The Beast Within Us

Chapter 35: ⑄ Chala

⑄No more words passed between them for a little while after Chala had spoken, and the two lovers fell into a fairly peaceful silence. They simply shared the space together, basking in a quiet unblemished with tinges of guilt, sadness, or impending danger.

The faint blush tinging Yara's cheek made the tigress's smile grow wider as she leaned into the other woman, enjoying the contact and company. What'd been weeks without the wardeness truly there with her had felt like years, and she was overjoyed to have her back. Chala closed her eyes with a sigh as Yara continued to stroke her fur, relaxing and enjoying the other woman's touch as the morning stretched into afternoon.

The tigress opened her eyes partially after a moment, regarding her companion with a lidded gaze and an indiscernible look. Intertwining or touching another's tail was a rather intimate practice among hewan kind, especially between mated pairs. It was considered an act of immense trust given the sensitivity of a female's tail and its connection to the spine among other things. The fact that only females possessed tails leant heavily to the intimate connotations behind the act over generations. There were, of course, occasions where a male was born with a tail or a female was born without one, but this was a rare occurrence. Kiir's birth was one such, his tail lending a more effeminate nature to his looks and drawing many suitors of both sexes. Chala doubted Yara understood the weight of her actions, but the tigress liked to think that they were close enough in their relationship for it to be acceptable whether or not she had known.

Her train of thought drifting lazily from one idea to the next, the tigress almost missed the change of demeanor in her lover, and she looked upon Yara with a worried gaze. Her distress only grew at the sign of tears. Chala pulled the wardeness closer as the tears continued, lips parted in the beginnings of a question only to be interrupted by a desperate kiss from the other woman. She accepted the affection easily, but thoughts of what could possibly be bringing Yara to tears swirled in her mind even as she melted.

"I have to tell you something, Chala." It seemed she would not have to guess for too long.

The hewan listened intently as Yara spoke of her impending death, the cause of her distress and the source of her tears, arms still wrapped around her in further support as she imparted her worries. Chala's heart had lurched at first, fearful that Yara had somehow contracted Darryn's disease or some other deadly poison that had been slipped to her lover in her distraction these past few weeks. But as the wardeness began to speak of the blood pact, her tigress relaxed visibly.

"The blood pact isn't going to kill you, Yara," she started with a small smirk, "because it has already been fulfilled." Chala raised her chin at this, displaying her bare neck to the warden and alleviating her worries. Her expression grew serious after a few moments, however, and her brow furrowed as she recalled the moment the collar had fallen. "I am as free as I was before the king kidnapped me. The collar broke around the same time of Darryn's death, and I suppose we were both fortunate in this. The timing of it still confuses me..."

"I'm not happy that you lied, as I have never lied to you, but I'm also at fault for not communicating the repercussions of the blood pact from the very beginning," she confessed, glancing off to the side before continuing. "I forgive you, if you will forgive me."

Beats of silence passed between the two, as neither of them had anything more to say. Yara had many questions, no doubt, that Chala had no answers to, but the tigress found she had no desire to consider them even if she could. She was tired after the weeks past of mourning, taking charge, and worrying after the wardeness. They both deserved at least a day of peace before they faced Yara's bannermen. And she mentioned as much to her lover.

With her arms wrapped around Yara as they were, it'd be easy to pull the other woman into her lap, which the tigress didn't hesitate to do. After shifting into a more comfortable position, she rest her head in the crook of her lovers neck with a heavy sigh, nuzzling into her with a soft purr before raising her head again. The two were close, so much so that barely any space remained between them and Chala could feel Yara's every move, from the rising of her chest to the breath ghosting across her lips.

"I missed you." The words were faint, but still perceptible. ⑄