Art © mizukiki
Story (c) kaleemmcintyre


The next day found the two of us shopping together with me doing my best not to cling onto the larger man's arm like a leech. It was hard though, I will admit, as I had found myself quite enamored with the larger Mukanda.
"I'm surprised," I chirp catching the attention of a rounded ear, "I never would have guessed that you would be so casual with your choice of shopping locales." Walking down the city street, I had been pleasantly surprised by the fact that the panther next to me had gone to several different shops, some high class, some almost thrifty, as he scoured for items to which he could use later on for his next movie.
"Sometimes," He began with a throaty growl, "the best treasure you end up finding is in places nobody else would look." Mu had found a pair of cufflinks at one of the thrift stores that had caught his attention which, peculiarly enough, matched the three piece suit he had picked up from Richer and Rich. Personally, I never liked to be bothered with looking for clothing items. Why go through the hassle when all one needed was needle, thread, and about four days worth of quiet. My current shirt was a testament to that truth as it was still holding strong onto my slim frame, though the color had started to fade from one to many adventures in the wash.
"Haha, I can see," Mu's tail wrapped around my side and I shiver in some repressed pleasure as I cuddled myself close to the bigger man. "though, some treasures can also be found while not paying attention, you know." I whisper.
Mu lets out a chuckle at that, and I can't help but sigh adoringly. This was one of the things I hated about not having a mate of my own; those little moments that would be shared between two souls resonating together in almost perfect harmony. But, alas, it was better this way, as I could always look back fondly over the times I spent with my casual lovers. Never having to regret what was shared for it was a moment kept sacred because it was fleeting. I look up at Mukanda, my voice prepared with another quip when all my senses go ablaze.
I see them before they take up notice and I don't stop the swear that parts my lips as I take full stock of who they area.
An anti-wing group, the bane of all cubi who live.
Now normally, I don't mind the attention of idiots like these. Most of them couldn't do much to me other than get my blood pumping as I showed them the difference between a cubi who wasn't ready to fight back against them, and one who didn't mind getting blood on his hands. However,
"Mu," the panther looks down towards me, his eyes curious, but knowing. "Maybe we should cut out date short for today." I tilt my head to the right a bit, "I think the weather just turned foul, if you know what I mean." He did by the way he lifted his face to the sky and then took a deep breath.
"Friends of yours they are not I see," When next his golden eyes looked into mine I found myself amazed by what I witnessed.
"And neither will they be yours, if you cross them," I didn't want him to be hurt by what was going to come next, but at the same time I wondered.
"That's fine," His tail brushed up against my calf, a signal of playfulness if ever there was one. "I don't think I need any more new friends." I blushed at the comment as I realized what the panther meant. I never would have thought that…
I see several shapes move from the shadow of the building Mu and I pass and I realize that now things are about to get real. The rest of the pedestrians seem to realize something was wrong as they casually made their way into the stores and businesses spread out around us. The fact that the police officials walking the beat do so as well tells me that I made the right choice in wanting to leave this city as I note how cruel smirks pass along several faces as I walk pass.
"We should take this somewhere…more fitting, wouldn't you say?" At Mu's nod I lead the way to a deserted playground, the remnants of the dreams of children would make an excellent stage for what was about to come next.
****
"Sorry for ending our weekend on such a bad note," I chuckle as I look between the three men standing in front of me, all of them were wielding weapons of some sort and I am sure that I would have felt a sense of dread run through me, had I been anyone else.
"You see me complaining?" Mukanda rumbles as his long tail snakes up the length of black t-shirt to run along the trial of my spine.
"Not yet, but then again…" A growl tears free from my muzzle as I note one of the thugs in front of me growing restless; he'd be the first one to fall beneath me.
"Then don't bother worrying about me," I felt a tension rise within the panther's muscles, the only warning I received before the world around me faded to that strange gray haze of sound and motion.
Fighting always does something to me, whether it be a gentlemanly spar with a friend, or a desperate struggle for my life, I always feel as though civilized self bleeds out as I move both with and around the opponent in front of me. It may be my primitive ancestry which awakens within my mind as I feel more than think on what to do next as ever cell within my body comes alive in an almost indescribable way as my fist reached out for the foe in front of me. I never quite feel the pressure of my knuckles slamming into another's body, the rush of adrenaline must block out my sense of touch as my ears take in the satisfying crunch of bone crushing into bone. Everything just passes like a blur, though I know that I can hear my heart thudding inside of my chest as my vision becomes almost crystal clear as I note every strand of fur, every drop of sweat, ever curse sent my way as I let my body dance along with the feral music filling my head.
No sweeter is the call to madness that rises within me as I can watch the flutter of muscles shift beneath my opponent skin as he makes his move against me; a fist against my cheek, a kick at my shin, a snap of fangs against my nose are all but avoided as I weave myself around these pathetic maneuvers to counter with blows strong enough to leave those before me dazed or unconscious.
I don't know what Mukanda is doing behind me, I never spare the other man a look as I contended myself with fighting for my own wellbeing, however, something…some unspoken knowledge, tells me that my lover of the evening is doing very well for himself as he continues to fight against his own combatants. I know that I heard a roar of a great cat somewhere in the midst of all of the fighting, but my mind barely took note of the background noise as blood rushed within my ears nearly drowning me in a river a chaotic music.
The fight last for about five seconds, or perhaps it was five minutes, I'm not really sure as time seemed to swim all around my without beginning nor end, but when the last thug met the hard asphalt beneath his feet my mind and body seemed to separate themselves from the perfect union they had been in as a sense of calm spreads over me like a wave.
Instantly my head turns to regard Mukanda, the other man had been standing with his arms folded as he looked down upon the defeated men in front of him. Sweat soaked and panting, though the latter was hard to see as the black feline breathed in slow easy motions like always, I found a sense of awe overcome me as I noted the hard lines of his muscles straining against the muscle shirt he had put on this morning. Tail curling in several odd patterns as the tension of battle bled from his body, I casually made my way over to him, careful not to startle the great cat.
"Impressive," He turns to look at me, his golden eyes were narrowed into almost paper thin lines as his senses worked to calm themselves from the frantic high to which they had just climbed. It was obvious to me then, that, despite his build, he wasn't one to fight for his life often, "Though, considering how you're shaped, I would have thought that you do this every day. But that's not the case, is it, Mu?"
"Not particularly," His words are hard, much more than steel as I reach out a hand to press against his thudding heart.
"That's good," His irises slowly widen as I talk him down from the place to which he had been. "It's not a good thing to have to struggle to live every single day." I turn my head to chuckle, a dark sound which causes Mu to shiver just a touch. "It'll make you crazy on the inside if you do," I had long since come to terms with my own bout of madness, borne from days when creatures hunted other creatures for sport.
A broad hand reached down to slowly stroke alongside my neck, a slow play which brought a pleasant murr from my lips.