Title: Of
Cats and Wolves
Author: Sol aka Zefyr
Muse & Beta: Katikat
Pairings: 1+2, 3+4, 5+TBA hehe.
Rated: PG or PG-13 at most
Warnings: Minor OOC due to AU situations; shonen-ai;
fantastical animal/people mixes; gratuitous use of improper Gaelic; crazy adaptations
of Siberian and Native American traditions.
Archiving: Please ask separately for this fic and one of us will get
back to you, since it's a collaboration. Also found at www-geocities-com/
mystera_k... Replace dashes with appropriate punctuation.
Disclaimer: We don't own, but we're having fun anyway. No harm meant.
Summary: In a world of Creatures, Heero is a young
half-Wolf who wants only to help his adopted brother, Wufei, find a good mate.
Really. Trowa, a half-Jackal, helps, and it goes downhill from there...
NOTE:
This is a joint effort. KatiKat wrote the teaser, then I saw Asuka's art for
the werepervs, and then I watched Cat People right after re-watching GW
episodes 1-5, and... the rest is history. The prologue (chapter 1) was written
by KatiKat, and edited by Sol. The rest of the chapters are written by Sol,
with beta comments and additional muse-inspiration provided by Katikat.
Particular note given to my co-conspirator, KatiKat, for her brilliant suggestion of the way things played out in this chapter. W00t! She's not to be blamed for the final madness of the chapter, as I really wanted to get this out before I leave for a two-day trip. Forgive me, Crazy Inspiring Muse!
Also, many thanks and snoopy dances for those who
commented, replied, and generally hounded me among other happy antics: Jadeduo,
Feyhowl, sevenall, Koyote, Dyna, little duckie,
Hikaru, Rosemary, E:, Morgan, Moffit, CinC,
and Kiya Sama.
The dinner hour was fast approaching as the three friends made their way to the trading area of the Gathering. The late afternoon was starting to be littered with campfires as the early Spring weather turned cool. Quinta and Quatre were busy receiving congratulations from several Clan members, while Duo trailed behind. The thief was fiddling with the knee-length azure loincloth, fidgeting with it self-consciously every few minutes.
"Duo, stop that," Quatre chided the half-Fox. "It looks fine."
"It feels weird," the thief replied, his ears twitching, but reluctantly stopped playing with the cloth. He was used to a Coyote's cut, which was narrower, leaving most of his hips and buttocks exposed, with a slim strip of fabric in the front and back. The Desert Lynxes wore their cloths more like Wolves, with a wide swath of fabric from hipbone to hipbone, leaving only a hand's length of leg fur exposed when the wearer stood still.
They'd returned the necklace to Iria, and Duo had agilely side-stepped her attempt to swat him for the theft. Iria then threatened to find Jasmine. It was Quatre's and Iria's eldest sister who had babysat the half-Fox as a child when the Coyotes visited. Duo had made a point of always treating Jasmine with a great deal of respect, ever since she'd spanked him for pilfering baklava at the age of five.
Iria's threat was empty, however, as Jasmine was aware that this would be the seventh time Iria's necklace had ended up in Duo's paws. Besides, the elder Lynx was nowhere in sight, so Duo's only response was to laugh gleefully and dodge another swat, tugging Quatre by the wrist. By the time Iria raised her hand for another shot, the three young men had already disappeared into the crowds heading for traders' row.
The blonde Hunter snorted, shaking her head at her younger brother's idea of friends. Quatre and Duo had been inseparable every time the Coyotes came down to the southern mountains at the edge of the desert. If the midwinter stores of sweets were a little lower than planned due to the half-Fox's skill, Iria privately didn't begrudge any of it.
That didn't mean she wasn't going to stop fussing, she thought, and grinned as she headed off to find her eldest sister.
Quatre's sharp eyes were skilled at detecting movement of enemy or prey from a long distance, but neither he nor his two friends were used to being around so many Creatures at once. The softer light of late afternoon wasn't helping, and the three half-Creatures were struggling to spot a silver-furred Wolf out of the quick-moving crowds. Sighing, the young Desert Lynx nodded politely to the trader and nudged Duo away from the jewelry display, surreptitiously bumping his friend's leather bag to make sure it hadn't just grown any new items. Finding nothing, Quatre afforded a larger smile to the River Bobcat and tried to hustle his friend along. The crowd thinned for a moment, and the half-Lynx's gaze caught a glimpse of a knee-length white loincloth with no markings.
Fifteen feet away, Trowa and Wufei were debating the merits of a new knife. Heero stood beside them, his arms crossed as he stared into the middle distance.
"Heero," Wufei called, a little worried. "Are you okay? You didn't answer my question."
"What's that, little brother," Heero answered automatically. He frowned, sniffing the air, and looked around suspiciously. There it was again, that unfamiliar spicy scent. Barely he registered that Wufei was repeating the question, but the half-Wolf shook his head, his attention focusing on a Desert Lynx staring at him intently.
"Excuse me," the Lynx said politely. "I was wondering if you... lost... something earlier today?"
Behind the Lynx, there was a second Lynx, with chin-length darker blond hair. His large brown eyes were fixed on Heero's loincloth, and the half-Wolf resisted the sudden urge to look down and check. Trowa was staring, almost open-mouthed, at the white-blond Lynx. Wufei nudged the Jackal, who closed his mouth with an audible snap. The Jaguar wrinkled his brow at the taller warrior, and turned his head in time to hear a cheerful voice calling out behind the white-blond Lynx.
"Hey, Quatre, what do you---"
Heero growled.
The two Lynxes froze, even as the first one was holding out a linen-wrapped item. Another young Creature threw his arm around Quatre, laughing as he held up a length of gold-embroidered turquoise cloth, then belatedly realizing he'd walked into a very silent group of warriors. Blinking, the half-Fox turned slowly, his dark blue eyes taking in Wufei, Trowa, and then landing on Heero. The half-Wolf was taking the item from Quatre without really looking; his cobalt eyes were fixed squarely on the half-Fox.
Duo squeaked and dropped the cloth.
"You." Heero snarled the one word, and leapt.
Quatre blinked.
A second later, Trowa, Quatre, Wufei, and Quinta were staring at each other. Quatre's hand was out, but empty. He raised his eyebrows, distantly registering that Heero must have taken the item back.
"What was that about," Wufei asked no one in particular.
"That was definitely him," Quatre replied blandly, but it wasn't clear to Trowa or Wufei which one the Lynx was referring to. Before either friend could say anything, the Lynx was sprinting through the crowd in the direction Duo and Heero had headed. "We've got to catch him," Quatre yelled over his shoulder.
Quinta rolled his eyes, smiled at the two strangers, and took off after his cousin.
"Well," Trowa said, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Care for a run?"
Wufei made a face, only to realize the long-legged Jackal was already off after the two Lynxes. Realizing he'd been left behind, Wufei waved at the Mountain Wolf knife-seller. Going a few feet, he heard the trader yell. The Jaguar backpedaled long enough to drop the knife on the trader's table, and then took off again after his two friends.
Halfway down the trader's row, Duo was doing his best to dodge through the crowd, his long braid flowing out behind him like a second tail. His best wasn't achieving much, and he pushed himself to increase the distance. At the same time, the half-Fox's mouth was moving nearly as fast as his legs. More astute observers would have heard it was an ongoing commentary debating the merits of having a bushy red tail whose white-tipped end worked like a huge beacon for the Wolf chasing him.
"Outta my way!" The Fox barely had time for a warning as he hurdled two small Bobcats walking with their parents. Dodging around a group of Cougar warriors, the thief's eyes went wide at the sight of two Jaguars carrying a large carved trunk. Duo tried to steer around, lost traction, hit the ground, sliding forward, feet first. The Jaguars barely managed to lift the trunk at the last second. Duo slid underneath, and was up in a heartbeat and plowing through the crowd again. "Thanks!" he yelled over his shoulder, laughing.
"Stop that damn Fox," a deeper voice shouted.
The Jaguars, still grinning at the sprightly Fox, turned to see a silver-tailed Wolf leap over the trunk. Startled, the shorter Jaguar dropped his end of the trunk. The other Jaguar started to say something, but his words turned into a yelp. A Desert Lynx had flown over the trunk, hitting the ground at a dead run as he took off after the Wolf. The first Jaguar stared into the crowd, and shrugged, leaning over to pick up his end just as a second Desert Lynx slammed into him.
"Oh, oh, terribly sorry," the second Lynx said, but didn't pause to help up the Jaguar now laying on his back in the middle of the trader's row. "Have to go, sorry!" The Lynx was gone, and the second Jaguar set down his end to help his friend up.
A second later a Jackal came pounding up.
"Fox, Wolf, two Lynxes," he said, his words rough from panting. The two Jaguars pointed in the direction the others had gone. The Jackal nodded, flashing them a quick smile. "Thanks," he said, and with a flicker of his brown-red tail, he was gone.
Almost immediately a black Jaguar appeared, and the two Jaguars didn't hesitate.
"That way," the first one said. The young man nodded, his expression grim, and took off after the others. The first Jaguar looked at his friend and rolled his eyes. "Foxes," he muttered, as if that explained everything, and the second Jaguar grinned.
Duo had lengthened the distance between himself and Heero, but only by a short bit. Turning to watch his pursuer, the thief nearly tripped over his own feet as he threw himself into a sharp right turn between two trader's tents. Grinning widely, the half-Fox grabbed two apples from the basket by the right-hand tent. He took off down the alley, ignoring the trader's shout behind him. Biting into one as he ran, he chewed rapidly, glancing over his shoulder every now and then.
Dratted Wolf won't give up, the thief thought. Duo was highly amused with the situation, but anxiety about the Wolf's determination was beginning to nag at him. He added a few complaints about Wolves being more stubborn than Coyotes to his ongoing monologue. It made a nice contrast to the one about the dangers of having a bright red tail when trying to successfully evade capture by silver Wolves.
Shrugging to himself and redoubling his efforts, the Fox spun to evade a gaggle of female Jaguars. The three girls watched, open-mouthed, as the Fox recovered gracefully, followed a second later by an angry Wolf, then two frightened Lynxes, and a smiling Jackal. Meiran was opening her mouth to say something to her friends when Wufei crashed into her. Barely chancing a look at her, he mumbled an apology and was off without a second glance. The young Jaguar stared at his departing figure, her angry words still in her throat as her two friends gaped openly.
"I wonder what that's all about," Xing said, her green eyes wide.
"I think we should find out," the other Jaguar said. Meiran snorted, certain it wasn't worth it, but her friends were never one to pass up a chance to find out what was going on. Before she knew it, her two friends had grabbed her by the wrists and were dragging her after the young Jaguar.
"Meiran, admit you want to know," Luyin teased. "Maybe Wufei's in a fight!"
"I do not want to know," Meiran retorted, but didn't stop running. She picked up her pace, her black tail streaming behind her as she and her friends joined the line of pursuers.
The half-Fox darted around another group of shoppers, spinning as he did so. Duo turned and pitched the apple core with all his strength, his braid whipping around behind him. The Wolf saw the apple coming at the last minute and ducked. It was momentary distraction, but the Fox hoped it'd be enough time. He darted between two tents, flying down to a different row of traders with a maniacal laugh on his lips. Bursting out into a different row of stalls, his keen eyes picked up two familiar shapes discussing something at a trader's table.
"Iria! Jasmine! Hide me," the half-Fox demanded, his panting breaths coming faster as he slid to a halt in front of them. "A crazy Wolf is after me. Hide me, please!"
"Since you say please," Iria replied, with a glance to her older sister. Duo grinned, throwing his arms around Iria in a quick hug before slipping under the table. The younger Lynx twitched the cloth behind the Fox, and stepped on his tail for good measure. There was a stifled yelp and the tail disappeared.
A second later the two sisters saw an angry silver half-Wolf appear from the same direction from which Duo had appeared. Before either sister could look away, the Wolf caught the two Lynxes staring at him and headed straight for them. His face was creased in an angry scowl, and his eyes were cold.
"The Fox," he snarled, his sharp teeth flashing. "Where's that Fox?"
"Fox?" Iria asked, her blue eyes wide. She turned to Jasmine. "Did you see a Fox?"
"Went that way," Jasmine said, pointing off down the row. "Moving fast."
The Wolf nodded curtly, peering down the row. He couldn't see any flashes of red fur through the crowd, but lacking a better lead, he gathered his strength and took off. Fortunately he wasn't too far down the row when the shout came.
"DUO!"
It was loud enough to give the Wolf-boy pause. Stopping in his tracks, he turned his head to see the shorter Lynx put her hand to neck as she turned and shouted at the table. Heero's ears perked up.
"You... thief! You took my necklace!"
The shorter woman began kicking the table. From the other end, a Fox was scrambling out, barely able to stand up from laughing hard. Heero turned, heading back for the two women in time to see the Fox wave, something glittering and blue in his hand
"Shiny!" The Fox taunted, and disappeared into the crowd.
"I'm going to kick your---"
The rest of the woman's shout was lost to Heero as he sprinted after the red flash. He barreled past the two female Desert Lynxes and nearly ran over a third who had just appeared from between the row of tents. The young Lynx warrior shouted at the half-Wolf to stop. Ignoring the newcomer, Heero followed the half-Fox, closing in on the long-haired figure as it threaded through the crowd, trying to lose him in the mass of people shopping on the Gathering's first night.
Behind Heero, Quatre was lagging, but determined to make sure his friend didn't get pummeled. Bad enough Lynxes are only good for sprints, he fussed silently. Worse, though, was that now it seemed if Duo could escape the Wolf, he'd still end up dealing with Quatre's sisters, who had joined the chase. Behind the two sisters, Quinta was gaining, and Trowa was hot on their tails. Wufei wasn't far behind. When the Fox turned down another alley of traders' tents, Quatre caught a glimpse of three unfamiliar female Jaguars close behind Wufei. The young Lynx shook his head, absently finding the whole situation rather funny, and focused his attention on keeping up with the two Creatures ahead of him.
The strange parade made its way down the main row of the trading stalls. Heero swung his silver tail around for balance as he chased Duo down another turn, narrowly avoiding a group of Bobcats. One of them was Dorothy, who stared after him with a perplexed look. Next to her Relena turned to the Bobcat with a surprised expression. "Was that... Heero?"
"Do you know any other silver Wolves with dark hair?" Dorothy's eyebrow was raised as she watched the four Desert Lynxes, followed by a Jackal and a black Jaguar, and three Jaguar females all run past. "I wonder what Heero did to make all of them chase him."
"What are we standing here for?" Relena grabbed her friend's arm, tugging the Bobcat after her. "If Heero's in trouble, we've got to help him!" The Bobcat didn't bother with protesting, but lengthened her stride to match her friend's. Ahead of them, they could see Wufei slowly closing the distance between himself and the taller Jackal warrior. Gritting her teeth, Relena put on a burst of speed and nearly caught up with the three Jaguars behind Wufei.
At the end of the tent row, Duo made another quick turn, leaving the trader's area behind. Flying past an encampment guard without attention to where he was going, the Fox made short work of the second apple. Turning and throwing with excellent aim, he laughed merrily as the Wolf was forced to dodge the apple core. Behind the Wolf, Quatre saw the throw and had to jump to the side to prevent being hit instead.
Duo waved, turning unexpectedly and throwing himself head-first into the nearest tent. The Wolf dived in after him, only to come out the other end, steadfastly ignoring the family of Cougars he'd startled, figuring Duo had startled them first. Quatre didn't hesitate, but dove right through as well.
Iria was about to launch herself into the tent as well, when Jasmine's shout distracted her. The older Lynx had seen their younger brother appear on the other side, and grabbed her sister at the last minute. The two went around, and the Cougar mother came out of the tent in time to see two more Lynxes, a Jackal, four Jaguars, a white Wolf, and a Bobcat go running past. Turning to lift the tent flap to say something to her husband, she was surprised to see he was no longer in the tent.
"Where did your father go," she asked her two children, but not expecting an answer.
"He said words you said we shouldn't say and left through the back of the tent," her older son answered. "Mom, are you going to wash his mouth out, too?"
The Cougar could only stare, seeing the back tent flap swaying in the breeze of her husband's angry departure.
Duo laughed, spinning as he ran to see not only the Wolf behind him, but Quatre only ten feet behind the Wolf-boy, and behind Quatre a long line of other Creatures, all running full-tilt. The Fox grinned widely. He hadn't this much fun since he'd helped Solo put saltpeter in the outdoor cooking pit at the Mountain trading post. The explosions had lit up the sky, shooting multi-colored sparks into the evening and scaring the living daylights out of the Creatures gathered around the pit.
Putting the memory out of his head, Duo concentrated on increasing the distance between himself and the Wolf. For all the fun involved, this Wolf had hung on a great deal longer than most. The half-Fox wondered for a second just what the hair-band meant to the Wolf that he'd chase a Fox all the way across the gathering grounds. Turning again as he cut through another row of tents, Duo tossed a quick smile over his shoulder.
Too busy taunting the Wolf warrior, Duo never saw the stave leveled only a few inches above the ground. His foot caught on the wooden pole, and he went flying across the ground, tumbling head-over-heels to land in a dull heap of red tail, blue cloth, and chestnut braid. Groaning slightly at the sudden halt, Duo tried to move, but his brain was fuddled from where he'd smacked it on the ground. He tried to sit up, swayed, and fell back down. Completely out of breath, the only sound he could make was a ragged wheeze. A shadow fell over him and he instinctively froze.
"What's this?" The baritone voice was gentle, but had an edge that immediately put Duo on guard.
Heero dug in his heels, coming to a halt only a few feet away. Glaring at the thief laying in a pile of shaking limbs, the Wolf-boy widened his gaze to look up at the Fox warrior standing over the fallen shape. Pounding feet halted next to the Wolf, and Heero realized one of the Desert Lynxes had caught up with him. Glancing to the side, the half-Wolf noticed the Lynx's desperate look, and heard the shorter warrior gasp. A second later three more Lynxes had joined the first, and then Trowa and Wufei were there as well, ranging themselves on the other side of Heero.
The Fox standing over Duo raised his eyebrows at the ramshackle chasers, and laughed softly as three Jaguars, a Bobcat, another Wolf, and a Cougar joined the group. Most of the group looked irritated, although some looked worried. The auburn-haired Fox twitched his tail a few times, the red bushy length slapping against his ankles as he leaned over and grabbed the half-Fox by the scruff of his neck.
"Quick thinking with the stave, Une," the Fox leader complimented his mate, then turned to the Wolf-boy still glowering at Duo. The Fox shook Duo slightly, and was gratified to hear a small whimper, prompting the warrior to flash his sharp canines as he spoke. "I heard there was a half-Fox that survived. Put up a good chase, did he?"
"Get your hands off him, Treize," Quatre ordered. His voice was steady and cool, as though he'd not just run the entire length of the Gathering.
"I don't think so, bird-dancer." The tall Fox looked over at the group of pursuers, and smiled coldly. Tightening his grip, Treize hauled Duo to his feet and smiled down at the young half-Fox. "Don't worry, I'll be taking him off your hands now. He's a half-breed, and we don't allow those to live."