Next Update: Tuesday, May 29th.
Chapter 15
(Time: Day seven of the cracked lunar year.
Location: The island of Menagerie)
This seventh night of the mating festivals particularly were of the utmost importance. It was the last night in the current season to gratuitously partake in instinctual urges without being looked down upon for yielding to them. It was also the last night for families to consider far-reaching marriage and mating arrangements for their young heirs who already had taken a fancy to someone.
Stepping stones for the future.
Meanwhile, there was plenty of teaching to be done. Young boys followed their elders around as they learned the finer arts of providing for a home and protecting the island. Ceremonial hunts against Grimm were one of the few times children were allowed out into the jungles, and at the sides of their families, they did so with pride, learning the land carefully, but on this seventh night, some boys would become men.
Some of the older boys would participate in an initiation hunt on this final night, to prove they've completed their years of training. It would qualify them as men among the people of Menagerie. The women could choose to participate in initiation hunts too, if they wished to establish and distinguish themselves as particularly strong among the population.
Women that didn't hunt instead learned to do the domestic tasks and family trades. Prepping themselves to be seen as useful mates that could easily be relied upon to maintain the household, raise children, and run the family business. There were any number of ways a citizen could contribute to Menagerie, and the small island thrived only due to the hard work and dedication of the islanders. The village would only continue to grow in prosper so long as the people chose to do the same.
Blake Belladonna took notice as the large gate to the east opened, setting down her drink to spectate the final arrivals.
The male youths were returning. Many of them sporting grins, and body paint indicative of their success. These teenage boys, the ones painted so colorfully, had acknowledged their abandonment of childhood. No longer to be coddled by the islanders, they were considered adults now, tattooed with their family crest, and able to find and take a mate. She smiled particularly at one young man, so overcome with pride that he downed the beverage placed in front of him quickly, demanding another, and downing that one too.
She shook her head at the display, reminding herself that just because someone was allowed to seek a mate, didn't mean that they would find one in their first year.
Often times, it took several years before matches were properly made. Idly scratching her cheek in thought, she wondered if she was actually ready to partake in the duties that were required of her. If she were to go through with claiming a mate for herself, she would have much to attend to. She was sure, many of the eligible Faunus felt the same way.
Hesitancy was not an uncommon emotion, especially those of Blake's particular fold. Setting aside her wayward thoughts, she turned her sights on the newly eligible young men once more. "The initiated males are a rowdy bunch this year, aren't they?" Blake mused aloud as the drunken banter began to get louder.
The chieftain watched the proceedings with his wife and daughter at his side, nodding to the younger of the two. "They are, but, the hunt went well. That makes twenty three initiated males this year. Only a few of them are material worthy to hunt Grimm as a profession, but they passed the trial, and that's all that matters."
"It was the same with the women's hunt. Out of the thirty girls, seventeen chose to partake." Kali told him, having joined the young women on their hunt earlier that afternoon. She'd spectated them, and graded them accordingly. "They did very well, honestly, I was surprised. Their teamwork was impeccable, although, overall technique was lacking. I had considered intervening a few times, but, they completed their initiation without help. They're receiving their tattoos as we speak."
The large man nodded at this. "It's rare to have such a high number of people pass."
"Hunting conditions were excellent this year." Kali replied to him. "Or so Blake constantly reminds me."
"Consider it, the Grimm weren't too large, lots of nests harboring small hostile Grimm. It was perfect for blooding the inexperienced. It was even better for the older hunters. There wasn't a great threat, meaning we got to sit back and watch. It was entertaining to say the least." Blake replied as she glanced at her father. "I don't know if many of them will attempt to apprentice under you though."
"Is that so?" He murmured, contemplating that, and seeming displeased while doing so.
"When it comes to helping to govern Menagerie as a future matriarch, most of them are too docile. However, they'll all make good providers in the coming years if they choose to bear offspring…I guess, really, that's all anyone can really hope for."
"And speaking of offspring, what about you, Blake?" He asked softly. "I haven't seen you approach anyone yet."
"Ghira, leave her be." Kali chastised. "It's only her fifth festival. She has plenty of time."
"But, Kali, that's just it." Ghira sighed at length. "It's her fifth festival. Don't you think it's time she settles down properly?"
"I do plan to take a mate this year." Blake said to both of them. "I've already chosen who it will be."
"Oh?" Ghira asked, only to have Kali elbow him in the ribs.
"Blake ignore your father." She said, wagging a finger.
"Oh, come now, Kali." He muttered. "I can be curious, can't I?"
"No you may not." She told him, shaking her head firmly. "You know the rules. Mated pairs only announce they have done so after the festival has concluded. You'll find out tomorrow, now leave the matter be."
"Speaking of the matter at hand, I suppose I should see to it." Blake replied, quietly excusing herself from her seat beside her father.
Blake knew she wanted to take Yang as her mate in spite of the nervousness creeping up on her. The responsibilities placed on her shoulders would be vast if she chose to do this. Her amber eyed gaze landed swiftly on the target of her affections, seeing the woman in the middle of a ritualistic dance. It made her heart melt at the thought, but then she felt a spark of something else.
The emotion was slight, but niggling at her senses all the same.
Possessiveness.
Yang smiled before she closed her eyes. Her toned body rocking and swaying to the heavy drumbeat. Sweat covered her, glistening perfectly against her flushed skin as she danced in front of one of the raging bonfires. The smoke billowed high into the sky, chasing away the Grimm that made nightfall on Menagerie such a dangerous place. This final night of the festival, when spirits were high and inhibitions were low, it was the perfect time to find a suitor for the night, and perhaps even a committed mate to be marked. Several people looked at Yang because she was hard to ignore.
Blake knew that Yang was already well aware of her intentions. Still, even so, Yang could do no more than dance the night away until she was approached.
She opened her eyes again, smirking as she swung her hips in Blake's direction, an unspoken invitation to take her away already. It mesmerized Yang when the Faunus began her approach with a sense of hunger and purpose. Blake grabbed at her, swiping long blonde tresses aside to gaze at Yang's neck. Blake ran her nose across that tender nape, relishing the gasp she heard from her lover in response.
"How many people have touched you tonight, Yang?" Blake groused, the question was an honest one as she leaned in to pull the woman into a dance. Her fingers drifted across gently flaring hips, and they moved against each other, Blake openly glaring at anyone who even looked in Yang's direction. This too, was part of the tradition, an open declaration for all who'd notice.
Yang was going to be hers.
"Why?" The blonde asked playfully. "Afraid you'll lose the game of cat and mouse?"
Amber eyes rolled as she leaned up to nip the woman none too gently along the length of her jaw for that remark. "You said that because I have cat ears, didn't you?" She growled. "Don't forget, I've got claws too. How many, Yang?"
It wasn't a threat, it was a promise, and Yang nearly sagged in submission at the words. "Truthfully? You probably don't want to know."
Blake nodded, as they continued to dance a while longer in the firelight. The length as much for show, as it was for respect and propriety. Blake showed off her possessive streak to those who cared to look. If they wanted a show, she'd give them a show. Yang delighted in being a show-off, something Blake would use to her advantage. Her fingers trailed under Yang's dress to the perfectly kept womanhood lingering there, her hand falling over the area as her tongue darted out to give a quick little lick to the nape of Yang's neck again.
Normally, she wouldn't have been so obvious, but judging from the pool of slick heat meeting her fingers, she made the right choice. Blake grinned deviously at the thought of it. A little teasing couldn't hurt. With one well-manicured finger, she toyed slightly at the folds of her lover, earning a gasp, and then a quiet, sultry moan that pricked at her ears.
Blake growled ever so quietly as she pulled Yang away from the other solitary dancers then. Hand in hand, Blake murmured the one thing she had wanted to say since the start of the festival. "Tonight's the night, become my mate." Blake earnestly beseeched, the time for complicated speeches and heartfelt confessions well beyond them.
At this, Yang smiled. "Sure."
It was one word, utterly simple, completely casual, and entirely perfect.
Blake looked smugly at the woman wrapped in her arms, a greedy pride swelling in the depths of her mind. A somewhat dirty grin echoed back, a thousand little sins promised in that lilac gaze that locked with her own.