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A Tale of Jaguars	By : Aline Category: +S through Z > Thundercats Views: 13080 -:- 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
- 25
- 26
- 27
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.
Author’s note: Thank you to the readers that had written a review. They are much appreciated.
CHAPTER 26. RETRIEVAL.
Mai was slowly making her way through the jungle. She wanted to leave the site of the rite well behind her, so there would be no delays when the guard found her. She was sure that the royal guard would track her cub immediately, and would take them both back to the city. Jareid would receive her with open arms, happy that she had proved that no one would keep her apart from her cub. A cub that was presently crying, rather loudly.
Mai didn’t seem to understand that the cub was very distressed. She didn’t give any indication that she was listening to his cries as she continued walking. After some time, she sat down at the foot of a big tree and started humming a nursery song. Itzamma hadn’t stopped crying. He wriggled and turned, but Mai only tightened her hold on him. She finally turned her eyes fully on him and rocked back and forth.
“Shhh... Shush my little one. I know, I know... You surely missed me. I’m sorry I had to leave. There were many cats that wanted to keep me away, but now everything will be fine. Your father will come for us dear. He must have been outraged, not knowing what happened to me. The gods only know what your grandfather told him! But he will fix this. You’d see.”
Itzamma continued crying.
The minutes passed by, and Mai started to feel restless. Why were they taking so long? The cub also wasn’t giving any indication that he was going to settle down any time soon. Mai huffed and looked at the small kitten tiredly.
“Don’t cry Jareed. I know you must be hungry, but you’d have to wait ‘till we’re home to eat. I hope that your wet nurse is ready for you the moment we arrive.”
Itzamma didn’t stop. He tried to wriggle out of Mai’s arms. The jaguaress readjusted her hold and scowled.
“Jareed, stop it. It’s unbecoming of a prince to cry in this way!”
The cub won’t shut up. Mai growled under her breath. She didn’t have any idea of what she could do to calm him down. She wondered if the tracking device was working properly. Perhaps she should have checked. She awkwardly manoeuvred Itzamma, so she could look for the tracking device without losing her hold on him. Only to discover that there was no such device on his person. No one had ever expected any of the cubs to get lost, especially when they weren’t walking yet. Mai was befuddled for a moment, and then she raged in anger. How foolish was the royal guard? The tiger could have attempted to kidnap the heir at any minute! She was going to have words with the commander as soon as they get home.
Now she was faced with a problem. It would take weeks for her to walk back to the city! And the jungle wasn’t without dangers. She knew that her father had taken a communicator with him. She would have to go back and find it.
She was about to retrace her steps when a familiar voice sounded from above.
“That brat doesn’t sound happy. Are you sure you should be holding him so tight?”
Mai looked upwards and frowned. That damned monkey wasn’t supposed to come back! She had instructed him clearly what he had to do and had given him a family heirloom as payment. She totally planned to tell him to get lost before her eyes locked on the hover bike the monkey was riding. A hover bike! Her mother’s hover bike to be precise. That explained the fact that he was there at all. He should have been still around the city. Mai growled and took a step back.
“As if you know anything about cubs!”
“I know, merely by common sense, that he shouldn’t be crying that loud.”
“He’s just hungry. How did you manage to drive the hover bike? You thief!”
“It’s not so difficult. And the previous owner wouldn’t need it anymore, why let it go to waste?”
“Well, it’s technically mine now. So, hand it over!”
“I don’t think so. It’s pretty entertaining, and I find it very convenient.”
She growled, but realized that she wasn’t going to get anything from the monkey while he had a vehicle. A thought occurred to her then. She could use the stupid creature. It could take days for the guard to find her without the tracking device, and she needed to get back home immediately.
“Listen, if you take me to the city I’d make sure that you are generously rewarded.”
The monkey, Barius was his name, cocked his head to the side considering the propose.
“Really? How generous are we talking about?”
“Well, my cub is in direct line to the throne. My mate would be willing to part with a small fortune for the one who helped us.”
Barius narrowed his eyes. If the cub was royal he sure was worth a lot, but what was he doing here? He was certain that the female hadn’t had any cub when he had first found her. She had been desperate to get rid of the other, older female though, and adamant that it had to be done on a specific date. He looked at the crying infant. He didn’t look happy to be in his supposed mother’s arms. Barius decided to play along. He was sure that he could easily overpower the female if she tried something tricky. He could perhaps find out a bit more about the cub, and if he was any worth he could get a few riches. He manoeuvred the stolen vehicle down and helped the female on board.
Mai mounted the bike behind Barius. She secured the cub to her chest, holding him with one arm circling his torso under his little arms, and fitting the tiny body in the space between her and the monkey. Itzamma ended up sitting on Mai’s lap, looking outwards.
“Ready puss? Get a good hold on that babe.”
“Don’t you dare call me that! You barbarian!”
“Here we go!”
The hover bike started at high speed and May had to hold on tightly with only one arm to the broad chest of the male. The beast evidently didn’t know how to drive a hover bike, given how the thing jerked and turned before the pilot decided on a direction. He was going fast though, so Mai expected to get close to the city before the stupid creature could get them killed.
Itzamma didn’t like the new form of transportation. After several minutes of stunned silence, while the cub processed the new speed at which he was moving, the crying started anew. Mai tried to shush the infant, holding him a little tighter to prevent any falls.
“Shush, Jareed. We’d be home shortly. It’s unbecoming for the heir to cry.”
Itzamma only cried louder. The monkey grunted in displeasure. The hover bike didn’t make much noise, but at the speed they were going, the wind was howling enough to partially deafen him. Even so, he could still hear the cries, and the frankly lame efforts of the female to make the babe stop. After another half hour of continuous wailing Barius was starting to wonder if the cub was broken.
Eventually, they arrived to an area completely obscured by clouds and started to feel the soft breeze of incoming rain. Barius frowned. He didn’t fancy getting soaked, and water could come in any fashion, from a few droplets to a sudden full-fledged storm. Besides, he wasn’t sure if ridding his stolen vehicle under the rain would be safe.
“We’d be stopping for now. Weather could turn out nasty from one moment to the other.”
“What?! No way! We need to get to the city now!”
“Look, the cub is upset enough as it is. You won’t want to get him all wet and even more miserable. He could get sick.” Frankly, he was surprised that the little thing had managed to keep crying for that long without throwing up or suffocating. Mai however didn’t relent in her demands.
“He is the heir! He won’t get sick from a little rain, and the Shamans would fix whatever is wrong with him. I won’t delay my happy reunion with Jareid any longer!”
Barius gritted his teeth. A light rain was starting to fall, and as fast as they were going it felt like a myriad little nails on the face. He slowed down a bit.
“What are you doing? Go faster!”
The monkey growled, ready to tell off the bothersome female. A sudden gust of wind stopped him. The hover bike jerked, and for a moment Barius had to held on tight to not fall. Mai yelped. The sudden movement made Itzamma grab her arm with both hands. Tiny, but incredibly sharp claws, sunk into her flesh and her hold loosened slightly in response. She hissed. There was a moment of panicked confusion while Barius took control of the bike. Mai tightened her hold again and hissed angrily to the cub.
“Jareed! Do not use your claws! You’re safe enough! Let go!”
She turned her arm a little to make the cub dislodge his claws. Tiny punctures were barely visible in her skin. Itzamma was silent. His eyes fixed on the dots of blood that had come out from Mai’s arm. He moved one of his little hands around, seemingly fascinated with it. Mai was satisfied that her cub had obeyed her and turned to Barius to demand again for the vehicle to go faster. All of a sudden though, Itzamma latched on her arm again. She felt the tiny claws scratching this time, and she screamed.
“Jareed! I told you to stop! Stop it!”
The cub paid her no mind. He started to wriggle madly while scratching everything he could reach. Another blow of wing caught them and Barius turned the bike sharply. Mai loosened her hold on Itzamma enough for the cub to wriggle free. Suddenly he was slipping from her arm and plummeting down. Mai screamed in terror as she lost her cub from sight.
“No! Jareed! Go down! Get down! We must go for him!”
Barius looked down and landed at a clearing. The cub was most likely dead, but it was a good opportunity to get rid of the female. He had already decided that she was more trouble than she was worth. He also had the sneaking suspicion that the cats would murder him if he took her back into their city. There must be some reason why she had been so far away from it after all.
They landed, and Mai immediately ran to the area where her cub had fallen. She didn’t notice the monkey leaving. She just threaded through the jungle with desperation, calling the name that in her mind was the most logical choice for her cub. She heard faint crying ahead of her and hurried up to it. Soon she found a breach among some bushes and gasped in shock. The cub was on the ground, still crying and crawling awkwardly towards the vegetation. All around him were shadowy, amorphous figures that seemed to be hovering and following him. Mai struggled with the bushes, and practically ran to pick up her cub.
“Go! Go away! Don’t touch him! Don’t touch him! He’s mine!”
She held Itzamma tightly to her chest, ignoring the wriggling and wailing, and yelled at the darkness.
“He’s mine! You gave him to me! I paid the price! You have no right to him!”
The shadows moved and surrounded her for a moment before dissipating. Mai turned around and ran. She had to return to the city. The Shamans would know what to do to keep the shadows away from her cub.
She arrived to the clearing to find it bereft of both monkey and hover bike. She screamed the monkey’s name a few times before convincing herself that he was gone. She raged in fury for a moment, cursing all the animals in existence. After a while she tired up and quickly checked her cub. He was sobbing, evidently tired and scared, but apparently unhurt. It didn’t occur to her to wonder how he had survived the fall. She was more concerned over the fact that the shadows had been still there, probably following them. Maybe she had gained some sort of control over them with the ritual? Could she call them at any time? The Shamans would know. Xiar would give her answers. If there was need to be rid of them, the Shamans would help her. She only needed to get to the city.
She looked around the small clearing, wondering where she was. Eventually, she chose the direction where she thought the hover bike had been heading and started to walk. They shouldn’t be far from home. They had covered many miles on the bike, at least it had seemed like it. The river should be close by.
She walked for what felt like hours. Itzamma was still whimpering and sobbing. He scratched her every opportunity he got, and Mai was getting tired. Thankfully it was just drizzling, but their clothes already felt wet. It was getting late, and still there was no sign of the river. The darkness was taking over and she started to imagine all kind of predators that could eat them.
She about jumped a few feet in the air when Itzamma started crying again in earnest.
“Sht. Jareed, be quiet. You’re going to attract a beast, and we don’t need that.”
The cub apparently couldn’t care less. He continued crying and wriggling in Mai’s arms, trying again to scratch and bite her. Frustrated, the woman held him at arms’ length and glared.
“Stop it. Jareed, stop it! You’re acting like a spoiled child! This is what you get when you put a tiger to take care of the heir. It’s disgusting! Stop it I tell you!”
She shook the cub a little to make him listen. If possible, Itzamma’s cries only grew louder. Mai shook him again, yelling at him to stop. Itzamma retched and threw up quite a bit of bile.
“Oh, for the Great Mother of Thunder! This is disgusting!”
She turned the little boy face down, hand already up to deliver a good spank to the little bum, when the branches above her moved and something fell to the ground right in front of her. Mai screamed and turned around, almost colliding with another figure that had suddenly materialized at her back. She held her cub tightly again, and looked around, seeing more figures closing on her.
“Stay back! You have no right to be here, go away!” She shouted, believing that the shadows were back. But then someone produced a light, and the figures became much clearer.
“On the contrary, cat. It is you the one who has no right to be on this side of the jungle. You’re the one who’s clearly trespassing.”
Mai’s eyes widened in a moment of shock. Then she made a strangled sound between relief and disbelief. That stupid monkey! In front of her were the Kan-meech. A tribe of lean, brown with yellow stripes lizards, which dared to inhabit the jungle. The jaguars’ jungle, thought Mai stubbornly. As far as she was concerned no one else had any right to call the Kaanuk jungle their home. Sure, it was the biggest jungle in the planet, but it was still the jaguars’ territory. All of it! Mai refused to believe that the lizards in front of her, the colony of birds at the far northwest, the disgusting monkeys, and the caimans that lived down the river, were nothing else but trespassers. They were tolerated there, though she didn’t understand why. As soon as Jareid was king she was going to convince him to do something about all of them. They couldn’t be allowed to steal the riches of the jungle any longer.
First though, she needed to return to the city, and she still needed help. The lizards’ settlement was the closest to Ix-Maal, but it was still a good 400 miles away. She knew that the Kan-meech had the means to take her home, and she thought it was their obligation to help her. She wasn’t so fool as to speak her mind openly, not yet at least, but she thought they would see the desperate situation she was in.
“I’m not trespassing, I merely didn’t know where I was. I’m lost.”
The lizard that seemed to be in charge stepped forwards. It was night already, and with help of the torch Mai could only distinguish the slender frame, scarce clothing, and large neck and face that were the lizards’ trademark.
“You’re a bit far away from your home to be just lost. And with a hatchling. It’s unlikely that you have just happened to walk this far.”
“My cub is prince Jareid’s son. We were kidnapped this morning and abandoned here! I’m trying to return home!”
The torch got closer, and the bright green eyes of the lizard narrowed. Mai fidgeted a moment, trying to look like a damsel in distress, and at the same time praying for the child to shut up. Finally, the lizard moved his head minutely to the left.
“Come. Our chief would decide what to do.”
Mai huffed and followed the light of the torch. The rest of the lizards disappeared from sight, but she was sure that they were following them. She rocked Jareed up and down, thinking that they were going to be home shortly. Then, she would have some strong words with the governess taking on Jareed’s education. This was no way for the heir to behave!
&&&&&&&
Anlee didn’t like the female cat. His group had been returning from hunting, and had spotted her wandering around their territory. They had been watching her for a while, and had been growing increasingly disturbed by the hatchling’s cries. Whoever the female was, she evidently had no idea of what to do with a hatchling. Therefore, she was not the babe’s mother. Anlee didn’t know if he should believe her claim to have been kidnapped. It was difficult to imagine that anyone would go through the trouble of kidnapping somebody, only to abandon his or her hostage in the middle of the jungle. Likewise, he seriously doubted that any of the jungle inhabitants would be so stupid as to kidnap a member of the cats’ royal family. He needed to take this situation to his father, the village’s chief. If the female was telling the truth, they would need to get in touch with the cats’ city.
He looked towards the babe again, trying to identify him.
The Kan-meech had a pact with the cats. They had agreed long ago to respect each other’s territory, and occasionally trade goods. The cats were powerful, but not unreasonable, and knew perfectly well the value of an alliance. It had been as allies that Anlee and his father had been present at the celebration, when prince Jareid had introduced his mate and three hatchlings. Anlee and Chief Deevayo had wondered who had been the mother of the little ones. They hadn’t asked though, because it would have been rude.
This babe looked like one of the royal hatchlings, but Anlee could only tell by the colouring. He had never been very good at telling one particular cat apart from the others. Not if he hadn’t had close personal contact with said cat for some reason. To him, the babe could be any cat’s. He was however, convinced that the female was not a proper caretaker, and he doubted that the babe’s parents had put their son in her arms willingly. No one would trust a hatchling into the care of someone who was so clearly inept at the task.
The group walked for a few minutes, and then stopped before the trunk of a big tree. Anlee whistled a signal and a large box, made of wood and vines came down from the top. Anlee, Mai and the torchbearer got inside. They started to ascend slowly, and both lizards focused their attention on the hatchling. His crying had not lessened one bit, and by the constant wriggling it was evident that he was doing everything he could to get loose. The female’s arms were sporting angry scratch marks and she was struggling to hold the kitten still. The babe had no teeth yet, or Anlee was sure that the female would be missing a chunk of meat already.
They arrived to a wooden platform and were received by some of the warriors. The Kan-meech village consisted of a series of bungalows and shacks, connected by wooden bridges and platforms among the top of the trees. They were high enough to be away from most heavy predators, and they received more rain and sun.
Anlee escorted the cat and her charge to the centre of the settlement. The ruckus that the hatchling was doing attracted a good deal of attention. So, they had quite an entourage when they arrived to the Chief’s bungalow. Chief Deevayo and his mate Taira were already at the door. Their eyes focused on the jaguaress for a moment before widening at the sight of the extremely unhappy babe she was carrying. Taira pressed her lips in a tight line. She could sense that something was extremely wrong, and she assumed it was because of the jaguaress. Her hands itched to go and show the other female the proper way to carry a hatchling. The poor kitten was clearly uncomfortable. He was face down and with both arms pressed at his sides too tightly. He couldn’t move too much, and was going to make himself sick with all the crying. The female cat though was not doing anything to try to soothe him. Taira wondered why the jaguaress seemed more concerned with keeping the kitten’s arms still, until she noticed the thin claw marks on her skin. It was further proof that the hatchling was in distress, and it was purely the female’s fault. Taira advanced a few steps, wanting to put an end to the babe’s suffering.
“Allow me. I can carry him for you.”
“No!” Mai stopped short and growled, half turning to the side to put the cub away from the lizard. “He’s my cub, and he’s staying with me!”
Taira’s eyebrows lifted in incredulity. She observed the cat more attentively, but there was nothing to convince her that the jaguaress was anyone’s mother. The chief hissed in displeasure at Mai’s display.
“Anlee, what is she doing here?”
“She claims to have been kidnapped along with the hatchling and abandoned in our territory. She says that the babe is prince Jareid’s son.”
Deevayo narrowed his eyes and studied the crying kitten more closely. There were many torches lighting the front platform and he could distinguish the kitten’s features quite well. He did look like the prince’s first born. The female however, he didn’t recognize.
“Kidnapped?”
“Yes! A monkey took us from the palace this very morning! Surely the guard is looking for us.”
The Chief bit his lower lip. The monkeys were not on good terms with the cats, but he really doubted that The Grand Priest Moaro had allowed such a stupid move. Besides, what would have been the point of subtracting an infant and then abandon him? Unless the monkeys were trying to break the alliance between the Kan-meech and the jaguars. The female and the babe had been in the lizards’ territory after all.
It still didn’t add up. The female had said that they had been kidnapped in the morning. The cats would have started the search immediately. The Kan-meech village was close enough to Ix-Maal for the cats to have at least patrolled the borders of both territories already, if they had had any idea of where to look. And if the monkeys wanted the two species at odds, they would have left enough clues to guide the cats straight to where they wanted them. Also, his son, and other hunters and warriors, would have found the female much earlier. There was something fishy there and he didn’t like to be lied to.
First though, he needed to confirm the hatchling’s identity. If he actually was who the female claimed, they had a potential bigger problem than they wanted.
“How do I know that you’re telling the truth, and that this babe is part of the royal family?”
The female’s eyes widened in surprise at being questioned.
“How... how dare you question my words? Do you know who I am? I’m the cub’s mother!”
“Be as it will, I have no information about a mother of the prince’s hatchlings. As far as I know, he took a male as his mate, and is not recognizing any other as part of his family.”
Mai hissed in anger. She had not expected a mere lizard to actually question her.
“That tiger is only there temporally. I gave Jareid his heir! He loves me! As soon as we return to the palace he’s going to realize that I love him enough to keep fighting, even against the king. They forced my Jareid to mate the tiger, and tried to steal my cub and make me disappear! The gods know what they had been telling Jareid! That’s why I need to go back as soon as possible. He’s surely worried sick about us.”
Deevayo frowned, trying to make sense of what the female was spouting. So far, it sounded unbelievable. As far as the entire jungle knew, no one forced prince Jareid to do anything. Even them, in their village, had heard about the king’s over indulgent ways to raise his heir. If someone had been forced into a mating, the chief was ready to bet a good deal that it had been the tiger. And steal a hatchling? Why would the king need to do that? Surely there were plenty of females in the city that would be honoured to carry the next heir. Deevayo had been dealing with the cats long enough to know that they followed their king’s lead blindly. Neither Baal, nor his son, would have any need to steal another’s child away. Besides, the cats protected their hatchlings fiercely. No one should be able to simply waltz in the city, much less the palace, and kidnap an infant.
The chief reasoned that the only way that this female could have been able to disappear from Ix-Maal, and get as far as the Kan-meech’s village in one day, was with some kind of help. Either she had a vehicle lying around somewhere, or her hypothetical accomplice had ditched her. Deevayo really doubted that the hatchling she was carrying was actually hers. On the other hand, she might be a bit delusional. The way she spoke about the prince exposed obsession, and a deep conviction on this love that the prince supposedly felt towards her. She was convinced of everything she was saying.
Deevayo hissed in scorn. No hatchling was safe in the hands of such a person. He could not in good conscience let her keep the babe any longer. He’d made contact with the city, and arrange for the cats to pick them up, but he was going to make sure that the kitten was unharmed first. If the parents had been looking for him, he would rather not have them going berserk in his village. He was very much aware of the damage the cats could inflict, and if this hatchling resulted to be indeed Jareid’s son... Well, he was pitying the female already.
“Shival, Nuan, take her to the guests’ flat. Taira would see that neither of them is injured.”
“What? No, no, we would not go to any guests’ flat!”
“You’d spend the night here. It is very late already and it’s raining. The hatchling needs to be seen to, and be fed. Any more exposure and he’d end up sick.”
“He’s not going to be sick, he’s the heir! He’d eat once we are in the palace, only his wet nurse can feed him! I know you have the means to take us, we can be there in minutes!”
Deevayo’s eyes widened fractionally. If there had been any doubts about the female’s state of mind, they were gone now. She was irrational. They couldn’t leave the babe in such an unbalanced person’s care.
“The fastest of our vehicles would take three hours to reach the city. Maybe more if the rain becomes stronger. There’s no need to risk the babe.”
“I have to be there now! Lend me a vehicle, I can ride it faster!”
Deevayo frowned. Anlee was appalled. He could see that his mother was just a step to snatch the hatchling away from the jaguaress. The cat was clearly deranged. Sure, the big battle ships that the cats owned moved insanely fast. One of them would barely leave the ground before arriving to their village and landing again. The lizards didn’t see the need for such hurry. They had accepted many of the cats’ technological merchandise, especially for healing, but the only vehicles they were comfortable with were the slow ones. And they only used them for official meetings and to carry goods for the market and festivals. The Chief didn’t even have one of the communication devices. He preferred to actually be present when someone was talking to him.
In the stunned silence that followed Mai’s declaration, the child suddenly stopped his crying and wriggled madly in the female’s arms. He managed to free one of his little arms and immediately scratched the hand supporting his belly. Mai hissed and loosened her hold a bit. Taira couldn’t stop herself any longer. She grabbed the hatchling and wrestled him away from the other female. Mai growled and tried to attack the lizard, but the warriors were fast to contain her. She started yelling as if possessed.
“No! How dare you?! Give me back my cub! He’s mine! Don’t touch him! You have no right to touch him!”
Deevayo made a gesture with his head and someone injected Mai with a special drug. The jaguaress still yelled at them, but slowly stopped fighting until she was almost asleep. The two warriors holding her prevented her from falling.
“Take her to the flat. She should sleep ‘till morning.”
“Yes Chief.”
Deevayo turned to his mate and the child. The babe was still crying softly, but he was no longer wailing his lungs out or fighting the one holding him. Taira was rubbing his back and murmuring soothing words in his ears.
“Can you take care of him, Taira? Tomorrow we’d send for the cats. I don’t want that female here any longer than necessary.”
“I can. Poor thing is very scared. He needs dry clothes and food.”
“There’s surely something you can feed him. Anlee, you’re going to Ix-Maal first thing tomorrow. Let’s see if we can get some sleep for now.”
“Yes father.”
&&&&&&&
Taira cleaned the hatchling and put him in clean and dry clothes. She did notice the emblem embroidered in the soiled nappies, thus concluding that the babe did have some relation to the royal family. The stripes on his back led her to believe that the tiger was one of his parents. She really, really hoped that the female that they had subdued was not the mother. But even if she were, Taira would justify taking the hatchling away from her. She was insane, and in no condition to care for the infant properly. If she had been telling the truth and king Baal had tried to steal the babe from her, Taira would hardly call it stealing, more like rescuing.
Once he was properly cleaned, Taira tried to give the little one some coconut milk. Lizard hatchlings would be eating small pieces of solid fruit already, but she knew that female cats produced milk for their babes. The little one however wasn’t accepting the sippy cup she was offering him. He was sobbing, and very restless. Taira frowned. She was the medicine woman of the village and was sensitive to certain waves of energy from her surroundings. She had sensed something from the moment she had seen the babe, but she had assumed that the jaguaress and the hatchling’s own distress had been the source. However, it hadn’t gone away. She could feel something... weird.
She held the babe and started murmuring some words that would let her see better what was wrong. Suddenly the candles in the room went out, and an oppressive feeling invaded the ambience. Taira stopped. Her eyes widened and she looked around at the shadows that looked much more solid than they should. The babe cried louder, and there was movement from the corners.
Taira closed her eyes and produced a low sound, similar to a hiss. For several moments everything seemed to freeze in the little room, only the babe’s cries were still heard. After a few minutes, Taira understood, and opened her eyes again. She changed the babe’s position, putting him upright against her chest. He tried to bite her shoulder, and his tiny hands fisted on her tunic tightly.
“Shh, little one. You poor thing, you were not ready for such an event to happen to you. Come sweetie, you’re growing up into such a fine shaman. I’ll tell you a secret.”
She chanted some verses into the babe’s ear, and the hatchling slowly quieted down. Soon, the room felt normal again and the candles’ fire came back. Satisfied, Taira tried the sippy cup again and smiled when the babe actually drank the coconut milk this time. He was hungry, the poor thing, and very exhausted. As soon as he finished the milk, he was yawning, still between sobs but calm enough to sleep. Taira went to her own room and put the hatchling on a hammock there. She tied both ends in such a way that the net hugged the little body and would not let him fall. Then she went to sleep with her mate, listening to the rain that was still falling.
&&&&&&&
The darkness stirred. It moved and flowed, changing form slightly as it went around. Several peaks seemed to go up, and then down until finally the shadows settled. It was… surprised. It seemed an eternity since it had last possessed consciousness of any kind. Perhaps millennia since its last master. It curled and unfolded, looking for the energy that had woken it up. It recognized poor remnants of the offering used to summon it. It had been a powerful rite, but no longer important. It had provoked the darkness to be in contact with a much more powerful energy. Still immature and raw, but with great potential. It had called to the dark and the shadows had latched on it. It was still close by. Their new master.
&&&&&&&
Anlee prepared one of their hover vehicles and was ready to go as soon as daylight broke the horizon. He didn’t really like the thing. Lizards were not flying animals and he felt way too vulnerable going over the trees. But he had no other way to reach Ix-Maal without taking at least five days of walking through the jungle without rest.
He was more than halfway to the city when he spotted several tiny blots ahead. He frowned. He was still very far, but he thought that those could be the cats’ biggest ships. A moment later, the blots started moving, and soon after that they disappeared. Anlee didn’t know what that meant, so he ignored the event and continued his way. If he flew at top speed he could be in the palace in about an hour.
&&&&&&&
Xilara sighed as she looked out the window of the nursery. She should be having breakfast, but she was not hungry. The servants and crafters were busy repairing the damage done, and the Shamans were going to implement magical protections for the entire palace. All of it was unimportant at the moment. Xilara was more worried about her own son, and the state they could find the cubs in. No one knew if the little ones had been hurt or how being in contact with dark magic could have affected them. Xilara prayed that all of them were found alive and returned home safely. Jareid and Tygra would be heartbroken if they failed in retrieving all three cubs. Most of all, she feared that Jareid would not be able to accept the loss of even one cub. She had seen her son lose his senses and resort to violence numerous times, but this was the first time that she truly feared that he might not return to sanity again. He hadn’t been overly violent, some would say that he had been actually reasonable, but she knew better. She had seen other kind of madness in his eyes. A calm, terrible dangerous one. It had been like see into the deep darkness of the deepest cenote, get drown and not resurging anymore. She had begged Baal to keep their son away from the main conflict if possible. She feared that if Jareid started to kill now, he just would not stop.
“Mom? Can we stay with you until they get back?”
Xilara turned around to see her daughter, Lion-O and Snarf at the door. She hadn’t hear them entering. She had been lost in her thoughts.
“Of course dear. Maybe we can start to see what can be salvaged from the room.”
Lion-O looked around in sadness. The servants were cleaning up the debris, and the remnants of the rocking chair and the shelves had been already retired. The rest of the furniture would no doubt be replaced, including the crib. Dark magic was too unpredictable, and no one would risk some remnant to have latched in the crib. The young lion put himself to work with Yeana, sorting out the toys that were scattered. He was miffed that he hadn’t been allowed to go with the attacking force, and worried about his brother. He prayed that his nephews and niece were ok. He knew that Tygra would be devastated if he lost even one of his little cubs. Snarf stayed on a corner with his ears down and looking miserable. Lion-O had tried to reassure him that it hadn’t been his fault, and that they would get the cubs back, but Snarf was just very depressed.
Snarf had been the one that had gotten it easier though. Saixa was already out of the Shamans’ wing, having no threatening injuries save a couple of bruised ribs and the remnant of a concussion. She had taken a hard blow, but was otherwise fine. Cheetara on the other hand had several broken bones, a punctured lung, and had actually stopped breathing for several minutes. The Shamans had saved her life, but she was going to take a while to recover entirely. Additionally, she was a cleric. The dark magic had affected her spirit too, as she hadn’t had any contact with it before and wouldn’t know how to deal with it. The Shamans would need to help her “clean” her spiritual energy once she had recovered physically.
Lion-O sighed and forced himself to pay attention to the Queen, who was talking about the new things they could acquire for the cubs. Xilara was trying to distract them. He really appreciated the effort, but wished that the adults would stop considering him a child. He wished he could help more.
They had been cleaning for some minutes when Saixa appeared at the door, looking a bit pale but alert.
“Excuse me, your majesty.”
“Lady Saixa, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be resting?”
“I’m actually very well my Queen. You don’t have to worry about me. I was growing restless in bed anyway.”
“Well, then you can join us.”
“Actually, Kaleb is asking for your presence in the small conference room. It seems that we have a visitor.”
Xilara frowned. A visitor? Who could it be?
“Do you know which of the tribes is sending a message?”
“I believe it’s the Kan-meech. I got a peek when I was passing the hall.”
Lion-O perked up. The Kan-meech was the tribe of the lizards that inhabited the jungle. He had been surprised when he had first discovered that the jaguars were in fact allies with them. It was one of the many topics that he had wished to discuss with his father for ages, but just couldn’t find the proper time. He wanted to know more about them and the alliance, and his tutor had been very helpful with that.
The Queen sighed and got up to receive their visitor. The two young kits stood up after her. She looked at them for a moment.
“Come children. You’re old enough to deal with our allies.”
Lion-O smiled and picked Snarf up. The small group walked to the meeting, wondering what could be the issue that the lizards wanted to discuss.
&&&&&&&
A while later, Lion-O was gaping in disbelief at the lizard sitting on the chair in front of them. He couldn’t believe their luck. He was sure that the cub the messenger had described was Itzamma.
He turned to his side to see the shocked eyes of the others, though they were doing a better job to hide their surprise than him. Lion-O started to fidget. He wanted to jump into action and go to retrieve his nephew. Kaleb and the Queen though, were still cautious in their reactions.
“Are you sure that the cub this jaguaress carried with her is prince Jareid’s son?” Asked the councillor. He was relatively sure that it couldn’t be anyone else, but he had to be certain of the facts. Anlee shrugged.
“As I told you, that’s what the female kept saying. She was adamant that the babe was the prince’s and that both had been abducted. But we have no way to confirm her plead. She also insisted that she was the babe’s mother, though she didn’t look like it to us. Frankly, we thought it more likely that she was the one to kidnap the babe. She doesn’t seem stable at all.”
The female was Mai. It had to be. There had been no reports of any other cub missing. Xilara’s first impulse was to make contact with Baal, but he was with their forces, trying to recover the other two cubs. They probably were already in Avista, if everything had gone according to plan, they should have been engaging the birds at that moment. He couldn’t be distracted.
“Kaleb, take a few of the guards and go to retrieve both the jaguaress and the cub. Whatever their identities, they must be brought to the city anyway. We don’t know how long it would be before my husband is able to return. We can have a head start on this.”
Besides, they didn’t know if the fleet was in the middle of full-fledged war. Xilara would message her husband via their private line. He would listen to it when he was free to do so. Kaleb nodded and stood up. Lion-O stood up too, wanting to be part of the group. Xilara turned to see him and Saixa. She frowned in thought. Lion-O was already fourteen, and this was only a retrieval mission. Not at all dangerous. Saixa could be needed, especially if Itzamma was hungry. But she had just left the Shamans’ wing, and it was unorthodox to send a female that was not part of the forces in a mission. No matter how easy this mission was. Saixa however stood up too and made a small courtesy.
“With your permission, your majesty. I’d like to go with the squad. I can see to Itzamma’s needs, and he’d recognize me.”
“I’d like to go too!” Said Lion-O a bit urgently. Kaleb smiled at the lion’s exuberance. It seemed that the lot of them had already decided that the cub had to be Itzamma. “If you think it pertinent your highness.” The boy said as an afterthought, colouring a bit in embarrassment. Xilara nodded minutely.
“Very well. Get ready to go.”
“If I may your majesty.” Anlee said before everyone got out of the room. “My mother also requested a Shaman to be sent. She said that she had some things to discuss about the babe.”
Xilara froze for a moment. For a medicine woman to request a Shaman was a signal of something more delicate. Kaleb frowned at the lizard.
“You didn’t say that the cub was hurt.”
“He wasn’t. Not that I could see anyway. He was just very upset and hungry. Mother however could have sensed something else.”
That did it. Xilara was certain that the cub was Itzamma. Taira must have felt the dark magic used to abduct him. Unfortunately, both Xiar and Bengali were with the fleet, and only a handful of the Shamans had remained in the palace. She’d have to send the one that was most trustworthy at the moment. She turned to her daughter and the girl stood readily.
“Yeana, go find Sarai, please. Tell her that I need a word with her.”
“Yes, mom.”
The little girl ran outside the room. The rest followed to get everything ready. In short time a small squad was assorted and ready to go. Xilara watched the ships as they left and got lost in the distance. Anlee’s vehicle had taken nearly three hours in arriving to the palace, but their small ships were faster. Even so, it would take them another hour to get to the Kan-meech village. Xilara took her communicator and sent her message to Baal. Hopefully, all three cubs could be reunited with their parents by the end of the day.
&&&&&&&
Deevayo gritted his teeth and wished for the cats to be there already. Really! He could swear that the jaguaress had bird genes in her. Her screams could be heard in the entire village! The Chief turned to see his mate trying to give some fruit juice to the hatchling, who was refusing.
“I’m happy that at least he is quiet today.”
“He’s still depressed. He was very scared yesterday, but I don’t really blame him. That female can’t possibly be his mother. She is utterly deranged!”
“Let’s just hope that Anlee doesn’t return with a pair of enraged parents. Cats become unpredictable when they are feral.”
A loud noise was heard suddenly, followed by frantic screams and swearing. Deevayo went immediately to his front door and opened it. A few warriors passed by running with buckets of water.
“What is happening?”
“The female has tried to set fire to the bungalow, Chief.”
“While still being inside?”
“Yes.”
Deevayo groaned and shook his head. Taira joined him in their porch, looking in bewilderment at the commotion.
“See? Just what I was saying!”
He was tempted to order his people to just leave the jaguaress alone. Surely the cats wouldn’t hold him accountable if she happened to kill herself? However, he couldn’t really predict what Baal’s reaction would be to a cat dying while in the lizards’ custody. Even if it was an annoying and psychotic one. Not to say that, if for some unfortunate turn of events the female resulted to actually be the hatchling’s mother he would need her alive, so the reason to separate both would be clearly exposed. As unlikely as that was, he couldn’t dismiss the possibility just yet.
After some moments, he could see that the fire had been dealt with. The screams started anew. The female was clearly frustrated with her failure at escape. She was threatening with sending the cats’ forces to exterminate the village, and demanding the hatchling back. Deevayo looked at his second son, who was in charge of the warriors for the moment, and sighed heavily.
“How long has it been since Anlee departed?”
“A little more than four hours father. He should be on his way back already.”
“Now I wish we had some way to communicate with him. Perhaps I would accept some of those calling things the cats keep offering me.”
“To be fair, we had never been confronted with such a situation like this before.”
“I pray for nothing like it to ever happen again.”
It was a long half-hour later that a small contingent of vehicles landed on the special platform of the village. A small ship, big enough to carry at least ten people, surrounded by five hover bikes and towing Anlee’s vehicle safely. Anlee got out of the ship as soon as it touched floor, followed by the cats’ first councillor, a Shaman, a female, a young lion carrying a pet, and three royal guards.
Deevayo greeted Kaleb formally, and then observed the rest of the entourage. He noticed the distinct lack of any member of the royal family.
“I’m assuming that you were sent to verify the hatchling’s identity. Can I trust that you will take the jaguaress away from here, even if her claims turn out to be lies?”
“Of course. She’s a cat, and whoever she turns out to be, it would be us making the inquiries. Though if she is who I suppose, she’s going to be in very deep trouble very soon.”
They had started walking to the central bungalow, and soon they heard the furious screams of the imprisoned female. Kaleb lifted his eyebrows, appalled.
“Whiskers. I think that my suspicion is now a certainty. How on Third Earth could you sleep with that noise?”
“We drugged her. Frankly, I would have ordered my men to do it again, if not for the fact that it would be detrimental to her health if she received a second dosage.”
“That would have been the less of her problems, believe me. I assume you took the cub from her?”
“Of course. Taira wouldn’t have left any hatchling with such an unstable caregiver. She has him in our home.”
Anlee and one of the guards escorted Saixa, Lion-O and Sarai to the Chief’s bungalow to retrieve their cub, while Kaleb continued to see to Mai’s detention.
Taira received her visitors in the sitting room, and seeing a female with them she handed her the babe. Both Saixa and Lion-O were very happy to see him, and she hugged him with care.
“Itzamma! Thank the Thunder that you’re here! Sweety, we’ve been so worried!”
Itzamma screeched happily in recognition and held tightly to Saixa’s clothes. The jaguaress sat on one couch and proceeded to kiss and inspect the cub thoroughly. Lion-O sat beside her and kissed his nephew too, earning a pull on his mane and happy babbling.
“Tygra is going to be so relieved. He’s not hurt, right?” Lion-O asked their host. Taira was smiling at them, believing that this female must be the little one’s mother.
“He was very upset. And frankly he had reason to. I’ve never seen such appalling neglect as what the female was showing. Even our warriors could tell that she had no idea about how to treat a babe. I don’t think he has sustained any physical injury save lack of appropriate food. However, I do feel obligated to have a few words with your Shaman, please?”
Sarai, who had been watching avidly at Itzamma and considering his reactions, turned to the medicine woman and nodded. She was fairly sure that Taira would have found some remnant of dark magic and wanted to be sure that the cub would be treated as soon as possible. She hoped that Xiar and Bengali would be able to take care of the problem. How Mai had ever thought that it was a good idea to call upon dark magic was beyond her.
While Sarai and their host moved to another room to have a bit of privacy, Saixa finished making sure that Itzamma was unhurt. She noticed that his eyes had slightly changed colour again and she sighed. Tygra was going to be upset that he hadn’t witnessed his cub’s now lavender eyes for the first time. Then she got a bottle from her backpack and gave it to the babe. Itzamma latched on the tit and sucked hungrily. Snarf climbed the couch too and sat close to Itzamma’s head, sniffing and licking the cub’s forehead continuously. Even the guard was looking attentively to the babe, making sure that no harm would come to him.
A slightly paler Sarai and Taira returned just as Saixa was winding the cub. Itzamma seemed very alert and looked around him at everyone. He spotted Snarf and extended one little arm towards the pet, babbling incessantly. Snarf got closer and bumped his head lightly on the babe’s shoulder. Itzamma made a happy noise, but then tried to turn and look around again. Saixa got him to sit on her lap, though he wouldn’t release her clothes.
“He’s very stressed. I hope that his parents would arrive at the palace soon.”
Taira cocked her head in curiosity.
“I thought you were his mother?”
“Oh, no. I’m… well, wet nurse would be the most appropriate term. I provide the milk for him and his siblings, and take care of them.”
“I see. Then you’re indeed part of his family. He clearly recognizes you as such.” She said smiling. Saixa coloured a bit.
“Well, I suppose I am, in a way.”
Itzamma seemed to have finished his recognizance of the people in the room and turned to look at Saixa. A tiny sob escaped him and he pulled on her blouse. Saixa looked down at him.
“Oh dear, don’t be sad. We’re going home now.”
Itzamma sobbed again and his little mouth quivered.
“Ma.” He said.
Everyone stood frozen, looking at the cub in shock.
“Ma.” He repeated and pulled on Saixa’s clothes again. The jaguaress paled a bit.
“Oh, goddess.”
Itzamma turned to look at Lion-O and sobbed again.
“Ma!” He said louder. Lion-O blinked.
“I think he’s looking for Tygra and Jareid.”
“Oh, good.” Saixa breathed in relief. Jareid was furious enough already. He was going to be murderous when he realized that they had missed their son’s very first word. She didn’t want to know what he would have done if Itzamma had identified her with that, oh so important word. She hugged the little cub against her chest again and tried to soothe him.
“It’s ok Itzamma. Your daddies are not here, but we’re going to meet them soon. We’re going home sweetheart. You’re going to be with them soon.”
Itzamma sobbed and started sucking his tiny fist. Saixa produced a teether from the bag and gave it to the anxious babe. He latched at it and continued nabbing at the toy. Then Saixa stood up and directed herself to Sarai. She wanted to hand the cub over to the Shaman, so she could look over him more thoroughly. Itzamma however wouldn’t let go of Saixa’s blouse. He whimpered in distress and held on furiously. Sarai sighed, sensing that the cub would be too distraught for her to examine him. She only passed her hands all over him, doing a quick recognition, and acknowledged that he seemed healthy.
Finally, Taira guided all of them outside, giving a last kiss to the cub. Sarai assured the female lizard that they would reinforce the protection she had set on the babe and would take care of everything.
They found Kaleb and the guards already waiting close to the transport with a furious Mai in their midst. The jaguaress was screaming imprecations at them and making demands as if she had a right to do so. Saixa sighed and held Itzamma tightly, reassuring him that none of the present cats would let the crazy woman snatch him again. Mai looked ready to strangle someone, and Kaleb was clearly losing his patience.
“I’d accuse you of high treason Kaleb, if you don’t do as I say! I demand my cub back, and the wretched lizard that dared to take him from me executed!”
“You’re in no position to demand anything at this point, Lady Mai…”
“I’m the princess! I’m Jareid’s rightful mate! I’m the mother of his heir! The sooner you acknowledge that, the better for you Kaleb.”
The councillor gritted his teeth, and for a moment allowed himself to be grateful that Jareid had never had the opportunity to choose a mate. The gods knew what would have happened if Mai had actually ended up as future queen!
One of the warriors scoffed at the jaguaress, and just couldn’t help himself.
“You’re delusional. As if king Baal would have allowed you to jeopardize the prince’s mating. The heir is Tygra’s.”
Immediately Mai rounded on him.
“That tiger is nothing to Jareid, nothing! He’d rid himself of that useless cat as soon as I have talked to him!”
“You’re crazy.” Concluded the warrior before Kaleb gave him a gesture to keep quiet. Mai’s eyes then spotted the approaching group, and she yelled and tried to run at them. Two guards held her arms quickly.
“Let me go you fools! She has my cub! You should be arresting her! Why is she here anyway?!”
Kaleb made his best effort to ignore her, and directed himself to Saixa, looking anxiously at the little cub she was carrying.
“Is he hurt?”
“No, only anxious and upset. He was hungry, so I fed him a bottle. Jareid though, is going to require a lot of magic and tranquilizers.”
Kaleb looked at her with a worried frown.
“I’m afraid to ask why.”
Itzamma had looked up from Saixa’s shoulder, and was doing his best to look around.
“Ma!” He called. Kaleb froze.
“Oh…” He looked down at the cub, who was searching everywhere around. Then two lavender, far too intelligent eyes, looked directly at him.
“Ma?”
“We’re so dead.” He said. In the background, Mai was screaming again.
“Let me go! Can’t you hear he’s calling for me? He knows I’m his mother!”
Sarai approached the trashing woman and hissed at her, having had enough of her mad ramblings.
“Don’t be ridiculous. He’s only babbling because Lady Saixa is here. It’s her he’s recognizing. He’s one of Tygra’s twins.”
“Liar! As if I wouldn’t recognize my own cub! Everyone can tell him apart from the tiger’s spawn. He’s a pure jaguar!”
The warriors tensed, and Kaleb could tell that the female’s claims were getting to them. He could not afford for this to become fodder for gossip.
“Lady Saixa, if you please show the mad woman the cub’s parentage?”
Saixa nodded and stepped forwards. Itzamma took one look at Mai and turned around, clinging to Saixa’s shoulder. The jaguaress soothed him, and lifted his shirt enough to expose his back. The three stripes crossing from side to side were clearly distinct, as Itzamma seemed to have no spots or other marks of any kind on his back. Mai stood in shock for a moment. The guards were at once surer in their stance. Sarai explained further, more for the warrior’s benefit than for Mai’s.
“Tygra gave birth to twins. The first one to be borne is Jareid’s heir. The samples you stole had not been prepared yet. You carried a girl.”
“No… No, that’s not possible… You did something to my cub, you… You want the tiger as Jareid’s mate! You’re doing something to make it seem that my cub is not a jaguar! You traitor!”
“Sarai, please?” Said Kaleb, already tired of Mai’s stubbornness. “Before I’m the one to kill her.”
“Of course sir.” The Shaman nodded, and then lifted her hands towards Mai, who tried to step back.
“Get away from me! Don’t you dare use your magic on me! You’re sworn to not hurt the royal family!”
“Ah, but you’re no royal my Lady. And this is not going to hurt.”
She cast the spell quickly, and Mai fell asleep. The guards carried her to the ship, and Kaleb finally gave the order to go. Before boarding though, he turned a last time towards Chief Deevayo. The old lizard had been observing the procedures with Anlee and his own guards at a safe distance. Lion-O followed Kaleb’s lead, wanting to thank the lizard Chief appropriately.
“I’m terrible sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused you Chief. We greatly appreciate your help.”
“Hai. No problem whatsoever. Though I’m surprised that the female was able to pull one over Baal. She’s giving dangerous a whole new definition.”
“Indeed.” Kaleb sighed, and Lion-O took the opportunity to speak.
“I want to thank you Chief; in the name of my brother Tygra, for protecting his cub. He’ll be most grateful that his son is returned unharmed.”
“Nothing to thank young man. A hatchling must always be protected.”
“I’m sure that king Baal would want to thank you in person Chief.” Finished Kaleb. “He’d send a message soon. I expect that we’d be seeing each other again in short notice.”
“Very well. Until then, go in peace.”
Both parties said their farewells, and then the cats boarded their vehicle. The squad took no time in leaving the platform and flying away. Deevayo watched them go and sighed in relief. The cats were powerful allies, but they were undoubtedly troublesome.
&&&&&&&&
Jareid was working himself into killing mode. The lack of any tangible target only enraged him more. That rage was slowly but steadily increasing as time passed by and his family was still missing a cub. He was sitting in place just because his lap was full of mate that was deeply distressed and holding two cubs tightly. The little ones were very anxious too. Ixchel was sobbing from time to time, clearly uncomfortable and grabbing tightly both his and Tygra’s clothes. Akbal was biting a teether angrily, and his little head turned to look around from time to time. He was obviously not liking what he was seeing, because every time he sobbed, babbled and tried to get Tygra’s attention. The tiger tried to soothe him, but Akbal continued restless.
The jaguar prince was counting the minutes for them to arrive home. He had barely noticed that they had actually spent more time than he had initially thought in Avista. While he had been focused on searching the jungle, time had slipped by. Now that he was idle, it was slowly crawling past. He knew that the trip back home would take the exact same amount of time than the first one, but it was lasting an eternity! He wanted his family complete now!
He growled in unhappiness, and rubbed Tygra’s back. He had demanded to talk to his mother when Baal had told him that she had a lead to Mai’s whereabouts. Baal wouldn’t let him though. He hadn’t wanted to pressure Xilara by demanding information that she might not have yet. Jareid was as a result crossed with his father. He thought that they could be directing themselves to whatever part of the jungle Mai could be instead of going home.
Akbal lifted his little head for the hundredth time and slapped Tygra’s cheek once more, sobbing and babbling. Tygra kissed him and looked towards Ben, silently asking what to do to calm down his son. Ben leaned towards them and put a hand on the cub’s back. Jareid sighed. His friend had already checked both cubs and had not found remnants of dark magic. They were only very scared. Jareid was still fuming that his cubs had been hurt. He was glad that Avista had been destroyed. The stupid birds deserved no less.
Finally, they arrived to the palace. Ben helped Tygra to get up, and the group walked as quickly as possible in search of Xilara. The queen had been warned beforehand about their arrival, and she was waiting for them in the family sitting room. As soon as they got there, Jareid immediately demanded an explanation. Baal had to force him and Tygra to sit down before Xilara started talking. The tiger was very anxious too, and was holding his two cubs tightly. Ben had accompanied them, and sighed in worry. Jareid didn’t wait long to start asking again.
“Mother, please, where is Itzamma?”
“Keep your calm son. I’m sure that he’s fine. Kaleb just called, he says that they are on their way back already. He’d be here soon.”
“How did you manage to find him? Where was he?”
“Just about an hour after you left, Anlee was here requesting a word. Kaleb and I received him, and he told us that they had found a jaguaress with a cub in their territory. She was claiming to have been kidnapped and insisted that the cub was Jareid’s son. She also insisted on being the mother.”
Jareid growled in anger. The fucking woman had dared to steal his cub and make it seem like she was the victim!
“Why didn’t they come sooner?”
“It was night already, and you know that the Kan-meech aren’t as keen of technology as we are. Besides, apparently the female was out of control and insisting that she could drive a vehicle all on her own. Deevayo didn’t trust her, and preferred to send his own son early this morning. The cub she was carrying was in need of attention, and it was raining, so they practically forced her to surrender the cub and stay the night.”
Tygra was somewhat relieved to know that his cub had been helped. He was very anxious to have him back.
“Where is the Kan-meech village? Is it far from here?”
“About 400 miles to the northeast. Kaleb took Saixa and Lion-O with him to help with Itzamma. He called a while ago to confirm that the jaguaress is indeed Mai, and that Itzamma seems to be fine. Taira took care of him, and didn’t allow Mai close to him again. I presume that it would still be a half an hour before they arrive.”
“Why don’t you take care of your other two cubs while we wait? I’m sure that they would be much more comfortable in your rooms.”
Tygra nodded and took his cubs to his den. Jareid followed him after making sure that his father will call him the moment Kaleb and the others arrived. He needed to ensure that this time Mai was not going to go free of punishment.
&&&&&&&&
Kaleb looked nervously as they approached the city. He had not been expecting the fleet to be back already. He had been counting on the King’s, and especially Jareid’s, absence to get Mai safely into a cell without problems. Well, there was nothing for it. He called the Chief Commander before landing and received instructions to lead his entourage to the throne room. That meant they had to wake Mai up, which he was loath to do. He knew that the woman would start bitching again the minute she was fully awake.
He went to talk with Saixa and Lion-O, telling them the instructions. Neither was too happy with it. It would have been best for everyone if Mai had been allowed to wake up in isolation. Saixa sighed and looked down. She had Itzamma and Snarf on her lap, as the cub had hugged the pet the moment they had settled on the seat and had been unwilling to let him go. The babe was quiet, and looked relaxed enough, but he wouldn’t sleep. Lion-O was grateful that his nephew had recognized them and didn’t seem scared. He was confident that, once in Tygra’s arms, the little cub would be happy again and would forget the entire ordeal.
The situation had resolved itself relatively well, all things considered. The only apprehension the cats still had was Jareid’s reaction. Kaleb was sure that Mai would end up dead anyway. There was no way that Baal would allow kidnapping to have any other punishment than execution. But Jareid’s violence was… disturbing. Too feral and too close to the cats’ darker instincts for comfort. Kaleb felt shivers just thinking about it. It wasn’t even the fact that Jareid could kill with his bare hands if angered enough what bothered the elders. It was the fear that someday maybe he wouldn’t stop. It was something that everyone in the palace kept as a dirty secret. The untold possibility that one day Jareid would just stay feral and not regain sanity.
Kaleb cursed Mai for the thousandth time. Tygra had been doing so well, and had put a very nice leash on Jareid’s actions. Everyone in the council had been so very happy. Now, Kaleb really doubted that Tygra would have the presence of mind, or even want to stop his mate if he went berserk. Both of them had been ready to uproot the entire jungle looking for their cubs. Though he didn’t blame them, it was also very unnerving given Jareid’s violent disposition.
The ship landed, and Kaleb sent Saixa and Lion-O down before Sarai woke Mai up. The female was pretty confused and that allowed the guards to get her off the ship and into the palace without much fussing. The group of nobles and four guards made their way through the corridors with a sense of urgency. Itzamma seemed to perceive their anticipation and started to jump restlessly in Saixa’s arms. Kaleb prayed that the cub wouldn’t start crying. Thankfully, Itzamma didn’t usually make much noise, and he looked more anxious than upset. The one that started complaining was Mai.
Just before entering the throne room, Kaleb grabbed Saixa’s arm and said quietly to her ear.
“If you have the chance, give Itzamma over to Jareid.”
“What? But…” Saixa hesitated. It didn’t seem like a good idea. “He’s going to be angry. What if he hurts him without meaning to?”
“I don’t think he would. But don’t worry, just do it if you have the chance. I hope that Tygra would be there too. Maybe Itzamma would be kind enough to say his little word aloud? That would distract his parents just nicely.”
They stopped outside the doors to take a breath. Everyone was visibly nervous. Except Mai, who was fighting the guards’ hold and demanding to see Jareid and to have her cub back. Kaleb looked at the two cats restraining the angry female and noticed their own restlessness.
“You are to escort her to the king, but you don’t have the obligation to defend her from Jareid. If the prince is present, you’d follow his orders.”
“Yes sir.” The guards said, somewhat relieved. No one wanted to be between the prince and his target when he was furious.
Surprisingly, Mai also stopped fighting. If they were seeing Jareid, she was sure that she had nothing to fear. The jaguar prince was in love with her. He would free her at once, and Kaleb would pay for his mistreatment of her.
The councillor gave a final breath and opened the doors. The ample space was designed to show grandeur. The long hall flanked by black columns and plants ended in a set of stairs that led to the platform where the throne stood. The walls were pure white, and behind the throne was a big window from floor to ceiling. There were more windows all along the left wall, providing the hall with a fountain of illumination. The floor was also white, except for the black tiles resembling a straight path from the entrance to the stairs and the throne. Right at the middle of the hall, a stained glass in the ceiling reflected the clan’s symbol.
Kaleb advanced, followed closely by Saixa and Lion-O. Baal sat on the throne, with his wife standing at his right. Jareid and Tygra both were at his left. The prince was visibly tense and just barely stopping himself from charging ahead. Bengali was nowhere to be seen, but Xiar was next to the Queen. The elders and the rest of the council were standing at both sides of the hall in various states of nervousness. Kaleb groaned. Baal’s obvious intention was to pass sentence as quick as possible, but the high councillor doubted that Jareid would be able to stand still for long.
Indeed, they had just walked half their way when the guards brought Mai in. Kaleb cringed when the insufferable female screamed Jareid’s name, calling for him to help her. Why the woman thought that Jareid was going to give her any help was beyond Kaleb’s comprehension. He looked horrified as the prince roared and advanced on them, fur all on end and glaring murderously.
Saixa, Kaleb, Snarf and Lion-O promptly stepped out of Jareid’s path. The jaguar was not even looking at them. His entire focus was on the female that had kidnapped his cubs. The guards holding Mai froze and for a second didn’t know what to do. Then, they unceremoniously pushed Mai towards their furious prince and scrambled away. The female faltered, but recovered rather quickly and extended her arms, expecting hugs and kisses from his love. What she got was a roaring Jareid, who took her arm painfully and flung her into the nearest column. Everyone cringed at the loud sound of the impact. Kaleb turned away to see that Baal had stood up. Every cat present was looking in distress as Jareid proceeded to grab Mai by the hair and slam her against the wall a couple of times. No one moved a muscle to try to stop him.
Tygra had followed his mate down the stairs, but stopped in front of Saixa. He smiled and lifted his arms to take his son. Itzamma was jumping excitedly and happily grabbed his father’s clothes, little arms trying to go around the grown cat’s neck. Tygra cooed and kissed his cub’s head, talking soothingly to him. Itzamma giggled happily, which made a disturbing contrast with the background sound of Jareid trying to beat Mai into a bloody pulp. Tygra was pointedly not seeing his mate’s way, apparently unconcerned by what he was doing.
That was until someone pulled insistently on his sleeve. Tygra turned to look at his brother’s horrified face. Lion-O gulped audibly and looked like he was going to be sick.
“Ty…” He said pleadingly.
Tygra grudgingly lifted his eyes to look at Jareid. He gritted his teeth. He knew that he ought to be stopping his mate, but was reluctant to risk bodily harm trying to save the bitch. He felt oddly detached from what Jareid was doing. The woman had taken his cubs away. Tygra was not in the best disposition to help her.
Itzamma babbled for a moment, and then seemed to decide that he was not getting enough attention. He lifted his tiny hand and slapped his father’s cheek a couple of times.
“Ma!” He called loudly.
Tygra froze. He turned his eyes towards his son, who was looking at him intently.
“Ma.” He repeated happily. Tygra was speechless. The cub’s words were clearly perceived in the shocked silence that had taken over the hall. Even Jareid stopped, eyes wide and arm frozen in midair. His ears turned minutely in attention towards his mate and son.
“Ma!” Itzamma tried to insert his tiny hand into Tygra’s open mouth. The tiger barely got out of his stupor.
“’Zamma, love. You… you’re talking.”
“Maaaa…” The little boy looked happily at his father and bumped his little head against the tiger’s neck.
Jareid turned his head towards his family. He had a nearly unconscious Mai grasped by the neck against a column. His right arm was high in the air, already posed to strike. The female was pleading weakly, begging him to recognize her, but Jareid was only listening to his son’s words. No. Just the one word, repeated over and over again. The jaguar prince released the woman he had been strangling, all but forgotten as he focused his attention on his cub. No stupid woman was going to distract him from the important moments in his cub’s life.
Tygra was trying to get Itzamma to change the “m” for a “d” sound without success. His little son had evidently linked him to the word “ma.” While he felt a vague sense of embarrassment about it, the pride and happiness were much more intense. The tiger turned towards Lion-O and asked.
“Is this the first time he talks?”
“Yes! Yes, the very first.” Lion-O nodded vehemently, very much aware of Jareid’s approaching figure. He was very glad that Saixa had taken the precaution of getting apart from Tygra. She was far enough for everybody to be sure that Itzamma was referring solely to the tiger.
Jareid walked up to his mate, pleased by the lion’s assurance that Itzamma had not said any other word before then. He embraced his mate possessively and leaned to kiss his cub’s head. Itzamma looked up and gave a delighted exclamation of “Ah!” Tygra noted the absence of the “m.” Jareid actually chuckled, as if he had not been about to murder someone.
“Let’s go home. Ben would check him up, and I’m sure that Akbal is so restless because his brother is not there with him.”
Tygra nodded and let Jareid guide him out of the hall. He pointedly didn’t look around and avoided acknowledging the slumped form at one side that was Mai.
No one in the hall moved until the door was firmly closed behind the pair. Baal could swear that he heard a collective sigh of relief. He huffed in annoyance at his own apprehension and then ordered Xiar to check what state was Mai in. Once it was confirmed that she was still alive, the council started to debate. Some of them proposed to just execute Mai right then. They were going to do it anyway, why prolong the inevitable? Others suggested to wait, at least until they were sure that Jareid was satisfied and was not going to lose his mind because the object of his ire had disappeared. Baal ended up ordering to keep Mai in the cells for now. They still weren’t sure of what exactly she had done to call the shadows, and if there could be further consequences of the ritual she may have used. They could have need of her, depending on Xiar’s assessment of the cub’s spiritual energy. He supposed that she should be at least kept healthy, so he ordered Xiar to send one of the Shamans to tend to her injuries. Much later, he would be asking himself why he had even bothered.
&&&&&&&
Ben had stayed in the couple’s room at Jareid’s insistence. The prince hadn’t been willing to leave his cubs with anyone else, and Tygra had thought it best to not expose them to the entire council. Besides, he had been sure that Jareid was going to go ballistic the moment he saw Mai, and his cubs had already seen enough violence. So, Bengali had been coerced into babysitter’s job. He took advantage of the position to make sure that no traces of dark magic lingered in the two cubs. Though both were still restless and spent the time rolling around on their parents’ bed.
Akbal was the most upset. He had managed to crawl to the border of the mattress twice, and Ben had barely caught him before he fell. The small cub kept sobbing and pointing to the study. He wanted his parents back. He was still pretty shaken. Ixchel was also restless, though her anxiety was more due to the uncomfortable feeling in her bum. The rash wasn’t severe, but enough to cause some pain to the cubs.
He managed to get Ixchel to sleep after applying soothing balm on her delicate skin. He was just finishing changing Akbal’s nappy, applying the same balm, when he heard the distinct noise of the study’s door opening. Akbal turned his little head towards the entrance arch again and cried in delight when his parents appeared. Ben was relieved to see Itzamma in Tygra’s arms. The cub looked fine, though he seemed to be clinging to Tygra’s clothes tightly. However, he turned towards the bed when he heard his brother’s cry. He jumped excitedly and a happy grin broke in his little face.
Tygra put his blond cub on the bed next to his brother, and was surprised to see him rolling on his belly and grab Akbal’s little arm. Both cubs babbled at each other incessantly and started touching and pulling everywhere they could reach. Tygra was flustered for a moment. This was the most active that Itzamma had ever been. He observed attentively as his sons got reacquainted with each other while Ben conspicuously checked Jareid up and down. The jaguar looked relatively calm, a bit disarrayed, though he was surprisingly not covered in blood as Ben had expected. There was something… different in him, and the white tiger was intrigued.
“Are you alright?” He asked. Jareid turned his eyes to him.
“You know, only four people are actually worried about me when they ask me that. You, mother, Yeanna, and Ty.”
Bengali frowned in mild worry. He lifted his right arm, intending to check Jareid’s spirit, but the jaguar stopped him, grabbing his wrist.
“I’m fine. Check my son first. He’s gone through quite an ordeal.”
Ben sighed and turned towards the bed. He was surprised to see Snarf among the cubs. He had not noticed the pet entering with Tygra and Jareid. Snarf was making himself comfortable at Ixchel’s back, without disturbing the little girl.
Seeing that his twins had finally separated, Tygra gave Akbal a plastic toy for him to entertain himself. Then the tiger got hold of his blond cub and changed him into clean nappies and a tiny shirt. He was deeply relieved when he found no sign of rash or any other injury on Itzamma. His cub waved his little arms at him, calling him “ma” all the time. Ben approached them with an amused smile.
“Ma, uh?”
Tygra huffed, but he was still smiling and kissing his son’s face and tummy, making him laugh.
“He’s obsessed with that word. I’m not sure he’s actually referring to me. Maybe it doesn’t mean what we think.”
Ben observed the little cub cautiously. He was partial to say that Itzamma was using the exclamation only when he was looking at Tygra. He only babbled to Akbal, and he made no indication that he wanted to call to anyone else.
“I don’t know. I think that we can be sure that he’s not just throwing a random word around. He seems pretty focused on you when he says it.”
Tygra sighed in acceptance and held up his cub. Akbal had crawled up to where Snarf and Ixchel were and was making himself comfortable at the other side of the pet. Jareid arranged the pillows to make a nest around the cubs, while Tygra and Ben went to sit down on the armchairs. There the white tiger focused entirely on the babe. He would have preferred to have him separated from Tygra, but he didn’t want to upset the little one. Itzamma appeared to be fine, but Ben couldn’t help but notice the way he tenaciously held on his father’s clothes. The Shaman put a hand on the cub’s back and immediately Itzamma turned his little head to look at him with wide violet eyes.
“Ma!” He said, and pulled on Tygra’s clothes. The tiger kissed his forehead tenderly.
“It’s ok love. Ben is not going to hurt you. He’s going to make sure that you’re fine. I’m not going anywhere.”
“His eyes changed colour.” Said Ben offhandedly. Tygra sighed.
“Yes, they were more greyish before. But it’s fine. They’re taking a very pretty shade of violet.”
Ben hummed and concentrated a bit of energy on the hand that was on Itzamma’s back. There was a bit of light, and the cub relaxed and leaned more freely on his father’s chest. He started sucking his left fist, but his eyes remained alert and focused on Ben.
On the bed, Jareid had finished making sure that his other two cubs were asleep and comfortable with the pet. He turned his attention to his mate and friend, observing the proceedings and every change in Ben’s face avidly.
Bengali started to hum an enchantment. He could now feel the vibrant ball of energy that was Itzamma’s essence, his ki. He sensed another’s magic there. It wasn’t harmful, it was in fact stabilizing Itzamma’s light. But there was something else there. Something darker, and much more older.
Ben frowned. He could distinguish the dark magic that had found a home in Itzamma’s developing ki. It was… merging.
Ben opened his eyes in alarm and gently retired his hand. The cub remained quiet. Ben sighed, and Jareid immediately was over him, his presence demanding, and as imposing as always.
“What is it Ben?”
“It feels like Taira put something in place to protect him. It’s shielding him and keeping the traces of dark magic somewhat at bay, so it won’t overwhelm him, but it’s temporary. I need to talk to Sarai and Xiar.”
Jareid snarled at the mention of Xiar, but Tygra was too worried to notice.
“So, he has been affected by the dark magic. Is it hurting him?”
“It doesn’t appear so. I need to know exactly what Mai and Taira both did. It seems that Taira contained the dark magic, but couldn’t get rid of it. She would have explained to Sarai what she found. Xiar would be able to go from there.”
“Ben, I really would prefer that Xiar has nothing to do with this.”
Ben’s eyes widened in alarm. Now was not the time for Jareid to hold on his grudge with Xiar.
“Jareid, this is delicate. Xiar is the High Shaman, and he has more experience…”
“I don’t care how much older than you he is! As far as I know you are already at his same level. You can do everything he can!”
Ben gaped, completely sidetracked by Jareid’s declaration. Tygra saved him from trying to come up with a coherent response.
“Jareid, this is serious! I know how much you dislike Xiar, but it’s our cub’s well being! I won’t have him hurt by this! The dark magic can do horrible damage, it has to be stopped before it starts to really eat at him.”
Jareid came over to sit at the armrest on Tygra’s side. He carefully put his hand on his cub’s head and slightly massaged behind the tiny ears. Itzamma made a sound of contentment and started purring.
“He looks so calm. Is that… thing really affecting him?”
“Not actively, but I’m afraid that it is there, and it has a strong hold on him. Taira’s magic is protecting him for now, but…” Ben hesitated. He would have to explain that Itzamma’s own ki was being contaminated. That would lead to him revealing something about the cub that no one had wanted to. Not so soon at least. “I really need more information. Taira’s protection is enough for now, but we have to solve this as soon as possible.”
Jareid growled lowly and Tygra tightened his hold on Itzamma. The thought of dark magic inside his little cub was terrifying.
“Ben, please, you can get rid of it, right?”
Bengali sighed. He feared that the darkness would be impossible to dispose of completely. But he still grabbed the young tiger’s shoulder firmly.
“I promise that I’d do everything I can to keep Itzamma from harm.” Tygra nodded gratefully at him and Ben stood up to go.
Jareid followed him as far as the sitting room and grabbed his arm urgently at the door. Ben put his free hand on the prince’s shoulder, trying to reassure him.
“It’s ok Jareid. Your son is going to be fine. We’d find the way to fix what Mai has done.”
“Just promise me that you won’t let Xiar decide what’s best based on stupid prejudices. I know that dark magic is feared, but the Shamans have the means to control it, and I won’t have my cub harmed just because no one would care to find a suitable solution.”
Ben pressed his lips in a thin line. He had been only thinking about how much Itzamma’s ki would change with the taint of dark magic in it, and how to help the infant to process the conflicting perceptions that would undoubtedly come. He had forgotten about the jaguars’ particular idiosyncrasy pertaining their kings.
“I’d make sure to refocus him if he seems to be considering politics more important than the cub’s health. I’d tell you if something seems to be fishy.”
“Thanks Ben. And would you please bring something to eat when you’re back?”
Bengali lifted an eyebrow in surprise, not at Jareid’s demand for food, but at the assumption that he’d be back soon enough to provide it.
“I’d send a servant. I don’t know how long it’d take for us to make a suitable assessment, and Tygra must be famished already.”
Jareid considered this, and finally nodded in acceptance.
“Fine. But be here at night. I want you to stay.”
Ben blinked.
“Here? In your rooms with you?”
“Yes.”
Ben was confused for a moment, but then realized Jareid’s fear.
“I don’t think there would be any more shadows to worry about, Jareid. Mai’s in custody, I presume.”
“Yes, but she’s still alive, and as long as she remains so she can do some other stupidity. I’m not taking the chance that she still could have some means to do more magic, or thunder forbids, that her first incursion into it could still be active.”
“I seriously doubt it, but I agree it won’t hurt to be on guard. There are many ways she could have messed things up after all. I’d stay.”
“Thanks Ben.”
Jareid nodded to his friend and finally let him go. He returned then to his mate and cubs, already thinking about what he had to do to ensure their safety.
&&&&&&&
It was night already, and Jeron, the prison’s commander, looked impassively as Jareid approached him. He debated with himself for a moment if he should call reinforcements, but the prince looked calm and collected. He wasn’t roaring in blind fury as it had happened with Bali, and he was talking instead of forcing his way to the holding cells. The commander decided to listen, and if his prince wanted to be alone with the prisoner for a moment… Well, he really had no sympathy for traitors, and Jareid was going to be the king. It’d be in his best interest to follow the prince’s orders.
&&&&&&&
Mai looked up at the sound of the cell’s door opening. She had been waiting for the Shamans to come back after realizing the big mistake they had done. Her eyes widened though when she saw Jareid entering. She tried to sit up, regardless of the pain she was in. She had sustained several broken ribs that were now mending thanks to the Shamans’ attention. She had bruises everywhere and a broken nose. It didn’t matter, the Shaman had told her that she would be fine in about three days. She had demanded to be taken to a suitable room, but she had been denied. She was furious about that. Also, they wouldn’t allow her to see Jareid.
She had been broken-hearted when he had attacked her, but after some time she had convinced herself that there was a conspiracy against her. Baal had never liked that his son had been sleeping with her, and the young court had always been jealous of her good fortune. Everyone knew that she was his favourite, he had never denied it. She didn’t understand why he had been so mad, she was back, they had their heir, and he could finally get rid of the spoiled tiger. The only thing that she could think of was that his family had been telling him lies. She reasoned that probably the Shamans had done some kind of illusion. She was sure that Jareid would never have hurt her. He had probably thought she was someone else, maybe even the tiger had manipulated him.
But they had made a fatal mistake; Jareid was with her now. He surely had discovered what his father had done to her and had come immediately. He was in his senses and he would take her with him now. Finally, she’d have the position she deserved and everyone was going to pay for everything she had suffered.
She stood up on shaky legs and waited for the prince to hold her in his arms. Jareid however snarled at her and pushed her to the bed again. She gasped in pain as she fell heavily on the mattress, and looked up in surprise.
“Ja-Jareid… please, you have to recognize me. All of this misunderstanding…”
“Don’t bother. I have always been perfectly aware of who you are. I don’t care what you have to say, Mai. I’ve put up with my father’s decision to spare your miserable life for far too long. But it ends now.”
“Wha…? Jareid, please, they’re lying to you! I swear that my cub is yours! No one else has ever touched me. They are trying to convince you that I was not loyal! And that bullshit that I had a girl…!”
“Shut up! You don’t have any cub. Even the girl is no longer yours, I don’t care if you carried her! My three children are all hybrids.”
“They messed with mine! He’s a boy, and he’s pure! He should be pure! You know what the shamans are capable of. They surely did something…”
“Of course they did something! I told them to!”
“W-what? You? W-why? I…”
“You are nothing but an insufferable leech. Why on Third Earth would I want you to have cubs with? I told the shamans to fix the third cub, so now all three are just mine and Tygra’s.”
“But… but you love me… I know you love me! That tiger is to blame! He has confused you!”
“Even if Tygra had never appeared, I would have sooner mated with Saixa than you. At least she is intelligent enough to be bearable!”
Mai looked horrified. She didn’t understand why she was being rejected. This couldn’t be Jareid. But there was no one else with them, and an illusion couldn’t cover the smell. It was Jareid before her.
“No, no, that’s not true! You always came looking for me! You always preferred me!”
“Please! You were fine enough for a rump, but not for much else. You were dismissed the same as every other cat that used to warm my bed. Only Saixa proved that she could be worth something. She was the only one clever enough to give Tygra his place.”
Mai saw red. It wasn’t possible. Jareid belonged to her, and her alone!
“No. No! You can’t go away! You can’t love another! I’m the only one for you Jareid! The only one!”
Jareid grabbed the female by the neck and quickly got her lying on the bed. He hovered over her, snarling.
“I know. Ben once told me that you were acting very much like myself, though I like to think that I’ve never been so stupid. I know what you are capable of, so I’m going to stop you, permanently.”
“Ugh… Ja…Jareid… please…”
“Of course, Lady. It would be my pleasure.”
There were screams, but no one outside the cell heard them.
&&&&&&&
Tygra opened his eyes and frowned in confusion. He listened to the rain falling outside the window and took account of the three cubs sleeping on the bed with him. Snarf had preferred to sleep on the puff, so Tygra could only distinguish three little figures close to each other. He couldn’t pinpoint what had woken him up. The room was dark, save for the continuous lightening that provided a ghostly illumination from time to time.
He contemplated the sleeping figures of his cubs for a moment. He had been reluctant to leave them alone, and Itzamma had not wanted to let go of him. Even then he could feel his blond cub’s little hand over his arm. Ben was sleeping in the study, and Jareid… was not where he was supposed to be.
It took him a moment more to realize that there was a strong, coppered smell in the room. He lifted his head and looked around in mild alarm. Someone was in front of the bed, just where the armchairs were, taking off his shirt.
“Jareid?” He said quietly. The figure stopped and he could hear a mild chuckle.
“My tiger. I didn’t mean to wake you up. And after all the effort it took to make Ben go back to sleep and be quiet.”
“What are you doing? Has something happened?”
Jareid approached the bed and hovered over the tiger for a moment. The coppery smell became stronger and Tygra slowly realized that it was blood. He squinted his eyes, and at the dim illumination of lightening, he noticed that his mate’s fur was sporting several rather large dark patches.
“Why are you covered in blood?” He asked, feeling disoriented. Jareid only sighed and shrugged. He leaned down and gave Tygra a quick kiss on the lips.
“Don’t worry about that. I just made sure that you four are going to be safe. I’ll take a quick shower and be back in no time.”
Tygra looked as Jareid disappeared into the walk-in closet and closed the door. He took a moment to process his mate’s words and then he sat up, careful to not wake up his cubs. He looked towards the armchairs and got out of the bed. He picked up Jareid’s discarded clothes and snarled. The garments were practically drenched in blood. Tygra vaguely remembered the time when he was almost drowned. He tried to feel something in the face of the evidence of what Jareid had done, but all he was able to summon was a vague annoyance. It was as if his mind couldn’t get past the thought that the clothes were now ruined. He mechanically went through the study and the sitting room to throw the offending clothing as far away from his cubs as possible. He didn’t know if Ben had sensed him passing, but the white tiger thankfully didn’t make any move.
When he returned to the room, he was surprised to find Itzamma sitting upright without any help. The cub was looking around anxiously and made an anguished sound when he spotted him, lifting his little arms up. Tygra hurried to his son’s side and picked him up, rubbing his back soothingly. Itzamma settled down rather quickly and Tygra returned to the bed with him.
He had just put himself and his cub comfortable again when Jareid came out of the en-suite and joined them. Tygra watched as his mate lied down on the other side of the bed, leaving their cubs between them. The tiger prince started to feel uncomfortable. Jareid wasn’t smelling of blood anymore, but something was… off. He couldn’t put the finger on it, but there was something about Jareid’s attitude that was unnerving him.
“Jareid? Is everything alright?”
The jaguar looked at his mate. The light was really poor, but Tygra could still see the other cat’s eyes. Calm, collected, and strangely pleased.
“Of course precious. I took care of everything. No danger to our family anymore.”
Tygra gulped, still on edge without knowing why.
“Your clothes were ruined.” He said simply. Jareid’s silhouette shrugged.
“A minor inconvenience. What matters is that you and our cubs are safe now.”
He extended his right arm over the babes’ heads to reach Tygra’s cheek and caress gently. Tygra blinked. The blood. It had had to come from somewhere. There was only one way Jareid would have dealt with Mai. The memory of his nearly fatal encounter with Bali reared its ugly head again, and Tygra knew what was wrong. The rage. The uncontrollable rage and the insane look in Jareid’s eyes. It was absent. Jareid was not feral. He looked in complete control of himself.
Tygra whimpered and looked as Jareid caressed all three of their cubs, wondering why the absence of madness in Jareid’s demeanour felt wrong. The jaguar cupped the little head of Ixchel, who was closest to him, in one hand, and started to gently rub it. The little girl purred and moved towards her father’s warmth. Tygra barely stopped himself from reaching out to them.
“No more reminders, my tiny tigress. Now you’re truly mine.”
Tygra reached out and grabbed Jareid’s arm firmly. The jaguar hummed and moved his hand to return the gesture. Tygra could feel that his mate was close to sleep. He shuddered. He suddenly felt very grateful that Ben had managed to make Ixchel look almost exactly like him.
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A Tale of Jaguars