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Cougar, KūgāA Hetalia AUPlot: In a world where immortal shifters are hunted, Alfred F. Jones struggles to protect his younger brother while at the same time protecting himself while searching for his parent’s killers. In his search, he comes across others who are also looking for their parent’s killers. Together, they band together to form an unshakeable friendship.Characters: [Main] America (Alfred), England/Britain/UK (Arthur), France (Francis), Canada (Matthew), Italy (Feliciano), Germany (Ludwig), Japan (Kiku), China (Yao), Russia (Ivan), Prussia (Gilbert), Romano (Lovino), Spain (Antonio) [Side] Hungary (Elizaveta), Liechtenstein (Lilli), Austria (Rodreich), Switzerland (Vash), Greece (Hercales), Turkey (Sadiq).Side Series: The Cat with the White Mask (Greece & Turkey), Rise of the Empress (Hungary & Liechtenstein), Wolf and Music (Austria & Switzerland).Pairings: Joker, Franada, GerIta, ChinaJapan, RussPrus, Spamano, HungaryLiech, SwissAus, TurGree.O.C.’s: Lev, Rees, Regina Bertolini.Estimated Chapters: Anywhere from 20-40, although possibly more.Warnings: human names, yaoi/yuri, sex, language, blood, mpreg, childbirth, torture, suggestive language (more will be added as it comes/is thought of)Diseases/Conditions: Rage Syndrome: A condition shared by both America and Russia, a very deadly syndrome that is similar to PTSD and causes extreme spikes in hormones, causing the carrier to lash out uncontrollably at anything and everything in their way. You can often tell when the attacks are coming, because one eye on the shifter changes colors (Alfred’s turns red and Russia’s turns green). For shifters, grabbing them by the back of the neck and holding them helps stop the swing in its tracks for a strange reason.Separation Anxiety: A condition shared by Canada, Italy, and Russia, a condition that is usually caused by psychological things, it causes the victim to get anxious when alone or separated from a certain person. This anxiety can be taken out in different ways; for Canada he often hides in strange places, for Italy he gets confused and often cries out for help and Russia becomes extremely destructive.Chapter OneIn Which A Man DiesThe day, unfortunately began with another one of Alfred’s “swings;” the “swing” referring to another attack due to his Rage Syndrome. No one was quite sure what brought this particular swing upon Alfred, and unfortunately no one would be able to know. By the time Toris Lorinaitis made it to his office, the man-turned-cougar had already torn the messenger up beyond recognition, and trying to get anything out of Alfred would most likely turn disastrous.“Alfred, sir, please calm down!” The Lithuanian shouted at the cougar, who was currently roaring and growling and pacing the bloodied floor. His angry eyes, one red and one his natural sky blue turned to face Toris, burning with malice and anger. However, the cougar soon paused and shook his head, the red in his eye fading out to the sky blue color it normally was. Exhausted from his outburst, the cougar lied down.“I’m sorry.” he spoke two simple words as he looked up at Toris, tail slowly lashing back and forth.“Don’t be, we both know these swings aren’t your fault.” Cautiously the Lithuanian entered the room and walked back to where the cougar was, leaning down and looking at his bloodied head.“But what if Mattie saw?” Alfred replied, looking up at Toris with sorrowful blue eyes. “What would he think of me?”“Please, sir, don’t think about that,” Toris murmured, taking one of Alfred’s huge paws in his hand and shivering as he felt the still warm, sticky blood on it. “Right now we need to get you cleaned up.”The cat sighed shakily as he sat up, tail wrapping around his paws. “I need a towel, please Toris. Or...maybe just a sheet. After that please start the bath for me.” Toris nodded as he left the room, and Alfred turned his eyes to the bloody mess that used to be human in the corner of the room. He would be seen as nothing but another victim of Alfred’s rage to the rest of the servants.The servants. Alfred let out a sad catlike groan as he thought of the people who served him, yet trembled in fear at the sight of him. The only one who never trembled was Toris...but...still...After he’d gotten the sheet he’d requested earlier and changed back into a human, Alfred had Toris help him was the blood off of himself. While Toris scrubbed the blood out of Alfred’s ash blonde hair, the shifter sighed heavily, parting the water with his long, normally fluffy tail*.“Do you hate me, Toris?” he asked in a voice barely above a whisper.“Of course not, sir,” the Lithuanian replied, running some water through his hair. “What would make you think that? Did I do something?”“No,” Alfred replied, looking down at the mostly still water. “Do you think the other servants hate me?”“I think they’re just scared of you.” Alfred didn’t admit that those words didn’t make him feel any better.Later, after he’d bathed and dressed, Alfred was walking down the hallway with Toris, eyes downcast. “The room will be cleaned soon, right?” he asked.Toris nodded. “Yes, and just in time for our guest too...”“Guest?” The shifter’s cream colored ears did a 180. “We have a guest?”“Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot to tell you,” Toris replied. “We’re being visited by a mister Arthur Kirkland today, around two o’ clock.”Now his tail started to twitch. “What time is it now?”“Half past twelve.”A soft rumble rose in the shifter’s chest. “On business matters?”“No. It wasn’t exactly specified why he was visiting, but apparently he’s quite well known outside of this mansion.”Outside of this mansion. “No wonder why I haven’t heard of him.” Alfred rarely bothered to leave his safe sanctuary that he’d spent so many years creating for himself and his brother. He was so conservative that he didn’t even have a computer or a cell phone; there was only one telephone in the house, and it was a quite old model; nonetheless, it still worked, so Alfred didn’t bother to replace it.“Al!” The shifter’s ears did another 180 at the sound of his younger brother’s voice. Quickly approaching footsteps told him that he was coming down the hallway, and fast. Spinning on his heel, he turned to face the young blonde, who ran straight into him. The bigger shifter put his arms around the younger, who gripped his bomber jacket to keep from falling over. “Al, where were you? I looked everywhere for you, and I tried your office but the servants wouldn’t let me in—”“It was nothing. Go outside and play,” Alfred dismissed him, pulling away from his younger brother for a second. He was usually very shaky and disoriented after one of his swings, so he preferred to try and stay away from him afterwards.Matthew looked up at Alfred with sad dark blue eyes. “But, Al...why don’t you come outside with me?”“I can’t do that.” Was his simple reply.“Why?”“You know why.”“It doesn’t make sense though,” Matthew murmured, looking down at the floor. “You let me go outside but you won’t go yourself. Why, Al?”“Because, I need to stay in here, that’s why. It’s easier for you to hide if something goes wrong than it is for me to hide.” Noticing his brother’s sad face, he reached out and ruffled his hair, careful to avoid that one curl on his head. “Don’t worry. I’ll play with you one day.” A smile spread across Matthew’s face and he turned, bounding off down the hallway. Alfred smiled, head tilting a little to one side as he watched him run outside.“Toris, go outside and make sure that Mattie stays happy. As long as he’s happy, I’m happy.”“...yes sir.”Later, around two o’ clock“And you’re sure that he’s what I think he is?” The blonde haired man asked the golden hawk that sat on his shoulder.“Of course. I live with him, what do you think?”Arthur Kirkland went silent as he stared out the window in the car. “Alright, then.” Putting on his hat to cover his tufted ears, he prepared to leave. “Just as planned, right?” he asked, looking over at the hawk again.“Of course. As long as you remember what I told you, everything should be fine.”Sighing, Arthur stood as the car stopped and the door was opened. “Alright then. Let’s go.”
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Alfred met Arthur at the door of the mansion (he preferred doing that for some reason rather than having them go up to his office; he said it was better that way because if he was getting a bad aura from them then he could take them back outside onto the patio). He’d worn a baseball cap over his ears* to hide them like he usually did and kept his tail curled up inside of his pants leg, which was quite hard seeing that his tail had to be at least half of his body length.“You must be Arthur Kirkland,” Alfred greeted him stoically. Strangely, unlike with his human counterparts, the hair along his spine didn’t rise when he noticed Arthur. “I’ve heard a lot about you.” (Lies.)“Same about you.” The short blonde peered around Alfred into the house, and the shifter’s tail twitched and brushed against his leg; luckily the pants he was wearing didn’t betray the movement.“So if you didn’t come here on business matters,” he murmured while they walked down the hallway. “Why did you come here?”“Well, the truth is...I haven’t been able to find anyone like me,” Arthur replied. “No one with as high of a status as me or...of the same kind.”“Same kind?” Alfred asked as he turned around. “What do you mean by that?”“Well...a little bird told me what you really were,” Arthur told him, and Alfred stopped in his tracks. The hair along his spine began to raise and his ears pinned back against his head. “And so I came to tell you,” he started to say, before removing the hat on his head and letting his golden tufted ears show. “I’m on your side.”For a moment, Alfred just stared at him, before he too removed the hat and, for once, let a smile show. “Well then. If you’re the same as me, then I guess I’ll go change into more comfortable clothes.”After he’d changed, Alfred decided that it was safe to bring Arthur into his office. It had been cleaned basically spotless after the incident this morning; even though Alfred never stated how clean he wanted his office to be, the servants always cleaned it like this out of fear.“So when did it happen?” Arthur finally asked.“Did what happen?” Alfred questioned, turning to face him.“Your parents. When were they killed?”Alfred fell silent and looked out of the window, tail flicking back and forth. “July 4, 1788. I was 12 years old; actually, it was my 12th birthday.” he paused, looking out of the window as he recalled the painful memory. “That day, we’d gone to the market and my parents let me pick out whatever I wanted. Even though we didn’t have much money, they were happy to pay for whatever I picked out. In the end, it was a stuffed bear I picked out.” he paused again, placing one hand on the window as he looked out over his brother and Toris in the front yard. “My mother was going to make a cake for me, and my father was going to tell me a story.” he tilted his head down to look at the floor now. His normally ever-moving tail was lying flat against his legs and curled on the floor. Arthur’s ears were pricked towards him, twitching ever so slightly.“But that never happened. We were attacked by a group, claiming that we...no, all shifters were possessed by the devil and needed to be cleansed. And by cleansed, they meant killed.” His tone turned bitter as his eyes narrowed. “They killed both of them right before my eyes. And I’m sure you know the only way to kill a shifter is to tear out their heart and burn it, which is a very gory process. They forced me to watch...they forced Mattie to watch...he was only five...” Alfred bit his lip as the words caught in his throat. “That was the first time I ever went into a rage. The first time I killed someone. The only time Mattie ever saw me rage...he doesn’t even remember it anymore. I’m glad.” Turning back to Arthur, his tail lashed back and forth. “And why did you want to know?”“I was curious. You didn’t have to tell me, you know,” the lynx shifter replied, golden ears swiveling back and forth.Alfred fell silent for a moment, looking down at the ground. A familiar feeling was starting to rise in his chest, but he quickly shook it away, before looking back at Arthur. “So tell me, how did you know that my parents were dead?”“Well...” Arthur started to say, letting his sentence trail off as a familiar golden hawk sat outside of the window and scratched at the glass with one of its talons. Alfred opened the window, letting the hawk fly in and land on his shoulder.“Francis?” he asked, running a finger over the hawk’s streamlined head.“Bonjour~” the hawk greeted, turning and preening though a few of his feathers.“It was you?” Alfred grinned, shrugging the bird off his shoulder. Francis gave an unsatisfied “cree” before fluttering over to Alfred’s desk, looking at him with wide blue eyes.“I’m surprised it took you this long to figure it out,” Francis laughed. “Where do you think I’ve been sneaking off to the past few weeks?”Alfred shrugged. “I don’t know, it wasn’t my business. But who do you think you are to just run around and give out information about me? Who else have you told?”“I only told him because he is a shifter like you. I wouldn’t have told him had he been just a normal person.” Alfred met Francis’ piercing gaze before he looked away. Those hawk eyes were one of the few things that made the cougar nervous.“I see.” he muttered. “Well, you should probably change back now.” Alfred realized his mistake only after he’d said it.“Now? Okay!” the hawk cooed, before switching back to his (unclothed)* human form.“No, no! Put some clothes on,” Arthur growled, covering his emerald green eyes.“But Angleterre, I can just cover myself with my wings, no?” he laughed, wrapping his wings around himself. It was true—wingtip to wingtip they spanned 30 feet, making each individual wing at least 15 feet long.“Seriously Francis, clothe yourself,” Alfred growled, narrowing his sky blue eyes at the Frenchman.“Oh, fine, if you insist,” he laughed, getting off of the desk and trotting out into the hallway.“Try not to give anyone a heart attack,” Alfred yelled after him, before sighing and looking over at Arthur. “Sorry about that.”“It’s fine, I’m used to him by now,” the Englishman replied, a smile crossing his face.Alfred grinned as he looked out of the open window again, ears flicking at the outside noises. “It’s nice to have another person like me around here. Once you’re surrounded by humans for a long time, you almost forget what it’s like to be a shifter. Although, I wish it were easier for us to survive.” Alfred frowned as he looked down, tail twitching.“I know how you feel,” Arthur sighed, putting a hand on Alfred’s shoulder.Surprisingly, he didn’t flinch away.Later, outside...Alfred sighed as he sat on the hill, head tilted up at the starlit night sky. He preferred to come out during the night, since all of the servants were inside and it was just him outside. Arthur, who was staying for the night, was currently taking a shower inside, and Matthew was already asleep. Francis was out on one of his nightly runs, so it was only Alfred outside. He gave a heavy sigh as he tilted his head down, then jumped when he heard;“So you’re still awake.” turning, the cougar saw Arthur standing there, ears pricked and alert. “I didn’t think I’d find you out here.”Alfred looked away from Arthur and down at the ground. “I thought you were taking a shower.”“I was, but I finished and came looking for you.”“Why? What’s so important that you had to come look for me?”“I was thinking...maybe we could all team up, the four of us. You, me, Matthew and Francis. We could...look for our parents killers. From what you told me earlier it sounds like they were all killed by the same organization.”“...I don’t know,” the cougar sighed. “I...I mean...I’ve always worked alone and...Mattie’s never helped me with any of my work or searches...I don’t want to drag him into this...”“You can’t protect him forever,” Arthur told him. “One day he’ll want to know, he’ll want to help too.”Alfred bit his lip and lashed his tail, before turning. “But...everyone who’s ever worked with me always ended up running away...they were scared of me. Scared of my rages, my swings. They didn’t want to be around me if I turned on them...” a few tears leaked out from the corners of his eyes. “You’ll do the same, I know it.”“No, I won’t.” The words were spoken clearly and with confidence; Alfred knew they were spoken honestly. “I promise. Alfred, join me, and I promise, I’ll never leave you.” holding out his hand, the Englishman smiled. Tentatively, the cougar reached out his hand and took hold of Arthur’s.“Okay.”
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Chapter ThreeIn Which We Meet the Lion and the German SheppardNormally, in shifter terms, dogs and cats, especially big cats, do not get friendly with each other. However, when Ludwig Beilschmidt saw the reddish-furred male with his paw stuck in a hunter’s wire trap, Ludwig couldn’t help but feel a bit of pity for him. His pitiful wails echoed through the forest and was creating quite the commotion, so in order to keep from attracting the hunters who had laid the trap, Ludwig decided to help him out.“Hey, you,” the Germany called to the cowering lion. Since this was his home, his dog ears and tail that normally would have been concealed stood erect and held in the alpha-position. Looking up, the male’s ears went back against his skull and his tail between his legs. The fur along his spine rose in fear and his trembling got worse as his large amber-brown eyes widened.“Ah! I’m sorry, I was just passing through I swear!” lying down on the ground, he covered his maw with his free paw. “Please don’t hurt me!”“I’m not going to hurt you, I’m going to help you get out so you don’t attract the hunters,” he replied, leaning down to examine the trap. It would release by digging it out, so Ludwig set to digging.“Hunters?” the lion let out a laugh. “Hunters aren’t scary! Are you scared of them?”Ludwig’s sky blue eyes narrowed. “Of course! You may be a lion but I’m a dog. We are not as powerful.” as he continued to dig, he thought to himself; If he’s not afraid of hunters, why does he tremble at the sight of me? He’s confusing...Suddenly the shifter’s ears went erect at the sound of movement. A low growl came from the back of Ludwig’s throat as he looked around. The lion’s head had turned at the sound, too, ears doing 180’s as he focused on the bushes. Form behind them, two men dressed in camouflage uniforms stepped out into the clearing, tranquilizer guns* slung over their shoulders.As soon as he laid eyes on the hunters, the lion’s composure changed. The fur along his spine flattened, but his hackles rose. The trembling ceased. His tail rose up as he turned around to face the hunters. His lips curled back to reveal his glistening white teeth, and a tremendous roar left his throat.Ludwig recoiled sharply at the sound, tail moving slowly back and forth. His ears went flat against his skull as he saw one of the hunters take aim. Right has he was about to shoot (and Ludwig was about to turn tail and run), the lion gave another tremendous roar and pulled the trap right out of the hole Ludwig dug and launched himself onto the first hunter.A shot was fired, and Ludwig dove for cover; the lion, however, grabbed the first hunter by the neck. An eerie snap echoed around the clearing, and the male, dropping the first hunter turned to face the second. The second dropped his gun and, screaming, ran out of the clearing. The lion looked down at his bloodied paw and let out a soft groan. When he’d yanked the trap out of the ground, it had dug into his paw before releasing.Noticing the big cat’s poor condition, Ludwig emerged from the bushes he’d dove behind. Walking over to him, he now noticed the small dart embedded in the lion’s side. Pulling it out, he examined the big cat’s paw.“You tore it up pretty bad,” he sighed. “And it’s probably dislocated. You can stay with me until it’s healed.”“Sounds good...” a yawn left the lion’s maw as he rested his head in Ludwig’s lap; obviously, the tranquilizer was taking effect.“Before you sleep,” Ludwig started to say, noticing the cat’s amber eyes starting to close. “What’s your name?”“Vargas,” the lion murmured as he drifted off. “Feliciano Vargas.” Finally, he passed out in Ludwig’s lap.“Feliciano...” Ludwig murmured, frowning down at the cat. He shouldn’t be doing this, it went against so many laws of nature, but...then again...his parents broke that rule, didn’t they? A German Sheppard and a snow leopard...perhaps he and Feliciano could be friends after all.
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Chapter FourIn Which the Sheppard and the Lion have a chatLike he had promised, Ludwig was letting Feliciano stay at his house until his injured paw healed, which shouldn’t have taken very long, so it wasn’t like he was getting stuck with him for very long. However, within the first few days of him being there, the Italian had run out and bought almost every package of pasta he could and was eating that and only that (along with some other obviously Italian dishes). He also appeared to do nothing but sleep, sing, and laugh (and also eat...a lot...and talk). He seemed to be utterly useless, but Ludwig remembered how fearsome he’d been when he’d killed that one hunter, how terrifying he must have seemed to the other hunter. He could be a useful ally...“Say, Feli,” Ludwig asked one day while the red haired Italian lied stretched out on the couch and Ludwig sat beside him. “Have you ever thought about setting out to get rid of the hunters?”The shifter’s ears twitched as he sat up and turned to face Ludwig. “Of course! That’s what I’ve been doing. I’m infamous.” Curling his tail around his legs, he sighed. “Once, the hunters had the nerve to attack my older brother’s friend. I was so angry I killed every one that had been in the attack...there were fifty.”“That must’ve taken a whole week to track all of them down,” Ludwig murmured, eyes wide.“No, it only took a night! I killed all fifty in one night!” Leaning close to the German, Feliciano’s eyes gleamed. “Do you know why I’m such a good killer?” Ludwig cautiously shook his head. “It’s because I’m so cute and innocent looking, nobody thinks that I could possibly kill anyone! It lets me get closer to my victims before I kill them.”Ears flicking wearily against his skull, Ludwig backed up a little from the Italian. “So you only kill hunters? You wouldn’t kill a shifter would you?”“Not unless they messed with me or my family.” The Italian’s tail twitched. “Why? Do you want to become allies with me?”Scheiße...he’s smarter than I thought... “Yes. I do. If we were to team up, we could easily become unstoppable.”“What’s in it for me?” Feliciano asked, ears flicking as he thought carefully about the German’s offer.“Well...you’ll always have someone by your side,” Ludwig told him. “That way if something happens you’ll have me to come and rescue you. Also, you can stay here at my place if you want, unless you already have somewhere to stay—”“—which I don’t.”“In that case, you can stay here...also, teamed up we can kill more of the hunters more easily.” Ludwig gave Feliciano a small grin and slowly wagged his tail. “What do you think?”The Italian thought for a second, before nodding. “Sure! An alliance...a team...that sounds like fun!” If he didn’t know Feliciano well enough, he would have thought by looking at him now that he was just a childish, innocent shifter—however, he was forever reminded about the monster cat inside of him every time he saw the rounded ears at the top of his skull and the tufted tail. By that time, Ludwig already knew.He’d walked straight into the lion’s den.
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Chapter five
In Which a Sixlet is Formed and Ludwig is Stuck in an Awkward Position
Again, Ludwig was stuck a few months later in a situation with a big cat. A young cougar was having an unfortunate run in with a pack of wolves. It was obvious that he wanted to get away, but the wolves weren’t going to let their “play toy” go anytime soon; Ludwig, being the sensible and fair creature that he was, decided to take the situation into his own hands.“Hey! Can’t you see he’s trying to get away? What trouble is he causing?” the Sheppard barked, ears twitching slightly.The leader of the pack, a solid gray brute, turned to face Ludwig, tail swishing from side to side as he momentarily let go of the poor cat’s tail. “Why don’t you just keep your nose out of it, house pet?!”Ludwig’s fur prickled at the insult, although it was partially true. Before he’d retired to a solitary life, he used to be a police dog. However, once his partner was killed, Ludwig fled the scene, never bothering with humans again.“I’m no house pet!” the German snarled, tail lashing. “I could take all of you right now, though I’d rather not. All I’m asking you is to leave the cat alone!”“Is he somethin’ special to ya’?” a white brute asked, before snapping at the cougar’s muzzle. Startled, the cat fell backwards, letting out a pitiful meow.“No,” Ludwig replied, before grinning and lifting his tail and head. “I just thought wolves were above picking on cubs. Or are you all a bunch of bitches*?”Immediately all of the wolves jumped to attention, lips curled back in anger.“Why you pathetic, foul dog!” the alpha snarled, baring his teeth and lowering his head. “I’ll tear you apart!”“A-alpha,” one of the wolves whimpered, looking over his shoulder. “T-t-turn around.” Looking to where the other wolf was looking, the gray brute let out a yelp of surprise. Standing there was an almost pure white Russo-Eurasian wolf, with a big gray patch on his back going down his spine to his tail and leading up to the crown of his head. The wolf’s violet eyes were narrowed at the pack of wolves.“Leave. Now.” the white-gray wolf snarled, and the other five, too terrified to even speak, simply whimpered and, tails between their legs, sped off in the other direction. Before Ludwig could speak his thanks to the wolf, the brute had turned and left, leaving Ludwig alone in the clearing with the frightened cougar.“I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to intrude here! Is this your territory?” the cougar asked, trembling under Ludwig’s curious gaze.“Well, yes, part of it. This is actually the border,” Ludwig replied. “Which probably explains why the wolves were here.” Noticing the cougar’s trembling, Ludwig carefully approached him. “Hey, I’m not going to hurt you. Don’t worry.”Looking up at him, the cougar stopped trembling. “Oh, really? D-do you think you could help me find my brother and his companions? W-we were traveling together but I got separated from them...”Sighing, Ludwig nodded. “Alright, whatever. Just let me find my companion first. He should be somewhere close—”“Ludi!” the Sheppard was cut off as the Italian lion barreled into him at full speed, knocking the breath out of the dog and pushing him to the ground. “I saw the wolves running away and I thought something bad had happened!”Struggling underneath him, Ludwig panted heavily. “Ugh...I’m fine Feli...at least I was until you ran into me,” he growled, finally freeing himself from the lion’s grasp. “Anyway, we need to help this cat get back to his brother. By the way, what’s your name? I’m Ludwig, and the lion is Feliciano.”The cougar’s eyes went wide. “A-as in Feliciano Vargas? The Hunter Slayer?”Feliciano nodded, smiling widely. “That’s me!”Immediately the cougar’s tail went between his legs. “Y-you’re not going to kill me too, are you?”“Not unless you’re a hunter,” Feliciano replied, before eying the cougar. “You’re not a hunter, are you?” The cougar quickly shook his head, and the lion laughed. “Of course you’re not! You’re obviously a shifter.”Finally calming down, the cougar sat on his haunches. “Y-yeah...my name’s Matthew, since you asked.” looking up at the two, his eyes were hopeful. “Are we going to find my brother now?”Ludwig nodded. “Of course.” turning, he started to walk off. “Just come with us, we’ll find your brother.”After a little while of searching, a certain noise was starting to get on Ludwig’s noise. It was the creeing tone of a hawk’s call, but...it was strange. There weren’t any hawks in the area that he knew of...Before he could finish his thought, he was forced to duck as a feathered blur dove at his head, then circled above him. The hawk.“Hey, hey, cool it!” the German yelled up at the hawk. “What’s your problem?” Circling over their heads once more, the hawk dove down and rested carefully on the cougar’s shoulder, blue eyes focused on the Sheppard and the lion.“It was you! You kidnapped Mathieu!” he snapped in his heavy French accent before nuzzling a spot behind Matthew’s ear. “Did they hurt you at all?”“No, you’ve got it all wrong Francis,” Matthew replied softly. “They were helping me find you and Al...”“He’s right, we weren’t doing anything to him,” Feliciano stated, tilting his head at the hawk. “You should think more before you start attacking people.”If hawks had eyebrows, Francis’ eyebrow would be raised as he looked at Feliciano. “You...you’re very familiar. You wouldn’t happen to be related to a Lovino Vargas, would you?”“Actually yes, he’s my brother.”“Then my suspicions are confirmed. You must be the infamous Feliciano Vargas?”“Why yes, I am.” the lion looked ready to say more, before a loud snarl from his right side alerted him and he turned his head. Standing there, stiff-legged and hair raised was another cougar, but bigger and lighter colored than Matthew. His sky blue eyes were narrowed at Feliciano and Ludwig, and his tail was lashing back and forth. Beside him stood a light golden colored lynx, ears twitching slightly and much more relaxed than the cougar.“Al!” Matthew cried, running over to the other cougar and nuzzling him, purring loudly. The larger cougar licked between Matthew’s ears affectionately, nuzzling him back in return.“Well, then, since we’ve accomplished what we came here to do, we should be going back, shouldn’t we?” Ludwig muttered, turning to leave. Just as he did, however, Feliciano stepped on his tail.“Wait,” he told the Sheppard, before getting up and trotting over to Alfred, Francis, Matthew and the lynx. “I’ve heard a little bit from travelling shifters about you guys. You’re out to find and punish the ones in charge of the hunters, right?”“Right. What’s it to you?” Alfred asked, resting his head protectively over his younger brother’s.“Well I was just wondering...since we’re both going for the same cause here...” Feliciano looked over at Ludwig, who was already on the ground with his paws over his head. Apparently the Sheppard knew where this conversation was going.“Are you suggesting that we team up?” Alfred asked, tail twitching slightly.“Exactly. Since you’re not very well known, hunters may directly target you, since you’re pretty much alone and vulnerable. With me on your side though, things like that won’t happen as often, since I’m very infamous,” the lion purred, dark amber-brown eyes gleaming.“Is it your sole goal in life to make me suffer?” Ludwig muttered as he looked over at Feliciano. Grinning, the lion tilted his head at Ludwig.“If I said no I’d be lying.” Feliciano answered simply, before turning back to the other shifters. “So, is it a yes or a no?”It was obvious that Alfred was uncertain by the way his ears were pinned back against his skull and his tail lashing. However, after a bit of coaxing from the others, he finally relaxed. “Alright, fine. We can join together.”Looking over at Ludwig, Feliciano let out a rusty purr at the sight of the defeated dog, and the Sheppard’s eyes narrowed at the larger cat.Ludwig was not going to be happy with this arrangement.
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Interlude Chapter
In Which Lev Bertolini Plots His Murderous Spree
The black haired man let out a soft sigh as his violet eyes skimmed over the report of today’s happenings. Putting down the paper, he leaned back against his chair. In three months over 60 of his men had been killed, not counting the 50 that stupid lion had decided to murder a while ago. He was quickly running out of options. Either he kept recruiting more inexperienced hunters, or, he could just lead an attack on them sometime soon to attempt to take out the strongest shifters and leave the weaker ones for the “vultures”* to pick off.No, he couldn’t make a decision now. He had to wait, just a little bit longer. He could send in Leurilai and Ricardo as a last resort—they were both loyal to him and could get the job done quickly...yes. Perhaps that would be the best way. Smiling, he stood up and paged his younger brother.“Rees...get Leurilai and Ricardo ready. They’re going to have a very important job very soon.”
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Chapter Six
In Which the Wolf is Found in a Barrel of Potatoes
Never in Gilbert Beilshmidt’s life did he ever suspect that a simple walk out to his shed to get some potatoes would change his life forever—but it did.On that particular night in December, Gilbert had wandered out to get some potatoes from his shed to make his dinner. He knew immediately that something was wrong when he found the door wide open. He certainly hadn’t left it like that.Walking inside, Gilbert looked around, eyes slightly narrowed. “Pesky raccoons, must’ve gotten in again...alright, you over-grown rodents, come on out here and face your predator!” after he’d yelled his command, he waited for a few seconds. Detecting movement to his left, the snow leopard-hybrid’s ears twitched and his head turned to face it. There, in the potato barrel; that’s where they must be. Tensing his muscles, he got ready to spring, before something unexpected happened.Rising from the barrel, the wolf-human turned to face Gilbert, before tilting his head back and letting out a loud howl. For a moment, Gilbert stood there, frozen as the shifter’s violet eyes peered into his, and his left ear started to twitch.“Privet, I am Ivan. And you are?” the wolf asked in a heavy Russian accent.“G-Gilbert,” the snow leopard finally coughed out, “Gilbert Beilschmidt. Who the hell do you think you are?! You think you can just barge in here like you own the place?!”“Please excuse me,” Ivan apologized, ears flattening shamefully against his skull. “I’ve been running for a long time and I was trying to find somewhere to sleep for the night.”For a moment, Gilbert was quiet, before sighing. “Alright, whatever. But I don’t want you to stay out here. At least you could come inside.” After he’d brought the newcomer in (and given him suitable clothing, seeing how the only thing he had was his scarf), Gilbert was interested to hear how he’d gotten in the shed in the first place.“I’ve been running from some bad people for a very long time,” Ivan explained. “They killed my family and tried to kill me, so they could take over the throne.”“What throne?” Gilbert asked suddenly. “You’re not by any chance the Prince of Wolves, are you?”“That’s exactly what I am...well, I guess you could call me the King of Wolves, since my father was killed.”“King of Wolves...” he murmured softly, leaning back against his chair. He couldn’t believe it, he had the King of Wolves right there, in his living room!“That’s funny,” Gilbert grinned, tail flicking. “I also happen to know the King of Shifters. I guess I know two kings now, heh, lucky me.”At the mention of the other King, Ivan’s tail went between his legs. “You know the King of Shifters?” noticing his tail and ears flick back, Gilbert curiously cocked his head to one side.“Yes. You look scared...why is that?” he asked.“Is she all that they say she is?” Ivan murmured, violet eyes slowly travelling up to meet Gilbert’s. “Is she mean and ruthless and cold? Does she really slaughter for fun?” For a moment, Gilbert’s breath hitched inside of his throat, before he sighed.“I’d lie and say they weren’t, but I can’t. It is true, but I doubt she’s going to have any problems with you.” Gilbert told him, reaching out and petting the wolf-shifter between his ears. “As long as you’re here you’ll be safe.”Even as he said that, though, Ivan still looked unsure. That night, as Gilbert laid in his room to sleep, he swore he heard a soft scratching at the closed door, but ignored it. The scratching soon turned into pawing, however, and the pawing turned into whimpering, and the whimpering turned into all-out howling. Putting his pillow over his head, Gilbert yelled “Shut up!” for a moment the howling ceased, before Gilbert heard the sound of paws scratching on linoleum as he suspected that the wolf trotted away.Not too much longer, Gilbert decided that he was thirsty and got up to get some water. As soon as he traveled downstairs, however, he realized just what had happened when Ivan had trotted away from his door.His living room was in tatters. The curtains had been ripped from the windows and torn up and strewn across the living room. Both of his couches had been completely mangled; the mattresses ripped open, pillows destroyed. The wooden coffee table and chairs had been chewed apart and broken; the creator of this glorious mess was still chewing on a leg when Gilbert walked in. Looking up, the wolf’s tail started to wag as Gilbert visibly twitched.“What the hell did you do to my living room, sie verdammen Wolf [you damn wolf]!” the Prussian exclaimed, grabbing the wolf by his scruff as he’d do to a dog and tilting his muzzle up to look into his eyes. “Why did you do this?!” the wolf whimpered and tucked his tail under his legs, ears going back in fear as he whined.“Don’t act like you can’t answer me! Tell me!” before, Gilbert hadn’t noticed the wolf’s trembling when he grabbed him, but now it was becoming so severe that tremors were starting to run up his arms. Letting go of the wolf, Ivan laid down on his stomach and looked up at Gilbert with wide eyed.“I’m sorry,” he finally murmured. “I just wanted to sleep with you.”Putting a hand on his forehead, Gilbert sighed. “You could have just asked.”“I tried,” Ivan whimpered. “But you wouldn’t open the door.”“...oh,” Gilbert muttered. “Well then, I’m sorry.” looking at the destroyed living room, Gilbert shook his head. “It’ll take some time but I’ll just have to buy some new stuff.” turning, Gilbert started to go back up the stairs, before looking at Ivan. “Are you coming?” tail wagging, the wolf trotted up behind him, tail happily wagging as he made his way up the stairs and to Gilbert’s room.Little did they both know, this day was to be the beginning of an unusual, but unbreakable friendship.