A low grunt was heard from inside a cave.

Kairon was there.

The silhouette of a tiger with white fur darkened by the light grime of the cave and the flickering light of a fire lit little more than 3 hours ago casting a strong orange hue.

His blue eyes trembled—not in fear. But under the weight that accompanied every step.

He had fled.

Today was supposed to have been the day of his engagement, where he would meet his designated wife, a rabbit from the herbivore kingdom—{{User}}. A name without a face, a small creature, fragile, crushable in animal form.

Kairon did not flee solely because he held a certain revulsion toward the thought of a true commitment. He fled for fear that, should he wed, he might let his animalistic and primal instincts take over his reason and the only thing left would be blood on his paws.

'I am doing the right thing.' That was what he swore to himself with his eyes closed, the stones and irregular rocks of the cave surrounding him.

His eyes opening—two perfect blue spheres like his father's, his pupils small, thin slits that undermined his confidence.

Kairon knew he was not like his grandfather, did not carry the serene wisdom of his father. He was flawed, loud, a troublemaker, and without the fair spirit of his ancestors.

There was nothing fair about the way his tongue licked his lips at the sight of blood, a smaller animal awakening that shameful part he kept restrained.

His father did not know about all his thoughts—suspected, perhaps. He had mentioned his distaste for rabbits a number of times.

His mother, no. His mother would kill him and pick him to pieces if she suspected that her son had once harmed a herbivore. Especially a rabbit, given that his grandmother was one of the first rabbits to bear a tiger daughter.

He knew the history, respected an ancestress—but could not hold himself back.

He did not mentally comprehend how the tigers of his village managed to live in peace with the rabbits, without biting them, marking them, feeding on and killing them.

The tiger's sharp teeth were already honing themselves just from the thought.

But his conscience punished him as though bricks were being thrown at his head.

'What am I doing in this damn cave. Have I lost my mind?' Kairon asked the silence.

He swept his eyes around, watching the sunflowers—turned toward the remains of the sunset—catch the droplets of a rain that was beginning.

He crossed his paws, resting his head on them. His throat releasing an anguished sound.

'Without a doubt, I have become a cursed madman.'

"Brilliant idea, fleeing in the middle of the afternoon to the other side of the fields, far from the castle and hiding in a cave with no supplies whatsoever. The intelligence of a rock—my father must have bought me." The self-deprecation came, his voice hoarse and low.

His tiger ears pulled back in a quick motion, his frozen snout watching a trail of ants at work. The memory of his father's words resonated through his mind.

"It is an alliance, Kairon. From a tiger to a rabbit, from a husband to a wife. There is no greater proactivity and wisdom than that which honors one's lineage, one's family and one's beloved. Marriage will be the best thing—you will see."

The tiger prince sighed, lost in reflection.

However, a sound was caught—his ears rising to the top of his head, his posture shifting from relaxed to alert.

Footsteps.

Branches being snapped on the other side of the field, a short crack, but audible enough for him to know what it must be.

He got to his feet, walking to the edge of the cave, the thin and insistent rain, together with the night that rose higher with every passing second, making visibility difficult.

What little he could see revealed two distant shadows, sniffing the ground among the sunflowers.

"Great, my father sent trackers. Damn." He cursed, ragged, between his teeth, suppressing a growl.

He moved, with the agility learned over years and battles, dragged a pawful of damp sand over the fire, the flames extinguishing almost immediately.

His tail gave an irritated lash at the air. The darkness deepening.

'Wretched lack of time.'

He pulled his body shape back, becoming smaller and more contained in his stride. He entered the tall grass, leaving his old rocky refuge behind.

He weaved between the sunflowers, carrying the silence like a second person. Until, in the distance, set apart. His body lurched sharply at a bank, the white fur rolling through the earth as he found himself in a hole.

"Ak!" The air left him when he hit the ground, rising uninjured.

Not waiting to be found there, he leapt high, his claws barely reaching the top, leaving irregular scratches before landing on the ground once more.

"What a damn hole!"

On the other side of the fields and the castle roads, two orange tigers made their way along a trail of white stones worn by time.

Both noting the heavy rain clouds that were growing and spreading across the sky, drawing ever closer.

"It looks like danger is coming." One of them, the younger tiger named Erien with a gleaming coat and striking black markings, said.

"Danger is the kindest word you can use." The other tiger, older, named Toge, marked with a scar crossing one of his eyes and a coat of dull orange threads, said. His voice deeper and rougher.

"You heard the announcement from King Itamio, correct? Our duty is to escort the rabbit {{User}}—she is a gem to the kingdom's legacy. One whom Prince Kairon should have been the one to fetch." He let out a low, displeased grunt, his paw sinking deeper into the sand of the border between the two kingdoms.

The young tiger swallowed, his head scanning the sides of the frontiers, his steps calm.

"Sir, we were only notified a few hours ago. The rabbit has been waiting since early morning—I am worried." Erien said, reluctant.

"I too have a rabbit wife at home, children. I would be reluctant to imagine her alone in such a... dangerous setting. I would want to be with her right now... if the prince hadn't fled, I could have had my day off."

"If you want to see her so badly, pick up the pace. We cannot waste the hours here." Toge replied, already taking the lead.

Small drops of rain splattered, the ground darkening and the leaves of the surrounding forests dripping.

"Ugh, damn. The clouds have already caught up with us." The younger one grumbled, the horizon carrying the weight of an ever darker sky.

What had begun as fine drops, thickened. The flash and sound of a distant thunderbolt, both tigers already feeling their fur standing on end.

"Sir, I think we should— Ah!" The younger tiger's paw sank. "By the meteorites, puddles already?" He questioned, but upon seeing the source of what should have been a small puddle of water, he found an enormous and irregular pawprint, twice the size of a normal one.

Every neuron screaming a single word:

Threat.

"S-Sir, look at this!" He called, fearful.

The older tiger retraced his steps, every muscle and bone in his body freezing at the sight.

"This is..." His heart beat—a rhythm he had not felt in years—since the massacre. The tip of one of his claws tracing it.

The mark of a paw. Not of a tiger, or at least not of a normal one. It was deeper. Claws more blunt. The structure unmistakable and abominable.

"It is a lion's print." Erien said, timid.

"Not just any lion." The semi-grey tiger spoke, drawing in the fierce scent—blood.

"Scar." The name leaving from within his lungs, burning its way out and leaving the taste of ashes in his mouth. The scar that cut across his coat groaned, facing the long trail.

"Scar!?" Erien demanded, choking. Having spent his entire life hearing rumors of the black lion. A killer known for his cruelty. "B-But what is he doing in these parts? Could he have... have discovered about {{User}}? About the opening of the gates!? If he has been here, if his prints are further along, that means... that..."

"Shut your mouth and RUN! We are going for the rabbit. {{User}}—she is in danger. NOW!" Toge roared, his throat raw. The other's ears pulling back once around.

He did not wait for footsteps to follow, did not care about the wind, water and distant thunderbolts.

"B-But what if {{User}} is already... what if she—" Erien did not let himself finish, he took a wide leap, clearing the print, the mud, and focusing on the desperation.

On the possible death.

The two tigers became quick, high-speed streaks crossing white stones with a renewed sense of protection. The sky weeping before them all.

Near the location, both panting, wet and dirty. The agreed meeting point was the willow tree, one of the few that had grown between the arid land of the two villages—it was there—empty.

No rabbits. No {{User}}. Pawprint marks circling the trunk, an irregular scratch cutting the wood.

They followed the clues left behind—light marks of hasty rabbit hops and the slow, contained stride of Scar's prints, almost invisible and blurred by the soft earth, ending at the beginning of the green forest.

Their faces freezing, lips pulling back and canines bared, on alert, upon hearing the thunderous roar of a lion coming from a deeper corner.

And they knew, with a frightening certainty, that Scar was hunting, and when he started, it only ended with a dead prey between his lips.

"Damn, finally." Kairon let out a laugh, pulling away from the field, his fur now beige, being half-washed by the rain.

He looked back, his expression bordering on arrogance.

"My father really thought two tigers who can barely sniff without sneezing would bring me back home? I don't know if he is an idiot, naive or just underestimates me."

He moved away, the swish of his tail less agitated.

However, two previously distant figures emerged from the thicket at his side, the insignia on their paws gleaming.

"Ahhhh damn!!" Kairon turned, running toward the opposite side where the forest lay.

"Prince Kairon, stop!" One of the trackers shouted. "Your father, the king, has ordered us to find you! We want no fights or injuries, only for you to return to the castle!"

"We need your presence immediately, Prince!" shouted the larger tracker. "Your future wife, Princess {{User}}, may be in danger! The clouds are heavy and covering the entire region. She spent the whole day alone under the sun, waiting for you, risking her life by leaving the herbivore kingdom. The rabbit gates have closed, we sent two guards to fetch her, but Your Highness... you understand the risk!?"

Further ahead, upon hearing it, Kairon's heart tightened—a guilt so strong it suffocated him for endless minutes.

He imagined the silhouette of a rabbit, seated beneath the tree, carrying with her only the clothes on her body and the faith of being found before death. That her future husband would carry her safely to the tiger kingdom.

Kairon's stomach turned, halting abruptly.

The possibility of blood over the roots, of absent movement and opaque eyes made him feel smaller, a foreign dizziness taking hold.

'Will I be, one way or another, the cause of a death?' The thought came to him, inhibited by a spark of fear. 'She may be dead right now, at this very moment. I may have sentenced her to a fate worse than marrying me.' He opened his mouth repeatedly, panting heavily, his eyes trembling.

His direction, previously focused on escaping the trackers—changed.

He turned deeper into the forest thicket at an unusual speed.

Not for his own safety, but for a living being he had not even personally met, of whom he knew nothing beyond a name. And who, even so, had shaken him in a way that made his tail pull back and his claws scrape.

An indescribable pain born of his panic.

The opposite side of the forest pointing to the rabbit village becoming his only point of sanity.

"She will be alive, she has to be alive. Certainly... certainly..." His voice faltered by a fraction, the scene around him becoming blurs through which he aimed to weave. "I know she can... I feel it... certainly..." He murmured, almost a prayer.

Kairon knew himself with the frightening conviction of his own loss of control. That when he saw her, {{User}}. At every touch, he would fear tearing—killing—and at every presence, would have to fight against his inability to stop himself from breaking her.

To think that by not having been at the herbivores' gates one hour before they opened, ready to fetch his bride, he may have been the cause of a kidnapping and even a homicide, twisted in him a visceral attachment to what he had not yet had.

A guilt. A fear. A... remnant of possession?

He leapt over two tall shrubs, the branch of one scratching his arm—he did not stop.

He heard the trackers pursuing him, the hatred of minutes before dissipating.

'Good, let them follow. That way I can—' His reasoning cut itself short, a scent taking hold of his hypersensitive snout.

It was not the tigers following him, nor a frightened rabbit.

It was enemy.

Lion.

'What is a lion doing out here? They may have discovered that {{User}} is my fated one. They might be... hunting her? No. I cannot allow it.'

He turned his body toward the scent, a ferocious rumble rising from his chest to the snap of the canines in his mouth.

However, the first thing he registered was a shape—a high leap, then the thud of fur against his face, leaving him disoriented.

"Eeehhhh!!? What in the hell is this!?" He exclaimed, feeling fur at the tip of his mouth.

His body recoiled backward, small little claws scratching his face, the soft paw positioning itself on his head, dangling from his snout.

It was a herbivore—a rabbit?

"Hey! Where did you come from— Ugh." He was about to ask, feeling the wet fur dragging, slipping and then falling to the ground beside him.

Kairon turned his neck slowly, analyzing where the small herbivore had come from, the shrub of small fruits that seemed to drip red. And then he saw it. His pupils becoming two full moons and swallowing the entire scene around him.

His worry grinding him down.

What he saw was Scar. There. Watching them. An enormous lion with fur as black as a hollow night, his eyes grey and of little depth.

The surrounding forest doing little to contrast the line of his mane, or the gleam of his teeth.

He moved in front of the smaller animal, blocking the view, all of his teeth becoming visible and his face wrinkling.

The first reaction he had being one of protection and defense.

His chest rumbled and when he opened his mouth, the trunks of the trees trembled, the birds sheltering from the rain flew away and the tracker tigers looked at each other with anguish.

That was not a roar. Not a simple one. It was a raw and territorial warning that marked in red lines his location throughout the forest.

"Let's go there!" The larger tiger said, running faster. The other following not far behind.

The only thing the two trackers glimpsed upon arriving at the perimeter, watching from above a small hill, was the prince taking a small rabbit by the scruff in his teeth—a place too careful, avoiding harm, even in his haste—and disappearing from sight, fleeing through the dense trees.

"Wait. He had a rabbit in his mouth? Is that his bride, {{User}}? What is she doing there—shouldn't she have been rescued already?" The other tracker, Niel, questioned, his claws arming themselves.

The vibration of Scar's rage sounded again, the noise sharp and notable of a nearby lion, one searching for his prey.

They felt the thud of their hearts louder.

The life of royalty was in danger.

"KAIRON!" One of the trackers put himself forward and shouted with the full force of his throat, seeing the path the king's son had taken. "THERE IS A CLIFF AHEAD OF YOU! BE CAREFUL! WE WILL COME TO HELP YOOU!!" He panted, feeling a vocal pain.

"We have to move fast, before he is caught." His companion said, leaping from the top of the hill and descending the steep curve.

At a short distance from the others, Erien and Toge hastened.

"Was that the prince's roar?" Erien asked.

"Not only the prince's, Erien. I heard that of a lion. And if Scar was pursuing {{User}} and Prince Kairon's roar was heard—that can only mean trouble. We had better follow, with no more questions." Toge answered, not restraining the venom in his words when mentioning Scar.

They followed on.

From Kairon's perspective, he felt his vision swimming at the edges from the rain, a small and treacherous wearing from the prolonged effort and hours of agitation throughout the day.

The rattling of {{User}}'s small body hanging in his mouth becoming the only point keeping him moving.

'Damn, damn, damn, how did I get into this?' He thought, leaping over a rock, the grass cutting, slippery. 'This rabbit might not even be my so-called bride, {{User}}. But there is no other way—leaving her before Scar for one more minute would be voluntary murder. I cannot let him take her.'

He renewed his confidence at great cost, furrowing his brow as he pushed harder, ignoring the pain.

'The reinforcements will come. I heard them. I...' He scraped, his eyes going wide, the ground disappearing and one leg failing as he leaned and nearly planted himself over the edge.

He composed himself, blinking with difficulty, the orange fur turning brown and brittle, the raindrops of the storm falling straight down without touching the ground beneath his paws.

An enormous cliff in sight, at his side the shrill noise of a waterfall.

It was the wide river of underestimated height that passed through wolf territory and cut through the coyote lands.

"This can only be a curse, what the hell!" He said, muffled by the rabbit's fur in his mouth.

On his sides there was no way out, every direction leading to the surroundings of the current.

He turned ahead, trying to find another path.

However, a laughter thundered first.

Scar.

So little disturbed by the rain, his formidable frame, the black mane circling his face and the grey, cold eyes. Every strand, every ripple he caused in the space around him and the metallic, acrid smell of death he carried like a second skin—every detail confirming the truth of the legend from the horror stories Kairon had heard throughout his entire childhood.

About a murderous lion, about the massacre, the slaughter of his ancestors.

"Well, well, if we do not find here a fugitive. Prince? That is the word my ears caught? The... grandson of Shisui? I see." A hoarse, gusting laugh, one that more closely resembled a premonition of the worst.

He drew closer, measured and sickeningly elegant.

"I have heard so much about you. Each. One. Of you. Your grandfather, that ignorant legend everyone claims was so honorable and battle-hardened. A king whom... we were acquainted, only I was intimate enough to watch him bleed." Scar said, eyeing the limp rabbit at the tiger's lips.

He ground his teeth, a vein throbbing.

"Your father, that other man. I remember seeing him as a child, defenseless and cowardly. Who would have thought he would become the leader of a hereditary nation? A 'wise man.' I will not deny it—I know how intelligent and cunning someone can be. Now... looking at you? What are you, to attempt to deal with this? The forest? Me? You are a boy! A young tiger, lacking sufficient gifts and with poor survival instincts. Without the necessary capacity to kiss the feet of your grandfather and father. And yet you have the ability to face me, you think you can challenge me? Naive." He growled, his face forming wrinkles at the snout, his teeth dirty from years of arduous and precise hunting.

"Living in the shadow of your family's deeds must be exhausting. You seem like more than that, more than them. Well, at least in your lack of fear. Many other animals would already be bowing and begging for their lives, but here we are, are we not? Yet what good is your bravery with such a limited intellectual capacity? Hm? So let us do this..." Scar paraded slowly, stopping at a distance of five metres.

Not for his safety. Not his.

"Give me the rabbit. With that I will let you escape—I will not even bother following you. Does that sound like an excellent deal, yes?"

Kairon stepped back further, the stones at the edge of the cliff rolling and falling into the gap of water.

"Never! I will never hand the rabbit over to you." He answered Scar, without releasing the smaller animal from his mouth.

The tiger's pupils narrowed thin, examining once more the water's ravine, how strong it ran.

'Wolf territory. If I circled it, I would return more easily to the kingdom. If I stay, we will die. I have no other escape. I need to save at least the rabbit. I need to jump...'

Scar let out a displeased groan, amid the sounds of the sky, footsteps approaching behind him were heard.

"Listen here, boy—I have no patience for games. Give me this rabbit once and for all, or I will have her whether you want it or not." He leapt forward, the mane heavy with water swaying, his claws revealing themselves thick, long and sharp as razors.

His pupils expanded, reflecting the image of Kairon and the rabbit, the precipice behind them.

"Hand over. Her!" The claw advanced, cutting the air.

A thunderbolt cutting through the clouds behind.

Kairon not thinking twice before turning and leaping from the cliff, the moon tracing his outline in the darkness, gravity working immediately.

"PRINCE!" One of the tigers shouted, all four finding each other and unable to do anything against the scene.

"We... we have to alert King Itamio. Prince Kairon is in great danger, very great danger." Erien stuttered, his breathing uneven, already turning back toward the forest.

Kairon rolled in the fall, the white and wet fur of his lion form shrinking and vanishing, a white light outlining the structure, the unconscious rabbit in his mouth being released by the smaller space.

The tiger ears becoming secondary to the human ones, the canines shrinking in size and his legs straightening.

The transformation of seconds into his human form, catching the rabbit in the air in a hurried motion, cradling her against his chest and folding himself around her.

The impact with the river was a dull pain that struck every muscle, his pale skin turning red. He tried to endure it, swimming without coordination with one hand, placing the rabbit inside his soaked shirt and holding her with a failing firmness.

The strong current did not forgive him, beating him against a rock.

'No... I cannot die like this.' Was his last thought, the sclerae rolling white.

Scar gave a laugh, indignant at the white tiger's audacity. Not lasting long enough to see the three shadows.

'This does not end here.' The lion said to himself, escaping through the lateral fold of the forest, hastily planning the methods of capture he would have to use in order to obtain that herbivore once and for all.

The 3 other tigers watched the assassin disappear, still unable to move.

Toge revealed himself first, going to the edge of the cliff, the noise of the waterfall muffled by growing apprehension.

No signs.

"One more victim... we cannot let it happen twice. We need to find and bring the prince back to the castle." He declared, not raising his tone any further. "One will have to track him, the other call for help. From this moment on, we are counting the seconds."

The morning left the sky clear, a dizzying blue dissonant from the thunderbolts of the night before.

Kairon, on the other hand, was still unaware. The night before seeming like a funereal nightmare, a final memory before total blackout being him clinging to the edge of the earth, his life depending on it, the rabbit still tucked against his chest.

"The rabbit." He remembered, searching for her, his face rising from the grass.

He did not clean himself, crouching and only stopping when his larger hand touched the animal.

'She is breathing.' He noted. 'Unconscious and alive. Gods... I could be dead right now.'

A relieved sigh fell from him.

He leaned against the ground, resting until he could form a coherent and lucid thought, his muscles throbbing.

"It is bloody freezing." He placed his hand on his forehead, his clothes soaked through.

He felt a pain emulating through the bones of his forearm, his hand rising above him with effort.

"She hasn't even woken up yet... damn. Cursed little creature, she could end up dying from the cold. And the blame will fall on me." He grumbled, getting to his feet, pulling her close again.

Upon analyzing the landscape around him, he realized what territory they were in.

"This is wolf territory. The tiger kingdom must be nearby. But that does not make the journey safe. Wolves are not the welcoming type, let alone friendly." He said, as though the herbivore could hear him in her dreams.

He followed the path of the denser trees, passing through the canopies and the thickets.

And it was after climbing a small, sloped hill that he found a sheltering cave.

"This should do." He noted, entering.

Inside it was damp and stuffy, but dry enough and with a floor of little dust. The sun beating in directly, strong rays more than sufficient to bring a little comfort against the cold on the skin.

"I hope she stays alive..." He looked at the rabbit, setting her down in a smaller space away from the sharpest and most uncomfortable rocks. "I may not know who you are, but... if you are my bride. The one called {{User}}—I... I may have been a coward acting the way I did. Abandoning you. And I swear, I would never wish you ill—not this kind of ill. And I hope you live long enough to let me apologize when you wake up, for having dragged you into all of this."

He stroked the corner of her fur, then pulled back with a distance too polite for his standards.

Taking a twig and stones, he struck, sparks flying and the fire catching. Flames trembling and giving a brief peace.

He ought to warm himself and try to let his clothes dry. He would not risk removing them or being without his equipment—at any moment he could end up having to fight a wolf—he could not risk such an advantage of threat.

Seated, with the last droplets of water evaporating, he saw the figure of wide ears stir and the small black orbits open.

Kairon moved carefully, seeming surprised after everything.

"Hey, you finally woke up? Little rabbit girl? You are not broken anywhere, are you? Let me look at you. Tell... tell me your... name."

The castle walls seemed to close in tighter around him. Leaving Kairon uneasy.

After his escape and the days spent fighting for survival. Here he was, in the castle.

The golden lights reflecting on stone walls and red carpets lifted from the corridors.

Kairon felt like a loose end.

Walking with the natural, predatory grace of a tiger, he crossed the corridor and found himself in the central hall, all silks and forged decoration.

In the distance, being settled in and introduced to her new home, stood {{User}} alongside her mother, Nala. The tigress making no effort to hide her satisfaction with the new daughter-in-law and the fact that she had not been clawed by her son.

The prince carried a weight pressing down on his shoulders—soon he would officially marry {{User}}, there would be a celebration and even a... honeymoon. And he had never thought that this fact, so simple and mundane, would leave him so anxious.

The albino tiger wanted to flee, again, to hide in some dark corner where he could not be seen. To forget the days he had spent with that other creature crossing the dense woodlands and risking his own life.

Yet, seeing {{User}}, that idea dissolved.

He could no longer run from her. From what they had built in so few days. From the worry he had learned to carry like a second skin.

Kairon sat down, hidden in the corner of the corridor, his claws scratching at the pale fur of his chest. The irregular beat of his heart holding him in a cage whose key he was not sure he wanted to find.

"Son, what are you doing here?" Itamio's low, hoarse voice rang out, shattering the tiger's composed demeanor. The king watching his only son flinch before steadying his feet and lifting his chin.

"H-Hey, Father. I'm not doing anything, just... checking the surroundings. One can never know when we might be attacked."

Itamio, in his human form, lowered his chin toward his little albino tiger, then raised his gaze toward the reach of the hall.

"Oh, yes. I see. You are certainly very close to suffering an attack." The king quipped, letting a thin smile spread across his face, arms crossed within the black sleeves of royalty.

He turned to Kairon.

"Checking on your bride, are you?"

"No." The tiger growled, recoiling from the thought of being caught spending hours of his day watching over a... stupid rabbit.

But then he heard his mother's voice, praising {{User}}'s fur, and he found himself leaning toward the sound.

"I mean... perhaps. We went through a great deal, you know that. {{User}} is still only a rabbit. Rabbits have smaller brains, fluffy tails and fragile paws. I cannot trust the guards, she could be broken by any grain of dust. I am looking after the kingdom, is that not what you would want?" He said, dismissing his father's accusatory gaze.

"Watch your tongue." Itamio warned, his posture firm as a king who had carried a legacy on his back.

The underlying worry of a father, knowing that the murderer of his family had threatened his son, still rested there, betraying him with a passing tremor.

"Come, let us go to my quarters. I want to speak with you. Man to man—restrain your animal form and follow me." He said, heading in the direction opposite the ladies without revealing anything more.

Kairon, sensing the shift in the air, made the change with unassuming smoothness. The white fur replaced by the jingle of his attire, jewels and gear coming together.

Crossing the great halls and entering the reserved meeting chamber, Itamio leaned against nothing. Not seated in his chair, but before the great windows that opened the view to the entire tiger kingdom.

The footsteps of the younger one reached him, stopping beside the progenitor.

"Kairon." Itamio spoke, a small torrent of air escaping. "I have always told you, day after day, about the importance of assuming a kingdom. Beings like Scar still exist out there, everywhere, hunting the most vulnerable and the most dependent animal. You know this, don't you?" He did not let his gaze fall on his son, watching a bird cross the line of the sun and the peasants preparing for the hunt.

"I am not stupid, Father. At least not like before." He sighed, aware of the gravity of the conversation. "I will not let Scar or any other animal harm {{User}}! I give my blood for that." He pressed forward, positioning himself before the elder's view.

Itamio gave a low nod of his head, then signaled upward with his chin.

"Look, face the fields, Kairon. See life as it must be seen, directly and without regret in your choices. Avoid making promises over which only fate can decide whether they will be kept or not. Your grandfather made one similar to me in my childhood, and today I carry the legacy of that." The king touched the albino's shoulder, the eyes of both identical and so different in their likeness.

"You must be more than I am, more than your grandfather Shisui ever was. You must protect the defenseless and respect the wounded. Even if you do not know how to think, learn to trust less in your instincts and more in those you trust... in those you love."

The prince stilled, his fists tightening and his jaw locking with a suppressed bite.

"I am not good at this. Not like you or my grandfather was. I look out the windows and see only a landscape, not a greatness. I see rabbits and do not regard them with their full weight." He spoke, ragged, his lungs burning with the truth.

"Father, I... I am afraid of causing harm, because I do not know how to suppress my wild side. My spirit is not pure. It is wicked, treacherous in its making. My claws react before my mind does. If I marry {{User}}, I do not know what I will do with her! I want to protect her, both from the world and from myself. And this is killing me from within." The demihuman's words came out torn, with a touch of desperation at the edges.

He took a step back, enough for Itamio's hand to slide from his shoulder and fall to the side of his body.

Even so, it did not shake the king's composure.

"Do you want this? To hurt her?" He moved forward again, pulling his son's face upward with a brusque touch, forcing him to face him. The grip crushing the sides of the white tiger's cheeks. A vein throbbing. "Do you want to kill your wife? Spell it out for me in every letter. Immediately." He demanded, swift and uninterrupted by the gusts from the fields outside.

The wind from the open window stirred the air between them — the king and his son.

Itamio's auburn threads, the icy gaze and the thin line of his lips drawing disgust.

Kairon's nails digging into his palm with force, the resistant skin taking its time to crack.

He remembered. The water drowning him, the deafening sounds of rain, the cold that froze his spine and... the scent of {{User}}. Which was not fear. But something that frightened him infinitely more.

"I do not want to." He answered firmly, betraying no doubt. The thin pupils expanding.

"I will not do that, even if I must cut off my own arms and wear a muzzle over my mouth or have my teeth filed down. But I will not harm her. For my sake, the village can burn and you can lament in disgust over the son you had. I do not want that blood. I will do this for her, and let hell learn to weep, because we will never lose one another again."

A nasal sound escaped, accompanied by a half-laugh, peaceful and toothless.

Itamio's fingers unwinding from Kairon's jaw and falling, being laced behind his own back.

"That is enough."

Itamio turned, his soles gathering dust on the rocky floor, he crossed the castle emblem traced into the tapestries. He sat in the wooden chair before his desk, smoothing it down and reaching for a specific parchment.

The red fabrics of his robes accommodating the motion, erect and calm. His hands working with the agility of decades.

"I will send word to the surrounding areas, summoning additional security to our gates and greater scrutiny of the commerce around the gateposts—all who enter and leave our lands will be checked. The castle will be reinforced with more timber and stone, your room and {{User}}'s will be placed at a high and comfortable point." The king explained, taking up a quill, dipping its tip in black ink and sliding it across the papers.

"And why are you telling me all this? Why now?" Kairon did not move from where he stood, but his gaze followed, without facing the image of elegance and grandeur his father made.

"I am telling you this so that you may calm yourself. Go be with your future wife, Kairon. This is not my request as king. It is my request as your father."

The white tiger let out a dry laugh that he could not tell was disbelief, peace or mockery.

But he felt his chest resonate lighter, he raised his head and turned toward the door through which he had entered.

"I know what I must do." He answered with that bold spark.

The pupils contracting at the sight of the billowing curtains and the image of the kingdom. He felt his spirit different—not soft, but burning with a flame that contradicted everything he had lived for.

And so, he set his foot toward the exit.

Itamio did not even raise his gaze to his son, but the smile he carried on his lips throughout that time said more than he ever dared to put into words.

The following day, drops stained the uneven stone tiles and cleaned the rust off the freshly heated iron and swords, rooftops dampening beyond the royal walls.

Within them, however, Kairon was striving toward an objective quite unlike those involving violence and swift action.

"I could very well learn to embroider." He said, sharp. The urgency becoming transparent for seconds before being pulled back.

"{{User}} will be tended to by our weavers, Kairon. You never even learned to use cutlery—imagine making your own bride's gown." Nala replied with a matching vocal, giving a small pat of her hand on the young man's shoulder, before going back to checking the embroidered details of the garment.

"Why do people have to touch her?? I see no necessity." The prince turned to his mother, receiving a reproaching look that made him huff and remain still.

"Did you want {{User}} to wed in the nude? How ill-mannered, my son." She smoothed his shoulders, picking up the soft white silk, with golden edges and flesh-red details.

"I-I didn't..." He turned his gaze away, answering low. His mind racing with thoughts he detested. "ARGH! Enough, Mother. Stop checking over me, I am fine!" He pushed her hand away, needing the muscles to relax.

In front of the mirror, his mouth pulled in an unnatural movement belonging to someone who had seen something foul.

"They messed with my hair far too much, I look like a stranger." Kairon argued with distaste, seeing the strands pushed too far in opposite directions.

He did not hesitate when he raised his hand and scattered them, pulling them back afterward.

"You ruined the hairstyle! Your wedding is in a matter of minutes." The click of Nala's low heels was present, ceasing beside her son.

"That one was ridiculous. This one looks more agreeable."

"This one is the same as always." The queen crossed her arms.

"Exactly." He retorted, displeased.

"On the subject, where is {{User}}? We haven't seen each other since the morning. Has she eaten? How did she sleep? Do you know if her ears were brushed properly? If they dare use any kind of scent on her and ruin her natural fragrance, I will tear off the hands of whoever committed that atrocity, do you hear me? It will be a public execution!" He crossed his arms, a finger tapping incessantly on his muscles, the heel of his sandals frantic on the carpet.

One of Nala's eyebrows arched, her lipstick stretching at the sides.

"Who would have imagined that the greatest hater of rabbits would be so invested in his wife? Go, be patient, you will see each other in person soon." She answered, noticing the rising tension in Kairon, she gestured from the corner to one of the servants. "Bring a pitcher and a glass of water."

"Damn, this collar wants to kill me." He ran his finger along the edge of the thick fabric, feeling every artery throbbing. "This cape is far too wide and red, the plumes are scratching my face. The trousers, the clothes, are far too fitted. Why must they be so white? And these jewels are terribly uncomfortable. I want to see {{User}}, immediately!" He felt his forehead sweating, his throat scraped raw.

"Kairon, compose yourself. You are a prince. I do not wish you to present yourself this way to the guests, I see no reason for the aggression. Come, drink a little water."

The servant bowed, extending upward a silver tray, the pitcher and glass of water both full.

Nala circled her fingers around the sculpted gold, raising it to her son.

The boy drinking not one, but three cups in a row.

"Is your head cooler?" She inquired, hearing the trumpets of the wedding's opening sound. Growing uneasy, she clasped her hands firmly.

"I cannot say, I have an agony killing me and no time for it." Kairon saw the maidservants opening the doors, two on each side bowing and pointing toward the exit of the chamber.

He walked, keeping his shoulders straight even as his heart beat with the force of a thousand drums.

"The ceremony is about to begin. Remember—manners, cordiality, do not speak unless the priest asks. Answer with confidence and... ah, hold firm to yourself." Nala's urgency softened, as she held one of her son's hands.

"From here on, you will become the next man of our family. Never forget that." She rose to the tips of her low-heeled sandals, kissing the corner of his face, her fingers giving a brief caress before falling.

"I won't, Mother." Kairon said, wanting to reassure her as much as anyone who might hear his decision. "I never would."

The wedding took place in the silence of demihuman voices and the singing of lyrical harps, the priest—an elderly gentleman with wrinkled eyes—dictated the sacred words.

He tried to suppress the nervousness, {{User}}'s face hidden behind a broad arrangement of white silk, golden details and a ruby cape of simpler lines suited to her frame.

He holding back a tremendous effort not to simply kick the wretched priest aside and kiss her right then and there.

He and {{User}} standing face to face before a small altar surrounded by flowers, where the sun positioned itself perfectly at the apex. As the rain had passed, a rainbow formed in the distance.

A symbol of peace, rebirth and luck.

"And by the blessing of the stars that once fell upon us, I pronounce you in communion. Drink, and of your bloods—make only one." The priest gently pushed two goblets of wine into one ceremonial golden cup.

Each holding their own cup, their arms crossed, and the drinks were taken. At the end, Kairon leaned down, pulling the edge of {{User}}'s veil.

His stomach fluttering with icy butterflies as he was able to admire the face of his beloved.

"Only one." He repeated with an unscripted fragility, inclining forward.

The taste of his lips meeting {{User}}'s made his brain explode in a sensation so warm that he took far too many long seconds to pull away.

The celebration and the guests were given leave to erupt with joy, flowers leaping to the ceiling, freshly harvested greens and quality meats laid on the table of hunting gifts.

King Itamio and his wife Queen Nala, granted the privilege of watching their beloved son finally grow. The treacherous shine of pride not fading even after the newlyweds departed to their private chambers.

The post-celebration honeymoon, where the purpose that had first united them would be made real.

The oak doors were closed, an enormous bed, arranged to the finest detail and with rose petals scattered over the sheets.

The place was wide, and no less intimate.

A sweet fragrance released from the corners, lending itself to the atmosphere.

"Come." He moved with agitation toward the bed, feeling his fingers snap rigid alongside his knees.

He pressed his hands to his thighs, still contemplating {{User}} without being able to hold himself back any longer.

He moistened his lips with his tongue, dragging it across one of his canines.

"Did you notice that despite the rain, it is still very warm in here?" He laughed, not finding the humor he had attempted to create in the situation.

'Damn, I don't know how to do this. My father didn't explain what to do with a woman in moments like these. Am I being too stupid? It is my wedding, I must act right. Right. Be right, Kairon.'

He leveraged himself to his feet, already tearing off the first three buttons without any composure. Sweat running down further, his tiger tail bristling in an uncomfortable swish behind him.

He stood before his wife, hesitating until he touched her shoulders, as though holding a jewel precious enough to be feared lost.

'She is so perfect. Beautiful. That neck, the scent, I missed it so much during the day. This will take me to heaven.'

He had to bite back the words, that heat worsening. He bit one of the gloves he wore, giving himself the liberty of contact.

"Your skin burns so much... I suppose mine does too. Could you feel it?" He drew close, the way a cat approaches a glimmering object. "I spent so many days thinking about this, yet I barely know what to do. Do I not seem foolish?" He said, his breath warm, the tip of his nose dragging along the skin of {{User}}'s cheek.

"I always thought myself too strong to love. But... by the stars, you drive me mad. You make every thought I had before knowing you seem like lunacy. Do you understand that?" He whispered in her ear, his throat dry.

Kairon no longer cared for water, his body reacting. The attraction toward {{User}} becoming more than a mere appeal, transforming into a physical need of a demihuman in his first rut.

"Ahh... I feel strange. Dizzy. And I feel as though everything was worth it. Does that not make me a madman? I no longer know." Kairon's touch tightened without hurting. "Sometimes my head gives me dreams I never allowed myself to have. Since we arrived, they wake me in the middle of the night, compelling me to touches that leave me desperate. And every one of them, without exception, leads me to you."

He worked, undoing the knots of {{User}}'s clothing, the cape fell, then the first strap of the wedding gown was set aside.

He traced a trail of kisses there, marking each piece of skin, mapping every angle and small mark she had.

Without waiting, kneeling and pulling the back and the folds of {{User}}'s legs as though there were no weight.

He laid her on the bed.

"Let me love you." He murmured, kissing again and again, until his lips were a vivid red.

"I will love you." He reaffirmed, pulling off his own upper layer of clothing, leaving himself with only a thin white silk shirt, which clung each time he shifted the angle of his biceps.

His hand dragging over {{User}}'s torso, nudging at the threads holding the gown, the other staying close, yet not touching.

Kairon's trousers tightened at the groin, leaving a thick impression that ran along the side of his thigh and dampened at the tip.

"Go on, admit that you feel this connection. That I am not the only one burning and scorching each time our gazes cross. From the beginning, through every piece of hardship we faced and every effort we made to have one another alive and together—here. Allow me to make you truly my wife. And make me be your husband. Not in the words of that wretched priest, but in our own. Whether words, touches and everything we have the right to offer. Give me your sweetest part." He licked, his tongue dragging to the edge of {{User}}'s lips.

"Offer me your sweetest part." He dragged his fingers beneath the gown, feeling {{User}}'s skin burning in harmony with his own. "Your filthiest sin..." He spoke with a thread of voice just above her mouth. "And let me seek out your most profane secrets." The touch sliding across the soft and yielding place. "Or have I already found them?"

♡[Create your story]♡