Little Fang

Author’s Note:

“Toofy was taught at the temple. She didn’t do very good with the languages. Only speaks human, neko, a bit of demonic and high elf. Never learned the undertongues, like goblin or orc. Got her in lots of trouble… Learned to curse in rattan. That’s fun.”

Rattan as a language is mentioned once in ‘Toofy’, but there are no ratgirls in either “Drachne” or “Toofy”.

Clearly, we need to fix this!

So, in the spirit of “Dragon’s Kitty”, here’s another standalone story from the same world.

(Some few may find this eerily familiar. That’s because Maly/Inny Kiel was my first character from this world, but starred in an experimental game. I’ve adapted the story from that.)

—

The pitter patter knocking out the rhythm above Cohen’s head is relaxing, reminding him of so many summers spent waiting for the eventual relief of the brief storms.

It would be pleasant to lie here and reminisce, but that seems like a bad idea. Considering he was bleeding out.

There isn’t much in the remnants of the old tin shed, one of the only structures still standing on the farm.

A mouldy apple. It’s really gross. And he had no idea how to turn mould that might be penicillin into actual medicine.

Now seems like a bad time to try to learn.

There was also a dead rat the size of a cat. The only surprising part of this is that he managed to actually kill the damn thing with his bare hands before it killed him.

Well… Killed him all at once.

The torn remnants of his shirt. Considering what the rat did, it isn’t surprising it was torn up.

It seems like a bad idea, what with the bacteria that rats carry, but wrapping it around his wound from the bite on his side seemed to be the only immediate choice to make.

Cohen wrapped it as tightly as he could. However… He was still bleeding. It’s still raining. The rat is still dead.

He passed out.

—

“Wake up!”

The voice was crazy loud, enough that Cohen was dragged back to reality, kicking and screaming. Cracking open an eye, he saw something that could not possibly account for the insane volume of the voice.

A small, probably growth-stunted, young girl. At least… She looks almost like a girl.

Her bare arms outside her sleeveless shirt are covered in red fur, the same colour as her hair. He couldn’t see her ears, the easiest way to tell if what kind of exotic she was.

Exotic. The term was used by humans to describe all the sentient, or near-sentient species that should probably be considered equals, but are mostly looked down on. Pretending that they were some kind of oddity, when humans might be dominant and dominating, but were outnumbered ten to one by the other races.

She was young, but not that young. Not a juvenile, but at an age and with a face that meant you couldn’t guess if they were two or three decades old. Somewhere in that range.

Glancing at his side he saw that his shirt was gone, and replaced by a proper bandage.

Cohen groaned, “Did… Did you save me?”

“Mmm.”

Well, that was extraordinarily descriptive.

She stared at him for a little while, and then sat down, a skin-coloured tail curling out from the bottom of her shirt to go around her feet and hands. She smiled at him, “Ratata.”

Cohen nodded slowly, “Do… You have a name?”

“Maly Kiel.” She said happily, before sniffing the air. Her pink eyes narrowed and she let out a low growl as she looked outside the tin building.

Her name sounded like a cute thing on the surface. Except it was less of a name, and more of a description. Directly translated from rattan, it meant “Little Fang”.

Something like a nickname, then. Maybe.

Hard to tell with her kind.

Cohen followed her gaze, and growling. He hadn’t heard anything. Not even the skittering of a rat.

“Przekleta bestia.” She said in anger before diving out of the doorway on all fours.

A rattan curse. Meaning something like ‘cursed beast’. Generally used to refer to exotics that have picked up an actual curse that has taken their minds from them. Dissolved their sense of self and left behind something that was more animal than person.

Not that dissimilar to what rabies can do to a human, if left unchecked.

Cohen crawled over to the doorway, wincing with each motion. From his vantage point he could see the thing at the edge of the wheat field that lay outside.

It and the young girl were circling each other, both growling.

The beast’s hackles were up.

Shadows seem to swirl around it, to be a part of it. It was difficult to tell what it once was, before the curse took root. Too hard to tell if it was even bipedal before the curse. Whatever it was… That was long gone.

The girl on the other hand didn’t look so cute and innocent anymore. Her pink eyes were those of a killer. Unblinking, unafraid. Her shoulders are braced, her tail floating to keep her balanced.

Cohen nearly died fighting a stupid rat.

What on earth was she thinking taking on something this fucked all on her own?

The cursed creature struck first.

It leaped towards her with a speed that made him flinch and go to cover his face, expecting nothing but a spray of blood as his would-be saviour died.

He knew he would have, if the situation were reversed.

Strangely, the beast hit the ground and spun, striking nothing at all. Instead the girl was now facing it from the same place the creature had been standing a mere moment before.

She was grinning, but the smile wasn’t reaching her eyes.

The girl tensed up, her hackles rose every so slightly, a moment before she disappeared. She didn’t simply attack, she vanished from his sight altogether.

Cohen flicked his eyes towards the beast, but instead he saw a huge path of collapsed wheat that stretched out of view. Neither of the two were in sight at all.

He tried to crawl outside, towards the damaged wheat. He had to know if she was okay.

A soft hand caught his wrist as he went to move outside the shed. Glancing down he saw Maly Kiel holding onto him.

She shook her head and dragged him back inside.

The girl pushed him down onto a soft bag of grass, and smiled weakly. “Spac. Sleep. Need.”

—

Even with the screaming agony in his side, Cohen felt relaxed and as if he actually got a decent night’s sleep. There’s nothing quite like the sound of rain on a tin roof.

Maybe a little less than a full night’s sleep – it was still dark outside.

He could see pink eyes glittering by the doorway, staring out at the dark. He couldn’t really imagine what is out there, too many things, but considering what she did before… It felt good to have something acting like a guard dog. They’d need it.

She crept closer to him, and patted his shoulder, but kept her eyes trained on the outside world. “Dobry. Awake. Not dead.”

He turned his gaze to where she was staring but couldn’t see a damn thing.

“Anything out there?”

“Mmm.” She nodded her head and shrugs, “Rats.”

She didn’t seem that concerned, but then she did just manage to either drive off or kill something so far gone that Cohen hadn’t been able to identify it. She didn’t seem to be a normal exotic at all.

“Thanks, for saving me.”

The girl seemed amused at the statement, her mouth curling into a smile as she continued to stare into the dark.

“Bez wyboru.” She whispered, as if it were the simplest of things. As if she had been acting only out of obligation. Most survivors would see another being attacked and either steal whatever they had and move on, or use their dying body as a lure to escape the things that go bump in the night.

This far outside the borders of the empire, things were as unsafe as they could get.

It seemed this particular girl wasn’t just strong, she was strange. Why did she even help him?

“Maly… How did you find me?”

Maly Kiel screwed up her face with concentration, searching for the words. She struggled with it for a long time and then spoke quietly. “Wazne jest blisko. Important is close.”

Cohen didn’t get her meaning, but it was clearly something heavy for her. Something to keep in mind for the future. And thinking of the future, he whispered, “What happens in the morning?”

He had come to this god-forsaken place to die. It wasn’t something he was very willing to admit to the girl going to a huge amount of effort just to keep him alive.

It seemed cruel to tell her his intentions in this wasteland.

That he thought life wasn’t worth living.

Maly Kiel smiled and Cohen felt her tail curl around his waist in a reassuring hug. “We go. Place nearby. Dom rodzinny.”

She settled down beside him, snuggling her head against his shoulder. She tapped his forehead lightly, “Spac. Sleep.”

Cohen groaned, but found himself drifting off easily in the arms of the strange but beautiful creature.

—

“Wake up!”

Cohen rolled over, grabbing at his ears, before he suddenly screamed in pain and grabbed at his side.

He felt someone else gently roll him onto his back again, and he was staring up into two accusing and pink eyes. She glared at him angrily, “Jebac.”

He cringed and touched his now very wet bandage, “Sorry. I guess I shouldn’t have done that. Fuck this hurts.”

She frowned for a moment, and then disappeared from his sight with a scampering of bare feet. He didn’t try and sit up to see where she’d gone to. Not when he was already bleeding again.

Maly Kiel reappeared as quickly as she had vanished. The woman pulled off his bandage and chattered nervously at what she saw, then shoved a handful of something that looked like grass into her mouth.

“Uh… What are you doing?” Cohen asked cautiously.

She spat the pulp into her hands and worked it for a moment. Then, to his horror, she spread it across his wound.

It seared like he was being branded.

“Fuckshit!” He roared.

“Miec prezesrane.” Maly agreed with him grimly, and then pulled out a clean bandage and began to tightly wind it around his bare waist. With each tight pull of the material, she paused to lean down and kiss the spot where he’d been bitten.

Cohen was feeling a tiny bit less delirious than the day before. When he’d asked her how she found him, when he expected to just become another dead body in another ruin, she had told him that something important was close.

“Maly…” He said stiffly, trying to ignore the pain, “Am I important to you?”

“Mmm.” She nodded and smiled up at him.

“Why?”

She turned her head sideways and blinked, and then shook her head. She didn’t understand the question. Cohen was pretty sure she understood the word, but for some reason she didn’t comprehend his meaning.

He winced, trying to lean up on his elbows, “I’m nobody. An exile from the empire. I can’t even fight a rat. Why would I ever be important to anyone?”

“Cohen. Important.” She replied, and pushed his shoulders gently but firmly back down. She wrapped her tail around his waist, and then snuggled down beside him.

Her arm went across his bare chest, delicate little fingers pulling tightly against his side. She closed her eyes, clearly intent on ending that particular conversation.

Unless Cohen very much missed his guess, he’d just been claimed by the strange little exotic.

Her breathing was soft and calming. Her tiny chest raising and falling as the woman clung to him with a determination. It was as if she’d finally gone to sleep.

She had been watching over him throughout the night, so he wouldn’t blame her.

Cohen tried to shuffle a painful little inch away from her.

Maly’s tail tightened and dragged her with him. He wasn’t going to be able to even try and stand up. He was stuck with her. Or rather, she was stuck with him.

“No spierdolic.” The woman muttered quietly.

Cohen sighed heavily, “Do you need to sleep, before we try and leave? You were going to take me somewhere, weren’t you? Close by?”

She raised her head and yawned, “Cohen want run. Want podpierdalac himself from me.”

“I won’t run. Can’t.”

Maly nodded and reluctantly stood up, before helping him to his feet. He noted that her tail was still looped around his waist, the end of it tucked through so that she was like a belt to him.

She pulled one of his arms over her shoulders and helped him to stumble outside and into the rain.

Cohen felt a little guilty as they began to move through the wheat field. His chest might be bare, and freezing, but he had solid boots on. Whereas her dainty feet sank into the sucking mud as they walked.

Maly suddenly giggled and pulled down on one of his frozen nipples, “Getting excite?”

He rolled his eyes, and then frowned, “Well, you’re opening up. Can you… Tell me who you are?”

“Maly Kiel.” She replied again with a broad grin.

He nodded, “Is that your name? What you do? What about who you are? Do you live with a clan? Hunt? What do you do for fun, in this gods-forsaken place?”

“Maly Kiel is… Maly Kiel.” She said very slowly, as if speaking to a child.

He gave up.

Her tail tightened momentarily, “Not far. Rats not attack. Maly Kiel is Maly Kiel. Inny Kiel explains.”

Cohen nodded slowly, “Inny Kiel? Is that another ratata?”

“Mmm.”

He frowned, “Does… Does she speak more human, is that why she can explain things?”

“Mmm.”

As they moved through the field, Maly’s eyes were constantly roving. Her little pink eyes never settling on a single location for long. Her breathing was calm, but he also found it to be measured.

She might seem cute most of the time, but this was someone who had gone toe-to-toe against a shadowbeast and come out unscathed. She was a survivor, and that meant there was a deep violence inside her.

Cohen was glad she was on his side… Even if he still had not a clue as to why.

The little ratata led him up to the top of a hill. He hadn’t quite been heading this way, when the rat had attacked him. He would have missed this view, if he kept going.

Missed the sight of a dozen little straw huts, standing in the mud.

He could see ratata scurrying around in their village, preparing wood and stacking it under covers. Cutting and cooking meat. Looking for all the world like they were preparing some kind of ceremony or festival.

Maly Kiel grabbed his hand and grinned at him, “Dom rodzinny.”

With that, and her fingers tightly interlaced in his, as well as her tail around him, she led him down and into the village.

As he approached, looming a good head-and-shoulders over every single one of them, the villagers stopped and stared. Some had completely black eyes, some were red, but there was a single other with Maly’s pink.

The other pink-eyed ratata had flowing white hair, and she was storming directly towards the two of them with her tail poised in the air.

“Kurwiszon jestem na kurwie!” The ratata screamed angrily.

Maly Kiel’s hand and tail tightened, and she stuck her chin forward stubbornly, “Wazne jest blisko.”

The other looked up at him, and then spat at his feet, “What are you doing here, human?”

“I… Don’t know. She saved my life.” Cohen said cautiously.

The other one sneered at him, “Not worth saving.”

“Pierdolony!” Maly Kiel suddenly yelled, and then dropped into a low and continuous growl.

The angry one rolled her eyes, “Tss. Fine. It is your right, Maly.”

“Inny explains.” She stomped her foot.

Cohen laughed nervously, “So… You’re Inny Kiel?”

“Yes, I’m the spare.” The woman replied sarcastically, “What do you know of the ratata, human?”

“Nothing.” He shook his head, “I know enough of the language to trade, and that’s about it. I ask Maly who she is, or what she does, and she just repeats her name, so I’m guessing it’s just a nickname.”

“It’s a title. Like your lords.” Inny Kiel said, voice dripping with scorn. “Maly Kiel is our defender, our guardian. She is the one who guides the clan.”

He looked down at the woman holding onto him, “Defender, I got to see. But… She’s your leader? Why was she outside the village, where it isn’t safe?”

“I’m the spare.” Inny Kiel said tiredly, “If she dies, I become the Maly Kiel. That is our way of things. Always two, for all things.”

“Like… A master and an apprentice?”

The ratata spat at his feet again, “Master and master, maybe. I’m no less than she. However, when she goes and makes bad decisions like this, I can’t overrule her.”

“Can I ask what decision she’s made?” He said timidly. “She doesn’t seem to speak a whole lot of human.”

“She doesn’t speak a whole lot of anything. She speaks war. She speaks death. She speaks with fang and claw.” Inny Kiel snarled and then her tail dropped to the wet ground with a slap, “Tss. I’m getting angry at the wrong one. Come, this is our hut.”

The three of the entered the hut.

Both women paused by the doorway, scruffed their feet a little on a mat, and then pulled him over to a lit fireplace. The smell of mossy pine filled the little one-room hut.

Maly Kiel sat him down on the mat, and then forced him to lie down by gently pushing on his shoulders. Then, she pulled off his bandage and tossed it into the fire.

She squeaked at the other one so fast he didn’t have a chance to even guess what was being said. Inny Kiel growled, but left the room.

Maly Kiel pulled a small tin bucket from beside the fireplace, sloshing a little water as she did. She grabbed a cloth from where it had been drying and began to wash her feet.

Cohen found himself fascinated, lying there and unable to move. He watched her drawing the wet rag up and down her dainty feet, making certain to get even the smallest skerrick of dirt.

When she was done with that, and her feet were shining with water, she extended them towards the fire and began to picked at her toenails with her claws.

Cleaning herself until it was hard to tell that she had just been trudging around outside.

“Do any of your people wear shoes?” Cohen asked.

Maly Kiel blinked and looked over at him, she frowned for a moment and then shook her head. “Sometime. Long time ago. When war was rattan.”

“When war was rattan?”

“She means when we used to be bred for war by your kind.” Inny Kiel spat, coming back inside and thrusting a handful of flowers at the other ratata.

“Oh.”

Inny shrugged, “I might hate you, but it has little to do with that. The ratata have always been bred. We give birth to armies, to miners, to slaves because we have always been skurwysyn slaves.”

“Free.” Maly snapped, and then she picked up a small circular tin cup without a handle, and began plucking flower petals and adding them.

“Yes, we’re free now. Not then.” Inny rolled her eyes, and then sat down by the fire and began a similar cleaning routine to Maly. She was just as precise, and just as beautiful.

“Are you… Sisters?”

“Stupid humans… We’re clan.” Inny growled, “You think one relationship is better than another. A mother, a father. Ratata don’t have that. We are all just clan.”

“Family seems important to you.” Cohen tried to sound understanding and sympathetic, getting sick of his head getting bitten off every time he opened his mouth. “How do you… Handle marriage, then? Us stupid humans use sister and brother and so on to mark those we can’t marry or mate with.”

Inny shrugged, “Mostly, we get attacked by kinds like yours. Forced to become breeders with anyone.”

“I am sorry that there are dicks in my race.” He said with exasperation.

Inny laughed softly, “Mmm. That was rude of me. Sorry. I… I don’t like this situation. And I like your ignorance of it even less. We take a life partner, from outside our clan. Not everyone is allowed this. Isn’t a right, it is earned. Only the bravest, the strongest.”

“Like… Maly.”

She nodded at him, and then began to warm and clean her toes, “Yes. Just like Maly Kiel. I told you I was the spare, and that we were equal. Not quite. She has the right to take a life partner, but I don’t. Not unless she does, first.”

“Oh. I suppose that’d be frustrating, if you had someone you wanted.”

Inny smiled and nodded, “Sometimes. Most times I just try and make sure I don’t get pregnant and everyone pretends not to notice the ratata slipping out my door.”

“So, there’s trade? Other ratata come here?”

The woman held up a hand, “Yes, but I was making a point, human. Maly Kiel has the right to choose her life partner. And it is for life. What is that weird thing you have? The division. Relationship forgotten.”

“Divorce?”

Inny nodded, “That’s it. We don’t have it. Once we do the ceremony, once Maly Kiel has taken her life partner, that is it. She will always have him, and she will follow him if he leaves. If he rejects her, she will sleep outside his door. He can beat her, try and kill her, and she will continue to follow. It is our way.”

“That sounds… Like a responsibility. And a choice that cannot be made lightly.” Cohen said, feeling sympathy as he imagined just how many rattan women had been treated like shit by others.

Inny Kiel smiled tightly at him, “She chose you.”

“What now?”

The woman laughed at his completely confused expression and pointed a thumb to outside, “We’re preparing the ceremony. She caught your scent on the air, and told us. She chose you.”

“She chose me before she met me!” He exclaimed, “And… Don’t I get a say in this? I’m a worthless piece of crap. I’m not even rattan!”

“She chose you.” Inny shrugged again.

Maly Kiel looked up from the tea she was brewing, “Wazne jest blisko.”

“What does that mean?” Cohen said with pain.

Inny laughed, “It means that she chose you. That no matter where you go, or how far you go, she will always be able to find you, again. That she will always be there for you. She will defend you until the end of her days.”

“I came here to die!” His patience snapped.

Both rattan women just shrugged.

“Gods… Why? Why me?” He shook his head.

Inny glared at the other, “Yes. Why this spierdolic thing?”

Maly Kiel answered by sticking out her tongue, and then she made Cohen scream in agony by pouring the boiling tea directly over his wound. His eyes watered and he curled his hands into fists around the mat.

He passed out.

—

“Wake up!”

“Green Goddess, woman!” Cohen groaned, “Were you a banshee in your previous life?”

Maly giggled, and he leaned up on his elbows. Spying her hanging from the roof by the crook of her tail as she examined a very tattered looking book. She looked down at him, “Time soon. Need get ready.”

“You’re determined to marry me, aren’t you?” He asked in confusion. “I just… Why me? Please. Try.”

She dropped lightly to the floor, and sat down beside him. Her tail went around him, and she pulled his arm around her shoulders. Then she reopened her book so that he could see it.

It was a child’s book. On one side it had rattan words, and on the other it had a human equivalent.

However, Cohen was confused why it would exist.

Books like this were generally only made for the children of lords. It was too expensive to make and bind each copy. Ratata didn’t have enough gold to compensate for it, and no lord’s child needed to speak to his lowest slaves.

An adult human might need to learn, but not a child.

The book included drawings as well. Incredibly detailed scenes depicting the word in question. Hundreds of hours had gone into making this fragile document, and the worth of it was probably more than anything that Cohen had seen in person before.

Maly traced her finger over the human word slowly, “Lll… Oooo. Vvv.”

“Love.” Cohen said quietly, and looked at the depicted wedding ceremony. There were elements that were familiar to him. The exchange of bracelets of gold and silver. The bride wearing a crown of flowers.

Others were new. The groom was wearing a strange black and white outfit, and no ceremonial sword, whilst he was flanked by two who were armed. The bride and groom weren’t standing in front of a priest, but were circled by the entire village.

“Maly Kiel.” She pointed to the rattan bride, and then she pointed to the human groom, “Cohen Rataraed.”

He was shocked by the interspecies marriage, even in a book marrying the two languages. The details made him feel that this wasn’t just artistic license, but something that the illustrator had witnessed.

“How did you know my name was Cohen, when you met me?” He asked her cautiously.

She blinked and shrugged.

“Humans generally only have one name, or the males do. Women take their husband or master’s name.” He frowned, “What does… Rataraed mean?”

“Cohen Rataraed.” She said firmly with a nod.

About as useful as asking what her own name was. “Where’s Inny when you need her?”

“Hunt bestia.” Maly said vaguely, lovingly touching the illustration in front of her. She turned her head to him, bottom lip quivering, “Understand?”

“You saw this, and wanted it?”

She smiled sadly, “Not understand. Maly Kiel. Cohen Rataraed. It is. It must. It will. It was.”

Right as he was going to try and prompt her for more, Inny Kiel staggered in, covered head to toe in ash and blood. The woman dropped face-first onto the floor with a groan of exhaustion.

Maly hissed and tossed a cloth at her, before jumping up to the roof and putting away her precious book.

Inny tiredly managed to grab the cloth, but nothing more.

He shrugged and dragged the water basin over to her side. Taking the cloth from her grip and began to wipe away some of the grime. “Rough day?”

Both women squeaked at him.

Cohen frowned, “What did I do?”

The cloth was snatched from his hand by Maly, who was shaking in utter rage. She chattered her teeth at him, and then he felt her tail slap his face. His ears were still ringing when she turned away from him with a huff and began to clean Inny.

“Ow. Seriously. I was just trying to help.”

Inny groaned, “Stupid… Human… Only life partner or clan can do that. You… Just said you wanted to breed me.”

“Oh shit.” He said in surprise, “I’m sorry.”

“Tell her that. You just violated her trust.” Inny rolled over tiredly as a furious Maly Kiel scrubbed unkindly at her hair.

He supposed, he had just asked to fuck his fiance’s sister, right in front of her. Not exactly a recoverable social mistake, almost universally. Though, he’d never asked to have a fiance.

He was exiled from the human empire five years ago.

Five years in the wastes had convinced him that it was better to die than to try and make it by on his own. It hadn’t removed a single shred of his guilt or shame from why he had been exiled.

“Maly… I know you chose me… But you shouldn’t have.” Cohen whispered tiredly, “I’m a kinslayer. That’s why I’m here.”

“Kyneslay?” She glared at him, still furious at him, but not understanding the word.

“Kinslayer.” He repeated, “It means I… Killed my clan. My family.”

Inny Kiel sat up and shoved the other ratata aside, “What did you just say?”

“I burned down my family home. With them locked inside it.” Cohen said in regret, “I was justly convicted. Sentenced to roam the wastes until I died. I told you, I’m a piece of crap.”

“You skurwysyn bestia.” Inny snarled, “I should kill you!”

Maly’s hands wrapped around Inny’s throat as she shoved her to the ground. Her pink eyes becoming expressionless as she began to squeeze. Cohen grabbed the small ratata, wincing in pain as he yanked her off.

Maly screamed in frustration, and snarled at the other.

Inny coughed weakly, rubbing her throat. She glared up, “You heard him! He killed his clan!”

“Wazne jest blisko! Kurwiszon jestem na kurwie!” Maly screamed, flailing as she tried to break free of his grip to attack the other ratata.

“Stop it.” Cohen growled.

Maly went limp.

He lowered her back to the ground slowly, “Obviously you’ve made your choice, Maly. You’ve chosen me, and that is it. But I won’t have you become a kinslayer for my sake. Inny is right. I deserve death.”

Inny Kiel rubbed her throat, “You humans always care about reasons. Think reasons make things less. What was yours?”

“My excuse makes it worse.” Cohen held his side as he sat down again, “I was stealing my father’s lands and titles.”

Maly Kiel crossed her arms, and snarled at her spare, “Cohen Rataraed.”

“No.” Inny’s eyes widened, “That’s what this is? No! He’s not even halfway to being Rataraed!”

Cohen sighed, “I appreciate you using human in front of me, so I can understand, but what does Rataraed mean?”

Inny shook her head, “First, that’s not why. Maly Kiel made it law. All the clan must speak both rattan and human. She is the will of the clan, apart from me. I don’t think you really get that, yet. Pretend there’s a fork in the road. Most of the clan want to go left. Maly Kiel points to the middle. They will all, immediately, dig a new path. Even if it kills them.”

“She’s more than even the emperor.” He said in surprise.

Inny nodded gravely, “She can’t break the law. She is the law. She is the spirit of the clan. We exist because she does. Secondly… Rataraed… Means the spirit of the ratata.”

“Like… Maly?”

The woman shook her head, “Every clan has Maly Kiel and Inny Kiel. It is our way. But the Rataraed… They are the spirit of all ratata. Maly Kiel is saying that you, of all the stinking things, are our destiny.”

Maly turned to him, smiling with tears in her eyes, “Maly Kiel. Cohen Rataraed. It is. It must. It will. It was.”

“She thinks that I… Am some… King of ratkind?”

Inny laughed, “If you are Rataraed, then we become your kind. You want us to wear less clothing, all rattan women wear less. You want to go to war, and the ratata dream of fighting. They wake up and start forging weapons and training soldiers. You don’t need to say anything. You simply are.”

Maly sat down beside him, wrapping her tail around him and hugging his side, “Important.”

“Holy shit.” Cohen sucked in his breath, crushed by a responsibility it didn’t look like he was going to get out of.

Inny Kiel glared at him, “Problem is… She’s right.”

“Come again?”

The ratata winced, and went back to bathing, “I… When you told us to stop, human… When you pulled us apart… I felt it before you did it. I felt your will bending me. Maly could have killed me. She’s a thousand times stronger than you, but you picked her up.”

“Shit.” Cohen breathed, not sure he believed it.

Maly flicked his forehead, “Cohen Rataraed. Know it, and it is. Hate it, and it isn’t.”

If he didn’t believe that he was their Rataraed, then his will would make it so that he wasn’t. A self-fulfilling belief. He was somehow tied to these people. A human, with the power to control all ratata.

He could become rich.

He could rival the emperor, building armies of thousands. No need for slavery when his aspirations were the hopes and dreams of the people forced to bend to him.

He felt sick.

“What I want… Is to live quietly. Forgotten. Far away from temptation.” Cohen whispered.

Inny laughed bitterly, “Well, then I guess that’s going to happen. Can’t get much more forgotten than the wastes.”

“The… Ceremony.” Cohen tried to distract himself, “How does it work?”

Maly squeaked and hugged him tighter, “You chose!”

“I… I don’t want to hurt you. You chose me. Doesn’t seem like much of a choice. You don’t seem to listen to my will on this one.” He sighed.

She smiled and snuggled tightly into him.

Inny Kiel finished bathing and made her way over to the fire, “You swear to her, to be hers. She does the same. The clan welcomes you in. We feast. We continue feasting, and you breed her.”

“Breed?” He said nervously, “Not sure I’m ready for kids.”

“Clan, human. Raised by the clan. No mothers or fathers.” Inny Kiel said tiredly, “Yes, you breed her. If you don’t, she’ll either cry or try and breed with you until it happens. Rejecting a bride on her day. You are the worst of your kind.”

“I might well be.” He said bitterly.

Maly grabbed a cup from nearby. He didn’t see her throw it, but he heard the sickening crack, and saw Inny Kiel drop unmoving to the ground.

He stared in horror, “Inny! Maly! Did you just kill her!?”

The ratata shrugged, uncaring.

Inny groaned, “Not… Not dead. Dearst that hurts… I… I’m going to bed.”

The rattan woman crawled over to another mat by the fire, curling up and going still. It took Cohen a very long time to tell if she was still breathing. When he finally confirmed that she was, he turned his gaze back to find the thrown cup.

The tin object wasn’t just flattened, but shaped to the convex of a skull.

“Maly… I don’t like it when you hurt her. Not for looking down on me.”

“Tss.” She made a sound of irritation.

Cohen sighed, “If you want me to stay by your side, then you need to let her have her own opinion. You hurt me, by lashing out.”

Maly Kiel, for the first time since he’d met the incredible woman, burst into tears. She let go of him, curling into a ball and began to rock back and forth. Her tail went into her mouth and she bit down on it as she wept.

He reached for her, and she leaned away, biting down harder.

“Inny, what do I do?”

The woman moaned and rolled over, blearily opening one eye, “Eugh! Uh… Kiss her. She thinks you’ve chosen not her. She’s in shock. And now, let me die or sleep.”

“Please don’t die.”

“I’m rattan, human. Losing a limb is a mild inconvenience. Bump to the head won’t do much.” Inny gave a small laugh, and then rolled back over. “Kiss her.”

How was he supposed to kiss her when she didn’t let him touch her?

And that was just the practicality. Kissing someone who was in shock felt like a massive trust violation. Yet, he couldn’t exactly sit back and watch her bite off her tail in front of him.

She had hunted him down, saved his life, and brought him home.

He had to do something for her.

As Cohen reached for her, Maly fell backwards, biting down harder and squealing as she cried. His hands landed either side of her head and he planted a brief peck on her nose.

The pink eyes froze up, staring up at him.

Her jaw went slack and the tail slipped from her mouth. She let out a small whine and placed a hand against his bare chest, above the bandage. Maly smiled nervously up at him, “Important?”

“Dearst! If you two start breeding, I’m going to throw up.” Inny complained.

“Leaving then!” Maly snarled over at her roommate before looking back at him, all innocent eyed. “Important?”

Cohen hesitated, “Are you going to hurt yourself if I turn you down, again? I don’t hate you, Maly. I really don’t. Myself, another story. And this feels like taking advantage of you.”

“What I want.” She said stubbornly and he felt her tail, complete with new teeth marks, go around his waist.

Inny sat up, holding her head, “Can’t you even wait until after the ceremony, Maly Kiel.”

She giggled and blushed, “Want both times.”

Inny rolled her eyes, “He’s human. He doesn’t have rattan stamina. Twice a day is almost their limit. Giving him half an hour isn’t enough time to recover. Not to mention he’s injured.”

“Leaving or watching!?” Maly snapped at her.

Cohen felt the end of the tail slip into the front of his pants and curl around his member. Gently massaging him as Maly smiled at him innocently. He still wasn’t sure about any of this, but she was.

Inny slumped back onto the bed, “Too tired to argue. Try not to make too much of a mess.”

He went to lean away, and her arms went behind his neck. She picked herself off the floor as she pulled herself up into him and placed her lips on his. He could feel her quivering, equal parts scared and excited.

As she kissed him, he realised that since she’d first appeared, he had completely trusted her. Maly had slipped into his life like a missing puzzle piece. She had always belonged there.

He couldn’t see a world without her by his side, even if he did leave this place.

“Aren’t we going to get in trouble for this?” He whispered to her, beginning to harden under her tail’s playful ministrations.

“Mmm.” She giggled, and then shrugged, “Maly Kiel.”

He kissed her back, pushing his tongue into her mouth.

Her tongue curled around either side of his, wrapping around it smoothly as she continued to pull at him, none of her touching the ground. Still exhausted, Cohen leaned lower, trying to take her weight of him, but she just pulled in tighter.

He gave in and sat up all the way. Maly pushed him down flat by his shoulders, whilst continuing to almost give a sexual experience to his tongue with hers. Her tail was also getting more into it, rubbing over his head and spreading his precum over his member.

The determined ratata reached down and drew her top up, slipping her arms out of it. She refused to break the kiss to fully pull it off. Leaving it around her neck as she grabbed his hands and pulled them up to feel her twin breasts.

Those, he hadn’t paid nearly enough attention to. He’d expected them to be small, like the rest of her, but they felt almost average sized for a human. She had to be well-proportioned for her kind.

“You’re actually screwing him.” Inny complained.

“Leave.” Maly gasped breathlessly, breaking the kiss and throwing aside her top before kissing him again. Sucking at his tongue excitedly. He could feel the warmth of her womanhood through her pants.

She removed his belt smoothly, and he lifted his hips so that she could awkwardly shuffle them down. Exposing his groin to the warm heat of the fire nearby. He couldn’t help but notice Inny still hadn’t gone anywhere.

Was she really planning to watch?

Maly barely loosened her grip on him, so that she could stand a little and pull her own pants down.

She was now wearing not a scrap whilst his pants were around his ankles. He had a momentary flash of guilt and doubt. He still wasn’t sure about this, the responsibility, and there was no taking it back.

“Fuck!” He exclaimed as the overwhelming tightness of her channel grabbed him. Like forcing a tauran through the eye of a needle. It really didn’t feel like he should fit, he could feel her depths straining as they stretched to accommodate him.

Maly whimpered as she rocked her hips, slowly working her way down him. She gasped into the air, “M-more. All. Make fit.”

“Gentle.” He struggled to speak, “Don’t… Hurt yourself… Fuck.”

She giggled, grinning at him with a flushed face, “Can’t. Ratata.”

“By the dark gods!” Inny gave an awed whisper, “Pierdolniety. How are you fitting that inside you, Maly?”

She smiled proudly as Cohen felt himself bottoming out inside the ratata. She gave an awe-filled sigh. “Jealous.”

“No shit.”

“Inny Kiel is Inny Kiel. Maly Kiel is Maly Kiel.” She gave a little groan, and kissed Cohen briefly, “Napierdalac. I’m ready.”

With that, she braced herself on his chest and began to ever so gently rise and fall on him. Her quivering walls massaging every bit of him as he felt like he’d been transported to another wall.

He couldn’t even care if Inny really was watching.

Nobody would be capable of thought, not with this wrapped around their cock. The lubrication from her snatch was generous, but it wasn’t quite enough. The simple fact was that she was small and tight.

“Llllll…” She tried to sound out the unfamiliar word.

He grunted beneath her, “Love.”

“I love you.” Maly Kiel moaned.

Cohen felt as if they’d barely begun when the familiar churning feeling hit home. He grunted, “Gods, Maly. I’m close. Shit. Too tight.”

“More.” She demanded, “Give me all. Breed me, Cohen Rataraed. Breed deep.”

Inny sucked in her breath.

Maly’s thighs pressed in around his legs, as her walls seemed to try and close and tighten around him even more. She moaned and groaned as she continued to ride him, thrusting him determinedly into her.

“I love you.” She murmured, shuddering and gasping, “I need you.”

Maly switched from rising and falling to circling her hips. Getting more of him inside her, and finding her rhythm easier. She bit her lip and groaned, “Please. Please. Breed me. What I want.”

She squirmed against him, and Cohen became immediately aware that she was intentionally flexing her vaginal muscles around his shaft. He was beginning to pant with effort, as she used him.

“Breed her.” Inny whispered excitedly, sounding like she’d moved closer.

Cohen gave a final groan, and felt himself spurting into her. Not that he had any clue how there was even room for that inside her.

“Yes!” She yelled with the same banshee-volume voice she used to wake him up, deafening him and announcing to the entire village that she’d just had sex. “Wykurwisty!”

He grunted, feeling her depths massaging him, milking him. Maly smiled down at him proudly and kissed him again. “Important.”

With that, and a noisy plop, she eased herself off him, before falling tiredly to the side. She let out a small and shuddering moan, “Ooh. So much. I filled.”

Maly Kiel leaned up on one arm, gazing across him to the other ratata, “Inny Kiel is Inny Kiel.”

Before he could ask her meaning, Cohen found the other ratata between his legs. The same kind of tongue that could wrap itself around his, was now wrapping itself around his semen covered cock.

He looked down in surprise as she slurped and lapped at him hungrily. He clenched his hands, feeling sensitive, “Oh gods… Uh… What’s happening?”

“Maly Kiel is first.” His bride giggled, “Inny come second.”

Cohen groaned, “Holy shit… Why do I get both of you?”

Maly kissed him and giggled again, “Maly Kiel is Maly Kiel. Inny Kiel is Inny Kiel. Kiel is Kiel.”

“What she means,” Inny said between licks to his dick, “Is that… You better… Be prepared… To share her… With me… Too.”

“Mmm.” She nodded and kissed him, “But also, Maly Kiel always first. Never Inny Kiel.”

“I’m the spare.” Inny Kiel said with exasperation, and then frowned and looked up at her, “Well, he’s clean. But I don’t think I get to have him yet.”

Cohen coughed nervously, “You’re really serious about this? Was… Was this always on the table?”

“Kiel is Kiel.” Maly laughed at him.

Inny snuggled up to his other side, “Don’t listen to her. I still hate you. I just think what you did to her downstairs was astounding. I want to try it. If I hate it, it’s never happening again.”

“Cohen Rataraed bred me.” Maly said with a grin and kissed his cheek, “Now… Need to get ready. Shouldn’t smell like sex at ceremony.”

“She’s right there. Unless you want the whole clan glaring at all three of us for the entire time.” Inny nodded, glancing over to the bathing tub, “But… You might be able to wash me now, without jealousy.”

“No.” Maly snapped angrily, “Only wash me.”

Cohen laughed nervously as he thought about his impending future, “This is going to be chaos.”

—

The two rattan women eventually stopped playing around with him and the bathing experience. Maly and Inny apparently having made up for trying to literally kill each other.

Inny had told Maly that it was time and kicked her out of the hut, and brought him a series of garments. Told Cohen to get ready to be the groom to his strange but adorable rattan bride.

He still was unclear on the triangle happening between the three, but it seemed like if he was consenting to be Male Kiel’s, then he was also consenting to sometimes by Inny’s plaything. But always second to Maly.

They were rattan. What was he going to do about it?

His clothing was… Interesting.

It wasn’t quite like the picture book that Maly had shown him, but it was close. He got a belt with an empty scabbard. Probably symbolic of something, though he didn’t care to consider what.

A white shirt made from rough cotton, with some of the itchiest seams that Cohen had ever worn. This clearly hadn’t come from a trader, but was made here in the small village. Still nice to have something to wear.

The black pants, on the other hand, might be second-hand and stretched by they were extremely high quality. The material was made from satin, and he couldn’t even see the individual stitches.

Finally, there was a garland made with purple and light orange flowers, woven together with still green stems. Not something that Cohen would usually consider wearing, but for Maly, he would.

He knew, from her book, that she had been dreaming of a rattan and human wedding for a long time.

He had to admit that though he didn’t fully grasp the situation, his affection for the little rattan guardian was only just beginning to bloom. She was cute, usually quiet, but also entirely independent.

She was a strong and determined woman, worthy of anyone’s attention.

Maly Kiel had convinced him that there was something in life, worth living.

“You done, yet?” Inny thrust her head in, sounding irritated. Her pink eyes widened as she saw him and she gave a surprised squeak. “You… Um… Clean up well, human.”

“She comes first.” He teased her and walked out of the door.

It was still raining, bucketing down. However, a giant piece of cloth had been stretched out over the entire square, catching most of it. In the centre was a bonfire, smoke pouring up and through a hole in the cloth.

In front of the fire stood Maly Kiel in a simple and sleeveless white dress. Hanging from around her neck was a small curved dagger in a silver sheath. The hilt of the blade had a tiny green stone set in it, but was otherwise plain. The sheath had a series of scratches that he mistook for wear and tear at first, before realising it was rattan.

Inny took him by the elbow, guiding him over to three rattan men dressed similar to them. All of them had extremely functional shortswords strapped to their sides. “This is your honour guard. They will protect you until you die or leave us.”

One of the man bowed his head, and spoke brokenly, “Fight. Die. The sun rises.”

Cohen nodded politely. He could understand why an honour guard was expected at a mixed species wedding. Especially when even most exotics thought of the rattan as nothing but a race of slaves.

Inny went up on her tippy toes, pulled him down and kissed his cheek, “I need to get back. I’m Maly’s honour guard. Try not to embarrass us too much, human.”

With that, she walked over towards his bride.

Thankfully, Cohen didn’t have to ask what would happen next. The entire village ran to form a circle around them all, and a very old looking ratata approached him, leaning on a nobbled cane that looked more weapon than assistive.

He leaned on it, craning his neck to look Cohen in the eyes. “Chosen. Maly Kiel. Cohen Rataraed. Decision is made, one with ratata, one with Maly Kiel. Join us?”

“I will.” Cohen said with a formal inflection.

The man nodded and walked away. He was replaced by an equally elderly woman. Her fur was shedding, revealing a wrinkled skin on the backs of her arms. “Chosen by Maly Kiel, you are. You will be one with the ratata, one with our Maly Kiel. Will you serve the clan?”

Cohen nodded. He’d expected that question. “I will.”

The woman gave a disbelieving sneer, but waddled away. Muttering under her breath, “Przekleta human.”

He’d expected that, too. Half expected that most in his honour guard wouldn’t bother to draw their swords to protect him if something happened. However, it looked like the guard took their duty seriously, regardless of personal opinions.

A third ratata approached. An old and black-furred male, flanked by two younger women assisting him. If Cohen didn’t know that Maly was in charge, he would have guessed this man was.

“Humans have slain us. Enslaved us. We are free ratata. You , beast, are human.” The man said scornfully, and spat at his feet, “Would you draw your blade against your kind, just to protect us? Would you kill your own, for our sake? Protect us?”

“Humans aren’t my kind. I am an exile. Kinslayer to those I was born to.” He declared, causing a horrified burst of whispering as those that understood translated for those that couldn’t. “I was chosen, and so, my people are Maly Kiel’s people. My kin, are her kin. I am not human. I am ratata.”

The man’s eyes widened, and then he chuckled, “A good answer, beast. A good answer.”

He looked around and spoke loudly, “Does anyone else have a question for the life partner of our Maly Kiel?”

No one stepped forward.

The man smiled in a way that said he wasn’t convinced that there should be so few questions, “We will… Be watching you. You may approach Maly Kiel.”

His assistants helped move him aside, and Cohen slowly began walking towards the waiting ratata.

Her pink eyes were trained on him, her nose twitching. He could see her tail hanging loosely over one of her arms. Maly was trying to look brave, but she looked as scared as he was feeling.

He might have already embraced the responsibility of being hers, but it hadn’t been until that last question when the full implications had sunk in.

He couldn’t wash away his sins, what he had done.

Yet, here he was. Getting a new life, all the same.

As he walked forward, the ratata began to chant, quietly at first, but rising in volume as he approached. “Jeden z nas. One of the clan. Jeden z nas. One of the clan.”

Cohen found it… Unsettling.

His anxiety wasn’t improved when all three of his honour guard put a hand to the hilts of their swords and began looking around. Sniffing at the air and eyeing off the people chanting.

“Jeden z nas. One of the clan.”

The guard who had spoken to him curled his hand tighter around his sword and drew it out a finger width, clearly preparing for a fight. A fight that Cohen would be woefully unprepared for if the ratata decided to kill him.

“Jeden z nas. One of the clan.”

Was that what this was?

A ritualised execution of the trespasser?

Maly Kiel was still looking at him, still looking excited and as cute as ever. She had saved him, protected him. She said that she loved him and wanted him.

“Jeden z nas. One of the clan.”

She acted like she wanted to be his bride.

Cohen struggled to believe she was in on it, if this was some kind of unexpected trap. He had seen her eyes before she fought. She didn’t have the eyes of a killer right at this moment.

“Jeden z nas. One of the clan.”

Maly Kiel was supposedly the will of the ratata. They would die for her, without a thought. Act against what they wanted, just for her. If she wanted him, it would take a traitor willing to be sacrificed to make this into a trap… Unless that was all just bullshit.

He stopped, just in front of the smaller woman, and looked down at her. Her eyes gazed at him adoringly, and then her mouth twitched a little in irritation when she saw his fear.

Maly reached out and took his hand, “Mine.”

“What is going on? Why’s everyone freaked?” He whispered to her.

She frowned and glanced around a little and then shrugged, “Mmm… Bad thing close. I kill, get closer.”

He relaxed a little.

That made sense, and if she wasn’t worried about it, then he wasn’t going to be. He had a beautiful woman in front of him, and he wasn’t going to be the one to ruin her wedding day.

“Crapsack, here.” Inny held out a small cushion, two bracelets sitting on top of it.

One was gold, and one was silver.

He picked up the silver one. It was scratched on the inside, a rattan word. He might be able to speak a few phrases, but he couldn’t read it. The outside was carved, displaying a copy of her dagger, lying in a bed of roses.

He slipped it onto her wrist, and felt like he should say something. Something about swearing to be hers. “This is my promise, to you.”

She grinned and picked up the golden bracelet. It had another rattan word on the inside, and the outside showed a human. Sitting cross-legged and meditating, surrounded by a whole heap of ratata.

Lying in the person’s lap was another ratata, a curved knife in her teeth.

Maly clasped the bracelet around his wrist, “Important.”

He cupped her cheek in his hand, “Do I get to kiss the bride?”

“More.” Maly giggled, and leaned her head back, “Kiss.”

He leaned down towards her, smiling.

Maly’s eyes went dead, and then she disappeared.

Cohen spun, moving into a half crouch and bracing himself. His guards drew their weapons, and then he heard the sound. The same terrifying set of growls he’d heard from the abandoned shed.

Inny Kiel appeared in front of him, grabbing his shirt in one outstretched hand and holding her other hand with claws at the ready. She looked around furtively. “Shit. This thing really wants you dead, human.”

“The cursed beast? Maly didn’t kill it?”

“Hard to kill.” Inny shook her head, “I tried, too.”

The rattan woman shoved him back several steps as a loud bang sounded out, and a spray of shadows flicked out like tendrils in front of them. The thing he would have nightmares about for the rest of his life appeared rolling on the ground.

Maly Kiel backflipped away from it, landing on all fours with her dagger in her mouth. She snarled around it, pink eyes fixed on the shadow.

Inny’s hands on his chest was painful, claws digging in. She was braced to defend him, and he could feel her anxiety. She was as scared of it, as he was.

The thing moved.

Cohen instantly found himself on his back, head in the mud, staring up as Inny Kiel let out a loud and angry hiss. She was lying on him, both hands above her, claws barely blocking a series of angry and clanging swipes.

The shadow suddenly stopped reeling.

The tendrils of darkness evaporated, revealing a confused man. His eyes were black with flecks of red, but they were unseeing. Out of the top of his head poked two small nekomimi, shredding fur.

The neko wavered for a moment, drooling blood, and then it collapsed.

Maly Kiel flipped to the side and yanked her blade clear from the base of the neck. She grabbed the dead body with one hand and hurled, disappearing it from sight.

His bride flicked her blade to clean it, before sheathing the weapon. “Bad magic. Makes bad kitty. Dead now.”

He groaned and tried to sit up.

Inny and Maly ducked under either arm, glaring at each other as they both helped him to his feet. Maly tapped his wedding bracelet, “Important.”

Inny rolled her eyes, “You’ve already had him once. When do I get my turn? I don’t just want seconds.”

“Mmm… Void freezes?” Maly laughed and then her tail went around his waist and she grinned up at him. “Time for feast. They feast.”

Inny blew up her hair, “Yeah. Probably a good idea. Help everyone chill out.”

Cohen looked around at the scattered villagers. Some hiding in the mud, others under the huts, or anything else that they could fit beneath. They’d moved as fast as Maly, but to run, not attack.

Then he processed what was about to happen, “Uh…”

Maly grinned and snuggled into him, “Breed me.”

She wasn’t half direct.

—

Maly was practically skipping as she dragged him back into her hut. Their hut. She pulled him behind her, falling onto her back in front of the fire and not following her cleaning routine.

He landed on his hands and knees, her hand still tight around his wrist. She grinned up at him and kissed his nose quickly. His pink-eyed ratgirl, looking happier than he had ever seen her.

The end of her tail was already slipping inside his pants to get him ready for her.

“Do you… Want children, Maly?”

She paused, thinking and then shrugged, “I am Maly Kiel.”

“Does that mean if you had kids, the rest of the village would raise them?” He asked her, “Only you and Inny have pink eyes. Is that because you share a birth mother, or because you’re something special?”

“I am Maly Kiel.” She nodded, and then shrugged, “If womb seeded, then womb was seeded. Will be seeded. Could be seeded. I am still Maly Kiel.”

Even whilst having the serious conversation, her tail continued to gently stroke him. Bringing him to full hardness as she lay beneath him smiling at him.

He relaxed a little, leaning down and kissing her. She was right, whatever came next, it wouldn’t change anything. She was who she was, and he would stay by her side.

Cheers exploded from outside, followed by the smashing of clay. Maly giggled at his surprise, “Drinking.”

“Loudly.” He commented.

She shrugged sheepishly, “I quiet, first time. Not this time… Breed me.”

If she was going to use the voice she used to wake him up, then he might end up deafened. And completely unable to look any of his new neighbours in the eye.

She reached up and took one of his hands, pulling it down as she also lifted her dress. She wasn’t wearing any underwear, and when he reached through her fur to find her moist and ready.

Her little warm channel, desperately crying out for him.

She smiled at his face, excited by what she saw there. Her tail deftly removed his pants and slid them down to his knees. She spread her legs wider and looked up at him, “Important.”

He very gently placed himself at the entrance to her, remembering the struggle from last time. Maly grinned, wrapped her tail around his waist, and then impaled herself.

“Pierdolniety!” She shrieked as she launched her hips into his, yanking herself into him until he was buried all the way into her depths.

He grunted in surprise, falling forward and locking her hips to the ground as he landed on her. She moaned sweetly, shuddering and pulled her hands across his back, “Yes!”

“Goddess, you’re tight.” Cohen groaned into her, and kissed at her neck. Taking a moment to try and get used to her around him. However, Maly seemed to have other ideas and immediately started to flex, bearing down on him.

“Lll…” She began and trailed off as he adjusted how he was leaning on her, making her gasp in surprise. Her eyes widened and she stared up at him. “Llloo… Forget.”

“I love you.” He kissed her nose.

She burst into a wide grin, wrapping her arms and legs around him and holding him tightly. “You chose! Chose me. Your Maly Kiel.”

“My Maly.” He whispered to her and held her back.

Despite being impaled inside her, the simple act of a hug felt far more intimate. He didn’t know when it had finally overcome him, when he had finally decided that he belonged to her.

She was his future, his present. Even his past before he met her seemed to have faded away, making her all of his history.

She was his everything.

Her tail curled tightly around his waist and she kissed his cheek delicately. “I love you, Cohen Rataraed.”

“You’re terrifying sometimes, Maly. But it’s so hard to remember that warrior from a nightmare is you, when you look this adorable.” He kissed her nose, again.

She made a pouting face, “Maly Kiel is Maly Kiel.”

“You don’t like it that I see a difference?” He said in surprise, “You’re both adorable and terrifying, depending on your mood. You don’t like that?”

“Always adorable.” She stuck out her bottom lip.

He laughed and kissed her nose, “Does being always loved come close enough?”

“Mmm.” She nodded and tugged with her tail, trying to move against him despite being entirely trapped beneath him. She held his face in her hands and gazed at him with a deep-seated need.

Cohen gave a small and experimental movement, to see if she’d adjusted to him. He was rewarded with a deafening moan as she arched her back and closed her eyes blissfully.

She wasn’t kidding that she was loud.

He took his bride in the heat of the fireplace, as it rained on the roof and drunken singing started outside. The voices of the village rising to try and compete with the sounds of his beautiful ratata.

“Ratata wkraczaja!”

Maly pulled his mouth to hers, kissing him hungrily as he gently plumbed her depths. Trying to get her tongue to his between moans. Trying to get as much of him as she could. Take all of him as her own.