Chapter 79: Champion, Interlude 1: Dominant Species

Zurai

This interlude is dedicated in loving memory to my cat Hemi, ?/?/2002 to 9/18/2020 (he was a rescue). He was the sweetest, gentlest cat I've ever had the pleasure to love.

Also, have some official art, this time of Riama (in chibi form):

Riama

The Realms

Firstday, 1st week of the 9th month, Age of the Chosen 1

Early Evening

Riama's Chambers, Caer Macht, Mistvale Highlands

Riama left the large rooms of her home. Her adopted people were inviting a new member to their mating circle, so she felt it only decent of her to give them some privacy. That, however, meant that she would need to vacate her rooms for the evening.

Standing guard outside the door was one of her minion's minions, the one named Llwyd. At least her human had the good sense to adopt properly-furred individuals; his own lack of fur was a tragedy, but it couldn't be helped. Riama rubbed herself against Llwyd's calves, then stood up on her hind legs, bringing her head within range for him to pay her the proper respect. Llwyd, having been well-trained by this time, rubbed her head and scratched her behind the ears.

She allowed her grand-adoptee to worship her for several moments before dropping back to the floor and walking away. After all, one must always be sure that their servants know who dictated the relationship's terms. Indulging oneself in the pleasures of being petted too long or too frequently might lead the lesser beings to think wrong thoughts; they might begin to believe that they were superior, and that just wouldn't do.

Riama sauntered past the altar—it wasn't high enough off the ground for her purposes—and into the doorway opposite her rooms. This chamber was a paradise of tall, square trees that provided countless different places for her to rest and lie in ambush. Lesser races were so silly; they never looked up. She stepped between shadows, placing herself atop one of the tallest square trees. Walking in a tight circle three times, as was proper, she consecrated it as a safe sleeping point and lay down, curled up with her tail across her nose. From here, she had a commanding view of the only entrance to the chamber, so none could enter or leave without her noticing.

Secondday, 1st week of the 9th month, Age of the Chosen 1

Pre-Dawn

Royal Library, Caer Macht, Mistvale Highlands

The sound of hooves on stone woke Riama from her nap. She opened one eye, spotting the silver-haired centaur that wanted to join her human's mating circle. This one had resisted training to date, so when she settled down at a table and opened a book, Riama made her appearance. Stepping into the shadow to Ailis's side, Riama jumped up onto the table and sat down on the book. She vocalized her demands, requiring attention from her adoptee's prospective mate. The centaur frowned and attempted to dislodge her from her perch, but Riama refused to budge until the lesser being paid her proper respect.

With a resigned sigh, Ailis reached out and patted Riama on the head. The feline accepted her tribute with grace, tilting her head and pressing up against the centaur's fingers to encourage her to scratch harder. When Ailis made to withdraw her hand, however, Riama had to remind her that petting was not over until she said it was. She caught the centaur's hand with her paw, letting her claws prick the skin.

"You are quite demanding this morning," Ailis told Riama, but she returned her hand to the cat's head anyway. Riama purred; training was going well. She allowed the petting to continue for another minute before jumping down from the table and strolling away. It was always best to leave on a high note with stubborn minions; trying to force through too much education at a time could cause regression.

She made her way back to her rooms, but her minion and his mates were still asleep. Riama briefly debated waking Aidan so that he could feed her, but the sleepy trickle of <satisfaction in conquest> and <fulfilled contentment> coming from him convinced her to leave him alone a while longer. The fraying around the edges of his emotions had grown worse over the last week, and if a little extra sleep would help mend that, well, she was a magnanimous mistress. Besides, while Aidan was her most valued servant, he wasn't the only one.

One of the female grand-minions was stationed outside Aidan's door, the one mated to the other guardian. Riama sat down in front of her and demanded that the minion provide her with breakfast. Cai looked down at her and shook her head. "It is too early to start with that, and I am on-duty besides. Go wake your master up if you are that hungry, or get your own food. You are more than equal to whatever rats or rabbits you can find around here."

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Riama increased her volume, angry at her servant's stark refusal, but the centaur remained impassive. "You are going to wake them if you keep that up, you know." She hated to admit it, but the minion was right; she could feel her precious minion's mind stirring, swimming a little closer to wakefulness. With one last yowl of displeasure, she turned and flounced off. Clearly, this one needed more attention devoted to her training, but that would have to come later. She needed food now.

The sky was still dark when she emerged from the tunnel, with only a faint hint of light to the east. That was ideal; prey was easier to catch when it was still waking up. The early bird got the worm, but the early cat got the bird. Alas, she had to travel a considerable distance before encountering any suitable targets. Wild animals were still tentative about returning to her minion's city, and that meant she had to run nearly to the boundary before she spotted a flash of brown fur at the base of one ruined building.

Riama froze mid-step, then lowered herself into a crouch. She wasn't sure what the creature was, but it was smaller than her, and that made it prey. Moving with infinite care, she crept along, testing the ground with each step before settling her weight onto her outstretched paw. It wouldn't do to alert the soon-to-be-food to her presence yet. She debated using her Shadow Pounce, but not for long; that would be cheating. She didn't need to borrow any of the powers her minion gave her to hunt a meal.

The small, furry creature remained oblivious to Riama as she stalked ever closer. It moved between tufts of grass, digging up the roots, biting them off with oversized incisors, and stuffing them into its cheeks to eat later. Step by slinking step, Riama drew closer, ever closer. Twenty feet, then fifteen, ten. The stupid plant-eater didn't realize anything was wrong until its doom had crept to within five feet of it. At that point, it jerked upright, looking around with frantic energy. The astral jaguar lowered her front to the ground and wiggled her rear as she prepared to pounce.

The prey had enough self-preservation instinct to drop the grass it held and dart off, but it misjudged the direction it should flee in. It didn't run straight for Riama, but it came close enough that her jump nearly overshot it. She was aiming for a quick bite to the back of the neck, crushing its neck and granting it a merciful death, but it ducked under her. Her aim was good enough and reflexes fast enough that she managed to claw its side with one paw, sending it sprawling. It squealed in pain and terror, righting itself and scampering off in a new direction.

Riama gave chase, unwilling to let it escape now that she'd blooded it. For all its chubbiness, she had to give the prey credit; it was faster than she'd thought, and its erratic movements made it impossible to time her attacks. She ran, leaped, and pounced at her target as it careened through buildings, over hillocks, and between twisted tree roots. After a mistimed jump that ended with her face in the dirt, Riama lost her patience. She stepped through shadows, appearing directly in front of her prey as it tried to lose her around a corner.

She relished the widening of the creature's eyes in the split second before her paws pinned it to the ground. It was only cheating if she got caught, after all, and she was about to dispose of the evidence. The rodent screeched one last time before Riama's jaws fastened around the back of its neck and she crunched through its spine.

After eating her fill and taking another nap, Riama set out to explore her new territory. Back in the jungle, she knew the position of every tree, bush, and stream in her realm. Given how much trouble the tasty morsel had given her, she needed to ensure that the same was true of her new home. She decided to start with the complex under the hill, as the city would not remain as it was now. Carrying the carcass of her kill in her mouth, she trotted back into the oversized burrow. Taking a left at the first intersection, Riama made her way to her grand-minions' quarters.

As she expected, neither Cai nor Llwyd was present. She left the remains of her prey on their cushion-bed as a present; Llwyd was an excellent minion, always happy to give her the attention she deserved, and Cai had given her the suggestion that led to her hunt. The prey had been an entertaining chase and a delicious meal, so she left a little of it for them to enjoy when they returned to their bed later that day.

Task completed, Riama busied herself with memorizing the twists and turns of the circular passageways and the contents of each room she passed. She cared little for the purpose her servants would assign to each—she already knew the location of the only essential chambers, the ones where they prepared the food. Instead, she assessed each for their suitability as a hiding place, napping nook, or playground. She doubted she would find anything better than the large chamber with all the tall shelves for sleeping, but it didn't hurt to look.

Evening

Riama's Chambers, Caer Macht, Mistvale Highlands

Hours later, with half of the outer ring categorized and cataloged, Riama made her way back to her rooms. It was time for her to check on her minion; she left him alone for an entire day, and with his mental state as it was, she wanted to make sure her absence hadn't broken him.

The entrance was unguarded, which worried her, but she heard splashing and low voices coming from the bathing-place. Making her way through the rooms, the voices became more distinct, and she became more aware of her minion's emotions through their link. His <slowly-mounting arousal> and <reserved pleasure in friendly company> grew more distinct with each step. A feminine moan stopped her in her tracks; was he mating? But no, his emotions were always much brighter and more powerful when he was mounting a female. Still, she decided to delay her approach until she could be sure.

"Aidan... I do not deserve your affection."

Ahhh, so it was the prospective mate, then. Her minion had taken her advice and expressed his interest, then. Excellent.

"...I already told you that I'm willing to take as long as it takes, so let the anticipation build."

Riama suppressed a spike of irritation at that, not wanting to reveal her presence yet. Aidan should just take her and be done with it, but minions needed to learn some things on their own. If he wanted to drag it out, well, he did already have two mates. A third wasn't so critical that she needed to intervene.

"You are a good man, Aidan Lostlorn. I will see you tomorrow. Pleasant dreams."

Ah, so she'd arrived at the perfect time, then. Soon enough to learn valuable information, yet not so early that she would need to wait long. Indeed, a moment later, her grand-minion walked out of the bathing chamber, a faint scent of arousal following her. Riama waited for the centaur to leave, then walked into the bathing room and jumped into the water. As she swam over to her minion, she told him, "I told you she would not resist. I will accept praise and scratches for being correct now."

Proving that she had been correct to answer his summoning, Aidan scooped Riama into his arms and began to pet her in the exact manner that she preferred.

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