Tiger's Blood

I lie shivering on the ground as I whimper lightly. The last thing I remember was Kira’s body lying motionless. When I woke up, she was gone and that made me nervous. I really hope she is ok. The door creaks open then slams shut and I flutter my eyes. I breathe heavily and I crawl over to the small body lying in the corner. I wrap my arms around her waist and press my lips against her neck. “Kira, you’re ok…” I mumble. I flip over her body slightly and kiss her nose, cheek and forehead. She looks up at me then squirms over on to her side and I let out a little laugh.

“Oh Kira, if only you knew how much I care about you,” I say then kiss her neck. I’m so glad that she is alive. I was very worried when I woke up and didn’t see her beside me. I don’t know what I would do if I lost her. I run my fingers through her curly hair and snake my hands down to her waist. I then tug on her shirt a little bit. I want to show her how much I love her and how much she means to me.

“Kira…” I whisper. She groans lightly and flips around to face me. She opens her eyes and stares up at me. I go in to kiss her plump lips, but she resists. I raise an eyebrow at her. She blinks her eyes then looks back at me. I went in for another kiss and her lips graze mine slightly. She then pulls away quickly and closes her eyes. “Sorry Noah, I’m just in a bad mood right now. At least you are okay and that makes me happy,” she says. “I’m glad you’re okay too. Can I help cheer you up in any way?” I ask. “You can try,” she says. I go in again and kiss her cheek.

She kisses my cheek lightly, then my lips. I kiss her back passionately then sneak down to her neck and lightly peck her. She lets out a breath of air as my hands sneak down to her waist. She sits up and looks at me deeply. I take off my shirt first, then I help her with hers. We continue kissing as she begins to shake. I stop and look at her worrying face. “Let me love you,” I whisper. “I promise I would never hurt you Kira.”

She glares back into my eyes and bites her lip slightly. I kiss her neck while pulling her jeans down. She moans as I slip off my shorts. I stare at her beautiful body in awe for a second before she covers herself up with her hands, embarrassed. I rub my thumb against her cheek and lift her chin up to look at me. “Don’t be scared, I won’t hurt you, but if you want me to stop just say it.”

She lets out a relieved sigh then nods. I tell her to lie on her back and she does slowly. I climb on top of her and adjust myself. She looks sadly into my eyes. “Don’t worry little Tiger, just relax,” I whisper in her ear. I can tell she is nervous. I love you so much Kira. I want to say. I kiss her softly and she calms down.

I slowly enter myself in her and she immediately closes her eyes. I move my hips at a slow pace to match up with her. She starts moaning softly and I start going faster. Her moaning gets a little louder and I kiss her neck lightly. We went on for about an hour or so, when I reach my peak and moan softly.

“Kira,” I moan lightly.

“Ethan,” she replies.

What? Why is she thinking about Ethan right now? I’m the one who has been by her side. I’m the one who has kept her secret. I didn’t run off in the middle of the night and leave her like Ethan did. I even helped her find Ethan after he disappeared! Why the fuck does she love Ethan? He has done nothing but got us into trouble. What does she see in him? Doesn’t she see that I love and care about her? If it wasn’t for Ethan we could be making love underneath the stars and not in a cold dark room as prisoners.

I stop moving and she covers her mouth looking up at me with an embarrassed face.

“You love Ethan,” I say softly hiding my anger. Her eyes start tearing up and her face turns red.

“I-I’m so sorry I didn’t mean…”

“Kira, don’t worry it’s okay,” I say and climb off of her. I should’ve never thought of doing this. I knew she liked Ethan, but I didn’t think she liked him that much. I brush my fingers against her cheek and wipe away a tear. “I want you to remember something,” I say. She nods and sits up.

“Real love can last a lifetime. Love is forever, but you just have to know when you find it. If you think that it’s Ethan, then I won’t get in your way,” I fake a smile at her so she won’t notice my pain. She nods then kisses my forehead. Her body trembles underneath mine. “Thank you for always being there for me, and thank you for understanding,” she says. I kiss her lips one last time.

“I just want to see you happy and safe,” I tell her. She smiles then thanks me again. She wraps herself into my body and I smile. For all I know this will be the last time that we will sleep together like this. I will always be by her side, but as a loyal friend.

“Wake up you two and come here,” A deep voice startles me. I open my eyes and tap Kira on the shoulder. The guard leads us out. We both walk out the door and down the hallway when we stop. “Both of you close your eyes, because I have a surprise for you,” the King says excitedly.

I close my eyes and hear the screech of metal clanging. What’s going on? I hear a loud swoosh of a blade and I react quickly. I jump up then fall to the ground. I open my eyes and Kira takes a step back. A young man has a shiny sword and he tried to strike us. Kira helps me up and I stand in front of her.

“You’re trying to kill us…” Kira pauses then look down at the shiny weapon. “With my sword?!?!? My Bloodshed!!” she yells. The King steps forward. “Sweetheart I-“

“No, stop this bullshit right now,” she interrupts. “My name is Kira, not “girl” or “sweetheart” It’s Kira,” she hisses at him. The King stares at her frightened. I stand up and I could hear her growl deeply. She trips the man holding her sword and she picks it up and held it to the throat of the King.

“I just wanted peace between us…” he croaks out. “Yeah right, I’m smarter than you think I am. I can tell when someone is lying. I know what you did to my Blood, Andrew!!” she screams. I try to pull Kira away from him, but she wiggles out of my grasp. “You wouldn’t strike me…” he chokes out.

Kira then raises Bloodshed, but then is tackled by two guards. I am also grabbed by guards. “You should not have done that girl,” he growls at her. “You’re going to die one way or the other…” she growls and mutates. She scratches his chest when one of the guards holds a small, electric box and shocks her. “Kira!!” I scream as the guards take me away. I get thrown into a room brighter than our last room and they put chains on me. Kira’s body comes in slowly after mine.

They chain her up next to me and I pet her white fur lightly. Oh Kira, what have you done? Now we have a higher chance of getting killed. She then wakes up and the King storms in angrily. “I wouldn’t have had to do that if you had just cooperated,” Andrew snaps. Kira roars ferociously at him.

“Shut up, I’m done with you, both of you! Instead of killing you, I’ll just let you rot and die slowly,” he says then walks out the room. The door seals shut and Kira slowly mutates back. “Kira, next time we are in a situation like this we need to think before acting,” I tell her. She ignores me. “Noah, I’m a Tiger. We react quickly to bullshit, or at least I do. I don’t know how a Tiger is supposed to act like,” she grumbles.

“Gah, I’m so mad!!!” she says pacing the floor, her chains dangling from her arms. I then grab her small face with my hands and look directly at her. “Listen to me Kira, if we are going to get out of here alive then we need to focus okay?” I say sternly. She nods and I give her a hug. “He tried to kill us and he took Bloodshed,” she says grumpily. “I know we will get her back,” I assure her. The door opens again and the King walks in again. “Where did you get that sword?” he asks. “From one of your best Lions in this shitty Kingdom, Ethan. The one who is locked up for being different. The one who is actually doing right in this Kingdom better than you ever have done in your entire life,” she says to his face.

“Great, then you and Noah can watch him hang tomorrow at dawn,” he chuckles. “Or vice versa. I could watch you die tomorrow,” Kira smiles. He then punches Kira in the nose, wipes his fist off on his shirt, then slams the door loudly. I take of my shirt quickly and I raise Kira’s head.

“Here, apply pressure to it,” I say and she groans in pain as blood trickles down her chin. She takes off my shirt and almost faints. “Damn, he hit you really hard. Let me take care of you,” I say to her. “No I can take care of myself,” she groans. “Kira, if you found the Kingdom on your own you would probably be dead already. I hate to say it, but maybe you are right about Ethan. King Andrew probably locked him up because he was trying to help you. He probably hasn’t killed you yet because you are the last Tiger in Bitotem. You need to prove to him that Tigers are good Bloods just like everyone else. Prove to him what you proved to me, which is that Tigers are brave, noble, smart, and wonderful Bloods that can change this world.”

Kira smiles and sniffles. “I don’t know how to do that Noah. Andrew already thinks I’m nothing but a quick-tempered brute,” she says. I sit down next to her and rub my hands together. “When I first heard about the fire the Tiger Bloods died in, I was four. I didn’t know much about the Tigers. My parents told me that Tigers are nothing but quick-tempered and brutal killers like you said. When I got older, I realized that any Blood can be quick-tempered and brutal. Even I can be quick-tempered. I was when you first jumped down in that hole and didn’t listen to me. I just didn’t want you to do something stupid. I realized that your curiosity is who you are and I can’t change that. I can’t change that you are a Tiger Blood, but I can help guide you in the right direction,” I say.

Kira cries and rests her head on my shoulder. “It’s hard being a Blood that everyone wants to kill or protect. Everyone expects things from you. It’s really hard for me to try and please everyone without snapping. I don’t want to die Noah. I want to explore Bitotem and go on adventures without worrying of dying every night. I like Ethan because honestly, he’s more of a Tiger to me than a Lion. He makes me feel like I’m not the only Tiger left. Of course, you give me more support than I expected, but Ethan just reminds me of myself. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be talking about Ethan like this to you,” she says. I smile. “No it’s okay Kira, this is what I wanted. I wanted you to take off that Tiger mask and unleash your feelings,” I say.

She smiles while tears run down her puffy, red cheeks. “Would it help you if I cried with you? I’m a good cryer,” I joke around. She laughs then wipes her face. “No, but can I lay down on you and rest?” she asks. “Of course,” I say and she lays her head down and looks up into my eyes. I stroke her hair smoothly and hum a song. About an hour later, most of her bleeding stops and she gives me back my shirt. I sat there shirtless with Kira’s head in my lap. “I might not be your boyfriend, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about you. I’ll always be there for you Kira,” I say smiling down at her. “You’re a great friend Noah,” she mumbles out. I smile widely and kiss her soft forehead as she falls asleep in my lap. She is deaf to the sound of my heart breaking inside of me.