<<< PREV | FIRST | NEXT >>>

This story was truly a labor of love. It took a long time to write, I think because parts of it were very personal, for me, but, this is the second story featuring the Bravewolf family. My 'sona is Mhina and this is the world that she lives in with her blended family of four sons and one very loving husband. This is also the same world where the Sweet Shoppe and Lion Paws take place in. Very nearly everything is connected.

This entire story was surprisingly long for various reasons. The biggest, perhaps, being that there was an entire final scene that I actually hadn't planned on writing, but felt that you, the reader would appreciate it, given the gravity of the scene it follows. For the most part, this is a pleasant and lighthearted romantic tale with a generous dash of tasteful eroticism. If you read the last story, then you would be familiar with the family dynamic, but if you haven't, you can check it out by pressing the PREV button above.

Due to its length, I've broken the whole story up into 5 chapters.

Well, I think I've talked enough. Please enjoy this romantic tale: the Afterlife of Wolves and Lions


*******************************************************************************

The Afterlife of Wolves and Lions

***

“I don’t get how anyone can enjoy this.” Tod said, irritably, as he looked out a window to see curtain of heavily falling snow.

Mhina giggled as she sat on a comfy seat nearby and lazily sipped on a cup of hot chocolate. “Baby, it’s fun for them.” she said. “They love this bitterly cold, white, wonderland. It only feels cold to folks like you and me.”

“Hey, yeah.” Tod said, suddenly. “Where is Kit?”

“Out there in the snow with Night and your brothers.” Slowly, Tod turned to his mother with a look that was a perfect blend of disbelief, annoyance and confusion. Mhina had to set her cup down to keep the contents from spilling as she laughed, boisterously. “Come on!” she exclaimed. “How in the world is that surprising? Kit has always liked the snow.”

“Mom,” he pouted, “the snow we get back home isn’t like this. You can walk through that. This snow is so high that you have to swim through it.”

“Yes, exactly.” she said. “Imagine how mystifying this must be for him. He’s never seen anything like this.”

“…we are not related.” the boy grumbled, sending peals of laughter from his mother, once again.

The season of frozen sleep had arrived on the lands of Adohi. Cold winds swept across the entire country, chilling everything its icy breath could touch. Though the touch of the frigid season spread across the entire expanse of the land, it was uniformly received in each region.

In the southern region called, Aponi, the climate enjoyed there was subtropic, so the cooling winds were nothing more than a refreshing breeze. But, for the temperate eastern region of the land called, Tayen, the season ravaged the land a bit more abrasively. The winds would frigidly chill the air, often bringing snow and even an occasional ice storm. This was the region of Adohi that the Bravewolf family called home. As such, they were familiar with moderate levels of snowy weather. Though moderate as it was, it was enough for Tod, Night and Mhina’s elder lion cub, to know that he did not like it. It was no surprise that when the family decided to journey to the northern region of Adohi, the Chilali region, that the boy was not particularly thrilled. But, to celebrate the Moon Dance, the carnival of reverence to the night, going as far north as one possibly could was always best and Chilali was as far north as one could go. For the Moon Dance carnival, the northern area of Chilali also offered something that no other region could, a something that paired perfectly with the festival.

Unlike all of the other regions that yielded 4 different seasons, in Chilali, there were only 2: the season of long sun and the season of frozen sleep. During the long sun season, daylight hours dominated the day/night cycle with periods of the season where night would not come at all. It was a period of endless day, where the once shining moon did not hang beautifully in the sky. However, during the season of frozen sleep, the opposite was true. The nighttime hours now grew longer each day and where the sun had taken over during the previous season, the moon was the one that now commanded the sky. Inversely, during this time, there were periods of the season where the sun would not rise and the moon would not fall. This was when the Moon Dance festival was held, during the period of endless night and perpetual darkness.

Similarly to how the Sun Celebration was of great importance to lions, the Moon Dance was of great importance to wolves. Their lore and history were tied to the moon in exactly the same way that the legends and ancestry of lions were bound to the sun. It was important for wolves to pilgrimage to the north to join in the celebration. This was the first time that the blended Bravewolf family embarked on one such sojourn.

The family traveled by train from their home to as far north as the train would carry them. They arrived and took up lodging at the largest lodge in the entire country, the celebrated Great Aurora Spring lodge. Being the nearest inn to the Northern Chilali train station, size mattered, as they accommodated more individuals and families than any other hospitality establishment during the frozen sleep season, more
so during the Moon Dance.

Nestled in the warm confines of the building Mhina and Tod had retreated to the lodge’s spacious lobby to lounge and relax and most importantly, to escape the freezing cold of the outdoor afternoon. Night, Shade, Blaze and Kit opted to stay outside. Out of the 4 tireless outdoor family members, Kit was the only one that was not a wolf. He was a bright, pale-blue eyed lion cub and Tod’s biological younger brother. But, unlike his elder feline sibling, Kit thoroughly enjoyed the snow and although his little body was just as susceptible to the cold as Mhina and Tod’s, such a thing would not hinder him from frolicking in the powdery precipitation along with his lupine father and brothers. As long as he was with Night, he would be safe.

“You are most certainly related.” Mhina said. “He is your brother, bonded to you by blood. You do not have to have the same likes and desires in order to share the same gene pool.”

Tod sighed, but said nothing more as he sank into the cushions of the fluffy chair he was sitting on. He picked up his own mug of hot chocolate and took a sip. Mhina smiled, then returned her gaze to the window and the snow-covered land beyond its glassy pane. It really was a beautiful world and if it weren’t so abrasively cold, it would have been enjoyable, too.”

“Hey, Mom,” Tod called, “who does Kit take after, Mama or Dad?”

“Definitely Tam.” she replied, without pause. “Your father would have loved this. All of this snow would have been magical to him. Lana, on the other hand, didn’t even like rain and she hated being cold. She was just like you, or rather, you are just like her…except for looks. In that regard, you take after your father. Kit looks just like your mother.”

“That’s funny.” Tod said, smiling. “I look like Dad, but act like Mama and Kit looks like Mama, but acts like Dad.”

Mhina smiled and sighed. “I suppose it is a little funny when you put it like that.” She took another sip of her cocoa and gazed out the window. “Actually, now that I think about it,” she started, “Night is just like you, two; he looks like Twilight, but acts like Hunter.”

“What about Shade and Blaze?” Tod asked.

“No, they look and act like the parents they resemble.”

The boy paused and frowned, thoughtfully. “Shade is really like his…mom?” he asked, with genuine confusion.

Once again, Mhina had to put her drink down to keep it from spilling, as she laughed, heartily. “Now, why is that so surprising?”

“I don’t know.” he said with a laugh. “Shade is so…so…” he said, trying to find the most appropriate word to describe his ever-cheerful elder brother. “He’s so…goofy.” he finally decided.

Mhina shook her head. “Goofy…is the word you went with?”

“It was the best I could think of.” he replied, grinning cheekily.

“Might I suggest, free-spirited?” she offered. “Or lively?”

“No, I think goofy was spot on.” Night said, walking up to the conversational mother and son pair. “Well done, son.” he said.

“Thank you.” the lion cub said, triumphantly to the wolf. “See, Mom? Night gets it.” he jeered, returning his attention to his mother.

Mhina simply shook her head and watched her husband approach. Behind him, she could see Shade and Blaze at the milk bar getting drinks, but she saw no sign of her youngest child. She looked up at Night and was about to query where he was, when she noticed the bundle of coats on his back and a pair of little knees hugging the wolf’s sides. Upon closer inspection, the pair of coats that were draped over lover’s back weren’t there because he was leisurely carrying them. The coats were, in fact, blanketing the little lion cub that was riding comfortably on his father’s back.

Alarmed, Mhina started to rise out of her seat until Night motioned for her to be calm. “He’s alright.” he assured her, already knowing her distress. “He’s just a little tired and a little cold.” he added, sitting down beside her. He sloughed off the pair of coats and swung the boy onto his lap. Not surprisingly, the youngster had fallen asleep, nestled upon the coziness of his father’s warm, soft back. Not wanting him to overheat, Night set about the task of peeling the outer garments off of the child. As he worked on that, Mhina collected the coats as they were removed.

“Hey, wait!” she exclaimed, examining the coat that Kit was wearing,, “isn’t that Shade’s coat?” she asked, pointing at the coat Night was currently unzipping on their child.

“Yeah.” Night said, freeing the child from the jacket, only to reveal an additional coat, Kit’s actual coat, encompassing the boy. “It was the only one that he could wear over his own coat and still zip up.”

“But…so then what did Shade wear? Your coat?”

“No, we used my coat as a blanket to cover him with.”

“Wha--?! So, Blaze was the only one with a coat in this…this blizzard?”

Night smiled, apologetically. “Actually, Blaze was worried about his only younger brother, so he put his coat over Kit and under mine.”

If Mhina’s eyes could get any wider, Night couldn’t possibly imagine how. Try as he might, he couldn’t help but chuckle at his wife’s adorable expression. She growled, lowly and leaned toward him.

“Mhina, Mhina, Mhina!” Night merrily cried, holding up his hands in surrender, hoping to defuse his wife’s impending rampaging. “Sweetheart, he didn’t need a coat, none of us did. Wolves love snow, you know that. How many times have we woken up to a snowy day and taken naps in the snow, in pajamas, no less, back home?”

“Night…” she growled, “we don’t get 2 billion feet of snow like this at home!” she said, gesturing to the window where snow was still pouring down in heaving chunks from the sky. “We barely get enough snow to reach higher than your ankles. This sea of whiteness that you could literally drown in, doesn’t compare to the puddle of snow we get back in Tayen!”

He studied her carefully for a moment, tapping his finger on his chin as he did. Eventually, he arrived at a discovery and smiled at his findings. “…you are absurdly cute right now.” Night decided.

“Night?” she growled.

“I’m so glad we booked separate rooms from the kids.”

“Night?”

“I can’t wait to get back inside our suite.” he said, saucily.

“Night?”

“Although, I don’t think I can wait that long to get inside of you, love.” he whispered.

“…I’m going to bite you.” she warned.

“Sweetheart, please…not in front of the children.” he said, with a seductive wink. “But,” he started, leaning in closer to whisper, “once we get back to the room, you can bite me anywhere and everywhere you want.” he said, licking her neck before biting it gently, causing her to gasp and jump at his subtly erotic foreplay.

When she opened her mouth to protest, he took the opportunity to capture her lips, kissing her slowly and deeply. Her breath hitched, arousing him even more which served only to intensify the magnitude of his already burning ardor. But, before he could lose himself completely, he remembered where he was and whose juvenile company he kept. Reluctantly, he ended their sensual play, sighing heavily.

“It actually physically pains me to say this,” he grumbled, “but, we will definitely have to pick up from here, later.”

Though out of breath, Mhina giggled. “See, that’s what you get for teasing your wife.”

“Sweetheart, I get that just by thinking of you.” he replied.

“You…huh?” she asked, puzzled.

“Exactly. And on that note, we need to trade.” he said, handing their sleeping child to her and taking the coats she had accumulated. Slowly, he got up and held the collection of outerwear in front of him, closely against his waist.

Mhina studied him for a moment, then arched a brow and grinned.“Husband,” she began, “if you let go of those coats—“

“They would not fall to the floor.” he finished. “Not even close.”

She rolled her eyes and smirked. “Do we need to go upstairs to…to let our sleeping child, sleep?”

“Immediately would be best.”

She smiled and shook her head. “…naughty.”

“I will be once we get the kids upstairs.” he said, his voice barely a whisper.

“What was that?” she teased.

“I said, we should let our son get a little rest before we head off for dinner.” he said, hastily.

“And we should get this coat off of him before it gets too…hot, right?” she grinned.

Night said nothing, but offered her his cheekiest, sauciest half-smile, before turning and heading for the stairs.

Mhina chuckled as she picked up her sleeping child. “We should get your brothers from the milk bar.” she said to Tod. “We will let Kit sleep for a bit, then we can all come down for dinner.”

“And you and Night can have sexy time.” the boy added, with a gleeful smirk.

“Get your tail up, my little know-it-all!” she laughed, scooting the giggling child up from his seat. She watched him dash over to his lupine siblings and adjusted her sleeping son at her shoulder. Laughing to herself, she walked over to the bar to join her children, knowing that once they were settled in their room, she could join her husband in theirs…for a little “sexy time”.