Blood & Carrots - Silverpaw Ep. 12

Welcome back, my lovely reader~

If this is your first visit to Silverpaw, I strongly recommend starting from

episode one

to get the best experience.

If you are new to Blood & Carrots as a series, you need to start with

the first serial

if you want to fully enjoy it, no 'silverpaw' in the title.

Take your time, I'll wait for you to catch up. :3

♥

And with that out of the way...

I hope you've been enjoying seeing our lovely vixen interacting with the original cast. Yes, I think Sarnai has earned a nice break and chance to let her sexuality be more explorative, wouldn't you? Perhaps she'll find herself another lover this episode, wouldn't that be fun?

Why now that I think on it, we're probably not far from where the original tale left off, but don't think that will mean the end of this story. Oh no, this is not just a glorified prologue my lovely reader. Ah, but I'm getting ahead of myself aren't I? There's still more at play here that needs to be revealed before we come full-circle. Oh! speaking of play, who's up for some tennis?

—♥—

Episode 12:

I've longed to be with you

I bounced on the balls of my feet, my tail flicking as I gripped the tennis racquet. Katrina and I were on one side of the court together, waiting for Alice to serve. "I should warn all of you, I've been playing this game since before any of you were even a sparkle in your mother's eyes."

"Is that right, Sarnai?" Gloria called out to me from the other side of the court, her own knees bent as she clutched her racquet.

"Of course, who do you think had this court built on this property?" I showed my teeth proudly. The court had been specially commissioned to be three times the size of a standard one. After all, it would be used by beings that could make even the most proficient mundane athlete look like a kit.

"You're a bit of a jock, aren't you, Sarnai? Didn't you also mention you played golf and shot archery?" Katrina gave me a relaxed smile over her shoulder.

"A jock?" I tilted my head curiously. I was still trying to get up to speed on modern slang.

"It means you play a lot of sports, babe. You made schoolyard humor towards me, but didn't know that?" Alice huffed the words, then hopped up off her feet slightly as she tossed the ball upwards and struck it in a controlled serve. The little green ball tore through the air like a sniper's bullet, cleanly landing in the far corner of the boundary area before I or Katrina had time to even respond to it. Fifteen Love.

"Also, I should warn you, I was captain of the tennis team both in high school and college." The rabbit gave me and Katrina a smug grin.

I snorted through my nose and refocused my stance. "Yes... I suppose that would make me a bit of a jock then. I've always enjoyed sports and the thrill of competition."

Alice gave me a challenging grin and I watched her hop up before slamming her racquet into the ball, launching it forward again. I wouldn't be caught off guard this time and sprang forward, blurring towards the ball and returning it across the net.

The little neon ball shot like a bullet towards the fallen angel who quickly sent it back over the net. Katrina was ready for it and spiked the ball with a heavy slam that made it ricochet off their side of the court before sailing high into the air and back. The angel barked and snapped her wings out before springing up into the air, returning the volley in mid-flight back down to our side of the court in the far corner. Thirty Love.

The black cat scowled and folded her arms. "I suppose I should have expected that..."

"Well admittedly, any of us could have jumped that high." Alice tapped her foot on the little white line, bouncing a fresh ball against the face of her racquet.

I felt irritation build up in me and growled at their dominant score, setting my stance as the rabbit sent another serve into my section of the court. My teeth snapped together as I blurred towards the ball once it bounced, and sent it back over the net away from the angel upfront. Alice deftly moved to parry the ball right back across the net.

The resulting battle lasted several volleys before Gloria finally managed to slip a shot past Katrina for another score. Forty Love.

"Damn it, Katrina!" I barked out and stomped my foot, glaring at the cat.

She blushed and then shot me a glare of her own. "Fuck off, I don't normally play this!"

My tail whipped about while I gave her another glare, then softened my gaze and rubbed at the back of my head. "Sorry... I get wrapped up in this sort of thing sometimes..."

Her tail coiled a little before she gave me a nod. "It's fine, sorry to give you a handicap."

"Well, I don't normally play either, if that helps," Gloria spoke out cheerfully then looked over her shoulder as Alice set before sending another serve towards our side of the court.

Like hell I was going to let them get a sweep on the first game. I returned the ball straight towards the center of their own court. Gloria and Katrina began another duel of a few volleys before it came back to me. I spiked it into the far corner but Alice made a diving recovery to save the point. Katrina was already on the return though and sent it into the far corner past the angel. Fifteen forty.

"Yeah!" I barked out at the black cat and we gave one another a high five, our sharp teeth showing in a grin.

"Guess I just needed to warm up." Katrina folded her arms, holding her racquet loosely in her grip, giving me a smile.

"Well, shall we continue then?" Alice cleared her throat, bouncing a new ball on the court, waiting for us to return to our positions.

We spent the next few hours of the night playing. They ended up winning that game but we turned around and got the next one with me serving. Then we traded off, switching positions so Gloria and Katrina could serve. When all was said and done we ended up locked in nearly a standstill of points.

"Well... I hate to ruin everyone's time, but I find myself very fatigued from all this. I still have to do my nightly sweep of the city too." Gloria panted the words, placing a hand to her chest while she spoke.

I pulled the tip of the sports bottle from my mouth and frowned. It wasn't a simple matter for her to just keep drinking blood and going forward, she still had a limit of stamina like a mundane would. Granted, it was a massive limit, but it was there.

"Sorry, my angel. I completely forgot about your work." Alice gave her a sad smile.

"Yes, this is just a game, please do not push yourself when you still have other things to do," I spoke the words and offered the retriever what I hoped was an understanding grin.

Gloria lifted her ears and gave me a brilliant smile, bowing her head slightly. "Sarnai, it makes me so happy you have become so comfortable in our home."

I felt my cheeks darken slightly at her earnest words, then shook my head. "Well, I mean..." I rubbed the back of my head and clenched my teeth, trying to find words. It was my home originally, but I was also an unapproachable bitch before.

"Technically, it was her home before any of us." Katrina purred the words casually, snatching the sports bottle from my grip to finish off what I hadn't taken.

I felt my heart thump slightly at Katrina drinking from my bottle, my mind going back to what we had talked about recently. Pulling my brain from the gutter I spoke out to Gloria once again. "So do you have to do the patrols because it's your duty, or is it-" I bark out, seeing the retriever and rabbit embraced in a furious kiss.

Alice clearly had her tongue rolling against the angel's, fingers laced in her damp golden locks, their bodies pressed close to one another. Katrina rolled her eyes and gave me a shake of her head.

"Feel better my angel?" She cooed the words against her lips after they parted, her fingertips rubbing at the retrievers drooped ears.

"Yes... thank you, my love." Gloria huffed the words and nuzzled the rabbit's cheek while holding her close. I tapped my chin watching them, realizing Alice was pushing her own energy into the angel to reinvigorate her.

Gloria lifted her ears and smiled at me. "Oh, my apologies for the delay. No, it is not my duty. I am no longer bound to serve the celestial council since I am of the fallen. I choose to do so because I care about my flock."

"How honorable of you." I folded my arms and tilted my head. "What do you do exactly?"

The retriever gave me a lazy smile and shrugged. "I circle the city, sensing for malicious intent from mundane or other beings. Like all of you, I can read energy, but I can also read emotions like hostility or fear."

"How interesting... and what would you do if you found a mundane that had committed some horrible atrocity?" I found this whole thing terribly interesting, knowing the city near me had an avenging fallen angel watching over it.

"If they were in the process of trying to do it, I would strike fear into them, perhaps give them a minor curse until they changed their ways. If the deed had already been done, I would offer them a chance to repent before I sent them to the gods for judgment," She barked the words in a strong dutiful tone of voice.

I lifted my ears, feeling impressed with the angel's resolve. It also impressed me she wasn't afraid to kill if needed. "Not bad, I need to give you more credit, Gloria."

"Let's part here then, I will see you off, my angel." Alice hummed the words as I watched her lock her fingers with Gloria's.

"This was fun, let's play again sometime, Sarnai." Gloria gave me a wave with her free hand as she and Alice walked back towards the manor.

"Did you like what you saw?" Katrina asked me bluntly after the two moved out of range of our voices.

I lifted my ear and glanced back at the cat. "I was looking upon her in admiration of her duty, not at the way the shorts and shirt clung to her sweaty body."

She showed her teeth in a grin. "When you word it like that, it doesn't sound like much of a defense."

We shared a grin and I ran my fingertips through my slightly damp hair. "She is a fine thing to look upon, but I can tell by how she carries herself that she is content. The angel and the wolf seem happy to be left alone with their rabbit."

Katrina pursed her lips and nodded. "I get that, me and Alex almost... well, we talked about it. We both agreed better to stay friends, I didn't want to mess things up for him and Gloria."

I set about collecting the racquets and stray tennis balls. "Speaking of messing things up... how are you handling things with me laying with your master and lover?"

Katrina moved with me, helping me gather the equipment together. "I won't lie... it leaves me with an odd sensation. I don't think it's resentment or anger though. I just... I worry about them."

"You have every right to distrust me," I growled the words as I put the balls and racquets away. "I regret a lot of things, especially you and the others having to deal with me during that time."

The black cat gave me a long gaze, then shook her head. "Sarnai, you may have separated, but he never stopped being your husband. I prayed the day would come you cleared your mind and returned to him. Me becoming his lover does not change that, I simply want everyone I care about to be happy."

"Even at the expense of your own feelings, Katrina?" I showed her a sad smile.

She clicked her tongue and looked away. "Are you trying to imply something?"

"Just that I feel it's hard for you sometimes, to see Alice and him with others." I cut to the heart of the matter.

"It can be challenging, but it is for the best. I'm not one for monogamy anyway, it just suffocates a relationship. Especially with long-lived beings such as ourselves." She turned her back as she spoke, putting her hands on her hips.

I took a moment to admire her in the lights of the tennis court. She had worked up a sweat like all of us, having to pump the blood she had drank to power her smaller body. She wore form-fitting leggings and a snug tank-top that hugged her chest. There was a glimpse of the small of her back, covered in a sheen of sweat.

Her ears flicked and her tail coiled before she glanced over her shoulder at me. "How do you feel about it? Knowing your husband of so long has both of us and Val?"

The words jarred my brain back into motion. "Oddly enough, it relieved me to know he didn't suffer in torment over me the whole time-"

"Just the majority of it," Katrina cut me off with a stern tone in her voice, her teeth showing.

I growled a bit but nodded. "How many times must I apologize, sister?"

She frowned and turned to face me, folding her arms over her stomach. "No... I should apologize. I know you're trying, Sarnai. I will stop being so unfair about it."

My eyes wandered her body once more, seeing how her breasts pushed forward from the stance she took. It was so odd for me to feel these sensations so intensely. I had always loved sex and thought the cat was pleasing on the eyes when he brought her home, but this was full-on hunger for her.

"Did you lay with anyone in that time away from him?" Katrina asked me, tilting her head.

"I didn't... sex was the last thing on my mind during those days." I met her copper and green eyes, giving her a nod.

"But it's prominent now, isn't it?" She gave me a cocky little grin that made my heart jump slightly.

"So it would seem." I gave her a calculated look and folded my arms. "Apparently yours as well, you even kissed me the other day."

"Do you want an apology?" She lifted her black ears, letting the gold rings in them shine in the lights of the court.

I set my jaw and decided to just ask her straight out what I had been thinking about. "Katrina... can I ask why? Alice told me how you pretty much only wanted her and Elias. Are you just doing this to try to appease them?"

"If I'm being truthful..." Katrina tapped her finger on her chin. "I've found you stunning since the moment I laid eyes upon you all those years ago."

I barked out in shock at her confession. "You can't be serious."

"I am... Elias was a fetching male to be sure, but you were simply radiant to me. I knew there was no possibility and you had it tough, so I kept the thoughts to myself." She gave me a shy smile, her tail flicking.

My palm pushed to my cheek as I frowned. "You're right, back then would have been messy..." I plucked my thoughts as that night came back to me. "Katrina... in that moment, you could have ended it all. You had a gun to my head but yet you-"

"I couldn't... Something in my soul wouldn't let me. I desperately wanted to save them, and in those moments afterward... I thought the choice to not pull the trigger had cost me everything, but I simply couldn't bring myself to do it." She frowned and put a hand to her chest, tail flicking weakly.

I swallowed hard at the thought of it, even then her unresolved feelings for me were present. She had me dead to rights in that moment but simply couldn't pull the trigger.

Katrina seemed to compose herself and quickly steered the conversation back to more pleasant matters. "Ah...A-Anyway! He told me about your adventures, I wish I could have sailed with you," She purred the words while smiling at me.

I looked upon her hard for several moments, processing what was going on between us before I gave her a haughty grin, showing her the strong dominant vixen I assumed she had been talking about from before. "Who says you still can't?"

Her copper and green eyes widened at my words along with the shift of my body language. "What... do you mean?"

Fingers raked through my raven hair as I gave the cat a coy grin. "Our family has a small yacht anchored at a marina a few hours south of here. It's not a carvel, but I would be happy to take you out on the sea."

"J-Just like that?" Katrina averted her eyes, her cheeks growing dark slightly.

I hummed as I moved towards her, pushing my palm to her face and guiding her to gaze upon me. "Just like that... you and I on the waters together, only us, as you've wanted for some time it would seem."

I could feel as much as I heard her purr while she blinked upon me, I decided now was a good time to return the gesture from our last meeting. I moved in and pushed to her mouth with my own, drawing her into a kiss. The smaller cat threw her arms around my neck right away and pushed her body closer, her lips parting to allow my tongue forward.

Our tongues rolled and teased one another while we kissed with hunger. I felt my own hands tangle into her crimson locks before I grabbed a fistful and pulled her from the kiss. The smaller cat gasped out at the tug, her pink tongue showing as I moved in to kiss along her throat.

"Would you like that, my cat?" I growled the words and dragged my tongue up her throat, easing my grip on her hair.

"Y-Yes... I've longed to be with you for decades... to have your eyes upon me and your hands touching me." She sighed the words, blinking into my eyes, her gaze looking full of adoration.

I showed the black cat a cocky grin and pulled from her arms. "So it shall be." I waved a hand and gave her a haughty grin. "Go wash up and get changed. We leave in fifteen minutes."

"Y-Yes my lady!" Katrina spoke the words obediently and quickly turned on her heel.

"None of that... technically you have more status than I do right now," I growled the words and folded my arms.

Katrina looked over her shoulder at me and frowned. "My apologies... what shall I call you then?"

"Is my name not good enough?" I showed her a cocky grin and lazily twirled some of my hair against my finger. "Did you enjoy me calling you 'my cat'?"

Katrina bit her lower lip and gave me a nod. I showed her another grin and waved my hand. "Then you can call me your fox as well."

"O-Okay..." She purred the words and then turned away once more.

"Pack a swimsuit... a two-piece," I barked the words in commandment as I started towards the mansion.

"You can't be serious." Katrina huffed out, glaring at me.

It made me happy to see the strong-willed cat come back out. I didn't want her to be some doting obedient female, I wanted her as she normally was. I gave her another cocky grin and flicked my tail. "If you do, so will I..."

—♥—

My tail flicked and I gave Katrina a grin while I watched her fumble to control the length of sail I had given her. "Come on, hold it tight so I can catch the wind. We'll never get out of the harbor at this rate!"

The wet rope slipped from her grip before she hissed and grabbed hard at it to secure it, her heavy breasts bouncing in her snug little crimson bikini. "I-I'm trying! It's slippery and hard to keep hold of!"

"That's what she said..." I barked out over the slapping of the waves on the hull of the small sailing yacht, finally getting the wind to cooperate as I guided her from the harbor.

"How can you know such lame modern jokes, but not what a jock was!" She grumbled the words as she drew the rigging as tight as it would go and quickly wrapped the rope, giving a sigh of relief as the sails snapped hard in the wind, making the small ship lurch forward more rapidly.

"Well, the internet is a thing, Katrina." I hummed the words and sighed blissfully, feeling the cool night air from the ocean tossing my hair, the familiar taste of the salt on my tongue from the mist that sprayed against the deck.

The black cat moved next to me, her whole body covered in a sheen of water and sweat. "You know... when you said a yacht... this isn't what I had in mind."

I showed her another grin and released the wheel, letting the ship propel forward through the relatively calm sea. "You said you wanted to sail with me. You thought I would have some all motorized vessel?"