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Keme's Intention

Chapter 53

Night fell, and Chief Argon's festival nearly became something of a wild orgy. During the festivities, Seleste got drunk and danced on a table with her top off. The music seemed to continue with renewed zeal when this happened, and many young males and females alike reached to touch Seleste's tail as it flitted by their heads. Her small breasts moved as her body twisted through the seductive dance, and Keme remembered that she had often spoken of her love of dancing at festivals. He hoped to god this was the first time she had ever danced at a festival half naked.

Because Talisa and Honiahaka were too busy drunkenly making out, Keme had to drag Seleste down himself. She was giggling and covering him with sloppy kisses when a stern Aliona appeared and took her arm.

"I could take her home, Grandmother --" Keme began but was cut off.

"No, you won't," Aliona insisted and pulled Seleste close - who giggled with her mane in her face. She nodded her head in another direction. "You go and see to your brother. I'll worry about Seleste."

Keme looked where Aliona had indicated. His brother Roan was off on the edge of the festivities, retching in a bush. He could see the male straighten up unsteadily, only to stumble backward and fall on his tail. Keme pushed through the laughing crowds to reach him.

Roan looked up, his head wobbling. "Hullo, baby bwatha."

Keme shook his head. "Come on. Let's get you home."

Roan protested, insisting that he wasn't drunk at all. Keme easily flipped him over his shoulder and carried him away.

Everywhere in the sun village, wolves were celebrating Honiahaka's safe return, and as Keme passed up the torchlit streets, there was no shortage of females jiggling naked breasts at the sky, males playing flutes and lutes, wolves dancing, kissing, and groping against walls. Keme even saw one female carefully licking another's nipple and averted his eyes before he got hard.

Keme wasn't surprised to find Roan's house dark when he entered: Theo would have been on patrol that night, and Enya and Yuri weren't at the festivities because it was their turn to keep Aralyla. As a result, Roan had gone to the festival alone.

Keme fumbled through the front room, and after depositing Roan carefully in a chair, he set to work working up a fire in the fire pit. As the flames sprang to light the room, Roan leaned forward in his chair, his head bowed. Keme could hear him moaning as he sat on the furs spread near the fire.

"Why'd chu . . . me here bring? I'm drunk . . . not," Roan complained in a slur of a voice.

Keme laughed. "Yes, I can see that."

Roan lifted his face and smiled. His black mane swept back, and Keme silently marveled that he and his brother could look so similar in appearance. Roan could have easily been his twin had he been a bit younger. But his black fur was covered in little white specks, and his black mane was shorter, cut off at the shoulder and braided with a single braid in the front. On his muscular arms were talismans woven of hemp cord and dotted with blue beads, and around his neck hung the necklace that bore the symbol of his name. He was handsome and dignified, but unlike Kel, there was nothing stern about Roan. No, the spirit that looked out from Roan's eyes had always been gentle, thoughtful, dreamy. He looked at Keme with a sort of dreamy smile even now.

"You're unbelievable, you know that?" Roan said fondly.

"Yeah . . ." Keme said with a sigh. "So I've been told . . ." He really didn't feel like listening to how great he was again. Honiahaka's father sung Keme's praises at the beginning of the festival, thanking him for protecting and aiding Honiahaka during their travels. Keme had then been declared a hero of the sun and was given a necklace that bore the symbol of his name. This meant that his name would be inscribed on the sacred stones out in the wastelands. Apparently, it was a great honor, as those who had their names inscribed on the sacred stones usually had to have died first. Keme was the first living hero of the sun.

Roan shook his head and smiled to hear the exasperation in Keme's voice. "No, that's not what I meant. Don't worry, I'm not about to grovel and kiss your feet."

"Whew!" Keme said playfully.

Roan grinned. "No, I meant . . ." he shook his head, still grinning. "You don't have a clue why Grandmother sent you away with me, do you? I'm not so drunk I couldn't have stayed at the party."

Keme blinked. "Um . . .?"

"You and Seleste aren't married, Keme," Roan said in amusement. "You are breaking custom by carrying on with her. You can't hope to return to the summer village acting this way - sex before your mating season is a surefire way to get stoned. Banished. Marked as a lone wolf."

Keme sat stiff as it hit him. He didn't know what to say. "Oh."

Roan laughed. He pulled himself up from his chair. When he fumbled unsteadily, Keme moved as if to help him, but he assured him he was fine. "I just need to take some herbs to head my clear - clear my bed --" He hiccupped softly, and sitting by the fire with his legs folded, Keme laughed.

"So . . ." Keme said as it dawned on him. "Grandmother sent me with you so you could explain all this."

His back to the room, Roan searched the shelves that were carved in the walls. "Exactly. I'm sure she's roundly scolding Seleste right this moment. Seleste is a princess - she should know better." He scratched his ears in a moment of frustration, then his eyes alighted on a clay jar marked with a symbol and he brightened, snatching it down from the shelf.

Keme watched as Roan sat unsteadily on his chair again, then started eating whatever strange herbs were in the jar.

Keme looked around the room and felt very content and at ease. Roan's home was cozy, and unlike Yuri and Enya's grand hut, it was modest and small. There was no second floor, and only two or three rooms branched off the curtained hall. It was so small, there wasn't even a kitchen. Pots and woven baskets of eating utensils hung from the rafters, brooms stood in corners, and on a small table, side by side, stood Roan and Theo's bowls of war paint, as content to stand together as their married owners.

"Someone would have explained the customs of the summer to you before," Roan said as he ate, "but you did that whole disappearing thing . . ."

Keme laughed. "Guess I should be glad it's you who's explaining it."

Roan laughed as well. "Ha. That you should. Grandfather would drag you around by the ear and rant and rave about disappointing our ancestors with your appalling_behavior." He shrugged. "But the truth is, we've all mated out of wedlock. This is serious, though. Because Seleste is a _princess. Who she marries is very important. It's possible she could marry you, but we haven't had word from the summer village in some time. We don't know what's going on over there, or if someone hasn't already taken the fur-back throne."

Keme held up his paws. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! You're saying . . . that I'm expected to _marry_Seleste?"

It was Roan's turn to blink. "Keme . . . what else did you intend? You don't put your neck at risk fooling around with a princess for nothing!"

Keme just stared. He didn't know what to say. Marrying Seleste had never once crossed his mind.

Roan shook his head. "I keep forgetting you grew up without a tribe, away from custom and tradition . . . Keme, a male usually marries by seventeen. When you claim a female at the mating season, you are essentially stating that you will marry her. That's how it is among those of the summer. And when you return to the summer village with Seleste batting her big lovey eyes at you, the summer wolves are going to expect you to marry her. If they find out you slept with her and want to back out . . . well, they won't be pleased. At all."

"Then no one can know that I've slept with her!" Keme said at once.

Roan stared in disbelief. "Keme . . ."

"I can't marry her!" Keme said adamantly. As if he didn't know what to do or where to go, he leapt to his feet and moved several paces. He halted suddenly near the window and stared out dismally. He couldn't marry her. He kept seeing their child in the Mirror of Pavati and Seleste wasn't there . . . Oh god -- he was chief. He was chief of the summer village in his vision! He remembered wearing some sort of feathered cape that had looked a great deal like Ahote's - which meant he had married Seleste. They married and had a child and then . . . she wasn't there.

"Keme," Roan said softly, and Keme heard him moving quietly through the room. A moment later, and Roan's paw closed on his shoulder, rubbing soothingly. "Marriage is life. Even here in the sun village, the youth who come of age enter the sacred tunnels to choose a mate for life. Those of the sun acknowledge that life is difficult enough without having to face it alone. I've seen the two of you together. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life without her? What has you so frightened?"

Keme bowed his head. He couldn't tell anyone about his vision. Then he would have to explain about Phanyah, and he had sworn to keep Phanyah a secret. But as he stood there with Roan, a thought occurred to him. Zaldon. Zaldon already knew about Phanyah! He could tell Zaldon about his vision. Maybe Zaldon could explain it to him. Maybe he could help!

"Does this have to do with Chief Honiahaka?" Roan said gently. "Are you in love with him?"

Keme lifted his head. "What!"

"Your relationship with the chief has been a concern of Grandfather's since your return," Roan continued. He took another leaf from the jar and chewed it thoughtfully as he studied Keme.

Keme shook his head. "But how did --?"

Roan smiled. "The way he spoke to you, touched you, always found a way to be near you -- there's affection in all that. That the two of you have been intimate is abundantly clear."

Keme looked away and felt his cheeks getting hot. "So why is that a cause for concern again?" he said gruffly.

Roan tilted his head and studied Keme with his gentle green eyes. "Ah. I guess no one told you this either but . . . male to male love is . . . not smiled upon by those of the summer. It's the entire reason I left my family to be here with Theo: he's a fugitive."

Keme stared. ". . . Theo was run off?" he asked sympathetically and frowned.

Roan nodded solemnly. "But to the point," he said and moved past Keme. He returned to his chair and sat, where he regarded Keme anxiously. "If those of the summer ever found out you had been intimate with the chief here . . . well, it would give them cause to stone you at the most, or ruin your chances of marrying Seleste at the least."

Keme pushed his mane back from his eyes. "But I don't want to marry Seleste!"

"Do you love her?" Roan said calmly.

Something in Keme sagged as he said wearily, "Yes. I do."

"Then marry her," Roan returned. "Because if you don't, someone else will." He lifted his brows pointedly as he put the lid on the clay jar.

---

Roan's words had put a resolve in Keme. He would confront Zaldon about his vision, and if the old wolf could help him decide what it meant, he would then make a decision about Seleste. He was either with Seleste or he wasn't. Because after his talk with Roan, he finally realized that Seleste had probably expected him to marry her all along. It wasn't fair to keep her hopes alive. It wasn't fair to either of them.

After thanking Roan for the talk, Keme left for Zaldon's right away. It wasn't so late at night that the old wolf wouldn't have been awake. No, his main concern was running into Kel or Aliona who - determined to keep Keme away from a drunken Seleste - would probably turn him away at the door.

As it happened, Roan and Theo's home was only down the street from Zaldon's. Literally down. Keme found himself walking a ways downhill, until he was on a street that he recognized. Wolves were still dancing and drinking, and as he made his way, a few females with jiggling breasts crushed against him either side, giggling and groping him. One grabbed his cock and offered to titfuck.

"Sorry, ladies," Keme said awkwardly, "I'm taken --"

"No such thing," said the one feeling his cock, but Keme squirmed from their grasp and hurried on.

Having once been Grand Sorcerer, Zaldon's home was large, a square clay hut with a second floor and even a balcony. Firelight brightened the downstairs windows. Good. Maybe they were awake after all. A wild garden pressed from the fence that enclosed the yard, and from where he stood on the street below, Keme could see banana trees leaning over the balcony. Perfect.

Keme easily hoisted himself up a banana tree, then landed in a deft squat on the balcony, powerful body still, ears forward, tail low. The upstairs windows were dark and silent. Keme hoped they weren't sleeping. The last thing he needed was for Zaldon to be tucked in bed with Kel, Aliona, and Julyan. He needed to talk to him. And he needed to now. How long had he been living with the burdensome knowledge of the vision? Too long.

The balcony doors were slightly ajar when Keme reached them and he slipped in. The familiar sight of the upstairs corridor stretched before him. It was strange to think that only hours before, he had come to Zaldon's house, had walked through the front door, and had entered his bedroom to talk to him. Now he was creeping and sneaking around like a thief.

Keme took a careful step and paused. He could hear voices downstairs. If he listened carefully, he could discern Kel's voice, as well as Julyan's, and even Aliona's. Thank god. Maybe Zaldon was in his room alone!

His heart quickening, Keme moved to Zaldon's bedroom and paused at the curtain. Yes, he could smell Zaldon inside. It sounded as if the old wolf was sleeping: Keme could hear the gentle rise and fall of his breaths. Determined, Keme pulled the curtain aside - and froze to find Yuri sitting at Zaldon's bedside.

Yuri was just as shocked. Her ears went forward and she just sat staring. Her beautiful blue fur practically glowed in the moonlight that streamed through the window. She sat very straight and prim in the chair. A cloth made of a very silky material was wrapped around her breasts, feathered bracelets were on her wrists, and feathered earrings were in her ears. She sat with one shapely leg crossed over the other. In her slender paws was a bit of parchment, which she had been reading before Keme burst into the room. She stared at him over the parchment, then slowly lowered it to her lap . . . and stared some more, pretty sable eyes blinking.

". . . Keme," Yuri said slowly. "What on earth are you doing? Aliona brought Seleste in drunk a while ago. If Kel finds out you're here --"

"I know," winced Keme and scratched the back of his ears. "Actually . . . I needed to talk to Zaldon."

"Ah." Yuri rolled up the parchment, and the way she regarded him, Keme got the feeling she suddenly knew exactly why he was there. "You're worried about the vision."

Keme shook his head. "But how did you know about . . .?"

Yuri shook her head and shushed him. "Come in," she whispered. "And quietly." She nodded at the bed.

Keme entered the room carefully. He could see Zaldon's big white body fairly glowing in the gloom. The old advisor was sleeping peacefully on his side, his back to them both, his white mane tumbling like silk across the fur sheets. His side rose and fell gently, and his breathing was a little hoarse. The top sheet was pulled up over his shoulder.

Eying Zaldon nervously, Keme carefully pulled up a low stool that had been in the corner. He sat at Yuri's side and regarded her curiously. Her demeanor was now sympathetic and even . . . apologetic.

"I saw . . . things," Yuri explained after a pause. "Back when I healed you. I saw the red forest . . . I saw the bears . . . that's the way healing magic works. When you reach into someone to heal them, you reach into them. You see things, personal things. But . . ." Yuri shook her head in amazement. "You never see the future! I went to Zaldon at once when this happened."

"What did he say?" Keme whispered. He peered hard into Yuri's face, silently urging her on.

"He told me it had to do with you being shemale. Your magic . . . it touched my magic. And this allowed me to see things. He told me the red forest was a place called Phanyah and that you would probably come to it. But there were other things I . . . I couldn't make sense of. The images were so blurred." Yuri frowned.

"You were right," Keme told her. "It came to pass. I went to Phanyah - Zaldon even says I _smell_like it still. While I was there . . . I saw a vision. I was raising a child that I'd had with Seleste . . . and I was raising it alone." Keme swallowed hard.

Yuri nodded. "Yes, I saw this too when I healed you. But . . ." she smiled. "I also saw many things you did not. I saw you and Seleste smiling together, happy and content, as she nursed your daughter from her breasts."

Keme looked at her sharply. "What?"

"For the moments that you were together," continued Yuri, "you were very happy. I can not say why Seleste was not with you in your vision, Keme. But the happiness you could know with her if you stayed by her side . . ." Her lips spread in a smile and she shook her head, "isn't that worth the risk?"

Keme didn't answer. He knew it was worth it. He knew that now.

Yuri nodded. "Then go to her, Keme. She's right across the hall."

Keme leapt up and nearly knocked over his stool as he turned for the curtain. But he paused as if he'd suddenly remembered something, and turning back, he leaned down to kiss Yuri on the cheek.

Yuri blinked up at him, surprised.

"Thank you, Yuri," Keme said fondly. "For everything."

Yuri smiled as she watched Keme hurry from the room.

Over on the bed, Zaldon turned over with a groan.

"I didn't tell him everything," Yuri said apologetically. She looked down and fiddled with her fingers. Her long, straight mane swept forward to hide her. She suddenly felt like an abashed child.

Zaldon nodded grimly. "And it was wise. He didn't need to know everything. The waters of Phanyah show only what could come to pass. The future Keme saw was only one possible outcome in many - as he may or may not discover."

Yuri looked at him quickly. "So . . . you aren't mad that I didn't tell him. . . .?"

Zaldon closed his eyes and shook his head. "No, little one." He smiled at her. "You did well to ease his mind. Why should Keme punish himself for loving Seleste? He shouldn't. He should be free to love her, the future be damned."

Yuri nodded. It was the exact reason she hadn't told Keme everything. But if Keme or Seleste were hurt because she didn't warn them . . .

"Ah, my Yuri," Zaldon said softly, and Yuri looked up to find him watching her with concern. "Do not trouble yourself anymore. Regardless of what you did or did not tell him, Keme will carve his own path in this world."

Zaldon sat up with a groan, and smiling at Yuri, he offered his arm. Yuri's lips twisted in a half-smile. Setting her scroll aside, she climbed into bed with Zaldon like a little pup, and curling against his chest, she allowed his big arm to enfold her. She smiled when he kissed her head and whispered,

"As will we all."