MTP Chapter 4: The Tan Tiger and the Red Rabbit

Rei and Momo had left the Tower and were taking a nice leisurely walk around the grounds. They didn't have any particular destination in mind. They were simply enjoying each other's company.

Just a short while earlier, they had mutually come to terms with the fact that they both had a crush on the other. However, now it was so much deeper. Rei was touched to his very soul when he found out that Momo went far above and beyond her call of duty as a scientist and as a friend when she went out of her way to ensure Rei could have his long lost little brother back.

Nearly as quickly as it took for her to explain her actions, Rei's feeling's had morphed dramatically. No longer was it just that he was wanting to get closer to her because he thought she was cute. Now, he was in love. Other than Ryu, he had never encountered anyone who would go so far to do something for a friend. He loved Ryu with all his heart, just as a brother should. Now, he loved Momo with all his heart because she was the catalyst that made his family's fire burn again.

On the other side of the coin sat Momo. She had spent the entirety of her life immersed in her passion for science. She never really took the time to even consider herself being in a relationship. However, once she had met Rei, long untouched thoughts began to take root in her mind. When they first started to travel together years ago, Momo was taken with Rei. She developed a crush on him based on how strong his conviction was to make things right and find the truth behind Myria. Oddly enough, she also seemed to actually like the way their personalities would always clash. She would never admit that, though.

It was the textbook definition of the concept of "opposites attract". She was bookish, introverted, and quiet, with the occasional streak of ego that liked to manifest itself. He was loud, outgoing, humble, and sometimes, folks tended to think he wasn't very smart, though that was really not the case. He was actually very intelligent with regard to life and survival. He was one of the the best hunters and trackers alive in his age, attributed of course to his Woren heritage. He was certainly the best in the kingdom of Windia.

As they had wandered from the grounds of the Tower toward the café high up on the hill down the road, they both agreed to go there and sit down to some lunch since they had missed out earlier. They sat at one of the tables outside and ordered. While they waited, began to talk about their experiences through their own eyes as they traveled the world together.

The more they talked, the more they were beginning to enjoy each other. Always a positive sign at the start of a relationship. They traded playful barbs, calling each other man kitty and nerdy rabbit. They gave their respective opinions of the current state of the world at large. They spoke of family. And eventually, the conversation naturally steered toward heritage.

"Within the Woren, there are classes. I'm a pure blood Tigren class Woren. There aren't many of us left. That's why I'm probably the only Woren you've ever heard of that can use the Weretiger transformation," Rei explained.

Momo, ever the studious scholar, was taking it all in. "Okay, I see. Your pure Tigren background allows for the transformation. So the 'classes' in the Woren are basically like subspecies. That is fascinating."

Rei continued. "Yes. Mind you, we understand that we can't control our birth and what traits we come out with, so the Woren don't treat classes like a social division. Each class has distinct characteristics that set us apart. Tigrens are naturally smaller, the swiftest, we have these bad ass stripes, and we can transform."

"I would imagine being smaller and less physically inclined also means you are more susceptible to hunger and disease," Momo interjected.

"Yup, Guilty as charged. Leonars are the strongest and typically the largest of us and they tend to be taller, more well built, and their hair is leaps and bounds more awesome. Alot of folks don't like it to be said out loud, but Leonars are also the, ugh..." Rei paused searching for the proper term.

"The least intellectually gifted?" Momo said somewhat sheepishly, hoping her statement would not be conceived as an insult to Rei's brethren.

"Bingo! You picked that up pretty quick. And then there are Pumeros. They undoubtedly make the best hunters. They tend to be middle of the road average physically, but have far more acute senses than the rest of us."

"There is actually someone with better senses than you? That's saying a lot," Momo said as she pushed her glasses from the bridge of her nose all the way to her face.

The compliment put a grin on Rei's face. "You can always spot a pure Pumero right away because they are always one solid color. Usually tan or brown."

Momo was in sponge mode, soaking up every single tidbit of information. She was verily enjoying being with Rei right then. Not only was she learning more about the man she came to love, but about his culture and race. "So you said only pure blood Tigren can transform, and the Tigren class is waning?"

"Yeah. A few centuries back, the classes were separated as different tribes. There were nasty territorial wars over rights to close or intersecting hunting grounds among the tribes. And the Tigren, being physically weaker than the other classes, took the brunt of the losses when tactics switched from open combat in the field to attrition. Tribal honor would not allow them to transform to fight fellow Woren, even during time of war. We were never really able to get back to our old numbers."

Momo was wishing she had something to record all this on. Rei was dumping informational nuggets of gold all over the place.

"Eventually, when the wars died down, the clans came together in peace. As a show of solidarity, there were a lot of marriages between the classes. These days, the majority of the Woren are hybrids."

Momo's eyes widened. "Really?" she said with a hint of disbelief. "In all the other races, the Brood, the Highlanders, Iron Ox, Grassrunner, etc, cross breeding more often than not results in the child taking on the traits of the opposite sex parent. Hybridization only occurs at a birth rate of about 2%, possibly lower. I myself am half Grassrunner and Half human."

"Cutest half breed I ever saw. Looks like you got some of the best parts of human and Grassrunner. Hey, did your mother have those great childbearing hips too?" That comment elicited a quick flash of red in Momo's cheeks and he received playful punch to the arm in return. The gears in Rei's head started to turn. With a smile he said, "So, if we decided to pop out a litter, any girls would most likely be kittens and the boys would come out to be bunny kit human cub hybrids, huh? Or would it be more complicated than that?"

Momo's whole face blushed fiercely, to the point that it was nearly the same color as her hair. Her heart raced and she felt an unfamiliar (but certainly not unwelcome) warmth in her pants. "Well, um… That is… uh… You see there's…"

Rei laughed heartily aloud. "Relax, Red. We're both still young. Plenty of time later down the road on to think about that kind of thing." He got up from his seat across from Momo and sat down in the seat next to her. He took her hand and pulled her in real close. "For now, let's enjoy some carefree youth together."

Momo let herself sink into his embrace. She then realized that now that they were an item, they were getting along much better. And though she was completely new to the concept of being one with someone, she liked it. She wanted more of it. She wanted to make it last. She wanted to be with her man kitty until they both no longer drew breath.


A/N ~ Fluff! Yay! I certainly can't say I'm a fan of fluff myself, but I felt like I had to give at least a little insight on my view of their pairing. Also, I got to put out my personal idea of how I view the Woren.