Coming together

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#1 of Merging coats


Came up with a short story about a Jaguar who is taken far from his home by a Condor. Was just going to have it at the one off but thought I'd give a series a last crack at.

High above in the clear blue sky and snowy mountains, a condor screeched it's call as a small furred figure dangled in its talons. "Let go of me bird brain or I swear my mother will rip and tear all your feathers out!" the spotted furball yowled as he thrashed and squirmed in the Condor's clutches.

"Go ahead, keep that up and plummet to your death for all I care. I have young to feed and your furred hide will do nicely. And don't count on your mother to come to the rescue. Last I saw of her she was been picked clean by some of my kin after a scrap with a bear left her a sliced open corpse. Pity I was too late but I get something out of it," squawked the feathered scavenger as she flew in the direction of its nest.

The little Jaguar cub sniffed and ceased it's wriggling, he knew what had happened but had hoped the condor hadn't seen that so he could use it as a threat. "So there you have it. You have nothing else to live for so just give it up. You either fill hatchlings stomachs or starve to death and then you really will be worthless". The cub just hung limp as they flew, knowing there was truth in the condor's words. He would not survive at just three months old alone.

"Hey, nothing against you squirt. It is just the way life works, you would learn that if you live long enough to appreciate that. Anyway if ya like I can kill you just as we land to save the pain of been torn by hungry hatchlings?" The condor said in a casual tone to which the cub paid no attention to.

As they neared the nest, the spotted cub closed its young blue eyes as it tried to block out the fear, the cubs little heart hammering as death closed in on him. A sudden squawk of alarm jolted the cub back to his senses. "My nest!" the condor squawked as it saw the nest in shambles and the lower torso of a half-eaten hatchling.

Screaming out in fury, the condor flung the young cub in rage. Giving a mewling cry of fright, the cub was sent hurtling through the air before with a roar and snap of teeth he was caught by his scruff just before the mountain face. Cracking an eye open, he twisted his head this way and that before craning his head up to see his rescuer.

A large feline held the cub in her jaws, its hazel eyes narrowed in anger and a snarl bubbling in her throat. Her coat was a sandy colouration with a reddish hint like the red mountains, a black smear that ran round the muzzle and the rest of the underbelly fur a cream colouration that ran from belly to lower jaw. Dropping the cub on the floor she snarled at the condor "how does it feel you filthy buzzard?!" She cried out. "Not so nice when it is your own taken is it?"

"Ooh why you, you flea ridden pile of. Squawk!" It suddenly cried as the puma gave an impossible leap, her claws just brushing it's feathers as the condor beat a hasty retreat. "Show yourself again and I will do more than take a clawful of feathers from your hide!" She threatened with bared teeth to back her threat up.

She was...a work of art. There was nothing else to describe her. She was so beautiful yet deadly and refined. Her thick fur and that face, and the power in her leap! The puma turned her head away and pawed at a corpse that seemed to have a familiar feline shape to it.

The cub approached the beautiful puma as she growled mournfully at seeing the half eaten corpses "where those...your cubs?" He said in a squeak of a voice, crouching as he tried to be as submissive for the larger feline.

"Just leave me be cub...go find your mama," she growled, not wanting to meet his young face.

"I-I am not a cub, I have a name," he said, suddenly feeling upset at the rejection. "My name is Nahuel and my mother is dead! So I have no where to go to".

"I am sorry to hear that little cub, but I am not ready to take on another right now. Just as you are grieving for your mother I am still grieving for my cubs. Maybe you can find another down in the jungle to adopt you?"

"But, but if I try to make it on my own I am sure to be eaten again," the cub mewled and tried to get closer to the female puma.

"Kid...the wild is cruel and unforgiving. It is survival of the strongest and if you don't go right now I shall show you what that means," the female said, bearing her teeth in a snarl that seemed to lack any real threat.

"So...is that why your cubs died, because they were not strong enough due to been newborns?" the cub said, glaring through angry eyes at the large cat.

"HOW DARE YOU?!" She roared out. Ears flat and teeth snapping as she pounced the frightened cub who just had enough wits to jump out the way before turning tail and fleeing.

*

"Uuh, so hungry..." Nahuel groaned as he lay on the dusty rock. He had tried going into the jungle, but before he had even set foot into the trees a snake had tried eating him. He knew he would not even last a day never mind the months it would require of him to become strong enough. So he retreated back to the dry, hot mountain.

He had a little to drink from a dirty pool but as far as food went, all the little cub had been able to kill in the past two weeks were bugs and the one small rodent that had proven to be only two bites. Not a substantial diet for any growing cub.

Nahuel stayed a respective distance from the Puma, staying further down the mountain and using a crevice for shelter from the heated sun. "I can't go on like this, it is so hard to find the energy to hunt anymore," he mewled as he lay in the increasingly tight den due to his growth.

Above him on a ledge that overlooked his den the puma lay curled up. Her tail beat a steady rhythm against the dry rocks in thought. She knew she would be sentencing the cub to death if she didn't intervene. Her motherly instincts tugged at her to pick him up and protect him. Could she really stand the heartache again though if she got emotionally involved?

Hearing the Jaguar cub's weak mewl tore at her as surely as another's claws at her heart. Raking her claws over the round, gritting her teeth she made her mind up. She had to try, she couldn't let the cub perish this way.

Seeing a beetle scurry over the rock, Nahuel tried to muster up the energy to pounce the shiny insect. Squeezing from the crack he was in, he gave a half hearted leap and missed the beetle by a good bit. "What's the use, I am going to starve one way or the other".

His eyes slowly began to close, deciding he would rather let the sun finish him before a shadow blocked the sun's rays out. "Well, maybe you should follow me then and get something to eat eh cub?" The puma smiled in front of the cub.

Falling back in fright, the Jaguar cub made to retreat. He had never even heard her approach him. He couldn't trust her, she may eat him if she was hungry after the way she had treated him. "Where do you think you are going cub?" She growled as she easily caught up with him and grabbed him by the scruff.

"Let me go, Let me GO!" He cried as he squirmed and thrashed about in her muzzle. "You can eat me once I perish okay?"

"Hm? No thanks, I don't think I would enjoy your taste cub," she mumbled round the thrashing cub who quickly quietened for lack of energy to keep up his squirming.

As she made her way to a little rough cave in the rock, a journey that would have taken an hour for the little cub covered in just a few minutes. "Are you doing this out of pity?" the cub said sullenly as she planted him in the cooler, much more comfortable space of the small cave.

"Partly, but mostly...because I can't stand the thought of letting another cub die when I can do something about it," she said with a far off look in her hazel eyes.

Laying down onto her side, the puma rolled over to expose her belly "I have no food. But...I still have a bit of milk from my..." she cut off, unable to finish her sentence due to the still sharp pain it caused her at the thought.

"You want me...to drink your milk at nearly four months?" He said incredulously as he stared at the still swollen teats.

"Or you can starve, choice is yours" she said before laying down casually, a carefree flick of her tail indicating he could do what he wanted.

The cub stared at her teat lined belly, his stomach growling in hunger as he warred with himself what to do. Suddenly images of his mother flashed through his mind which proved to be the final straw. He just wanted that comforting feeling returned. Even if they would only be together until he got what little strength he had back.

Padding up to her, he felt security envelope him as Nahuel felt the heat from her belly. Placing a small mouth on her teat, he hesitated as he heard a slight intake of breath from her before he discarded any caution. His stomach was painfully hungry and would be thankful for any food now.

Trying his best to mind his teeth, the Jaguar cub began suckling gently on a teat. At first nothing came out, pausing in his suckling he made to withdraw his muzzle before he felt a tongue on his skull. "Keep going, something will come I know," the puma said in what was a very distinctive motherly voice.

Obliging her, Nahuel continued before his eyes went wide as a thin stream of milk streamed down his throat. Instincts taking over, he nestled closer to her and began suckling in earnest as the felines milk began to flow more freely.

Sighing happily as she felt him settle into drawing her milk from her body as she began grooming her...the cub. She had to remember that he was not her cub, no matter how close she felt or how much she wanted that feeling returned. "My name is Swiftpaw since I never gave you my name. But what are you doing here cub? I know of jaguars but they do not live around here".

He didn't answer for a while as he was lost in the sensation of her milk. It tasted so much richer and creamier then his mothers...his REAL mothers he reminded himself. Pausing when no more could be drawn out, he looked at her with those still kitten blue eyes of his. "Me and my mother were being transported from what humans call a wildlife park. There was an...accident where the metal box on wheels we were in hit something and we were flung from the back that had not been secured properly. My mother said it was the best thing for us to be wild, that instinct would take over and we would have a freer life than under humans control. She...was killed within three days and I was taken by that condor".

The cub began sniffing, a mewl of misery coming from his muzzle at the thought. They would have been safe and his mother still alive if they were still with the humans. His cries were silenced however as his mo...Swiftpaw lapped at his face with her rough pink tongue. "Shh, I am so sorry little one. I know we are of different coats, but I will do the best I can to look after you. For now you need to fill your belly and get your strength back".

A few more laps of her tongue at his head had Nahuel purring softly before absently seeking another teat out and resuming his nursing. It was an odd hand fate had dealt the pair of felines. But they would help each other out with their losses.

*

The following day, Nahuel woke up to a warm wet tongue at his face "mmh, moooom it is too early" he mumbled before opening his kitten blue eyes to see a face that wasn't his mother. "Aah!" he cried, falling onto his back in surprise before remembering the events.

Giving a soft purr, Swiftpaw pulled him close to her to comfort him "I'm sorry I startled you Nahuel. You seemed like you were having a dream".

"I...was having a dream" he muttered, casting his gaze towards the ground "it was...of my mother. My real mother".

"I'm sorry little one, I really don't know what I can do to help there. I know she was your mother, but I swear I will do all in my power to ease your pain". Swiftpaw tried to sound confident and reassuring despite her own memories that surfaced each time she looked at her adopted cub. "Come on Nahuel, I don't know how your kind hunts but I will show you how we Puma's go about it" she said, her stomach answering with a hungry growl.

Nahuel lay on top of a rocky outcrop, stifling a yawn of boredom as he tried to watch his adopted mother stalk a deer. She told him he had to watch if he was to survive alone some day. "Is she mad? No way can she take that deer that is larger than she is" he thought to himself.

Creeping on the brick red rocks with her body close to the ground, he noticed how she seemed to blend in so well with her reddish coat of fur. She was so silent it was as if she were floating on air, her foot falls so perfectly quiet before she made the final pounce.

Swiftpaw flung herself at the deer, landing on it's back before sliding her head round to bite down hard on the throat. A bleated cry from the young deer sounded, followed by a mad frenzy as he tried to shake the hunter off it's back before the deer's breathing laboured and then stopped all together with the pair sliding to the floor. "Wow, that was so awesome mother!" Nahuel cried out. He couldn't believe that she had taken down such a large prey with so much skill.

"Oh, what did you just call me, son?" Swiftpaw purred with a smile on her muzzle and a happy twitch of her tail.

Nahuel felt his fur rise in a feline blush "I-I didn't mean that. I mean...shut up" he grumbled, looking sourly away, ears half flat. He felt Swiftpaw's amber eyes bore into him, a sad growl coming from her.

"Well...anyway let's eat up before others try and take our kill Nahuel" she said in a flat voice.

Nodding mutely, Nahuel trotted slowly up to the kill and tried taking a bite of flesh out as his mother began gorging on the other side of the deer. Tearing into the stomach and intestines in quick time. But Nahuel was struggling, he was after all only three and a half so was struggling to rip into the tough skin.

Rolling her eyes at he adopted cubs struggle, Swiftpaw tore a piece off and dropped it in front of him, purring happily as Nahuel dove in with relish. "This could work" she murmured contentedly as she watched him.

"You say anything mum?" Nahuel said in a curious voice, looking up with a bit of blood on his muzzle from his food. Minus his markings he was so much like her cubs.

"Nothing Nahuel" Swiftpaw said with a sad smile before diving into her food. Preferring not to say any more on the subject.

Dragging their kill back to the den, a contented Nahuel rolled about on his back happily with a full stomach and a happy purr. Swiftpaw couldn't help but wonder, had he called her mum by accident or was he accepting her as his mother. "So son, feeling better with a full stomach are we?" she asked in a casual voice.

"Son, where did that come from?" he squeaked as he stopped in grooming his fur.

"So...it was an accident then wasn't it?" Swiftpaw said sadly, her ears drooping and long tail dropping to the floor in hurt. "You...called me mother earlier on. When we was eating".

"I did...wait, that was an accident. I mean, you and I know we are not really related and look at our coats. I thank you for taking me in but I can't think of you as my actual mother".

"I...see..." Swiftpaw growled lowly, twisting her head away as though his comments had been a claw to her face. "Out coats shouldn't matter Nahuel, we are both of the same species. Please...try and give me a chance" Swiftpaw's voice took on a begging quality.

"I don't know I...I just want my real mother back. You are a nice feline but I can't...I just don't know" Nahuel mewled out in confusion.

Swiftpaw felt guilt wash over herself. Her desperation to replace what she had lost was getting the better of her and the young cub would still be confused. "I'm sorry Nahuel...please, forget what I said," her voice took on a motherly tone, hoping to sooth the cub.

"No, get away from me! Get away, get away, get away! I have already lost one mother I don't want to make another just to lose again!" Nahuel cried out, dodging under her paws and shooting out of the den.

"NAHUEL!!" Swiftpaw cried as she gave chase after him. "Stupid cub get back here!" Swiftpaw yowled out as he climbed the rocks after the frantic cub. Fear fuelling his limbs as she saw his tail disappear over the edge.

A sudden cry from him made her freeze. Followed by a frantic climb for fear of his safety. She would never forgive herself if he ended up another corpse due to her lack of thinking.

Scrambling to the top, she paused at the scene. "Blood, what are you doing here?" Swiftpaw growled out, haunching for action as she saw a Puma she knew. A blood red furred, one eyed large puma who was casually stepping on Nahuel.

"Well I saw this strange little intruder and thought he would make for a good snack" he said with a look of indifference, hardly needing to exert himself in keeping the squirming cub pinned down under a large paw.

"Let...go of me!" Nahuel cried out as he sunk his sharp little teeth into his paw, making the puma known as blood cry out in pain.

"Why you fucking runt!" he roared as he put his weight onto the cub and made him mewl in pain.

"Get off of him you piece of dog turd!" Swiftpaw roared as she threw herself into him, knocking the larger male back but managing to keep upright.

"You would defend a cub that isn't even of our kind?!" Blood growled with a venomous look in his one good eye.

"Yes, he is my cub and I will defend him to the death" Swiftpaw spoke fearlessly in front of the much larger male as she stepped in front of Nahuel to shield him.

"Very well, so you have chosen your fate. If ever our path shall cross again, I will forget you are even a puma and kill you both on sight" Blood said in a cold tone before stalking off. "Better not let me catch you on MY mountain again" he said with a final look over his shoulder at the pair.

"N-no. This is Swiftpaw's..." Nahuel began before the female puma put a paw in front of him.

"That's enough, we would just be killed as we are by him. Let us go, my son" she said, making sure he was right in front of her and the blood fur coloured puma kept in her sight as they left.

As they made their way off the mountain that had been Swiftpaw's home since birth, the guilt clawed at the poor little cub as they entered the jungle. "Why?!" Nahuel exploded when he could no longer bear the weight of guilt any longer. "Why did you throw away your home and life for me?"

"Because I would not, and could not bear to see another cub taken from me. And I have become very fond of you in the short time we have known each other my son".

Swiftpaw's voice was soft and filled with conviction as she spoke. Nahuel felt as though a barrier had suddenly shattered round his heart. "Mother" Nahuel said softly, and with a voice that spoke of love this time instead of instinct as he rubbed his small body up to hers.

Pausing, Swiftpaw stared at her adopted cub as he skipped and trotted ahead of her before smiling at the wide, blue eyed stare back of joy. "This will work," she thought with a lift of her heart as they both ventured into the depths of the jungle.

*

A year went by with Swiftpaw teaching Nahuel the basics of hunting. When the cub became a juvenile he would often complain how her way was wrong and that she needed to go for the skull with her jaw. First of all she had dismissed it as a silly cubs inexperience, but when he kept commenting on how it didn't feel right to him, she decided to let him do it his way.

Needless to say she was more than a bit surprised as she witnessed the growing jaguar's power as he broke through a young deer's skull with ease with his increasingly powerful jaws. The sight inspired a slight amount of fear and...another feeling she shouldn't have for her adopted cub. "Nahuel, I have to say that I am very impressed on your power," Swiftpaw said with pride in her voice.

Coming off his downed prey Nahuel walked up to his mother with pride, licking the blood off his muzzle. It was a year since she had adopted him and she couldn't help admire his body. The small markings had spread to form large rosette markings along a long and thick, muscled orange coat. His fur fading to white under the belly and chest that ran to cover the lower jaw. He was just so handsome it made Swiftpaw feel so bland and dull with her own unmarked pelt. And another feeling that she was trying to block out, a feeling she couldn't give in to. "Thank you so much mother, I am happy you approve," he said with a look of pride on his handsome feline face. He rubbed up to her, his body almost double in size to the Puma's as he took care not to knock her over.

"It has been a year since we found each other and over the months I have watched you grow so powerful and handsome my son. Soon...we shall have to part ways".

"Oh mother, we will always be joined in spirit. Even when we part ways we will always remember each other," Nahuel said in a deep voice. His slender spotted tail wafting happily as they rubbed muzzles, the pair of felines sighing in contentment with each other.

That night as the adopted pair lay side by side, curled up to each other in the shelter of a hollow log. Nahuel silently and carefully stalked away from her. He knew they would have to leave soon but he could not do so. Not until she could go back home and for that... "I am coming for you Blood," he growled as he made his way to the red mountain in the distance.

Wandering the mountain of where he had lived for a short time of his life seemed a lot easier than he remembered. Covering terrain that would have taken him a day took him just a short while. "I guess things have really changed since last I was here" he thought to himself as he neared the old den of Swiftpaws.

"Who goes there?!" a savage voice growled out. "Oh, I see it is you alien," Blood chuckled, a nasty glint in his one good eye that spoke of evil. His chuckle turned even more derisive as Nahuel gave him a quizzical look at the alien word. "You are the alien, you are not supposed to be here and do you know what happens to them?" Blood stepped on a large bug with an audible crack "they get killed!"

"Really? Well from what I recall this den was my mother's and not yours originally. You think your size and strength can be used to get what you want but tell me. Do you still hold the bigger claw?" Nahuel snapped his teeth with a loud echo, making a show of the amount of muscles in his muzzle "or the stronger bite?"

"Bah, you are not worth it. You are still just a little cub with no idea," Blood grumbled as he turned his back to walk back inside his stolen den.

"Wait, you are going-Raaarw!" he roared out as Blood suddenly made a sharp turn and pounce onto him, pinning him in an awkward position.

"Stupid! You have to learn there is more to battle then raw strength," Blood growled and sunk his teeth into Nahuel as he just twisted his neck away in time for the puma to bite into his ear.

Giving a deafening roar of pain as his ear was bitten through, the pain gave Nahuel strength enough to throw him off of him and break his grip, tearing a good chunk of his ear with him.

Lowering his head from the pain as a thick glob of blood ran down his head, Nahuel had to channel his pain into rage to avoid his lethal claws as Blood tried again and again to get at his throat for a decisive kill.

Upon another swipe, Nahuel didn't step back but leaned to one side. Quick as a thought he darted his head out on his long, strong neck and grasped Blood's paw in his jaws. Those same jaws that could penetrate through a hard skull.

"NO!" Blood cried before a blood curdling cry of pain rung throughout the red mountain range, a sickening crunch following in it's wake.

Crimson red blood spilled from Nahuel's wide muzzle and spilled from the mangled limb of Blood's right foreleg as he made a high pitched mewling noise. "What have you done?!" Blood cried out, his eyes blazing with mixed anger and pain. His red fur around his ruined paw turning a deeper shade as the blood stained the fur.

"Please, I don't want to kill another feline. Go now whilst you still have your life Blood," Nahuel said as he spat the blood from his muzzle onto the ground beside him. His ears sank at what he had done, and the sound of the bone crunching beneath his jaws along with the male puma's look of horror as he followed through the act.

"No, I will fight you until my last breath you intruder! You and that disgrace of a puma you call a mother. I will kill you. Kill you BOTH!" Blood roared, his eyes shrinking to slits and rage took a firm grip.

Leaping at Nahuel, the larger jaguar stood there, willing to accept what was coming. He couldn't bring himself to kill another feline, he just couldn't. "Wuh!" He grunted as Swiftpaw came from nowhere and shunted him out of the way just in time for the enraged puma to land on his chest. His one good fore leg unable to support his momentum and weight as he landed.

"Blood, that is enough" Swiftpaw said, her fangs bared and ears plastered against her skull as she stood in front of Nahuel.

"Mother..." Nahuel said, utterly at a loss for words.

"Having you as my mate and birthing those cubs was the worst mistake I ever made. I hope a human hunter finds you two and hangs you on a wall!" He spat.

"You may have been the first to sire my cubs, but they are gone now. Nahuel is my cub, the fur does not matter. I could not be any prouder of a son of mine, and you brought this upon yourself Blood. Go now, away from my mountain," she said.

Nahuel was in awe, he had never heard his mother speak with such authority before and strength. She seemed to have finally regained a fire that seemed to have been doused upon losing her original cubs.

"You will never give birth to another actual puma cub again you silly bitch. Most of our kind have been hunted from these mountains now. So die alone for all I care. No, the both of you deserve each other. Two pathetic...Rarrgh" he roared as Nahuel tackled him, causing the bully to tumble down the rocks with cries and curses.

"Nahuel..." Swiftpaw said softly, and when he turned to see her, he could see her eyes bright and shimmering with emotions.

"Mother..." Nahuel spoke softly to her, his heart feeling troubled and lost as to what he could do. His tail lashed and his ears flicked in thought.

"No, Nahuel. There is nothing you can do. I am...all alone. But I will always have you in my heart my son," Swiftpaw said with a forced twist of her muzzle. But her tail betrayed her feelings at it trailed the red, dusty rock. Shaking her head to clear it, Swiftpaw began lapping at his torn ear with the delicate touch only a mother could manage.

"Mother..." Nahuel said again as he closed his eyes, feeling the pain recede to a mild throb. His heart beat in his white furred chest, his emotions ran deeper than just as a son to her. He could smell it, the heat she was trying to hold back. "Mum, how long have you been in heat?" He gasped as the scent seemed to start something, it triggered instincts laying dormant until now. He poked his muzzle under her tail, only for her to growl.

"No" Swiftpaw gasped, jumping back away from him. "Nahuel...stay back, please!" She said in a panicked voice. "Just go away, leave me," her voice was so filled with fear that Nahuel backed off. He didn't want to lose her. But he couldn't help it, this feeling inside. He wanted her to be his mate.

"Mother...Swiftpaw, would it be so wrong if we did mate?" He asked tenderly at her. Approaching her as he tried to keep his thoughts still and clear.

"Please...Nahuel, leave me. I don't want to think of you as another male I mated with just to lose my only cub I ever, and will ever have. I can't raise a cub normally," Swiftpaw cried, turning to bolt away.

Nahuel suddenly had a flashback, this was so similar to how he had behaved before. And he knew in her panic she could stumble into trouble. "Swiftpaw, enough!" Nahuel shouted, pouncing her from behind.

The addled puma cried in alarm and opened her muzzle to roar out a threat, only for the jaguar's large paws to wrap round her muzzle to silence her. "Ssh mother, do you scent it?" he whispered.

She could indeed scent something, but it was alien to her. It smelled faintly of an ape, but there was that many alien scents caught in it she didn't know what to make of it. "Humans mother, they are trying to wipe us out to protect their own food supply. I remember the stink from the time I was round them as a cub," he said lowly.

Getting up off of Swiftpaw, she steadily stood up. She could hear them, their boots crunching and the clink of something metal. Looking up at the sky, it reminded her of her own Nahuel's innocent blue eyes as a cub. "Nahuel...run. I will not allow them to take you".

"No mother, I will not!" Nahuel said in defiance before the puma began snapping, clawing and driving him back until he fell off a ledge. Twisting round in mid-air, he landed on his paws and gazed up through anger filled eyes. "MUUUM!" he cried out, followed soon after by a shot.

Blind panic had him scrabbling up the cliff edge "she can't be dead, she can't be dead" he thought as fear clawed his mind.

Springing up to the top, he paused. There in front of him lay the red furred puma Blood, a quick glance told him he had been shot. And further up, his mother had a human in a death bite, his body twitching as he bled out around her muzzle. A second human had a rifle pointed her way as she kept a weary eye. Her eyes filled with a loathing and hatred Nahuel didn't think possible.

And there he saw it, a glint of a gun barrel from further up on another ledge whilst the other kept her distracted from looking.

Quietly sneaking round to the back, he made his way up quickly and quietly. He could not let up on his position as he kept his claws sheathed with an effort. Hopping to the top, Nahuel took one step, just before the hunter's attuned hearing heard the soft *click* sound of small stones the Jaguar accidentally kicked up. Whipping round faster then Nahuel would credit him for, he fired off a round that he just had time enough to evade.

Down on the ground, the one stalling Swiftpaw tore his gaze away from his would-be second trophy for the day. Which was a fatal mistake. With a vengeful roar, she tore his throat open, the man falling to the ground with his hands round his throat as he gave a gurgle of shock.

The same time, hearing his friend's death scream had the hunter lose his nerve. Fleeing from them and dropping his gun to lighten his load he was still no match for the two felines as they pounced him. Nahuel crushing his skull and Swiftpaw sinking her teeth into his soft neck with a gurgle. His struggles were over almost instantly.

"Mother...how did Blood get shot?" Nahuel said hesitantly, whiskers drooping at seeing their once enemy dead. It just didn't seem right for a warrior to die like that, in disgrace. And he had lent to it with the wound he gave him.

"He...warned me about the humans, just to be shot as soon as he gave the warning," the female puma said. Every bit of her dust red coloured fur shaking with a mix of anger, sorrow and adrenalin.

Looking at her with sadness and then to Blood, Nahuel felt something welling up within him. Before he could help himself he sat on his haunches, threw back his head and roared loud and triumphant.

Staring at him, his adopted mother smiled sadly before sitting next to him, closing her eyes and joined in with her own, less audible roar.

As the echoes of their roars reverberated round mountains, Nahuel opened up his yellow feline eyes to look at his mother. He felt his heart ache at seeing her with her head bowed and looking so forlorn. His ears pricked as she spoke with her brown furred head bowed "Nahuel...Blood was our enemy. But he was the only male at the time to conquer me and take me as his mate. And if it was true what he said, I am truly alone now," her sorrow filled voice made something snap inside of Nahuel. He didn't see her as his mother. Yes he was her son still, but he loved her. And not just for the heat scent emanating from her. He knew his feelings were genuine, from her thick pelt of fur to her beautifully black marked muzzle, to her sweet and caring side she tried to hide.

"Swiftpaw...you have me still. I am not a puma yes, but I am your cub and this we will always be as one" he said softly. "Swiftpaw please, open your heart more to me".

He placed one paw to step towards her when she bared her teeth at him "Nahuel we can't. Please understand that!" she snarled. Her heat was starting to mess with her head as his scent filled her nose, his handsome looks filling her vision but he seemed undeterred by her warning.

"Attack me then. Drive me off if you really feel that way. My instincts cry out, my heart wants you. I was always awed by you as a cub at your grace, your strength and beauty. Now I can't deny it now I am reaching my first season. I want you Swiftpaw. As mother, and mate".

His voice...she never knew he could be so charming and pulling. His deep, purring voice filled her head. Her tail thrashed and her heart sung. She couldn't... "I can't...I" Her excuse fell to pieces as he crossed necks and rubbed muzzles with her.

That was it, her mind screamed she wanted every inch of her handsome male. She wanted to feel his strong, large body. And she wanted to bring cubs as handsome as their father into this world. Rubbing her body down his entire length, she gave a deep purr of lust for him. "I can no longer fight it Nahuel, please. I-I need you. You are still my handsome adopted son but I want you to be the sire of my next litter".

Her voice took on an increasingly husky undertone, an inviting purr thrummed in her chest and she rubbed her head underneath his larger head.

Her scent, god it was heavenly. He loved her dearly before but now he knew that was just a shadow of his true feelings for her. Smiling, his spiny penis hardening he rubbed past her again. He wanted to get to the source of the smell and it was coming from her rear.

Ducking his head underneath her tail, he heard Swiftpaw ask what he was doing before her question was answered for her as she felt his rough tongue run across her feline vagina. "Mmh, what are you doing?" she moaned. Her only other experience had been just roughly taken and filled with cubs. This was something different from mating with Blood.

"You just smelled so nice I-I had to get to taste what it was like," Nahuel said with his face fluffing out. His voice had taken on a shy quality as he didn't know if he was doing wrong. "Shall I stop?" he said in an unsure voice.

His answer came from a flirting look over Swiftpaws's furred shoulder and backed up into him. Nahuel's eyes going wide, he gave a small huff of happiness before slurping along her tight birthing hole.

Hazel eyes widening and tongue poking out in pleasure, Swiftpaw closed them and panted and moaned with every slurp across her feline sex. "Ah, Nahuel...that feels so different. Keep it up my cub," she panted, her tail and back arching widely as the more he licked her the more aroused she became.

This close to her originating heat scent and her strong taste had his feline penis raging hard and begging to e burried deep in her cub making hole. Pulling away, he wiped his muzzle and licked his chops clean of her damp sex fluids. Hearing his mother's moan of disappointment he gave a deep throated chuckle at her need. "Soon mother," he rumbled, leaning round with his muzzle and lapping her beautifully, black patterned muzzle.

Her nose picked up her scent from off his muzzle, flicking her rough feline tongue out in instinct she tasted her own heat laced fluids on her muzzle. Eyes going wide at the taste, her body seemed to kick into another gear she had not experienced. "Nahuel...please. I..." she shuddered and purred part way as a shiver of pleasure ran through her "need you. Right now!"

She was acting like a first time female in heat Nahuel thought happily to himself. He was happy he could make his mother feel such sensations for all Swiftpaw had done for him. "Gladly, mother," he said. His voice trying to imitate her purr but came out in a needy growl. Rubbing and circling her body again. His full, furred balls and penis making a show of bouncing around as he swayed his hips to bump her. The sight made Swiftpaw nearly cry out with the need to have the inferno inside her quenched.

Slowly, Nahuel mounted her from behind. His square jaw opening as he panted as his cock bumped and trailed along her fur as he tried to position himself. The size difference between them was making it awkward for him to find a suitable position for the pair to mate. "Maybe...this will help?" Swiftpaw panted as she lowered her front so her chest was touching the ground and her rump was high in the air.

Her tail lifted and swollen sex exposed was all the invite Nahuel needed.

He practically rammed his rod home in her, crying out as new feelings and sensations crashed over him. She was so hot and wet, he slid in without hurting her despite his feline rod being longer and bigger than a puma's. "Ohh Swiftpaw, that is incredible. I-I never thought I could feel so alive!" He cried out as a euphoric feeling overtook him.

"Less talk, get thrusting cub!" She growled as she felt her need to be filled reach its peak. She had to have him, even whilst lost in his first ever mating he looked heart stopping handsome. And his length...god of the wild, if only all puma's could be as well endowed.

Pulling hips back, he started thrusting in and out instinctively with wet slapping motions. His balls so much bigger than a normal puma male's smacked into her cream furred belly. The amount of lubrication causing him to glide in and out before his spines took a grip of her tight tunnel.

The feeling of her adopted son's spines gripping her soft flesh sent her spiralling to her peak. Her walls convulsed and clenched before she had an orgasm the likes she had never had in her life.

Her heated tunnel's clenching and growls of pleasure was enough to push Nahuel over the limit almost the same time his adopted mother orgasmed. Throwing his head backwards he roared as he loosed a torrent of fertilizing seed deep into her. His balls going taught as he emptied his furred sack of seed.

Instinct took over as Nahuel gripped Swiftpaw by her nape and held himself inside of her for as long as they could. "Ah yesss, breed me my son!" Swiftpaw moaned as she rested her head on the hard ground as her big, strong adopted son took her in true mating style. The feeling was so addictive, the feeling of been taken so thoroughly and filled with so much feline meat.

Panting, saliva dripping from his muzzle Nahuel finally pulled out. What had seemed an age had in fact been just mere minutes as he felt his energy all spent. "How did that feel...mother?" Nahuel panted, tired but with a strange feeling of fulfilment and happiness.

"That was wonderful my son," she purred happily as the pair of oddly matched felines rubbed necks and savoured the feeling together. "My son...when you find a mate of your own, I just know you will make her a very happy feline".

"Mother...Swiftpaw. I don't want to leave your side, I want to be here to see our cubs and protect you. I love you" Nahuel said, his voice catching in his throat as a mournful growl leaked out. "Won't you be lonely been the last puma on these mountains?"

"I will have our cubs to keep me company Nahuel, and I will make sure that they grow up big and strong just as I did for you. Even though we are mates, you are still my handsome adopted son and that is why I want you to find your own kind".

"Mother, if I go searching for my own kind we will never meet again. You...are okay with that?" Nahuel said as he started to feel a tightening in his furred chest. Swiftpaw nodded but her face betrayed her own inner struggle "well I don't want to" he said with a mournful voice.

"You will never be lost to me, you are even now coming alive inside me. I can feel it, your new life starting to form inside. This must be, for both of us. I will drive you off if need be but please...I beg that you do not make me resort to that".

Nahuel's ears seemed to flatten through his fur as he felt the urge to challenge her with that. He had grown so close, she was everything to his world. So what if he was nearly fully grown? He wanted to be by her side and... He paused as he glanced to his side and looked at his reflection before his mother walked beside him, their reflections in stark contrast.

"See son, we need to be with our own kind. I know what it is I want, but I want you to live as your kind should.

"Mother...you and I both know you will die here. Humans are starting to move in with their machines. You can hear it in the distance as well can't you?" Nahuel said. He knew she didn't...couldn't leave her home and wanted to spare her son from the fate.

"Swiftpaw...please travel with me then. We will find a new home for us both," Nahuel said with hope in his voice.

Shaking her head sadly, Swiftpaw pointed to their coats. "You will be fine to travel, but my coat will stand out easily in the jungle. I am trapped Nahuel, but you can escape. So please...escape and live for me".

"No! You will come with me. I will help you find a new home and I will protect you from anything and live as well" Nahuel growled, lowering himself as he readied himself to fight if needed. "You have taken such good care of me, I WILL return the favour and show you how deep our bond runs".

"Son..." Swiftpaw said in a whisper. The pair stood there as the sun reached it's peak in the heat of the day.

*

A pair of figures could be seen making their way through the jungle's undergrowth. A deep yellow/orange coat and a plain brown furred feline as alarms spread through the jungle from various herbivores.

The brown furred feline stood at a rare opening in the foliage, looking back at what had always been her home. "It is hard Nahuel...you have no idea how so" she said as though she were a tree been pulled up by the roots.

"Mother, it is for the best. You can give birth and raise your cubs in safety. I know it is hard" Nahuel walked to stand next to her, wrapping his slender spotted tail round her. "I promise you, this will work out".

Wordlessly she turned towards him, unable to find the words at having someone as wonderful as he. Licking him across his muzzle, she rubbed next to him before setting off. "Home...it is with you. It is with the new family we will start" she thought as the two raced through the jungle to search for a new life.