Summary: She is with cub. Why isn't her mate by her side now, when she needs him the most? Masai giftfic for Bjanik, long overdue. Contains OCs, Sephiroth in memory.
Disclaimer: Masai and Akalara (aka, Forestfur) are mine, puppy-form Xemnas (aka, Chillheart) is mine, Kandi (Tigress) is AmazonTurk's, Lily (Flowerdance) is MysticSpiritus', all canon characters are Square Enix's. Wish that last bunch was mine, but hey, that's what dreaming is for.
Queen's Quornor: I owe Bjanik a oneshot for her sending in the 1100th review for EoSH, and I would have had it out a lot sooner, but I lost the notebook I had the story written in a couple months ago. I tried recapturing what I had originally written, but it just wouldn't come back to me. She asked for a oneshot involving Masai and told from his POV, perhaps something angsty about a pet waiting for an owner who will never come home. This wasn't even close to what I had originally written, but it is what the muses finally gave me after several weeks of begging. In case you're a newcomer wondering who the heck Masai is, he's an OC I introduced in "Evidence of Sephiroth's Humanity," basically a flame-breathing white tiger Rufus got from the labs and gave to Seph as a playmate for Dark Nation. He's not exactly a tiger, but that's what he closely resembles. I mean, when was the last time you met a tiger this grammatically-correct? The chapters from his POV are chapters 66 and 90, he's introduced in 7, and shows up in quite a few of the other chapters, though usually not as a central role. This fic ties in with both "A Mother's Love" and the aforementioned EoSH.
My Pet and His Mate
I wonder if my pet has realized that his mate is with cub.
I can smell the change in her scent. Forestfur now exudes a sharp aroma in addition to her usual scent, an aroma I have often smelled on other Biped females who are expecting a cub. It is too early to tell the cub's sex, so she has not carried it long. The scent began only half a moon ago, so I suppose she became with cub on the night before my pet's departure.
Most likely my pet is unaware of his mate's new state, given that he left the day I first detected the cub-scent. I doubt Forestfur herself is aware of the cub's presence. The females of my species become aware of their unborn litters soon after a successful mating. Biped females are rather ignorant of their new status when a cub has started growing.
But I do wonder how Forestfur could possibly be unaware of her new position as a mother. She became violently ill when she arrived to feed Chillheart and I seven days ago, and continues to achieve that state whenever she prepares our meat. She does not smell of disease, only of cub. Yesterday her mammary glands caused her great pain when she picked up Chillheart in greeting, a sign that milk is filling them. How can she overlook such obvious signals?
At the moment she is in the waste-room close to the sitting room, a small chamber that lacks the not-stone pool Sephiroth uses to bathe us. I can hear and smell the evidence of her illness from my place on the furry ground. Chillheart came to see what was wrong a short time ago, but has since returned to his meal. He does not understand that Forestfur is with cub; he only realizes that she is ill. I have attempted to educate him in the ways of Biped reproduction, but all he currently understands is that our pet and Forestfur hold each other for a long time, usually moving in a rhythmic fashion with occasional odd cries, and that has somehow resulted in something making Forestfur ill. Chillheart is far too young to understand the act and intimacies of mating, so I allow him his innocent deductions. He will understand when he reaches maturity, with or without my accumulated knowledge.
I hear the bubbling rush of water which announces that waste has gone, and Forestfur emerges, her skin as colorless as my fur. I would even say that she resembles the moon's skin at the moment, particularly with the shadows beneath her eyes. Has she eaten anything or merely regurgitated her meals? Cubs need food, as much as their mothers. She must eat, for the sake of her cub.
"What the hell is wrong with me?" The plaintive tone brings my head up to look at her. Forestfur is leaning against the wall, her arms wrapped around her abdomen. She looks truly pitiful as the moment, lost and hopeless. I would tell her exactly what is responsible for her misery, but I will not be able to speak the Biped tongue for thirteen more years. I can think of no way to inform her through movements.
"Maybe I should go see a doctor about this. The flu doesn't last this long." She pushes her foilage-colored pelt behind her ear. "Damn, I hope I didn't give this to Seph. Maybe that's why he hasn't come back yet. Maybe he's still in Nibelheim because he's as sick as I am." Her berry eyes turn to me, and her mouth curves upward, albeit slightly. "That's crazy, isn't it Masai? He never gets sick."
This is true. I am curious, however, as to what is keeping Sephiroth. Surely his hunt would have concluded by now, given that my pet is such a strong warrior.
"Gods, I wish he'd come back." Forestfur slides down the wall to curl upon the furry ground, one leg straight and the other folded. "I really miss him. I think just seeing him again would make me feel better." She reaches one hand out to scratch behind my ear; I lean against her fingers, an affectionate growl rising from my throat. She seems to take this as a cue to continue speaking. "When he does come back, I have something I want to tell him."
Oh? Has she realized that she is with cub after all? You may also scratch the other ear, Forestfur. Thank you, that is definitely the spot!
"I know he really doesn't like his fangirls. I don't blame him, considering that they stalk him and snap pictures of him whenever they can. He's even gotten tackled a couple of times when we've gone out to lunch. But..." She takes a deep breath and looks at the ground, still scratching behind my ear. "I just have to tell him. I've been arguing with myself over this long enough, ever since he left. I just hope he'll take me seriously, and not throw me out when I tell him that I love him." She looks at me, her hand falling to rest atop my neck. "Do you think he'll believe me, Masai? He hates it when his fans throw themselves at him with declarations of undying love and beg him to fuck them. I don't know what I'll do if he lumps me together with them. I don't think I could stay here and just watch him go on with his life, especially if there's somebody else in it."
She obviously has not seen the way his eyes light up and soften whenever he sees her. Does she not realize that she is the only female he curls about and holds when the mating is complete? The only female he keeps in his den throughout the night? All the other females have been sent to their own dens once the mating has finished, that he may sleep alone. I am quite certain that my pet loves her, given his speech and behavior in her presence. His actions when she was sent on a dangerous mock-hunt with Fire-Tail and the rest of that pack certainly verify that conclusion. Sephiroth almost wore a hole in the furry ground with his relentless pacing until he was informed that she and the other inexperienced hunters had safely returned.
He would not replace her so easily, either. Sephiroth is much like the males of my species in that he has mated with a number of females since reaching maturity. And like the males of my species, he has all but ended this habit since meeting Forestfur. Since allowing her into his life, he has limited himself to only a few females, first six, then five. Two moons into his relationship with her, the only other females he mated with were Tigress and Flowerdance, with Black Beta and Fire-tail's permission. For a moon and a half, however, he has been mating solely with Forestfur. According to the traditions of my species, this means that he has chosen her to be his lifemate. Once a lifemate is chosen, the male remains faithful to her and her alone, and will only resume his previous habits if she dies. It is my belief that my pet has fallen in love with her, and I expect that he will make her his lifemate in the future. Perhaps he will do so when he returns from his hunt.
Forestfur sighs and leans her head back again, her hand falling away from my neck. "But I want to tell him anyway, even if it ends with him kicking me out of his life. It's gotten to the point that it hurts to keep this to myself, especially since he's taking so long getting back to Midgar. I miss him so much I can hardly stand it. It's not even the sex that I miss the most. It's him, plain and simple." She sounds like my mother did, after my father was killed by the Shin-ra when he fought alongside the Bipeds my species has long called friends, defending our shared home range against their invasion. The Shin-ra also took her life and those of my younger litter-mates. My sister and I were the only survivors, and I do not know what happened to her. I have not seen Sky Eyes since we arrived in this land. My mother almost lost the will to live when I and Sky Eyes returned from witnessing the fight, bearing news of Shadow Hunt's demise. Were it not for the presence of her cubs, I believe she would have willed herself to join her lifemate in death.
Now that I think upon it, Forestfur reminds me of my mother in more than her current attitude. Shadow Hunt was strong, one of the strongest males of our species. He was blessed by the Fangs to be a cunning hunter, and a mighty warrior. Sephiroth is akin to him in that regard. My mother, Cloudpelt, was a rather small and weak female, prized among our species for her intelligence and her attractive appearance. She could defend herself, but depended on her lifemate to protect her and patrol our territory. She was approached by several roaming males following my father's death, but refused them out of loyalty to Shadow Hunt. My mother was not a strong female, but she protected us the best she was able, even giving her life to allow us a chance to escape.
Shadow Hunt and Cloudpelt were lifemates, despite their many differences. I asked my father about their union once, and he told me that he and my mother completed each other, though it had taken him some time to realize this. She possessed the qualities he lacked, and the same was true for him. They were similar in some ways, but vastly different in others, and those differences were what had brought their hearts together. I have seen the same development in Forestfur and my pet in the five moons they have been together.
Sephiroth is ice with a core of fire, and Forestfur is fire with a core of ice. She has brought out his concealed warmth and melted the cool exterior, and he in turn has calmed her so the flames burn low, taught her to control them. I have noticed that she has adopted his practice of chilly indifference in a working environment, and he has become more affectionate and empathetic since meeting her. They are indeed completing each other. Exactly as my mother and father did.
Forestfur has lapsed into silence, her eyes glazed and empty of any identifiable emotion. I believe she has become lost in her memories, so I will not disturb her. But I am left with a rather disquieting thought, due to this comparison of her and Sephiroth with my mother and father. Will they share the same fate?
Fangs willing, they will find a happier future than Shadow Hunt and Cloudpelt did. But first my pet has to return from his hunt, and the fact that he is so late is worrisome in its own right.
All I can do is lay my head upon my paws and fix my eyes on Forestfur's belly, where the cub Sephiroth left her is quietly growing.