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The Seduction of Seleste

from the world of the mating season

Not the Last

Chapter 26

Keme couldn't believe it, but having sex with Honiahaka . . . it actually made him feel better. About everything. Honiahaka had shown him that it was okay to feel the way he felt, and what was more, it could even be wonderful. Honiahaka's touch had taken Keme to places he'd never dreamed of going.

When it was over, they climbed into bed, and Honiahaka held Keme close in his arms. They fell asleep holding each other, and come morning, Keme awoke with his head on Honiahaka's hard chest. The chief was already awake. Keme closed his eyes happily as the older male smoothed down his mane.

"You're so beautiful, Keme," the chief whispered helplessly. "I was so worried you wouldn't take proper care of Seleste. Now I worry she won't take proper care of you."

Keme laughed.

"She can be selfish," Honiahaka went on, "and a bit self-centered at times. But she's a good female at heart. She acts rashly out of fear, and she can do stupid things - but who among us has not? She's sweet and kind and very gentle and very concerned with the welfare of others. That's the female I fell in love with, that's the female the summer village fell in love with. Please, just take care of each other." So saying, Honiahaka kissed Keme on the head.

Keme closed his eyes and smiled at this affection, but he frowned. "Honi . . . what about you? I mean . . ." He lifted his head and looked at Honiahaka worriedly. "I don't want you to be alone. I keep feeling guilty all the time, like I stole Seleste from you."

Honiahaka laughed dryly. "I never had Seleste, Keme. Meeting you finally helped me realize that."

"But I don't want you to be alone," Keme insisted, and when Honiahaka laughed at him, he realized how childish he sounded: he was stubbornly repeating a desire, as if by stamping his foot it would come true.

"I'm alone and there's nothing you can do about," Honiahaka told him in much amusement. He touched Keme's face, looking up at him fondly. "This journey has taught me a lot about myself, Keme. I am a chief and former prince. Because of that, I thought I could have anything I wanted - including Seleste. And I was so focused on that one desire, I failed to see the wonderful, beautiful devotion I had with Kota. Sometimes . . . I wonder if he didn't resent me for not knowing it." Honiahaka's eyes went sadly to the window.

"He knew you loved him," Keme assured him.

Honiahaka didn't seem convinced. He glanced at Keme as if his desire to comfort him were admirable but his words no more valid.

Keme scowled. "Don't look at me like that! It was obvious he cared - more than cared! He about _killed _me because of you! And there were times I'd swear he thought we were lovers or something. The way he reacted when you said you knew me. . . ." Keme's face darkened just thinking of the way Kota had pushed him and grabbed him by the mane.

Honiahaka laughed sadly. "I wish his love were as obvious to me as it was to you. Sometimes . . . I'd give anything to see him. One more time . . ." Honiahaka cleared his throat and sat up. "We'd better prepare to set out. I think we've outworn our welcome, and Talisa and Seleste are out there." Honiahaka swung his legs over the side of the bed and stretched.

Sitting up on his elbow, Keme watched the tight muscles of Honiahaka's back flex and his eyes glazed with lust. He winced guiltily when he noticed the nail marks on the backs of the chief's broad shoulders.

Honiahaka pushed his long mane back and rose from the bed. Keme sat up.

"But. . ." Keme's ears flattened on his head. "You're so sure they're out there. I keep thinking they're dead . . . or that we'll never see them again . . ." He frowned sadly as he thought of the Mirror of Pavati. Whether they found Seleste or not, he was going to be a father. Oh god.

"Oh, Keme," said Honiahaka, shaking his head as he watched him. "We must have hope. It's all we have now."

Together, they passed up the hall and into the sitting room. The dark shape of Askuwheteau took place in the usual chair near the fire pit. But . . . something was very wrong. He was sitting very still. And he was shorter than Keme remembered. They moved closer, and Keme's heart stopped in his chest. Askuwheteau's head was gone.

"No. . . ." Honiahaka whispered. He sank to his knees beside the chair and dropped his forehead against the old bear's shoulder. "No!" he growled.

Keme stood tense with rage. He grabbed Honiahaka and hauled him to his feet by the arm. Honiahaka didn't want to rise and struggled against Keme for a moment, but Keme's strength proved too powerful. The chief was forced away from the chair, his cheeks streaming with tears, as Keme's eyes darted through the room for a weapon. Any weapon. God, was Askuwheteau a pacifist or what? The only possible weapon in sight was a small butter knife lying on a tray beside a piece of half-eaten bread.

"My bare paws will have to do then," Keme growled, and dragging Honiahaka along by the arm, he stormed up the hall that led to the village outside.

They stepped into the sunlight, and Matoskah and his smirking friends were already there. The one Keme remembered as Tipu stood at Matoskah's side. He was holding a spear, upon which sagged Askuwheteau's staring head. The old bear's expression was one of deepest sorrow, as if he had died in agony. Keme's face darkened as his eyes went from smirking bear to smirking bear. He couldn't wait to snap every. Damn. Neck.

"You monsters," Honiahaka hissed in disgust. "To murder that harmless old bear! He was better than the lot of you --"

"Do not speak as if you understand our ways, Matwau!" Matoskah said over him, and his superior eyes burned with smoldering rage. "That old bear broke any number of traditions by allowing your kind to defile Phanyah! We let him have his last story fire, his last little glory. And that is enough. His spirit will go on to the Honeyed Lands."

"We can't promise the same will happen to you," said a large bear standing behind Matoskah.

Matoskah smiled darkly. "No. We can't." He lifted the blowgun to his lips. Keme smiled: the poison would have no effect on him. But to his horror, Matoskah shot Honiahaka. The sun chief cried out and staggered to one knee.

Oh, that's it! Keme thought.

Matoskah aimed the blowgun at Keme next and fired. A dart sank in Keme's chest. He didn't even wince. The bears looked at each other in fear and confusion.

Matoskah lowered the blowgun a moment and stared. He scowled and shot Keme again. Keme grinned. It was like being tickled.

"What the f --! Why isn't it working?!" Matoskah snarled.

Keme grabbed the nearest bear by his fat neck and squeezed. He heard a nasty crack as the bones crumbled in his paw. The bear's head snapped to the side, and Keme let him slide to the ground, where he lay still, a pile of dark fur.

Tipu's mouth fell open. He dropped the spear holding Askuwheteau's head, turned, and fled. Like a wild creature running down its prey, Keme ran after him, muscles flexing, dick flapping. More darts hit him in the back and he could hear Matoskah cursing in confusion. He smiled.

"Please!" Tipu cried breathlessly. "Don't kill me! Don't kill me!"

Keme glowered. "Die with some dignity!" he yelled. Tipu was surprisingly fast for a fat, lumbering bear. All of them were. He could see Matoskah's rabble fleeing everywhere. Tired of the chase, he crouched down and sprang the remaining space between him and Tipu. His strong thighs sent him soaring through the air like a pouncing lion. He grabbed Tipu by his shoulders and dragged him down. Tipu was still begging for his life when Keme snapped his neck with his teeth.

Keme looked up from Tipu's staring body, blood in his mouth, and noticed at last all the bears that were standing around the village. These bears weren't with Matoskah. They stood in the doorways of their towering beehive homes, watching solemnly as Matoskah and his friends were slaughtered. All of them seemed unafraid, only grim.

Keme continued his hunt. Matoskah's friends had scattered to every part of the village, but Keme chased them down, dragging them to the ground, hurling them bodily, ripping arms from sockets, crushing heads with his bare paws. It was a bloody massacre. When he found Matoskah, he was covered in bear blood, and he felt the power surging through him, filling him with energy, with super speed, with a predatory precision he had never before known. He felt as if he could have gone on for days. The tears of Pavati were powerful indeed.

Matoskah knelt before Keme as if had accepted his fate, but he trembled nonetheless as Keme approached. The blowgun fell from his claws, and as he held Keme's gaze, he tilted his chin back and offered his neck.

"You have won, filthy Matwau. Somehow, you have won."

Keme poked out his bottom lip and nodded. "Admitting it is the first step."

Matoskah's eyes glittered hatred.

"He knew," Keme said, sneering at Matoskah. "Asku knew you'd do this. He knew you'd wait until after the story fire. That's why he prepared me. He meant for me to kill you."

Matoskah's eyes burned bright with anger to hear such a thing. Keme was glad. He took Matoskah's head in his paws, and after glaring at him a moment, he twisted sharply. An audible crack made his ears go flat. Matoskah's head came off in his paws. He lifted the head by its long white mane, which was streaked now with blood.

"We are leaving now," Keme said, lifting the head for all to see. "Should any of you try to stop us, _this _will be your fate!" Keme shook the head to make his meaning clear, then he dropped it to the earth, where it rolled to a quick stop.

Keme returned to Askuwheteau's hut, where Honiahaka still knelt looking dazed - not only with the poison that was now coursing through him, but with grief as well. Keme's eyes softened sympathetically. He hoisted Honiahaka against him, wrapped the big male's arm around his shoulders, and as the two of them made their slow way from the village, the bears stood still and watched. Not a single one moved to stop them.

---

Keme had been walking the red forest with Honiahaka for hours when he realized he needed to stop to let the sun chief rest. But he didn't want to stop. He wanted to keep walking, to get as much space between himself and Phanyah as possible. He didn't want to think of anything that had happened there. He didn't want to remember Askuwheteau's headless body slouching in that chair.

"K-Keme," Honiahaka said hoarsely. "On minute's rest. Please."

Reluctantly, Keme stopped. He helped Honiahaka sit against one of the large red trees and watched him anxiously. The chief looked so dazed and weak, so frail. Keme hated seeing him that way. It was as if Honiahaka had gone blind.

Keme knelt down and touched his head. "You're feverish," he said sadly. "I'll get you to Pavati, I swear. I think I just made a wrong turn somewhere --"

Honiahaka smiled weakly. "You're a good friend, Keme. You should leave me here. You have a better chance of finding Seleste and Talisa alone --"

"Stop talking stupid," Keme said over him. "I could flip you over my shoulder and carry you like a sack, but I haven't to spare you some dignity. Carrying you is nothing to me. And I'm never going to leave you behind. You understand?"

Honiahaka smiled fondly and nodded.

Keme nodded back. "Good. I'm going to climb this tree and figure out where we are. Don't go anywhere?" he teased.

Honiahaka gave a weak chuckle that ended in a cough. "I'll t-try not to take any sudden strolls."

Keme clapped his cheek fondly. He moved past Honiahaka and briskly climbed the tree he was leaning against. He made it to the first thick branch without loosing his breath and paused to look back. Honiahaka leaned against the tree. He still looked dazed, but he was fine. Keme kept climbing. The height of these trees was incredible. He thought half an hour must've passed before his head finally broke the surface. He hoped Honiahaka was alright. He hated not being able to see him.

Keme stood between two branches, holding each one in a paw for support. He gasped. The sight of the red forest rolling to the horizon was amazing. The orange leaves spread away like masses of clouds kissed by the golden hues of twilight. Beams of white daylight stretched to touch them, and in the dust motes that danced everywhere, birds flitted back and forth. Keme could just make out the tips of the beehive huts of Phanyah. Smoke was now rising thick from the village, and Keme could even hear vocalizing if he listened hard. A funeral. They were mourning their fallen - most likely Askuwheteau. Keme hoped that Askuwheteau had another student to take his place. He hated to think he had singlehandedly punched holes in the bears' society. The wolf had done enough to them. Now one had come and slaughtered their prominent . . .

Keme noticed a break in the trees east of the village, as if a clearing were there. Ah, that was Pavati. They hadn't gone too far off then. He could get Honiahaka there and cleanse the poison from his body, then the two of them could continue on their way . . .

Doing what? Keme thought wretchedly as he started the climb back down. He suddenly wished he had been clever enough to ask the Mirror of Pavati where to look for Seleste. God, he was so _stupid _sometimes.

Keme leapt the last few feet to the ground and stretched, his back to the forest. "I think I know how to get to Pavati from here. Shouldn't take lon --" Keme turned and the words halted in his mouth.

Shemales. Identical to the paintings in Askuwheteau's hut, they stood cold as stone in the glowing orange light of the Phanyah forest. Their bare breasts were high, their waists were small, and the dicks that hung over their pussies were too large and thick to be true. They were wild creatures covered in piercings and tattoos, their manes braided with feathers and bones. Their tattoos were orange; as if to help them blend with Phanyah's ruddy palate. They carried spears that were likewise dyed orange, bows and arrows, pouches and daggers . . . and rope. Keme gulped. If the stories were true, they were just as strong as him - if not stronger.

Keme looked at their thin arms and couldn't imagine how they could be so strong. But he knew they were. There was a good reason for their confidence as they stood before him. He stared at them in amazement. So he wasn't the last Honovi. Just the youngest.

The one in the lead eyed Keme hard, then quietly stepped aside. Keme thought for one moment that she was allowing him to pass, but he realized that she was showing him something: Honiahaka knelt amidst the shemales, his paws bound behind his back, his mouth gagged. Keme's chest heaved.

"What do you want from us?" Keme asked. He hoped they understood. According to Aiyana's stories, the shemales had their own language, but some also seemed to understand pygmy and the common tongue.

"Shut up, half-breed," said the one in the lead. "I will ask the questions here."

Keme's nostrils flared. Well, at least she speaks the common tongue. He studied the shemale. She was shorter than the others and thinner. Her fur was silver and covered in dark spots. Keme blinked. He had never seen the like. A mottled wolf? Her mane, meanwhile, was a spiky silver mohawk that fell to the small of her back. The gold loop of an earring was in her nose.

The shemale leader's breasts heaved as if she found Keme's searching eyes offensive. "But how is it so?" she said, shaking her head. She walked a slow circle around Keme and eyed him up and down in wonder. "It can't be. It can't be!"

"Maybe I could explain," Keme answered, "if you would explain what you're rambling to yourself about."

The shemale stopped before Keme. She glowered, then suddenly slapped him.

The world spun. Keme stood with his head bowed a moment. It was like being slapped by three males at once. He thought his jaw might have jerked out of the socket and was silently grateful she had not punched him. Her strength was scary, and it made his strength seem like a child's in comparison. No, he couldn't hope to fight them. They were screwed.

"Do not taunt me, half-breed," the shemale warned. She sneered as she looked Keme up and down. "Avi's mongrel pup, come here to remind us of the very reason for our downfall." Her eyes burned bright with rage as she hissed at Keme, "I watched my mother die because of you!"

Keme winced at the venom in her every word. "I don't have a _clue _what you're talking about."

The shemale laughed humorlessly. She grabbed Keme by the face with her long nails, and he was startled when she licked his lips. "Then let us clue you in!" She pushed Keme's face from her paw as if he disgusted her, then she hissed something in the shemale tongue.

Two shemales moved toward Keme. He thought he was going to be bound like Honiahaka, but they only grabbed him by the arms. He saw Honiahaka's eyes widen as he was lifted easily onto a shemale's narrow shoulder. The shemale carrying him marched away after her leader. The ones holding Keme roughly jerked him on.

Keme swallowed miserably: out of the frying pan, into the fire.