzamma had gone almost nine hours without eating. Worried, Tygra got his cub out of the bassinet and tried again to give him the bottle. Itzamma was not amused. He wriggled and mewled in distress, refusing to take the tit into his mouth.
“Itzamma, please. It’s the same milk. You liked it well enough yesterday.”
The cub stretched and threw his head backwards. Tygra panicked and put the bottle away in favour of getting a better hold on his cub. He cradled the tiny form securely again and rocked him a bit to get him to calm down. When his son was quiet again, he turned to take the bottle of milk to try once more. He put the bottle in position, and stopped short. Itzamma’s clear blue eyes were looking at him intently. Tygra gasped. He could have sworn that his son was glaring at him. It took some moments before his brain caught on the fact that Itzamma’s eyes were open for the first time. However, he couldn’t enjoy the moment. He was too worried because Itzamma needed to eat.
“Oh love, you have beautiful eyes sweet. But please, just take a few mouthfuls.”
Itzamma made an unhappy noise and refused again to take the tit. Tygra sighed in defeat and put his son in the bassinet. Then he got hold of the communicator and called Bengali urgently.
&&&&&&&
“Everything seems in order. His wound is healing, and his intestines look to be functional. There’s nothing to worry.”
“But he wouldn’t eat. He spent the night without drinking an ounce of milk.”
Ben frowned slightly. Jareid and Tygra had taken both cubs to the shamans’ wing so Bengali could check up Itzamma-Kim. Tygra was very worried. Jareid seemed to be waiting to what Ben had to say to know if he should panic too. At the moment, the jaguar was content with holding Akbal, while Tygra hovered anxiously over the exploration table where Itzamma was lying asleep. The cub seemed undisturbed by Ben’s hands poking and prodding him.
“Some cubs do that. Maybe Itzamma-Kim is one of the few that spend the entire night sleeping and only eat on daytime. It is possible.”
Tygra bit his lips, not really sure if he wanted to be reassured. His cub could still have something serious. Jareid on his part seemed satisfied.
“So, he doesn’t need anymore tests.”
“Let him be for now. If he doesn’t take his next two feeds we’d do more invasive tests.”
Tygra nodded unhappily and lifted his cub in his arms. He didn’t like to not know what was happening with Itzamma, but he couldn’t say that there was something wrong with him. The little cub didn’t give any signs that he was in pain or uncomfortable. Tygra had just changed his nappy and everything had looked normal. He just wouldn’t eat. They returned to their rooms with Tygra still worrying.
Akbal woke for his milk when he was supposed to. Tygra did the ritual of feeding and changing his cub with an ear directed towards the bassinet. When he finished with Akbal he redirected his efforts towards his other cub. This time he didn’t wait for Itzamma to cry. He pulled his yellow cub out of the bassinet and gave him the bottle without stopping to check if Itzamma was even awake. He wanted to cry in relief when the little cub took the tit readily and started sucking. He sat down on the armchair and looked at his cub’s clear blue eyes as the little one drank his milk happily. He took four and a half ounces of milk and then returned to sleep as Tygra changed his nappy.
The tiger rearranged his two cubs in the bassinet and let them sleep, more at ease now that the two had had their fill of milk.
&&&&&&&
Over the following days the twins got into a steady routine. They fed every four hours, they were evacuating regularly, and sleeping the rest of the time.
Itzamma-kim would never wake up at nights. He slept even when his brother was making a ruckus at his side. He was in fact a very quiet cub. He would not cry at all, not even when his nappy was dirty. That made Tygra worry and he checked Itzamma’s behind every hour.
Akbal opened his eyes two days after his brother. He had deep blue eyes, like two tiny sapphires. Tygra was very happy with his two sons. He didn’t want to leave their side, and he wouldn’t allow anyone, but Jareid, to see them. Lion-O and Yeana were the only exceptions, and they helped Tygra to change the twins once or twice. Saixa only saw the tiger when she delivered the milk, and Ben every time Tygra called for some emergency. The rest of the world had simply ceased to exist for the young tiger.
Jareid was very pleased with his little family. He informed his father of every change of the twins, but was in no hurry to take them out of the rooms to officially present them to the council. It was summarily decided that they were going to wait for the third cub to be born before making any arrangements, as presenting the royal cubs would require a ceremony and a huge celebration for the entire kingdom. Tygra hated the idea, as it would force him to expose his cubs to the world. He didn’t want to, and he’d snarl at the mere mention of it.
Politics aside, Tygra’s friends and hunter teammates had sent their congratulations to the young parent, and the tiger was very touched by it. Jareid was surprised that his mate was not pressuring to return to training, but Bengali assured him that once the twins were a month old, Tygra would feel less protective and would return to normal male behaviour. Jareid was not sure he liked the idea, so he shoved it aside and enjoyed Tygra’s willingness to stay confined in their rooms while it lasted. He even helped with the cubs when he was around, and Tygra allowed him to actually hold them.
Jareid found out that he liked to take care of Itzamma-Kim. His first-born was very quiet and didn’t make a fuss when he was bathed or changed. Itzamma even accepted the bottle from Jareid instead of Tygra once, something that made Tygra feel incredibly jealous, and he growled at Jareid and demanded his cub back. Jareid surrendered the cub readily, and the little one changed arms and continued feeding without seeming to be perturbed at all by the debacle.
The incident however, worried Bengali more than the news that Itzamma was not eating had. Itzamma-Kim was not supposed to accept food from anyone but Tygra until he was at least a month old. He worried for a moment that the cub had not bonded with his parent, but that was a ridiculous notion. Itzamma was eating after all. Cubs that failed to bond wouldn’t eat. He wanted to make an experiment and convinced Tygra to let him try to give Itzamma his bottle. Tygra wasn’t too comfortable with the idea, and he looked with tightly pressed lips as Bengali took Itzamma-Kim in his arms and tried to feed him. Itzamma, however, wouldn’t take the tit. He actually cried for the first time ever, startling Ben, and prompting Tygra to snatch him from the shaman’s arms. Tygra growled at Ben and rocked his cub, kissing the tiny forehead lovingly and reassuring him that everything was alright. In a few moments, Itzamma calmed down and took his milk from Tygra. He didn’t close his eyes for still a good half an hour though, and Tygra reproached Ben for having scared his little cub.
It was determined then that Itzamma had bonded with both his parents, which was rare, but not unheard of.
As the days went by, Tygra progressively became less anxious and protective. By the time Lion-O’s birthday came by, the tiger was more agreeable to the idea of taking his cubs out of the rooms and let the family and close friends to meet them. His cubs were three days short of being a month old, and they had gained weight and grow a little, but he still saw them tiny.
They had a reunion in one of the sitting rooms in the Royal chambers, and everyone was happy to see how well the cubs were doing. Xilara was enchanted with Akbal, who had her same colouring, even the same tone of eyes. She held him for some minutes, but then lost herself in thought and her eyes filled with unshed tears. Baal took the cub from her, and returned him to his tiger parent. Tygra was confused over the incident, but Bengali told him to let it pass, and that they’d talk later.
Jareid scowled worriedly at his mother, but then sighed and helped Yeana to held Itzamma for some moments. The girl was amused by the cub’s blonde mane, which insisted on standing on end. She said that her nephew was born to be a rebel because of that. Baal actually groaned at the notion, declaring that he wasn’t going to take another rebellious cub like Jareid had been. Tygra chuckled at the disgruntled face Jareid gave to his father.
Lion-O and Yeana held Akbal and Itzamma-Kim for a family picture. After that, they had lunch and Lion-O received his presents and cut a cake. The young lion was happy that his brother was taking to parenthood so well, and teased him a bit. Tygra grumped a little, but he couldn’t deny that he loved his tiny cubs.
Saixa got her first good look of the little ones she was providing milk for. She even held Itzamma while Tygra struggled to put Akbal into a clean nappy. Cheetara marvelled at how at ease Tygra seemed to be around his cubs. Both parents were positively glowing, and Jareid even let her to have a closer look at the twins. The cheetah approached her friend, who was looking anxiously as Bengali checked Itzamma’s belly, just to show that his surgery wound was healed, and had only left a large scar. He still hadn’t forgiven his friend entirely for making his cub cry.
“Parenthood has turned you into a restless maniac, it seems.”
Tygra looked at her and huffed. “It’s really unsettling actually. But my cubs are worth it. I love them.”
“I can see that. They are lovely, Tygra. I bet you father is going to give you his blessing for them.”
“You really think he would? Lion-O said he was very mad.”
“He was. But he’s your father. Once he meets his grandsons, he’d be unable to hold any grudge against them.”
Tygra sighed. He wanted to take his sons to Thundera. Jareid had promised he’d take them, but he was unsure. He didn’t want to expose his cubs to the conflict between the two kings. Perhaps he should wait until Claudus was more accepting of the situation.
He looked towards the couch, where Bengali and Saixa were talking with Xilara, each holding a cub. The queen looked so sad, and it was evident that she wanted to hold Akbal again, but she was restraining herself from doing it. Tygra was a bit unsettled by it. He was about to go and hand Akbal to her, so she could cradle him in her arms for a while, but then the door to the room slid open and Xiar entered, followed by Kaleb.
Jareid almost growled. He stood from the spot where he had been teaching Lion-O and Yeana how to play cards, and walked towards the couches. He took Akbal from a surprised Saixa, and cuddled his cub close to his chest. Tygra was alarmed by his mate’s actions and followed his lead, taking Itzamma from Bengali and getting at Jareid’s side. His eyes roamed around the room, looking for the danger his mate had spotted. Xiar sighed and walked towards the queen, as Kaleb stopped where Baal was standing to have a few words with the king.
“Come on Tygra. We’re going.”
Jareid grabbed his mate’s arm and started to guide him towards the door. Snarf jumped from the chair where he had been and followed them. Before they got out however Baal stooped his son.
“Jareid, Xiar assisted your sons’ birth. He also has been following the pregnancy and practiced a difficult surgery on your eldest. Don’t you think they’re safe enough with him?”
Jareid snarled and glanced towards Kaleb. The jaguar councillor retreated respectfully a few steps.
“Perhaps they’re safe. However, I’d prefer if he never has something more to do with my sons. That also includes the majority of the elders and your older councillors. No one but me is going to have any say in my family.”
Baal sighed and got out of the way of his son. Tygra followed his mate in befuddlement. He knew the jaguar prince had problems with the High Shaman, but he had never been so openly hostile before. Not in his presence anyway. They returned to their rooms quickly, just in time for the twins’ feed.
Later that evening, as Tygra left his sons in the bassinet with Snarf curled at their feet, Bengali poked his head in the bedroom.
“How’s everyone doing?”
“Well, Jareid is a bit grumpy. And he wouldn’t tell me what his problem with Xiar is. I think he believes that I won’t consider it such a big deal.”
“Jareid tends to take things too personal for his own good.”
Tygra guided Ben to the sitting room, so they wouldn’t disturb the twins. After they sat down, Bengali asked.
“Where’s Jareid?”
“He had work to finish. Apparently there was an accident in the Forum, and the city guard had to step in.”
Ben nodded and Tygra got more serious.
“Do you know what happened between Jareid and Xiar? And what’s the matter with queen Xilara? She looked very touched by Akbal’s appearance.”
“Both are related in a way. I only know for certain what is in the health history; I wasn’t here at the time everything happened. It is personal, and the queen should be the one to tell you about it in detail. Jareid is going to tell you how he perceives the situation, and everyone else would only tell gossip. Baal won’t even mention it at all. He would pretend nothing is amiss. I can only tell you that queen Xilara tried for too long to have a cub.”
Tygra scowled. He knew that black jaguars were not too common in Ix-Maal. It was some kind of mutation. The black panthers, which were more abundant in Thundera, were actually leopards, but because their population was so vast, they had started to consider themselves another clan entirely. The black colour was considered a strong family trait. He had never heard of a black panther, male of female, that had any issues regarding procreation. That was mostly heard from the cheetahs.
He sighed and looked towards the door to the rest of the rooms. It was almost a given that Xilara could have had at least one black cub. Akbal had inherited not only her colouring, but also her eyes. It was understandable that she had felt moved, seeing an image of the cub she could not have. Ben sighed.
“Look, from what I get, it is a complicated issue. Politics had never been my forte. I guess with time you could gain a clearer picture. Apparently, there were a lot of raised voices when Baal decided to mate with Xilara. Jareid has always resented that, even if he didn’t actually live through it, and his animosity towards Xiar is tied to it too.”
Tygra growled lowly. He knew enough about politics, and was observant enough, to have the inkling that the jaguars didn’t look with good eyes a black one in the upper levels of power. He felt sympathetic towards Jareid. He would have hated anyone saying that his mother was not fit to be queen only because she had a different colour than his father. If Xiar had been among those ‘raised voices’ then Tygra didn’t want him to have anything to do with Akbal’s health either. His thoughts focused on his little black cub, and he started to worry. Akbal not only had the black colouring, but also tiger’s stripes. It was very probable that the majority of the nobles would slight him. That was something he won’t stand for, and he hoped that Jareid wouldn’t either.
“I foresee a lot of trouble if someone dares to say something about Akbal, and it won’t be only from Jareid.”
“I doubt there would be much debacle. Jareid’s reputation can come in handy here.”
Tygra grunted. He had to accept that sometimes Jareid’s violence could be useful. Then he scowled, suddenly remembering that they were still waiting for a third cub.
“Ben, how’s Mai’s cub doing?”
“Very good. Actually, Jareid is pressuring for us to perform a caesarean, or do something to induce labour, so he won’t have to think about that particular problem anymore.”
“She has three weeks left. Wouldn’t that be risky for the cub?”
“It is risky. We have told Jareid that it’s better to wait until Mai’s body is actually prepared to give birth, but he is getting more and more impatient. Mai is screaming for him almost constantly, and one of these days he’s going to snap. He already says that if you could give birth before time, there’s no reason for her not to.”
Tygra groaned. Mai’s pregnancy had caused a lot of unnecessary stress already. He was starting to dread the moment her cub would be handed out to him. The cub would be their youngest, but politically speaking, he would have the advantage in the elder’s eyes. If it was a he, that was.
“Still don’t know the gender?”
“No. I’m praying for a girl. It’d be a lot easier for you both.”
“I don’t know Ben. Wouldn’t a girl remind Jareid constantly of her mother?”
Ben scowled, but then remembered that Tygra didn’t know about the genetic treatment they were subjecting Mai’s cub to.
“There would be no issues about that. Believe me, a girl would be much better.”
Tygra lifted an eyebrow. He was sure that there was something that Ben was not telling him. He wanted to ask what it was, but Jareid arrived at that moment and Bengali left. Tygra toyed with the idea of asking his mate if he knew something about Mai’s cub, but Jareid was already annoyed and cursing the ineptitude of a number of cats. Tygra decided to leave it for a more proper occasion.
&&&&&&&
As soon as the twins were a month and a week old, Jareid moved the bassinet back to the nursery. There had been no further problems with either of them, and they were going to be close by. Tygra didn’t feel so anxious any more and could tolerate to be apart from his cubs for the entire night. Besides, Snarf had taken to sleep with them in the bassinet, so they were not alone.
Tygra gave them a bath with Saixa’s help, and gave them their milk. Once they were dried and fed, he put them in the bigger bassinet, the one that was intended for the three cubs. It was more spacious, but the twins still cuddled together, occupying a relatively small space. There was plenty of room at their feet for Snarf to curl and make them company.
Tygra looked at his sons pensively. Saixa had already left and he had turned on the baby monitor, so he could listen to whatever sound they made. The twins had not grown much, and still slept most of the day, but they were starting to move more. Well, Akbal was. Tygra caressed his yellow cub’s head. Itzamma-Kim was such a quiet cub; he barely made any noise at all. The only time he had actually cried had been when Ben had attempted to feed him. He wouldn’t flail his extremities around, or turn his head, trying to see more and turn over, like Akbal was doing. Tygra was worried. Itzamma’s health was perfectly good, but his lack of physical activity was starting to flash red lights in the tiger’s head.
Ben had told him that every cub was different and that it was perfectly normal if the twins weren’t doing the same things, or developing at the same pace, but Tygra couldn’t stop thinking that maybe there was something else that Itzamma needed and he couldn’t phantom what it was.
He sighed and kissed his two sons tenderly. He would have to pay more attention to what Itzamma did, and look out for ways to stimulate him to do more. Ben could say that his cub should advance on his own, but he didn’t like to see Itzamma so passive.
Jareid entered the nursery and hugged his tiger from behind, kissing the side of his head. Tygra groaned, but leaned onto his mate’s body easily.
“Everything’s in order?”
“I suppose so.”
Tygra gave one last longing stare to his cubs before Jareid pulled him to the door.
“They’ll be fine. You’d be able to listen to them the entire time. Come.”
“I’d be able to listen to Akbal, but not Itzamma.”
“Don’t worry too much. Ben says that both of them are fine, besides, the pet is going to take care of them.”
Tygra huffed. It amused him the fact that Jareid trusted in Snarf to guard the twins more than he trusted Saixa. Oh, he knew that Snarf was very smart. The little creature had taken care of Lion-O when he had been a newborn cub, and knew when and how to call for assistance if necessary. But he still was only a pet. Tygra had only accepted him to stay in the nursery as cub-guardian, instead of an adult cat, when Jareid had pointed out that the pet was more loyal than anyone they could think of. There shouldn’t be any problems.
Jareid dragged his reticent mate towards their bedroom. Tygra’s wound was already healed, and with the cubs sleeping in the nursery, there’d be no danger to disturb them. Jareid was not going to wait another minute to thoroughly claim his mate all over again.
&&&&&&&
Tygra’s birthday was mostly uneventful. This year he received some gifts from his fellow hunters, and many tokens of congratulations from the noble families. Jareid snarled at the evident attempt to adulation on the nobles’ part, but Tygra accepted everything. It won’t do to antagonize the noble families, at least not until he had a better grasp on the power dynamics.
The family had a small party again to celebrate, though there seemed to be more attention directed to the twins than anything else. Tygra was fine with it. As long as his cubs were on sight, he didn’t mind them being passed around.
Akbal was awake for the entire meeting, and everyone commented on his gorgeous eyes. The cub smiled widely, and tried to grab anything that moved close to him. Itzamma slept through most of the gathering, and when he opened his eyes it was only to stare intently at whomever happened to be holding him at the moment. He didn’t make any fuss if he changed arms, and just remained quiet and passive. Xilara frowned at his behaviour and asked if that was normal. She as well as Tygra was of the opinion that cubs should make more noise and move a lot more than Itzamma was doing. Ben, however, continued reassuring them that Itzamma was fine, and there was nothing wrong with his behaviour. Yet. Tygra was starting to think that Ben knew something was wrong, but wouldn’t tell them.
Baal also frowned a bit. He remembered Jareid doing the triple noise than Akbal and turning around in his crib, in serious danger to turn it over. Not that he wanted a repeat performance from any of his grandsons, but still, Itzamma was extremely quiet for his peace of mind. However, he didn’t press the issue. Bengali seemed sure that the cub was fine, and Xiar hadn’t noticed anything actually wrong from the health charts. Until Itzamma failed to do something crucial for his development, Baal would keep quiet. Besides, he didn’t want to put more pressure on the tiger. Mai’s cub was to be born in three or four days, and Tygra was stressed enough because of it.
The small event ended rather early, and Tygra carried his cubs back to the nursery, in Xilara’s company, to give them a bath.
He had wanted to ask for Saixa’s assistance. The jaguaress had been an increasingly present figure in the nursery. Jareid still growled at the idea of her becoming a constant presence in his cub’s lives, but Tygra had reasoned that he wasn’t going to have enough time to see over three cubs, and as intelligent as Snarf was, he was no substitute for an adult’s care. Besides, he was going to return to the hunters. His body was ridding itself from strange female hormones at last, and he was starting to feel restless again. He wanted to return to his normal activities. That didn’t mean that he would just abandon his cubs into anyone’s care. He trusted Saixa enough to leave her in some kind of governess capacity while he was away. He was just waiting to see how well his sons adapted to their new sibling, and if the three cubs accepted Saixa’s presence without problem, then Tygra would return to training. He had already decided that he will only leave his cubs under Saixa and Ben’s supervision. He trusted no one else to take good care of his sons, not even Cheetara, seeing that she already had Lion-O to look after.
Saixa of course was delighted with the idea. Jareid grumbled unhappily at the need of a sitter, or a governess, for his cubs, but he accepted because Tygra couldn’t remain just sitting in their rooms doing nothing but seeing to their cubs’ needs. The tiger had already endured a very long time away from the activity that he loved so much. He loved his cubs, but he shouldn’t have to renounce to every other aspect of his life to slave for them. That would be detrimental in the long run.
Tygra had approached Saixa when he had been ready to go, so they could walk to the nursery together. However, Xilara had heard him when he had asked the courtesan for her help, and had offered to assist him instead. Tygra had been shocked for a moment, but he had caught on quickly on Xilara’s looks towards Akbal, and had accepted the queen’s offer. Xilara took his black cub in arms, and they walked to the nursery in companionable silence.
They took care of Itzamma first, because he was easier to handle. Tygra thought that his first-born was capable to sleep through the bath without problem. Itzamma barely opened his eyes as he was partially submerged in warm water and scrubbed gently. He soon was dried and in a clean nappy again, lying comfortably in the bassinet.
Akbal was the opposite. The cub was happy to be freed of his clothes and nappy, but as soon as his bottom touched the warm water he started to wail and wriggle like mad. Tygra always panicked. It was because of Akbal that he asked for help when he wanted to bath the twins. His black cub cried and moved so much. Tygra had to have a firm hold on him to prevent Akbal from slipping away from his hands, but he was afraid to hurt his cub if he grasped too hard.
Fortunately, Xilara had more experience, and she could handle the cub without problems. Tygra was amazed at the apparent ease with which the queen quickly bathed Akbal and soothed him afterwards. He expressed his admiration for her skill as he gave his cub a bottle of milk. Xilara chuckled at his praise, and waved her hand in dismissal.
“It’s nothing extraordinary. You’d be honing your parental skills as time goes by. Soon you’d have both of them in the tub at the same time, maybe even the three.”
“Oh, I hardly think so. I, as every other male I think, grew up convinced that females have their own special way to handle cubs. I could never be that skilled.”
“Of course you can. It’s all a matter of practice. Even Jareid could if he wanted to put himself to the task!”
Tygra had a moment visualizing Jareid trying to bath Akbal, and shook his head almost in horror. The jaguar prince could handle Itzamma without problems, but Tygra wouldn’t trust him with Akbal, who was much more active and noisier. He didn’t believe that Jareid would have the patience required to tend to a cub that would not behave according to his wishes.
“I don’t think I would like to try that particular theory any time soon.”
Xilara chuckled again gently. New parents were mostly terrified of everything that could go wrong with their cubs. Including what would happen if they failed at being perfect in every aspect regarding raising the little ones. She put a hand on the young tiger’s shoulder and smiled reassuringly.
“Both of you are going to do a wonderful job. I know that you are wary of Jareid’s temper, but you should have seen him when Yeana was born. He was so fascinated, and treated her with so much care.”
She looked longingly as Tygra finished giving Akbal his milk and proceeded to burp him. The tiger was too young to be a parent. She could almost picture Jareid holding a newborn Yeana. The jaguar prince had been Tygra’s age then. She sighed in remembrance and caressed Akbal’s little head longingly.
“He is such a good big brother. I should have given him another sibling sooner. He was practically a month from seventeen when Yeana was born.”
Tygra was pensive at that. He couldn’t phantom what would be like to grown up an only child, especially one with Jareid’s temper. Yeana had been too late to be any kind of true companion. She could hardly have interfered with how Jareid related to others. She was too young to be seen as an equal. Suddenly Tygra explained himself the fact that Jareid had latched on to Bengali’s friendship so tenaciously. Ben had been the only cat to treat him without the deference that everyone else gave to him, and his own age. If Ben could have arrived when both had been younger, he could have been like a surrogated sibling. Tygra suspected that that was the way Jareid saw the older tiger, deep inside. It could have done the jaguar good to have a real brother. Someone close to his age that could have been considered an equal. The question was out of his mouth before he could stop himself.
“Why didn’t you?”
He blushed almost instantly in embarrassment. That had sounded like a complaint.
“I-I’m sorry. Forgive me, it’s not my place…” Xilara stopped him before he could finish the apology.
“It’s ok. It’s not as if it is a huge secret. I’m actually impressed that you haven’t heard about it by now.”
Tygra thought that it was because he had no real interest in either mingle with the court, or listened to the nobles’ gossip. He had had enough with everything that he had been forced to hear about Jareid, and that had been because the courtesans had made a point of talking about the prince’s scandals as soon as they spotted Tygra around. But he only shrugged noncommittally and let Xilara explain if she wanted to. The queen however, caressed Akbal’s mane and ears again, staring longingly at his black coat for a moment. Then she sighed, and waited until Tygra laid the little cub in the bassinet at his twin’s side. She was surprised when Tygra lifted Itzamma-Kim again, and suddenly remembered that the yellow cub had not eaten yet. She watched in bewilderment as Tygra grabbed a second bottle to feed his first-born, who latched at the tit and sucked hungrily.
“Why didn’t you feed Itzamma first? He didn’t cry, but he stayed awake for it.”
“Oh, well.” Tygra looked at his cub and smiled. “He won’t eat if Akbal has not. I have tried to give him the bottle first while Saixa bathes Akbal, but he refuses it. I don’t know how he knows that his brother hasn’t eaten, but he only accepts the milk once Akbal is finished, or when Jareid and I both are feeding them at the same time.”
“Oh, my.” Xilara looked at the yellow cub in wonder. Itzamma had his eyes open and was looking directly at Tygra while he sucked. It was perfectly normal, but Xilara looked at the clear blue eyes of her grandson, like two tiny pieces of sky, and thought that they were more intense and intelligent than they should. She scowled, wondering for a moment how in hell she knew how much intelligence a cub’s eyes should show in the first place. She shook her head to ride herself of crazy ideas and waited for Tygra to finish feeding Itzamma.
Once the two cubs were cuddled together in the bassinet with Snarf watching over them, Xilara took the young cat’s arm and guided him to sit on the chairs that were close to the window. Tygra didn’t protest, and looked at her expectantly when they were seated. Xilara sighed a couple of times, collecting her courage to talk about very painful memories. She had confided her sorrow to only one cat once, and it had turned out terribly wrong. But Tygra was Jareid’s mate and no one was challenging her for the right to the title of queen anymore. Besides, Tygra had to be aware of the jaguars’ beliefs and ideals. He would need it to make a good part on his role as Jareid’s mate, and to protect his cubs, Akbal most prominently.
“Surely you have noticed that there are not many black jaguars in the court, or in the city. Ages ago, it was believed that black cubs were a bad omen for the family. Black jaguars were killed as newborns. They were believed to have a hunger for violence unparalleled amongst the cats. They are supposedly the reason why jaguars in general were once considered heartless assassins. Mum-Ra had only black jaguars as his personal torturers.”
Tygra scowled and couldn’t help interrupting. “Who?”
“Mum-Ra. The creature that the first Lion king defeated to free all the animal species. We all used to be at his service. Have you not heard the legend?”
Tygra made some memory. History lessons had never been so attractive to him as politics, even when they set the background for so many things. “I have. But it’s so hard to distinguish what in the legend could be actual facts and what fantasy, that I think my mind just has diminished the whole bunch to be a myth.”
“I’ll talk with your tutor to correct that. You can’t be ignorant of our origins. Anyway, as I was saying, black jaguars were feared for generations. There was the belief that the cubs were actually capable to murder their families in a fit of rage. Something really absurd if you ask me. There were some cats that rebelled against such beliefs, and let their black cubs live, but most ended up either abandoning them, or leaving Ix-Maal altogether. It wasn’t until King Ma’bak that things changed. He travelled along Third Earth since he was very young, and mingled with a huge variety of animals. He learned about other races’ beliefs and different ways of life. He even spent some time in Thundera, learning about the rest of the cats’ clans. He came in contact with many black cats. The black leopards called his attention the most because of what he had been taught. He discovered some black jaguars too, who had been living in Thundera for generations. He was surprised to realize that they weren’t really any different from the rest of the cats.
‘When he took the crown, fortune wanted that he procreated a black cub from one of his consorts. Instead of killing him like it was used to, he ordered that no one bothered him. He protected his son, and revoked every law that had something written against black jaguars. When he died, the nobles expected that his heir would ‘listen to reason’ and undid what his father had done. But king Iñaky had grown up loving his little brother and couldn’t see any fault in the colour of his coat. Axayacatl had a very gentle character, and his family, and the few cats that knew him, couldn’t help but laugh at the stories of violence and destruction that black jaguars were supposedly apt to perpetrate. King Iñaky declared that his brother was incapable to hurt a soul and wouldn’t hear anymore on the matter.
‘Since then, black jaguars had been progressively more accepted amongst the clan, but still the stigma persist in the leading class, especially for the king. The oldest families believe that a black king would turn against his own clan and lead us to destruction. It is maybe an irrational fear, but it is deeply rooted in the clan’s collective mind. Not even our exposure to other species, and acceptance of different beliefs had managed to open our own perspective on this. Though black jaguars are more accepted nowadays, it is still hard for them to be seen in the palace. There are few in the court, and none in the council. They are accepted as part of our forces, but have to work twice as hard to get to the higher ranks. That has changed a bit since Baal chose me to be his official mate.”
She paused a moment to smile in remembrance at the shock on her family’s faces. She even gave a small chuckle.
“Oh, you should have seen the outrage. I think Baal’s father was apoplectic!”
Tygra smiled. He knew how hard was to change an entire clan’s beliefs. He was witnessing some of it with the technology debacle in Thundera that had Lion-O so upset over. Xilara continued.
“But Baal loved me. And he was angry because everyone kept urging him to stop fooling around with me and find a real mate. Even my family told him to focus on finding a proper queen, instead of wasting his time in my company. He had wanted to shut everyone’s mouths and teach them a lesson. He was perfectly capable to choose any cat he wanted for a mate, and no one else had any say in who he wanted, or when he decided to mate. You could say that he made a tantrum, and went and proposed to me just to spite the entire court.”
Tygra gulped. That didn’t sound like love to him. It had been as Xilara had said, a tantrum. Tygra believed that he now understood better why Jareid was allowed so much in the court.
“Of course everyone tried to dissuade him. I tried to reason with him and made him see that he was acting without thinking. That he wasn’t even sure if he loved me as much as wanting me as a mate. But of course the more everyone told him to reconsider, and to think things carefully, the more stubborn he became. His father even told him that he would accept his decision, but he wanted to be convinced that mating me was in fact what Baal wanted, and that he was not doing it only to prove that he could impose his will on the rest of the world. Baal spent a year courting me, and having eyes only for me, and generally convincing the world that he was madly in love with me. I think that he actually convinced himself of that fact. Seeing that his son was not going to cave, Baal-Or finally accepted the mating, and the court had to shut up about it.”
“It must have been difficult.”
“It was. But to tell you the truth, I was just too pleased that the stuck up elders had to swallow their words, and accept me as queen instead of one of the ‘most deserving’ girls who had always slighted me, that I didn’t care much that Baal didn’t love me as much as he wanted everyone to believe. At that time all I wanted was to rub in their faces that I was the queen, despite their petty prejudices, and that they had to do as I said. After a while, I realized how much hard work being a queen entails, and every little problem that I would be expected to solve, and it hit into me the fact that I would have to fight everyday to make others help me. I was overwhelmed. I was a step from telling Baal that I wanted out of it, that I wasn’t strong enough to endure the perpetual fight that it was going to be. But my pride won at the end, and I refused to concede that they had been right after all, and that I wasn’t fit to rule at Baal’s side. I stayed, and the court eventually accepted it and most of the pressure loosened. We were getting along fairly well, until the need for a heir became imperative.”
Tygra smiled ruefully. The need for a suitable heir had always haunted the nobles’ families, and the royal one the most.
“Baal could not have a black jaguar as heir. It would have been disastrous. Not only for the court, but for the population in general. The stigma of the black cat is still too ingrained in our beliefs for the people to accept a black jaguar as king. They are too afraid of it, like the mere possibility of it happening will doom us all. My being queen managed to get the younger generation more open minded, but they still would balk at the mention of a black king. Maybe we would be more accepting in a few years, once we accept that we have an irrational fear of something that has never proved to be true. We are just not at the right point yet. And we certainly weren’t some years ago. King Baal-Or died without knowing any grandchildren. He had had many consorts, and ten children of his own, but disease and a war with the monkeys took most of them. His younger son, Telonius, tried to kill Baal the day we mated. Baal killed him instead, and became the only survivor of Baal-Or’s progeny. The only one who could give the clan an heir.
‘Before he died, Baal-Or made Baal promise that he was not going to have a black jaguar as heir. He believed that his line had been cursed because one of his ancestors let the trait of the black colouring into it. In his old age, he had convinced himself that this hypothetic curse had been the reason for the loss of almost his entire family. Baal made the promise to pacify him, but Baal-Or wanted to make sure that his son was going to fulfil that promise, and made the High Shaman responsible to see it through. Xiar has never taken a promise lightly. So, Baal-Or died, and some time later I became pregnant. There was only one way to ensure that the cub wouldn’t be black, and that was a genetic intervention.”
“How’s that?”
“They manipulate the genetic code, so the cub would only show the desired characters.”
Tygra gaped at her.
“You… They can do that?”
Xilara smiled at his surprise. It was refreshing to find someone that still saw biotechnology as some kind of miracle.
“Yes, they can. It’s a complicated treatment, and it’s not used regularly because it is dangerous. But in my case, it was considered necessary. Xiar wanted to be sure that the genes of the cub will only be for yellow-brown coat, but that was very difficult, as Baal also has black coat genes in his line. It was easier to inhibit the black gene in such a way that it won’t express, even if it were present.”
Tygra was dumbfounded. He couldn’t believe that someone would go to such extents to change nature. It was just… not done. There was something seriously wrong with the jaguars. He was no longer surprised that Jareid had such violent tendencies. He had been taught, practically from the womb, that he didn’t have to respect the natural laws, of course he would learn to not respect anything else either. He got that biotechnology was something marvellous, and it could heal many ailments, but it was scary, and so many things could go wrong.
He tried to hide his discomfiture and nodded to Xilara to signal that he understood. She continued.
“Regrettably, the intervention is very invasive, and my body reacted aversively. Black jaguars are more sensitive to biotechnology treatments. We don’t take them well. In many cases they can provoke severe allergic reactions. So, a genetic intervention targeting the black coat gene was very aggressive for me, and no one knew how the foetus would react. The stress was too much and I miscarriage. It was the first of several. Either my body couldn’t tolerate the intervention, or the foetus died as soon as the cells that would develop into the fur began to differentiate. It was very hard for me.”
She sighed and took a moment to compose herself. It was very difficult to remember that time. Tygra felt for her. He knew how hard it was to lose a cub.
“Why did you continue?”
“We needed a heir. But after the fourth try, Xiar suggested to Baal that Kamile could have the first cub. She was his consort at the time, and I considered her a good friend. If she had the heir, then I could forget the treatment and have luck decide the colour of my cubs. I even talked to Kamile, and confessed to her how hard it had been to try for a cub, knowing that it would have little chance to actually born. She told me not to worry. She’d accept to have the heir, and then I could give Baal another cub. I believed we had solved the problem.”
She sighed and gave a rueful smile.
“But when she talked about it with Baal, she proposed that we change places. As she was going to be the one to give him an heir, she thought that she should be the one to have the title of queen. She even told him that I was afraid to have more cubs, and that I probably wouldn’t be any good, even as a consort. Baal didn’t like the way she was trying to take my place, besides, he is a prideful cat, and would never give anyone an excuse to say that he had been mistaken at anything. So, he had me try the pregnancy one more time. When it didn’t take again, he accepted to try with Kamile, but he made it clear that we were not changing places. Kamile wasn’t happy with his denial. She tried to press, and refused to get pregnant if she was not the queen. After all, it was not proper that the heir was born from a consort. The queen should be the heir’s mother. Baal took her refusal as willingness to give me another chance, and he practically begged me to try again.”
Tygra pressed his lips and was trying hard to not growl. His own situation came to mind. He could not believe that Baal would force his mate to try a pregnancy again after five miscarriages. He recognized painfully that Claudus had done much the same thing to his and Lion-O’s mother, except for the consort part. Xilara breathed deeply to try to relax a bit and continued.
“So, I did it again. This time, Xiar insisted that I stay in the shamans’ wing, so he could monitor me continually. Until then, I had been allowed to stay in my rooms, and Kamile had helped me, but I was mad with both her and Baal, and decided to follow Xiar’s advice. I fared a little better under the shamans’ care. It was still a very difficult pregnancy. Jareid had to be borne two months earlier in fact. He had to be put in the incubator, and I couldn’t see him until a week later. He was so cute and small. I felt much better having him in my arms finally. But I wasn’t at my best, and Kamile helped to take care of him. For two months I spent the majority of the time in bed. I fed Jareid for the first month, but after that, I was told to not force myself. I was not producing enough milk to satisfy my cub, and Kamile was taking over that task. I wasn’t completely comfortable, but I thought it was the best for Jareid. I haven’t forgotten how my ‘friend’ had tried to push me to the side and have the crown for herself. But we made peace for stability’s sake and for our cub.
‘That was until the day Jareid fell very sick. He had a high fever and threw up almost as soon as he finished eating. Xiar was very worried. Jareid’s symptoms made him think that the cub had been poisoned, but he could never prove it, so he went with the diagnostic of an allergic reaction. Jareid survived miraculously, and I didn’t let Kamile to care for him any longer. I didn’t trust her. She was very angry. She started to say that Jareid should have been hers.
‘Baal had to intervene, and threatened to reject her as a consort. She calmed down after that, but we were never friends again.”
Tygra sighed. “I can’t understand how could you keep living with her.”
“Well, she was Baal’s consort. We had grown up together, and I thought I knew her well. Baal chose her to appease the council and for me to have a friend around. He thought we would get along well. I had been under that same impression too.”
Tygra shook his head. Female courtesans didn’t make the best of friends. He had heard enough gossip in Thundera to learn to never confide anything to one of them. Saixa was weird in that aspect, and Tygra was still a bit wary of her, but he wouldn’t put her in the same box as the other females.
“So, what happened with her? I assume she’s the reason why Jareid is so against allowing a consort into our lives.”
“You could say that. Things didn’t end up well. Baal started to avoid her, and I got pregnant again just a month before Jareid was a year old. She was jealous. I tried to make peace with her again, so things in the palace wouldn’t be so strained. I started to convince myself that she was a good person, and that everything that had happened had been just a big misunderstanding. I accepted her help again with the new pregnancy, as I shouldn’t have had any more problems with it. However, Xiar assigned one of the female shamans to check on me, because I was still very weak. My body had not managed to regain health at 100% and Xiar would have preferred for me to not get pregnant at all for at least another year. But it couldn’t be helped, and Desireé was put in charge of checking on me during the evening and night.”
She grew sombre and her eyes took a far away look.
“She was the one that discovered Kamile doctoring my drink with something. She didn’t confront her at the moment; she first asked Xiar if I should be taking additional medicine or nutrients. When Xiar told her that everything that I consumed, should be provided only by himself, she told him about Kamile. Xiar started to run tests on me, and finally found out the toxin I had been ingesting. Kamile was arrested and interrogated, and I was put on observation.
‘It turned out that she had been using a mild poison on me from the first time I had been pregnant. It had been part of the reason why my body hadn’t been able to carry a pregnancy to term. I had been able to give birth to Jareid because I had been away from her, and she couldn’t slip me the poison during that time. However, there had been enough toxins in my body to make the pregnancy more difficult than it had to be, and to force my body into labour well before time. It was also the reason why I couldn’t make a full recovery. This last time I hadn’t the strain of the genetic treatment anymore, so my body didn’t give up in the first two months and she continued to feed me the poison. She was discovered when I was four months along, and Xiar tried to do something to clean my system of the toxin. However, it had affected my cub. No one realized until I entered labour at six months. My cub was born. It was a black cub, and he was so perfect. But his heart had been damaged. It couldn’t work properly, and he died after two days.”
Her eyes watered and a few tears escaped. Tygra moved and sat beside her. He put an arm around her shoulders and a hand covering hers, hoping to offer her some comfort. He couldn’t imagine what he would have done if Itzamma had died. He was sure that he would have been destroyed. He didn’t blame Xilara for not wanting any more cubs. He was in fact amazed that she had had Yeana, even after many years had passed.
“I didn’t want to try having any more cubs. I didn’t dare. Xiar said that it would take a while for my body to be rid of the toxin. I had been ingesting it for almost eight years! Jareid had to be treated too, and they made every test they could think of. They checked everything. There was no apparent damage, but we would never be sure about how much the toxin could have influenced him.”
“It was understandable that you wouldn’t want any more cubs. I imagine that Baal didn’t press either.”
“No. He was so angry. He became overprotective and wouldn’t let anyone disturb Jareid in any way. I think that was what backfired on him, and everyone of us, soon enough.”
Tygra groaned, but he really couldn’t fault Baal. If someone had been that close to kill one of his own cubs he would have lost it. Overprotectiveness would have been the least of the problems.
Xilara smiled ruefully again.
“Bengali was a blessing. After I saw that Jareid could accept company, I decided to try again for another cub. However, it took almost six more years for me to get pregnant with Yeana. Jareid was delighted, but it would never be the same. He was very close to being considered an adult. The time to play with siblings had passed for him.”
A few minutes of silence went by, and then Tygra grunted.
“I suppose he blames Xiar because he believes that the High Shaman should have been able to magically solve the problem, or find out what was wrong sooner. And he surely is angry with the rest of the court for believing in some stupid idea that caused the conflict in the first place.”
Xilara chuckled quietly.
“You know him too well already.”
She straightened and pulled on him to look to his face.
“You have been good to him. I don’t know how he would have ended up if not for you.”
Tygra blushed again. He still thought that everyone was exaggerating. How much influence could his presence have on Jareid? It was absurd to think that the jaguar had changed so much only because of him.
“I’m sure he would have been a good king. He looks up to you too much not to.”
“Perhaps. But many cats had been too worried about it.”
Tygra huffed in annoyance and tried to think about something else. His eyes roamed back to the crib, and he thought about Akbal. He scowled as an idea appeared in his mind.
“They didn’t try that shit of genetic treatment with me, did they? I don’t think so, because Akbal wouldn’t be here if they did. I hope?”
“Well, they don’t have any experience trying to manipulate tiger’s genes. And they already had their hands full trying to get you pregnant. Xiar didn’t want to move anything that wasn’t necessary, as he didn’t know how your body or your genes would react. There was no time to experiment either. I think he was also counting on the fact that there had not been any black tigers around. Besides, he gave the full responsibility for creating the embryos to Bengali. He forgot that Ben doesn’t have the same prejudices as us, and thus the colouring of the cubs would have been the less of his worries while he had been preparing the cells.”
Tygra breathed in relief. He had found one more reason to be grateful that his friend had been the one to aid with the procedure. He thought that he might support Jareid in his demand that no one but Bengali was in charge of his family’s health. With what he had learned, he thought that any other would try to peg anything wrong with Akbal’s behaviour to his black colour. Ben was going to be neutral on that aspect. The white tiger surely thought that every cat had the possibility of being as vicious and violent as Jareid, or more. The colour of the fur had nothing to do with it.
“You know, one would think that Jareid’s existence alone would have disabused anyone of the idea that there are nothing more violent than a black jaguar.”
Xilara let escape a short laugh.
“Oh, I wish Baal-Or would have lived to see him, if only because of that!”
Tygra smiled with her. His eyes looked towards the crib again.
“I suppose that once I present my cubs to the council, the protests are going to be loud.”
“It would have been worse if Akbal had been born first. As it is, the fact that Itzamma-Kim is your heir would quiet most of the outrage. Though you should be aware that Itzamma is in danger to be as spoiled as Jareid was. The court would want to protect him as much as possible, and they are going to act with him as they did with Jareid. Many would try to get him apart from his brother too.”
Tygra groaned. He was not going to allow any spoiling, or bad influence on his cubs. He didn’t want Itzamma to grown up thinking that he would be spared the consequences of his actions. He also won’t have the jaguars filling his cub’s head with ridiculous ideas. He was going to make sure that Itzamma would always love his brother. He was not going to let the prejudiced court to make a drift between his twins.
They talked for some time, until Jareid arrived with diner for his mate. Xilara left them to eat and tend to their cubs before going to bed. It had been a long day, and Jareid was looking at Tygra like he still had a long night planned.
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A Tale of Jaguars