Hungry Heart - Book #2 - Ch. 22 (Patreon)

Chapter One / Chapter Two / Chapter Three / Chapter Four / Chapter Five / Chapter Six / Chapter Seven / Chapter Eight / Chapter Nine / Chapter Ten / Chapter Eleven / Chapter Twelve / Chapter Thirteen / Chapter Fourteen / Chapter Fifteen / Chapter Sixteen / Chapter Seventeen / Chapter Eighteen / Chapter Nineteen / Chapter Twenty / Chapter Twenty-One 

Chapter Twenty-Two – Moments of Happiness

“Which one of me do you like best?”

Duril stopped for a moment, his hand poised above the tome, and looked at the handsome head lying in his lap. Varg and Claw were somewhere around, probably engaged in more entertaining activities than watching someone scribbling on paper. Toru had insisted on sticking around, although Duril had urged him to go with the rest of their group and have some fun.

Through no magic of Demophios, they had found another oasis and collectively decided that a break was something everyone needed after their incredible adventures across the Great Barren. Duril had welcomed the respite with all his heart since a part of him itched to find the time to sit down and write their adventures while they were still fresh in his mind.

The air filled with the rustling fronds of the date palms was sweet, and it was such an unfathomable thing to believe that only days ago they had been engaged in another life or death battle with the evil that lurked beneath the surface of this beautiful world.

“Hey, Duril,” Toru called for him, somewhat reproachfully. “Did you hear me?”

Caught up in the beauty of the place, Duril had allowed his mind to wander for a moment. It looked like that wasn’t something Toru could live with. Duril put his quill down, making sure not to spill any ink over the yellowed page. Elidias had given him all the tools needed for the craft of chronicling their adventures, and he was starting to suspect that they had to be magical since the small ink container didn’t appear to have suffered a dent in its quantity despite Duril having used some so far.

He caressed Toru’s hair, running his fingers slowly through the silky golden strands and enjoying their feel. “I heard you, but I can’t say I have a favorite.”

“What do you mean?” Toru began to purr softly while Duril scratched his scalp slightly. “You must.”

“How could I prefer you over you? It’s not possible. Your human is very handsome and playful and nice. And your tiger is fierce and can make armies tremble. Both of your shapes are strong and beautiful, and your heart is always the same, always amazing. Always Toru.”

“My tiger is very playful,” Toru insisted. “Do you want me to show you?”

The youngster didn’t wait for a reply and suddenly shifted, making the improvised writing table shake. It was something Varg had made for Duril using a couple of logs Claw had slashed through with his strong claws. The tome almost fell from it, and the ink container teetered, too, quite dangerously. Duril barely had time to catch it.

Tiger Toru froze and then sat back on his hind legs, wrapping his tail around himself, all the while wearing a guilty look on his face. Still, the tip of his tail began to tap the ground, waiting for a reaction from Duril.

“I can see that you can be very naughty, too,” Duril chided him with affection. “I can imagine that you were a fast grower as a child. Even now, sometimes, I think that you don’t know your own strength.”

“Sorry,” Toru said quietly.

Duril patted his head. “It’s all right. Nothing happened. Now, do you think you can sit by my side while I’m writing down our latest adventures? I’d love for you to do so, but if you would prefer to go after Varg and Claw--”

“No,” Toru cut his words short. “I want to sit with you.”

“Then come here,” Duril said and gestured for him to come closer.

The young tiger moved cautiously this time, making sure to avoid the table and placed himself by Duril’s side, at a fair distance.

“Closer,” Duril insisted.

Toru moved another inch.

“Oh, come here,” Duril said with an amused snort and pulled Toru next to him until their bodies were glued together. Then the tiger slid around the healer, curling about him to provide a comfortable and solid support.

Toru’s warmth was enough to remind him why he was so much in love with someone like that. The tiger sighed and stretched, and then placed his head back on Duril’s lap. The only wandering part of him was his tail, which immediately found a way to wrap around Duril’s waist. “Do I make you hot?”

“Not in a bad way,” Duril replied. “I like it when you cuddle with me like this.”

“I’m not bothering your writing or anything, right?” Toru asked, raising his head and looking straight at Duril with his golden eyes.

“That would be impossible. You’re what made all this happen. And I enjoy writing about our times together. Do you know, Toru? I feel like I’ve lived a life ten times over ever since we met.”

“Does it make you happy?”

“Of course, it does. I never even imagined that I would go on an adventure, and look at us now, so far from Whitekeep.” Duril stopped for a moment, his eyes watering, and he discreetly wiped a tear away with the back of his hand.

A furry paw came to rest on his knee and offer him comfort.

“Don’t mind me. Life is always like that. And I can say, hand on heart, that the good I have now in it, by far outweighs the bad.”

“Even if we have to fight all the time?” Toru asked.

“Not all the time,” Duril replied. “There are also moments like these, where we sit together and breathe this sweet air.”

Toru’s head was heavy and warm against his thighs. “I’ll sleep a little now,” the tigershifter announced. “But as soon as you finish writing, wake me up. I don’t want to lose any of these moments with you.”

Duril laughed and placed a short kiss on Toru’s forehead. “I don’t want that, either. And I promise that I’ll write as fast as I can.”

Toru stretched a little more and yawned. “You don’t have to hurry. I know you love playing with those ants on paper. And I could use the rest.”

Duril was sure it was true. Toru was strong and he could go for days through the desert without complaining, just as he had done before, but any hero needed a reprieve in a life full of adventures. This one was more than welcome.

He tipped his head back, leaning against Toru, and looked at the sky through the leaves that provided shadowy comfort while the desert was still their companion. His hand rested for a while on Toru’s forehead until he heard the unmistakable snoring. Then, he set to work again. Their road was merely in its beginnings, or so it felt. And the tome was thick, which meant that Elidias envisioned a long road for them, together. It would be a road peppered with dangers at every corner, without a doubt, but Duril felt happy precisely because it was long and came with the unequaled benefits of friendship and love.

***

After those harsh days of days crossing the desert, Varg groaned in pure delight as he sank his entire body under the water. He and Claw seemed to be of the same mind, as the bearshifter was engaging in the same pleasures as he was, and not that far away.

He stole a glance at his companion. The bearshifter hadn’t changed much since they had met in Shroudharbor, but the paleness of his complexion had been replaced with a tan that made his eyes sparkle with a new fire. In the beginning, Varg had felt annoyed and slightly challenged by this new addition to their group. Especially, the fondness Toru had shown toward Claw threw him off-balance, but those feelings were as good as gone. Nowadays, more and more, they had been replaced by something new.

“Have you thought about it?” he asked with no further preamble.

Claw ran his hands through his shaggy hair and then over his face. “About joining you?”

“What else? I don’t know if you’ve realized it just yet, flea bag, but I’m like a bad cough. You won’t find it easy to get rid of me,” Varg joked.

“A bad cough?” The bearshifter moved through water as if it was his true home and approached Varg, swimming in slow circles around him. “You don’t remind me of anything like that when I look at you.”

“I don’t?” Varg grinned. He recognized that for what it was. Not that he hadn’t been overt about it to begin with, but he was not usually the one to elicit that kind of attention. Usually, he was the initiator. It was natural for him to approach others. Claw’s behavior opened doors to new possibilities.

“Aren’t you going to ask me what I’m thinking about?” Claw teased, while the circles he swam became smaller and smaller, the hefty snake between his legs growing larger and larger.

“I fear that it might not be something too flattering,” Varg replied and dropped his eyelids, watching Claw through his eyelashes.

The bear came to a stop right in front of him. “Then you’ll be surprised to hear the truth.”

But Varg wasn’t that surprised when Claw leaned forward and closed their mouths together. Yes, definitely, this was new because no matter who his lovers had been all his life, he still remained the one on top and surrendered power and control only to special people, like Duril and Toru.

Whatever Claw had in mind, it felt nothing like Toru’s playful attitude, or Duril’s gentle coaxing. No, Claw was bigger, stronger, and he could overpower anyone Varg knew if he so wished. The simple realization of that fact brought with it a new feeling, one of trembling anticipation and excitement.

So, he said nothing and did nothing while his mouth was assaulted with determination, but also with infinite gentleness, something that surely no one seeing Claw for the first time would believe him to be capable of. Varg was glad to be among the select few who knew the truth, the deep, intimate reality of this bearshifter who had roamed the labyrinth under the house of merchants in Shroudharbor for centuries.

The kissing stopped, and their faces hovered close, while they gazed into one another’s eyes.

“Well?” Claw asked in a ragged whisper.

“I didn’t hear any question,” Varg teased him. “No words left your mouth.” Just as he said that, his eyes traveled to the said mouth that just earlier met his in one of the most mind-blowing kisses in his life.

“I did use my tongue to let you know the truth,” Claw pointed out.

“Ah, sure. So this is it?” Varg asked, hoping that he would be contradicted right away.

“Not if I can help it and you don’t bite,” the reply came.

Varg wrapped his arms around Claw’s shoulders, pulling their bodies together, their thickening lengths brushing together in the warm water. “Are you sure you don’t want me to bite? I’d say that you have the thickest hide I’ve seen in a long, long time.”

“Do you plan on biting my ass?” Claw teased him, laughing.

Varg smirked in kind. “Not only that.” To make his point, he angled his head and went straight for the bearshifter’s thick neck.

He bit playfully, earning a sucked in breath from the other in a moment. So, the bear could be teased too if needed. The thought was comforting. Varg wasn’t that ready yet to lose all control over what was happening. Even more, having someone as strong as Claw surrender to his whims, even if of the sweetest kind, offered its own rewards.

The bear suddenly hoisted him in his arms, and Varg protested half-heartedly while he was dragged to the shore and forced on his back in the tall grass. “Hey, I couldn’t have bitten you too hard,” he said. “I made sure not to break the skin.”

“Good thing you didn’t,” Claw growled above him. “I would have repaid you in kind and taken a chunk out of one of your butt cheeks.”

“You can’t mean that,” Varg said and laughed. “How would I be able to walk around, with a chunk missing out of one of my butt cheeks?”

“You’d get used to it,” Claw pointed out and spread his legs, pressing Varg down with the weight of his body, their hard shafts pressed together.

Varg laughed and buried both hands in Claw’s shaggy mane. Their mouths clashed again, and this time, it was needier and stronger than before. Maybe he wouldn’t get an answer about Claw’s intentions to join them or not just yet, but at least he would have this. Varg didn’t mind a snack before the banquet, he thought and reconsidered calling what Claw was wielding a snack the next moment as Claw pressed his hips down harder.

“A lot of time spent with nothing but your paw as company?” he teased the bearshifter.

Claw growled in his ear and this time bit on it hard, making Varg yelp and beg to be let go. “I have you now, and you’ll get more than my paw ever endured.”

Varg didn’t pretend he didn’t like it as their bodies came together, a groan sounding from deep within him as the larger man entered him. That was the power of a man, of a shifter, one stronger than him, and surrendering like that was all that mattered at the moment.

“Do you think your kitty lover will get jealous?” Claw asked him while moving carefully yet powerfully above him, in and out, with slow controlled moves.

Varg felt sweat forming on his skin, pouring from all his pores from the exertion of welcoming the other’s large girth and length. “You know he will, and yet, you came on to me like this without hesitating.”

“You’ve flaunted that delicious rump in front of me long enough, I reckon,” Claw said. “The kitty will have to forgive me.”

“Being sorry about it won’t cut it with him,” Varg said through his teeth, as he fought both the pleasure and the almost unbearable intensity of having someone built like the bearshifter invading his body.

“Who said I was sorry?” Claw replied in kind and grunted. “I know I only had my paw as company for centuries, but what have you done with this ass, puppy? Kept it like a precious flower?”

“Nothing like that,” Varg said and snorted. “Just that all my lovers usually expect me to be the initiator, not the one to welcome them inside my body.”

“Ah, I see. I might have surprised you, after all, then,” Claw whispered and kissed him again.

“I hoped you would surprise me like this,” Varg replied in turn and kissed back. “I’m glad my rump, as you call it, won’t remain neglected while you’re still with us.”

“And I promise that I’ll remain with you at least for a while.”

It wasn’t a clear answer, not that Varg expected one, not in the throes of passion as they were right now. Still, it was something, and it meant that the bearshifter only needed to be nudged in the right direction to finally cave in and admit that he wanted to be part of their little group.

Just like Toru and Duril had the uncanny ability to complete him in the most incredible ways, his body came together with that of the bearshifter like no one else in the world could make it happen.

***

Toru shook his head, flicked his ears, and yawned, as Duril prodded him gently to wake up.

“Have you finished writing?” he asked.

Duril stretched a little and worked a kink in his neck. “Not just yet, but it’s almost dinner time, and I bet that everyone would like something warm in their bellies.”

Toru set his chin on Duril’s thigh while he stretched on the ground. “I’m hungry, but not that hungry.”

“Are you all right?” Duril asked in a teasing voice. “I never thought the day would come when you said something like that.”

“I’m still hungry,” Toru protested. “Only that…” he trailed off, unsure of how to ask the question that had been plaguing his mind lately.

“Yes?” Duril rubbed one of his ears, and then the other, making him purr a little more. “What is it, Toru?”

“Do you believe in dreams? I mean, can they come true? No, that’s not actually what I want to ask. Is there any truth in them?”

Duril took a few moments to ponder over his question. “There are witches that could tell you more. I don’t know a lot. But I do believe that there is power in dreams, as there is in our minds.”

Toru sighed. “It’s just that I have this dream that comes to me over and over.”

“A dream that repeats itself can hold the face of the future. That is something I once heard a witch say,” Duril explained. “I don’t know if that means that our dreams can predict what awaits us, but I think that some truth exists in such words.”

“If spoken by an old witch, they definitely can,” Toru admitted. “Old witches are weird but useful. Like Agatha.”

“Yes, like Agatha. What can you tell me about your dream?” Duril asked. “I’m no dream reader, but maybe it would help if you talked about it.”

“That’s the thing, that it comes and goes, but I never seem to remember clearly what it was about. It’s all about walking a path, that’s what I can tell you right now.”

“Then it must have everything to do with the path of destiny you’re walking on right now,” Duril offered his opinion. “What else do you remember?”

“There’s someone else with me. Not you or Varg, or at least as far as I can tell.” Toru stopped for a moment, searching his mind for the elusive memories. “It’s another tiger,” he added, wondering at the power of his words as he immediately felt his heart swelling in his chest.

“Another tiger? Not your tiger shape?” Duril asked.

“No, that’s what I feel. It’s another tiger,” Toru said with conviction.

“Now that we’re thinking about it,” Duril began, “the tome Elidias gave me in Shroudharbor, and we have with us, talks about another tiger, too, right?”

“Yeah.” Toru felt the need to scratch his head in thought, but he was in his tiger shape, and letting Duril caress his head felt too good to change. “Who do you think that is?”

“Maybe the tiger from the legend? The one that keeps on repeating? It could be one of your ancestors,” Duril suggested.

Toru pressed his chin against the healer’s thigh. “I don’t want to have anything to do with anyone who abandons shapeshifters while they’re cubs.”

“I’m not talking about your parents,” Duril said. “This ancestor could be someone who came a long time before them. And you don’t know for sure what happened so you didn’t get the chance to meet the ones who gave you life.”

“The people who raised me said they abandoned me.”

“What if they didn’t know the truth? What if they were simply cruel?” Duril pointed out. “Deceit and lies live in many hearts, no matter if we want to believe it or not.”

Toru wasn’t ready to let go of the dark feelings he nurtured toward those who hadn’t loved him enough to care for him, regardless of the difficulties in his life. How could a small cub be a burden to them? When he was very young, he didn’t even eat that much.

“Maybe,” Duril continued while stroking his fur, “this quest will bring you close to answering the questions you have about your childhood, too.”

Toru shifted into his human shape and turned his back on his friend and lover. “I don’t have any questions about that. I hope this dream that comes to me over and over is more than just that. Else, I don’t have any use for it, and it should stop coming to me anymore.”

It appeared that Duril knew him too well to insist. A warm hand rested on his shoulder.

“How about you help me with dinner, after all? A bit of warm food will make you feel better.”

Toru turned and hugged Duril tightly. “You are my family, you and Varg. But I cannot help you with dinner because I might end up eating everything before you even manage to start cooking.”

Duril laughed and rubbed his back. “Then how about you go spend some time with Varg and Claw? I bet they miss your company already, left alone as they’ve been all day long. That way, you also help me keep a couple of other hungry mouths away from my cooking preparations.”

That he could do. Toru smiled and kissed Duril briefly. “I’ll go. I’m sure they ate a lot of fruit, those two. How can they not like meat as much as I do?” he wondered out loud.

“I think they do,” Duril replied. “Only they’re older and used to eating whatever is available so they don’t go hungry.”

Toru scoffed. “I’ll only eat fruit if there’s nothing else.” He could be as grownup as Varg and Claw if that was what it took to gain more of Duril’s love and respect.

What he earned right away was another kiss and a pinch on the cheek. “Just go. I need some time to get the food ready. And don’t worry; there will be meat in it. Claw found some desert spiders and scorpions and got enough from them.”

“Eww.” Toru scrunched up his nose. “I don’t need to know everything that goes into your pot. But you’re cooking, so it will be delicious, I’m sure,” he added quickly.

It was true. Not only because he loved Duril, but also because the healer truly knew how to be a good cook, and everything he made had the best taste Toru had ever experienced in his life.

***

What could have those two done all day long while Duril slaved over the pages of his tome, and Toru slept to regain his strength? Now that he thought about it, Claw and Varg had acted pretty strangely around one another at times. Clearly, they had a secret, Toru decided, and he was determined to find out what it was.

So, he turned quickly into his tiger shape and stalked quietly through the grass, belly to the ground, making sure not to make a sound. Whatever the secret the two shared, they would soon learn not to keep him and Duril in the dark. If they thought they could do that, they had to think again.

The wind brought him the unmistakable scent of his companions, and Toru approached the body of water carefully. He raised his head only when he was close enough to find Varg and Claw sleeping naked on the ground, wrapped in a tight embrace.

Toru licked his lips and his nostrils flared. So that was the secret, he concluded, and leaped soundlessly from his hiding place, right on top of the two sleeping shapes.

Varg yelped instantly, and Claw woke up with a growl. Toru avoided their swinging arms effortlessly, and brushed his tail right across their faces as he performed a quick playful leap through the air.

“What are you two doing?” he asked, fighting hard not to laugh out loud.

Much to his amusement, both Claw and Varg looked away guiltily. Ah, this was a golden opportunity, after all. Toru tensed his body as if he were about to exact punishment on trespassers and lowered his muzzle. “You two were doing something naughty,” he accused.

All of a sudden, the two shapeshifters began to talk, both at the same time.

“I told you he’d be jealous!”

“And yet, that didn’t stop you!”

“What are we going to do now?”

Toru’s eyes moved from one to the other, his amusement growing. So, they had thought that getting together like that, away from prying eyes, would make him jealous. Strangely enough, it didn’t bother him, not in the least. Of course, if it had been Duril sneaking around with Claw, he would have been very jealous. Anyone who wanted to have anything to do with Duril had to go through him for examination, and only in his presence was anything of the kind allowed to happen.

Not that he loved Varg any less, but he couldn’t quite explain what was going through his head right now. All he knew was that he was very much amused by how the two strong shapeshifters were so busy acting guilty and throwing funny accusations around as if Toru were on the point of jumping them and biting their ears for not thinking for one moment to have included him.

Ah, that was it. He faked a menacing growl and jumped between them, making them split and move away from one another. Varg’s expression was simply hilarious. His eyes were wide as saucers, and he seemed to be on the point of offering explanations of various kinds. Claw, on the other hand, didn’t look half as terrified. Toru didn’t like that the bearshifter was capable of seeing through him so easily, so he growled some more, swinging his head to and fro, making sure that his two companions couldn’t get close to one another again.

“You two,” he bellowed, “went behind my back and did this! What would Duril think of you now?” Yes, he was having so much fun, but he couldn’t mess it up by suddenly breaking into laughter.

“I’m sure Duril would understand,” Claw intervened in an appeasing voice.

“No, he won’t,” Toru insisted. “Duril does only what I want.”

To his dismay, Claw began laughing. “Really? Does he know that?”

Hmm, it looked like he hadn’t thought through his plan of punishing the two carefully enough. “Yes, he does,” he said, his voice more and more miffed. “And he’ll be so mad once he finds out.”

“Duril mad, I’d like to see that,” Claw said.

The bear couldn’t be fooled. Toru felt rightfully annoyed. Now Varg didn’t look impressed by his act anymore, either. Why did they have to be so infuriating? Even if Toru was young, it didn’t mean that he wasn’t a grownup. Their problem was that they were ancient, just like Demophios who liked running his mouth about this and that all the time.

Lost as he was in his own imaginary flights, he missed how Varg snuck behind his back and suddenly jumped him. He growled and tried to push back, but Claw rushed to the rescue, and now he was pinned down by two very strong shapeshifters.

“You two are so mean,” he blurted out as he fought to escape. He wouldn’t use his fangs and claws because they were friends, but still, they could use less force to keep him locked in their arms like that.

“And you’re no good at trying to fool us,” Claw said with a chuckle. “I wonder why you’re not jealous at all.”

“Why would I be jealous?” Toru struggled a little more.

“I’m a bit disappointed, kitty,” Varg growled in his ear before sinking his teeth into it, making him yelp. “You only care about Duril sneaking around? What about me?”

“You’re a mutt. Of course, you’d be sneaking around ‘cause that’s how mutts are. But Duril, he’s too soft, and if someone said, ‘let’s run away together’, he just might do it.”

“Do you think that little of me?”

They all stopped at Duril’s voice. He was armed with a ladle, but he didn’t look any less dangerous than if he had been carrying a long, two-handed sword. The frown on his face announced nothing good, and Toru realized, as an afterthought, that he had managed to make Duril mad after all, not Varg and Claw.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” he whined.

“I should punish you by giving you no dinner,” Duril said, swinging the ladle to point at him.

“No dinner? No food?” Toru no longer felt amused.

“And maybe I should go back to Zukh Kalegh and ask them to make me part of the horde.”

Claw and Varg both shouted in disbelief as Toru shook them off like they were nothing but ants climbing the foot of an unaware farmer. In an instant, he was all over Duril, pushing him down to the ground and pinning him with his paws against his lover’s shoulders. To his surprise, the healer started laughing. “Toru, you’re just too easy to tease,” he said in a tone that begged for his forgiveness, but also sounded amused.

“So, were you joking, just now?”

“Yes, I was. I told you I’d always stay by your side. But what exactly did Varg and Claw do that caused them to hold you down like that?”

Still, the situation could be saved, and he could emerge triumphant. “These two,” he started and gestured toward Claw and Varg, “have been sneaking about without us.”

“Ah, is that really what’s been bothering you?” Varg asked and laughed. “That we didn’t include you?”

“I didn’t say anything like that!” Toru protested right away. “It’s just that you two are not allowed to have secrets.”

“Only the two of us?” Varg leaned closer and grabbed a handful of the fur on Toru’s back. “What about you?”

“What about me? Duril and I were busy all day writing in the tome.”

“Did you write one letter even?” Varg teased him.

“I helped,” Toru said.

“He did,” Duril came to the rescue. “I couldn’t have done so much work today if he hadn’t decided to take a long nap.”

Toru shifted into his human form so that everyone could clearly see the pout on his face. He pushed himself up and away from Duril and turned away from them all. “I’m not a burden,” he said.

Suddenly, they all fell silent, and instantly Duril’s arm was wrapped around his shoulders. The healer’s gentle face was close to his. “You’re anything but, Toru. We wouldn’t all be in this adventure, having the time of our lives if you hadn’t come to upend everything we knew, love us and cause us to embark on the most important quest of all.”

“What’s that?” Toru asked, still fishing for compliments, now that Duril saw how easily he could hurt him if he so chose.

“The quest of saving the world,” Duril said with solemnity.

“It’s true, kitty.” Varg and Claw went around them and stood in front of him. “Because of you, we’ll become legends. Forgive us for enjoying joking around a bit too much.”

Toru pretended to be upset just a little bit more, but he couldn’t keep up the act for too long. He opened his arms, and soon he was embraced by his other two best friends. They weren’t entirely right, though; he was the lucky one to have such incredible companions to walk the dangerous path that lay ahead with him.

TBC

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