Captured Hearts

Chapter Twenty-six: The Collaborating

~This chapter to show the introductions of the other new characters into their enclosures

Centaur Enclosure...

"Come now, Lambo dear, don't be shy," Lussuria said, coaxing the bull-centaur into the enclosure. Lambo nervously stepped inside, and looked up at the four centaurs that watched him enter. There was a friendly looking centaur with an ebony pelt and chocolate eyes who beamed at him as he entered, a silver-coated centaur with a toned body who was shuffling in place as if antsy to get running again, an appaloosa-pelted centaur with long, wavy teal hair who warily gazed at the incoming halfbreed, and then, there was him.

Lambo gaped in suprise to see the magestic, white-coated centaur that sported shining white wings, his hooves glossy black, and his eyes a stony amethyst. 'A halfbreed,' Lambo noted, 'just like me.' But this hybrid was not to be marveled at. As soon as the gate was closed behind him, the white, winged centaur galloped forward and slid to a stop in front of the young bull, sizing him up with those cold eyes.

"What's your name?" he asked, beating his wings in a challenging way. Lambo trembled, feeling a spike of awed fear course through his body.
"Lambo," he murmured.

"A halfbreed, correct?" the pegasus said.

"Yes... a bull and a centaur, sir."

The other snorted, then held out his hand. "I'm Byakuran. Now... come."

Lambo took the hand, and quivered once more when he felt how perfect the skin was. The pure trait of a pegasus must've affected everything about him, making his being perfect- almost angelic. As they walked together, a hand brushed over Lambo's cow-patterned back, and the younger hybrid tensed for a moment, suprised by the move. "It's odd," Byakuran said. "Your body is formed like a horse, yet your tail is bovine, and you have horns, as well as a cow print pelt. It's actually a little cute." The younger halfbreed smiled, and leaned into Byakuran's body, which resulted in the older backing away slightly. "Don't come close to my wings," he murmured. Lambo nodded, and the two lied down under a tree. "Tell me about your parents," Byakuran requested Just as Lambo was about to speak, he heard a loud cry of "LAMBO!" ring throughout the cave. He immediately scrambled up on to his hooves, and cantered to the fence, and, looking over the ledge where the merpeople's tank could be seen below. Down there, he saw his friend- more like little brother- Fuuta, calling to him from inside the water. "Lambo!" the merman called. "Are you okay? Are the centaurs nice?"

"I'm fine!" Lambo returned. "What about the merpeople?"

"They're okay!" Fuuta said.

Lambo took a moment, then said, "I'm gonna go back to them!"

"All right!"

The hybrid turned, and was faced with Byakuran, who suddenly looked quite serious. "Are you planning to crossbreed with a merman?" he asked.

"What? No! Fuuta's my friend! Just my friend!" Lambo said, blushing. The albino reared up, and was about to slam his hooves into the other in a fit of rage when the friendly ebony-coated centaur swept in and took Lambo out of Byakuran's range.

"Easy, Byakuran, he's just a kid!" the centaur said, his dark tail sweeping back and forth with slight amusement when Byakuran's forehooves took to the ground. "Sorry about that, Lambo," the ebony-pelted centaur said. "Name's Takeshi. Y'better hang around me if you want to be safe from that guy. Haha~."

Lambo nodded, and leaned against the other centaur. He hoped desperately that this wasn't going to end up like it did in Italy.

Merpeople Enclosure...

"Fuuta, huh?" Bluebell murmured. "Hm. Well, you're cute, I'll give you that."

The young merman gave a light blush, for this girl reminded him of the nice mermaids back in Italy, Kyoko and Haru. But just as he was about to mention it, he heard a distant humming noise, and glanced back at the teal-haired merman just a few yards away, who was sitting in a dip in a rock, the occasional bubble floating from his lips to the surface. "Who's that?" he asked.

"That? That's just Fran. Don't mind him; he's upset because the werewolf he loves doesn't believe in crossbreeding."

Fuuta paused, then started to swim over to the merman, and listened. He recognized the tune Fran was humming- his mother used to sing it to him before he went to sleep. It was a lullaby for merpeople, and to hear any merman that wasn't a parent and was in his twenties was an odd sight. Fuuta thought, trying to think of something tactful, before murmuring, "Raining Tears and Scales... that's the number one lullaby that merpeople parents use with their young. It's also number two out of six thousand songs that merpeople sing the most often when they're sad."

Fran paused, then looked over his shoulder. "Tell me..," he whispered, "what does it take to get someone to love you? What do you need? Looks, skills, what? What do I need to do?"

Fuuta was too young to give an accurate answer, but, being the kind merman he was, he placed his hand on Fran's shoulder, and said, "Just be yourself. Don't hide behind masks of toughness. Show your true potential as a man, that's what people like." The other merman turned, then, his eyes suddenly, brightened up, and he pressed himself up against the glass.

"What...? Who's that...?" he gasped, looking out at a blonde werewolf who was arguing with Dino about something. Fuuta glanced out of the tank.

"That's Rasiel, from Italy. He's Belphegor's brother."

Fran blushed, then suddenly turned, and darted into a tunnel, leaving Fuuta with a confused look on his face. "Well... I guess that's that," he mumbled.

Werewolf Enclosure...

Bel grinned, at last tackling the other werewolf down, and laughing as they tumbled down together. Rasiel chuckled in turn, flipping their positions until they were rolling about over the ground, tails twining together as they became familiar with one another's scent. Eventually, they slowed into a heap of amusement, and Bel breathed, "I missed you, Jill."

"Missed you too, Bel," the other said with a grin. "I admit, royalty hardly amounts to the joy of having someone to share everything with..."

"Yeah..."

The two princes sat up, and gazed into each other's eyes, their ears straight forward. "Uh... Bel...," Mammon said, leaning over to the younger twin. "Fran's here..."

"Well, look at that," Rasiel said, springing up. "This couldn't possibly be your mate, eh, Bel?"

"Sure is," the other prince laughed. "Isn't he gorgeous?"

"Yeah, yeah, he is," Rasiel murmured, before noticing the merman who was at the pond. "Who's... that?" he said, grinning.

"That's Fran," Bel sighed. "Don't mind him. He's got a crush on me, but y'know, he's a merman."

The older twin stalked over to the pond, and knelt down beside it. "Fran, right?" he said. "I know how you feel."

Fran blushed, then reached up, and grabbed the werewolf by the wrists, before pulling him into the water. Bel lunged after the two in a futile attempt to catch them, but they vanished within the water before he had a chance to protest. Rasiel was dragged through the water and into a cave, and he was set up onto a stone, where he could get a much better look at Fran. The merman had pretty teal hair and eyes, and something about his face reminded Rasiel of his old mate, Lal Mirch. The merman's arms were folded over the werewolf's knees, his head resting in those arms as he looked up at the prince with those big, sad eyes. "You're Bel's brother?" he whispered.

"I am," the other answered. Fran pulled himself up, but his fish tail was too weak to make him climb up into Rasiel's lap. Fran then leaned over to one side of the cage, and brushed his hand over a mosaic in the wall that looked remarkably like Rasiel- or his brother, at least.

"Mammon was my friend," he murmured. "And he mated with Bel... when I thought I might be able to get him... How can you relate to me?"

"Because I was torn away from my mate only a few days ago," Rasiel said, looking down. "Look, kid. You're cute. Beautiful, in fact. But I can't help you. Werewolves are monogamous, you see..."

"Don't give me that crap," Fran hissed, "Bel's jumped from Hayato to Mammon in less than a day."

Rasiel paused, then grinned widely. "Well, if we truly love them, that is... and I guarantee you, I loved Lal."

Fran frowned, then sank back into the water. "Will anyone ever love me?" he murmured. Rasiel sighed, and stroked through the merman's hair.

"I told you, kid, you're beautiful. Tell you what... I've got a plan for ya. Bel knows you're hot. He just doesn't want to admit it. So what we need to do is make him jealous. What do you say, Fran? Partners?"

Overcome by his desire for Bel, Fran reached out his hand, and shook it with Rasiel's.

"Partners."

-End Chapter

XD 4-day weekend for me, so I guess the ideas are just flowing~

Don't think that this means you can slack, though!

Keep reviewing, and remember, you can pm me if you have any questions about the fanart for that video. ;)

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