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_Disclaimer:

As usual, please be aware that I do not own the rights to FFX, nor do I represent Square-Enix in any way. I would like to thank them, however, for creating FFX and giving me the inspiration with which to belt out perverted fantasies such as what you're about to read here. Even though I'm, like, 99% sure this is NOT how they wanted their characters to be appreciated._

A/N: HOLY SHIT! Yep, that's right folks, after about a whole YEAR, I went ahead and FINALLY finished the latest chapter of Scent of his Mate, an achievement I can credit to all the fans out there who poked me, prodded me, pleaded with me, and the fact that one of you took my brother hostage and kept sending me his fingers in the mail.

What can I say... I don't really have an excuse as to why this took so fucking long. Combination of writer's block, rewriting scenes I didn't like, long periods of lacking inspiration, halfway giving up, blah, blah, fucking blah. Point is, I'm sorry. I can only hope that because this chapter is nearly twice as long as the other installments, you'll forgive ol' me.

I would like especially to give thanks to Kalenidus as well as LINDCARD1000 for beta reading this, helping me edit it, tighten it up, and for giving me a slew of ideas for how I could improve things in general. You guys, honest to goodness, rock beyond the levels of rocking that most mortals are capable of. :D

The Scent of His Mate

Part 6

The Hunger of His Mate

How long had it been since Tidus had discreetly strayed away from the camp? Twenty minutes? Thirty? Yuna and her remaining guardians weren't exactly sure, but when the solemn quietness surrounding their campfire circle was suddenly broken by a bestial roar echoing off in the distance, they soon realized that both Tidus and Kimahri had been gone long enough for it to be worrisome. Alarmed by the thought that their missing companions might be out there facing a savage fiend on their own, the group hastily gathered their weapons and marched off in the general direction that sound had come from.

"Hey! Tidus! 'Mhari!" Rikku called out, neglecting to pronounce the "K" in the Ronso's name, partly due to her odd habit of nicknaming others and partly because vowels simply carried better when yelling. "We heard something! Are you guys okay?"

The dead lands surrounding the ancient city of Zanarkand, however, were now just as eerily silent as before. There was no response from either of their missing companions, which only served to heighten their concern. If any violence had befallen their friends, it may have already happened, too quickly for the group to be able to save them. Luckily, the path Tidus had traversed was a simple one to follow, as the Zanarkian sports shoes he wore had left fresh and distinctive prints in the still, desiccated earth beneath them. Hurriedly, they followed the direction they lead toward.

"Yo!" Wakka's voice shot out. "You guys hearin' us? Make some noise or somethin'!"

Regrettably, the expanse of this area was largely uneven. Seemingly infinite numbers of tall dune ridges packed tightly together made it impossible to see much in any direction. All that stood out clearly was the mass of tall, ruined Zanarkian architecture looming above the horizon. Another moment passed, and just as the group was about to call out again they heard, very faintly, the sound of a human voice.

"...ang tight a few... be... in a sec!" While difficult to make out, that voice unmistakably belonged to Tidus.

"What?" Yuna called out as the group closed in on the muffled voice.

"I said... we'll be with... a sec!" As difficult as it was to hear what he was saying with the sound echoing oddly off the multiple pits and ridges, it was clear that the pitch in his voice had a panicked tone to it. Mildly alarmed by this, they sped up.

"Are you okay? Is Kimahri with you?"

"...ine! Don't come...!" As the distance between them reduced, his voice became a little clearer, as did the sound of some rustling.

"We heard a fiend or something... you guys all right?" Rikku called out as she and the others ascended to the crest of a small dune, and in doing so, managed finally to come within clear earshot.

"Put... put on your pants!!" Despite that it had been spoke in a sharp hiss, Tidus' voice was now explicitly clear from behind the ridge just ahead. And it was because they'd heard it so clearly that Yuna, Rikku, Wakka, Lulu and Auron all stopped at once.

"......pants?" Rikku quietly echoed after a moment, looking back over at Wakka, who bore an expression of confusion that was evenly matched with her own.

"Or... loincloth! Whatever!" Tidus' distraught voice once again yawped out just ahead. Puzzlement washed over the group like a wave, and they spent only a few seconds exchanging befuddled glances.

"Loincl... what?" Confusion gave way back to concern, and Rikku marched forth, quickly descending the short dune and ascending the last one that stood between her and a proper glimpse as to what on earth was happening on the other side.

"Wait, no! Don't...!" Tidus urgently cried out as Rikku's head peered out from over the crest of the hill...

********

"Put... put on your pants!!" Scrambling with a speed as if possessed, Tidus grabbed at the various pieces of discarded clothing that typically served to cover his Ronso lover's nether regions. Had he been less alarmed, he might have appreciated the irony that it was he who had, moments ago, stripped Kimahri of them with great enthusiasm. Hastily, he gathered the red belting, the green decorated cloth and the torn, white loinwrap and held them out to the Ronso.

Contrasting sharply with the human's excessive sense of urgency was the Ronso's complete lack of it. Suddenly cold and impassive, Kimahri simply stood there, arms crossed, staring down and meeting the look of desperation in Tidus' eyes with a stolid gaze of his own. It almost reminded the human of their first encounter, where Tidus had gazed, both with wonder and fear, upon what was then an alien creature... and Kimahri had stared back at Tidus, seemingly aloof and indifferent. Right now, on his clawed, digitigrade feet he similarly remained unmoving, his composure firm with his emblematic poise and dignity... which was rather impressive a demeanour to be emanating, considering that his bits were hanging out freely and openly.

"Kimahri... does not wear pants." Was his quiet and emotionless reply. The human was slightly taken aback by Kimahri's deadpan response. Was the Ronso trying to be funny?? And NOW, of all times?

"Or... Loincloth! Whatever!" he hissed while insistently jabbing Kimahri in the chest with his own wardrobe.

Despite this, Kimahri continued to simply stare at him. The look in Tidus' eyes spoke volumes about the panic he felt, his eyes wide open in fear about the possibility of being "caught". Ever since the mateship with Kimahri had begun, Tidus had been in a state of constant worry about what might happen if anyone ever discovered that he had engaged in carnal, lustful acts with the creature before him. Even his own self, who'd committed these forbidden acts, had taken a considerable amount of time to wrap his head around the concept that he was genuinely attracted to this potent and strapping blue beast.

He'd spent the last three weeks being halfway in denial, partially disgusted with himself for enjoying it every single time the lusty Ronso clamped his forceful arms around him and acquainted him with his primal carnality... not only showing him what true, raw animal lust was like, but instilling it in him as well. If it had taken him up until now to stop being ashamed of that, then how could anyone else be expected to understand?

Although he'd only known Yuna, Wakka, Rikku and Lulu for about two months now, he'd already formed a strong bond of friendship with all of them, growing closer with them than anyone else back home. Within this short amount of time, they had become almost like family to him. If they ever found a method to return him back to the Zanarkand he'd known, he wasn't so sure that he would actually WANT to go back if it meant leaving them. It terrified the young blitzball ace to think that if they ever found out about this, found out about his dirty little secret... found out what he was REALLY like... they would be completely reviled by it... that they'd denounce and reject him completely, washing their hands of any connections with this deviant little human they had befriended.

Of course there had been times when Tidus both hoped and imagined that this wouldn't be the case at all. After all, he was a stranger within Spira, its culture still largely foreign to him. This kind of... "relationship" would have been completely unheard of - hell, downright abhorrent in Zanarkand. Yet, maybe, just maybe here in Spira, it was different. With the many different sentient races that made up its populace getting along seemingly fine with little prejudice or sectarian conflict, perhaps... a relationship such as theirs wouldn't be construed as an abomination.

This world, with its natural laws, its character and its contents was something that would have been considered nothing but fantasy in Zanarkand. So maybe... this particular fantasy would be acceptable. Perhaps people, most importantly his friends, would simply respond to it the same way they would any other relationship, and accept it at face value... although Tidus had absolutely no way of knowing that seeing as how he'd never inquired to them about attitudes regarding interspecies relations within Spira. And for the past three weeks, he'd WANTED to ask, but his own neurotic paranoia about being discovered stopped him from doing so, fearing that that line of questioning would make others suspect something.

However, right now with the other guardians about to pop over the dune any second and see them in such a compromising position, those innumerable ifs, buts and maybes flew right out the window as panic seized him. There would be questions as to why Kimahri's lower half was exposed in all its glory and why Tidus happened to be the one holding the missing coverings. Attempting to conjure up a logical explanation that didn't hint toward the fantastic blowjob he'd just given the Ronso was going to be tricky to say the least, and therefore something he desperately wanted to avoid.

But for all these underlying concerns, what was really, REALLY on Tidus' mind at this particular moment in time was the question: Why in hell, at this crucial moment, was Kimahri refusing to take his clothes and put them back on?!

Staring up into those golden-yellow orbs, Tidus got no answer to that question; Kimahri's stoic, unflappable expression was all that met the shaken human. Mere seconds had passed, although with his heart beating madly as it was, the moment felt as if stilled in time. The Ronso's response was unusual, as over the past few weeks of their affair, Tidus had become intimately familiar with Kimahri and he'd been privileged with clandestine insight into the Ronso's more emotive self. Even at times when Kimahri would be acting cold on the surface, Tidus could still pick up on the some subtle little hints that indicated what the Ronso was really feeling. Some of from simple observation, but the majority of it via their ethereal mating bond.

At this exact moment, however, Kimahri's face betrayed absolutely nothing about his thoughts or motives. While they stood there, with the seconds passing like hours, Tidus continued to stare up at the Ronso. His dread over being caught began to dissipate, replaced instead with the apprehensive and uncomfortable feeling of his mate's emotions being abruptly cut off from him.

Then finally... and for a split-second, a flash crossed Kimahri's visage just before he suddenly snatched his garments from Tidus' hands. He took a step back in surprise when the Ronso, with his normal vacant expression firmly plastered on his face again, slipped the loincloth back into place. Though it had happened only in the slightest fraction of time, Tidus has seen... sensed something exuding from his mate, and it was something new. Something he hadn't seen, nor felt before.

"Loinclo... what??"

Just then, the voice and approaching footsteps snapped him back to the present and alerted him to the presence of his friends, now at the dune just behind them. Instantly, his fear and panic both returned and reached zenith as Tidus spun around to yelp out.

"Wait, no! Don't...!" He barked urgently as Rikku's head peered out from just over the crest of the hill. Instantly, he snapped his neck back to Kimahri and...

Holy... wow. With arms crossed again, the Ronso stood there with his loincloth right back in its proper place. It wasn't a perfect arrangement, as the green cloth was slightly tousled and the red rope had been tied together in a rather simple knot, rather than the more elegant ribbon he usually tied it in. Considering that no more than three seconds could have passed between the time Tidus had looked away and then back again, though... He had certainly known the Ronso was nimble despite his bulky size, but somehow, Kimahri never failed to impress him.

"Man, the heck you two been?" Wakka's Besaidian accent brought Tidus' faltering attention back to the group as he and the rest of the gang strode into view. Tidus stammered a little.

"Oh! Just, y'know. Just, ah, taking a walk... Scoping out the area." Which wasn't entirely untrue, he reasoned with himself.

"We heard some kind of roaring." Rikku added, her head turning about as she scanned warily across the area, her focus gratefully not on the two of them. "Was there a fiend? Did you guys see it?"

"Oh," Tidus spoke slowly, praying that he didn't look half as nervous as he felt. "Yeah, roaring. I, uh, I heard that, too. Didn't see any fiends, though." He turned to Kimahri. "Did you?" he asked, playing innocent and hoping the Ronso would go along.

Still cross armed and stoic, Kimahri continued to stand there silently. As that was his typical behaviour, the rest of the team simply interpreted that as a "no".

"That's not good," the Al Bhed girl continued. "Whatever it was, it sounded huge." Tidus lowered his head slightly, hoping to God that his face wasn't as red as he thought it was. "This area wasn't supposed to be inhabited by anything. If we're wrong, and we make camp here tonight..."

"Regardless, you shouldn't have gone off this far," Auron sharply addressed the Zanarkian boy and the Ronso.

"Well... wasn't that far." Tidus mumbled back indignantly. "Besides, you said..."

"Even I can't be completely sure of awaits us. And this far into the pilgrimage, we can't afford to be careless," Auron interrupted him, his expression grim.

"We were worried." Yuna finally chimed in, her soft voice filled with concern. "We thought something might have happened to you two."

Tidus sighed.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. We're sorry." He backed down, not wanting to upset her. "Won't happen again, I swear."

Without another word, the elder guardian spun around, his crimson coat sweeping in an arc behind him as he turned, and returned back in the way they came. His unspoken authority commanding respect and the others as it did, they needed no prompting to follow him back to the camp. Hesitating a moment before following, Tidus glanced over at Kimahri and was disappointed to see the Ronso standing there no visceral emotion showing. His lionesque face was completely neutral, eyes staring dead on ahead, and his lips tightened in a slight and intimidating grimace. Similarly wordless, the Ronso marched off after his companions. A flustered Tidus brought up the rear a second later.

While he trudged across the dusty ground, the human breathed an internal sigh of relief. That had been a close one, but it looked like it was over. No one seemed to suspect anything, and all he'd received was a slight chastising from Auron... which was, to his annoyance, a regular occurrence anyway. Exhaling slowly, he allowed all his anxiety flow out and waited for that relaxed, contented feeling to come back and fulfill him. Except... it didn't.

Something was wrong now. He felt it. Or, rather, it would be more accurate to say that he didn't feel it at all. Not so long ago, he was blissfully resting in the warm embrace of his mate, bathing in their mutual afterglow. And for those brief couple of minutes before they had been disturbed, he felt more at ease and at peace than he had in a long time. All the stress and all the pressure from the strangely dramatic events in his life had been gradually building up in him these past few weeks. The craziness, the near-death experiences, the nightmarish ordeals seemed to all be beating down on him at once, taxing his sanity to its limits. But moments ago, when he'd settled down peacefully, enveloped in Kimahri's arms... he'd felt safe from it all. Nestled in the serenity of the Ronso's hold, he'd actually started to feel like things were going to be okay. He wasn't exactly sure why that was, though he suspected it had something to do with this "mating instinct" Kimahri kept hinting at. And, just as Kimahri had suggested, Tidus hadn't thought about it nor questioned it; he'd simply entwined himself happily within calming aura the Ronso exuded, allowing it to cleanse him of all his unease.

But now... now, that feeling had vanished. It was completely gone and without that warmth Tidus felt... well, cold. Even with the warm, clammy air that lightly breezed in the lands around Zanarkand, an intense chill sank into him. And as they silently trekked forth, all he could do was stare holes into the back of the Ronso just a few feet ahead of him and quietly ruminate, curling his brow in contemplative frustration as he puzzled over this new development. When he'd been resting with the Ronso, the primal bond he had with the beast had felt stronger and healthier than ever. Yet now, suddenly, it felt like it had never been there at all. All that was left was an empty feeling, like that whole part of him had just gone numb, and he pined for its soothing presence to fill him again. Everything was fine not a few minutes ago, so what had just happened?

Zoning out his friends' chatter while they marched back, the only inkling he had to go on as he cogitated was that moment where Kimahri had finally taken his clothes back from Tidus. In that instant, an emotion had flickered across his face. Something... visceral. It was the last thing Tidus was able to read off of him, though, like a bolt of lighting flashing on the horizon, it had appeared and disappeared in a second. Only a faint image of it remained in Tidus' mind, and the young man mulled over what it was he'd actually seen.

Kimahri was a complex beast, to say the least; the only kind of emotion he had no reservation expressing was his unbound rage and anger. The task of discerning what other states of mind he experienced was more than a little difficult. Even while Tidus did possess some ability to see and feel a little of what sentiments were passing through the Ronso's mind, most of what he'd seen had been bliss, amusement, humour, joy... and lust. What the Ronso had conveyed just now, though, was something he hadn't sensed before. It wasn't rage or anger, that much was for certain, but it definitely wasn't any of those pleasant feelings either. It was something in between that dichotomy, something that suggested that Kimahri was far from happy, but wasn't necessarily angry, either.

An old adage hit Tidus right then. I'm not angry, I'm just...

Disappointed. That's what he was.

Just like that it hit him. Kimahri was... crestfallen. It seemed a strange thing for this Ronso to be, but as soon as Tidus considered the mere possibility, everything else just suddenly clicked and he knew it to be the truth. Like a gust of wind, an epiphany of sorts swept into his conscious, and things rapidly became clear.

A few minutes earlier he had told Kimahri that he'd finally accepted the Ronso as his mate. Not so much with words, for which Kimahri was not fond of. After all, if the Ronso had defined verbalized communication as the decisive term by which the two of them understood each other, then he would have relented those times when Tidus had weakly tried to get the Ronso to stop his advances. But Kimahri had seen past those thin denials, able to perceive the truth beyond the words. Kimahri knew, just as Tidus was beginning to understand, that words were limited in their ability to truly offer insight into a person's sentiments. No, Kimahri, like most Ronso, viewed the body and the spirit themselves as the ultimate revelation of one's being. As such, it was through Tidus' actions and the communication through their bond that the human had spoken to Kimahri, and spoken in such a way the Ronso knew to be definitive.

When Tidus had finally come willingly and of his own accord to Kimahri, and even stayed with him afterward, he'd effectively told the Ronso that he was no longer wrestling with his own conflicting feelings about their relationship. To Kimahri, what he'd done was finally acknowledge their mateship; told him that he genuinely wanted him, and wanted to stay with him. And that was the truth... that was exactly what Tidus had been thinking at the time, and what he had, semi-unknowingly, conveyed through his raw actions.

And then he'd gone and fucked everything up.

It had been a lengthy process for the bewildered young man to reach that understanding, and the Ronso had showed considerable patience and determination as he passionately and savagely acquainted Tidus to his bestial side. All the while waiting for the deeply rooted mating instincts within the human to take hold and overcome his ridiculous, so-called "reason". And when the boy had at last shown Kimahri the acceptance and unabashed affection the Ronso been waiting so long for, he'd suddenly turned around and acted ashamed of their mating, fearful that the others might see them together. He'd effectively raised the Ronso's hopes on instant, and dashed them the next. And Kimahri was, understandably disappointed.

But really, was that Tidus' fault? He was still trying to get the hang of this whole mating/instinct/primal... thing! And considering the situation, could he really be blamed for his actions? Once they returned to the camp, maybe he could get Kimahri alone and try to explain to him...

... No. No, that wouldn't do at all. He couldn't scream out a denial and then quietly whisper out an affirmation. He needed to act. He needed to make a gesture, though he didn't have the slightest clue what kind he could make. It was a difficult situation; despite how Kimahri felt about words, they were still the best way Tidus could articulate himself.

He took a deep breath... he knew what he had to do. It wasn't going to be easy, but everything inside him was telling him that it had to be done. He had to be loyal to his mate.

"...Guys?"

Years from now, when reflecting back on this exact moment, Tidus would wonder how he ever managed to muster the resolve to even begin to say the words he was about to speak.

"I... uh... I wasn't being entirely honest with you back there." Speaking these words, his eyes scanned the whole group who had stopped and turned to face him. His glance settled on Kimahri and, sure enough he had the Ronso's attention as well.

"Back where?" Wakka inquired, curiosity evident in his tone.

"Um... there." Tidus muttered, thumbing behind him. "Just now."

"Whad'ya mean?" Rikku inquired attentively.

"Well, it's that... see," pursing his lips together, he scratched at an invisible itch on the back of his neck whilst searching for the right words. "There's... there's something I guess I should tell you all. Or... something that you should all know."

Breathing slowly, his eyes again gazed over to Kimahri, whose brow ridges had now risen in slight surprise. It seemed the Ronso had a good indication of what Tidus was about to do, and his brow unfurled in a suprise which Tidus could both see and feel. Feeling an inkling of their connection return managed to strengthen Tidus' wavering courage.

"...Yes?" Auron stated patiently as the pause wore on awkwardly long.

"I... I'm not really sure how to put this," despite his adamant resolve, he still spoke slowly, considering every syllable that came out of his mouth a full second before it actually did. "I mean, it's... well, I guess you guys should know about this. But, it's a little odd." He chuckled a bit internally, as 'little' was a bloody understatement.

"Okay..." Lulu said slowly and drawing out the moment even more, but still succeeding in sounding only vaguely interested. "And what might that be?"

While nervous as hell and with his heart galloping along at an ever increasing rate, Tidus' nerves were soothed when he began to feel the internal chill inside him slowly evaporating. Without even looking at him, Tidus could feel the distance between himself and Kimahri shrinking when the Ronso no doubt realized what Tidus was trying to say, and was contented by it.

"It's like this," Tidus continued, his speech speeding up. "Sometimes, things... well, they just happen. And, you're not really sure why it happened, and... like, you can spend days, even weeks trying to figure that out. But, at the end of the day, you haven't really got an explanation for it. At least not one that you can put into words." Pausing, he scanned over the group againand found that he had their full attention, although the expressions on their faces suggested that they were fixated more on his haphazard wordplay than what he was actually saying.

"But, even if you can't explain why it happened, it did. And it's... it's not really a bad thing. Not at all. It's just, y'know, something that you REALLY didn't see coming. So you're not really sure what you're going to do with it it, but... it's THERE. And it's not going to..."

"You're rambling." Auron interrupted, his head lowering slightly in impatience. "Just get to the point." So much for trying to ease in and put it gently to them... not that he'd been doing a particularly great job of that, anyway.

"What-what I'm saying is..." Here, at the crux of his statement, his heart raced while Tidus felt like he was about to throw up his entire stomach. His mouth closed, then opened again as he repeated it over and over again in his head.

I'm Kimahri's mate. I'm Kimahri's mate. Just say it. Say it. Word it gently... just say that you and Kimahri are... together. Don't be vague about it... but don't, like, go into explicit detail or anything! Just be simple and straightforward. Don't think! Just say it! I'm Kimahri's mate! I'M KIMAHRI'S MATE!!

"I'm..."

So hard had Tidus been concentrating on fighting and surmounting the mental conflict within him that he was completely taken off guard when a very sudden, and very harsh shove from behind propelled his surprised body to the ground. Yelping, Tidus barely stopped himself from eating a mouthful of gritty sand by landing on his hands.

"Wasting time." Came the harsh, brutal tone from above and behind him. "Now move."

Tidus staggered back to his feet and spun around staring wide-eyed at the unrepentant Ronso. Kimahri stood there, composed and poised impassively with only one arm extended forward, the same one he had ungraciously used to quite forcibly shove Tidus. Absolutely flabbergasted, Tidus gawked at him, thrown completely off, both figuratively and literally.

"... What... but..." He murmured, trying to figure out why on earth the Ronso had just done that.

Again, spoken with that rough, cold tone, Tidus could scarcely believe what he was hearing, or for that matter what the Ronso had just done to him. Rubbing his shoulder, which had been jabbed at not with excessive force, but enough that the impact caused it to tingle a little, he stared the Ronso right in his eyes, totally befuddled at this sudden behaviour.

"I..."

It didn't take too long for Tidus to pick up on the subtlety, however. Because just then, he felt it again; the connection, the warmth. Completely and openly. And with it he was able to read and feel the carefully hidden intent behind his mate's rather surprising actions. Kimahri, despite his disappointment and resentment over Tidus' covering up of their mating, was now relieving him of the burden he'd placed upon himself with his determination to declare the truth to the others.

"Kimahri..." Yuna piped up in an admonishing tone regarding the Ronso's uncivil conduct. "If he has something important to tell us..." Tidus only half-listened to the Summoner coming to his defense. His eyes remained locked with Kimahri's as he conveyed to Tidus that there was no need to do this.

"Kimahri is right." Auron's gravely voice intervened. "We're in for the fight of our lives tomorrow, and we cannot allow ourselves get distracted by pointless meandering." Turning to face the Zanarkian boy, the senior guardian addressed him in a serious tone. "Unless you have something of absolute importance you need to tell us..." Few things could draw the human's concentration away from the encompassing presence of Kimahri, but Auron's dramatic and commanding presence was just one of those things.

"N, no." Tidus said in a subdued voice, trying to express as little of his mixed befuddlement and relief as he could. "It can wait."

"Thank you." Auron stated semi-sarcastically.

In the back of his mind, Tidus couldn't help but wonder if the older man had also caught on, as Kimahri had, that Tidus was stressing himself out unhealthily over trying to say what he had been. Perhaps he'd intervened to spare him that strain under the guise of removing all unnecessary distractions and getting down to business. It would certainly be consistent with how Auron had, in his own harsh, indirect way been looking out for Tidus most of his life.

"Now, I highly recommend we all get back to camp and rest up. Those of us who want to survive long enough to see Lady Yunalesca, anyway." Again, the Guardian turned and marched. Wakka and Rikku eyed Tidus curiously, but ultimately shrugged and followed. Yuna, for her part, approached Tidus and laid a hand upon his shoulder.

"Are you really sure you don't..."

"No! Heh, no," Tidus assured her, smiling as he waved dismissively. "Sorry. Just... nerves. Ya know?"

"I know..." Yuna nodded. "I... feel the same way. Between everything that's led up to now... there really is no going back." Right then, Tidus hated himself for bringing that up. But a smile began to form on Yuna's face as she raised her head back up to him. "However... we've made it all this way. And we've come too far to lose now, right?"

"Y-yeah!" Tidus hastily piped up, embarrassed as it was usually him doing the pep talks, not stuttering around nervously and making a complete idiot of himself. "We're gonna... uh, march right on in there and take the Final Aeon!" he spoke with a falsely spirited tone, pumping his fist for emphasis. "And then there's gonna be nothing left to stop us from taking down Sin once and for all!" God, he wished his mind hadn't been so flustered and off his game so as to come up with less corny and dully assembled words of encouragement.

"Right!" Yuna beamed despite this, and Tidus was at least grateful to see a sorely-missed cheerful smile return to her face. "So let's get a good rest tonight. We'll all do our best."

Tidus nodded, and with a cautious glance behind him, began heading back alongside Yuna, who moved with a stride that quickly caught up with the others. Kimahri followed along behind them and while they returned toward the camp, Tidus cautiously slowed down his pace, letting Yuna get further ahead while he and Kimahri closed in on each other. Confident that they were well out of earshot, Tidus looked over to the Ronso as he strode besides him.

"Why...?"

"Were not ready, yet." Kimahri stated.

Tidus again scratched at that invisible itch on the back of his head, a little disenhearted by the Ronso's assessment of him.

"But... I thought, I mean, I was really gonna -"

"Kimahri knows," the Ronso admitted, gently interrupting him. "You would have." He then spared him a wryly amused glace. "But not very well. Not in manner becoming of Kimahri's mate."

"I... augh, I know, but..." Tidus lowered his head. "The way you were, I... I wanted to show you that I..."

"Kimahri knows," the Ronso repeated. "And Kimahri is truly proud. However, Kimahri does not want mate to feel as distressed as you were. Not like it when mate is uncomfortable. Especially not for Kimahri's sake."

You..." Tidus began, tone becoming slightly deadpan. "... you shoved me right one the ground."

"And Kimahri..." He replied, slightly grin gracing his lips. "... will make that up to you." Amused at how quickly the boy's cheeks could turn a darker shade of crimson, the Ronso continued. "Besides, make it more believable."

The young man felt his spirits lift as the Ronso spoke, although still feeling guilty for the way he'd acted.

"Listen... I'm sorry. About before," he stated.

"Fine," Kimahri reassured him. "Tell them when you are truly ready. Not a moment before. Only when you feel time is right."

"So you're really okay with.. that? Keeping it under wraps, for now?"

"It matters little. This concern is not that of anyone else's. For Kimahri, that mate acknowledges is enough. Besides..." a knowing glance was directed Tidus' way, "duty as mate is not to make you uncomfortable. Kimahri MUCH prefers it when mate feels... good."

Attempting to hide a shy smile, Tidus turned his head away, but the Ronso saw it anyway and grinned. Widely.

*********

Two Days Later

A bleach-blonde heap burst out from the glittering surface of the water, spattering drops of water about as the boy gasped in the sweet air, having submerged himself in the coral reefs around Besaid for nearly 15 minutes, now, his explorations below the surface had taken their toll on even his extraordinary lung capacity.

Deciding to take a few moments to rest up before his next dive, Tidus paddled onto the shore of the nearby smaller island. Emerging totally soaked from the swim, Tidus shook off most of the water while discarding his shirt and overall straps to leave his chest bared before the warm, comforting afternoon sun. Plopping down unceremoniously onto the sandy beach, he closed his eyes, trying to force himself to relax. Trying to think pleasant thoughts to distract his mind away from the darker ones, but not experiencing a great deal of success.

One more day.

That was the time they had left.

It had just been one shock followed rampantly after another, yesterday. As soon as the rays of the dawning sunlight had breached the horizon, the party had set off, marching boldly into the front gates of the forbidden city of Zanarkand. Despite the many warnings they'd received, despite even the presence of Auron, a man who'd already ventured these deadly grounds, they were nearly overwhelmed by the sheer ferocity of the fiends and monsters they'd encountered within. Zanarkand, a once great city and a bastion of human civilization was now a breeding ground for the most dangerous and the most barbarically violent creatures they'd yet encountered on their journey. Yet push forth, they did... only to discover the real truth behind the Final Summoning, which shook them to their very core. Not one, but two sacrifices were neccesary in order to end Sin's rampage of destruction. And it was through Lady Yunalesca's revelation of this fact that Auron himself was exposed an unsent. A decade ago, he'd spent his life when he'd attacked the high summoner upon, enraged to learn that Sin was eternal, and that the promise that Sin could one day be eradicated through the atonement of humanity was a lie... for which Lord Braska and Jecht had surrendered their lives for.

Up until that moment, they'd all done everything they could to keep Yuna's spirits and hope alive before this inevitable and terrible sacrifice that was to come. She'd depended on them to keep her hope alive throughout every fight, every horror they'd been through. But the truth, as revealed by Yunalesca, had shattered completely that very hope within them, and in that moment, they had none to give to Yuna. However, in an ironic reversal, though, the resolve they'd needed to see them through this dark moment had come not from them, but from Yuna herself... Through her words and her ardour, they realized they could never accept a world where homes, families and lives would be continually destroyed by Sin's boundless rage while a false promise of salvation kept people limping on as tragedy after tragedy tore them apart. By rejecting this futile cycle, they'd incurred the wrath of Yunalesca herself, and, forced to defend themselves, did the unthinkable, and ended her lifeless existence.

And yet still, that would not be the end of it. Upon meeting back with Mika, the Grand Maester revealed further that Sin was, in fact, little more than a summon itself, crafted by a twisted and vengeful spirit known as Yu Yevon. As one falsehood after another came crashing down around them, Yuna and her guardians were left only with the knowledge and intuition they'd gained over their journey in finding a way to end Sin once and for all.

After some lengthy discussion and debate amongst themselves, they'd finally decided that there was nothing else to do but to attack Sin head on with everything they had. Operation Mi'hen, however, had proved what a disastrous endeavour that could be, but luckily they knew that this incarnation of Sin was none other than Tidus' father, who, even lost in that creature's rage as he was could still be rendered docile thanks to the hymn of the faith. That was their key.

The small problem with that was that it would take many, many people from all across the world singing the hymn in unison for the song to be able to penetrate past the armour of Sin and reach the tortured soul within. And organizing that kind of a global-scale chorus was gong to take, amongst many other things, time. Luckily, heading the task of coordinating this massive recital was Shelinda. She had been hastily promoted to captain of the Yevonite royal guard and could thus command her subordinates to begin spreading the word about the plan. Despite her lack of experience in military affairs, she proved to be an excellent organizer and by the night's end had already designed a plan whereby the Bevelle guards would split up and travel throughout Spira, spreading the word of Yuna's plan to take down Sin.

The troops had been sent out this morning and if it all went according to plan then by noon the following day everyone in Spira would be aware of the plan. Initially Yuna and her guardians volunteered their efforts to help spread the message even faster, but Cid had argued against it, as it was Yuna's group who was going to be doing the serious work of actually fighting Sin. The best thing for them to do was to simply rest up.

After having spent so long constantly travelling, fighting and running across Spira in desperation, it felt odd for them to actually take a day to settle down and breathe easy; especially when the most crucial moment of all was at hand. Auron, however, had wholeheartedly agreed with Cid's idea. He understood that the group needed some respite after having experienced weeks of physical and mental stress that would have easily broken most anyone else.

And so here Tidus was, once again, back in the sunbathed, beautiful isles of Besaid. If they were going to be resting, then this was unquestionably the place to do it since the island cluster was located in an isolated, serene and majestic corner of the world. Tropical climate, clear blue waters, rushing waterfalls, sunny skies and quiet atmosphere - in effect, an ideal vacation spot. It was a true blessing that this piece of paradise hadn't yet seen Sin's wrath. And so, if just for awhile he, Lulu, Yuna, Rikku, Kimahri and even Auron resolved to forget about the looming battle that lay just ahead. They simply relaxed and enjoyed themselves, for it may have been the last chance for them to do so.

Wakka and Rikku were taking advantage of the day by simply resting off on the beach where the Aurochs practiced. Yuna was in the village, happily looking after the local children. Lulu kept her reclusive self in her hut, pouring over some old texts. Auron was off in the hills, taking in the peaceful solitude of nature.

Tidus, however, wasn't the type who really felt at ease just sitting around and doing nothing. He was a young man bursting with energy and exuberance and found the idea of simply laying back and doing nothing all day positively boring. He needed at least some sort of activity to keep himself from getting restless, and thusly decided to take a casual swim around the multitude of islands surrounding the Besaid mainland.

Taking a few minutes to recuperate from the couple of kilometres he'd just completed around the winding atoll's shorelines, he laid back on the sunbaked sands and allowed the bright rays of afternoon light to beam down upon him, attempting with limited success to soothe himself. Breathing slowly, Tidus couldn't prevent the worrisome thoughts from entering his mind despite his peaceful surroundings. With a frustrated sigh, he stretched his legs out, half-heartedly deciding to return to his exploration. As he stirred and was about to get to his feet, he felt a sudden tingling jolt tracing sharp little fingers up his spine.

Something was behind him.

Akin to a feral cat tensing up, the sudden noise caused his senses to instantly snap into razor-sharp awareness, allowing him to detect everything around himself in errorless detail His ears perked up at the sound of water gently splashing behind him and instinctively mentally measured the distance from the sound, determining that it was very close... his body resting against the sand sensed the slight tremors in the ground, caused by the lumbering this "something" was making as it came ashore. A sense of panic might have come over him, thinking that a fiend may have been attempting to sneak up on him if not for a third, and far more powerful sense that immediately identified the creature behind him. Recognizing the feeling and the connection to the Ronso behind him, Tidus opened his eyes, lifted his head off the sand and turned around.

Woah.

The almost mythical world of Spira held a number of majestic sights that had stolen the very breath from Tidus' lungs - and he was looking at another one of them right now. He watched, captivated utterly as his mate emerged from the water, clad only in his white loinwrap and drenched from the top of his silver maned head to the ebony claws on his feet. The salty water dripped down the monumental body in a multitude of small, cascading waterfalls, showering the ground beneath him in a generous deluge as he strode forth. The blue fur covering the Ronso, soaked and heavy as it now was, clung tightly against his hulking body. Now, in unconstrained glory, every graceful curve and muscle of Kimahri's powerful physique was now visible. From the jutting pectorals, standing at the horizontal crest of his body, to the six immaculately aligned ab muscles adorning his torso. To his powerful, articulated hips and to the giant calf-muscles, broadening just above his kneecaps and forming down into a perfect wedge at the ankles of his digitirade feet; it had always been obvious that Kimahri was an incredibly well-built and mammalian creature, but it hadn't been until this exact moment that the young man could see just how truly perfect the Ronso's body was. Every curve, every edge, every inch of this massive beast now stood out proudly in unrestrained glory as his wet fur laid prostrate against it, revealing that Kimahri's entire form was nothing but hard, flawlessly sculpted muscle. And in the late afternoon sun, every single mound of hardened flesh covering the expansiveness of his body was decorated with a lustrous shine, reflecting off the now glossy, water-soaked fur. Its luminescence gave the Ronso an almost godlike appearance. There was not a single imperfection on him save perhaps for his broken horn, although Tidus didn't even remotely consider that a flaw. As savagely beastlike as Kimahri's appearance often was, at this moment, Tidus could not think of the Ronso as anything other than... beautiful.

As if in slow motion the water continued to trickle off the beastman's colossal form as he strode forth, leaving the sand and grass beneath him drenched with each stride. Tidus watched, completely mesmerised, his whole being utterly captivated by the vision of this majestic beast making its way toward him. It was strange, Tidus had seen Kimahri naked before and done so with great admiration, but now, even with the loinwrap guarding the Ronso's member from Tidus' prying vision, it felt like he was seeing him for the first time all over again. The sight managed to bestir equal awe and arousal in the human, unable to tear his eyes away even as the brilliant reflection from the sun glared off his mate's coat.

Kimahri came to a stop directly in front of his mate, casting his shadow over him like a monolith. Silently looking up, Tidus observed how Kimahri's hair, usually well-groomed and spiked atop his head, was now drooping under the wetness, dangling in slight disarray across his scalp. His face appeared stern with his feline mouth in its usual inverse Y-shaped curvature, yet the Ronso's eyes stared into the boy's with an intense gaze, focusing right on the boy as though piercing directly into his soul. It reminded Tidus of the first time they'd been together, when Kimahri had first taken him screaming into manhood... stripping him and laying him bare with a savage intensity that had terrified and excited the human all at once. Just as it was right now. His heart picked up its pace, as no matter many times Kimahri presented himself in all his primal glory to him like this, he could not ever feel accustomed to it.

"Hi." Was all that Tidus was able to meekly utter while after a long moment of being enslaved by the bewitching allurement that was the image of Kimahri's entire being.

"Stand up." The Ronso directed him. bluntly, with little of room for argument.

Kimahri's actual words only registered in his brain a second after he'd heard them, such was the trance he was in. The human's own tongue stumbled over itself in trying to form a response.

"Um... oh." Daring only to tear his gaze away for a second as he righted himself, Tidus stood before Kimahri with a martial posture, an unconscious move since he dared not slouch before such a reverent sight.

"Now... run." Was the Ronso's next statement.

Tidus blinked. Those words seemed... urgent, in term, yet they'd been calmly composed as they'd left the Ronso's mouth.

"Wh... what?" certain that he must have misheard Kimahri, perhaps somewhat distracted from the sight, the words fell awkwardly from his mouth.

"Run." Kimahri repeated, sounding it out long and with purposeful clearness in his deep voice.

Arching an eyebrow in confusion, Tidus' mouth half-opened, wanting to respond with something more intelligent than another 'what?', but for all his earnestness was unable to do so. They were on one of the many relatively smaller cays surrounding the Besaid-area island cluster, but there were almost no fiends inhabiting these small areas. The creatures preferred instead to hunt on the larger, main island, along with the other animals and the local residents. There was absolutely one else at all on this stretch of land, thus Tidus' puzzlement at what Kimahri had just said. With absolutely one else at all on this stretch of land Tidus' could only puzzle at what Kimahri had just said.

"I... I'm sorry, I don't..."

_ "RUUUUN!!!" _

In a singular instant Kimahri's whole disposition shifted entirely, and Tidus recoiled in complete shock at the Ronso's bellowing roar. With his ears ringing, he staggered back unbelieving that before him now stood an entirely different Kimahri. The Ronso's appearance was so majestic and upright literally a second ago, then quite suddenly his entire frame was coiled up into a savage, bestial shape. The claws on both hands and feet clenched tightly, with those on his toes digging sizable furrows into the sand while the ones on his hands tensed like a pair of eagles' claws. Legs tensed and folded under him, coming into a semi-crouch while his arms flew outward, shoulders raised.

And the head... Kimahri's head said the most, with the neck craning down, his brow furrowed tightly, with furious wrinkle lines deepening over the contracted skin between his eyes, horn, and arching down his feline nose. Surrounding his roaring maw, lips were curled back well onto his gums, fully displaying his meat-rendering teeth. And his eyes, once calm and clear, were now barely appeared at all, hidden as they were under the arching brow, with only the slightest tinge of his yellow irises managing to peek out from underneath. All at once, his mighty body sprang into this pose, the sheer suddenness of it causing the water upon his fur to spit out in all directions, surrounding him with a violent, prismatic mist.

In an instant this entire sight, in every savage detail, was laid before Tidus as he flew back away from the menacing figure. As quickly as Kimahri's demeanour had changed, so too did Tidus'. In that instant his confusion and reasonboth fled, the sight of ferocious beast before him having instructed his most primitive senses to RUN. And run fast.

Twisting in place and miraculously managing not to trip, Tidus spun around and fled. His heart flipped backwards upon itself within his chest and he already found himself out of breath as he hurled himself into the grove of trees that made up a large part of this small island. The sheer echo of the beast's booming cry still rang from the jagged, rocky skerries surrounding the small cay, as well as in the boy's ears, drowning out the sound of foliage being crushed beneath his pumping legs. His ragged breathing, and the struggling beatings of his heart were all but silent to him. Thick, tropical trees, shrubbery and the like flew at him at blinding speeds while he dashed through the undergrowth. If he hadn't left his reasonable mind in the dust back at the beach, he'd have been astounded at his own ability to jump, dive, hurdle, weave and bob his way through the multitude of obstacles without breaking pace.

As he dashed through the foliage, from the corner of his eye he spotted a blur of movement off to his right side, moving parallel to his track through the bush. Instantly alerted to its presence, he kept track of its movement, darting his eyes back and forth between it and the obstacles ahead of him. He pushed his legs even harder, but the shadowy figure appeared to have little trouble keeping up as it zigzagged through the branches. Slowly, Tidus' hearing returned to him and his ears managed to pick up the sound of something massive rushing through the branches above, coming closer and closer. And as the sound of movement above and around him became louder, so too did the hardness of his breathing when he put on an extra burst of speed.

Finally, a ferocious snarl was heard... it was lunging at him. Tidus jerked his head back, but was unable to see exactly where his pursuer was coming from. Operating purely on instinct now, time itself appeared to slow as his ears listened for the beast's snarl as it became increasingly louder and louder. His heart beating in rhythm with each fraction of a second, he could feel the proximity between the two closing in. Then at last when the growl resonating in his ears became loud enough that he couldn't take it any more, Tidus suddenly dug the heels of his blitzball shoes into the ground and ducked as low as he could. Just above his lowered head he felt a massive rush of air as the monster whizzed above him, his bleached hair flailing about as the giant gust passed just barely above his head.

Immediately taking note of the direction that the wind above him had blown, Tidus used the momentum from his sudden halt to spring himself off in the opposite direction from the monster, not daring to waste any time or energy looking back. He wasn't even thinking about where he was sprinting, but was driven nonetheless to move faster than he might have thought himself humanly capable of. Tidus bolted through the jungle growth for what felt like minutes, hearing nothing of his pursuer yet refusing to slow down even a little, knowing that it was faster than he. Before long, though, the sound of the foliage around him being crushed by thundering footsteps was heard close by and coming up fast.

With heart-stopping suddenness, the leaves of a large bush just ahead of him abruptly blew open as from behind their substantial foliage a savage Ronso dove through in a calculated ambush that had him about to pounce on the spot Tidus was presently hurling himself toward. Instinctively reacting, Tidus leaped as hard as he could to the side, gracelessly flailing his body in midair to evade the Ronso's large arms. Through either skill or luck he managed to twist himself in just such a way as to dodge and fly past the Ronso as its hands slammed down onto nothing but grass. Unfortunately for him, his luck ran short when he fumbled his own landing and tripped, rolling across the ground. He righted himself almost instantly, but so had the beast who now stood before him, snarling as his arms lunged out again. In a series of reactionary movements so rapid that Tidus would barely remember having executed them, he jumped back and managed to dodge the first swipe, but collided rather painfully into the truck of a tree.

Anticipating a follow-up assault, he hunched down, as the Ronso's open hand slammed against the spot on the tree where his head had just been. Quicker still, he rolled out of the way as the monster's mighty feet came down, attempting to trap him under them. Springing back up, Tidus moved like a jackrabbit, evading, despite their close proximity, the Ronso's arms and lunges with a hasty series of agile swerves and feints, astounded that he survived each dodge. Eventually, he scattering through a fork in between the trees too small for the massive beast to pass through and taking advantage of the few seconds it would take for the Ronso to maneuver around them, Tidus sprinted again, pushing his shoes hard against the ground.

As he propelled himself through the thinning undergrowth, the blue sky slowly began to appear between gaps in the shrubbery and Tidus discovered himself heading straight for the shoreline. Making a break for the beach with intent to swim for it, his eyes squinted slightly as the brilliant sun peeked out from over the trees and the last root on the ground that stood in between him and his tentative salvation was leaped over. Tidus' feet were but a few precious inches from the beach's welcoming sand when, with absolutely no warning, he found himself tackled from behind, large arms coiled around his torso in mid-run. Together, both Ronso and the enclasped human shot out from under the treeline and toppled out onto the beach, their mutual weight and momentum causing them to tumble together for an impressive several meters. Between the impact and the disoriented rolling, their limbs flailed about within their tumbling heap, and Tidus could only close his eyes as his face was wheeled into the sand. When at last they careened to a halt, he slowly opened his eyes again to find his back resting against the beach, and the Ronso sprawled atop him, his hands firmly pinning Tidus' biceps to the ground, and his knees doing the same with Tidus' ankles.

For a long moment, they remained like that. Both panted heavily, though Tidus' breaths were far more laboured, his chest rising and falling at an alarming pace and both fingers and toes tingling from his increased need for oxygen. Staring shakily at one another, their bodies quaked against one another. Gradually as Tidus' breath returned, so too did his mind from where he abandoned it on the other side of the cay. Slowly, the blind, animal panic that had completely overcome him was replaced with his more conscious, reasonable mind... which struggled to make sense of what had just happened.

Kimahri witnessed the all emotions playing across his confused mate's face... and chuckled.

"Wh... what... the HELL was that all abou...?!" The boy croaked out, his throat raspy and dry from the workout his exhausted lungs had just endured. Taking a handful of seconds to exhale slowly and steady himself while the Ronso continued to look down upon him with an amused crook at the corner of his mouth, Tidus quickly heaved out. "Why'd you tell me to run?!"

"Two reasons." Kimahri spoke calmly, having annoyingly gotten his breath back a lot faster than Tidus. "First, wanted to test your progression."

"My... wha?"

"Wanted to see how much faster you have become with training. Wished to see how your reflexes have sharpened since last time." Tidus eyed him suspiciously from below, knowing that Kimahri could have very easily done all that without terrifying him halfway to death.

"O...kay." He hesitantly accepted. "And... what's the other reason you told me to run?"

This time, the crook in Kimahri's mouth enlarged into a full-fledged grin.

"Because I wanted to chase you."

Tidus stared back incredulously into the Ronso's eyes, his mouth agape but unable to spit out the appropriate words. After a moment, a stormy expression flashed across the his face and he writhed against the Ronso's grasp, fruitlessly hissing his frustration between gritted teeth as Kimahri held fast, unable to resist chuckling further at the display.

"You scared the hell out of me!!" The human glowered up at him. "I thought you...!"

Well... to be honest, Tidus wasn't sure what he'd been thinking, if at all. It wasn't like he'd actually thought Kimahri was going to try to hurt him or anything like that, but when the Ronso had furiously roared at him the way he had, with his body poised with deathly menace the way it was... borne instinct had screamed at him to RUN, some frantic, instinctive, animal part of his brain taking control. He was sure it must have had something to do with the connection they shared, infiltrating his mind and nudging it into a panic.

"But... Kimahri very impressed." The Ronso's purred out soothingly. "You did much better than last time."

"Last... time?" Tidus stammered mid-sentence, remembering the incident in the airship's cargo hold. Oh, yeah... that.

"Coming along much faster than Kimahri expected." He continued, pride evident in his tone. "Did not think you could come this far before Kimahri caught you."

"Well... yeah. With the right motivation..." Tidus sardonically responded, allowing the irritation to drip heavily from his voice. "Y'know, what with being scared out of my mind and all." A single chuckle escaped the Ronso in the form a pleasant exhale as he closed his mouth and smiled.

"Scared?" He mused aloud as he began to droop his head lower. "You are afraid of your mate?"

"Uh..." As Kimahri's face came closer, Tidus began to spot the individual grains of sand caught in Kimahri's fur and beard. Even though the intense chase had largely shaken loose all the droplets of water that had been in the Ronso's coat, it remained damp enough to collect sand in the certain spots where his body had rolled onto the beach. Furthermore, his usually well groomed blue pelt was now ruffled and shaggy, while his silver mane was a tousled, unkempt mess, barely resembling its normal, neatly spiked state. Seeing the Ronso in this state... a dishevelled and dirty one... Tidus could not push aside his sudden realization of how... rugged Kimahri looked right now.

Kimahri continued, coming closer still, gaze locked with Tidus'. "Are you afraid of your desires?" Despite the warm afternoon sun beating down upon them, Goosebumps began developing over Tidus' skin. "Are you afraid of the way you feel when Kimahri is this close to you?" The Ronso's voice became quieter, deeper still as he continued to close in the distance between their faces.

"Do you fear what Kimahri does to you? What Kimahri makes you feel?" His visage now so close that Tidus could feel the warm breath against his moist skin, strands of Kimahri's lengthy mane began to tumble down from the sides of his head, draping their faces within a silvery curtain.

Tidus knew what Kimahri was doing. The excited shivers running through his spine and the pinpricks tingling across his skin served to contrast yet again with the apprehension in his rational mind and a hard feeling in the pit of his stomach. He couldn't decide if that feeling was anticipation or dread, as the Ronso's protruding muzzle slowly, slowly neared toward the tip of his own nose. Once again, his inner senses were at war with one another, although Tidus knew that Kimahri was doing this on purpose... fanning the flames within him with intent to unnerve the boy, as it had become quite obvious over their many previous romps that the Ronso loved toying and teasing with Tidus' twittering feelings. He suspected because it gave Kimahri a greater sense of satisfaction when he'd conquer the hesitant little human and thunder down upon him with screaming rounds of passionate release.

Only, Tidus knew better. Despite that the clash within intensified the tempo of his heartbeat, his coherent mind, fighting to not be swept away in the tides of his inner turmoil, was wise to this devious Ronso and his cunning ways. He knew very well that, no matter how Kimahri tried to intimidate him and compel his nervousness to the surface so that the Ronso could feed upon their deliciousness... Kimahri would never hurt him.

"Are you afraid...?"

"No." Tidus surprised himself when he heard himself say the word, a grin spreading across his face before he remembered his current position wasn't ALL vantage.

Kimahri stopped, eyes widening for just an instant long enough to betray his surprise at his mate's audacity. Spotting this, Tidus felt a boldness he hadn't felt before mixing into fray of his foreboding and excitement. "S-should I be??" He smiled, lips quivering between hesitant and challenging.

Kimahri paused a moment, clearly taken aback by this obstinate shift in his mate's behavior. Narrowing his eyes at the boy's defiant little smile, a low growl uttered from Kimahri's throat.

"Well... that depends." The Ronso spoke, an ominous purr accompanying his words. "Perhaps you are afraid, knowing how defenseless you are right now... knowing that Kimahri can have you any way Kimahri wants?"

"Eh... nah." The words quickly rattled out of Tidus' mouth, as the boy didn't want the quivering in this voice to be too apparent. With a brave mask upon his features, he continued to smirk back up at the Ronso, despite how that fierce look Kimahri was casting over him actually was causing his insides to shiver frightfully. In his mind, there was an unsubtle voice questioning whether antagonizing the gigantic beast he was currently in the grips of was at all a good idea and that he should perhaps wipe that grin off his face immediately, but Tidus did his best to ignore it and brave on.

Kimahri paused. The human had been coming along nicely, sharpening his instincts to become more attuned with Ronso standards and realizing his responsibilities in responding to his mate. Recently, though, the boy was showing an intuitiveness in his understanding of how the dynamics of their mating worked. And, it would seem, was now trying to take advantage. Trying to challenge.

"Hrrrmmm... are you now?" Kimahri spoke out each word slowly, intensely staring his mate in the eyes, taking meticulous note of his features for any sign of weakness. "Knowing what Kimahri can do to you? Knowing how hard Kimahri can make you scream?"

"Heh..." Tidus dared. "I dunno... I think it might just be the other way around." With a deepening growl, Kimahri bared his deadly teeth at the defiant words that his mate had dared to speak to him. The Ronso came close enough that his face began to blur in Tidus' vision.

The cautious voice in Tidus' mind was now screaming. Are you NUTS?! Stop it! Yet Tidus was as surprised as anyone by his own nerved actions. Despite all the jumbling emotions within him, telling him not to upset this beast and to just give him what he wanted, there was a part of him that didn't want to give the Ronso the satisfaction of being his whimpering little plaything, yet again. This time, he wanted something a little more.

"How so?" Kimahri asked, voice saturated with unspoken warnings.

"You're the one who's got me restrained." Tidus pointed out. "What are YOU afraid of?" Oh gawd, shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Do you have any idea what he's gonna DO to you now?! The voice grew increasingly panicked and the boy increasingly steeled his resolve against showing it as the menacing beast's face came closer... closer...

At the last possible moment the Ronso shifted his head off to the right, the wet, rugged surface of his snout just barely grazed against Tidus' nose as it continued to move downward to the side. Despite his brace front, the brief contact was enough to bring a silent gasp from the boy's lips.

"Kimahri knows you like that." The Ronso spoke out each word slowly, maneuvering his lips toward Tidus' ear, his cheek brushing along the right side of Tidus'.

The boy tried to say something, but all that came out of him was a single, quivering pant.

"Kimahri knows how much your body likes being held down..." The Ronso's lips now tickled against Tidus' shell-like ear as he enunciated each word... he could actually feel the Ronso smile against the side of his face "... and having your little hole pounded so good. Being forced to endure pleasure so immense that you can't stop scre-e-e-a-a-a-aming." His deep voice elongated that last word so long, the lengthly huff of his exhale left the faintest traces of condensation on Tidus' skin.

Oh, God, Kimahri was good at this. The mere sound of his grave, lustful voice battered away at the boy's defenses, leaving him nearly on the verge of breaking down completely and begging the Ronso for mercy... begging him to touch him... to fill him... to make him cry out in ecstasy. And in that moment, feeling his determination threatening to crumble away at any second, in a desperate craze, Tidus snapped into an all-or-nothing move.

With a growl of his own, Tidus suddenly snapped his head to the side and kissed the Ronso squarely on this lips. This time, there could be no mistaking the astonishment Kimahri felt as he was taken off guard, his eyes widening completely, a merp of surprise escaping his throat, and his neck craning back by just a few millimetres. Though the distance made little difference to the boy, as he pressed his lips firmly against the larger blue ones. The surprise lasted only a few seconds, as Kimahri's yellow eyes closed, lulled swiftly by the inviting suckling Tidus was enrapturing his lips with.

Quietly, their mouths stroked against each other in a series of hypnotically slow movements. Lazily enraptured, Kimahri breathed in the heavenly scent of his mate as he tasted delicately the human's face, the boy's soft lips feathering with sensual delicateness against his thicker ones. Eyes closed, Kimahri purred as he felt, for a few heavenly moments, lost in this concupiscent act.

Gently, their lips parted, both exhaling gratifyingly against the other's face. Gradually, Kimahri opened his eyes and before them now was his blushing red mate, now sporting a cocky, satisfied smirk.

"Not so tough now, are ya? You're just a big, harmless kitty who likes getting petted."

Okay. There was being brave... and then there was being just plain brain-dead suicidal. The voice in Tidus' head didn't bother saying anything at all, as it was now a foregone conclusion that his smart mouth had just assured that he was now royally fucked. The massive beast stared back at him, blank look in his eyes... and it was perhaps the fact that Tidus couldn't tell what the Ronso was now thinking that scared him most of all.

A pause. Tidus laid there, captive as nothing but pure silence permeated the moment. Not the wind, not the birds, not even the waves against the shore behind them, seemed to make any noise whatsoever.

"... Harmless?" The Ronso at least spoke, a devilish grin gracing his face. "Kimahri can be considered many things. But when Kimahri is done with you, you will never again consider Kimahri to be... harmless." Instantly, the tense stillness of the moment was shattered when, with a lusty growl and a brutal kiss, Kimahri plunged the extension of his mouth down into Tidus' own, with the human only able to emit a muffled squeak before his mouth was completely enclosed with the thickness of Kimahri's tongue.

It was ON now. Tidus had effectively issued a challenge to his mate with his audacious words and actions. The boy knew that he could have an effect on Kimahri almost as well as Kimahri could have an effect on him, and had vied to use that to his advantage in this latest of their many sessions of passionate lovemaking. However, this was a Ronso he was dealing with. With the Ronsos, like most other feral creatures, challenges of a most savage nature could be issued in a tug of war for power and dominance. Tidus had understood this in part when he'd dared to provoke Kimahri, rather than succumbing and allowing himself to become the Ronso's wanton bitch, but feeling the wrath of this Ronso's furious and demanding libido, he now feared that he'd just bitten off a little more than he could chew.

For several minutes, Kimahri's mouth tirelessly attacking Tidus' own, growling aggressively despite the human's repeated moans. Unyielding and unrelenting, the Ronso demandingly savaged Tidus' face while the boy desperately tried to keep pace, his own tongue fighting a losing battle. They wrestled with their mouths, lips, tongues with streams of mixed drool occasionally falling out the sides where their incompatible lips didn't seal.

Finally, the pace of his ministrations gradually lulled until he slowly pulled himself away, strings of saliva hanging from between their mouths as they parted. Tidus emitted a sigh both of relief and disappointed longing at the retreat of Kimahri's tongue, but hadn't long to worry.

"Now..." The Ronso purred. "Who do you belong to?" Looking up into Kimahri's eyes, Tidus saw... and felt the fervored lust he'd just unleashed within this beast. The smart thing to do at this point, it might have seemed, was to submit immediately and bend to the Ronso's desires... but... sensing that raw animal desire, the hunger coming off in droves from his mate, Tidus figured that no matter what, at this point, Kimahri was going to spend the next little while reminding the boy just who was in charge... and in as screamingly pleasurable a way as possible. He'd already gone past the point of no mercy, so... in his own lusty delirium, and unable to deny that a part of him actually wanted to feel as much of this Ronso's sensual wrath as possible, Tidus decided to persist in his recklessness.

"What?" He coyly spoke. "Am I supposed to be afraid?"

"Oh... yes." Kimahri knowingly leaned in again, eagerly willing to play the game. "You should be filled with terror."

"Then..." Tidus leaned his head up to meet the Ronso's gaze. "... Why am I the one who's tied up?"

"Kimahri told you... because you like it."

"Well... maybe I do." The boy cocked his head to the side. "But then again, maybe it's just that you're the one who's afraid."

Kimahri deepened his grin, now incredibly amused with his little mate's barefaced insolence. The boy knew well that Kimahri was going to make him pay for his impudence, and yet was teasing the Ronso all the same. Surprised as he'd been, Kimahri couldn't help but be fascinated with this latest turn of events.

"And what does Kimahri have to fear from you?"

"Let go of my arms... and you might just find out." A challenge it was, then. Staring directly into each other's eyes with rivalling smirks, the truth was that Tidus had absolutely no idea what he'd just invited onto himself, his heart beating inside his chest with dread, yet trying nonetheless to maintain his composure. Knowing Kimarhi, though, he probably saw right through Tidus' charade and was more than willing to call his bluff for the sake of the fun he was going to have taking him down. Wordlessly, Kimahri loosened his grip on Tidus' biceps, freeing them in acceptance of his mate's little game.

No sooner than the Ronso's hands had left Tidus' biceps and the boy began to feel the warm circulation flowing regularly in his arms again than the Ronso used one of his now available hands to clamp down on one side of Tidus' head, bracing it in place and unleashed his tongue on the other side, violently smothered it against his human ear.

"Ah, AAH!" He cried out as he arched his back up at the sudden move, his whole body agonizingly twisting in response to the sensation of Kimahri's wet, velvety organ burying itself in his ear, and feeling his warm saliva manage to dribble its way down slowly into his canal, causing a tingling sensation throughout his head that resonated all the way to his mouth. Tidus freed hands served him little purpose as all he found himself able to do with them was to wrap them around Kimahri's broad shoulders, clamping his fingers in the back of his silver mane.

"MmmmrrrrrrrrrrrrRRR..." The Ronso growled possessively while persisting in his assault, oscillating about his tongue and pressing further against Tidus' head. The large surface of his tongue managed not only to engulf the ear, but the skin around it, making it impossible for his ear to escape no matter how much the boy involuntarily jerked his head about. A point emphasized when Kimahri bit down gently upon it, signifying his conquest. Satisfied, and encouraged still by the feeling of the little human fingers digging and combing through the lengthily hair on the back of his head, he slowly moved his lips along the surface of Tidus' neck, licking and nibbling the human's supple pink flesh while he traveled along the underneath of the jawline. He circled about until he came to the left side of the boy's head, his thick, suckling lips preparing to lay siege to the other ear.

Kimahri stopped just short, however, when an excited hiss, unexpected and involuntary, came seething out of him. A powerful jolt struck him as a new sensation jarred him and thrilled him all in the same clashing blow, and his back arched suddenly upwards. Instantly was Kimahri's attention brought to his mate's hands, both of which made use of their freedom to emigrate from combing through the hairs on the back of his head to travel down from the Ronso's triangular neck, across his chest, venture bravely into the forest of white hair that adorned his lower pecs, until locating at last the fleshy, pebbled surfaces on each side that were Kimahri nipples. So enraptured had Kimahri been in his attempts to bring his mate into submission with the skilled application of his big, pink tongue that he'd failed to notice the boy's adventurous hands until they'd firmly groped the sensitive nubs of flesh upon his hard chest.

Tidus whimpered as the tongue left his skin, almost regretting the reprieve from his mate's ravaging appetite , but hearing the rumbling sounds of a beast in heat brought an equal sense of gratification to him as he squeezed at Kimahri's glands. Looking up, Tidus saw a look on his mate's face that was a cross between irritation and bliss, reading clearly that Kimahri had suddenly remembered that Tidus would know from their last encounter that these were a weak point for the Ronso, and he'd foolishly left them unguarded. Another smirk returned to Tidus' face as he saw the Ronso's face contort with delight as captured the flesh in between his fingers, holding them taught as he felt them harden in his hands.

"Now... why don't you come back down here?" Tidus hissed out as he pulled with a gentle firmness upon Kimahri's bosom, and like a leashed animal, Kimahri slowly followed suit, lowering his torso down until his writhing face, eyes clenched shut, returned to Tidus'. Enjoying the ragged breaths of twisted pleasure the Ronso heaved out, Tidus brought his head up, intending to nibble a bit on Kimahri's nose, as if to playfully say to him, 'gotcha.'

Just as he closed in, though, Kimahri's eyes shot back open, surprising the human when his face went from being wrenched with pleasure to staring at the boy with a wide, knowing smile. It became instantaneously apparent to Tidus that Kimahri had been, at least to a certain extent, playing along, and that this 'gotcha' moment belonged instead to the Ronso.

"Harder." It was hard to tell if Kimahri was daring him to, or ordering him to. Either way, the stunned Tidus automatically did do, twisting the Ronso's nipples in a manner that could no longer be deemed as gentle. And if the heavy grunt Kimahri gave was on any indication, he LOVED it.

"Harder!" He repeated again in a hungry voice. Tidus was almost hesitant to tweak the Ronso any more harshly than he already was, as he couldn't imagine it not hurting... but then again, this WAS Kimahri. The beast had already shown that he could withstand physical ordeals that this little human could never even dream of enduring. So... harder it was.

Kimahri tossed his head back with a howling outcry of rapture. For Tidus, it became yet another game of seeing just how loudly he could get this Ronso to caterwaul while twisting his sensitive nubs of flesh like radio dials... and it awed Tidus, even frightened him a little, that no matter how much force he applied, the massive Ronso couldn't interpret it as anything but pleasure. Tidus stopped only when he sincerely feared that he might tear the skin right off, and when his hands left, the Ronso's head fell back down, huffing out a deeply aroused breath as his arms kept his torso aloft, hands resting on the sandy ground on each side of Tidus' head.

Kimahri glanced around them, for the first time taking his focus off Tidus and becoming aware of their surroundings. His head crooked off to the side, his attention appearing to have been grasped by something. Tidus lifted his head, suddenly becoming aware of just how deeply it had been pushed into the sand with Kimahri's merciless kiss, attempting to see what Kimahri was looking at, but finding that his large, beefy arms blocked his view. The Ronso turned his head back to him, and calculating look upon his features.

"You are hungry?" He asked.

"Uh..." Tidus hesitated, a little surprised by the question. Food wasn't exactly the first thing on his mind at the moment. "I'm... I guess not..."

"Mmmmm... It would not do for Kimahri to fail to satisfy all his mate's needs, yes?" Tidus didn't like that look. He was at a disadvantage in this game, and Kimahri was still a few steps ahead of him.

Before he could articulate another response, Kimahri gave him a toothy grin and leaned over to the side, one arm extended, reaching out to retrieve something that Tidus couldn't see from his vantage point. When Kimahri leaned back, he now held within the palm of his other hand a... what appeared to be a fruit, of some kind.

Tidus didn't recognize it, as he similarly didn't recognize a lot of the unique vegetation and foods that were to be found around Spira. It was about the same size as a coconut, but its texture was that of a soft, orange shell with yellow spots and slight ridges and bumps all over it. Looking around from his pinned position, the boy saw that the beach was haphazardly strewn about with these things, apparently some kind of fruit that had fallen from the treelines and rolled out onto the beach.

"Pebas." Kimahri answered in anticipation to Tidus' question. "Besaid yields them in summer. Considered delicacy in parts of Spira." Clenching his hand around the pebas, the Ronso effortlessly crushed it in the palm of his hand, the shell cracking unceremoniously apart. From inside of it oozed out a thick, creamy golden substance, looking to have about the same consistency as honey. Some of it seeped through his clenched fingers and managed to dribble down onto Tidus' exposed chest, earning the Ronso an irritated grumble. Letting the cracked shell fall off to the side, Kimahri leaned his hand down, finger extended obligingly to Tidus' mouth. "Try."

Hesitating only slightly, Tidus opened his mouth, still raw from the Ronso's previous assault and allowed some of the fluid to dribble inside. Leaning back, he swirled it around in his mouth a bit. It was a bit odd; kind of gelatinous, yet very slick. It slid around his mouth, slowly piquing at his taste buds with a flavor that was hard to describe. It was zesty and sweet, but what struck him was how it seemed to become warm inside his mouth without being at all peppery or spicy. Almost as if this fruit had some kind of magical property that caused it to heat up entirely on its own.

"You like?" The Ronso inquired eagerly.

"Yeah." Tidus decided after several moments.

"Good..." Kimahri rumbled as his cupped hand suddenly turned over, emptying a large wad of the substance on Tidus' mouth.

"H... hey! Mmfrr!"

When the human opened his mouth to protest, words were fruitlessly muffled out as the creamy extract made its way past his parted lips while Kimahri's dumped it all over his face and sloppily smeared it around, rubbing the excess all over his writhing torso.

"... because Kimahri is hungry too."

With little else in the way of warning, Kimahri's face shot back down, bracing Tidus' head with one hand, and resumed his amorous siege against the human's mouth. Tidus suddenly found himself the receptacle in which Kimahri fed upon the fruit's syrupy juices, mining it with zeal from the cavernous mouth of his mate. The boy managed to mumble out a few more muffled and incoherent grievances, hands now clawing at Kimahri's biceps, although he found himself mostly preoccupied with swallowing his share of the creamy substance that oozed down into his throat. His objections swiftly gave way to moans, enduring both Kimahri's rampant invasion and the increasingly succulent taste mixing in with the Ronso's heavy saliva. Together, both Kimahri's vigorous tongue and the honey-like juice seemed to become hotter and hotter inside his mouth, and the boy submitted himself to partaking in the feeding frenzy, sharing the feast as it was consumed within him, froth developing at the sides of his lips.

Once the last traces of the fruit's thick extract were cleansed away amidst the voracious gorging, he became aware of something rustling down into his pants, and was acutely reminded of Kimahri's other hand. Making its way past the loose expanse of his overalls and snaking under his belt, Tidus shuddered as he felt thick fingers greased with that heated jelly locating his already well-engorged cock.

"Mmmm! MMM!"

Lustful noises escaped from him when Kimahri, having cleaned out his mouth, slowly withdrew. The long tongue still hanging lazily from between his jaws, the Ronso enjoyed the feeling as Tidus suckled on it as it snaked away from between his lips. Kimahri was still far from done with his meal, though, noting smears of the fruit's nectar still adorning his mates upper torso, and immediately went to work lapping the rest up, his tongue moving slowly, sensually, and harshly against the human's soft flesh.

"Aaah! Aaaaahhhh..." Tidus knew how much Kimahri loved to hear him moan and feel him squirm when in the Ronso's lustful clutches, and he was trying, honestly trying not to so much... he still wanted to gain some kind of upper hand in this game. At this very moment, though, he found himself completely overcome and powerless against the long slow thrusts of the Ronso's mouth and the feeling of the Ronso's hands slicking his groin with warm sap.

Again, Kimahri's mouth traveled along the boy's neck where it met up with his shoulders, savouring a taste that was a fervent and delectable mix of the Pebas' natural sweetness and the musky taste of Tidus' perspiration. At a torturously slow pace, he moved down from the juncture of the human's neck down onto his chest, enjoying the quiet whimpering Tidus made as he went. Rhythmically, his tongue lapped out at the same time as his hand, buried deep inside Tidus' pants where it slid down across the human's throbbing manhood. In tempo with these maddening ministrations, Tidus drew sharp breaths that became steadily more needy and desperate. When Kimahri's probing tongue found its way to Tidus' nipples, it was with a vengeful chuckle that he began licking away roughly at the concentrations of fruit nectar that had accumulated over their rosy pink surfaces. The Ronso could feel the boy's exhilarated reaction as his penis throbbed in response.

"K-Kimaaaa-hhhrriiii..." Tidus whimpered out the beast's name in agonizing desire, unable to stop his body from wriggling in response within his mate's grasp. Despite it all, though, his pride still managed to hold on to the single thread that kept it from being washed away in a sea of surrendered bliss. Trying his best to sound cocky, and only half-succeeding with his pleasure centers being besieged as they were, he leaned his head up, took a deep, courageous breath, and heaved into the beast's ear.

"That all you got?"

That little remark earned him a single nip of sharpened fang against his sensitive flesh, which instantly incited a yip from Tidus' mouth, his head falling back into the Ronso's palm.

The cry of pleasure resonating delightfully in his pointed ears, Kimahri continued to take his time, holding the boy steady while he had his way with the prone, conquered flesh under his complete control. The Ronso's tongue slicked over the sides of his chest, retrieving the stray bits of delicious nectar that had dribbled down into the crevice on his underarms, and Tidus couldn't stop himself from crying out again at the ticklish sensation. Kimahri changed his pace, darting his tongue in and out rapidly, grazing only lightly at the surface of the human's armpits, knowing how sensitive those were. Tidus hissed between his gritted teeth at being intensely tickled and pleasured all in one maddening sensation.

It had taken several agonizing minutes, but finally Kimahri had completely cleared away the last remaining evidence of the Pebas' nectar, leaving nothing put traces of his own saliva on Tidus' ravaged and heaving chest. Raising his head back up, Kimahri looked over his mate's quivering form, proud of his handiwork, but licking his own lips... a longing yet within him.

"Kimahri still hungry." With a sudden flash of movement, Tidus yelped when the Ronso rolled them over, now with Kimahri's back to the ground and with Tidus now laying on top. "You will be a good little mate and feed Kimahri, yes?"

His startlement from the sudden shift in their positions, and the aftershocks of the vicious tonguebath he'd just received ebbing away, Tidus regained his composure. The Ronso was daring him to continue the challenge, a warning that there was plenty more where that had just come from, and that Tidus would be wise to submit immediately. But for all the advantage that Kimahri had, despite the ravaging he'd just endured, Tidus STILL wanted to play.

"Why, whatever do you mean?" The boy smiled teasingly down at the Ronso. "I don't have anything to feed you with."

"You do." Kimahri, with mock irritation, stated with a squeeze of the hand that was still situated in Tidus' pants. "Will you not give this to Kimahri?"

"Oooh, I dunno." The boy expressed, leaning down, rubbing his hands along the soft fur over Kimahri's hard abs. "I'm not so sure you've got what it takes to get it out of me." His hands felt the savage growl reverberate across his stomach as Kimahri reached up with his hand and painlessly grabbed a fistful of Tidus' blonde hair, pulling his head leniently down toward his, bringing them face to face again. Kimahri bore a stern, unamused expression upon his features, though Tidus couldn't stifle a slight laugh. At the sight of this, Kimahri broke down a little and smiled just a little.

"Could it be that you like getting in trouble with your mate?" He intoned warningly.

Tidus pulled his head lower, down over the side of Kimahri's face, and the Ronso allowed it, releasing his grip from the boy's hair.

"Well... maybe." Tidus huskily whispered into Kimahri's ear. "But something tells me... you like it even more." With that, the boy suddenly clamped his lips down over the pointed tip of the Ronso's ear, and even Kimahri found himself rasping out in surprise at the feeling. This was a new one.

The boy licked and nibbled at the Ronso's ear, enjoying the alien shape of the beast's appendage. Quite unlike a human's, this ear was big, thick, with an curled edge at the crest, far meatier that Tidus had anticipated when he'd pressed his lips upon it. There was plenty to explore, as his tongue darted about the surface, enjoying the feel of those little furry hairs dissipating as he sunk in further to the canal, finding exposed flesh for him to taste. Immediately, Kimahri growl shifted into a heavy purr, and encouraged further, Tidus brought his arm around to the other side of Kimahri's head, massaging the other ear, scratching gently behind it. The Ronso purred and moaned intermittently as Tidus worked his magic, tongue now dabbling between the silver hoop earrings adorning the soft ears, surprised to find that he actually liked the metallic taste. And yet all the while, Kimahri hadn't released his grip on Tidus' cock, massaging it gently and keeping it hard, keeping the boy's sensual desires at their peak as he went.

Shifting around a little, Tidus's mouth left the ear, but used his other hand to continue pampering it as he hovered his lips over Kimahri's face, content to explore the now-tamed feline's lionesque facial features. The boy's tongue trailed along the tip of Kimahri's muzzle, down between his eyes and nibbling along the beast's brow thick ridges. Eventually, he found himself staring at the Ronso's broken horn and hesitated for a few seconds, wondering if he should... it was the definitive symbol of Ronso pride, and it was broken. He'd never tried touching it before, but now, with the Ronso pliant and vulnerable before him, he couldn't help but wonder what it must feel like to have one of those... and what it might feel like for Kimahri if he touched it.

He didn't get the chance, though, as a large, thick hand grabbed at his shoulders and pulled him back up. Regretably, the few moments he's spent in hesitation had given the Ronso the opening he needed to pull Tidus away and regain his advantage.

"Hey... no fair." The boy bemoaned. "I was just about to..."

"You let your guard down." Kimahri interrupted, an admonishing tone. "Kimahri train you better than that." With that single, powerful hand, Kimahri span Tidus around in place upon him, making him face the other way as he then forced him back down. Bare back now lying against Kimahri's chest, the still-damp tuft of hair that adorned his pecs pillowed Tidus' shoulder blades. Upon positioning him, Kimahri's hand promptly left Tidus' shoulder and swiftly were his pants pulled down, exposing his honey-slickened crotch to the glaring sun.

"Now... about that meal?" Kimahri spoke with his mouth against the top of the boy's head, hot breath blowing through his bleached hair and against his scalp. Instantly, Kimahri's hand returned to Tidus' longing dick and went to work.

No longer gentle in his ministrations, his large fingers entwined around the boy's sensitive shaft, gripping it between his knuckles and began assertively pumping up and down while rubbing at the head with his thumb. Unable to hold himself back, Tidus caterwauled as he experienced not only the roughly pleasurable force of a large hand enveloping his cock within its furry clutch, but also the sensual friction the slick coating of the warm nectar graced him with. The Ronso's digits danced about as it held the boy's shaft captive, rubbing and stroking at the veiny surface all the while as it pumped with a steady rhythm.

"Uuuuhh! Aaaugh! Kimahriiiii!!" Tidus wailed out, once again at a disadvantage and pining for release.

"Perhaps you shouldn't have delayed. Kimahri's hunger now much, much greater." The Ronso mocked. In the back of his mind, even though Tidus knew Kimahri's immense strength was such that he was taking it easy on him, from his perspective it still felt as if the Ronso was brutally pawing away at his manhood with the savage abandon only a beast like him was capable of. His entire body rocked with the force of Kimahri's pumping hand, and he felt the Ronso's muzzle push against the back of his head, nibbling affectionately at his hair as he went about the deed.

The intensity of Tidus' wailing indicated how close he was to sexual culmination, and thusly Kimahri opted to spend the final moments of his assault completely enveloping the head of Tidus' cock in his rubbing palm with his digits kneading at it aggressively. A different, yet altogether greater sense of rapture overcame Tidus as he felt the heat from within him now surging forth like a volcanic rush. With one last scream, the surrendered human threw his head back and arched his spine against the Ronso's hardened stomach. His throbbing cock spewed forth, directly into Kimahri's waiting hand, a full load of hot sperm, volley after volley collecting in the Ronso's palm as each pulsation wracked the human's body. Intensifying Tidus' shattering climax was that Kimahri persisted in his ministrations of his twitching cock; stimulating and pleasuring as hard as he could during the precious few seconds that Tidus was enraptured in the throes of his orgasm. Violent spasms wracked his body, his kicking legs thrashing about so hard that his pants were shrugged off on their own, and his head bobbing back and forth mindlessly as he unabashedly cried out like a bitch in heat.

When at last the punishing orgasm had finished blazing a trail of raw pleasure back and forth across every nerve within him, Tidus relaxed his tense muscles and fell back. His body slumped back against the Ronso beneath him and he panted just as heavily as he had after Kimahri had finished chasing him.

Rumbling with satisfaction at this display of carnal submission, the Ronso released the boy's aching cock and brought his cupped hand, full of his mate's sticky essence, up to his mouth, hungrily lapping it up. Despite the intoxicating flavour, he managed to savour the bounty, drinking it up delicately, cleaning the blue fur adorning his hands completely clean while Tidus laid upon him, attempting once again to regain his breath.

"That... that... haaah..." Tidus wheezed out.

"Hrrn? No longer so unruly, are you?" Kimahri purred as he licked the remaining traces from from his fingers. "By the Gods, you taste so good."

Ha..hh... th - thanks." The boy weakly accepted the compliment, no longer intending to give his mate any more sass after the treatment he'd just received.

Kimahri pushed his elbows against the sand and lifted his torso upwards, taking Tidus up with him into a seated position. "Tired?"

"Just... ah, need a minute or two." The human spoke, his settling voice a little raspy from the unrestrained cries of passion.

"But Kimahri..." The Ronso's own voice suddenly deepening to a low growl. "... cannot wait that long."

Sliding down from the furry chest as Kimahri arched his torso higher, Tidus' own buttocks inched into the Ronso's pelvic area... where it came to a sudden stop, reaching an impasse in the form of a huge bulge threatening to violently tear out of the stretched loinwrap covering it. The human's heartbeat instinctively accelerated at the reminder of its existence.

Not giving him any chance to compose himself, Kimahri's hands returned to grab Tidus' body, spinning him completely around to face him. Moved into a straddling position on top of the beast's waist, Tidus began to panic both at the prospect of being fucked before having a chance to recover, and at the sight of the wild look on the Ronso's face. A look which clearly indicated that it was about to happen regardless.

"H-hold on..."

"No," Kimahri drawled out as a tearing sound behind Tidus indicated that the beast hadn't even bothered removing his loinwrap properly, so hurried that he simply tore away at it with his claws, setting loose his Ronso meat.

"C'mon, wait!" Tidus cried out.

"What? Did you not suggest that Kimahri was not mighty enough for you?" Tidus watched wide-eyed as the ruined garment was flung carelessly aside and jumped slightly when he heard a familiar crunching and squishing sound as another Pebas was cracked open behind him. Giant fingers then gripped him by his pale thighs, and he yipped as he found his entire body hoisted up into the air with apparent effortlessness.

"Um... I'm... I'm sorry??" The boy nervously tried, staring around from his new vantage point frantically.

"No apologies." The Ronso spoke slowly as he spread the human's legs apart. "Kimahri will be more than pleased to remind you of your place."

Tidus, suspended above, found himself being shifted to where he now hovered mere inches just above the Ronso's mountainous cock. Looking down, he saw that other fruit's juicy nectar had been used as a lubricant, smeared all over Kimahri's sizable dick.

"Still, your will and your fortitude impressive... the same as the tribes of Gagazet. You are a match for any Ronso." the Ronso leered at him. Tidus didn't share the sentiment as he gazed down with something approaching fear at the sizeable dick poised underneath his twitching ass

"So today," here the Ronso paused, locking his gaze with Tidus', "Kimahri will fuck you like a true Ronso."

Tidus had only a fraction of a second to be stunned at Kimahri's uncharacteristic use of an obscenity before he was slammed down, plunged brutally upon the fearsome cock, instantly being impaled more than halfway onto its intimidating length. It was an unexpected act of savagery. Kimahri usually eased his way with at least a moderate amount of force into the boy's stretching ring, the sheer size of Ronso's cock necessitating such moderation. But not this time.

Kimahri dispensed with his usual gentle introduction, he was too impatient even to allow gravity to do its work. He pulled the human hard onto his waiting spire.

Immediately, Tidus threw his head back and unleashed a soundless wail, unbelieving at the feeling of being invaded so suddenly and so fully. The raw force of plunge also had him cringe, anticipating pain from such a hard and deep impalement, but oddly feeling none. Only... rapture.

In the back of his reeling mind, Tidus realized the purpose of the lubrication Kimahri had given himself with the Pebas fruit's creamy insides. It meant that with their respective organs slickened and greasy with the succulent and oily substance, Kimahri wouldn't have to hold back for fear of pounding him harder than his little body could handle. With this warm honey-like nectar coating their sensitive organs, Kimahri could, as he had stated, fuck Tidus like a true Ronso.

A raging feeling crept into the human's mind, and he couldn't decide if it was excitement or fear. But he was offered no chance to figure it out; the strong hands around his thighs lifted him up, his stretched hole sliding along the Ronso's girth... and then rammed him back down again. This time, Tidus did cry out.

"AAH! AAAH! AAH! KIM...! KIM...! AAAH!"

While his whole body was hefted up and down again Tidus struggled to scream out a plea for the Ronso to slow down, but the fiery pleasure he felt as his sensitive prostate was ploughed into repeatedly made it impossible for anything coherent to escape past his screaming lips. Though even if he had, it would have likely fallen on deaf ears. With the Ronso's fangs gritted, nose scrunched up and eyes ablaze with animalistic passion as they were, Kimahri was already too far gone to stop now, loving the carnal intensity this new form of mating gave him. Instead, Tidus' voice only served to fuel his lust, his raging desire to pound his mate like he'd never pounded him before.

Tidus rode Kimahri, feeling as though he were strapped onto a raging bull, rocked up and down again and again by rough hands as the clawed fingers dug into his pale flesh. Each thrust devastated Tidus with pleasure so powerful, it could have been mistaken for the raw intensity of pain. Coming in such rapid succession as each of these plunges were, the feeling was beyond comparison. Added on top of that the surreal feeling of having his entire body lifted and pumped up and down at such a speed, the boy felt as though he was entering a whole new world; a new state of existence that defied definition.

"Grrr... rrrrr... rrrrRRRAAARRRHH!!!"

Kimahri's already frantic pace only increased when he pumped his arms faster and faster, desperate to increase the sensation of his mate's slicked anus enveloping tightly around his penis. Drool flowed carelessly from his mouth and his eyes rolled away in the back of their sockets while he concentrated on nothing else but savagely bringing the boy down on him, increasingly faster and harder.

Unable to maintain his balance anymore, Tidus' torso fell forward and his arms flailed out, managing to latch onto the broad shoulders of the blue beast while he was ridden hard. Still the Ronso did not break his pace, and Tidus clawed into Kimahri's shoulders, holding on for dear life. His flushed face fell back and forth with each violent bucking, his bangs bouncing against his sweaty forehead.

"...Uugh...!"

"...Rrrr...!"

"...gaaaaah...!"

"...Grrooowwrrr...!"

"...AAAAH...!"

"... RRRRAAAWWWRRR...!!!"

Their respective howls of pleasure entwined together in a symphonious torrent of passion. Both cried out wildly, neither in control of themselves. Tidus was completely lost to the unthinkable and frighteningly intense pleasure ensnaring his entire being, and Kimahri lost to beastly instinct and his animalistic desire to simply fuck the shit out of this little human.

Tidus' hips were a blur as Kimahri pumped into them like a madman. His jaws hung open with the constant snarling and growling that escaped his mouth, while his tongue hung, bouncing, from the side of his mouth. The inhumanly frenzied pace was such that even with the lubrication mercifully between their rutting organs, the sheer friction managed to generate enough heat that between it, the Ronso's natural body heat, and the nectar's unnatural warmth, Tidus felt like a raging inferno was pummelling away at the inside of his tender ass.

Despite being so disoriented by the barbaric savaging that he couldn't tell which way was up, Tidus still felt the Ronso's cock stiffen in such a way that indicated the end was now upon them.

Kimahri felt it coming as well, and unwilling to slow down, even for the sake of prolonging their mating, the beast threw his head back and howled in an excited panic, intent on banging his mate as furiously as possible before the end.

Tidus nearly blacked out from the sheer velocity at which his body was being rocked. His vision blurred, his conscious mind held on thanks to the powerful stimulation the whole experience devastated his nerves with. Another orgasm struck him without warning and his flailing cock spewed forth haphazardly, spraying the Ronso's chest as well as the sand on both sides of his large frame.

In his heightened state of bliss, all of Kimahri's five senses were at their sharpest and his sensitive nose caught the unmistakable scent of his mate's essence in the air at the same time as he felt of it spattering all over his chest. That did it for him. He lost it entirely and he gave his mate's thighs one final, mighty jerk downward, dragging the boy's anal lips down along his shaft as far as it could go, burying himself deep before exploding inside him like a broken dam. An ear-splitting roar ripped out of his throat and he thunderously articulated the extent of which the unfathomable pleasure that this little human was able to devastate his mighty Ronso body with.

Body quivering as the aftershocks of his staggering climax slowly left him, Kimahri fell back down to the ground with an audible thud against the sand. Tidus collapsed right on top of him while his abused hole slid off of the Ronso's cock, a rather undignified sucking noise accompanying his exit. The two chests heaved heavily against one another and so they remained for several minutes, filling the air around them with their laboured exhalations. Gradually, the adrenaline died down, the tingling in their bodies dissipated and the blood in their veins cooled. Sounds of the waves flowing against the shore began to ebb peacefully through the fading roar of blood in their ears, and a sense of calm at last returned to the young man.

"Holy... shit." He said simply. "That was..." Unable to think of any word that would be adequate to describe what had just happened, he just ended his sentence there.

Kimahri's chest rumbled with a laugh as he gave his mate an understanding pat on the back of his shoulder. "Kimahri told you... words not enough to say what is needed."

"No..." The human agreed. "... they definitely aren't." Sighing deeply, Tidus allowed the relaxing sounds of the beach and the lazy warmth of the sun beating down overhead to lull his exhausted body into a state of rest, nuzzling his face into his favourite tuft of white fur that adorned the Ronso's chest. Inhaling that musky scent imbedded within those individual hairs, mixed in with the sea salt within the air, the boy closed his eyes, intent on enjoying the blissful rest he would have had yesterday if not for the interruption of his well-meaning companions. There was nothing, not other people, not his own shame, not anything at all that could now stop Tidus from contentedly laying here peacefully with his mate.

Nothing except Kimahri.

With a bestirring grunt and a light nudging of his knuckles against Tidus' cheeks, the Ronso pulled Tidus out from his doze.

"'Ey!" The human's head shot up in irritation and glared at Kimahri. "...What gives??" The Ronso simply stared back at him, eyebrows arched upon his horned brow.

"Did not think that we were close to done yet, did you?" Kimahri asked, managing to sound both incredulous and amused.

Tidus' tired eyes shot right fully open and incredulous look of his own graced his face.

"You're... you're joking, right?" he gasped, unable to keep a slight tremor of fear from his voice.

"You should know well by now that Kimahri..." The Ronso began, hands firmly grabbing back on to the human's shoulders. "... does not joke." A panicked expression lit upon the boy's features. "Perhaps you should not have joked around with Kimahri."

"Are... are you insane?! You almost... you almost killed me just now!"

"Kimahri still have plenty left."

"Well, I'm not you!" He sputtered out. Tidus did not have Kimahri's godlike endurance, despite all his training. Hell, if not for that training, he doubted that he could have even survived the depraved fucking Kimahri had just given him. His body was completely exhausted, his jaw aching from the fury of Kimahri's tongue, his abused cock sore and nearly spent, and his asshole ravaged to the point where he doubted the throbbing would subside for at least a week. "I'm not...I'm completely wiped. I can't take anymo..."

"Yes." The Ronso interrupted. "You can."

"No." Tidus gritted his teeth, stressing his point. "I am NOT playing around anymore. I can not..."

"YES." The Ronso interrupted again, stressing even harder. "You... can. Now."

Now? At that moment, he realized something. An aura was enveloping him. The familiar feeling of magical energy tingling upon his body, Tidus turned his head to his side and saw a bluish glow emanating from Kimahri's hands and flowing all over his body. He looked back at the Ronso to see his dark blue lips curling into yet another cocky grin.

He felt it. His body was being... no, not just healed. This was not a simple curing spell; curative magic healed only physical wounds and diseases. This, though, was doing something else in addition to healing him. He felt his spent vigour returning to him. The exhaustion in his lungs, the soreness of his muscles, it all felt like it was being shrugged off him like dead weight being released and several seconds later Tidus felt perfect. Renewed. Alert. As if he had just gotten up in the morning after a long night's rest. His heart fluttered at the unnatural feeling of having his energy just rush right back to him in an instant.

"Wh... how...?"

"You like?" Kimahri smiled knowingly as his mate looked over himself, utterly stunned. "Remember fiend from the ruins... giant beast with violet hide?"

Tidus looked back at him. Oh yes, he definitely remembered THAT one. The freakishly huge, four-legged, horned monster with a peculiar mohawk of hair going all the way from its head down along it's spine. The one that had made the Ronso tribe look downright dwarfish by comparison. It spoke immensely of the party's skills that they had been able to fell that raging behemoth. "Kimahri lancet it... learn interesting new power from it."

Tidus blanched as this information was relayed to him. Kimahri - HIS Kimahri - had a blue spell in his possession that could not only restore superficial wounds, but also restore vitality. The one thing that it didn't erase was Tidus' mind, with the sexual high and the mating instinct still present and aroused within. And those two things seemed to pick up that his body was once again renewed, and at the ready for more.

And there was still a long, long ways to go before tomorrow came around.

"Kimahri told you," he purred, pulling Tidus closer as he winced, the smouldering look on his mate's face already sending blood rushing back to his loins. "Today,..."

"...Kimahri fucks you like a true Ronso."

**********

A/N: Oh yeah... he's juuuuuuuuust getting' warmed up.

Alright, so, I figure after Chapter 4's cliffhanger, some of you may be annoyed by the fact that Tidus and Kimahri's relationship remains, at this point, a secret. Well, truth is, I DID write a scene out where their mating was made... uh, public, but like the thing I was trying out with Biran, Yenke and Kimahri all going down on Tidus at once, it... just didn't feel right, in terms of the flavour of this story. Too after-school special-ish. So I also wrote an alternate scene, the one you read up there, and showed both around, seeing which one people liked better... and that one won out. I feel better for it, too, the fact that that scene didn't really click in my mind was a large part of the reason I couldn't get this latest chapter out sooner than I did. Who knows, maybe I'm just not talented enough a writer to have made it work, but this is honestly how I felt the spirit of this fic flowed best.

So, assuming you're merciful enough to forgive me for that little fake-out, I can make it up to you by promising that the next chapter will certainly NOT take as long to get out as this one did. Like... a month or two, let's say. Tops. If not... well, my brother still has fingers remaining on his OTHER hand.

BIOXZ