章節 16: The Legacies of Set
Set barely let her finish the thought, emotions swelling in his usually steady, if not brooding demeanor.
He didn't know one could feel such conflict inside of them. He was heartbroken for his friend - his spouse? His future mate, but above all, he was terribly angry. He seethed, wanting to swaddle her in the blanket she was in, hide her from the world, and then level the fox clan to the ground. By her description that village was facing extinction as it was, he may as well quicken it. How dare anyone treat a female this way? Let alone the terrible mate, the entire village had done her wrong. What kind of backwards society had she found herself in?
At this point, he had forgotten how unnatural Shuule must have been to others. As a snake, he was equipped better to know how it felt to be on the outside, rather than the community choosing to exclude. He was only a two striped beastmen, but he also was only the same age as Shuule - seventeen - and so was formidable considering he had already earned those stripes. As a feral- a beast who lived alone without community support - he was stronger than villagers of the same stripes, earning them in life or death battles. With that consideration, and his shared ancestral knowledge, he was certain he could seek revenge.
As if reading his mind, Shuule turned back at him again, grinning. "Don't go find them, they aren't all bad." The broad smile told on her, though. She wouldn't quite mind seeing the place burning. She was small and sad now, but being meek hadn't gotten her this far.
If she was meek, she would still be in the village with a bunch of males who only accepted her enough to pray that their children weren't like her. Unfortunately, that wouldn't be as hard of a life as some beasts. This was a world where many of the women wouldn't bother cutting their own fingernails or hair without men's help, and yet she decided to take a pony and a can of salt and go live in a tree. She may not have had the experience to survive forever, but she had the will to try.
She stared up at him with that disarming smile, her hands holding the blanket around her as the sun was almost behind the mountains in the distance, and Set made his first real advancement towards her, leaning down to kiss her, one hand still wrapped around her, the other gently combing through her hair. To his delight, she moved into his kiss, and he turned her bundle of blankets around so her whole body faced him. Pressed into his chest, she sighed, truly relaxed.
Set wished in this moment he could shift his whole body into a human, but he thought laying in the arms of a naked man after confiding in him would be unsettling, especially as there was a bit of anatomy that would probably take her by surprise.
Contrary to this thought however, Shuule pulled back to ask, "So should we finalize it?"
"What?"
"You know, go back to the cave and mate and finalize the spousalship."
Set's eyes lit up, his beast wanting to curl around her and take her, but there was that scratch at the back of his brain again, and he, as he had done before, tilted his head in silent consideration, as if he was registering something.
"No."
Before Shuule could shriek and believe she had been suddenly rejected after a day of holding and emotional outpouring, he kissed her again, deeper, wanting her to feel how much he wanted her. It wasn't that. He let one hand slip down, and cupped her foot, running his thumb down the forming scars.
"I don't want my mark on your foot."
She pulled back and scolded him, "It won't be! You've been nice to me, and I like you."
Tracing his hand down the side of her face, Set smiled, but shook his head. "It's my turn," he said softly, letting her lie back down his in arms to look up at the sky that was now starting to be dotted with stars.
"My parents loved each other very much. My father would have died for my mother - he almost did, twice. But it didn't start out that way. He could have had his mark on her heart. But he missed his chance. The Legacy says that no snake in my lineage has been openly accepted by a spouse before, let alone been loved, before my parents, and ... I want to be better."
"The legacy?" Shuule asked, confused.
"This is something us snake beasts don't talk about often outside of our own kind, but you should know it. When we are born, we have the memories of our past generations. It lets us fend for ourselves as soon as we hatch, but the Legacies can be used for much more if one cares to study them. They taught me how to sew, how to make tools," he paused, "what you would want to see in a house if I even got you to come to my cave. And they also told me what my ancestors have done wrong. How they've made their mates resent them, how they became rootless, how females have died in the winter because they hibernated and left them alone with nothing.
And what I know, from the Legacies, is that my clan has been ostracized for generations, but for good reason, maybe. My father made a lot of adjustments, and changed some minds, but he didn't get it all right. I'm a serpent, Shuule. Being my mate is not like being mates with a fox, or a tiger from the City. Diplomacy is not something I do well. But I want to start at least with my mark not on your foot."
Shuule didn't have an immediate answer, in awe that an entire family line could share their previous lives, and while she was certain Set's mark would not be anywhere that would be shameful, she kind of reveled in his insecurity. All the males she had met were so sure of themselves. Given that she hadn't grown up with any other young women, Shuule actually had very little understanding of what typical courtship looked like, but she was certain is was usually full of open posturing and self assurance.
"Also, I promise not to kill any other future spouses unless you ask me to -"
"WHAT?" Shuule snapped out of her dreaming, whirling around in a panic, Set laughing.
"It's a joke, don't worry. Well, I mean actually not really, it's not really a joke. The Legacy and whatnot. But I mean, I do promise."
Shuule wrinkled her nose, but settled back down. "Well, maybe I won't take any other spouses anyway. We could live here forever," she said, first flatly, but then with a bit if wistfulness.
Set sighed contently, resting his chin on the top of her head as the sky was fully engulfed in stars, wondering what he had done to deserve such a perfect moment. All a feral wanted was a spouse who wanted to be monogamous. A mate who wanted to live in solitude in a cave. But he also knew that eventually, this wouldn't be possible. He would see - maybe - if the fact that Shuule could shift would change the circumstances, though he doubted it.
But for now, for tonight, he could dream of a life here forever by the stream, with a spouse who wanted to be only with him.
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