The Beast Within Us

Chapter 18: ↭ Yara & ⑄ Chala

↭ Chala.

So that was her name. Yara stared incredulously between Chala and her brother as they mentioned the blood pact again. The pit of her stomach felt hollow with the sheepish look on Chala's face and Yara forebodingly felt that she had possibly gotten herself into a deeper situation that Chala had made it seem before.

"Well go on," Yara crossed her arms across her chest, the sheer silk of her nightgown did little to protect her lithe form from the cold. "-tell me everything. And don't leave anything out this time, please." Her words were strict, but Yara's eyes were huge saucers of emotion. She felt extremely vulnerable in the present moment and the many possibilities of what she had gotten herself into raced through her mind vigorously.

Something else intruded her thoughts for the first time as she stared back at Chala. Yara felt drawn to her in a strange, out-of-sorts kind of way. The tigress was attractive, in her own unique and unusual way. Yara felt her eyes trace over her shape as she listened to Chala speak and felt her heart flutter a bit. It was just an impossible attraction as her relationship with Darryn was, but she was undeniably in love with him. If she could have her way, she would marry him in an instant. The thought of Chala in that way interested her, but Yara knew it could just be strange curiosity or her tired brain making her thoughts cloudy. It was a thought that she could never act on, an emotion that she would brush off as curiosity; it was a strange feeling she could never mention to anyone. ↭

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⑄ Chala's brother grunted at the warden's prompting, looking at her expectantly as it was her job to explain and elaborate where she had neglected to before. The hewan looked back at the warden's wide, bewildered eyes, her smaller form shivering in the brisk night chill of the forest despite her cloak and boots. It caused Chala to look down at herself, hand's moving to grab for the fur vest she might have worn were she home and perhaps offer it for warmth, but it took only a moment to remember that she was not, in fact, at home and her hands dropped again without purpose.

The tigress bit her lip, exhaling through her nose, and began to explain.

"When we use magic, it's essentially taking the natural energy inside and around you, building it up, and using it to do your will. The same can be said for the blood pact we made. Merging blood wasn't just an aesthetic - I was using the magic, the energy in myself to sort of activate your own since it's harder for humans to sense and gather their own consciously." There was no disdain or negativity in Chala's voice as she spoke, and she did her best to describe the concept in a way that the warden would understand.

"Once I activated your magic, our two energies reacted to each other as we spoke our oaths, forming an imprint with the criteria we stipulated." The tigress smirked a bit. "Don't go running around trying to cast any spells though. I only activated it for that moment; your energies returned to their normal, dormant state right after the pact was locked. I'm surprised you weren't feeling woozy or anything afterward; your body wouldn't have been used to so much magic suddenly coursing through it."

An impatient huff from Kiir urged her to continue on, though she did flash the male an irked glare. "The point is...the imprint is still attached to you, mingling with the energy already inside you. The stronger the connection or binding power between the two casters, the stronger the imprint. If one of us breaks the pact, the magic is released immediately, thus how you would know when you've been betrayed. Our's is fairly average, so nothing to worry about there. The problem lies in the fact that you're...well, you. Human's have never been quite as connected to Nature's energies and auras. It's a given that their bodies won't be able to handle as much of it as races that are more innate to magic."

Chala paused, looking off to the side with dark eyes and an unreadable expression. "You saw how I was after what those trainees did to me," the implication drew a soft growl from Kiir, though he was smart enough to know there was nothing he could do to change the past. "If the pact breaks, releasing the magic, and your body can't handle it...you'll no doubt be the same. But...much, much worse." The tigress ended there, not really looking Yara in the eyes. Kiir took that moment to step forward.

"My sister will no doubt hold her part of your bargain, whatever the intricacies. You would do well to uphold yours." The words were spoken softly, a warning against the things that Chala had just described. He turned back to his sister after speaking, brows creased in concern and heartbreak. The male hugged his sibling one again, longer this time as he knew it was in farewell. He didn't move when he spoke softly, so that only the two of them could hear.

"I want so much to simply make you come back with me, but nothing outside of completion or rejection of the pact can break it," He released Chala, schooled his expression into one of stone, and wiped at his watery eyes. "Maker knows I won't stoop as low as humans and spill innocent blood for selfishness. I will tell the others that you're alive, and we'll all keep you in our prayers. Be careful....come back to me."

Looking towards Yara he addressed the warden, just as stoic, putting on a brave face for himself and his sister. In her absence, he was a leader after all. "My sister, Chala, is more than capable in battle, but you and I both know that enemies exist even outside of combat. Keep her safe."

Kiir turned away without another word, shifting and bounding out of the clearing, leaving the two women alone once more. Silence filled the air between them for a few moments, as the weight of the situation was made clear to the warden. When it became unbearable, and the midnight chill sent shivers up even Chala's spine, the tigress cleared her throat.

"You're no doubt tired and cold. I can carry you back." Though the way her words were intoned, it was more of an instruction than an inquiry, as if she had said 'I will carry you' rather than 'I can'. Chala shifted without waiting for a response, padding up to Yara's side and crouching in the grass beside her. The huntress was much bigger than the average tiger, as was true for any shifted hewan and their connected animal - horses were only slightly larger than she, as her head typically reached just below shoulder of common breeds. It would be easy for the other woman to climb on, perhaps even pleasant given the tigress' increased body heat and abundance of fur.

Chala waited patiently. ⑄