Epilogue
Curled up around a trio of tiny kittens, Liriash laid her head down on her forepaws. Three cubs was a more than respectable litter for a Kindred witch, and she had damn well _earned_ a little rest. Sarahn was sitting outside the den, where he'd spent most of his time in the two days since the birth; he'd stopped pacing the first day, but she could hear the vibration every time his anxiously flicking tail smacked against the earth of her den. Still, he hadn't disturbed her with a single physical or psychic intrusion, letting her choose her own time to let him see the kittens.
It went against all Arcerian tradition, but she'd promised him. If he could be trusted with kittens while they were blind and helpless, he could be trusted to teach the cubs and play with them later. With his male instincts, and her own instincts to protect her cubs from any possibility of threat, it wouldn't be easy - but with care, it would be possible.
She hoped.
She stood up, nudged the kittens awake, and sent out a tentative communication thread to Sarahn. She was too old and her instincts were too strong to actually invite a male into a den full of kittens, but he sensed the cautious welcome in that psychic touch and accepted it.
He squeezed past the low-hung entrance, took a careful step forward, and froze when he saw the cubs. Liriash sensed the change in their simple psychic scents - curiosity at this new smell and sound - and tensed as the middle cub cheeped curiously and wriggled forward. Sarahn met the kitten more than halfway. Two steps brought him into the middle of the den, and he gave Liriash a long, steady look. *Do whatever makes you feel safe.* And deliberately lowered every inner barrier he had.
Complete vulnerability. A White-Jeweled Blood could have snuffed his mind out in that moment. If the briefest urge to hurt the cubs entered his thoughts, she could destroy him before he could even unsheathe his claws. No sane male should have taken such a risk.
And that was what calmed her enough to sit and watch as Sarahn lowered his muzzle to test the kittens' scent. He rubbed cheeks against all of them - careful, but sure of himself, and quietly pleased to be trusted this far. The kittens were much too young to play with him, but there was none of the fear she'd expected in their psychic scents, and they seemed just as happy to snuggle up with him as with her.
Though she suspected that would change the next time they got hungry.
Eventually Sarahn picked his way around the tangle of kittens and rubbed his cheek against hers. *I should hunt. You'll need food.*
*Not yet.* Right now, being warm with her kittens and mate was much better than meat. *Stay?*
Half-turned to go, Sarahn's posture softened, and his gold eyes warmed. *I would like that.*
She stepped aside, making room for him on the floor of the den where she slept. He stretched out on the side nearest the entrance, carefully lifting one cub after another into the warmth created by his body. Liriash studied the four of them for a moment - it was nothing she would ever have expected to see, a male taking on the witches' work of guarding newborn cubs. But with the coming of Witch, things were changing. So far, she rather liked this change.
She settled herself alongside Sarahn, creating a protected pocket for the cubs, and relaxed in the warmth of her family.
-end-
Curled up around a trio of tiny kittens, Liriash laid her head down on her forepaws. Three cubs was a more than respectable litter for a Kindred witch, and she had damn well _earned_ a little rest. Sarahn was sitting outside the den, where he'd spent most of his time in the two days since the birth; he'd stopped pacing the first day, but she could hear the vibration every time his anxiously flicking tail smacked against the earth of her den. Still, he hadn't disturbed her with a single physical or psychic intrusion, letting her choose her own time to let him see the kittens.
It went against all Arcerian tradition, but she'd promised him. If he could be trusted with kittens while they were blind and helpless, he could be trusted to teach the cubs and play with them later. With his male instincts, and her own instincts to protect her cubs from any possibility of threat, it wouldn't be easy - but with care, it would be possible.
She hoped.
She stood up, nudged the kittens awake, and sent out a tentative communication thread to Sarahn. She was too old and her instincts were too strong to actually invite a male into a den full of kittens, but he sensed the cautious welcome in that psychic touch and accepted it.
He squeezed past the low-hung entrance, took a careful step forward, and froze when he saw the cubs. Liriash sensed the change in their simple psychic scents - curiosity at this new smell and sound - and tensed as the middle cub cheeped curiously and wriggled forward. Sarahn met the kitten more than halfway. Two steps brought him into the middle of the den, and he gave Liriash a long, steady look. *Do whatever makes you feel safe.* And deliberately lowered every inner barrier he had.
Complete vulnerability. A White-Jeweled Blood could have snuffed his mind out in that moment. If the briefest urge to hurt the cubs entered his thoughts, she could destroy him before he could even unsheathe his claws. No sane male should have taken such a risk.
And that was what calmed her enough to sit and watch as Sarahn lowered his muzzle to test the kittens' scent. He rubbed cheeks against all of them - careful, but sure of himself, and quietly pleased to be trusted this far. The kittens were much too young to play with him, but there was none of the fear she'd expected in their psychic scents, and they seemed just as happy to snuggle up with him as with her.
Though she suspected that would change the next time they got hungry.
Eventually Sarahn picked his way around the tangle of kittens and rubbed his cheek against hers. *I should hunt. You'll need food.*
*Not yet.* Right now, being warm with her kittens and mate was much better than meat. *Stay?*
Half-turned to go, Sarahn's posture softened, and his gold eyes warmed. *I would like that.*
She stepped aside, making room for him on the floor of the den where she slept. He stretched out on the side nearest the entrance, carefully lifting one cub after another into the warmth created by his body. Liriash studied the four of them for a moment - it was nothing she would ever have expected to see, a male taking on the witches' work of guarding newborn cubs. But with the coming of Witch, things were changing. So far, she rather liked this change.
She settled herself alongside Sarahn, creating a protected pocket for the cubs, and relaxed in the warmth of her family.
-end-