Breathless
Chapter 6: Quick Question
~Campus: Infirmary~
Yuu squirmed in Leona's lap, her body jerking at every sound thinking someone was gonna come in. She heard Leona grunt and groan when she did, and his hold on her shifted.
"Will you stop squirming, Princess? I can't sleep with you wiggling like a worm." He hefted her on the bed and lay down beside her, keeping his arms wrapped tight around her. "Just relax."
"How can I relax when I've got over a hundred and fifty pounds of pure muscle holding me down?" She squirmed again. "Come on Leona, I have to get back to practice or Vil will-"
"Just shut up," he pinned her down to the bed glaring down at her. "I'm trying to be affectionate, and not aggressive but you're making it really difficult when you keep fighting me. I thought this is what you wanted."
"I… that is…" she turned her head away blushing. " I don't know. This is all happening so suddenly. I thought we were friends not-"
"I've never thought of you as a friend…" he growled between his teeth and had her eyes widening with hurt.
"What?"
"We were never friends… prey, acquaintances, classmates maybe, but I never put you in the friend category."
"That's a bit mean to say considering everything we went through together." Yuu sniffed back tears, refusing to let them fall.
"Stop with the tears, princess." Leona huffed and loosened his grip so she could wipe them away herself. "I didn't think of you as a friend, because I was too busy being annoyed by how attracted I was to you."
"Huh?" Her teary expression turned to a look of confusion. "What do you mean?"
"I knew it from the first whiff of your scent that I wanted you. It was right after you stepped on my tail so I was already annoyed, and then there you were, this tiny female without an ounce of magic looking up at me with your clueless big green eyes and…" he grit his teeth and without another word he closed his mouth over hers.
Yuu's eyes widened, and she lay still and completely dumbfounded. His hands started to touch and she panicked. She pushed him back, her hand whipping out and slapping him across the cheek.
"OW!"
"Oh God, I'm sorry." She sat upright as Leona moved to let her up.
"GEEZ! WHAT THE HELL?" He rubbed his cheek. "A simple no would have sufficed."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. I just panicked." She covered her face, looking horrified. "I just can't believe you did that."
"I can't believe you had the gall to slap me, what the hell is your deal?"
"I told you it was too sudden, I can't keep up. I'm confused." She tried deep breaths to stop the panic attack from bubbling up. "I'm still trying to cope with the Malleus thing, and now all of sudden you're showing interest and my body is reacting in ways I've never experienced before and it's just…. Too much!"
"Yeah well start wrapping your head around it, Princess, because I'm telling you that this isn't going away any time soon." He stabbed a finger in her face. "I'll give you time, but don't expect me to be patient. My kind isn't known for holding back our natural instincts."
"I got that message loud and clear." She ran hands through her tousled mop of hair. "I gotta go, Vil will be back soon and we have a dance routine to learn."
"Yeah, sure, whatever." He may back down rolling over so his back was to her. Yuu stalled by the door, looking back at him.
"Leona…"
"What?" He responded grumpily.
"You kiss really well." She smiled softly and exited the room. Leona glanced back catching her figure as it left and couldn't stop the grin on his lips from spreading.
~Campus: Cafeteria~
Epel was still dumbfounded by Vil's curious words days later. He'd watched Vil practically drag his little sister in by the ear, lecturing her about virtues and abstinence. Epel had heard these terms before, but didn't quite have a picture in his head on what they meant.
He knew women gave birth to children…
He knew women needed a man to bear a child…
… but that was all he knew.
What exactly did a man and woman do together to make children? Originally he believed the two performed a spell or a ritual after they got married and that's how a child was made… but according to Vil one didn't need to be married to bear a child. If that was true… then how was it done? Most importantly, why would Yuu and Leona want to do it?!
"It just doesn't make any sense…" Epel spoke aloud at the lunch table, his celery stick still in hand. He looked across the table at Ace and Deuce, both had their own unique expression on their face ranging from disbelief, to sheer amusement. "Do the two of you know anything?"
"I plea the fifth…" Deuce muttered and filled his mouth by shoving his sandwich in it.
"I'm surprised that you don't." Ace said with a small snicker. "Don't you live on a farm or something, Epel?"
"Well yeah, but what has that got to do with anything?" He frowned.
"Don't you know how big animals make smaller animals?"
"Well I don't really handle the animals except for the horses. Even then all I do is feed them and give them exercise." He crunched into his celery pouting. "I know the process is called breeding, but I don't know WHAT that entails. I've never been shown how."
"Whoever raised you is really protective of your innocence huh?" Ace couldn't help but laugh.
"Come on, Ace. You clearly know what they're talking about. Tell me! What exactly does a male and female do?" Epel pleaded. "I'm tired of being looked at like a clueless idiot."
"Alright, alright, alright…" Ace waved his hands and then crooked a finger. Epel leaned over the table and Ace met him halfway. He whispered into his ear, and had Epel going beat red.
"Seriously?! You're not just pulling my leg?!" Epel dropped the vegetable in his hand.
"100% truth, my friend." Ace made the okay symbol with one hand and slipped a finger into the whole with his other. Deuce slapped his hands, flushing.
"DUDE! Stop it! What if someone sees you?"
"Relax, man, no one's looking." Ace chuckled and took a sip of his juice.
"Oookay… so I guess that explains one of my questions." Epel held his beat red face and slumped back down onto the bench. "Now my second question is… why would Leona and Yuu want to do…. That?"
"Well from what I hear it feels really good… like going to euphoria." Ace shrugged. "Never done it myself, but if the opportunity ever arose I would be down for it."
"Yeah but doesn't the um…" Epel waved his hand trying to think of a proper word. "...process, make a baby?"
"Yeah but there are ways to avoid it. I heard the woman can take a potion afterward to prevent pregnancy." Ace shrugged. "What I don't get is why Yuu would wanna do it with Leona of all people. I always thought they hated each other."
"I don't think so, Leona-san seemed really worried about her when he saw the state of her feet." Epel held his chest. "I catch him watching her now and then too whenever they're in the same room. I think… he might be in love with her."
"Leona? In love? Pfft! Oh yeah, sure, that'll be the day." Ace laughed.
"I dunno, Ace, Epel might be right. I heard from Jack he's been… off lately." Deuce tilted a hand back and forth in an unsteady motion. "He's not his usual self."
"Yeah, well I don't think it's love. Attraction maybe, urges and animal instincts and stuff like that… but love? Tch! There's no way in hell Yuu would ever fall in love with a guy like Leona Kingscholar."
~Pomefiore: Practice Room~
"1, 2, 3, 4… head up! Keep your spot! Again!" Vil ordered Yuu as she went through the dance routine he'd choreographed to the given music. "Tendu, port de bras, now up on those toes, pirouette! Keep your spot!" He shouted at her.
Yuu stumbled and fell onto her backside huffing and puffing. Sweat dripped from her temples and the base of her neck. She'd slipped on a sweatband to keep her hair out of her face, but the salty fluid still rained over her skin in a thick layer of perspiration.
Vil sighed heavily and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"You're not focusing your eyes on where they need to be. It's the reason you keep getting dizzy. How many times do I have to tell you that?!"
"I'm sorry." Yuu sighed and pulled her knees up, resting her head on them. 'I'm trying, but I keep getting distracted by my thoughts."
"Mmmph…" Vil folded his arms and glanced over at the corner where Grim lay napping. "Grim's knocked out… you wanna talk about it?"
Yuu shook her head and slowly got to her feet.
"If I talk about it you'll only give me another lecture." She scowled and stretched herself out. She went to her water bottle and slugged some liquid down her dry throat.
"This is about Leona, then?" Vil returned the scowl. "You said nothing happened."
"That's right, nothing happened… but part of me kind of wishes something did." She popped the top on and off. "I dunno, my head is in a weird place and it's distracting. I don't really even like the guy I'm just…" she held her stomach. "... Attracted to him."
"I suppose he is attractive, if you like that scruffy, brutish physique type." Vil waved his hand in the air and had Yuu smirking.
"Says the guy who has a crush on Jack."
Vil's face went bright red and his eyes snapped to her.
"How the hell do you know that?"
"Trust me, Vil, once I got to know you better I could read between the lines." She removed her sweatband and tossed her hair about running fingers through it so it slicked back. "I'm surprised Rook hasn't noticed it by now. He's usually so keen on such things."
"Oh he knows, but he has the courtesy of not speaking it aloud so anyone else could hear." He thumped a fist on her head. "I'd like to keep it that way, if you please. Now back to Leona… if it's just attraction then it should be easy enough to ignore."
"Well it's not easy." She frowned and took a turn about the room to keep her body moving. "I've got feelings for Malleus, but he's getting married soon. It hurts to even think of it, and part of me thinks it might be a good distraction to give into these new feelings I have towards Leona."
"Is your new career not enough of a distraction? Are you not enjoying yourself, Yuu?" Vil's eyes turned a bit sad and made Yuu feel guilty.
"No, of course I'm having fun. I really like dancing and being with you, Vil, but…" She sighed heavily, shutting her eyes. "… you're my brother. Even before the adoption, that's how I've always seen you. You take care of me, scold me, and are protective of me. You want what's best for me, and go out of your way to make sure I get it. It's made you… kind of predictable."
"Predictable?" Vil huffed. "Excuse me?"
"You have a routine, Vil… sometimes it's a bit crazy because of your work schedule, but you always do things a certain way without fail. You eat breakfast at exactly 8am every morning. You have to brush your hair a specific amount of times before going to bed. You eat a salad for lunch even though you crave a thick and meaty panini with all the trimmings."
"Has Rook been sharing my itinerary?" Vil pondered aloud with a sigh.
"I just know you, Vil… After spending only a few weeks with you in the same building I knew your routine. Leona is different, he's completely unpredictable. Being with him is aggravating, but it's also challenging, spontaneous and…" she tried to think of the proper word for how she was feeling. "... stimulating! He keeps me on my toes, and makes me forget about Malleus, even if it's just for a little while."
"I see…" Vil really didn't like where this was going. He saw the glimmer in his sister's eyes, and didn't care for it one bit. He had to think of a way to pull her from that arrogant and selfish beast before she ruined herself. "I think I understand what you're saying. I don't approve of it, but I understand it." Vil sat down on the piano bench and patted the spot next to him. She obliged and leaned in when he wrapped an arm around her. "To you, Leona is what we in the industry call an understudy. He's not the person you initially wanted, but he's a decent replacement."
"Well that sounds harsh." Yuu winced and sighed. "Accurate… but harsh."
"Take it from me, Yuu." He gave her shoulder a comforting rub. "This whole thing with Leona will pass, so don't let it go too far. You'll just wind up regretting it later when the attraction fades."
"I suppose you're right." She took a deep breath and sat up straight. "Okay, I'm ready to focus. Let's get this choreography down so we can work on the lifts. I get the feeling those are gonna be the most challenging for both of us."
"You're not wrong." Vil laughed and stood up with her. "I've been building up some upper body strength to assist with that… but the success of the lift is gonna rely heavily on your core strength." He tapped his abdomen. "You've been keeping up with your yoga like I instructed right?"
"I'm doing my routine every day, Vil. I haven't stopped since we started." To prove it, she executed a perfect 90° arabesque, and slowly rose onto the tip of the toe shoe.
"Excellent… you're learning fast and it's giving us ample time to work on perfecting the more difficult and dangerous parts of our routine." He rubbed his hands anxiously. "We're gonna blow those judges out of the water."
"Heck yeah, we are." She grinned and moved into a series of spins and jumps before taking her spot for the beginning.
~Ramshackle Dorm: Lounge~
Hours later, after Vil had called an end to practice, Yuu was still hard at work. Taking Vil's advice she threw herself into practice to avoid thinking of her feelings for Malleus and growing attraction towards Leona.
She didn't have a Barre or practice room at the dorm, but she was able to work on her core and flexibility by doing Yoga and acrobatics in her spacious living room.
"You're gonna bend yourself into a pretzel if you keep this up, Yuu." Grim complained as he snacked on a can of Tuna while watching her. He yawned loudly. "Not to mention wear yourself out. I'm tired just watching you."
"You slept practically all day." She laughed and went into a handstand, spreading her legs out into a split.
"Which just shows just how much you're overexerting yourself. You need to slow down, Yuu." Grim got up and gave her a small shove. She face planted and then lifted her head up to glare at him. "You should read a book or something like you used to do."
"While I do miss reading…" She sat up and folded her legs in the lotus position. "... I just can't seem to sit still long enough to enjoy it. I feel so itchy."
"Need your back scratched?"
"No, not that kind of itchy. I mean, eager, and anxious. There's all this energy that's just bubbling in the middle of my stomach. No matter how much I exercise, or dance, or move around I can't seem to get rid of it. I could run for miles… and I think I just might go do that." She got up and Grim let out a mewl of complaint.
"What? Now!? Yuu it's after dark, isn't that a bit dangerous?!"
"What dangerous, we're on school grounds. Thanks to those overblot incidents this place has been fortified with all kinds of magical wards and stuff. I'll be perfectly safe." She ran in place, glancing at the door impatiently. "Come on, Grim, I need to vent this energy or I'll do nothing but toss and turn in my sleep."
"Fine, fine, go run! When you come back I'll be face first in the pillows." He grunted when she gave him an absent scratch behind his ears then took off running out the door. "What's going on with her? She's being so weird."
~Savanaclaw: Leona's room~
Yuu wasn't the only one who couldn't sit still. Leona had been tossing and turning in his sleep all day, and couldn't seem to calm himself down. Something in his gut told him to get up, to run around and follow his nose.
All kinds of frustrated, Leona didn't even bother putting on shoes before throwing his terrace doors open and leaping into the night air. He ignored the stares from his underlings and made a mad dash for the mirror.
His energy and nose took him through the school, across the courtyard, and down the path to Ramshackle Dorm. He stalled on the path, his eyes glowing in the darkness. He spotted a figure running in the dark, and knew exactly who it was by the scent of her. He ducked to the side of the path, his feet quiet on the grass as his hunter instincts kicked in…
…and there he waited.
~Pomefiore: Epel's Room~
From the privacy of his bedroom, Epel opened one of the books he'd borrowed from the library. There was only so much information he could pull from other people, so he decided to book up on the subject. He picked up books on biology, reproduction, and anything that involved animal instincts and breeding. From that selection, he chose a book written by a theorist called "The Stages of Reproduction" and read the text.
"Reproduction: the process of giving birth to an offspring. It is the essential act for the continuation of any species and there are certain stages of development towards this course of action one must stages differ from species to species, and race to race, but in the animal kingdom things are pretty cut and dry. Male meets Female and both acknowledge they have a physical pull towards one another. Once attracted, the female will present themselves in a state of vulnerability…"
Back on the path, Yuu stumbled to her knees as they finally gave out. She'd been running the same circular path over and over, and the fatigue finally caught up to her. Guess I overdid it, she thought and braced herself up on her hands and knees until she could catch her breath.
"…. and similar to the way a hunter stalks their prey, the male will lay in wait, pacing and pondering the precise moment to strike…"
Leona felt a primal growl rumble in the back of his throat. He shifted slowly, moving practically on all fours as he circled Yuu from the shadows.
"… for once the male makes his move, the battle for conquest begins."
Yuu gasped when the roar pierced her ears. She barely had time to roll out of the way as Leona leapt at her. She scrambled back, trying to get to her feet but he was on her in a flash. She let out one horrified scream before her senses registered what was happening. Big strong arms held her to the strong muscular body. She could hear his ragged breathing, and feel his hot breath on her neck, but he didn't go for the kill. Slowly, deathly afraid, she turned her eyes up to look into his… and lost her breath completely.
"For Humanoids; such as homosapiens, beastmen and the fae, the pattern is quite different. Because of their high levels of intelligence, they often contemplate other factors when choosing a mate; such as social status, financial benefits, and family circles. Humanoids take this act of recreation very seriously, for they think far beyond the need of survival and instead contemplate their happiness, and well being. It's not so much that they want to survive… but that they want to truly live."
The look in Leona's eyes struck Yuu to the core. They were wet and heavy, tear droplets already forming along his cheekbone. His body, though firm and strong, shook like a newborn kitten. His grip went from assertive to tender, and he lowered his head again to lay it on her shoulder.
"What are you doing to me?" Leona whispered huskily, his voice thick with tears. "I've always took what I wanted before, not caring who I hurt… but with you it's different."
"Leona…" Yuu's breath came out shakily, and she slowly lifted a hand to stroke his hair. He lifted his face to stare at her. Her hand trailed over his face and she cupped it affectionately.
"Yuu…" Leona whispered her name like a prayer, and he lowered his head again. This time, he kept his eyes on her as he did so, until their lips met and he tasted her for the second time. His arms squeezed her tighter, and he half expected her to shove away and fight him.
…but she didn't.
"For the most unique quality that humanoids possess is the ability to understand and register emotions. Feelings of affection, compassion, and sympathy often intermix with attraction, arousal, and other stimulating senses, and this adds a whole different element to the mating process."
She stayed wrapped up in him, and embraced him back. Her lips met his, making the kiss firm and deep. He could feel the rapid beat of her heart matching pace with his, and his lips slowly curved.
"Are you gonna slap me this time?" He murmured on her lips, and made her laugh.
"Do you want me to?" She nuzzled in, inhaling deep while he adjusted their positions. She now sat atop his lap, both of them off the path and shielded by the shadowed brush.
"Only if you mean it."
"Mmm then no, I won't slap you."
"Good, because that friggin hurt. You pack one hell of a punch, princess."
"Are you really gonna keep calling me that?" Her brow raised, condescendingly. "I'm not exactly royalty, like you, yah know."
"No but…" He cupped the back of her neck, stroking it intimately. "...would you prefer I keep calling you an herbivore?"
"I would prefer you call me by my name." She closed her eyes, enjoying the gentle touch and massage.
"Such a demanding princess…" His laugh was low, and his fingers spread out along her neck, massaging deeper making her croon with pleasure. "Alright then… Yuu."
When their lips met again, there was no hesitation or regret. Hands stroked and touched, mouths tasted and nipped. Their bodies pressed firm together, skin meeting skin as they gave into their attraction and let it erupt from within.
"This form of reproduction, which combines the animalistic attraction with human emotions, is known as the act of Love Making. It is the most unique and highly coveted form of reproduction known in society, and very few ever experience it…"
Epel paused on the last line, his finger trailing over it and his smile slowly spread. He closed the book, and recited the line as if it were poetry.
"... for it is the ultimate expression of true love and happiness; a fleeting yet blissful moment when all of your worries and cares melt away into pure bliss… Wow, now that's romantic." Epel traced the cover of the book, then rolled his eyes, tossing it over his shoulder. "... and pure BULL SH-"
"Epel! Lights out was an hour ago! What are you still doing up!?" Vil's annoyed voice shouted from the hallway, cutting off his profanity.
"-OOT! Sorry, Vil-san!" Epel scrambled, turning off his desk lamp and hopping into bed. His questions would just have to wait another day.