Captured Hearts

Chapter Nineteen: The Alluring

~This chapter will be another that focuses mainly on the werewolves~

"So, Mammon... I know we haven't given the best first impression so far... but I'm Hayato," the silverette sighed, holding out his hand to the werewolf who was staring at him with alert eyes, having recently had the breath kissed out of him by a certain prince. "I apologize for him," Hayato apologized, glaring at the blonde who was fishing just a few yards away. "He gets really... eh... lonely, I guess."

"That's all right," Mammon said eventually. "I don't mind him. All I want to do is escape."

"Escape? Yeah, that's not gonna happen," Hayato snorted. "Sorry, man, you're gonna be trapped here for a long time. The only way out is to get a mate, but they can tell if you're just acting, trust me."

"Aw, how cute is he~?"

"I know, right?"

"Dino, call the purple one over!"

"All right, ladies, settle down..."

Mammon stared at the open area down at the far end of the enclosure, cocking his ears forward to hear better, but the second he did so, the intresting conversation ended, and he heard his name called. A tamer was gesturing him over, but Mammon didn't understand. "Uh... Hayato, what do they want with me now?" he asked. "Are they going to shoot me?"

"Nah, that only happens to creatures that lose themselves," Hayato said, waving it off. "He just wants you to go over there, 'cause the observers think you're cute or somethin'."

Mammon hesitated, having little experience working with humans, but eventually stood, and took uncertain steps towards the open area, pulling down the bottoms of his thin t-shirt to protect his precious tail. "Do you... need something from me?" he asked, quivering when he glanced down at the tamer's belt. This was a man who could shoot him, whip him, and probably a lot more. He was a master, although whether Mammon would obey him or not was still up for debate.

"Here," Dino said, holding out his hand. Mammon shyly sniffed the air when he didn't see anything in the tamer's hand, but before he could be embarassed by his untamed thought process, a hand held his wrist and moved it, before placing it in Dino's palm. Mammon submitted a light blush, now having his hand being held gently by Dino, while when he turned his head, he saw that it was Bel who had shown him the custom by moving his wrist. The blonde werewolf was grinning widely at him, and somehow, in that moment, that prince almost looked... attractive.

"Kyaaa~ It's Bel!"

"I wanna pet him!"

Mammon leapt back when all the observers suddenly rushed forward, and Bel took a step backwards as well, sticking out his tongue when he was just out of reach for all of the girls. Mammon smiled at the princely werewolf, who coolly defended his pride while still making himself look like a maniac of sorts. Somehow it was just... nice.

"Hey, Mammon!"

The indigo-haired werewolf glanced over his shoulder, before walking over to the pond where Fran had emerged. "Hi, Fran," he said, flicking his ears in acknowledgement as he sat down on the grass. "How are you?"

"I'm doing good," Fran answered, lifting himself up onto the grass, but not taking his tail out from the water.

"You?"

"Okay, I guess," the werewolf replied. "This place is weird."

"It takes getting used to," Fran agreed.

"Hey! Freak merman, you can't mate with the cute new werewolf! He's mine!" Bel announced, tromping royally up to the two. Mammon flushed red, and looked to Fran to see how he'd react.

"I wasn't going to mate with your 'cute new werewolf,' and no way, man, he is going to Hayato, not you."

"I'm taken!" Hayato shouted from the other side of the enclosure. "Actually, scratch that! I'm not taking a mate!"

"See, Fran?" Bel challenged. "Mine."

Fran pulled his usual face, then laced his arms around the prince's neck, and kissed him so quickly that the prince forgot to struggle. Mammon looked for a moment, but then turned his gaze elsewhere to try and be decent. 'It's all right,' he told himself. 'Stop shaking so much... this shouldn't irritate you... you need to focus on finding a way out... don't let your natural impulses get the best of you, Mammon...'

"Damn it, merman, I told you, I'm not intrested!" Bel snarled, shoving Fran back and into the water. Fran hit his head on the opposite end of the pond as he fell back, and it took a lot of careful maneuvering to get him upright again. Immediately, Mammon leaned in and touched the back of the merman's head, honestly concerned for the other's wellbeing.

"You okay, Fran?" he murmured.

"Yeah... Yeah, I guess," Fran muttered, looking down. "Hey... would you come with me for a moment, Mammon?"

"Huh? Sure, but whe-ah!"

The werewolf yelped as he was jerked into the pond with Fran, and closed his eyes as he was dragged through the winding currents. After a long swim through the tunnel, and through the merpeople's tank, Fran at last surfaced with the werewolf, and, even though Mammon was soaking wet, he wasn't wounded. "All right, I just... need your help for a moment," Fran sighed. "Listen, we merpeople aren't as strong as we look...," he began. "There's actually something about us that often makes us disgusted with ourselves... and y'know Bel?"

"Yes?" Mammon said, looking around the mosaic-decorated cave in suprised awe.

"He's the one I've found beauty in," Fran said. "But, as you've seen, he doesn't care how mean he is to me... and... well... uh... to be honest, it's really wearing down on me." Fran's nervous laughter at the end of the sentence caught Mammon's attention, and he blushed.

"Are you suggesting that we...?"

"Oh- no, no, nothing like that!" Fran said. "Sorry, no, I meant, I want help building back my self-esteem, and I don't know where to turn..."

"Ah... all right, uh... well, I'm no counseler, Fran, but... huh... self-esteem... Well, what are you good at?" Mammon asked. The merman flinched. "Did I ask a bad question?" Mammon sighed.

"No... no... but... well, I... don't have a lot of talents, really," Fran sighed. "I'm not that good.. at anything... I only put other people down..."

Sensing that he'd messed up, Mammon quickly assessed his environment, nodded to himself, and said, "What about all these stone pictures all over the walls?"

"What about them?"

"Did you make them?"

"Yeah...?"

"They're beautiful, Fran, you've got to give yourself credit for that," Mammon praised. Fran thought for a moment, then blushed.

"I guess..."

"C'mon, Fran, cheer up, you're a beautiful guy," Mammon said, "well-kept, and you've got a pretty face."

"You think so?"

"Of course!" Mammon replied, smiling. It was true, so the werewolf was glad to tell it, and besides, if it meant helping Fran, he could certainly comply. After all, he just felt that they... shared something.

"Thanks, Mammon," Fran said, leaning over and hugging the werewolf tightly. "If anyone other than myself were to become Bel's mate, I'd choose you..."

Somehow, Mammon was touched by that. Fran was more or less telling him that he could be Bel's mate if the princely werewolf continued to reject the merman. Somehow, that made him really happy.

'No, calm down,' he told himself, 'just because you sort of have Fran's approval doesn't mean you can just go and take Bel. Besides, he'll get tired of you... just see... you don't want to lose this friendship over Bel.'

"Y'okay, Mammon?"

"Ah, yeah, I'm fine..."

Meanwhile...

"Dino! Hey, don't ignore me!" Hayato protested. "I want to go see the centaurs!"

The tamer sighed, muttered something about how strange everyone was acting lately, then asked, "Why?"

"Just 'cause!" the silverette replied. "I dunno either! Just let me see 'em!"

Dino shrugged, and opened the gate.

Soon after, Hayato was having his first somewhat heart-to-heart conversation with Takeshi.

The next day... *vampire enclosure*

"Mm... morning Basil...," Hibari sighed, rolling on to his side to look at his mate. The younger vampire looked up at Hibari, then yawned, and nuzzled into his chest.

"Morning, my Lord..."

"You hungry this morning?" Hibari asked.

"A bit..."

"Good... because I made you something."

Basil glanced up, and blinked, confused. "What?"

"This."

Hibari held out his cape, which held in it a basil plant, stained red and placed in the center of a banquet of white roses that were peppered red by its occasional drip. Basil smiled, and accepted the banquet, and the basil plant, smiling. "So thou hast finally come to thy vampiric senses. Thank you very much, Lord Hibarin. That said, Basil leaned up and kissed Hibari on the cheek, and the vampire smiled in turn.

But at the entrance to the enclosure, Mukuro clenched his fists.

"All right, Hibarin. If that's how you want it."

-End Chapter

And there we have it. :)

Two announcements!

1. There's a poll on my profile asking which pairings you want to see more of in my stories.

2. Vote for Basil- do you want to see him paired with- Dino, Mammon, or someone else (who won't be taking a mate in the end)? If not, would you prefer that Basil does not take a mate? Majority may or may not rule... I have the executive vote here, but if there's a lot of votes for one ending, that will certainly be taken into consideration~ XP

Please Review!