Strays: A Romantic Fantasy Adventure

Akiko arrived in the morning, having spent most of the night helping to deliver a new child into the den. She accepted the meal offered to her and sat with three of the members of the group, the fourth still motionless, wisps of white poking out from under the blanket.

“There have been so many born these last ten years.” The old woman smiled. “It truly is a blessing. We lost so many children during the drought. It’s a relief to hear their laughter and watch them playing once again.”

“How bad was the drought?” Ivy asked, sitting as closely to Sakura as possible without actually being curled up in her lap. Even if the girl could remember her past, she would have still been too young towards the end of those times to be able to recall.

“It was different everywhere, some places faring better than others, but we were not one of them. Everything had died. The pond and stream were nearly bone dry. Between the drought and dream fever, we lost close to half of the den over those five years, most of them being children.” She looked at Sakura with compassion in her eyes and a small smile on her lips as the younger fox slowly ate her meal. “These things happen though. Time and time again, it’s well recorded. All times can’t be good just as they can’t all be bad.”

The woman nodded quietly as she finished her bowl.

“You seem to be doing well.” Ren grabbed the empty bowl from the fox, replacing it with his own half eaten meal. “It looks like there was never a time without rain now.”

“It does. We’ve been truly fortunate,” Akiko agreed as she watched the angel and demon, her lips curving further towards her eyes. “I’ll be honest, I was worried when I realized you were a Fallen One, but it would seem that that was unwarranted. You behave nothing like I would expect. I’m so happy to see that you were able to find such a caring and affectionate mate, Sakura.”

Ivy inhaled sharply at the sudden statement, words that were obvious to her but never spoken, as Sakura choked on the food in her mouth and the girl began to panic. Ren patted her back roughly with one hand while taking the bowl from her with the other, his warm eyes focused on the old woman.

“She’s so happy about it, too.” He ignored the smack to his chest.

“How old are the two of you?”

“Twenty-one and twenty-three.”

“How long have you been mated?”

Ren paused, doing the math. “Seven years. Ow!” He couldn’t ignore the coughing fox’s harsh tug at his hair.

“Seven years?!” Akiko gasped. “You two were so young! Merely children! I can’t believe you were allowed to make that decision. Is it common in the mountains to wed so young? We don’t allow for the ritual until at least eighteen here.”

The angel attempted to work the tangled fingers from his scalp. “It happens, but I wouldn’t say it’s common. We weren’t exactly allowed either, but that’s just the way it worked out. However, we were both very willing participants. She barely had to force me into it at all.” His head whipped towards the demon as she yanked harder and he fought to escape her clutches. “Damn it, woman! Knock it off! Be nice to your caring and affectionate mate!”

Akiko bobbed her head thoughtfully. “I suppose everywhere is different, and the den isn’t necessarily immune to… premature transgressions either. But you two are older now and look so healthy. Why have you not had any kits? You did well to wait, but you’re at a prime age to raise a family now.”

Sakura crushed her hands against Ren’s face. “Shut up!” she snarled. “Enough! Just stop!” The man was already obnoxious enough over the state of their relationship, and the last thing he needed was further encouragement from an outside source. Akiko’s talking of mates and children would only serve to make him bolder and even more annoying, and Sakura was already dreading it.

He grabbed at her hands, struggling against the demon. “I keep trying but as you can see, she’s so damn stubborn.”

“Do you think they’ll have wings? Like little flying foxes?” She chuckled at the thought. “What a sight that would be.”

Ren got a hold of the wild woman’s wrists in one hand and put her into a headlock, successfully immobilizing her for the time being. “I don’t think so. I’ve heard that the children that angels have with other beings inherent certain things, like looks, but never have wings. I imagine they’d only inherent the demon traits.” He grinned wickedly down at the trapped vixen. “Ears and tails and crazy as hell like their mama. Ridiculously good looking like their papa.” His voice lowered as his face drew closer to hers. “That’s me. Your mate. I’m your babies’ papa. Cause I’m your mate. That’s how these things work.”

Sakura knew it was futile at this point. There was no way the angel was going to stop his nonsensical blathering, not when he was this far in. She tore away from him, choosing to instead hide her face inside of her arms on the table and wait out the storm. It was really the only option at that point. “Why are you always so fucking annoying?” she mumbled pathetically as Ivy clung onto her and whispered words of comfort into her ear.

The old woman laughed at the younger woman’s misery. “You’re so much like Keiko. Stubborn and sharp-tongued. Just as her father was. She was about your age when Haru chose her as his mate. It took years for her to be chosen. She was gorgeous, but the men were all afraid of her. She really did try, but that mouth of hers always got her in trouble, and men around here prefer their women quiet and docile. They want a dutiful mate. I see the same doesn’t pertain to angels.”

Ren tugged at the vixen’s ear. “I enjoy the chase.”

Ivy paused her coddling and looked at the Akiko curiously, puzzled by what she had said. “What do you mean by she was chosen?”

She smiled kindly at the girl. “Ah, it’s done differently elsewhere, but here, the men choose their mates.”

“But what about the women?” the girl asked. “Do they get to choose?”

“No. Sometimes it works out in the woman’s favor, and she is chosen by the man she prefers, but ultimately, she becomes mates with the one who prefers her.”

“What if more than one man wants her?”

“Then they’ll fight, and the victor takes the woman. Sometimes, the woman has so many suitors that it becomes a tournament and takes days to complete. It’s a triumphant moment for a woman when that happens. When they are desirable enough to attain such a spectacle in their honor.”

Ivy was stunned by the tradition, having never heard of such a thing. All she knew about the den was that Sakura had left it when she was young after her parents had died, and that she showed no interest in ever returning. It had never crossed her mind that the place where the woman who raised her was from would have such vastly different traditions and customs in comparison to the rest of the land. The girl looked to the angel who simply shrugged, unimpressed like it was old news.

“I remember people saying that Papa only chose Mama because no one wanted either of them.” Sakura had come out of hiding and was staring up at the old woman, her chin resting on her arms.

Akiko sighed. “People talk even when they don’t know what they’re saying. Haru chose Keiko because he wanted to. He was a good and kind man, but no one could make your father do anything that he didn’t want to. If he didn’t want her, then he would have never chosen her.”

“I don’t remember a lot about them. What were they like?”

The old fox smiled lovingly at the younger one. “You look exactly like Keiko, but you have Haru’s eyes, just the prettiest green. Your mother tried so hard to fit in with the other women and be what everyone wanted but she never could. She really should have been one to have a huge tournament held for her just as soon as she came to age. The men were so infatuated with her. But she was too loud, too honest, too willing to argue. She was cheerful but quick to temper and never thought twice on calling someone out. That same temperament had worked well for her father and would have worked for her had she been born a boy.

“Your father was much calmer. He didn’t really care for any of our rules and customs, he just did what he wanted. He had no problem hunting and exterminating pests, I think he rather enjoyed it. But he refused all the sparring and tournaments. He didn’t even show up to his coming-of-age initiation. He just had no interest in the fighting, and people saw that as weakness. But he was so giving and helpful, he never asked for anything in return.”

Ren tapped on Sakura’s head. “Aww, you’re like all their best parts.”

The demon tilted her head towards the angel, glaring. “I feel like that’s an insult.”

“It sure sounds that way, doesn’t it?”

“I’ve worried about you,” Akiko continued. “Whether or not you were safe. After the fever passed and I was able to travel to Wei Wen and Golden City again, I would ask about you in the cities and along the way, but no one ever saw you. It was assumed that you wandered off into the bamboo or north into the forest and died there. I always held out hope that someone had taken you in, and I’m glad that I was right. That you were able to find a place to belong because this village was never going to be it. Even if your parents had survived, you would have never been happy here.”

Sakura sat up and faced the woman, resolved in her objective. “I know the den isn’t fond of taking in outsiders, and that it’s almost unheard of to do so. But I would like to stay longer, and if possible, have Ivy study under you.” She indicated towards Ivy; the girl having been told the plan earlier that morning. “She’s been learning and practicing healing, and I know that you have a lot that you could teach her. It would mean a lot to me, but I understand if you’re unable.”

The old woman observed the girl who was suddenly nervous under the abrupt spotlight. “I don’t mind, but it’s not my decision to make.”

“It’s your son’s,” the young fox stated.

“No, he’s no longer alpha. My grandson is.”

“Which one?”

“Yuki. I heard that they just returned from an extermination earlier today. I’m sure he’ll be relieved to know that you’ve been well.”

“Alright.” Sakura got to her feet, ready to go. “Then I’ll ask him personally.”