Chapter 21:Yuka stretched languidly, wiping the sleep from her eyes as she did so. When she opened her eyes, she found Kumi leaning over her a small smile on her face. The shewolf’s hand went up to stroke her mate’s shoulder, the mehndi had turned out quite beautifully and, the color had darkened to red after it finally dried and blended to the skin.
“Did you sleep well?” The shewolf asked and Kumi nodded in response, laying her down next to Yuka with her head resting on the shewolf’s shoulder. “How are you feeling?”
“Excited.” Kumi looked up at Yuka. “After this we’ll be bondmates.”
Yuka leaned down to kiss her mates forehead. “I look forward to the days that I’ll be able to see you smile.”
“There you go again.” Kumi smacked the shewolf’s shoulder before hiding her face in Yuka’s shoulder. “Stop making me blush!”
“But you look cute when you blush. Look at me.” Yuka made Kumi look at her with a hand on the kitsune’s cheek. “When you blush it reminds me of how shy you were when we first met and how it makes me want to ravish you all day long.”
The blush on Kumi’s face deepened and Yuka took that as cue to give her mate their first kiss of the day. When they pulled away both where a little flushed and were trying their best to catch their breaths.
“We should get ready before our families come.” Yuka suggested, reluctantly pulling away from her mate. “Plus, I don’t Sayaka will like it if she finds us still in bed like this. She’s a bit old fashioned, I think if it were up to her, we’d be sleeping in separate tents.”
Kumi let out a small laugh before replying. “I don’t think she’s that bad.”
“Could have been worse than.” The shewolf stated.
They started to prepare for the day, having their breakfast first before taking a bath. Afterwards they put on a set of robes, a lighter set than the one they usually wore and exposed the mehndis that they made.
Looking over her shoulder to see if her mate was finished, Yuka opened her mouth. “Finished?” She asked, as she heard footsteps approaching the tent, she could already hear their family approaching.
Kumi nodded, before adjusting her belt to her robe. “These feel weird. Am I wearing it right?” She voiced, before feeling a pair of hands on her shoulder. Yuka fixed her robe, and now it didn’t feel as weird as it did before.
“There. You look so beautiful, my kitsune.” Yuka kissed the top of Kumi’s head before pulling back, just in time to catch the girl’s blush and before the flap to the tent was opened.
“Gods, it reeks of sex in here. Can’t keep your hands off of her for a day huh, Yuka?” Seira teased, as she held the flap open for everyone to enter.
Mieko and Miyuki were carrying the materials they needed to finish the mehndi while Jurina was carrying two much heavier items. The young pup carefully set them aside.
The wolf being teased, simply cleared her throat to hide her embarrassment. She looked at everyone, nodding as everyone was here, she could feel a familiar gaze on her, and she looked the source. Namba’s Alpha was looking at her, more directly at her arm. Without warning, Sayaka grabbed her arm, and lifted the limb for a closer look.
“Weird...but I like it. We’re supposed to add onto this?” She asked, genuine curiosity in her voice, she wasn’t used to Sakae’s customs.
“Yes, as you’re Kumi’s family. You’re to add onto mine, while Jurina, Mieko and, Seira add onto Kumis. It’s to bring our families closer together, and it’s also the final blessing.”
Jurina perked up at her name. “Then we get to feast right?”
Yuka chuckled at her student’s obsession with eating. “Yes, pup.”
Sayaka and Miyuki had walked up to Kumi to check on her just as Yuka’s family did.
“Kumi…” Sayaka said as Kumi embraced the both of them. She patted the kitsune’s head and though Kumi was almost as tall as Sayaka and Miyuki, she still tried to tuck herself in between them comfortably. “How do you feel?”
“Excited.” She held her surrogate parents tighter. “Thank you for finding me.”
“I wish we had more time with you.” Miyuki lamented but she she had a small smile on her face. “But we’re happy that you're happy.”
Yuka observed Kumi and her family. She felt Mieko’s hand on her cheek and the shewolf turned her attention to her eldest advisor.
“I can’t believe that you got bonded before me.” Mieko said, patting Yuka’s cheek softly. They’ve been through thick and thin since they were young and seeing them reach this stage of their lives seemed a little bit surreal. “I feel old somehow.”
“You’re hardly old!” Seira defended. She turned her attention to Yuka and bumped the shewolf’s arm lightly with her fist. “I got something for you. I hope you like it.”
“If it’s another one of your masterpieces, Seira; I’ll love it.”
“We should start soon. There was already a crowd forming around the tent when we went in.” Mieko suggested.
“You won’t forget about me won’t you?” Jurina asked, there was a light tone in the way she said but Yuka could see a bit of the underlying worry in her student’s eyes.
She ruffled Jurina’s hair. “Of course I won’t. Don’t forget that you're the godmother to my and Kumi’s pup.”
The people that Yuka considered as her own family walked up to, just as Sayaka, who was now carrying the materials for her mate, and Miyuki reached her. They were supposed to enter separate rooms, so that they could focus on working on the mehndi as well as bonding with their families. With one last longing look towards each other, Yuka and Kumi entered their respected rooms.
“You two are such saps.” Sayaka commented, setting the materials down on a table.
“Like you aren’t with Miyuki.” Yuka quipped.
“Enough you two.” Miyuki admonished, she started to check on the ink that they were going to use. “Yuka-san, sit on the cushions and Sayaka please don’t make a mess.”
“I’m not even doing anything!”
Miyuki ignored her shewolf, sat in front of Yuka and took the shewolf’s palm in her hands. “We don’t know what design to put on you, well I don’t know anyway because Sayaka wants the middle blank. So, I’ll get started.”
“I hope it’s nothing silly.” Yuka said while Miyuki dipped the brush in the ink and started working on the mehndi. Working first on the original mark from Yuka’s shoulder to her hand, the ink they were using now was permanent, unlike the henna paste that only lasts for a few months.
The shewolves watched Miyuki move her pattern on the base of Yuka’s palm. Her brushes were light and Yuka’s palm tickled a bit but after the first stroke it seemed she had decided on what pattern to do.
After a few moments of watching Miyuki, Yuka looked up to see Sayaka still entranced with the human’s work.
“Sayaka…” Yuka called out softly, careful not to disturb Miyuki. “I still haven’t received any details as to why you need my help.”
Sayaka sighed, she nearly forgot about that. With the time they spent here and semi-blissful life they’ve been having it seemed her own problems didn’t even exist. But after Yuka’s reminder, she now felt the urgency to act.
“I’m sure you’ve heard about humans being attacked by wolves as of recent.” She started, seeing the nod from the Sakae shewolf. “It’s my pack that’s doing it and before you say anything, there is more to the story. It’s not exactly Namba doing it, a rival pack came in and took over...I’m no longer an Alpha.”
Yuka’s eyes widened at the news. “Why didn’t you say anything before?”
“You said that you had your own problems, and now that those are over, we can get back to mine.” Sayaka sighed, running a hand through her hair, she hated talking about Namba’s current state.
“How did all of this happen? You don’t just stop being an Alpha.”
Taking a deep breath, Sayaka retold the events of that ‘night’, and also mentioned how she met up with Akari, who informed her of all the corrupted things the new ‘Alpha’ suggest for the pack to do. While the majority of her original pack remained loyal to her words, more and more of the new ‘Alpha’s’ members joined up, and they started attacking human camps and villages.
Yuka was quiet through the whole story. “They aren’t just going to stop. This may sound a bit crazy, but that new wolf in charge, she doesn’t want any humans around, and now that she has a group that follows her every command, she’ll be able to do just that.”
“There’s one thing I don’t understand though.” Sayaka growled. “Where does she get these followers? Don’t you think that someone from the other clans might have noticed this?”
“Don’t forget that we have rogue packs, this Alpha that’s taken your place must be one of them and it’s not surprising that none of the clans have heard of this or made a move to stop it before it escalated. We generally don’t care about the rogues.”
Sayaka nodded, clenching her fists. Yuka had a point but it was still so sudden and it hurt her to have it taken away from her so suddenly. Being Alpha was her calling and without it she felt worthless.
“I’m almost done!” Miyuki interjected, she’d been listening in to the conversation and the way Sayaka voiced her confusion about Namba’s problem made her want to drop everything and hold her wolf. “Is it alright for you to talk shop on such a special day? Especially Kumi’s?”
She mocked glared at the shewolves and somehow she was able to make their ears fold in shame. “Especially you, Yuka!”
Sakae’s Alpha muttered a sorry and both shewolves went back to watching Miyuki work on the mehndi. Just as she said before starting, Miyuki had left the center blank for Sayaka and when she finished, she took Yuka’s other hand and held them in hers tightly.
“Take care of Kumi and make her happy.” She said, squeezing the shewolf’s hand and stood up before Yuka could say anything.
Yuka lifted her palm to admire Miyuki’s work, the style was a little different than Kumi had done for her, it looked a bit odd with the center of her palm left blank but it was still beautiful. She looked up when a much rougher hand took hers.
“Careful with that. Kumi likes my hands.”
Sayaka winced. “Keep that up and I’ll paint a butt instead of what I had in mind.”
“You wouldn’t do that, would you?” Yuka let out a nervous laugh.
“I would.” Sayaka growled out. “Now hold still before I take someone’s eye out with this brush.”
Sayaka finished faster than Miyuki, taking her a few minutes to finish her work on Yuka’s hand. When she was done, she let of go Yuka’s hand and waited for her fellow Alpha to say something. Yuka, on the other hand, was trying to memorize all the detail of what Sayaka had just drawn. It looked like she’d seen it before and seemed to be important.
She put her hand down and gave Sayaka a confused look. “What’s this?”
Sayaka adjusted her armband, making sure that Yuka could see one of the symbols on it. “On your palm is my family’s symbol. I know that we’ve made an agreement to help each other from today, Sakae and Namba are now allies but that symbol there, makes you more than just an ally. You’re family now, as much as Kumi is ours.”
Yuka was at a loss for words, Miyuki and Sayaka had made her promise to take care of Kumi, and she gladly agreed to all of them but this was the final blessing that she needed. Miyuki walked up behind Sayaka and placed her hand on her mate’s shoulder.
Sakae’s Alpha stood from the cushions and kneeled down, bowing her head low in front of Sayaka and Miyuki. “I vow with all my heart and soul to take care, protect and love Kumi. I’d give my life for her happiness.”
“You better not die or she’ll go crazy.” Sayaka said after Yuka straightened herself up.
Miyuki squeezed her shewolf’s shoulder and smiled at the Alphas. “Looks like we’re done here but you can’t leave this room yet, Yuka.”
The shewolf asked why she couldn’t leave, it might have been less than a few hours but she missed Kumi already and wanted to see her mate as soon as possible.
“Your family has something for you. So you’ll have to wait here a little bit.” Miyuki stated before bidding the confused shewolf goodbye and leaving the room with Sayaka.
--
Kumi nervously sat down on the cushions, she started to fiddle with the hem of her sleeve. Jurina noticed her teacher’s mate looking nervous and sat down next to Kumi.
“Hey, Kumi…” Jurina called out and the kitsune stopped fiddling with her sleeve to focus on Jurina. “Has Yuka told you that I’ll be your pup’s godparent?”
Kumi smiled at Jurina, her hand unconsciously moving over her belly. “She has… thank you for accepting.”
“No!” The young shewolf shook her head. “Thank you for choosing me as your pup’s godparent. I promise that I’ll take care just as Yuka took care of me.”
“Just don’t stand around and do nothing when you're bleeding to death. I don’t want to traumatize our child.”
“Ah… So Yuka told you about that.” Jurina laughed, for her teacher that might have been one of her most memorable moments but there are times Jurina would still have nightmares about it. “I promise I won’t.”
“Kumi, we’re ready.” Mieko interrupted, sitting down on the cushions with her sister next to her.
With her nervousness forgotten, Kumi held out her palm for Mieko to take and the Sato sisters started to work on the mehndi, Mieko on her palm and Seira working on the other parts. They’ve discussed beforehand that Jurina will be the one to add the final touch on Kumi’s palm. Jurina leaned her head against, Kumi’s shoulder and started to ask questions from the plans they have for the pup to Kumi’s race.
When the Sato sisters finished their part, Jurina stayed seated next to Kumi, opting to keep her head on the kitsune’s shoulder and continue their conversation.
“Do you plan to have more than one pup?” Jurina asked and with one last stroke of her brush she smiled at Kumi, waiting patiently for her answer.
“Yuka wants more in the future. I don’t know how many though.”
“Judging from how this room reeked of your scents, I’m guessing you’ll have more than just two pups in a couple of years and your race is fertile too, I bet Yuka loves that.” Seira remarked. She felt her sister smack her head. “What? It’s true, look at her blush! I don’t think she’d mind making them.”
Kumi’s blush deepened and next to her she felt Jurina bounce excitedly. “Can I be their godparent too?”
Mieko sighed. “Calm down you two, the first pup hasn’t been born yet.” She turned her attention to Kumi. “Since we’re done here, you’re supposed to be allowed to see Yuka but before that we have something that you need to wear first.”
“What is it?” Kumi asked, tilting her head a bit to the side.
“Something that your family will help you with.” Mieko explained before ushering the other two shewolves out and bidding Kumi goodbye.
Kumi looked down on her palm, taking the time to admire the mehndi that Mieko, Seira and Jurina had made. She wondered what kind of pattern her surrogate parents gave to Yuka and slightly worried that Sayaka may have added something silly. The kitsune looked up when she heard the curtain being lifted and Miyuki was immediately by her side, taking her hand to look at what Yuka’s family had made.
“How is Yuka?”
Sayaka snickered. “She’s fine, I didn’t her hurt her or cut her tail off.”
“Actually Sayaka had a bit of a moment with Yuka.” Miyuki whispered to Kumi’s ear. “I think she’s starting to like Yuka, don’t you think?”
“I can still hear you, Miyuki.” The shewolf on sat on the cushions too, placing Kumi between her and Miyuki. “Did they tell you that we have something for you?”
Kumi nodded. “They did but didn’t tell me what it is.”
“We’ll wait for mehndi to dry before we get it okay?” Miyuki suggested and Kumi acquiesced, cuddling against Miyuki just as she usually does.
--
Rena, along with her traveling group were almost back of the camp. Upon that statement being made, everyone started moving at a faster pace. Tani, being the ever endless bundle of energy, was wandering around the moving bodies of wolves, making sure no one was falling behind, and occasionally falling back to talk with the foreigners.
Kanon stayed up front, as she needed to make sure they were all going the right direction, but she would occasionally scout ahead. She could make out the faintest outlines of the main camp. “We’re almost there.” She motioned to their home with her fingers.
Tani appeared out of nowhere, surprising the two, but she simply grinned in her furry form before shifting. “We could probably run the whole way back, I smell something good and I’m sure everyone else will catch the scent too.” She suggested.
It was true, wolf after wolf caught wind of the food being prepared at the bottom of the sandy hills. Rena nodded. “Tell everyone to shift.” She looked at Tani and then at Non. The two nodded, before running in opposite directions. Once everyone got the message, multicolors of wolves stood behind their leader, waiting for her to make the first move.
It almost reminded Rena of when they were going to battle. Shifting, she threw her head back and howled, before shooting forward, her strong legs leading her pack home.
--
“Is it dry yet? I hear more and more people outside.” Sayaka asked for the nth time, secretly excited for the gift for Kumi to put on.
Looking down at her palm, she expanded it to see if the ink moved or not. Seeing that it didn’t, she looked up and smiled. “It’s finally dry, all I have to do is wash off the extra ink and we're good to go.”
Hearing those words, the shewolf jumped from her seat, and walked over to the cloth wrapped gift. But as she removed it from the table, another pair of hands took the bundle from her, looking at Miyuki, all she got was a grin.
“I’ll handle this. Just stay like this.” She whispered, patting the shewolf’s cheek, before turning around.
Sayaka scowled, but otherwise stayed put.
“What’s that?” Kumi asked, as she saw Miyuki approaching her. She watched as her surrogate mother unwrapped the item before her, then motioned for her to take it. Reaching forward, she saw two leather braces sitting on top of a folded robe.
Setting the bracers to the side, she lifted the robe, allowed it to flutter down, the robe only had one sleeve, and it was on the arm with her mehndi, as it fell down, a belt of rope fell with it. The robe stopped around mid thigh, and was a dark orange, with black and white.
Kumi was speechless at the garment. “This is for me?”
“Yes, now hurry and get dressed. Yuka should be putting on her gift as well.” Miyuki urged the kitsune to put on her new robes.
Kumi gave the robes back, and began removing the ones she was wearing since waking up this morning. She was excited to put on her new set of robes, allowing the removed cloth to fall the ground, she held her arm out for the robe, but Miyuki didn’t hand it over.
“Let me help.” Miyuki said, moving behind Kumi. “Hold your hands up, you simply have to slide it on before you tighten it up.” She said, as Kumi followed her instructions. The soft material slid onto Kumi’s body, it fit her perfectly, although a bit loose at the waist.
“It’s so soft.” Kumi hummed, the material of the robes rubbing against her skin softly, as Miyuki began wrapping the belt around her waist, the belt was a bit heavy, but it had to do it’s job of keeping the cloth down.
Miyuki looked up to survey Kumi’s face. “It’s not too tight is it?” She asked, but all she got was a head shake. “Good. Now let’s get these bracers on.”
“Are you two finished yet?” Sayaka asked, still facing the wall of the tent, her tail flicking behind her, as she waited impatiently. She wanted to see Kumi in her new clothes, but she had to wait.
Once Miyuki was done with the bracers, she pulled out a comb from her robe, and started combing Kumi’s hair, careful not to tug on the hair too hard, once the hair was untangled, Miyuki began braiding the shoulder length raven locks.
“I’m not waiting any more, I don’t hear any clothes being moved around, and this wall is really boring.” Sayaka said, as she turned around. Her eyes widened as she got an eyeful of Kumi. “Wow…”
Kumi blushed, not expecting that reaction. “How do I look?” She asked, turning around, her robe fluttering a bit.
“Amazing.”
Kumi rushed over and hugged the shewolf, she hasn’t felt this happy in a long time. “Thank you.” She whispered, before letting go and doing the same to Miyuki. “You two mean so much to me.”
“I bet Yuka is waiting for you by now.” Sayaka said, motioning towards the other side of the tent.
--
“Why are all three of you grinning like that?” Yuka asked, looking at whom she called family. all of them were wearing grins, while shifting from foot to foot. She expected this from Jurina and Seira, but Mieko? This was downright scary.
“No reason. Jurina bring the gift over here. Mieko, start working on that wild mane she calls hair-” Mieko shot Seira a look. “Please.”
Yuka simply stood and watched, as her student went off to the corner and pulled on the blanket that was covering something that she hadn’t seen there earlier. She let out a gasp as what was hidden under the blanket was revealed. Walking towards it she put her hand reverently on the metal as if she was afraid to touch it and after a moment she turned to face her family, especially Seira.
She wanted to say something to the weapons master but it felt like something words weren’t enough.
“A fitting armor for Sakae’s Alpha, yes?” Seira said. Yuka nodded dumbly and for Seira, Yuka being speechless and on the verge of tears was the best compliment she could ever receive. “Let’s put that on you, Jurina and I didn’t make that just so you could stare at it.”
Yuka stepped back, giving Jurina a quick hug and, letting Seira and Jurina prepare the armor for her.
--
The first that had stepped out of the room was Yuka, she stood just outside the entrance to Kumi’s room adjusting the straps to her vambraces.
The armor she wore was very similar to the design of the one she wore during the previous battle but the material Seira had used was much lighter but stronger than steel. The weapons master had prattled on what it was mostly made of but Yuka was too busy admiring each piece being put on her.
Her new set was now made up of an black brigandine with silver studs that now reached to protect her upper thighs, the lower part splitting on the sides up to her waist to allow maximum mobility. The steel chest piece had been replaced by one made of mythril and Jurina had explained that she was the one that added the symbol of Sakae that was emblazoned in the center. The pauldron she had on her left shoulder had a much different style than her old one, a collar was added to protect her neck and the pattern to it was more complicated, almost imitating her mehndi. The last piece was her knee-high greaves and the design on it was similar to her pauldron. Her favored scimitar was at her side too, it’s hilt had been polished and the blade sharpened as if it was new.
She tried moving around it and was surprised that it felt like she was only wearing the light robes she would put under her armor. The parts that had been made of steel had been replaced by mythril but all in all Yuka looked more dashing and more like the leader that Sakae had been needing all this time.
“Ten dinars says that Kumi’s gonna drop her clothes for Yuka as soon she sees this.” Seira whispered to Jurina.
“Ten for Yuka drooling over Kumi.” The young shewolf returned and they subtly shook hands before Mieko even noticed.
Yuka turned around to face her family and held out her arms a bit. “So, how do I look?”
“You look...oh.” Mieko smiled and gestured for Yuka to turn around.
Yuka turned and the shewolf’s ability to speak left her for the second time today. Kumi had come out of her room, followed by her surrogate parents but Yuka’s attention was on Kumi only. Her gaze taking on every single detail about her mate.
The robes she was wearing was different from what Yuka had bought for her, instead of nearly reaching her ankles it stopped mid thigh. The robe’s single sleeved reached past Kumi’s hand, flaring a bit at the end and the left side exposed her mehndi, Yuka’s mark and shoulders. It was held to fit her with a rope belt that was looped around a brown corset that was engraved with a gold pattern that almost imitated her mehndi. The cloth for the robe was dyed a dark orange and the hems were brown. Lastly, her boots reached just below her knees and the arm brace on her right hand had the same color as her robe.
Kumi played with the arm brace and tapped the tip of her boots on the floor nervously. Yuka hadn’t said anything yet and she was worried that the shewolf didn’t like what she was wearing.
“Say something!” Mieko whispered vehemently to Yuka, pushing on the shewolf’s back a bit.
Yuka came back to her senses with the rough push to her back, she looked down at Kumi’s feet, and slowly took in her new clothes one more time, before stopping at her face. Her mate looked amazing. Clearing her throat, she approached her mate, and touched her face, making Kumi lookup at her.
“You look amazing. I wish I could say more but my words are failing me right now.” She confessed, enjoying the blush that bloomed over Kumi’s face.
Kumi smiled bashfully, before taking in the shewolf’s appearance. “You look dashing as always.” She said, allowing her fingers to trace over her shoulder piece.
Cutting into their lovey-dovey mood, Seira pointed towards the tent entrance where the growing crowd was outside, mentioning how they’ve been waiting a pretty long time to see the couple. Taking Kumi’s arm, she wrapped it around her own, before escorting her to the entrance of tent.
They were greeted by the joyous cries of those that came to see them nearly overwhelmed the couple and if the music was quite loud already, it became even louder.
“Glory to the Alpha!”
“May your union blessed by the Goddess Ohori!”
“Long live the Alpha and her Queen!”Kumi blushed when she heard the last part and more so when Yuka grinned down at her.
“My Queen.” Yuka whispered into her ear and Kumi stopped herself from smacking Yuka.
--
‘Where is everyone?’ Rena wondered, as she entered the camp. Usually wolves could be seen wandering around, but there was no one around. Flicking her ears about, she tried to pick up any sounds, and after a bit she found a loud cheering. Shifting, she told everyone to stick with her, as she had to check in and give her report, it would be easier if everyone was with her.
Many of the shewolfs stayed as they were, while some opted to shift back to their two legged form and stretch about. The final dash exhausted a lot of them out, but they wouldn’t voice their complaints just yet, they knew their leader had something to do, and it involved all of them.
The cheering got louder and louder, as they got deeper and deeper into the camp, along with the scent of food, many of the wolves thought of sneaking off and finding the source, but once again fought their urges.
Rena was the first to reach the tent, where the newly bonded couple stepped out. She pushed through the large crowd that had gathered around the entrance before telling her pack to wait a little bit. But she wasn’t too impressed, it even if the couple was now in charge, her gaze remained on her mate, who followed after them, their eyes locked, and the older Matsui motioned for her to come over.
Whispering something into Yuka’s ear, Jurina made her way over to Rena. “You made it back just in time, and in one piece. You were gone a bit longer than I expected you to be.” the young shewolf voiced her worries, though they sounded more like complaints.
“Yes...it took a bit of time. My pack retreated quite a distance away from here, but with a moral boost and promises of food, they kicked their tired selves into high gear. Where should they set up?” Rena asked, she wanted her group to be finished unpacking and resting before the sun went down.
Jurina looked back one last time, she wasn’t really needed with her family right now, so she faced Rena once again. “I’ll help direct...Are you alright?” She asked low, not wanting to gain any attention from anyone else.
Rena waved her hand signaling that she was fine, but in fact she was tired, and dehydrated, she gave up her portion to younger wolves of her pack, she was used to putting the younger generations before her. Her head was also starting to hurt.
“Rena-”
“I’m fine. Just let me finish my job, then you can fuss all you want later.” She replied, cutting the younger shewolf off.
Jurina gave the older Matsui one last look, before sighing. “Let’s get to work. The feast begins soon, and everyone looks like they haven’t eaten in weeks.” The younger shewolf called over her personal group of guards, and asked for a report on how everyone was doing, even though she could of asked Rena, the wolf seemed out of it.
Hearing her name being called, Rena jumped back. “What?”
“I asked if you were ready?”
“O-oh...yea. Let’s finish this.”
As the two were going to walk off, they were called last second by Yuka.
Turning around Rena bowed her head to show respect to the Alpha who was now approaching them, her mate still leaning on her arm, but looking at Rena with honest eyes. It made Rena feel dirty to be gazed upon with such eyes, she was now purposely avoiding eye contact with her.
“I’m glad you made it back in time.” Yuka smiled a bit, still obviously uncomfortable before Rena, she was trying, but she knew it was going to take a lot of time and effort for that to happen.
“Yes...Congratulations on your bonding ceremony.” Rena replied, nodding her head at the two.
This time the one to respond was Kumi, who smiled at the older shewolf. “Thank you.” Those two words were echoing through her head, and Rena couldn’t figure out why. Kumi held her hand up, motioning for the shewolf to come closer, while at the same time, she let go of her mate.
“When you were gone, Jurina couldn’t stop moping around. So try and be nice with her. I know you two can get along if you try hard enough.” She whispered into the wolf’s furry ear.
Rena looked over at her mate to be in disbelief, before a blush made it’s way onto her face. Backing away she nodded her head. “I will try.” she responded, the look in Kumi’s sparkling orange eyes caused her to feel an uneasy warmth.Grabbing the back of Jurina’s collar, she dragged the young shewolf away, her pack following the two.
“What did you say to her?” Yuka asked, as her mate returned to her arm.
Kumi looked up and grinned, showing off her fangs. “Just some advice.”
Yuka blinked, those weren’t there before and was about to ask a question but the crowd around them cheered again. The noise made her forget about her questions and she beamed at the people around her proudly, in return they cheered and more music started to play somewhere within the crowd. The celebration begins now but Yuka would want to spend a bit of time alone with Kumi.
They slowly made their way back to their own tent, their family following after them and Yuka’s personal guards forming a protective circle. There were no immediate threats but they made sure to open a path for their leader. When they reached Yuka’s tent, they made sure that everyone of importance had entered before blocking the entrance. The crowd that had welcomed the newly bonded couple dispersed slowly, off to start the festivities but they were happy and talking about what just happened.
“So that’s it?” Sayaka asked as soon as they entered the tent. She still found it a bit strange that there was less formalities than Namba’s celebration.
“The bonding ceremony is private and focuses on the bondmates as well as their family. The party is there because it’s Yuka and Kumi’s bonding ceremony.” Mieko explained. “I know it’s not as extravagant as you thought but that’s how we do it here.”
“The good thing about this is that the party will last until tomorrow just before dawn.” Seira smirked. “So, free booze for everyone.”
The last word seemed to catch Sayaka’s attention and she started to Miyuki’s hand, urging her to leave the tent but the human seemed to prefer to stay put. Instead Miyuki pulled Sayaka along towards Kumi, taking the girl once again a tight hug.
“Congratulations.” Miyuki whispered into the kitsune’s, genuinely happy for Kumi.
Kumi tightened her hold on her surrogates for a moment before letting them go. “Thank you.”
She returned to Yuka’s side and, Sayaka and Miyuki took that as their cue to leave as well as the Satos.
“Alone again.” Yuka pointed out, looking around the room and noting a large pile of gifts from, which she assumed, were from the caravan leaders that came for the festivities.
“Do we still need to be out there?” The kitsune asked, looking up at Yuka through lidded eyes. She started to race a finger over the shewolf’s chest piece and Yuka’s eyes started to follow it. “I love the way you look in this armor.”
Yuka grinned at her mate, taking the kitsune’s hand she started plant kisses on Kumi’s hand and slowly made her way up until she was placing kisses on a smooth shoulder. “We don’t need to be out there until tonight but I don’t think they will notice us not even joining them at all.”
Kumi’s hands went up and grabbed the collar of the shewolf’s chestplate before pulling Yuka forward for a deep kiss.
--
Miyuki couldn’t help but be a bit curious of the ale her mate was guzzling down like water. She had heard several that it was a lot stronger than what humans were used to, but still she wanted to try it. The shewolf before her noticed the glances from her mate towards her mug, and placed it down on the table. “Miyuki?” she called out.
“Yes?” Miyuki replied, her gaze flickering up to meet her amused wolf’s gaze.
“Do you wish to try it? You should be fine as long as you drink it slowly.” Sayaka smiled, sliding her mug over. Carefully, Miyuki raised it to her mouth, and sniffed it, it didn’t smell bitter like normal beer. Taking a sip, she was immediately overwhelmed by the taste, and slammed the mug down. It felt like someone had poured acid and burning coal down her throat, coughing up a storm as her throat tried to clear itself.
Sayaka couldn’t help but laugh.
“What’s in this? It’s so strong.” Miyuki complained, before reaching for her water, trying to erase the taste of the drink from her mouth. It soothed her throat a bit but a bit of the burn and taste still lingered.
The shewolf shrugged, before continuing with her drinking of the free booze. “This isn’t even as strong as Nambas, this is diluted to me.”
“Thanks for the warning then…”
Sayaka took another long gulp and Miyuki was amazed that the shewolf didn’t seemed fazed by the taste at all. She put it down and immediately a passing serving girl refilled it. “You’ll get used to the taste.”
“I don’t think I’ll get used to it at all.”
“You got used to me.” Sayaka replied, earning herself a slap from Miyuki. “What?”
“That was a dumb comeback.” Miyuki laid her head against Sayaka’s shoulder, opting to watch the festivities going on around their table and idly eating the food laid out before.
“This is pretty dull compared to Namba’s.” Sayaka complained, causing Miyuki to look up at her and tug on her arm slightly.
“Are we ready to go to Namba?”
“This has been we’ve been intending to do all this time and we’ve spent too much time here already.” She brushed away a few stray locks of hair that covered Miyuki’s face. “Do you still want to go with me? We can still pass by Yui’s village, you’ll be safer there.”
Miyuki frowned. “Are you still trying to get rid of me?”
“No! Gods no!” Sayaka sighed. “I just want you safe and I have feeling that once we go to Namba things might get more dangerous, even with Yuka’s reinforcements.”
“All the more reason I want to stay with you. I don’t want to lose you again and I don’t think Kumi will be able to do what she did to save you again.”
Sayaka’s death was still fresh in their minds and it came to no surprise that between the two of them, Miyuki was the one affected the most. The wounds that she saw on Sayaka that was something she would never forget also and maybe a reason for her to never forgive Rena. She wasn’t sure, their former enemy hadn’t tried to apologize to them yet or even speak to them. Sayaka berated herself inwardly, she should have known that her mate wasn’t over it and would have talked to her about it but never found the chance to do so.
“Come here.” The shewolf gestured for Miyuki to get on her lap and the human complied, settling herself comfortably on Sayaka and unheeding of the stares they were getting. It was rare to see Sakae’s visitors act like this, especially for the usually stoic Namba Alpha but they left the couple alone.
“We’ve been so busy the past couple of days, I haven’t had time to simply hold you.” She looked down at her mate, placing a light kiss on Miyuki’s lips. “How about tonight we just spend some time, doing anything you want.”
“I have an idea.” Miyuki stated, she stood up from Sayaka’s lap and when the shewolf readied herself to follow her mate, Miyuki placed a hand on the shewolf’s shoulder to keep the shewolf in place. “I’ll be right back.”
Sayaka remained in her seat and watched Miyuki leave before returning to her mug of ale, wondering what her mate was up to.
--
Seira had dragged her sister to where the mead was being kept, instead of taking them to where most of the shewolve’s had gathered celebrate. The blessedly busty shewolf had pilfered two large mugs from the food tent, filling them to the brim before handing one to her sister.
“Are you sure that you need to drink it that fast?” Mieko asked, watching her sister practically inhale the mead. “Slow down or you’ll choke!”
“I’m fine!” Seira reassured in between large gulps, she refilled her mug until she noticed that Mieko was sipping her drink slowly. “That’s now how you drink mead!”
When Seira tried to show her sister how to properly drink mead, it ended up spilling everywhere and on their clothes. Mieko swatted her younger sister with her tail and pinched Seira’s ears a little bit to make her stop.
“Now you got it all over us!” Mieko growled and was about to admonish Seira but the shewolf was back to drinking from her mug. “Seira! Slow down!”
When her the younger Sato was about to finish her second mug of mead, Mieko took the chance to tear the mug away from the shewolf’s grasp. “I said slow down!”
“Come on, just let me drink!”
“You’re not drinking anymore, until you explain to me why you seem to want to drown yourself with mead!” Mieko shouted, growling a bit at her sister and causing the younger Sato’s ears to fold down her head.
Mieko sighed, she hated yelling at her sister and didn’t want this to turn into a shouting match. She set their mugs down on top of a barrel and made them sit on the ground with their backs leaning against the barrels, making sure to keep their mugs out of reach.
The older Sato guided her sister’s head on to her shoulder and ran a hand through Seira’s hair. “Now tell me… is there something wrong?”
“About earlier, when you said that you felt… old because Yuka got bonded before you.”
“What about it?”
“Am I holding you back?” Seira bowed her head, doing her best to hide her face from Mieko. “I know you have a lot of suitors but you never seem to entertain them because you always stick with me.”
“Seira…”
“Today, Yuka and Kumi looked so happy, and I saw a little bit of envy in your eyes.” Seira continued, stomping her foot on the ground a little bit. “I never seen you look happy like them whenever you’re with me. Mieko, am I holding you back?”
Mieko frowned, she wasn’t expecting this to come from her younger sister, who’s usually too busy making weapons and armor or making lewd jokes. She didn’t think that Seira thought had these kind of thoughts and it made her feel ashamed that Mieko hadn’t been paying enough attention to her sister. She loved Seira with all that she is and seeing her think that she’s nothing but a burden, made Mieko’s heartache painfully.
“No, you’re not holding me back.” Mieko kissed the top of her sister’s head and embraced Seira. “You know happiness can’t just be found in bonding in someone. You can find it anywhere or from anyone.”
Seira mustered a bit of courage to look up at Mieko while elder Sato continued. “For me, my happiness is with you. Just being here with me is enough to bring me immense joy and contentment that I couldn’t ask for anything else.”
Mieko leaned forward and placed a kiss on Seira’s cheek. “How about we drink and talk about our plans for Sakae? With Yuka gone for a little while, I have a feeling that we might be busy.”
Seira nodded dumbly, Mieko’s words had hit her hard and was afraid to say anything lest she started shedding the tears that she’d held back. She took the mug that Mieko had refilled once again and drank languidly, nursing her drink while listening to Mieko speak.
If her sister’s happiness is only with her, she’d be damn sure to always make Mieko smile. As the two were talking, a shewolf came over to them, a young one by the looks of it, she wasn’t even to meet eyes with either of them. Noticing the girl, Mieko smiled at her before asking, “Can I help you?”
The shewolf shuffled from foot to foot, before opening her mouth. “Mieko-sama, for a long time I’ve admired you!” She exclaimed, before bowing her head.
Seira watched in disbelief, as the young girl confessed. She wasn’t sure if she was really brave or really stupid. She glared at the girl from behind her mug, but otherwise remained quiet, allowing her sister to talk.
Mieko’s smile faltered for a second, before resuming. “Thank you for the kind words, Manatsu. But those words should be saved someone you love.”
Manatsu raised her head, she understood the older woman’s words. It wasn’t a downright rejection, but she understood that the older shewolf was telling her to think about her decision once again. “I understand.” She nodded, before turning around and leaving, her tail tucked between her legs.
“You can stop glaring now, Seira.” Mieko said, her eyes glancing at her sister.
“I wasn’t glaring…” The busty shewolf retorted, realizing her mug was empty, she went to refill it, glad to have a reason to now be around for the moment. ‘I can’t always be so jealous.’ She scolded herself.
--
Sayaka sat waiting for her mate to return, her fingers tapping impatiently on the low table, she was wondering what was taking so long for Miyuki to return, and was considering getting up and searching for her, but she knew her mate wanted her to wait here. She decided if Miyuki doesn’t return before she finishes this last mug, she was going after her.
There was only a gulp left, but still no sign of Miyuki. Shrugging, she chugged the last of her drink, and as she placed it on the table, she started getting up, but stopped as a voice drifted into her ears.
“Couldn’t wait a little longer?” Miyuki asked, wrapping her arms around the wolf before her. She snuggled her face into Sayaka’s shoulder.
“You were taking too long. How do I know some shewolf was chatting you up?” Sayaka asked, before lowering her voice. “Some shewolfs like going for the taken ones. Adds to the thrill.”
Miyuki giggled, before smacking the shewolf’s stomach. Trailing her hand to Sayaka’s she grasped it. “Come on. I want some alone time.”
Sayaka allowed herself to be dragged to who knows where by her mate, occasionally asking where they were going, only for Miyuki to smile, and keep going. The shewolf has an idea on where they were going, and when they passed a familiar boulder, she knew where they were.
“What are we doing out here?”
“Picnic.” Miyuki replied, before sitting down on the blanket she set up in the shade, there was a basket set up as well, filled with Sayaka’s favorite snacks, along with her own. “ I didn’t pack anything heavy, since tonight is going to be a long, long night.”
Sayaka sat down, and proceeded to unpack a few of the snacks inside, and Miyuki made herself comfortable leaning her head onto Sayaka’s shoulder. The two held a light conversation of anything that came to mind, while feeding each other.
“Do you believe in reincarnation?” Sayaka asked randomly, looking up at the purple clouds in the sky, the sun was now at the horizon, soon to be fading away. It was rare to see clouds over Sakae so Sayaka was taking this rare opportunity to see them, seeing the clouds reminded her a little bit of home. She then looked at her mate, who gave her a nod and a smile. “I...I think that everyone is reborn as something else, along with their other half, just to spend the rest of their life looking for them. Some are lucky to find them, while others are not.”
Miyuki looked on in awe, as she took in Sayaka’s words. “You can be so cute when you want to.” She teased, poking Sayaka’s cheek, but gasped as the wolf turned her head and nipped the finger.
“I’m not cute. You’re cute, sexy, and the best part mine.” Sayaka growled, before licking Miyuki’s finger, enjoying the blush she got.
They went back to eating their food and enjoying the scenery. Everyone else was back at the camp celebrating so there wasn’t any errant sounds to disturb them. It was a peaceful and relaxing moment for the normally noisy bathing pond.
Several moments passed before Miyuki said something. “I think you’re right.”
“About?”
“Reincarnation.” Miyuki smiled. “I’ve been thinking, what if the past me was a shewolf like you and you were human?”
Sayaka snorted. “Namba has surprisingly detailed records of every shewolf that lived there and so far I haven’t come across a ditz in them.”
Miyuki tried to smack Sayaka’s head but the shewolf caught it, pulling Miyuki towards her. They fell back on the blankets with Miyuki falling on top of Sayaka and Miyuki was able to smack the shewolf’s shoulder this time.
“You really like me on you, don’t you?” Miyuki asked, sitting up with her straddling the shewolf’s taut stomach.
Sayaka grinned up at her mate. “Best view in the world.”
“Pervert.” Miyuki muttered, reaching for the wineskin.
Sayaka kept grinning as she watched her mate drink from the wineskin. The silence that followed after their quick exchange was another comfortable one, for Miyuki it was some down time to just enjoy being around her shewolf after the busy days that they had had. She missed the blissful times that she would lay in front of the hearth with Sayaka curled around her as a wolf. She missed those quiet days but wouldn’t trade it for what she has now.
Sayaka on the other hand her thoughts were not as blissful as Miyuki’s. She was worried that her mate’s wellbeing, the night she woke after the battle and the way Miyuki cried in her arms at that time still bothered her a little bit.
“Miyuki…” Sayaka called out softly, making her mate look down at her curiously. Miyuki was so care free and was a beacon of joy for the people around them, Sayaka was afraid that she may have tarnished Miyuki just by being with her. “When I died...”
Miyuki stopped Sayaka from continuing, pressing her fingers against the shewolf’s lips. She’d been trying to forget that event but the sight of Sayaka’s blood still haunted her sleep, waking her in the middle of the night. She would spend several hours, laying there with her hand on Sayaka’s heart and listening to the shewolf’s steady breathing. Something she did to remind her that Sayaka was indeed alive.
“Can’t we just talk about something else?” The human asked, her voice wavering at the end.
Sayaka sat up, taking her mate’s hand in hers. “But I worry… I’ve told you that for my people finding a mate only happens once in a lifetime and when their partner dies they take their lives along with them. If I lose you; I die with you, I’ll take my own life because I won’t be able to live without you.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Miyuki asked nervously.
“The wolf in me compels me to do that but you…” The shewolf cupped her mate’s face in her hands, her thumbs stroking the cheeks where the human’s tears would fall. “You’re human, you can survive without me.”
Miyuki shook her head, she couldn’t believe what Sayaka was saying. She’d lost Sayaka and even though it was for a brief moment it felt like she had died along with the shewolf too. There was no chance she could live without Sayaka.
Sayaka kissed her mate, pouring all her love into it and when she pulled away there were tears running down her mate’s eyes. She wiped them away and hugged Miyuki. “I don’t know what will happen when we get to Namba but promise me that if I won’t make it, I want you to live for me and I don’t want you to die alone. So, you are free to love whoever you will love when I’m gone. Promise me that?”
Miyuki cried harder, shaking her head vehemently. “Please promise me. Do it for me, knowing that you’ll find happiness no matter what happens will give me peace. Will you promise me?”
“I promise.” Miyuki said, her voice wavering as she did so but that was enough for Sayaka. “Hold me, please just hold me.”
The shewolf complied, holding on to the human tightly and berating herself for hurting her own mate but this was for Miyuki’s own good. Her mate’s happiness comes first and she will damn well make sure that she will be even in death.
Topic: Outcast and the Exiled Announcement 12/25 (Read 98830 times)