A Tale of Jaguars

What Makes A Family.

Jareid glared at the stack of paper on his desk. Technically he was in charge of the royal guard and everything pertaining it since he had been twenty-two, though it hadn't been until recently that he had started to take that responsibility seriously. Part of his duty was to read the reports and take decisions, but lately it was not only the royal guard he had to take care of. His father had decided that he was old enough to take on the city guard too, maybe the rest of their forces if he showed that he could manage it.

The prince growled and looked out the window. He wasn't in the mood to work. He was busy thinking about what to do with Tygra. He hadn't spoken to his mate for the entire day. He had been trying to give the tiger space and time to make his decision, just as Bengali had said.

He still thought it was preposterous! But alas, if Tygra needed it…

Jareid sighed. If his mate needed it, he would do it, but it was driving him crazy. He felt the familiar pull of anger bubbling inside him, and he closed his eyes and breathed in an effort to control it. If he let it grow he'd go hunting his mate and demand an answer from him, and he'd hurt the tiger if he didn't like the answer. Jareid didn't want to hurt his mate. He wanted Tygra to feel safe at his side, not terrorized.

He had been doing a good job, if he himself said it. He was sure that Tygra enjoyed his touches and was at ease in his presence. The tiger was advancing in his studies and it was obvious that he loved the jungle and his training. Why then was he still longing for Thundera?

Bengali had said that Claudus' expectations still weighed heavily on the young tiger. Then, how could Jareid go about to make those expectations insignificant?

He grunted in frustration. A family would do that. If Tygra had his own family, he wouldn't feel so pressured to fulfil his father's demands. His family would take priority.

Which took Jareid back to his initial dilemma. How was he going to convince Tygra that having cubs right now was a good idea? He couldn't force him. He knew that, even without Bengali's input, it wouldn't be the same. A cub was something to be cherished, not resented, and Jareid was not having his mate resenting their cub.

He turned towards his desk, full of reports and orders to approve, and growled again. It was a minor task, but he would be taking a more active role in the government of the city little by little. Funny. He had always known that his father was always busy, but it hadn't been until recently that he had made conscious of what exactly implied to be the king.

Honestly! Why so many people wanted the job? It sucked! There was so much work to do! The kingdom was not going to take care of itself – though personally Jareid thought it should – and it needed a number of services that had to be administered. Of course that the king didn't do everything, but he had to be aware of the most important things, and he had the final decision on anything that required his attention. A lot of power, with a lot of responsibility to make it company.

Jareid huffed and decided to make a quick job of the pile of paper. He had to see the commander later on to talk about some promotions. He sighed and focused on the report in his hand. He had to do a good job, after all, it wouldn't do for him to be lazing about while his mate was training really hard.

Tygra got his head out of the river and breathed, trying not to swallow water in the process. Then he ducked his head again and continued fighting against the current. He was close. Just a few more strokes and he'd have reached the rock where his teammate was waiting. The force or the current threatened to smash him against the rocks, and the net he was carrying was heavy. He had been close to lose it a couple of times, and he shouldn't let that happen.

His legs and arms propelled him forward two more times, and he reached his destination. He barely pulled the net out of the water when Xora grabbed it and suddenly the extra weight was gone and Tygra could move easier and get a safer grip on the rock. He breathed deeply and took some moments to rest. Xora had already left the rock and Tygra could barely see his head among the rapids. They were against the clock, so he better hurry.