"You do?" Elisa asked, her eyes widening with hope at his words.
"I do, but it may not work." Xavier nodded, not wanting to disappoint her for some odd reason.
It wasn't like him to openly help others unless it was absolutely necessary or he was ordered to. Yet, Xavier couldn't help but want to help the small female. Even if this whole idea seemed impossible.
A feral living in a city. That had never happened before and was unlikely to ever happen. No king, especially the Grasslands King who had a personal grudge on ferals, would allow for such a thing to happen.
But here he was giving this strange female and her mate hope.
Something was clearly wrong with him. First accepting her invitation to dinner and now trying to help her move to the Grasslands City despite the odds of it happening.
Perhaps he had been poisoned by one of those ferals they had taken out today. It would explain his weird delusions and actions. Yes, it had to be that. Otherwise, he wouldn't be doing what he was doing now.
"My suggestion would be that you meet the king without Ahi." Xavier said as he mentally shook away the annoying thoughts filling his mind. "I could take you to meet the king while Ahi waits outside the city and you could plead your case to the king. Of course, you could take another mate if you don't want to go alone with me."
As soon as the last part left his mouth, a bitter taste filled his mouth. He didn't like the idea of Elisa taking a male from the village. They were weak and unlikely to be of any use to her.
"I think going with you alone should be fine, right Ahi? No need to drag some poor soul into this just so I can meet the king." Elisa flustered.
Ahi nodded in agreement. "Hmm… The males here are too weak and becoming mates should be a carefully made decision."
"Yip." Elisa agreed. "Besides, it's wrong to become mates with someone just to use them. There needs to be a mutual connection."
"I see…" Xavier said a little deadpanned at the other two's attitude.
He had never met a female who didn't think taking a mate just to use them was normal. In fact it was pretty much standard practice in this world. All males seemed to see having a mate an honor whether the female really liked them or not.
Then, of course, there was the ever unpredictable feral who seemed to go against everything he knew about ferals. They were two peas in a pod, perfect for one another.
It made Xavier almost jealous to watch them interact. He had once wanted something similar to this when he was younger, but had given up hope on ever finding it.
And now, here he was seeing it happen right before his eyes. He didn't like the ugly feelings bubbling inside of him and tried to bury them within himself. He wasn't going to get jealous.
"Alright then, I guess I'll take you to the king myself, but I should warn you that your plea may not be heard." Xavier said, returning to the conversation at hand. "Many in the city have personal grudges against ferals and the king may take that into account."
"We understand." Elisa murmured. "It's just a risk we'll have to take… By the way, is there some form of payment you want for your help?"
"Ahi can just help me finish clearing up the jungle of ferals." Xavier grumbled, not really liking the question asked. "We should be done in a few days and can leave for Grasslands City. Of course, the sooner we leave the better. Cold season will be in a few moons and you'll need to have a place to settle down before then."
"Oh… um does it snow here?" Elisa asked.
Xavier shook his head. "It doesn't, but the cold is enough to make food scarare. You'll need to prepare yourselves for that as living in Grasslands City isn't a guarantee."
Plus, Xavier was due back to the city by the next moon and wouldn't be able to help the two if they lingered in the village. But he kept that to himself.
"Okay got it." Elisa mused. "I guess I should start preparing then. Any important supplies we need for the journey?"
"Bring what you did when you entered the village and some extra food." Xavier answered. "The trip will be quicker if we don't have to hunt. Just don't make the load too heavy to carry."
The trio continued to hash out a plan for the trip and after an hour of talking, Xavier found himself leaving the hut. He made sure to tell the snake to be on time tomorrow before he flew off to his nest in the jungle.
— — —
Once Xavier left, I shut the door and stretched. A yawn escaped me and I covered my mouth quickly, muttering, "Man, I'm tired."
"Did they exhaust you?" Ahi asked, glancing at me as we walked to the bedroom.
A straw nest sat in the middle of the room with a blanket and some animal furs over it. My sleeping bag was rolled up next to it.
"I mean I kind of exhausted myself, but Freya and her mates were good to me." I answered. "Did you guys kill a lot of ferals?"
"Hmm…" Ahi murmured, circling around the nest before he held out a hand. "I want to sleep holding you."
Any exhaustion I had disappeared with his words. "W-what?"
I wasn't against the idea or anything, but his words did come at a bit of a surprise. Normally he would shift to his beast form and sleep around me like a snake fortress. This was the first time he wanted to cuddle.
Was I going too slow with this relationship? I mean, I was trying to go slow, so I could learn more about Ahi, but maybe I was going too slow.
We hadn't really talked much about the future, ourselves nor had we done anything physical. I mean for obvious reasons, but we barely touched unless it was necessary.
"Oh… I-" Ahi retreated his hand, looking a little uncomfortable. "Perhaps we should just sleep… Ignore what I said."
I frowned, grabbing his hand before he could completely retreat. "Don't hide from me. I don't hate your request… I'm just surprised by it."
"So then…" Ahi started, leaving his question unfinished.
However, I didn't need to hear it to know what he was asking. "You can hold me, but I might need a blanket first. It looks like it's going to be a little chilly tonight."
"Hmm…" Ahi stuck out his forked tongue for a moment before adding, "Looks like a storm is approaching."
As he spoke, there was a sudden rumble of thunder that made me jump a little in surprise. I quickly grabbed a thin blanket laying in the nest and wrapped it around me.
Once wrapped up, I moved closer to Ahi and got pulled into a hug. He lay me down on his cold chest, arms wrapping around my waist and his snake tail going around us like a cocoon.
I wrapped my arms around me and we lay in a comforting silence for a few moments, listening to the howling wind and distance rumbling of thunder. Hopefully the hut was secure and wouldn't let up if it did rain.
The storm didn't sound like it was going to be a small one.
"Hey Ahi…" I murmured softly, wanting to get something off my chest. "Did me inviting Xavier to dinner suddenly bother you?"
I felt him stiffen under me for a moment before he sighed, "It did, but that's just my feral instincts… You should be free to do what you want to."
"Okay. Just tell me if anything bothers you."
"I will."
The room soon filled with silence once more, but my overactive brain could not stop thinking. This was the perfect time to properly talk with Ahi. So, I asked the first question that came to mind.
"Do you want to have cubs?"