John Keeler's Story

John's dream by comparison was beautiful in every sense of the word. He awoke in the dark mist of the twilight, in a forest that looked identical to the ones he and Riley played in as cubs. Tall dark trees that looked the same in the dim light and the mist where splayed across the land, appearing to be a dark blue-gray. He was in his lion form, regal and handsome with his tail sweeping low and brushing against the ferns at the base of the trees. Far ahead a silhouette stood in contrast to the rising moonlight. A black stag with piercing yellow eyes and columns of white hot breath streaming from its nostrils as it raised it's head to sniff the air. Something flashed to John's right and a large white head raised slightly from the foliage. Riley. His fur positively glowed in the moonlight almost as if he himself where a second moon, his stripes contrasting and giving him form. He turned momentarily his vibrant blue eyes connecting with his and he smiled. John could almost hear the sweet chuff Riley made whenever they greeted in this way, but he didn't make it. They where hunting, Riley would never risk a kill for something so silly. John lowered himself against the ground and approached from the side, carefully, quietly. A flick of Riley's bright tail signaled and they both bolted for the stag. John was completely distracted by the sheer beauty as Riley leapt from the bushes, the muscles all along his body rippling through the air, his ears and the tufts at the sides of his fur trembling with every fall of his paws. It took John's breath away. He blinked, and suddenly they where in an endless field. Riley was in his human form all the sudden, eyes as dead-set as before, bare feet hitting the ground with such strength it was as if he was still in his tiger form. They where dressed in odd tribal clothing. Stuff John couldn't recognize but looked incredibly familiar in a way that made his stomach wrench. Loincloths crafted from fur and leather. Riley's tail fell over the stuff and trailed behind acting as a counter balance for every turn he made. That tail. John sprinted at full speed and instead of diving for the stag he tackled Riley full on causing them both to tumble for several feet before rolling down a hill that wasn't there before. Riley landed on top of him, snarling at him angrily for loosing his kill. John glanced over his shoulder to see the stag vanish into vapor and looked at Riley, breaking into a chuckle. "Shut up, you got your kill." John said smiling playfully, taking Riley's hands into his.

John let out a guttural purring sound and mumbled in his sleep as his dream took an even more pleasant turn.

John for sure did not want to wake up the next morning, his dream ended just at the best part. He'd been making happy lion noises for several minutes before waking. "Hmmmh Riley....heheh oi....not there..." He huffed and rolled onto his back, it was still dark, as was natural for the big cats to rise early, regardless John squinted and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "D'jah sleep alright?" He asked with his morning slur.

“I did after I realized where I was and who I was next to.” He smiled. He looked down and noticed a wet spot on John’s boxers in addition to his morning tent. “I don’t know what I was doing to you in that dream, but if you tell me, I’d be happy to do it in real life.” He gave a sly grin as he grabbed at the tent. He kissed him. “But that’ll have to wait ‘til later. You have to get me in to see the chief first. Then after we take down the hunter that’s terrorizing the tribe, I’ll make a lot of your dreams come true.” He rolled over again, grabbing John’s arm and wrapping it around him again. He cuddled there for a little while, his tail swishing about against John’s legs, before they decided to get something to eat. All that there was to eat was the venison from last night and a few eggs and Riley wasn’t sure there was going to be enough for both of them. He wanted more than anything to go hunting and bring home a fresh kill for the two of them to eat. “Whoa.” Riley thought. “Home? I didn’t think of my old house, I thought of here. With John. My Johnny, he’s my home. He’s all the home I need. As long as I’m with him, it doesn’t matter where we are or what we have to face.” He got out of the bed and put on a pair of sweatpants. He wasn’t sure how he’d gotten stripped to his boxers without being woken up, but he didn’t care. He let his tail hang out of the back of his pants, it was nice not to have to hide his feline parts. He pulled an old worn out t-shirt he’d had for years and pulled it on over his head it just barely left his mark exposed. He admired it in the mirror of John’s bathroom, what little bit he could see of it anyway. It was still a little tender, but it was a reminder. A reminder that all this was real and not some perfect dream. He left the bathroom and met John in the kitchen. He was sure John had noticed him gazing out into space with a funny grin. He had the last of the deer and was making some eggs for the two of them. He thought it was cute that he remembered the way he liked his eggs, scrambled, even though he was having his over easy.

“So are you sure I can’t go get us something to eat? There’s not gonna be enough deer there for both of us. If you come with me, technically I’m still in your custody.” He flashed the smile that he always used to use on the few occasions when he had the idea that would get the two of them in trouble as kids. “Please??” He pleaded and made his eyes all big and cute. “We’ll just get something small to have with the deer, nothing bigger than a wolf I promise.” He used his cutest smile to try and lure him into the hunting trip.

"I don’t know what I was doing to you in that dream, but if you tell me, I’d be happy to do it in real life.” John chuckled, the sound coming out as sort of a throaty chuff, vibrating deeper in his throat then the sound Tigers usually made and tapering off as Riley kissed him. Bits of John's dream lingered as he wrapped his arms around Riley, licking gently at the back of his ears, his tail papping against his legs. "Can you blame me? With that tail...and that tongue..." John muttered softly brushing his fingers along Riley's shoulder and gently massaging his upper back, gradually rubbing down to his waist. He kneaded his fingers into Riley's lower back with strong yet gentle hands, rubbing in small circles lower and lower till he got to the base of his tail, another sensitive point unique to weres. Like cats who raised their bum and curled their tails high when rubbed there, it triggered an automatic sensation of deep pleasure like a mix between getting a massage in just the right spot and fiddling with an erogenus zone.

John grinned, satisfied with Riley's unintended gasp and felt Riley pushing his hips back against him as he stimulated the spinal nerves there, tugging and massaging right where the tail met with his body at the highest point of his ass crack. John chuckled and ducked a sailing pillow as he went to get out of bed leaving Riley with the same unfulfilled heaviness in his boxers he'd awoken to. Though not at quite the same level. John's cackling broke the early morning air in the still dark cabin and he went off to see about breakfast.

“So are you sure I can’t go get us something to eat? There’s not gonna be enough deer there for both of us. If you come with me, technically I’m still in your custody.” He flashed the smile that he always used to use on the few occasions when he had the idea that would get the two of them in trouble as kids. John let out an exasperated sigh, instinctively avoiding eye contact with those beautiful blues. "Riley..." He started. Riley crouched so his chin was on the counter, tail flicking behind him high in the air. The classic pleading look. John' couldn't! He pleaded and made his eyes all big and cute. “We’ll just get something small to have with the deer, nothing bigger than a wolf I promise.” He used his cutest smile to try and lure him into the hunting trip.

John's mouth twitched at the corners, fighting to keep his stern, alpha boy expression. It was the fleeting remains of what he could remember about his dream that tipped the scale. Come on, there's a slight chance that dream is some sort of prophesy you know.

"Fine....after we finish breakfast we can sneak out grab a fox or a few rabbits." It wasn't quite the stag dream but it would be fun regardless. He needed a chance to stretch his paws.

Riley smiled big knowing he had won and John caved. He still had it, he could still get John to do what he wanted if he used the big cute eyes and flicked his tail a bit. He wrapped his arms around John in a big hug and kissed him. “Thank you Johnny, you have no idea how much I needed this.” He gushed before sitting down to eat. He was being serious in the statement, though. He did need this; he hadn’t had a chance to hunt in nine years and while it was something instinctive, like riding a bike, he feared he might be a bit rusty and he didn’t want to slip up when he was needed most. He went over everything in his mind that he knew about stalking prey, from tracking it to picking up the scent and so on, until he had gone over a full hunt in his mind. He was now in his hunting mind set as he ate. There was also a large part of him that was giddy with excitement over being able to do what he enjoyed most. He noticed John looking at him with a loving expression on his face. He smiled at John and he gave a smile and nod as if he knew what was going through Riley’s mind. He probably did. When he used to go hunting, he always had to mentally prepare himself for the task ahead of him. He was great at what he did, but the cold fact that this made him a killer never escaped his mind. This was why he never killed anything unless it was for food or self defense. Most tigers ignored this fact and allowed pure instinct to dictate their hunting. He believed this was what allowed him to be such a good hunter, he didn’t just follow instinct, but also would try to put himself in the mind and emotions of his prey and was able to correct his instincts accordingly. This also made it harder to deliver the death blow to his prey. He’d made it a habit to mentally thank the creature for it’s sacrifice as he delivered the fatal blow to it.

He was eating much slower than he should have been for someone who was in a hurry to go hunting, but that’s what happens when your mind wanders. He finished his deer and eggs a few minutes after John had put his dishes in the sink. He did the same, then put on his shoes. He was ready to go.

John opened the door and looked all around to be sure no one was watching the two of them. It was still a little dark out but it wouldn’t be for long. They walked quietly to the edge of the woods and both of them shifted to their full animal form. Riley took the lead as they crept silently through the underbrush. Riley allowed his senses to go feral and within seconds he had picked up the scent of a canine. It was bigger than a fox, but smaller than a wolf. It was close and had been in the area recently. It was a coyote. They were common in this state, but they had been severely over hunted in this area. “Wow they really have been scared about going out if these guys are coming back.” Riley thought. He saw the paw marks in the still wet earth as he followed the scent and he knew he was on the right track. He signaled for John to follow him with a silent flick of his tail, as if to say “This way.” As they got closer Riley’s ears twitched slightly at the sound of rustling not far away. Riley stopped dead in his tracks and followed the tracks visually to where they lead to a tight grouping of bushes where he barely saw a reddish-brown fluff of a tail. He saw the twitching of it. The coyote knew he was being hunted. He was scared. Riley had faced this before and knew the best thing was to strike quickly. He lowered his front half of his body, tightening his back leg muscles, his butt wiggling in the universal cat body language for “Target acquired”. He launched himself into the air at the bush. He landed with his claws sinking into the shoulders of the coyote, pinning the creature to the ground. He saw the fear in his eyes and he quickly thanked the coyote for it’s sacrifice, then sank his jaws into it’s neck and twisted his head snapping it like a twig. The smell of blood filled his nose and triggered a huge adrenaline rush. His primal instinct took over and he shook the coyote around insuring it was dead, then began to rip the carcass open get at the meat just under the skin. He turned and moved to the side to allow John space to share the fresh kill. He gave him a look in the eyes that said “C’mon it’s not getting any deader.” Riley was especially enjoying the kill, not just because he was sharing it with John, but because he had never had coyote before due to the over hunting.

John came in and took a decent sized chunk out of the kill as well, his muzzle instantly becoming red with the blood. This was a proper meal. Steak was OK made his human side happy to have a prime cut of greasy fatty tender meat, but this was a proper meal. Fresh and bloody.John licked at the skin to peel it back from the meat and pawed at the rear end to roll it to face him. His heavy paw rolled the back end while the front end stayed pinned by Riley, chewing at it and the spine popped sickeningly followed by the short grinding of vertibre. John took a good bite out of the stomach area, and the meat that connected the thigh to the body.

The two ate until there was nothing edible left then gnawed at the bones, sucking the marrow out of them. John moved over to Riley and groomed at the blood that remained on his muzzle, licking the leftovers off his face before sitting down and attending to his own paws. They took their time for a little while, acting like proper cats who laze about and enjoy the sun on their fur. John lay down and rolled onto his back, pawing at Riley from below like a kitten, his powerful paws would feel like someone slugging a fur coated bat at them but Riley was equally as strong and it didn't really hurt him any more than a light teasing punch on the shoulder. John opened his maw and let out a rumbling growl, snapping at him, his entire mane shaking with his movements. They played for a little while, gentle lazy playing before John decided it was time for them to go see the Chief. They'd put it off long enough.

Riley followed John back into the little cabin city as it were. The two shifted back to human as they got to the edge of the woods. He kept his head down as he didn’t want to seem too happy to be here. Seeing as he was supposed to be in the custody of an enforcer, he figure he should look like he was in his custody rather than in his company. They made there way to the Chief’s cabin. It was actually the equivalent of a cabin-like mansion. They entered through the giant wooden doors and the waiting room was still the cold sterile place it always was. The room next to it was the one that gave him the chills, though. The throne room. They entered the room quietly. The throne room was just as he remembered it and dreamt about it. The room looked more like a court room than a throne room with the whole place being paneled with wood, only instead of the judge’s bench there was a large throne carved from a huge tree. There in the throne sat the chief. He was an older man in his sixties, thought you’d never be able to tell by the way he looked. He was still muscular and fierce-looking for a man of his age. His skin was quite a contrast to Riley’s; it was a dark bronze while Riley’s was a pale snow white.

John cleared his throat to get the chief’s attention. “Sir would you be so kind as to grant us an audience?” He asked with a bowed head.

“Yes, you may approach the throne.” He said in the purest alpha voice Riley had ever heard.

The two of them walked to stand in front of the throne, heads down, then knelt in front of it.

“You have brought a banished one back to the tribe, for what reason did you desecrate our sacred land?”

Riley could see the rage build up on John’s face through the corner of his eye. He saw his teeth clench and his face turn to a snarl. “He’s here to appeal his banishment.” He said through his teeth, trying to hold back the disgust he was feeling.

“Very well, approach.” Riley took a step forward. “On what grounds do you wish to dispute your banishment?”

“On the grounds that my father was emotionally impaired when he banished me.”

“His logic was sound, you’re unable or unwilling to add to the genetic diversity of the tribe and that’s grounds for banishment.”

“Unless one has a genetic defect which could be harmful to the gene pool. I am a white tiger and that is an abnormality which causes me to be a more noticeable target. A genetic flaw, which is grounds for repeal.”

“That is not just grounds.”

“Then how about the fact that a hunter is taking this tribe out one by one and I’m the best chance you have of taking him out? Is that a good enough reason to let me come home?” Riley growled. “Why don’t you just come out and say it? I was kicked out because I’m gay and you have no intention of letting me back in. I went through hell the last nine years, to everything and everyone I loved ripped from me because of who I share a bed with. You know what, I don’t give a fuck anymore. I could claim the law of shadow retribution, but you’d go against that too I’m sure. So here’s what I’m gonna do; I’m gonna take down this hunter, because he owes me blood. Whether you give me permission to be on this land or not I will take him down. You can send your thugs after me if you want, but I’ve tangled with them before and they won’t win this time.” He turned and went to leave “C’mon, John, let’s go.”

“Wait!” The chief demanded. “What’s that on your neck? You’ve been marked! You dare disgrace yourself and your family by allowing yourself to be marked by another male?!”

“I have nothing more to say to you and I don’t have to justify my love life to you or anyone else.”

The chief immediately turned to John, who stood beside Riley the entire time. "And what of you? After all we as a tribe have done for you! You where dropped on our territory, orphaned no less by hunters. Is this how you betray us, lion? After what we've done for you you mark this abomination as your own?"

It took every ounce of past respect that John held for the man for him not to jump at the man and tear out his throat as he sat. It was evident in the guttural sounds he made and the fierce green glow his eyes seem to inhabit. He clenched his hands into fists, his claws digging deep into his palms, reminding him to keep his cool. Blood dripped from his fists and puddled on the floor of the throne room. Regardless the Chief seemed nothing if a bit amused by the sight. A smirk played at his lips as if he dared John to attack him. He held very high confidence in his physical abilities no doubt shipping the dead corpses of rebellers and challengers out for years.

"I did not ask for your kindness chief. Not once. I obeyed your laws because I believed them to be true, and because this is the place I was raised in but I am not tiger. I have no reason to follow your breeding rules. Frankly I find them insulting. Riley is no abomination any more than I was as a lion in a tiger's den. He was a part of your tribe, a part of your family as much as he was MY family, even more so. For you to treat another tiger the way that you do, that is not leadership. That is cowardice and if you don't put that aside even to save your own skins than I hope that the hunters get to you just as the hunters got to my true family."

John then stepped forward, transforming half into his full were form, mane sprawling down his back and chest, canines sharp and long. "Riley is part of my pride now. He is under my protection, mark my words any beast of yours who dare harm us is fair game. I will kill them myself." He snarled, a true alpha threat on his tongue. "You will not get in our way"

With that John left with Riley, he wasn't sure how long they would allow them to stay within territory after that but John was prepared to fight every tiger in order for Riley to get to the hunter and kill him. It was his right. Blood for blood. He doubted that the Chief would actually send tigers after them though. Even he understood the need for vengence. It was those who found out that both Riley AND John where gay that John worried about. They would choose on their own accord to chase them out if word spread fast enough. "Let's get home" He murmured to Riley, looking around a little anxiously. For John to be worried.....Frankly it was about time for him to be worried about what would happen to him should the tribe find out he too was gay. He'd been playing brave the whole time but frankly he had a right to be concerned. He had a high spot in the tribe before then...the hammer was going to come down as hard as it had for Riley there was no doubt about it, perhaps even worse since he had a place of command.

As the two left the chief’s log mansion, Riley couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of dread. They had both just stood up to and against the chief. This would not be met with smiles and warm embraces.

“Where exactly is home?” Riley asked genuinely confused. “We won’t be able to stay here for long, the chief has probably already called his enforcers to remove us from the territory or worse, kill us. “ Riley was on the verge of a panic attack again. Thinking quickly, John had an idea to calm Riley quickly.

“Calm down, he’s not gonna do that in broad daylight, he’s a conniving bastard, if he has us killed, he’ll send the enforcers after dark. We got one more thing to do before we have to worry.”

Riley could tell that John was scared as well, but trying to maintain his composure for his sake. Riley didn’t ask questions, but just followed John as he seemed to be going back to his house, but at the last minute turned and in a second Riley knew what he was doing. A few minutes later they were standing in front of the door he had seen all his life, but was never more scared to walk through than he was right now. He knocked and heard footsteps coming to the door. It opened to reveal his mom, in her classic apron she wore every time she was cooking. Her hair was highlighted with subtle notes of grey, her skin was still bronzed with the slightest hint of crows feet at the corners of her eyes. She let out a sudden gasp and she started crying. ”Riley, is that really you?” She asked as she gave him a huge mom-hug.

“Yeah Mom, it me.” He let out through his own tears. “I missed you.”

She let the guys in and closed the door. They all went to the living room and sat down. “So how are you holding up, you know, with Dad gone?”

“I’m doing ok, I miss him dearly, but I’m making it. So how are you even here? Your father said we’d never see you again, that you refused to contribute to the genetic diversity of the tribe.”

“He never said anything else?”

“He said that was all I needed to know.”

“It was less of a refusal, and more of an inability. You see Mom, Dad banished me because I’m gay.”

“Oh, I figured it was something like that.” She said with a kind smile that only she knew how to give. She looked at John then back to Riley. “You imprinted didn’t you?”

“How did you know?” Riley asked baffled at her observation.

“Your father imprinted on me, remember? I know the look. Your aunt is still pissed at me for ‘stealing’ her man.” She laughed then looked at John. “But I must say I was surprised that you imprinted outside your species, I didn’t think it worked that way. But then I never really understood how any of that stuff worked.”

She was dropping bomb after bomb on them.

“Well I could have done worse.” Riley said as he put an arm around John’s shoulders.

“And it looks like you finally figured out your own feelings, Johnny. I didn’t think you were pestering Hank about where he sent Riley just because you were curious. So how long are you here for? Did you come here for shadow retribution?”

“I’m not sure how much longer we’re going to be able to stay Mom. We both kinda just told off the chief. He was never going to let me back into the tribe even with shadow retribution. Then he went off on John for marking me. And we both made threats. We’re kinda screwed”

“Well, then you boys must want a good meal while you can still get one.” She smiled then went to work in the kitchen putting the two of them to work helping her where ever she needed it. She was right, the two of them needed one good meal, together as a family. A moment of happiness before all hell broke loose.

John's ears briefly went red when she'd mentioned how he'd pestered Riley's father after Riley had gone missing. He hadn't even mentioned that to Riley. The shouting matches he had with the old man trying to guilt him into explaining himself. He gave a light smile in thanks but allowed the two to greet each other. She had always been a mother to him but John also had a sense of respect for her that went beyond that of a parental figure. He'd felt the same thing for Riley's father as well before Riley's banishment and it had probably added to his anger towards the man. A twinge of regret surfaced as he realized the anger he'd harbored towards him in his final days.

"A meal sounds like the best idea I've heard." John said, smiling. It really would do them all good to sit together, eat, and be a family. He rubbed his hands together his expression turning eager. "What's for supper then, Mrs. Morgan?"

“It’s spaghetti, of course, it’s Sunday. I always make spaghetti on Sunday.” She laughed. John always used to come over on Sundays before Riley imprinted on him. He really should have remembered that, but given the currant situation, it was understandable.

While they were eating, Riley’s tail slipped through the space between the back and the seat of the chair he was sitting in and it was swishing back and forth as if it had a mind of it’s own, the way it always did. He suddenly felt something fluffy brush against it. He glanced behind his seat and saw that John’s tail was sticking out from his seat too. He thought it was odd because he usually kept it shifted away or hidden. He dismissed it and went back to his food. A few seconds later he felt it again. He glanced over at John who was looking down at his plate trying hard not to smirk. He waited until he felt it again then he wrapped his own tail around John’s and tugged a little bit. John turned and looked at him. Riley smirked and rubbed his tail against John’s. It was like holding hands under the table, but they still had both hands free for eating.

After dinner, it felt as though night was approaching far too quickly and Riley had one more thing he was hoping to do before they left. He walked down the hall and opened the door that hadn’t been opened in nine years. He looked inside, everything was exactly as he had left it. He walked inside and it was like walking back in time. His backpack was next to his bed still full of text books and homework he never got to turn in. His bed was still in a big heap of blankets. All his video games and old toys and everything he had ever held dear was in here as if he had just left yesterday. His eyes started watering up. He walked over to his dresser, on top was a picture from when he was only twelve and he and Johnny had gone fishing with Riley’s dad. His dad was in the center and each of them was on either side holding up a fish. He couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. He missed having a family, he missed his father and he missed having a home. He was crying like a little baby as he went through his old clothes and pulled out a few things that he missed and would still fit him. He inhaled deeply as he was going through the clothes, he was amazed by how much his scent had changed over the years, then he picked up something odd. He smelled John, no, Johnny. He followed the scent to his closet and traced it to an old hoody. The memory came flooding back to him. They were walking home from school, shortly before he was banished when he thought he could handle hanging out with Johnny again, and it started to rain. Johnny had an extra hoody in his backpack and he let Riley borrow it. Riley had hung it up to dry in his closet but never got around to giving it back. He took it off the hanger and held it to his nose and inhaled. All of Johnny’s teenaged hormones were still super concentrated in the scent of the shirt. He turned to see John standing at the door, a look of concern on his face, Riley still holding the shirt to his nose. He let his arms down and walked up to him giving him the shirt, his cheeks wet from the streams of tears. “Here ya go, I meant to give this back to you. Better late than never, right?” He smiled through the tears.

(I wrote this just before going to bed. Hijacked your char for 2 lines just for this cute scene I had to It was just too beautiful not to you can smack me for it later)

John walked into Riley's room, breathing in all the memories from when they where young, and more. There it was, his old scent, for a moment he was washed completely in it and he could smell it all, the rich hormones, the stress, the anger, the lust surely if there was any place Riley had to unbox everything he felt it was in here, in the privacy of his old room. Of course in any teenager's room it would be the same but this was Riley's room, Riley's little scent history. John had been in this room every day when he was younger but he could never recognized the scents nor could he have known what they where directed to. They held a different meaning to John now as he went back in time, knowing it was he who was the center of a good portion of it, good and bad. If Riley wasn't right there John was sure he'd coat himself good in these sweet old memories and let them take him back. He twitched his nose as Riley held out the sweatshirt to him, his old sweatshirt the one Riley'd borrowed ages ago. He smiled softly, coming forward to wipe the tears from Riley's cheeks, "You should keep it, I don't think it'll fit me anymore. Might still fit you though." He said, he then slid his arms low around his waist and took Riley into his arms. "I missed this Riley.....all of this. So....so much.....but you know what...here close your eyes. Close them."

He smiled and chuckled as Riley closed his eyes, unsure what to expect. John closed his eyes as well "Just imagine. You and I in a house so far from here that our tyrant chief here has never even heard it. Imagine a nice cabin house at the edge of a field at the bottom of a beautiful mountain full of deer and rabbit and fox and maybe even moose-"

Riley smirked and chuckled, "-So canada"

"Not Canada....maybe Canada, or Scandanavia you never know they might have moose in Scandanavia." John chuckled as well.

"I don't speak Scandanavian..."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it" John butted in to Riley's laughter. "My point is, we're going to find a territory that we will love and we will own far away from here. No more worries No more sadness..." He looked into Riley's eyes gently, a very human gesture were felines rarely did it except either to intimidate or show complete trust and love. Riley did have the most beautiful eyes a crisp icy blue that was also deep as if someone took the bluest ocean water they could find and trapped it in an ice crystal. John kissed him softly, lovingly once and again before resting his forehead against Riley's. "I feel like I grew up the biggest idiot Riley. The biggest fucking idiot to be missing out on the greatest thing I could ever have."

John lifted his head and gently swept back a strand of Riley's hair. "Say, how about we chill here for the night, you can play me a few times in mario cart like we used to and we can sleep here and go after the hunter in the morning."

"I feel like I grew up the biggest idiot Riley. The biggest fucking idiot to be missing out on the greatest thing I could ever have."

“I didn’t exactly make it easy for you. It’s not like I came up to you and said ‘hey let’s go out’. We could go on for days about what we coulda or shoulda done, but it won’t change the way things are now. We both could have done a lot of things differently but we wouldn’t be the same people we are today. So I had to wait forever to get to be with you, but NOW I’m yours and you’re mine and it was worth the wait.”

John lifted his head and brushed a few loose strands out of his face. Riley loved this, the boyfriend things that seemed to come so naturally to John despite having no experience in any of that.

"Say, how about we chill here for the night, you can play me a few times in Mario kart like we used to and we can sleep here and go after the hunter in the morning?" Riley was a little worried about the enforcers coming after them, but when John had looked in his eyes earlier he felt nothing but safety and comfort looking into those pale green eyes of his. He knew that John would never allow anyone to hurt him and Riley felt the same. If there was anything certain about weres that Riley had learned, it was that you never come between some one who’s imprinted and the one they imprinted on, and you never try to hurt a mate that a lion has claimed. If the enforcers were going to take either of them out, they’d need an army.

“That sounds great. Let me just tell my mom what’s going on.” He said as John started kissing his neck. “Dude, stop that tickles.” Riley chuckled. He went out to the living room and saw his mom sitting and watching tv. “Hey Mom, John and I were thinking about spending the night, you know take one last walk down memory lane. You don’t mind do you?”

“Of course you boys can stay the night.”

“Thanks, we’ll be in my room probably for the rest of the night, so if you need us for anything just knock.”

He went back to his old room and shut the door behind him. He saw John sprawled out across Riley’s bed. A sly grin formed across Riley’s face. Plots forming in his mind. For the first time in his life he had Johnny right where he wanted him. He wasn’t about to let this opportunity slip through his fingers. So many fantasies he had had about seducing Johnny in this very room and now here he was just lying there on his bed.

“What are you smiling at?” John asked looking a bit confused by his grin.

“What do you say we make this interesting? We do a little racing and for every race you win I have to take off an article of clothing, and for every race I win you have to take off an article of clothing. Sound fun?" The pure lust practically glowing in his eyes.

Sable eyes edged over the surface of the water as the full moon illuminated them. While Zola glided effortlessly and silently across the moon shimmering lake, the thrashing ruckus and roars of the bears could continue to be heard. "Note to self Bear Territory is not friendly. I swear I have never been so waterlogged in all my life!"

Zola spent the last three days playing hide and seek with the bears. Her only saving grace, in this territory, was the network of waterways, the perfect places to lose her scent. By the second day, Zola could smell other scents in the forest that were not foreign to her, but were so faint that she could not entirely make them out. Not only were there these disturbing scents but also a 7 ft. tall brown bear, with fearsome and wild eyes that kept tracking her. "I thought that these damn bears would all be hibernating by now, " Zola said with an overwhelming exasperation.

Muscles tensed up as her swim went from an effortless glide to a strained paddle. "Shadows of the shoreline seem a ways," as her head bobbed up and down in the water. To trick her aching body into keep going Zola forced her mind to concentrate on the clues of the last few weeks. These clues are what lead her here, and hopefully to the hunter that killed her family.

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(several weeks earlier)

It was late at night or early in the morning, depending on how you wish to define it, nevertheless it was a sleepless event for Zola. She had reached a dead-end on her missions and her mind was spinning with what she should do next. Zola was discouraged and thought a few beers would take the edge off her disappointment. She slipped on her black fleece jacket and left her Bed and Breakfast quietly as not to disturb the innkeeper.

Down the street was a small convenient store, that Zola frequent often, tonight she could hear the sickly puttering and grinding of a some vehicle trying to stop. " I bet that is some redneck's pickup." She said, quickening her pace to find out if she was right. As she rounded the corner she saw a scruffy backwoods guy and a woman collide, obviously they were not friends.

"Hey! Lady I was just making sure you're ok!" The redneck blurted.

"You get away from me!" She snapped and ran to her car.

The redneck walked slowly into the store. As Zola walked by his truck she noticed a tuft of wiry brown fur on the tailgate. She looked both ways and picked the tuft off the beat up old truck and sniffed deeply. " Oh, a Therian, bear perhaps? " Interesting.

Jingling the keys in her hand Zola open the door to the bar. The room was still laden with smoke from the barflies and the lights were on in the back office. The bar had become a haven for Zola since she first came to towne. The owner, Jerry was a kind older man, with this handlebar mustache that made her giggle. One late night while they were chatting he mentioned that he was having trouble balancing his books. Zola volunteered to look at them since numbers were easy for her. From that point on, she has been his bookkeeper. Jerry knew that Zola was not going to stay around long, but he enjoyed her company and she reminded him of his own daughter.

“Hey Jerry, are you back there?" As she made her way to the back office she picked up a tipped over chair and took a wet towel off the bar. “I don't know why he puts up with the assholes that come in here,” stepping around some broken glass.

“Why are you here pretty lady?” Jerry wearily replied.

“I couldn't sleep and have one page left on the ledger to finish and a dark beer that is calling my name. Do you want to join me? ”

“No, darling I am going to clean for a bit.” sweeping the broken glass.

Reaching behind the bar Zola grabbed a dark beer. “Are you flirting with me Jerry?” smiling and winking at him.

“What if I am?” Jerry looked up sheepishly

“Then I would be flattered. I will be in the back office if you want me." Nodding towards the backroom.

Not long, after Zola got settled with her ledger and beer then she heard a knock on the bar door. Wondering who could be here so late she got up to investigate and as she was making her way down the dark hall ran into Jerry.

“Kind of late for some company, don't you think? ” Zola said

“Oh, that is my friend Riley, you know the guy I told you I wanted to set you up with. Anyways his brother is here visiting and they are catching up.” Jerry tiredly remarked. “I am going home, my bed is calling my name. Don't you dare clean the bar while I'm gone! You know honey you should go home to, the guys will lock up the place." With that Jerry left out the backdoor. Zola followed him and bolted the door after he left.

Zola went back to the rear office, with the intent on working some more, but her curiosity got the best of her. “I wonder what that Riley guy looks like.” It has been a long time since....let's simply say it has been a long time.

Tiptoeing down the dim hallway Zola felt like a silly teenager, but she just couldn’t help herself. When she got to the end of the hall, she made sure to stay in the shadows. “Aw he is cute, I love his voice.” Zola started stepping backwards when her ears perked up.

The bigger guy said. “There's been a hunter outside our territory just......circling, and he's a damned good one. I can't get a fix on him, even our best tracker can't get a fix on him. It's pulling our tribe apart....and it's...." He paused a moment, looking away. "It's killed your dad."

Gasping, Zola had to put her hand over her mouth. She slid back into the wall then continued to back towards the back office, it seemed like the right thing to do, since Zola could tell it was a lot for Riley to take in. Turning the lights off she left out the backdoor silently. Her head was spinning. “There is a hunter nearby...finally a hunter! ”

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Zola's breath was labored, her limbs cramping with each stroke, she was unable to concentrate on the clues anymore.....survival mode had taken over her senses. She had no recollection of how she got underwater, but there she was, fighting to reach the surface, heart pounding, chest on fire. Zola screamed realizing, all too late, that she breathed in water, the mortal part of her wanted to panic while her cat instincts told her to stay calm. She fought the urge to struggle and allowed herself to sink. She felt weightless, and there came this euphoric inner peace that wrapped around her. Her chest felt like it was about to burst. "I am going to die tonight..."
Just then, her front paws caught some solid footing. She waited, what seemed a lifetime, to sink down to the rocky bottom and then pushed up with all her strength launching herself towards the surface. Her feet were now firmly planted on solid ground. Zola dragged herself to the shore, coughing and spewing water in between gasp of air. Exhausted from her fight with the lake, she knew she could not drag herself to the safety of the trees, so she belly crawled to some underbrush. Slowly the fog of sleep engulfed her senses. There she remembered. " I know who those scents belong to....I know who those......I know who.....I know" she was out like a light.

Roland

Roland trudged through the snow on all fours, his massive snout practically buried in the cold. He was huge now his bulky form swollen with fat and thick brown fur. I should be asleep by now. One more sweep. Something had kept him from tucking in for hibernation a faint gust of wind from the direction of the river that carried the traces...no a trace of a trace of a foreign scent. He needed to make sure. So there he was patrolling his territory once again marking it every once in a while with a stream of hot yellow piss against an oak or on a fallen log. He kept loosing her. He'd learned it was a female he was tracking some sort of feline he didn't see very often in the area. It had that distinct sharp bitterness to it. Felines. He'd had it with them all, marching through his territory as if it where some kind of thoroughfare. He was going to kill this one and keep its corpse in the cave with him. It's blood will serve as a warning to the rest. No more trespassing. He'd never had feline before, other than the dumb mountain lions that wandered in from higher up the mountain. Roland stopped at the edge of the tree line, inches from the bank of the river at the edge of his territory. He raised his snout to the night sky and huffed, expelling a large puff of hot breath vapor. Nothing. Roland then decided to walk along the bank, meandering sleepily as his body willed himself to rest for the winter. Then he spotted it, a dark blot at the very edge of the foliage, he'd almost stepped on it before he saw it, a spotted tail partially curled along a sodden body. He prodded the figure with his massive paw. She looked dead. He nipped at the skin at the nape of her neck and gathered enough in his jaws to pull her out where he could see. This was the one the scent was familiar, she was a were-feline of some sort. The feline he'd been tracking. He lowered his head and grunted then let out a baleful moan, nudging her with the bridge of his dark nose. No motion. His kindness overruled his logic, clearly she'd exhausted herself somehow and he couldn't just let her die here. He lifted her with surprising ease, carrying her like a cub by clamping his jaws around the loose flesh of her neck. He placed her at the edge of the river careful to keep her head out of it and rinsed off the mud, checking her for wounds. It seemed she was merely exhausted and hypothermic. He carried her back up the mountain, this time gathering her in his forepaws, allowing her to warm up in his thick fur and ample fat. It was an odd sight to behold. A massive brown bear carrying a marozi up a mountain but he did it anyways. Getting back into his cave was tricky, as the cave he chose was just large enough for him to fit in at his full winter size, curled up. The size was meant to help keep the cold out. Regardless He managed to pull Zola in by curling up around her cold wet body, his back pressed against the stone back of the cave. She would be safe there for now, no beast dares to pester a bear in hibernation save for a hunter, however...getting out would be another small challenge for her as he was likely to sleep all winter from then on.

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John

John slept fitfully that night comfortable and content despite the light sheen of sweat and other bodily fluids that dried and cooled over their bodies. The exhaustion that came after that night's activities was simply so complete that he didn't remember what it was he dreamt about the next morning. The next morning he lay there for a moment with Riley in his arms, his mind mulling over the things they'd done, the fun they'd had, replaying the bit where Riley'd pushed him back into the bed. His breathing became slightly more heavy and suddenly John couldn't lay there anymore. He needed a shower.....he needed a few minutes to himself. He slipped out of bed, trying not to wake Riley and grabbed a towel he could use to cover himself and later use to dry himself with. The bathroom was down the hall, John poked his head out, and hearing Mrs. Morgan hum down stairs, went off to the bathroom. He turned on the water to scalding heat and waited for the temperature to rise. He stared at himself in the mirror. His chin stubble had grown and spread up his jawline and begun on his upper lip. The unkempt beginings of a beard made the scowl he'd made stronger. He hadn't realized he'd been frowning and upon noticing it willed himself to change partway, his brow furrowing over sharp pale green eyes, the bridge of his nose widening, his wild sandy hair lengthening and thickening. He growled at himself, then chuckled, unsure what his deal was that morning. He cast aside the towel and stepped under the hot shower. He closed his eyes, his ears turned back against his partway-mane as water cascaded down his head and over his shoulders. Again his mind drifted to last night and he grasped himself in the memory of it, momentarily allowing himself to embrace the pleasures he'd felt.

He stopped as quick as he'd started and just stood there for a moment, breathing heavily before swiftly turning the temperature on the water as cold as it would go. He growled and punched the tile beneath the spigot causing the water to stop on him for a second and a bit of the tile to chip off. He yelped and held his hand. "Ow....dammit....." He shifted a few times to heal the minor fracture and flexed his hand. He clenched his teeth and willed himself to calm down. He scrubbed himself down, fur and skin, washing gingerly his ass which was still sore, but not in such a way he couldn't manage. "What next, Riley you going to mark me too?" He sighed. Then tried not to think of how he might actually like that. This wasn't how he'd imagined things going.

Riley woke to the sound of running water in the shower down the hall. He rolled over in the bed and found that John wasn’t there. A tiny frown formed on his face as he tried to get his thoughts together. “That’s weird, he usually just bathes in lion form. Must have been too sticky.” He thought. He shifted into his full tiger form and began to clean himself. His ears perked up when he heard a thump against the wall followed by a muffled “ Ow… Damnit…” Riley was concerned. Still in his tiger form, he walked out of his room and saw the light flowing from under the gap between the bathroom door and the floor. He walked slowly to the door to listen to see if John was okay. “What’s next, Riley? You gonna mark me too?” He heard John sigh. Riley froze for a second, then returned to his room. He shifted back to his human form and began to get dressed. Tears started filling his eyes as he realized what he had done. He had emasculated his best friend, his lover, his mate. How could he have not seen this coming, he said he had never done that before, but he seemed to enjoy it so much. He called him Ri, he only ever did that when he was really happy. But could he really expect Riley to be the one to do that every time? After getting dressed he lied down on the bed and put his face into his pillow and let out his frustration. Muffling his crying so John wouldn’t hear. He hurt him, maybe not physically, but emotionally, and that hurt Riley even more than he thought it could. The whole imprinting thing did not help with emotional fuck-ups like this. It intensified everything Riley was feeling and made it seem far worse than it actually was, but still, to hurt the one he had loved almost his entire life, it tore him up. “Fuck, you’re an idiot Riley! You fucking PROMISED him that you wouldn’t hurt him.” He scolded himself in a harsh whisper.

He was ready to apologize, to leave John if that’s what he wanted, it’d certainly make John’s life easier, to do what ever he had to do to make this right. Then he heard what sounded like a crowd at a rock concert moving closer to the house. He glanced out of a gap in the curtains and saw a mob coming to the house. There was a pounding on the door and Riley’s mom answered the door.

“Oh my, what’s going on? Why are all you people mobbing my house, what’s wrong?” She asked. Riley loved how clever his mom was.

“Where are they? We know they’re here!” Came a voice from the leader of the mob, it sounded like Dave.

“Who are you talking about, Dave? I’ve been living alone for months now.”

“We’re looking for John Keeler and your son, Riley. They’ve returned to the tribe and disrespected the chief. They weren‘t at John‘s house, we have reason to believe they would have come here.”

Mrs. Morgan took a step out onto the porch and grabbed Dave by the collar of his shirt and lifted until he was standing on his toes.

“Now, you listen to me, you punk-ass little shit. I don’t know what kind of sick joke you people think you’re pulling, but it ain’t funny. I haven’t seen John since Hank’s funeral, you know, when he stormed off calling all the enforcers useless. And I haven’t seen my son in over nine years. And don’t think I don’t know what you did to him, I’ve heard you bragging to your enforcer friends about how you nearly killed him. If they are back in the territory I hope they rip you limb from limb you sick little fuck.” She growled at him and threw him off the porch. “Now get the fuck off my property before I do it myself.” She then slammed the door.

Though Riley didn’t see the altercation, he heard everything. “Go Mom!” he thought. He started grabbing what few things he wanted to take with him, mainly the hoody. He grabbed John’s clothes as well. He opened the door and saw John’s head sticking out of the bathroom door. He gave him his clothes. “C’mon” he said as he wiped away a tear that he felt on the side of his cheek. “We need to get out of here while they’re distracted. I think they headed to the woods to look for us.” He said dryly trying not to sound like he had been crying.

John caught his clothing, having just managed to clean the rest of his body before drama seemed to cascade over the house. A frown breached his expression as he caught a glimpse of the tear on Riley's cheek. He quickly wiped himself down and pulled on his boxers and jeans, the most important articles of clothing, he shuffled on his boots as he went down the hall throwing his shirt and coat over his shoulder. "I- I need to stop at my house my car's still there and so is my stuff. Don't need to re-pack everything it's in bags in my room" He said to Riley's back as he followed him through the house hurriedly, yanking his shirt on over his head.

The two slipped out the back, John shifting to his were form for the use of his padded paws in the swirling leaves, he tossed his keys to Riley to open his car with and ran inside the small house. He was going to seriously miss that place. His TV, his movies, his music. He picked up his bag of weapons, unzipping it briefly for a 9mm pistol. He checked that it was loaded and the safety was on before he tucked it into the belt of his pants. He gathered a few old CDs and hesitated, glancing at the edge of the old box sitting in his closet buried among cast aside clothing. He raised a eyebrow. There where all sorts of things he'd like to bring from that but he shook his head. It wasn't necessary. He did however stop at the fridge and scooped all the beer into his clothes bag and stuffed a pack of fresh cigarettes into his pocket before rushing out the door. Riley popped the trunk open for him with the keys and he stuffed everything in before taking his seat at the helm.

They where off, quickly, kicking up dirt as the tires skidded. They raced past the mob down the road, John rolling down the window just to flip them all off as they passed. He chuckled and blasted CD burned copies of all the old classic rock songs John used to obsess himself over as a kid. He grinned over at Riley in the passenger seat. He seemed to have already forgotten the incident in the shower, that or he really wanted to avoid bringing it up. He pounded on the steering wheel, singing all points to Run for the Hills by Iron maiden at the top of his lungs, guitar solos included.

Riley was glad that John seemed to be in a better mood, but he knew how John’s mind worked, it would come up again later, probably in some sort of passive aggressive outburst. Riley’s emotional state was written all over his face though and he could do little to hold them back. He was pissed at himself for what he did to John, he was mad at John for assuming that he was supposed to be the only alpha. He was depressed beyond belief that he was leaving his home for the second time because the tribe couldn’t handle who he was even though he was their best hope to survive. He was already missing his mom and wasn’t sure he would ever see her again. He was thrilled to be with John and still holding onto the hope that he would still want to be with him after what happened. He was angry and ready to kill this hunter. He was confused as to why he hadn’t picked up on the hunter’s scent.

He stared out the window and remained silent while he endured John’s singing. It wasn’t terrible, but he wasn’t able to hit any high notes and his voice screeched every time he tried. Occasionally a tear would dribble down his cheek, but he hoped that John would just assume that it was because he was leaving his home.

They seemed to have been on the road for a few hours before the they stopped at a rest stop. They got out and John went to the restroom while Riley got himself a cup of coffee. There was a picnic area near a ridge. Riley walked over to the ridge and sipped the bitter coffee as he watched the sun just starting to rise. It was beautiful to watch and for a minute or two he was able to forget all about the issues he was facing and just be taken by the brilliance of it all.

A few minutes later he felt an arm around his shoulder. John’s of course.
“I know it seems bad right now, but things will get better, I promise.”

“Hopefully your promises hold up better than mine.” he muttered to himself and leaned in close to cuddle with him.

John had picked up on the way Riley had been acting since they left, his withdrawn quietness, the tears. At first he really did think Riley was just torn up about the mess they had landed themselves in. He'd been twice banned now and this time he's without a father. He put an arm around him as he sat down close. “I know it seems bad right now, but things will get better, I promise.”

It was what Riley muttered afterwards that caused John concern. "What do you mean by that?" He asked.

A low gutteral chuckle came from directly behind them. John whipped his head around to spot Ko-jin and Lapin seated at the table behind them. Ko-jin slurping some kind of iced drink from a cup. "Look at what we have here old man, an unlikely couple. A little boy lion and his tiger girlfriend, isn't that sweet." He cackled wickedly and John abruptly got to his feet a snarl on his face. The man was a pot bellied gruff wild looking man with tanned skin and golden eyes. Something about the structure of his face seemed familiar yet wildly strange at the same time. He harbored thick wild unkempt hair that seemed wiry and curly in patches. It came in a multitude of colors, a familiar sandy blond towards the roots fettered with a dull gray with a dark black-ish brown everywhere else. He also bore a fuzzy and unkempt goatee that went halfway to his chest a salt and pepper gray tipped with black. He wore a leather jacket and a pair of jeans just as John did but the shirt he wore with it was stained and grimy. All it took was a few minutes of breathing in his scent to know he was related very closely to john.

John had half turned into his were-form already, much to the old man's amusement. "Who the hell are you?!"

"Who do you think? You should mind your blood pressure, boy, there are humans here." He chuckled then turned to look Riley over, distaste evident from his face to the way he crumpled his cup when he was done with it. "You. Whatever it is you got going on with my son ends now, you hear? I'm not letting no fag run my pride, never seen no fag give you grandsons and great great grandsons."

John lost it. He shoved the old man hard enough to send him skidding over the table, rolling head over heels onto the dirt on the other side. John leapt up onto the picnic table, then down, on top of the old lion and drew his gun, thumbing off the safety and cocking it, aiming it between the old man's eyes. His hand was trembling badly and there was a real fury in his eyes "You'd best start explaining what the hell is going on here and now before I blow your fucking head to bits and eat it."

Ko-jin chuckled throatily, "like father like son, eh Lapin? I've been looking all over the ends of the earth for you. Alot of pain and sweat, yet you treat your own father this way."

“Enough!” The command came out as a roar. It held the tone of an Alpha with far more influence than he actually had, but it was enough to get the three of them to freeze in their tracks.

“There are children playing right over there.” He growled in a slightly less intimidating voice and pointed at the playground next to the picnic area.

“The last thing any of us wants to do is hurt or, worse, kill one those kids. So, John, put down the gun, that’s your father.” He was maintaining his composure far better than the other two weres were and as he started in his voice cracked ever so slightly

“You shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss him. He’s offering you something I can never give you, he can give you a pride, a family other lions and even cubs. Isn’t that what you wanted, to be with your own kind, with someone that won’t hurt you? You should at least listen to what he has to say.” He didn’t give him a chance to respond before he turned to the hunter.

“And you” He scowled “Take your hand off the sword, you’re not a samurai. Did you think I wouldn’t figure out who you were? Don’t get me wrong, you made it difficult, but you’re means of hiding is exactly what has given you away, hunter. Why that loin is working with you is beyond me, but right now, I don’t give a fuck.” He paced around a bit and then stopped right in front of him looking him in the eye so he knew how serious he was. His eyes noticeably changed from the icy sapphire blue to a dark navy almost black color. “You have quite the reputation in my tribe, hell throughout all the therian tribes in the area. They call you the ‘scentless one’. Of course you aren’t the original, you’d be over two hundred years old if that were the case, but you are one of the many hunters to bare this moniker. You were trained well, you hide your scent by becoming one with your surroundings, no colognes, fancy soaps or perfumes that make you humans so … pungent. But now that you’re out in the open with all these humans and you have no scent, your identity is clear. The hunter that has been stalking my tribe couldn’t be tracked by scent. But I also know you’re the last of a dying breed, you hunt with honor, you’d never just kill one of us right here, unless your life or one of the humans’ was in danger, there’d be no sport in it. I also know what you’ve done. You’re the man that killed my father. Tell me was it an honorable death? Did he know you were stalking him? Where you stalking him because he was the Sheseru? Did you want to learn the laws of my tribe so you could exploit them? It really doesn’t matter, the fact is that in the action of killing my father you have dishonored me twice. First, you killed my father, the man who raised me from a cub. The man who taught me the law. The Sheseru of the tribe, or as you would equate it a police chief. He was a man of honor, of pride. He trained and taught every one of the enforcers of my tribe and you took him from me. And second, you killed my father, the man who cracked my skull with a monkey wrench and knocked me out. The man who chained me to a car and dragged me for three hours across enemy territory to dump me in a neutral zone. The man who had his gang of enforcers beat the shit out of me until they thought I was dead. The man who decided to banish me from my home when he heard me moan and realized I was alive. The man whose dedication to his work and to his old ways, enabled him to throw away every memory, every positive thought and every accomplishment over two simple words. That man was to die at my hands, not yours. Tell me, what is the punishment you give another hunter who poaches your kill? I doubt you let him survive. You owe me blood, hunter, twice over and you will pay that debt, but not here, not now. I too have honor and this is not the time nor place, but before we start the game please answer me this: why? Why do you hate the therians? What have they done to hurt you? My tribe hunts only animals and has never hurt a human apart from self defense. Is it really just a simple blind hate? Perhaps you are on the wrong side of this fight. It’s not a full on war right now, but it’s really just a matter of time. The humans in charge of your government, they know about us. They’re sending their own ’hunters’ whose only code of honor is how much money they get for the kill. But they aren't here just to kill, they’re coming to trap us too. They want clone us or splice our DNA with humans or some other bullshit like that, but in the end they won’t kill us, they want to control us. They’ll breed an army of super soldiers with therian DNA. Eventually they will turn on the government and the humans in general, do you really want to see this turn into a war or would you rather make a compromise? I propose you only hunt those who hunt humans, there are still plenty of therians that do, especially those damn wolves, you spread fear throughout the therians, but for the honorable reasons. Be the hunter to let them know that we are to live alongside humans and not treat them as a food source. Hunt the other hunters too, let them know that the title of hunter is one of honor not one that can be given to any idiot who can pull a trigger. Do me this honor and I will call your debt filled, or we can pick this up on less pleasant terms.”

He extended a hand to shake. He hoped his words had appealed to the hunter’s sense of honor. If any of the legends of the scentless hunter were true, he had a code that he lived by and was a man of his word. He only hoped that he hated the therians enough to not want to see an all out war. Riley believed he would make a far better ally than an enemy.

The silence was broken by Ko-jin's cackle. "At least someone here has an ounce of common sense." He said, leering up at his son. "Come on, John. You're not a tiger, you're a lion. It's time you learned what that really means."

John removed the gun from his father's face. "I've done perfectly fine learning what it means on my own." He growled darkly. "My father's been dead 22 years. Even if he weren't dead I wouldn't let him march up here making my decisions for me. Not now, not after all this time. He let my mother die, let my half brothers and sisters die and let me get taken away. 22 years ago he let me get taken by none other than THIS jackass!" He pointed accusingly at Lapin. "And YOU have some serious nerve coming here with MY father after the two of us after all you've done! Riley might not kill you for the shit you've done but i'm sure as hell considering it!"

John's voice gradually rose in volume as he spoke until he shouted the last sentence at Lapin. He fought to keep from transforming into his full were form, glancing over at the playground. "I bet it's easy for you traipsing around the territories gun at your side killing thierians like you're doing some kind of vermin sweep. It must be grand not having to look back at the damage you've done to the ones you leave behind. The ones who have to grow up wondering what the hell happened to their parents the ones who will never get to be with their own kind. Honor my ass. You're more coward than any hunter I've seen yet."

John stepped back from the tables. "The two of you can just.....go back where ever the hell you came from. I only want one thing and one thing only, to find a safe place away from the hunters away from fathers who don't know shit but the cut throat expectations of their clans. I don't want a Pride, I don't want three or four wives and ten cubs. I don't even KNOW you. All I want is to be with Riley. I want our hot, confused, messy relationship, I want to work things out and learn new shit about myself and to learn new shit about him."

Ko-jin stood up, jaw tightening. The glare he was giving was enough to silence even John. Ko-jin was on another level of alpha, whether it was in his scent or in the way he carried himself now it made it impossible for any of them to meet eyes with him. He put a hand on John's shoulder. "I got to give it to you, kid, that was cute but I've heard enough. This....star crossed lover bullshit. I've seen it before, in humans. But you know what? You're not a human. You mate to create more of your species a strong bloodline to pass your genes. You're the only son I've got left. My last....chance. He put an arm around John and looked into his pale green eyes, his expression softening. "You look a lot like your mother. She was just as stubborn....as star crossed as they come. This isn't healthy for you son. I can already see how you're hurtin' from it. You're a lion, not somebody's bitch."

John looked down. "No....I..." He blinked away tears that formed as it finally sunk in that it was his father that was right there. His father, flesh and blood. "I can't....he means...too much to me I can't just fucking leave him." John pushed him away again. He looked over at Riley, pleadingly. "You can't seriously be asking me to go with him after all we've been through. I've been at your back for 22 fucking years. I spent the ENTIRE time you where gone trying to find you and you think I can just forget about it for what...for cubs and wives? Did you ever stop to think that by now I could have left the tribe. I could have left and found lions on my own instead of spending that time to find you."