Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 5

his body as Deshi ate the light meal. His eyes kept sliding toward the boy, kept watching as the pink tongue slid out to lick at juices running down a forearm. By the time Deshi began to lick fingers, he was oddly aroused, shifting his leg to hide the growing erection between his thighs. Deshi turned to him, his dark eyes bright and curious, but he seemed completely unaware of his companion's problem.
    Deshi pointed at him. "Kaanan..." The boy sighed and swept his hand in front of him, motioning at the forest. "Home?"
    Home. It was an odd word, but if Deshi was pointing at him, and then the jungle, then the boy had to be asking if this was where he lived. He nodded, barking out, "Home."
    The boy smiled. "Man?"
    He knew that word. Men were poachers. He growled, his upper lip lifting to bare his teeth. "No man."
    "No man?" the boy repeated, his smile quickly turning to a frown. He grunted his affirmative, and the human sat in silence for a minute. He watched the subtle twitches and shifts of Deshi's expression as he digested the information, and when Deshi's eyes sought his again, he could tell there were many questions the boy didn't know how to voice.
    He shook his head, growling a little more as he remembered the rage and despair of finding the leopards under his protection caught in snares and skinned, the rest of the beautiful cats mangled by the many scavengers of the forest. His hands trembled as he clenched them in his lap. He jumped a little when Deshi rested a hand atop his, giving him what he supposed was meant as an encouraging squeeze.
    Deshi licked his lips and scooted closer. "Kaanan no man. Kaanan...?"
    Ah, now they came to it. The way Deshi trailed off meant his true form was finally the question. He looked at Deshi, wondering if the boy had actually put some of the pieces together already. There were myths of beasts such as him, at least two in local lore that he could vaguely remember—snakes that were sacred to a local goddess and could shift to do her will, the king stag who protected all prey who took refuge in the sacred groves—but did Deshi know those myths? Perhaps Deshi's home had similar stories. He swallowed thickly, hesitating to admit his own identity. He couldn't trust just anyone, but the boy was stuck with him, dependent on him. He was tired of staying in human form so often; his skin itched to be allowed back into its furry state, and he hadn't relished a proper hunt in days.
    It was selfish, but that decided it for him. He would tell Deshi if it meant being able to shift into his leopard form without Deshi going into another fit of hysterics. He leaned over, untangling his hand from Deshi's in order to grab a stick. He smoothed over a patch of dirt in front of them, and then drew his cat form. It was a simple drawing, probably far too simple, but it showed a four-legged creature with a tail. When he finished, he pointed with the stick. "Kaanan."
    The scent of fear was unmistakable, but Deshi didn't scramble away from him or make one of those horribly shrill screaming sounds like when he saw him in feline form. Instead, Deshi's eyes merely darted back and forth between him and the little drawing. After a few seconds of silence, Deshi reached for the stick, and he gave it to Deshi without a fight. Deshi leaned over the drawing and poked the tip of the stick into the form over and over. It looked like he was giving the little figure spots, and Kaanan fought not to smile as Deshi looked up at him and rasped out, "Kaanan?"
    He nodded, and Deshi stared at him before nearly bursting into what sounded like birdsong. Too many words all strung messily together in a quick twittering that nearly made him wish he hadn't given away his secret. "Deshi... Deshi! Wait!"
    The order instantly made Deshi quiet like he'd wanted, but the wounded look on Deshi's face tugged at something in his chest, and he petted the boy's hair, scratching lightly at his scalp. He held up another fig in apology, offering it to Deshi with a small smile. "Food. Kaanan home, Deshi home."
    A smile graced Deshi's lips. It seemed his message had gotten across. Deshi was welcome here. He wouldn't let any harm come to Deshi while Deshi was under his protection. Deshi leaned into him as they resumed eating their figs, and he couldn't help but smile when Deshi tried to rub against his shoulder like a cat might. Yes, there was intelligence in Deshi's mind, even if some human habits needed to be relearned to respect the forest. A