Forenote

Part 2 of update~

Xuemao woke as the first curls of sunlight lazily filtered through the lattice shutters and gauzy veils of the windows and looked down at the wily creature curled up tightly against his chest, rich wood brown hair scented with the same sweet, honeyed nectar that was now in Xuemao's own hair, wafting up from the head pressed against his neck- cold nose first. Xuemao rumbled and rubbed his chin against the mass of silky hair, adding his personal iced mint and pine scent to his human's artificial flowery signature. Claim returned.

One of the more superficial bonds, as a demon's sense sensitivity varied depending on what they were, so few would be able to smell the mark from his facial scenting glands inherited from his mother's feline lineage... but Xuemao could and it made all his instincts hum with satisfaction.

There were still demons who would pick up on the Claim though. Almost all of the with honed predatory instincts, a lot of them running in packs or prides, even dual partnerships, and all just as deadly as the solitary hunters.

Linguang Baijing was one.

That demon was cold and merciless as the highest reaches of the frozen North. If he gained word of Xuemao's Claim on a human… his lips peeled back from his teeth. Linguang-Jun would do to him what Mobei-Jun had done to the White-Eyed Blizzard and steal his bride from him, only Shen Jiu would not be complicit, not when he had already chosen pursuit on Xuemao, so he would either be slaughtered, preferably in front of Xuemao by Linguang Baijing, or he would rob the interloper of the kill with his own blade or qi.

Either way, Shen Jiu would die and that was unacceptable. Not unless by Xuemao's hand following betrayal of the rules of their engagement or disappointment of Xuemao's expectations of his partner.

So, they would avoid that situation. Somehow.

Hm.

…demons couldn't talk if they were dead.

Xuemao's eyes narrowed and the hand absently smoothing up and down the knobbles of his suitor's spine.

Xuemao was strong. He had mastered the Zuizei's abyssal portaling ability and would soon be able to seclude some of his soul-skin features from the physical plane, with a bit of practice. He had defeated the golden weeds guarding his cell and all those that dared pursue, with only a single wound taken in a moment of distraction. Hi qi was fierce and with a few good Hunts his body would follow. Xuemao was strong.

How strong was Shen Jiu?

His hand paused, palm settling over a textured patch of scar tissue at the dip of his spine above his superfluous tailbone.

His suitor had impressive qi reservoirs, vast and rich, and his Mountain Lake natures a potent combination, but his spirit veins were twisted and warped, strangling his qi flow to a trickling stream within a riverbed, rife with stagnant pools. For some reason, instead of absorbing the still qi into his muscles and bones it was just left to fester and Shen Jiu was storing his qi only in his central core.

Xuemao snorted, with his Baihu's fierce and ruthless demonic attitude Xuemao almost forgot that Shen Jiu was human, for all he didn't suit it, and the nest egg of power was probably his 'Golden Core' he had been gathering without also giving his flesh the means to defend that power. He nudged his chin over the crown of his Baihu's head again. Silly Baihu, he was lucky Xuemao liked him too much to eat him without cause.

Still, he needed to ensure his potential-mate was strong enough to survive without him, or even with him, if they had to separate or he took Shen Jiu away with him and his merchant-guild gave chase.

And to do that… an enticing idea took shape in his mind; take Shen Jiu Hunting.

He could help Shen Jiu become stronger. Teach him how to Track, how to Stalk, how to Strike. How to Hunt. Feed him some of their kills. Present him with trophies from them. Watch Shen Jiu rise to Strength, because his little Hunting Partner was cuttingly intelligent and would hone his skills quickly to lethal edge, until he won himself Strength in a full brace of sharp little skill daggers, just like the ones tucked into his boots.

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His mind drifted in a haze of warm contentment, body weighed down like he was tucked in the thickest, heaviest quilt but without any of the suffocating heat or constriction to stop it feeling … safe.

Green eyes snapped open, heart pounding in his ears, adrenalin burning away the mists of drowsiness like the summer sun. He reached out with every sense he had, qi stirring-

Something was the matter with his qi.

Blurry shapes in dusky blue and navy grey filled his vision. Cool, living flesh lay under his cheek, silky akin, pointy bone and sinewy muscle. Fresh pine and icy mint clogged his nose and tongue. He was laying on the demon Xuemao, had been for some time, had been asleep after exhausting himself for the stupid kitten's sake and left himself vulnerable and-

…he knew the sensation in his spirit veins.

The density. The way it slowly melted and seeped deep into his bones like the cross between a satisfying meal and a hot bath.

He was alive. Laying on top of his demon… associate, rising and falling with every breath beneath him. Had said demon's qi thick in his meridians, trickling along the smaller veins and sinking into his flesh as his body converted it into a usable form, not so much shoring up cracks and soothing over raw sensitive patches damaged from deviations like that one time he'd had to have his meridians cleansed by a Qian Cao disciple… but reinforcing his spirit veins from the outside. From the muscle and sinew surrounding each battered pathway, holding them straight and steady, allowing Shen Jiu's own qi to flow and start mending the damage.

An additional weight, external, sat at the small of his back, a tingling sort of burn spreading from the contact. The weight shifted, focusing the sensation to five singular points- a hand. Mobei Xuemao's hand. On his skin. On his scar, his brand-

An instant later, Shen Jiu was flat against the far wall gasping (the force of impacting against in driving all the breath from him when he launched himself off his… companion with much greater force than he should have been able to), clutching his robes like a wronged maiden. And his demon was curled in on himself, clutching at the source of his pain with little hissing growls on every breath.

Hastily making himself presentable and slipping out of the room, Shen Jiu allowed a crooked grin to twist his lips as he waited for the kitchen girl to cobble together some breakfast things.

Perhaps the kitten will have learned his lesson from getting scratched himself. Or kneed, as the case may be. Just because he hadn't taken advantage this time didn't mean he was welcome to invade Shen Jiu's personal space as he pleased.

Still... he slowly flexed his hands.

Falling back on demonic cultivation techniques... was not what Shen Jiu thought he would ever allow again in his lifetime. Not only for the consequences of discovery by the righteous Sect he had indentured himself to, but for the stall it would put on his spiritual cultivation. How much more difficult it would be to draw qi into his system if his body was rich in it, even if his actual meridians sat woefully empty.

It would essentially change his cultivation path entirely, onto something more akin to martial cultivation than Shen Jiu's natural spiritual inclination.

He had been at Cang Qiong for almost two years now and had made painfully little progress in actual cultivation. His spirit veins were just too scarred and weak and he was running out of time to develop them and deepen his meridian pools to enable him to even hope to form a Golden Core.

Shen Jiu had entered the Sect significantly past the peak cultivating age and couldn't afford to rest and allow his qi system to recover from the Qi Deviations damage, not when every day stacked the odds against him.

So Shen Jiu worked at his spiritual cultivation at every chance he got, until he couldn't stand the aches and pains of forcing it and picked up a training sword to beat out his frustration.

There was only so much time in a day, and he couldn't train both his body and meridians and the skills of Qing Jing all at once.

So Shen Jiu had not made much progress in cultivating to Immortality on Qing Jing's techniques alone.

So, was it perhaps time to change his path? Forge a new one by himself? The risks of such a thing… the rewards…

Would it be worth it?

...He tucked the thought away in his mind to revisit at a later date.

He returned to the room shortly, bringing breakfast.

He found the demon waiting for him at the low table, for some reason having spread the cushions from the bed across the floor on either side, as if Shen Jiu would ever even conceive laying out so indolently at a table instead of sitting sensibly, especially in the presence of someone else!

Still, with a narrow-eyed look, he put down the food and started on a bowl of light congee.

He would only eat this, anything more or heavier would unsettle his stomach, but he was slightly interested in what his Baomao would pick. Whether his feline ancestry would draw him to the meaty dumplings only- following the carnivory of such cats, or his Fuzhu blood would draw him to his own congee bowl- indicating omnivory.

Ultimately only superficially useful information, as with a demonic metabolism and constitution, the fawn kit may just eat everything available anyway.

Xuemao reached over and speared a pork jiaozi on a black claw, then actually consumed the dumpling with a delicate pull of sharp white teeth and a curl of cobalt tongue. Shen Jiu looked away. Barbarian.

"This meat is good," said the savage. "But this Prince hungers for something of more… substance. What does Shen Jiu know of worthy prey in these hunting grounds?"

His eyes narrowed on the demon. "…That would depend on the requirements of 'worthiness'." Perhaps he would have answers to his curiosity after all. "This one is aware that demons draw strength from consuming the qi of their kills, is the elemental alignment of prey of relevance? Would Xuebao prefer to stalk a mouse of the same or contrasting qi nature as himself?"

The other chuffed in amusement, lips tugging away from one snowy fang in a smirk, "This 'snow leopard' would hunt a creature far more satisfying than a mere mouse, Baihu." His hand reached up and plunged into his own hair, inky claws catching ebony strands and dragging them back from the demon's face, only to delicately recatch them as they fell back into place upon release. Shen Jiu felt his eye twitch, Xuemao was opening his mouth to speak, but he was still displaying his utter ineptitude at getting his own damn hair out of his face and the repetitive motion was distracting as it was annoying.

Surging to his feet, he stalked around the low table and his demon until he stood behind the head of black silk and diamond antlers, the owner of which having fallen silent upon Shen Jiu's movement and was now keeping completely still as he presumably attempted to stimulate his few functioning brain cells to respond to the situation.

Then again, Shen Jiu had had the little fawn-kit in a similar position of vulnerability the night previous and the idiot had proven ridiculously trusting then too, so perhaps Mobei Xuemao was simply one of those people who trusted easily, wholly and lost all sense of reason when it came to the recipient of it.

Maybe someone other than Shen Jiu would feel honoured by this.

He just thought the dumb frosty baby was an imbecile for it and resolved to both take advantage himself and carefully ensure that others could not (he never was the type to share).

Fishing out a comb from his qiankun sleeve and slapping a clawed hand out of the way, Shen Jiu began brushing the head of hair beneath him, waiting for the snow cat to get a clue and continue talking as Shen Jiu generously fixed his problem for him.

"… this Xuemao would… would hunt both kinds of prey. They… serve different purposes. Ah." The idiot shuddered under his touch, a light purr starting up as the comb dragged against his scalp. Shen Jiu remembered how good it felt when Qi-ge used to stroke his head and run fingers through his hair to sooth him after a nightmare when they were children (when they were still Qi-ge and Xiao-Jiu. When those two dirty slave kids were alive and together and stupid enough to believe that would never change). He ignored it. This was not then, and he was Xuemao were not friends.

This was not about comfort or pleasure. (Though the soft silkiness of hair running through his fingers made them tingle and seeing the sleep-tangled expanse gain order and shine like moonlight over liquid darkness made smug satisfaction swell in his chest. Shen Jiu had always been a greedy thing that coveted luxury far above his worth. The silks of his Qing Jing robes made his fingertips tingle with the pleasure of finery and so, it seemed, did the icy beastling's pelt.) …but it couldn't hurt to could bully the kitten into doing this again. Sometime in the future. Maybe. (He'd always been bad at denying himself pleasures, especially stolen ones.)

"What purposes?" he prompted.

"Ah… benefits. Same qi natures are familiar- fast to convert, fast to fade. Opposing natures… the reverse. Less to store at once with opposite, so more is sequestered, less lost, but the faster rush is satisfying and immediate… The best is a mix of both. More power, more hunting that way."

Shen Jiu hummed a flat note and started braiding the beastling's hair, pulling only the strands on the crown between the antlers into a plait to begin with, then slowly adding sections from the sides, making sure to part them around the crystalline antler bases without puling or leaving gaping seams showing scalp. He softened his tone to something low and almost… cajoling.

"What of plants? Or qi rich waters and places? Can this one's Xuebao utilise those too?" It sounded foreign to his ears, like a stranger using his voice.

"Mm. Some plants, but not many or much. Saps and nectars are better. Plant spirits with cultivated forms better again- actual cores to claim in victory. This Prince is a Mobei- Frost Fuzhu blood. I can take qi from water. The moon's silvered light too…"

"Xiao-mao is resourceful, ah?" It was good information. That was the only reason Shen Jiu was keeping up the- the intimacy of this… situation.

"Mm, resourceful. Strong, too." The fawn-kit was completely boneless under Shen Jiu's ministrations, the purr rumbling in time with every breath. "Shen Jiu is resourceful too. Sharp and sly." It was said almost... admiringly and the strangeness of that was the only reason Shen Jiu simply moved his hands with the motion as the demon tilted his head back to look at him, instead of using the handful as leverage to pull harshly and mercilessly to keep the demon still and under his control. Slitted turquoise glowed up at him. "Shen Jiu should join this Prince on an Hunt."

He stared back, blankly. "A hunt."

Sharp teeth glinted. "We should go on Hunt together. Stalk the darkness, strike on unsuspecting prey, feast upon the rewards. Shen Jiu knows many things unknown to near all others this one has known, like how to aid my healing and power. My Baihu will know the best prey, better than the weaklings I found before our meeting. You will find them out, we will track them and I will fight them, then we will feast." The delusional imbecile was grinning.

He tugged the demon's head back into position, with far more gentleness than he intended, but did not start his hands moving just yet.

He leaned in close, settling those pointy antlers harmlessly above each shoulder, fingers resting close enough to grab each at the base and murmured to the crown of midnight hair, "If we were to go hunting, little kitten, then reset assured that this Shen Jiu would be making battle just as well as you if not better. After all, his Shen Jiu spent some time indeed apprenticed under a demonic cultivator of some renown… would Xuemao know of Wu Yanzi, this one wonders?"

The demon tried to move his head. Shen Jiu struck like a viper and held it still. The purring stopped.

"Wu Yanzi, the Shadowed Blade. Shen Jiu was taught to hunt by him?"

"This one learned his ways and then killed him. Circumstances then conspired so that I did not reap the reward of his power to claim as my own… but the same does not apply to you, my Xuebao. Betray me and I'll eat your heart and steal you Core. To do so is well within my knowledge and power, do not cross me."

He watched the stillness of the other closely from beneath lowered lashes. Another shudder and a loud, stuttering purr filled the air on an exhale.

"This Prince will eagerly await our summertime battles" The hunting thing again?

He thought he could just ignore Shen Jiu's threat, did he?

"Just because this one has not killed you doesn't mean I cannot." Sometimes elegance truly was wasted on idiots.

"Yet you have not" Gods above, the princeling sounded almost smug.

Despite himself, amusement bubbled up inside him and infected his tone, "yet I have not."

And now you owe me Xuemao of Mobei, so there.

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Xuemao allowed his purr to continue at a probably indecent volume and rapture as he revelled in satisfaction and waited for his mate-to-be to finish grooming him.

Oh, their Summertime Battles would be glorious. Not the disappointment Xuemao was half resigned to at all! His potential future Queen was the protégé and successor of the Shadowed Blade and he had chosen to pursue and woo Xuemao instead of killing him.

It was a bit disappointing that Shen Jiu retreated to the opposite side of the table when he had finished pampering Xuemao instead of allowing him to return the affection, but his winter fox did seem to be a bit skittish in receiving contact as he had discovered this morning. No matter, Xuemao would prove himself worthy of sharing casual contact to his guarded and semi-feral human.

"Well, for Wind and Heaven qi this one would recommend the Shaggy Mud Beasts, a local wild oxen variant. For Lake and Mountain… on the boulders scatter across the plains should be Campfire Ember Salamanders, small but fire-qi rich, the blue and white ones most of all. For Lake qi, the only local beast of suitable richness would be the Lost Three-Peak camels, which despite their name are rather abundant." A single finger tapped against the table wood, "What of Thunder qi? It is not a direct contrast to your alignments; does it hold any benefit?"

Returning to detached professionalism it seems, as if no softness had ever even existed within his suitor's realm of awareness, let alone been expressed by him (to Xuemao!). Silly Baihu, there was no shame in deepening bonding by physical contact, but if he was so embarrassed then Xuemao could pretend it never happened.

This was good information anyway, in his weakened state before their meeting, Xuemao had only managed to successfully hunt some small bouncing mouse creatures and burrowing fat rodents. The prey his human described sounded very satisfying indeed… almost as much as the thought of hunting together.

"No. The Thunder element disrupts my Winds and agitates my Lakes. For most demons there is at least one element that does only harm, for me it is Thunder." He watched his suitor's mind turn at that.

Thunder qi would not do such extreme damage as he had implied, but it gave him no benefit either. It simply sat in his system until he could expel it, the most discomfort t amounting to indigestion and muscle aches. What Shen Jiu did with this information was of more interest- would he use this as a weapon against him, or to fashion a shield to protect him from it? Either would be thrilling, but each gave insight into his Baihu's desires for their developing dynamic.

Fundamentally- competition or cooperation?

The finger continued to tap absently.

"Do not pursue the Star Crystal Horse herds then, or the Gold Wing Eagles." Vivacious green eyes capture Xuemao's intently, "especially the eagles. They are trained by the nomadic human tribes who travel to the plains for the summer season to graze their sheep and horses. They are skilled in tracking and archery and gain favour among minor cultivation Sects as merchants of qi-rich plants and soft Cloud Wool cloth, be sure to evade their attention or all my effort into you will be wasted."

Cooperation, unexpectedly.

Maintain distance from traveling Hunter-Merchants, understood. Hm…

"Shall they stand in the way for travel to the Northern Kingdom?" He could avoid confrontation where possible, but he would not skulk and hide like a cowardly interloper on the route to what will be his own Territory.

Shen Jiu contemplated, sharp eyes narrowed, "You should encounter no issue so long as their flocks and herds are not poached."

"Good. Challenges can come after we build out base of power. Which beast would Shen Jiu prefer to stalk for our first hunt?"

Poison green flashed, "You will go hunt whatever is nearest and work your way outwards away from this town once this one smuggles you outside the settlement. Then you will hunt and feast and what have you- and continue on your way away."

Xuemao frowned. "We."

Shen Jiu's delicate pink lips peeled back from his teeth like flower petals. Petals to a poisonous flower at that.

"Baomao may be so free of responsibilities as to frolic across the countryside as he pleases, but this Shen Jiu is in fact not. This one is a disciple to a Sect who will soon come looking for him as the date of expected arrival passes and the goods he and his associates were sent to retrieve remain undelivered. Associates who Xuemao may remember killing upon our meeting, which this one will also have to explain to his superiors."

…What?!

"Shen Jiu is associated with a human Sect? What of the business practice here?" What qi-merchant guild would allow a member outside association like a Cultivation Sect?

Xuemao receive a narrow look and a hand drifting downwards towards sheathed daggers.

"This Shen Jiu is a cultivator of Cang Qiong Mountain Sect, the strongest Sect in the human world and discipled to under the Second-seniority within that, to the Peak of Strategy and Scholars Arts. This one merely prefers brothels to illicitly house demons under his purview because he finds them to be secure, trustworthy and valuable sources of information."

Cang Qiong. Oh Xuemao had heard much about that Sect through the envious gossips of the golden weeds and even murmurs from the Winter Courts before that. That Sect was strong enough to conquer any Territory they desired and every faction of the demon realm knew it.

Wait.

Shen Jiu had not announced this affiliated either during their initial introductions.

The Shadowed Blade's successor… the human renowned for sparking wars between territories and inciting feuds within clans until they ripped themselves apart… whose mantle was claimed by Xuemao's very suitor…

Was… did Shen Jiu intend to do the same to his sect as his predecessor? Learn their secrets and then make himself independent from them? If he took care to maintain an information network among the qi-merchants…

If he intended to be unaffiliated within human power circles, then he would by default seek renown and status among demons. That would be why used demonic plants so casually… and why he would pursue Xuemao with so much focused intent upon learning his Name, even when doing so was an uncomfortable embarrassment for him.

He obviously belonged better in the Demon Realm than the human one and, should their Summer and Winter Years go well, he would make an exemplary Queen on the Frozen North.

Xuemao had not anticipated them parting so soon, but it seems they both had their own status to build… power to accumulate…

Xuemao still wanted to go hunting with his Baihu. Their courtship would be slowed by this development, but the Zuizei portaling ability would make the distance between them negligible once Xuemao built up enough power and practice over his bloodline's blessing.

Though Cultivation Sects did have wards... from familiarity he could portal through those of that golden cage Huan Hua Palace Sect, but his Baihu's Cang Qiong likely used different ones. Xuemao would have to wait for Shen Jiu to be sent outside the protections on Sect errands to meet with him again… he would.

"This Prince will find you."

The smile on his suitor's face was vicious. "See that you do."

Notes:

• Yes, Shen Jiu put a French braid on Xuemao. Mwuahahah.
• Small bouncing mouse- Jerboa. A very odd looking thing I had never encountered before research for this.
• MBJ may seem a little OOC… but poor kitty is just hyped that someone is cuddling him, someone who is also strong and smart and obviously really into him.