Aria

Kai sat up with Benji's help and breathed in as deeply as he could. Cyrus' punch did a number on him. He knew the old lion was a war hero and a masterful martial artist, but he didn't expect a blow of that force. It felt like a battering ram hit just under his chest. Had he not held back, surely Kai would have spent the next few days in an infirmary.

The tiger felt like a fool. He had rushed in without all of the information. Now he was on the ground experiencing a different kind of shame than took him on the dock earlier that morning. Could he have been decieved by his adoptive grandfather? Was this all a clever ruse by the Alexandrians to capture him after all these years? Who's voice said his birth name?

"Aria..bignes?" Kai coughed, a smattering of blood leaping from his throat.

"Cyrus, look what you have done. The poor thing is bleeding." said a woman's voice. She sounded concerned for his safety. That couldn't be. She was the enemy.

"Selene, I did what had to be done. The young warrior was baring his fangs at you. I couldn't let him carry out his assault." confessed Cyrus, his voice oddly frantic.

Selene? She was a large equine woman the same size as Cyrus with a brilliant black coat of hair and a silky purple robe. Her white mane flowed like water over her shoulders and down her back. Her eyes were a glimmering purple that were comforting just like her concerned expression. She was the matriarch of the Alexandrian clan of Equis and sister to the emporer himself, the Alexander. Kai knew that much for certain and it terrified him.

What was she doing here with Cyrus? It made no sense. Alexander had abused the good faith of his people to further a gross conquest of destruction and madness. He flew his ships over the Panterran continent and snuck vile monsters into Arslan. Standing in front of him was his elder sister. What dark magics did she possess? Should Kai turn tail or fight?

"Aria." a calm voice silenced the room. "I thought you were dead."

A lion man standing just behind Cyrus and Selene moved past them and kneeled down to Kai's level. He had a brilliant red mane with strange streaks of white permeating it. His face had a few scars and knicks. He wore a white robe laced with golden trim. Could it be him? No. No he was dead.

"Here." He lifted a white handkerchief up to Kai's mouth. "The last time I cleaned you up after a fight you were a lot more noisy than this, Aria."

The voice, the mane, the brilliant blue eyes. Kai wanted to cry out and shed a casscade of tears at the realization of who this was, but the pain in his core made it difficult to even breath. Two sparkling streams began to drip on the floor. The tiger warrior ignored the pain and lifted his two large arms which he wrapped around the entire body of the lion.

The two of them sat there for a brief moment before the lion chirped out, "You're crushing me."

Kai quickly released the lion and hung his head. "It's just.. I thought you were."

"Dead?" the lion replied. "I thought I was too until I was brought here."

The lion leaned forward and reached under the tiger's arms, carefully helping him to his feet. Kai watched as the lion looked past him and nodded at Benji as if to say thank you. Kai was then led over to the large table he had previously leaped over. The warrior was gently sat in a finely crafted wooden seat.

Kai looked up at the lion, still in disbelief that all of this was happening. He expected to one day find a grave with his name scrawled on it, not see him in the flesh looking healthy and safe. He reached a hand up and parsed it through the lions discolored mane.

"What happened to you, Arsames?" said Kai, bewildered.

"Nothing I could'nt handle." said Arsames back with a kind smile.

Benji, Selene, Cyrus, and Makani stared on as the two young men who sat across from each other for the first time in over a decade. They were two brothers seperated by dire circumstances. Those who had the power to bring them back together finally saw the fruits of their labor.

Arsames explained how he had been captured by the Alexandrian forces that breached the Castle of Arslan. He had been taken back to Xanthus where he was experimented on and tortured by a man know as the Mane Hunter, a general under Alexander's control. He thought that it was going to be the end of him until... His eyes then wandered up to Selene.

"She found a way to save me." Arsames said with an air of gratitude.

Kai looked across the table at the equine noble. It was a bizarre concpet to him that she would risk everything she had by betraying her brother, the emporer. She smiled back at him as sincerely as possible. It made Kai feel a spike of anxiety for his earlier effort to attack her.

"I apologize for the way I handled myself." Kai choked out, his lungs still slowly recovering.

"Forget all about it. If anyone deserves retribution for what my brother has done, it is me and mine." Selene responded.

Kai hoped this admission would make him feel better. Finally, there was some acknowledgement of wrongdoing by the very people who took everything from him and Arsames. It wasn't what he had envisioned. He had dreamed of seeing their blood spilled. He did not want to share breathe with one of them.

"Arsa... I'm so sorry I didn't come for you. I didn't have any way of knowing you were..." 

"Shh." Arsames answered before leaning forward to plant a kiss on Kai's forehead. "You're here now. That's what matters."

A kiss on the forehead was the last thing Kai did to Arsa before losing him 10 years ago. It was right as Arsa had to appear before his father and the emporer for the treaty of Terra. Kai was trying to comfort Arsa at the time and the lion was trying to do the same for him now. It soothed some of his anxieties.

"Dinner is served!" Makani exclaimed as he began to place platters of sweet smelling meat wrapped in leaves on the table. 

The fumes of the food snapped Kai and Arsa out of their moment together. The aroma attracted both of their noses to the table. The perfume of this meat was unique but the texture of the leaves looked different than anything Kai had eaten before. There were meals wrapped in seaweed served in Eon, but not leaves.

"It is called palusami, darlin" Benji said, sitting next to the tiger with beverages in his hands. "Enjoy." spoke the boar before sliding the drinks to the two feline men.

Kai lifted one of the wrapped treats into his mouth and downed it after a few munches. It had a vibrant taste and the sweet savory meat was to die for. His innards still felt jumbled after the altercation with Cyrus, but he needed to eat something. Kai quickly reached for the drink to help wash the food down. 

"Phew, what is this?" Kai muttered as the bitter drink slid into his gullet.

"Kava. It will help you feel better after the beating you took." Benji responded, tustling Kai's tuft of hair causing his cowlick to stand up.

"Ahh! Hey not the hair." Kai complained, lifting his arms to protect his head... "Ow ow ow!" Kai lurched a bit, feeling the pain in his stomach.

"Haha, who might this be Aria?" asked Arsa, curiously looking up at the boar.

"Aria?" Benji asked confused.

"Right." Kai said, looking between to the two of them. "I have something I need to tell you Arsa. I haven't gone by the name Ariabignes since that day 10 years ago. When I joined a warrior temple in Eon, I was baptized with the new name Kai..."

"Kai?" pondered Arsa. "It does suit you..."

"And this is Benjamin Gold. I'm sorry I didn't introduce him sooner. He went out of his way to bring me here to you." Kai explained.

"Thank you Benjamin.."

"Just call me Benji." Benji interrupted. "And it was no small thing transporting this hooligan, but I think I've grown attached to him."

The lion and boar laughed together. It brought a smile to Kai's face. This was something that had been rare over the past decade. He wanted to dwell in this moment forever.

"I think it would only be right if you called me Leo from here out then." Arsa remarked, turning to eat his food.

The air in the hut turned stiff and everyone grew quiet. Kai looked at Arsa's face in confusion. Leo was short hand for Leonis, a name given to the people of Arslan taken by the Alexandrian empire. It was a label, something the empire gave to everyone under its tutelage. Why would he want to be called that?

"You aren't the only one who spent the last 10 years under a different name." Arsa said a little dejected. "I'll wear this name as a badge of my people who were taken by the clutches of the empire into servitude. Not to mention, I'll need to blend in if I'm to go back into empire."

"Son, are you sure? You are free from that suffering now. There are other names you can take to conceal your identity." Cyrus rumbled from across the table.

"I'm sure." Leo answered, looking up from his dish. "It will be a daily reminder of my conviction to complete my current objective."

"Current objective?" Kai spoke, feeling as though he had missed something.

"Yes, but now is not the time to speak of that. After we finish this blessed meal, meet me in my quarters on the west side of the hut. We can catch up more there." Leo finished with half a palusami in his maw.

The rest of the meal at the Ali'i's table was relatively silent. Everyone sat in amazement at the choice made by the young prince Arsames to shirk his name for one that was forced on him. Things wouldn't be exactly the same between Arsa and Aria, brothers and sons of the Great King Darius. Their names were different now. They were fighting a battle that was bigger than either of them. No one knew what the future held for the people of Panterra.

***

Kai stood at Leo's door, nervously holding his hand inches from the wood. Deep down he felt like the brother he got back was no longer the same person he used to tease while they sat in their father's court. Things were somehow simpler back then despite the goings on of running an entire empire. Kai swallowed hard and kocked against the door. It immediately swung open as he did.

"Kai!" Leo exclaimed a bit too loud for the nightly hour. "Come in fast!" He shouted as he pulled the tiger into his room.

Leo's room was a uniquely decorated guest room within the Ali'i's hut. There was a neatly made bed against the wall just under an open window which was letting in a pleasant breeze. Leo pulled Kai over to this bed and the two sat down together.

Kai immediately saw a bizzarre contraption against the wall next to the door. He had seen a few before but never this closely. It was a mystic arm. A powerful weapon only wielded by those who have the profound knowledge and skill to directly attune to powerful draconian crystal. These were the same crystaline shards that powered the massive engine in Benji's ship. This one was in the shape of a rather large sword that was missing its edge.

"Where did you get that?" Kai questioned Leo.

"Oh that... Grandpa Cyrus provided me that one. It's a much nicer model than the ones I used back in Xanthus." Leo returned.

"Back in Xanthus? Why would they give you something like that? Please Arsa.. Leo. What's going on?" Kai pleaded.

Leo ran his cat like claws through his own mane, presenting the white strands of hair to Kai. He swiftly plucked a strand out and passed it to the tiger. Kai examined the shimmery length of hair. It felt strange.

"I underwent a special treatment in Xanthus that was greenlit by Alexander. They called it True Attunement and it was meant to make my body compatible with every mystic arm the empire produces. They tried to make me a soldier under their control. It would have worked to had it not been for Selene and her.. Nadia. My trainer." Leo finished.

"And that process did this to you?" Kai said, holding up the strand of hair.

"Yes. It did much worse to the others that were in the program. I got out lucky... but I'm proof that it can work. They flood your body with a liquid made of draconian crystals concentrated down. It was the worst pain I've ever fealt. The ones who didn't make it... their bodies would do this thing the scientists called carbuncling. Their whole bodies would start to crystalize until they couldn't breath and then..."

Kai reached for Leo and brought him close to his chest. Leo stopped talking and just sat there, looking across the room at the strange piece of equipment that started this trip down memory lane. Kai ran a hand through the lions mane. He could feel Leo shaking a bit in his arms.

"I'm here now. There won't be any carbuncling or empire torture while I'm around." Kai proclaimed.

"You always were irrationally positive when we were kids. I honestly hated that about you." Leo spoke into the soft fur of Kai's chest.

"And I hated how much extra sweets your mother gave you." Kai retorted.

The two of them released a few painful laughs as they sat intertwined with each other. Their lives had been altered forever in ways that can never be fixed. The Alexandrian empire in all their attempts to expand had scarred their existence. They had this moment together though. Alexander couldn't take that away from them.

"Kai?" Leo asked softly.

"What?" Kai responded.

"Can I kiss you?" The lion asked, turning to look at the tiger.

"OH.. of course." Kai forced through, desperation setting in. 

"I want to see something." Leo whispered before leaning in.

Leo's maw pressed against Kai's followed up by a tongue that lashed into Kai's mouth. Both of the feline men held each other close, their chest and head heating up as they kissed. Kai felt Leo's claws against his chest. The lion pushed him against the bed which broke the kiss for a second. All was still in the room for a moment as the two looked at each other in the eyes. The breeze swept over them from the window which carried the scent of Leo's fur into Kais nostrils. It was a powerful sensation that caused him to fill with lust for his adoptive brother.

The two of them commenced kissing. Kai tore at Leos robe, swiftly removing it from his body exposing golden furred muscles decorated with scars. Kais mouth found its way to one of the nipples on Leo's chest. The sucking caused Leo to let out a stifled moan. Kai reached around and firmly grasped the Lion's ass as their foreplay continued. Each second they grew more vicious with each other. 

The bed was small. It wasn't meant for the large bodies of a lion and tiger beastman. Leo pushed down on Kai, casusing the two of them to slide off the bed into the floor taking the sheet with them. The impact caused a lound thunk. The two of them looked at each other for a brief moment before a voice called out from behind their closed door.

"You two alright in there?" spoke Benji, sounding concerned.

"Y..yes everything is fine. Just a little drunk from the Kava is all." Leo answered followed by an awkward chuckle.

"Well, if you start to feel sick just use one of the chamber pots." Benji replied. "And Kai, darlin, I'll see you tomorrow morning."

Kai could hear Benji walk away from the room slowly. For a moment he thought of the nights he had spent under the boar's body like this. That vision quickly dissapated as Leo's tongue pressed against the fur on Kai's neck.

Kai ran his hands down Leo's sides and cupped the round cheeks of the lion once again. Leo's body felt warm against Kai's and his hot tongue bored into Kai's skin hungrily. Kai was burning up and he desired nothing more than for Leo to keep touching him.

The lion lifted his face and looked into the tiger's eyes. "You want me don't you?" He whispered.

"I do." Kai replied.

Leo quickly reached for what looked like a jar of oils. Kai watched as Leo smeared the oil along his inner thigh and against his penis. The oil was shiny and it had a sweet smell that filled the room. Leo then pulled down the waistband of Kai's pants so that he could rub the concoction on his penis. Kai gasped, surprising himself. The oil was warm and slick, a stark contradiction to the cold and messy lubricant that he had been using with Benji.

Kai took the iniative and pushed Leo onto his back. He looked so beautiful, laying there with his mane against the floor looking up. Kai wanted to savor this moment just like the laughter at the table. He slowly slid his member between Leo's inner thighs. He glided it in and out, panting and moaning as he felt every little drop of pleasure.

Kai held on for a few moments, occaisonally glancing down at Leo to see his soft expression. Pressure welled up within Kai's groin and he flooded the princes thigh with warm seed. Kai held himself up over Leo for a moment before feeling the fatigue begin to sink in. He had all but forgotten about his sore torso at this point. 

The tiger lay next to the lion in bliss, running his hand along the still erect penis of the prince. About a minute passed and Leo enjoyed a sweet release of his own. His eyes closed shut and he breathed heavily. He then began to relax, turning to Kai to plant a small kiss on his lips.

"What happens now?" Kai whispered to Leo.

"We should get some sleep... We could die tomorrow for all I know." Leo replied.