KinnPorsche at Hogwarts

Kim x Chay [4]

The wolf lay down and emptied Chay onto the ground between his forepaws. Chay lay where he'd been kept, looking up at the wolf and quivering in fear. How was this going to be? Was he going to be eaten whole? He'd much rather be eaten whole, because then he'd die in an instant. Right?

Kim leaned down and just as Chay flinched, Kim gave his entire body a long, wet lick from head to tail. Startled, Chay blinked, not daring to move. Until Kim did it again and again, fluffing Chay's fur with his paws as he turned him around and around in his grip.

Was he preparing Chay's body to eat him? Was this what wolves did? Would he taste better or go down better if his fur was matted in wolf saliva? What the hell was going on here?

By the time the licking was done, Chay was scared out of his wits and confused as hell. But then the wolf bundled him in its paws and then rubbed his cheeks against Chay's body as he growled. But it wasn't the same mincing growl Chay had heard before. This one sounded... almost... content? He was in a cave with a wolf that was cuddling him.

A wolf was cuddling him.

Chay was sure if he was human, he'd be laughing with relief. He wasn't going to die. He wasn't going to die. At least not yet. If this was some prelude to death, at least the death was far away.

As he lay there in the dark, being mushed by the larger animal, Chay didn't even know what was happening till Kim turned over and moved him around. That was when he realized that Kim was sleeping. He'd cuddled Chay and was now sleeping.

He tried to squeeze out from the wolf's grip but every time he got an inch free, he was fastened back and the snuggling became even cuddlier. It was not like he was being suffocated or anything. He was just really scared out of his mind and he didn't think he'd be able to sleep that way. Not when Kim's jaw was resting on his back.

So he spent the night awake, twitching with fear every time Kim so much as moved.

And when morning came, his eyes were dropping in fatigue but he still managed to keep alert.

Yawning widely, Kim raised his head and looked around the cave. Then he stood to his feet and grabbed Chay in his jaw again. Chay waited as Kim left the cave. He jumped over the large gully they'd passed on the way in and the moment his feet touched the ground, he lowered Chay to the floor and stood.

Chay looked up at him, not sure what he was supposed to do. But Kim just leaned down and used his nose to push Chay forward.

Okay then, he thought as he began to take small tentative steps forward. He didn't want to hop away and trigger some prey-predator instinct. But then a flash of color passed by their side and Kim's head snapped up. Seconds later, he was galloping away as he left Chay all on his own.

And Chay was free.

So he began hopping away, hoping he remembered his way back to the barrier. He considered changing back to human but just as he was about to shift, he heard quick steps headed in his direction and he turned to find Kim returning with –URGH- a dead animal between his teeth.

The wolf circled around Chay and then dropped the mangled body in front of him as Chay tried to move away from it. But Kim just pulled it closer as he plopped down beside it and started to it. When the wolf was almost done with the food, he looked up at Chay and prodded the dead body in his direction again.

Chay would have smiled if it weren't for the fact that there was a dead animal right in front of him. But it appeared that Kim was trying to feed him. Kim was taking care of him. Offering him food.

Feeling a little emboldened by this, he hopped away, nudging at a tiny plant with plum berries on its weak stems. He could eat those. He hoped they were edible. As he raised himself up on his hinds, he caught a few in his mouth, dropped down and pulled them off as he ate, looking up at Kim.

As if deciding that it was okay, Kim left him to the plant while he ate the remaining of the poor animal.

When he was done, he began pacing, playing with his tail as he waited for Chay to finish. Chay was still plucking and chewing on what he hoped were berries. They tasted juicy and they went down just right. He could gorge on these for the day and seeing as they were standing in a cluster of more plants like it, Chay felt that he probably would.

After filling his belly, he slumped back on the ground as Kim came over and nudged him to his feet. But Chay didn't really think he could move. So Kim raised him from the ground and placed him on his back as Chay scrambled, struggling to dig his tiny nails into Kim's fur. As soon as he steadied, the wolf began to walk, taking slow, calm steps to ensure that Chay didn't fall over.

I was right! Chay thought smugly to himself. When the full moon was over and they got back to the castle, Chay was going to scream it at Kim every single chance he got.

Two mornings later, when Kim woke up more than a few feet from the barrier, he gasped as he stared down at the form of a tiny, ball of fur sleeping curled in his Kens. He didn't know whether to be angry or touched that Chay had done such a stupid, heartbreaking thing as to come with him. He could never have imagined that when he confessed to Chay a year ago, this was where they'd be: cuddling in a forest, the morning after a full moon.

As the bunny turned around, blinking up at him sleepily, Kim realized that he was now in love with a bunny too.

"Are you my Chay? Or have I just spent the night terrifying some hapless woodland creature?"

The bunny blinked a few more times before he pulled its head back and nodded at him. Laughing, Kim kissed Chay on the head, reveling in the sweet feeling of being loved.

He could not remember what had happened throughout the night but if Chay had survived three nights in his presence as a wolf, then that meant that there was a possibility that it was safe to have Chay run with him... or cuddle with him, during the full moon.

Which meant that Kim didn't have to make the trip to and from the forest alone. He didn't have to run around feeling powerless anymore. If Chay was by his side, he could do anything. And now that he was a bunny, he could be with him all the time.

When Chay's paws reached up and brushed against Kim's head, drawing his attention, Kim leaned down and planted a kiss on Chay's furry head as he smiled heartily to himself.

***

"Chutzpah," Kim said to the fat lady as the painting swung open, revealing the Gryffindor common room.

He'd never returned from his trip to forest feeling as elated as he did. The constant loneliness his wolf usually felt always left sad lingerings, even when he was back in human form. But not that day. That day was a good day. He even took a second to hop, skip, spin and come to a sharp halt the moment he realized he was not alone in the common room.

"I see it went well," Porsche said, sitting on the arm of the chair by the window. From his vantage point, Porsche had obviously seen them when they left the forest.

Kim pulled his robes around him.

"I'm surprised you let him come."

"Like I could stop him."

Deciding not to stay long, now that it was just two of them in the common room, Kim headed for his dorm.

"Be careful with him," Porsche said, just as Kim got to the stairs.

"I plan to."

For a couple of moments, maybe a minute, both of them stared at each other. It wasn't that they hated each other. Their lives were so intertwined that it was impossible to survive without at least learning to tolerate the other person. They weren't the best of buddies. And being a werewolf that liked Porsche's baby brother hadn't really helped his case.

But for the first time ever, it felt like Porsche was listening, really listening to something Kim had just said.

"I'll hold to that."

Offering a slight nod, Kim ran up the stairs, hopping two at the time, noting that the walls seemed warmer and probably more beautiful, form some reason. Maybe it was because Kim hadn't eaten Chay. Or maybe it was because Porsche had, sort of, give Kim his blessings.

Things were beautiful and it was only the beginning of the school year.