Untamed
Disclaimer: Black Lagoon and its characters © Rei Hiroe
When he had found them there, lying among rubble and ashes, he thought them to be delicate creatures. They needed saving and it was only right for him to rescue them. It was proper, and surely he would have their gratitude in spades. He would care for them and tend to them while they healed from their wounds. He did it because it was the right thing to do, and he wanted their companionship.
What Rotton thought he was getting were two stray kittens, lost and soaked and abandoned, creatures that wanted a place to belong. Creatures that needed someone to look after them.
What he really got were two wild animals.
Shenhua was not by any means a kitten. She was playful and energetic, true, but she certainly had no difficulty killing and maintaining her place in Roanapur's jungle. The woman in the high heels and a red China dress moved with a predator's purpose, eyes gleaming and searching for potential prey. She was a tiger, something to be admired from a distance, a natural force that was raw, powerful, beautiful, deadly.
Then, there was Sawyer. She was not as high on the food chain as Shenhua. They were the same species, there was no question about that, but Sawyer displayed more domesticated traits. Whereas Shenhua thrived in field environments, Sawyer was content in wandering through back alleys and dilapidated buildings. But the way she treated her prey, even when they were hopelessly cornered and had no means of escape, was outright brutal. Sawyer did not have Shenhua's finesse and no-nonsense approach to killing. Sawyer liked to play with her food, before and after they were deceased. The gothic woman was akin to a feral cat, something from a line originally bred for the house and was born in the wild, and she adapted all too well.
Rotton had crawled too far into the wilderness and got stuck in their lair. It was far too late and the man was too far gone by the time he found out just what he had on his hands. Just what had he gotten himself into? He was undoubtedly comparable to those people who ended up on television because they had their face mauled off by their pet capuchin monkey. Shenhua and Sawyer were destructive and calculating in their mannerisms, all the fatal adjectives applied.
...Yet they were also sprightly when the mood struck them, especially after coming home after a night of hunting. Whenever that occurred, all the second thoughts of leaving before he became another hors d'oeuvres on Roanapur's endless buffet melted away. When he was in bed and stroking their hair as they slept, they looked serene, tranquil, free of their heavily guarded ferocity in the moonlight. In those times, he thinks they've been tamed, having an undying loyalty, unwavering, eternal.
But what if they were truly wild, loyal only to themselves and their environment? Well, he supposed that was good too. The mundane never satisfied him. He was "the Wizard", after all, and it was much more suitable to join such elusive and exotic creatures in their abode.
END
A/N: On the next episode of Fatal Attractions...
Or maybe My Cat(s) from Hell would be more appropriate?
The picture used as the cover was done by Cotetsu Yamanaka (who works as Hiroe's colorist), from the fan comic "Color Me Blood Pink". When I saw that picture of Rotton carrying a very shaken Shenhua with cat ears while looking over at an equally shaken and cat-afied Sawyer, I figured, "Hey, why not, it'd make a nice flight of fancy."
Cheers.