Chapter Ten
Meeting the Mama Cat
"I say we all take my truck," Auron suggested as they stepped off the airbus, "With the lien I saved from the tournaments, I bought my own. Dual cab. It's got enough room in the cab for everyone."
"I appreciate it, but I kinda wanna drive my motorcycle around," Jace said, "I don't want it to just sit there."
"That's fine. Offer still stands though."
"You letting your tail be free today?" Alyss asked, seeing the dark-red appendage swaying behind Jace as he walked.
"Yeah, it's been awhile since that idiot grabbed it so I'm calming down about it." Jace answered her.
"I-um… I kinda wanna ride your motorcycle too," Alyss said quietly, "I've never ridden a motorcycle before and I've been wanting to try."
"Sure. I don't mind." Jace said to her.
"Face it, Jace. You really, really like her," Jace's mind told him, "Why else would you want her riding Titan other than the feeling of her arms around you?"
"Awesome. Would you have another helmet though?" Alyss asked him.
"O-oh, yeah. I brought a spare from home." Jace answered her and went back to his thoughts.
"Fucking hell… I met her two weeks ago. Why do I like her so much?" He asked himself, "Well… one reason could be because she's so sweet and kind. Then there's the fact that she healed my arm without me even asking or knowing about her semblance. And she just calmed me down completely from that freaking panic attack or whatever it was last night. And those eyes are just so pretty…"
"Where's your house at anyway, Alyss?" Raine asked.
"I can't really explain it. I'd have to just show you," Alyss answered her, "I guess me and Jace can take the lead."
"That would be easier." Auron agreed.
"How long would we be staying?" Jace asked.
"I don't know. We could stay all night if you guys want." Alyss said rather hopefully.
"I don't mind." Jace said quickly.
"Yeah, it'll be nice." Raine agreed.
"Why not?" Auron said, "I mean, we ain't got classes until the day after tomorrow. Plus I'm sure you wanna stay in your new house for as long as you can."
"Yeah, that's true," Alyss gave a smile, "Thanks. Maybe mom can fix us some fish."
"I'm more of a chicken guy." Auron said.
"Same," Raine said with a grin, "Chicken is great."
"I'm up for fish," Jace said, "Do you think your mom has apples? I forgot to bring a couple to eat."
After a while longer, they reached the storage lockups. Auron went to find his truck while the others went to one of the larger garages. Jace unlocked the door with his scroll and opened it up to reveal only one motorcycle.
"Huh. I guess Yang's out doing something." Jace thought as he rolled Titan out of the building.
"So that's your motorcycle?" Alyss asked.
"Yeah. This is Titan," Jace answered and went to grab the helmets, "Gen built it himself. And don't ask about the snow tires. Gods those chains are a pain to take off and put back on, so I'm leaving them on for now."
"Makes sense," Raine said and turned as Auron pulled his truck over to them, "I'd say we can go now," She gave a grin toward Alyss, "Get ready for the vibrations, Alyss."
"What do you mean by that?" Alyss asked and Raine just laughed as she walked toward the right side of the truck.
"What does she mean?" She asked Jace.
"I… don't know. Here's your helmet," Jace said and handed her the dark purple helmet, "I'm sure it's nothing. But be ready for the noise too. It's pretty loud."
"Raine… why didn't you warn me?" Alyss asked the fox Faunus as she leaned against Auron's truck in the parking lot, blushing heavily as her body calmed down.
"I did warn you." Raine snickered.
"You told me to watch out for the vibrations, not what would happen!" Alyss almost hissed a her, "I don't think I want my first time to be taken by a motorcycle!"
"Can we not talk about this out in the open?" Jace said, blushing almost as much as Alyss, "I didn't know this would happen either because I never gave anyone any rides on Titan, let alone any women. Kinda really embarrassing for me too because I feel so fucking awkward!" He whisper-yelled.
"Yeah, this is exactly what I don't fucking want right now! I'm sitting here, trying to straighten out my thoughts about Alyss and then this happens! I don't want awkward and I don't need that right now!"
"Hey, it was bound to happen sooner or later," Raine said with a knowing grin, "What, with you wanting to ride a motorcycle and all."
"Are you children about done?" Auron asked in amusement.
"I'll be done when my body is." Alyss answered briskly.
"Look, I'm sorry I didn't warn you about that," Raine told her, softening her teasing tone, "It happened to me when I first rode a motorcycle, so I know exactly how you feel."
Alyss sighed. "You could've just told me so I could be ready…"
"That didn't help me when my friend told me. Sorry, Alyss."
Alyss sighed. "It's okay... At least I know now."
After a few more moments of Alyss resting, the group finally made their way down the street toward her home. Alyss groaned as she realized something. "Great… I probably smell like I just had sex…"
"I had to read about this stuff because dad and Gen didn't know much of anything about Faunus. Scents are weird. You might wanna clear this up with your mom as soon as we get there," Jace said and offered a small grin, "She'll probably be wondering…"
"I know… It's gonna be so weird."
"It's not that bad of a scent. To me at least." Raine assure her.
"Maybe not to you, but mom's nose is really sensitive." Alyss informed her.
"I don't know enough about scents to say anything." Auron said for himself.
"Basically, if you have sex, then the scent of the hormones will linger around," Jace explained, "You know how awkward it was for me to read that?"
"Ah. Faunus can't hide anything from their parents, can they?" Auron asked with a grin.
"I wouldn't know about this. Emowyn told me that it is hard." Raine answered.
"People in Atlas are assholes and my dad isn't a Faunus," Jace said, "I wouldn't know about either really."
"Yeah… I never had a problem with it either, unless…" Alyss shook her head quickly, "Never mind!"
After thirty minutes of walking, they finally reached the house Alyss led them to. It had a short walkway up to it on a slight incline of ground.
"The smell isn't as bad now if that helps." Jace said to Alyss.
"Not with mom's nose, it doesn't." Alyss said.
They walked up the short cobblestone path and reached the door. Alyss knocked on it and they all waited patiently. After a few moments, the door was opened by an aging, black and gray-haired cat Faunus with bright emerald-colored eyes.
"Aly!" She exclaimed and stepped forward to hug Alyss.
"Hi mom! I want you to meet my team." Alyss said as she returned the hug.
"First… I want you to tell me why you smell like you just did… something." The woman said as the two separated, raising her eyebrow at her daughter and making her blush.
"Umm, she rode my motorcycle with me here, ma'am." Jace said.
"And I kinda didn't warn her that she might… you know…" Raine added.
"I had nothin' to do with it." Auron piped up.
"I'm just not used to riding motorcycles is all." Alyss told her mother.
Her face lightened to a welcoming smile. "It's alright, cub. Come in everyone. And please, leave your shoes or boots at the door." She told them all and everyone entered the home. They all did as she requested and left their footwear where they entered.
"You already got your flowers set up?" Alyss asked as her mother led them trough the house to the living room. The stairs to the second floor were to the right of the entrance to the house.
"Yes, I did. Everything was moved in quickly and I spent the last two weeks setting everything up." Her mother answered as they entered the living room.
In the center of the room were two couches and a soft-looking chair surrounding a small coffee table. The middle couch was facing the wall where the vidcaster sat and a fireplace was to the left side of the room, the entrance on the right. More plants and flowers hung from the ceiling around the room. Pictures and paintings lined the walls of different things. The paintings offered beautiful looking rivers, foggy mountains, vibrant fields of flowers, and lush forests. A few pictures showed Alyss and her mother throughout different stages of the young Faunus' life. Jace felt more drawn to those pictures and to a certain set of eyes.
Jace and Alyss sat down on one couch while Auron and Raine sat on the other. Alyss' mother sat down in the chair and regarded her daughter's teammates. "I suppose I should introduce myself. I'm Lilith Wystar. Since Aly's last team, I grew fond of them calling me 'mom'. I would be happy if you called me the same, if you would like to."
"I'm Jace Reznor."
"Raine Daturas. Apprentice Ranger."
"Auron Karmine." They all introduced themselves.
"It's nice to meet you three. Has Alyss told you about why we came here?" Lilith asked them.
"Yeah, she did," Jace answered, "And we understand. If he comes back again, then we'll be here for her and you. I don't want you guys to have to move again and put yourselves through that stress."
Lilith gave a warm smile. "Thank you. I appreciate the thought.
"I'm gonna go take a shower and hopefully get this smell washed off of me," Alyss said and stood up, "Are my extra clothes in my room?"
"Yes, they are." Lilith answered.
"And… where is my room?"
"Up the stairs. Second door on the right."
"And the bathroom?"
Lilith let out a laugh. "Left from here down the hallway and on the right. Or the first door on the left up the stairs."
"Thanks, mom." Alyss said and left the room.
Lilith smiled and turned back to the others. "So, you three are her new team?"
"Yeah. Me and Auron transferred in too." Jace answered.
"Oh? If you don't mind me asking, what were your reasons?"
"Well, me an' my old team fought a Geist an' lost," Auron answered for himself, "They all dropped out an' Lionheart an' Ozpin gave me the opportunity to come to Beacon."
"My old teammate grabbed my tail. It felt like he would pull it off," Jace said and rubbed the back of his neck, "That's basically my reason. Ironwood understood that I didn't want to be anywhere near him after that and Ozpin accepted the transfer."
"Oh, so you're the boy with both ears and a tail? I didn't even notice, honestly."
Jace nodded and gave a small grin, moving his tail around to his front. "I feel like a novelty at this point with how much I show it."
"I believe it makes you very interesting," Lilith said, "Thank you all for understanding our situation."
"No problem," Auron said, "No one should have to move around like that."
"And I know what it feels like," Jace said, "You would have to ask Alyss about that. I don't feel like saying it again… I told them all about it last night."
"Okay. I'll ask her later. How long are you four staying?" Lilith asked.
"All night if that's alright." Raine answered.
Lilith gave a wide smile and a nod. "Of course it is. Any friend of my little cub is welcome here."
"Thank you… mom." Jace grinned as he said it.
"If you don't mind me askin', why do you call her 'cub'?" Auron asked.
"That's because she is my daughter. Any type of cat or bear Faunus parent usually calls their child that." Lilith answered.
"It's like when my parents or uncle calls me 'pup'." Raine added.
"Now I ain't gonna be confused by it." Auron said.
"Since I was adopted, dad never called me that. I don't think he really knew what Faunus parents called their kids." Jace said, sighing a bit.
"You were adopted?" Lilith asked softly.
"Yeah." Jace nodded
"Oh, well… If you want, I can call you that." Lilith offered.
"I'm not against it, really. I mean, I'm calling you mom, right?" Jace replied.
"Alright then," Lilith smiled, "I'll call you cub, and if you don't mind, I'll call you pup." She said the last part to Raine.
Raine smiled. "Sure. I don't mind it."
"Don't know where that leaves me," Auron said, "Mom an' dad always just called me son or just by my name."
"I'll think of something. I don't want you to be left out." Lilith told him.
Auron nodded and smiled. "I like ghost pepper, so maybe that'll help."
"It might. I think I should show you to the guest room, unless you want to be sleeping on the couches." Lilith told them all.
"That would be best, I think." Raine agreed.
Lilith stood and led them through the house. They walked up the stairs and she showed them to the guest room. It had two beds separated by a long dresser against the wall on the left, then there was a small table against the other wall with a small vidcaster. On the far side from the door was a large window overlooking the street.
"I'm sorry there isn't another bed," Lilith told them, "One of you may have to sleep on a couch anyway."
"I don't mind it, really," Jace volunteered, "You guys can sleep in here. The couch is actually pretty soft."
"If you're sure you want to." Lilith said.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Okay. I'm going to start on dinner. It'll be fish."
"I'm sure that makes both Alyss and Jace happy." Raine remarked.
"I'm already happy," Jace said, "What would make it better is apples."
"He really likes apples." Auron told Lilith.
Lilith hummed as she grinned. "I'll be sure to remember that."
"You need some help with food?" Auron asked, "I can help if you need it."
"I'll be fine, thank you. You three can go watch what you want on the vidcaster in the living room."
"I wanna talk to you for a minute if you don't mind." Jace said to Lilith.
"I don't mind, cub." Lilith smiled. The two left the room and walked slowly down the hall.
"What did you want to talk about?" Lilith asked.
"It's about Alyss." Jace said a bit nervously.
They stopped in the hall and Lilith looked at him. "What about my little cub?"
"I just want to say she's the best person I've met since I got to Vale." Jace told her.
"Really?" Lilith asked, "What makes you say that?"
"Because she's just so sweet. My arm was burned really badly right before I came from Atlas. After we met in our dorm room, she healed it for me and I didn't even ask."
"She has always been such a kind little kitten." Lilith said with a wide smile as the two started walking again. They continued down the stairs as Jace continued talking.
"Then last night… I-I had a bad childhood. Alyss says that I had it worse than when you both dealt with… him," Jace sighed, "But I told everyone about it and I had some kind of panic attack and she just scritched my ears and calmed me down completely. No one in my life was able to calm me down like that, that quickly. Not even dad or my brother. She ended up sleeping in my bed after comforting me. I'm… I'm so glad I was able to meet her…" They arrived to the kitchen where they stopped walking.
Lilith hummed as she looked Jace in the eyes. "Jace, do you like her?"
Jace paused as he thought over the question. "Do I… like her?" He echoed out loud.
"You know… Do you love her?"
"I…" Jace bit his lip as he tried to think it over.
"Huh… do I love her… Yes. I honestly think I love her. I met her two weeks ago but she's been so kind. She comforted me so easily…"
"I think I do…" Jace finally answered quietly.
"Even after only knowing her for two weeks?" Lilith asked softly.
"Y-yeah…"
Lilith noticed the hesitation in his voice and sighed. "I won't tell you not to ask her. But I will say to think it over. See if what you think is real."
"I do think it's real, though," Jace said, "I've have this feeling in my chest now since I met her. Like I want to be close to her. I really think I love her…"
"Hmm… I won't tell Alyss about this," Lilith told him, "You need to be the one to tell her if you want to."
"I would, but… I don't know if she feels the same way…"
"It's okay. Don't force it out."
"Thanks for understanding."
Lilith gave a warm smile. "I hope you can work through your feelings."
"Yeah… me too."