King Kong: The Faunus and the Beast

Chapter XII

Blake's eyes fluttered open.

She was staring up at a ceiling of rock. She looked around, having forgotten the events that took place last night. She was in a small cave, and outside, the sun was starting to rise. She looked over herself. Her uniform was still on her body. The only thing missing was the bow to hide her cat ears.

Blake crawled out of the cave. She looked around for a moment. She could see trees nearby, and a large clearing just outside the cave. Seated in the middle of the clearing was Kong, sitting with his hands on his knees, staring down at her.

Her heart started racing as she finally remembered the sacrifice, and Kong's giant hand taking her from the altar and carrying her into the forest. She stared right back at him, feeling as though her heart was about to pound its way out of her chest. She pulled her scarf aside and reached for her neck. The collar was still there. She didn't have her Aura, or her semblance.

She stayed on her knees, and stared up at the beast that watched her. He bared his teeth. Blake suddenly remembered something about gorillas. Showing your teeth was a sign of aggression. Eye contact was a sign of challenge. She looked away from Kong, and she could hear his breathing go back to normal.

She pushed the fear aside as best she could, and started thinking through her options as rationally as possible. She didn't know much about gorillas or their behavior, but she had a decent idea on how to keep them from attacking you. Kong was clearly no normal gorilla, judging by the fact that he stood on his hind legs, and, of course, his gigantic size. But hopefully he behaved like one.

Okay. Don't run. Gorillas are much faster than you, not to mention this one was so big he could catch up to you in an instant. Make yourself small. Not hard at all. If he touches you, don't do anything. Make yourself as submissive as possible. He'll get bored and leave you alone.

The latter she highly doubted. Clearly Kong intended on keeping her, for reasons she didn't know. But then, she supposed it didn't matter. She couldn't go anywhere anyway. The collar kept her Aura and semblance restrained, which meant that even if she found some way to escape, Kong would be able to kill her easily. She couldn't summon a shadow clone to escape his hand if he picked her up again. Her only chance at survival was to be as submissive to the beast as she could, until she found a way to escape.

She stayed near the cave, and sat herself down, looking at Kong's feet. She could still feel him watching her. Those red eyes. She wished she hadn't seen them last night. The thought of those eyes looking over her sent shivers down her spine.

The silence was uncomfortable. Blake could barely hear Kong breathing. All he did was sit there, staring down at her, without moving a muscle. She did not dare move. Refused to look up at him again and see those hideous teeth, see those blood-red eyes staring right back down to her.

She heard him move. Out of instinct, she looked up, and she saw him reaching down to her. He scooped her up into the palm of his hand. She kept her breathing slow as she was lifted high above the ground, and brought even closer to Kong's face.

She could feel his hot breath touch her skin. She shivered. She looked at him, and saw him staring at her, eyes filled with wonder and curiosity. He didn't notice her looking at them. He was transfixed by something else. The cat ears atop her head. He reached out one hand, and touched them.

His finger was gentle, and it stroked her head like a human petting their pet cat. It felt oddly soothing. Blake had told herself she would not fall for this island's pleasant side, but she found herself guilty to admit she liked the feeling.

Kong grunted, moving his finger away. Blake just stared right up at him. He showed his teeth when she made eye contact, and she looked down to his leather-skinned chest.

This was such a strange situation. She had not expected the beast of the island to be so gentle. When she heard of the stories, she'd always imagined an aggressive monster that killed anyone who dared to set foot on its island. But this was different. Kong was different.

Kong lowered his gift to the ground. Blake stared at the floor, confused. She reached a foot down to the floor, but, just before she touched it, she looked back up to see if Kong would protest. But he didn't. He just watched, filled with fascination.

She stepped down onto the ground, and Kong moved his hand away. He placed it back down on his knee, and watched her to see what she would do.

Blake started taking a few slow steps back, and Kong just watched. She was tempted to run. To flee the beast that had given her nightmares as a child. But now, there was something about it that made her curious. She'd heard so many stories of this creature's aggression. Why was it being so calm with her?

Suddenly, she fell backwards, and landed in a puddle of mud. Kong flinched, and roared. Blake shut her eyes.

Was this it? Was this the aggression she was hoping wasn't real?

Kong reached his hand down to Blake, and he scooped her back up. His fingers wrapped around her, and lifted her back to him. Kong stared at her a moment. She was covered in mud. Her hair and ears were messy, along with her clothes. He pulled her to his breast, and made his way into the forest.

Blake was so confused . . .