It was finally the end of the semester, exams were done and thoughts of summer relaxation was on the minds of the students at Beacon as they busied themselves packing their rooms up.
Well, most students, save for one particular covert Cat Faunus who was mulling something over in her head that she'd been hesitant to bring up with her girlfriends, though she'd certainly longed to do so.
The three of them, Ruby, Pyrrha, and Blake, were all heading to the Xiao Long residence for the first two weeks of summer break on the island of Patch. Weiss and Yang were joining them as well, the five of them travelling together. After that the trio would spend the latter half of summer in Mistral with Pyrrha's family while Weiss and Yang headed to Atlas, much to the blonde's private chagrin.
Blake was unconcerned with thoughts of her own family, if she'd even had any left. They were certainly never there for her in the past, and she would not spare any effort in contemplating what they were up to now.
However, at that point in time she stood over the duffel bag that rested on her debunked bed. They'd had to actually return their room to the original specifications, which was strange enough to see. Fortunately, there was a storage facility there on campus, so long as their belongings were boxed up and well-labelled, they would be in their room when they returned back to school again in a month. Right now the raven-haired girl just needed to be concerned with enough to last her that month.
She looked through what she'd packed so far, a few books both old and new to tide her over, casual outfits and a spare battle outfit, a nice dress in case they went out to eat. A weapon repair kit and some spare parts for Gambol Shroud.
It was her toiletries that she was currently staring at, lost in thought.
Ruby and Pyrrha had returned alongside the Cat Faunus from Team JNPR's room earlier, having helped Pyrrha pack up so that she might return the favor. Weiss and Yang had already finished and left with their travel bags to go wander the grounds for a bit after they dropped their luggage off at the airbus platform. Behind the raven-haired girl, her girlfriends were currently joking around while boxing up the last of Ruby's school supplies before finishing up with her month-long bags.
Blake's ears, let loose from the bow now that she was back in her room, twitched slightly as she became aware of the sudden silence in the room.
Unsurprisingly, a pair of arms slipped around her waist while a warm body pressed up behind her. She smiled softly as Pyrrha nuzzled into her hair, inhaling her smell before placing a gentle kiss right in-between her Faunus ears.
"What's up, kitty cat?" Ruby asked cheerfully as she perched on the bed next to her bag, reaching over to run a small, calloused hand along her arm.
Blake pursed her lips briefly. "I… wanted to talk to the two of you about something."
"What's wrong?" Pyrrha asked softly, her breath tickling her furry ears and making them flicker once more.
"Nothing's… wrong." Blake carefully peeled the redhead's arms away from her and led the leggy girl over to sit next to Ruby. Silver eyes and emerald green ones looked up at her with caring and wholehearted love, silently telling her that whatever she was about to say, they would help or understand or at the very least accept.
"So, let me just… Just hear me out, here," Blake began hesitantly. "I… want you to understand where I'm coming from before you… react any. Is that acceptable?"
"Of course, Blake," the redhead smiled.
"You know you can tell us anything, Blakey," her brunette girlfriend chirped, leaning over to rest her head on the shoulder of the taller girl sitting next to her.
Blake nodded slowly. "I know, I do, truly. This is just… not something I've talked about, with anyone really who isn't a Faunus." She took a deep breath and laced her fingers in front of her as she tried to gather her thoughts.
These are your girlfriends, the two people you trust more than anybody in the world, even your partner… They know you and love you and accept you for who you are. Just tell them.
Her voice started out in a hesitant whisper but got slightly more confident as she went on. "There are many misrepresentations of Faunus, whether it be in the media or news, even some so-called scientific texts purposefully get things wrong. I haven't really… tried to correct any of this, it's been enough for me to have the both of you… love me, just for who I am." She glanced up, her amber eyes already getting a bit misty. "I cannot thank you enough for that."
She was heartened by the brilliant smiles her girlfriends sent her way, but they obediently remained silent, waiting or her to finish.
Blake decided it was a testament to Ruby's love and devotion, in particular, that the normally excitable girl was able to adhere to her wishes.
"Some of our Faunus traits and attributes carry over from the… animalistic picture that humans paint regarding us." Her ears twitched on the top of her head unconsciously. "Others are particular to us as a species."
The raven-haired girl twisted her hands in front of her uncomfortably. "One of the… concepts of Faunuskind that is usually glossed over is the idea of... Mates." Her voice dropped back into a bashful whisper as she said the last word, and she had to clear her throat in embarrassment. "It is… something more than marriage, really, as it is a lifelong commitment and, well… it requires an enormous amount of trust and affection. Primarily, though, respect is key to joining with a true Mate."
Blake glanced up to see how the others were taking the information so far, and was gladdened to see the both of them listening to her, enraptured and hanging off of each word as if they were hungry for more.
I suppose I really haven't been all that forthcoming about such things, have I?
"So… I'm not saying, you know… that what we have is…" Blake coughed into her fist lightly as she stumbled over her words. "It can be, and… potentially, yes… Anyway, one of the first stages of, erm… Mating, is the sharing of… scent."
She closed her eyes, inhaling the aromas from around the room, easily able to pick out the individual smells of her girlfriends. "Scent is a very powerful attribute for Faunus," she continued quietly, her eyes still closed. "It identifies us, marks us… unites us as families and friends and… er… lovers."
Blake opened her eyes and glanced quickly at her bag. "So, the point of all this is… That is, if you're both willing…" She swallowed thickly, clasping her hands together tighter to not betray her nervousness. "If it isn't too much to ask, would you want to… for the summer, at least… use my shampoo?"
She looked at her girlfriends then, a hopeful gleam in her eyes, but was met by confusion.
"Um, is that it?" Ruby asked hesitantly.
Blake nodded. "It's… Well, it may seem trivial to you, but this is… a huge deal for Faunus."
"So, you would like for us to carry your scent," Pyrrha mused slowly. "I'm certain our… scents blend somewhat anyway, with how much time we spend together…" Blake nodded again in response, and the redhead continued on. "So by the three of us sharing your scent that strongly… that would indicate to unfamiliar Faunus that we are… yours?"
"Yes, precisely," Blake nodded again, somewhat relieved that Pyrrha had been able to follow what she was asking.
Ruby stared up at her with wide silver eyes. "So you wanna claim us?"
"Um…" Blake blinked her eyes uncertainly. "I… don't know if…"
"'Cause if that's the case," the brunette suddenly grinned widely. "I'm all for the idea! Hey, what else could we do? I mean, there's conditioner, body lotion, and hand lotion… oohhh, deodorant too… Do you have enough of all that to share, Blakey?"
"If not, we could always shop for more in Patch," Pyrrha smiled. "I like the smell of lavender, I certainly don't mind doing the rest either."
As the two of them looked enthusiastically back up at their girlfriend, Blake felt the tears begin to flow down her cheeks. "You… really? You don't mind?" she whispered incredulously.
"Of course not, kitty cat!" the brunette laughed, jumping up to wrap her small, strong arms around her waist. She was quickly joined by Pyrrha who also encased her into a warm hug.
"Whyever would we mind?" the redhead murmured. "We love you, Blake. We would do anything for you, you should know this."
"I do, I do know that, it's just…" Blake sniffled, her voice muffled as she pushed her face further into Pyrrha's shoulder. "It's just a bit overwhelming. I do love you both, so very much…"
"We love you too, Blakey," Ruby laughed lightly. "And maybe… Maybe sometime you can explain a little more about how this whole Mating thing works? I'm kinda interested, now."
"Me too," Pyrrha admitted. "I'd like to know what is involved."
"You two are the best thing that has ever, ever happened to me," Blake sobbed, unable to keep her emotions in check any longer. "I don't know what I can possibly do to feel like I deserve you."
"Don't have to do a thing," Ruby replied with simple cheer. "Just be who you are, that's all we ever ask for."
The Cat Faunus stood in the embrace of her girlfriends and gladly welcomed their accepting love, letting the tears of unfounded fears cleanse her.
A/N: Kitty cat fluff! So, I'm not really gonna get too much into the whole Faunus Mate thing anytime soon, though I certainly intend to do so with Pearls on a String. I draw heavily from the inspired ideas in l OmegaInfinity l's Linked in Life and Love. It's a Pollination take without the Enabler, and it's really quite brilliant. Anyways, I'm using that as headcanon, because it's fantastic.
I'm actually unhappy with the first part of the chapter, it seems so… disjointed. But every time I tried to fix it, I made it worse. Sigh.
Next up, we travel to Patch!
THB4: Heh, I'm sure all of their showers were a bit on the chillier side.
ILikeHotDogs: Three coffees and a Red Bull? Dude. Is your heart having a pizza party inside your chest?
Jack Inqu: I do imagine that Ruby is deceptively muscled. Aura boosting your muscles can only get you so far, especially as she carries her scythe most places, and the weight doesn't change. And I'll consider the idea for next semester perhaps…
Eterya: Thanks! I'm pretty happy with the first part as well. And yeah, totally with you on being a sucker for cute girls wielding oversized deadly weapons.
growlscout: Well, at least we know they come by their exhibitionist tendencies honestly. I did pretty much envision Risk with Grimm but with advanced cards when doing the game in my head.
Demonic Angel C: Heh, true enough, it was actually that first part of the chapter that gave me the idea for the Bind chapter.
FelipeCH98: Many thanks! Sexy Ruby is indeed sexy. And if Weiss joins in, you know Yang would want to, and there's just gonna be a mess all over the place… so nope, no Frozen Purruby, sorry. Keep it in the fantasies.
Gorsouul: Heh, glad you enjoyed the tidbit about the schedule. And yeah, always the quiet ones you gotta watch out for.
Stay shiny!