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Lambs and Lions
by Jessi B.
Strange how the world works. One moment on top of it all, living among the very sheep you hunt, then brought low by a blonde sheep that knew too much and yet too little. And the cub...the lamb laid in the arms of a lion. Foolish of Count D really, to give him charge over such a thing. A morsel so sweet and young would melt on his tongue like spun sugar.
Yet...
The boy's soft smile was like wine, an addictive and strange brew of wine. The thought of the child's eyes glazing, his body stiffening and growing cold...the thoughts filled him with un-named dread. That small hand curled tight around his or the blonde head against his side filled him to bursting with a wonder he'd never known.
None of the other animals looked at him with the same glow in their eyes, they stood back wary of his claws and teeth. The Count was Master and though his gaze held affection it never held the all consuming blaze the the child's did. Blue eyes aglow with delight at his presence, relief at his touch, and love in everything that he did.
The Count had chosen him for the sacred duty because he was strongest and he knew how to obey, knew how to pull back from his animal instincts.
He had stayed true because the child's eyes made him feel wanted. The lamb in his arms was more precious then the world. Let D dance with his human, let the blonde brute do the same. In the end, at the last of the day he was the one who curled up tight against the little one, breathing the sweet scent of his charge, hearing the soft butterfly flutter of the heart...
When it was taken away he put on a strong face, but retreated. The Count brought him meat, a fresh young human stupid enough to court the Count's wrath, but he rarely left the room that was his. He knew when the Count left, looking for his brute, but did not bother to stir.
The Elder D brought his son to see the fabled tou-tetsu and spoke lowly of the beast's rapidly failing health. The animal snapped at them if they approached too closely and in truth only Count D and Pon-chan could enter without fear of loosing a limb. But the ancient beast was not dying, he ate, but with no zeal, and he excised, though the movements were forced. He was unhappy, not suicidal.
Pon-chan went to live elsewhere and the Ds now rarely came to the wild growth of bamboo forest save to feed him, and even then they stayed clear of his undiscriminating claws, shutting the door firmly behind them.
The door creaked and he growled listening to the Elder D speak. He ignored the words, they never mattered. It all led to same conclusion.
"He is quite wild, I fear...In deep mourning. The raccoon sold several years ago..."
A suit, cologne, and the hesitant steps. No fear. The lack of fear was enough to bring the beast to immediate awareness. Only a fool entered his domain with no fear.
"I still...I need to see him..." The voice was a soft tenor unknown to him, though something in it tugged at him.
"In doing this I can not vouch for your safety."
"He won't hurt me."
"As you wish..." And the door closed. Nothing moved for several moments. The young man dropped his hat, revealing blonde hair cut short and stylish. His coat followed, then a gun holster.
"I probably smell...funny," He offered to the bamboo and the beast within. "It's the stuff my mom gets me..."
/Don't you remember me at all...?/ A soft voice begged silently after several moments. Fur and claws threw him to the ground, licking away bitter human made musk to breath...Yes. There, the scent he had ached for. Older, changed, but not like any other.
"Chris..." He husked, looking up desperately to find blue eyes alight with love and joy. His lamb...He purred, and cuddled and fussed over the man until the blonde laughed and hugged him tight.
"I saw the shop...D and Leon...well The Count says they're ummm...In China? My Chinese is rusty...and he says...well he said you wouldn't come because you didn't feel well, but you could..."
"Yes."
"But...I thought you..."
"I feel fine."
"Oh...Then?"
"Yes, I will go with you to China. Someone has to watch your ass..."
"Hey! I happen to be the top in my class when it comes to hand-to-hand thank you."
"Your teeth are dull, and you have no claws to speak of..."
The bickering continued and outside the door Sofu D smiled softly. The key to keeping a pet happy was knowing what it needed...
end