Lin'qa yawned sleepily, the gentle swaying of the airship lulling her further into her state of drowsiness. Gehra's nails scratched that spot between her ears and she purred contentedly, not even fully aware she was doing it. She buried her face deeper in the big Orc's chest, tightening her arms around his waist.
She'd been so tired today. Rugana had roused her early for to "take care" of her morning wood by shoving it inside Lin'qa's ass. And while the Orcess had managed to get back to sleep, she hadn't. When Gehra had scooped her up into his lap during the airship ride to the Clansmeet, she hadn't been able to resist. Maybe she didn't want to. The low rumble of Gehra's voice conversing with his bodyguard was all the awareness of the conversation she had. The words were ephemeral, the head scratches were real. So was the way he playfully stroked her tail.
She snuggled more closely and felt herself starting to drift into a shallow slumber. Her mind drifted back to her childhood home. It was a sprawling manor that, when she was a kitten, had seemed like it was bigger than the rest of the world. The manor and their holdings were built upon a mountain shelf, The city they governed sprawled out miles below them, down a narrow path. The mountain itself, called Kaa, was mostly greyish white but laced with veins of a glassy purple rock. Deeper in the mountains, a purer version of that purple rock was extracted to be used to refine into airship fuel. She couldn't remember what it was called.
She thought of her bitch of a mother, Talvizsa, who'd always rained snide comments down upon her, and told her that everybody else was judging her. In reality, she'd been the one judging Lin'qa at every opportunity. Her father Kitra almost never spoke to her. He rolled his eyes and gave Talvizsa a look whenever Lin'qa tried to address him. 'Why aren't you handling this?' the look always said. She wouldn't see the look sometimes, or perhaps she just ignored him. Other times, she'd acknowledge him and make some snide comment about how much Lin'qa acted like a girl and not a real male. That had all changed when she'd tried to come out to them. Suddenly, she was a male, and no amount of pretending to be a girl could change that.
His little sister Felida was always so polite to him, but there was always a terseness about any interaction they had. Felida always had somewhere to be, something to do. While Lin'qa occupied her time with classes and academics, Felida always had meetings, parties, and various functions to attend with her friends. Visiting nobility and wealthy merchants from town were her friends. Their relationship had always felt somewhat hollow to her, but she still missed Felida. The male pronouns were like a knife in her heart but she still ached to see Felida's face and to hear her voice calling her "big brother."
Her aunt, Na'zsa and her cousin Yasmiya had always been so kind to her. Her uncle — she couldn't remember his name — had run off when she was but a kitten. "He's off to live another life," Na'zsa had told him. She'd worn a bittersweet smile whenever she'd said it. Lin'qa had played endlessly with Yasmiya when they were kittens. She'd liked dress-up the most, and the much older, single child Yasmiya had been ecstatic to have a little sister to play with. Talvizsa had thought it was cute when they were kittens, but Lin'qa had never grown out of it. Ultimately, Talvizsa had forcibly put a stop to it.
Nine lives... her aunts words echoed through her head. The idiom was a silly comment that ranked up there with cats landing on their feet, or hating water. It had an actual root in Rakshasa philosophy. They lived so much longer than any of the other mortal races, even elves. For beings that lived so long in a world that changed so fast, they knew and accepted that the world and the life they knew would eventually change, and never change back. Living nine different lives, one after the other...
She stirred, and was aware that Gehra had stopped scratching her head but was still cradling her gently on his lap. They weren't talking anymore. 'Nine Lives...' Lin'qa thought to herself. She'd always thought it was a silly superstition when she was a kid. A dumb metaphor that her elders had taught her to try to get her to act more... whatever. Not like herself. Now though, a thought stuck into her mind like a burr in her tail. What if this was just her second life? What if her coming out was her attempting to start her second life, and by trying to live her second life in the confines of her first, she'd caused this to happen. Maybe she'd tried to force The Goddess' hand, and She had angrily pushed back?
Gehra tapped her on the head in a way clearly meant to get her attention. "Off you go, Kitty, we're landing soon, go find your Momma."
"Mrrrr... Thank you." Lin'qa yawned and stretched her legs. She went to hop off of Gehra's lap but his arm around her waist didn't budge.
"Thank you?" He asked with an amused chuckle. His tone was the same one Rugana used when she expected something from her.
"T-Thank you for the cuddles, Daddy..." Lin'qa blushed, lowering her head so that her hair fell into her eyes and covered her face.
"That's better," Gehra snickered and let her stand up. As she tried to scamper away to find Rugana, he landed a heavy smack on her ass. Lin'qa yelped and jumped forward and out of the passenger room. She rubbed her sore butt and went off to the helm where she figured Rugana would be. When she got out on the deck, she saw where they were before she saw her Momma.
Mountains rose all around them as the airship started its descent. They were landing in a valley which held a single, large, compound. It had a huge circular wooden canopy covering it, with different crests painted all over. After a brief scan, her eyes found the two intertwining spears, the crest of the Singing Spears. Her Momma's Clan. Her Clan.
The building wasn't defensible at all, situated low in the valley as it was. It was made out of wood, and had no clear anti-air options like the massive towers and Plexion Claws that protected the fortress that was their home. It would never withstand an extended siege, but it was well hidden.
"Nice handprint. Gehra's?" Rugana asked her, making her squeak in surprise. She hadn't realized her Momma had spotted her and walked right up to her, she was so busy gawking at the scenery. The Orcess' hand squeezed her still slightly sore bottom and she whined softly at the pain. She didn't pull away, though.
"Y-Yeah. I was napping in his room."
"Oh? Is that all?" Rugana chuckled that same chuckle Gehra had used. The two were probably more alike than they realized.
"No... Daddy cuddled with me. I fell asleep in his lap." She squeezed her eyes shut in embarrassment. It felt surreal that saying this stuff was coming easily to her, now.
A second life... how long until the third comes along? If you fight it, maybe longer? The thought made her shiver in dread.
"Glad to see you two are getting along so well. I'll be busy here at the Clansmeet an awful lot so keep my brother company when you're not with me, okay?" Rugana spoke cheerfully as the airship descended into the shadow of the mountain. They were close enough to their landing pad that Lin'qa could see the thin reed-like weeds growing through the cracks in the rocks.
"Yes, Momma," Lin'qa replied as she placed her leash in Rugana's outstretched hand.
"You're such a good girl, Kitty. Are you happier now than you were when I first got you?" The question caught Lin'qa off-guard and she took a step back, anxiety gripping her.
Yes. That was the answer, just a simple yes. It had only been a week, but she'd been angry and bitter and hateful all the time those first few days. Now she was... sort of numb. It wasn't happiness, or fulfillment, but it was better than feeling so toxic all the time.
"Yes, Momma."
