God help the outcast

He still didn’t awake in the third morning after the battle with the Hydra. The girl, Meredith allowed the newly made heroes the use of her small house at edge of town to stay and made them meals as the jaguar slept. Rorqua still couldn’t find even a bruise on the lean body, just old scars and tribal markings and couldn’t explain why he kept sleeping. Not even the town’s doctor could explain why the exiled man couldn’t wake up.

Kenneth set up a table in the only other bedroom in the house, the other one belonging to the owner of the house. He ate his meals and played solitaire with the snake’s playing cards as he spoke to the sleeping man, believing a friendly voice could lead the man’s soul out of the darkness he was lost in. It was the only thing keeping him from losing it himself.

Two days ago, his employer had sent a pigeon with a responding message. It simply said that he was fired and held responsible for the killed guards and messing horses. He couldn’t go back home ever unless he could repay the greedy man for the loss. The brunet was homeless as well jobless. Netsuke was sympatric and tried to console him with a series of drinks and card games, teaching him how to play poker. But Kenny just wasn’t able to enjoy himself. Too many things had happen in his life in the past few days and his mind couldn’t take it.

So for now, he hanged by his friend’s side till the man awakens and then plan the rest of his life from there.

“Still no change?” Meredith walked in to water the small pot of flowers on the nightstand next to the bed.

The ex-clerk shook his head and resume combing the dirty blond hair. He has to try to wash it soon, it was getting too greasy. She sighed and stood next to him.

“He was lucky to have survive, Mister Netsuke said he saw him impaled on the monster’s tail and hit against the canyon’s sides over and over. The fates must love him to keep him alive.”

Green eyes looked at her. “But not enough to let him be conscious.” The girl didn’t answer but took his cheek in her hand and peck at his forehead.

“He just lost right now, but with you keeping watch, he will find his way back.” That made him smile a little and watched her left the room before looking down on the man. A bony finger traced over the dark tattoo on the man’s chin, eye lids lowered.

Just wake up, please, Heaven. You’re my only friend in this world.

A slight knock caused him to look and waved in greeting at the orca monk as the tall man entered the room. Then he took a sit on the small wicker chair that was set up for Kenneth to sit in. Sea-blue eyes looked down on the raising up and down chest of the blond man.

“He should be dead.” He spoke, rolling his eyes to see the suddenly tensed man.

“Netsuke said I can blend some food for him, and drink it down in his mouth.” He replied, messing with the buttons on the shirt he had clothed the older man in after giving him a upper body sponge bath. The ex-clerk was too embarrassed to clean the lower body, even though he had seen it all in the bath the other day in the river. Netsuke took care of it for him. “He already tried it yesterday and it seemed to work.”

Rorqua sighed, not willing to dismiss the talk once more since they came to this house. “ I saw the fire eating his flesh. No one could have survived that. No-one but a de-”

“He’s not a demon. He’s Jaguar. I heard that they and their cousins the tigers were almost invincible among the cat tribes.” Kenneth interrupted and lied to make himself to feel better. He read somewhere that Tigers were of the Divine Tribes, tribes that were said to be have blessed by the Old Gods and granted great longevity and almost godlike in their own ways. From what he had seen, Heaven could be easily beaten but not so easily killed. It was all the beliefs he had left right now.

The orca recognized the lie but didn’t call him on it. He didn’t know the sleeping man personally so he had no right to talk but it didn’t excuse him from questioning about him.

“I heard legends saying that a kiss can cure all so why not we try it?” The snake grinned from his spot in the doorway, arms crossing each other over his chest. Auburn hair bounded in loose braids over one shoulder.

“I thought you didn’t like men.” Kenneth ignored the feeling that he just blushed at the idea of kissing, more like the idea of Netsuke kissing Heaven. The orca just frowned with an raised dark eyebrow.

The snake walked in and shrugged as he was close to the other men in the room. “Actually, I don‘t, don’t like men I mean. I just wanna see the kitten bristled and hissed at the thought that a snake just kissed him on the lips.”

This time both men frowned and raised an eyebrow. Kenneth’s cheeks still blushing red. Of course, Netsuke would come up with something useless but something to enrage the jaguar if he shall awaken ever again. Netsuke gently bent at the waist, taking the soft tattooed chin in his hand, tilting the head up and leaned down to press his pale lips against the parted lips.

The ex-clerk almost fainted at the sight. It was almost like a scene from a fairy tale, the prince or knight kissing a sleeping maiden softly to awaken her from a dreadful curse. It was all so perfect as the auburn braids laid upon the subtle moving chest over the heart of the sleeping ’maiden’.

Except when Netsuke pulled up, the ‘maiden’ didn’t wake up from his curse.
“If I remember it has to be the kiss of true love, and we all know that snakes and cats never loved each other.” Rorqua chuckled behind a curled up fist.

“All right then.” The snake unfazed at the disappointing result closed his eyes then turned around sharply and pointed at the now bewildered brunet, the youngest and smallest of the group. “You kiss him next.”

Kenneth squeaked and blushed to a deep tomato red. “W-why me?!” His green eyes were dangerously bigger then his face behind the golden frames at the thought of kissing the jaguar. Just at the thought of kissing those soft looking lips, feeling the peeling layers of skin under his. And the bullet that would go into his brain should those violet eyes opened up just as their lips touch.

“Because you know him longer.” The snake just grinned and grabbed the still wide-eyed man and pulled him to be in right over the jaguar. “And you have been his nurse all this time, makes sense you would be kissing him.”

How does that make sense? Again both men frowned at the snake as they thought the same thought.

“Just get it over with. We don’t have anything else to help him.” Netsuke pushed the small brunet to get closer to the sleeping jaguar. “Go on!”

Kenneth sighed and gently grabbed Heaven’s cheeks and licked his own lips. Still visualizing that bullet that would be going through his head and brain and into the wall of the bedroom. He leaned down pressing his lips against the jaguar’s. He couldn’t help but to press his lips harder, feeling heat begin to grow and wishing that he was getting a response from the other male.

Hands clenched around his arms and forced him back off of the jaguar. “That’s enough, I didn’t say rape the man.” Netsuke’s drawling voice muttered in his ear. The sleeping man still didn’t wake up. Kenneth felt a little sad about that his kiss didn’t awaken the man. He moved back behind them all and toyed with a loose string from his shirt.

“All right.” The snake rubbed his chin, feeling the light stubble that was growing under the chin bone. Then his amber eyes focused on the orca monk who kept silent just because he knew what was going happen next.

“It’s against my order to kiss other men.” He spoke out, turning his head away with purpose. That didn’t stop the snake to grab at him and pull him out of the wicker chair and threw him into the bed.

“Kiss him, a little peck of the lips. That’s all.” Netsuke kept a strong grip around the tattooed neck and forced the head to loom over their sleeping friend’s.

---------

Voices….annoying voices were creeping through the fog. He reached for his guns but found none, just the flesh of his marked thighs. He was naked as he stood in the fog. Not feeling cold but hot, burning hot. But he didn’t sweat or felt his skin burning in the heat. He just ‘knew’ it was hot.

The earth under his bare feet shook as giant footsteps came closer and closer, a large figure outlined in the fog. A head on the end of a long neck loomed till he felt its snort on his nose. He couldn’t see scales or feathers or skin or anything that told him of the creature’s species. Just pitch black and glowing red eyes staring into his widen violet one.

We are bonded now, Heaven of the Jaguars. We keep each other safe from now on.

Who are you?

You should know. You named me after all.

Then all he saw was an unfamiliar man’s face looming over his own, feeling his lips against his own. Tongue poking against his own inside his own mouth. Big hands cupping against his cheeks.

Violet eyes narrowed and glared before curling up his fist and slammed it hard against the man’s cheek and kicked him off of his body.

“Wow, that’s surprising.” The damn snake chuckled. He ignored everything else as he stomped out of the room, grabbing his things and stomped out of the house. It took the other three men three hours to catch up with him on the road.

(a/n: seriously did i lose people on this story? I'll quit it if thats the case)