Alphonse/Edmund: The one where they're furries

[ironysoul]

One hundred years in feline form, and now walking on two legs feels stilted. There was a knot between his shoulders that Al knew he could stretch out if he switched to fur. He could hunker down on his haunches and reach his front paws out far, sinking into a bow that would make every nodule of his spine pop. But while King Peter hadn't expressly banned fur, Al (and for that matter, the rest of the pride) still felt like it was something frowned upon now. Lesser, than their human form. At the very least that they should be grateful for it being restored.

He flexed paws (hands) and reminded himself again that his claws wouldn't unsheathe from the tips of his fingers. A hundred years in fur, and after almost a decade being able to change, he still felt wrong in this one.

At least, in the years since the age of winter, the pride had been restored to Cair Paravel. They'd served as stewards for generations, until Jadis had banished them. Not, Al was forced to admit, that he'd have been a particularly deft housekeeper with four paws. Maybe he could have dusted with his tail. The thought made him giggle.

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[ironysoul]

Al hesitated before responding. In this form, Edmund's scent was sharper. He could identify the taint of poison laced through it, the siren's bite, slowly melding with Edmund's natural order to create something else. Edmund didn't smell like an omega anymore, and that helped. He smelled like a tainted beta, something new and perverse, but exciting. And underneath it all he still smelled like Edmund, pride and dark humor and an edge of deeply buried insecurity. It was a smell Al automatically found himself scenting out whenever he passed through somewhere Edmund might have been, and to have it wrapped up in heat and need like this was --

"It's -- easier, a little, in fur. But you won't be able to use -- and you won't be able to change back. Or it will be harder to control, anyway. If you'd rather, I'll change back."

As he spoke, he wrapped himself around Edmund and lay down. It maximized the skin on skin contact between them, and gave Edmund a handy backrest to lean into as he ate. Not to mention he was soaking up Al's scent, aided every time all roughed his cheek against Edmund's side and belly. If any other Alpha even thought about coming near, Al wanted them to smell his claim.

[just_edmund]

Edmund shook his head. "It's all right. I like you like this. I have ever since the first time I saw you change." He sank his fingers into Al's mane, felt the heat of the Lion's body soaking through his clothing. "Besides, I think I'd rather - " He felt his face flood with heat, but he knew he wanted to be honest with Al. "Be full, this time."

Even without his keener Panther's senses, he could smell Al's scent rich and heady all around him. His body ached, painfully hard, uncomfortably slick in new places. He wanted to be full of Al. Oh, did he want that. But being cradled by him while satisfying some of this need...that would have to do, for now.

Reaching with one foot, Edmund snagged the strap of an unfamiliar satchel to pull it close. He could already guess at its contents. "This would be highly embarrassing if it got around, you know. That the great Panther King is reduced to fucking himself with toys."

He didn't think Al would say a word. But the rest of them would, and probably already were. "Does...everyone know?" He'd been bitten in plain view of the battle. How many knew what kind of creature it was that had taken him down? Would he even be able to hide it, if it lingered in him for any longer than these days with Al?

[ironysoul]

Al is only just starting to realize how hard this will be, staying here while Edmund -- does that. Staying neutral. The only consolation is that now that he's more in his right mind, Edmund seems as unenthused by the process as Al himself is. He quickly hushes the part of himself that points out how eager Edmund was for the real thing, how much he wants it --

Instead, Al is going to sit here and watch and do nothing. It's already hard enough to stay away from Edmund without knowing his scent as he cums, what it sounds like. Al's not sure he'll ever be able to face Edmund again, after this.

"No one saw," he assures Edmund. "They believe you're recovering from your wounds. You are recovering from your wounds."

[just_edmund]

"That's something, at least." Edmund opened the satchel up to see what he had to work with, since he was reconciled to not having the alpha he really wanted to mate with. There was a bottle of oil - he didn't think that would be very necessary, considering how soaked he felt there, but perhaps it would be nice other places - and a hollow sponge tube, and several phalluses of different shapes and sizes. Edmund knew exactly which one he wanted at a glance. He pulled out the smooth glass sculpture, its shaft a little curved and nice and thick, with a widened handle and, most importantly, a large bulbous knot right above it.

His heart was beginning to pound. This was really going to happen. Had to happen, he was so ravenous. His face felt like it was burning up, whether from fever or embarrassment, he wasn't sure. He knew it would be much better after, he just had to get to the after.

Nervous as a maiden on her wedding night, Edmund unfastened his trousers and slithered out of them, discarding the smallclothes beneath with one go. Instantly, the tent swirled with the scent of his slick, a fragrant musk, dark and woody. He was blushing at its obviousness, at the clear need that strained at his swollen cock and the glistening fluid that trickled to his inner thighs. He cupped his palm over himself, the tips of his fingers curled at the base of his balls, and gave the softest of sounds at the slight relief of it.

"H-how long does the bite's effects last?" he stammered. "After this heat...will I have more?"

[ironysoul]

Oh, gods. Al thought he was ready for this, but watching Edmund shed his clothes and handle the toys so -- efficiently -- he wasn't doing a good job at keeping his desire in check, not even in this form. Edmund's questions seemed far away and confusing, no matter how he tried to bring his focus in for a coherent answer.

"I -- I don't know. Succubi are rare. They're banned from Aslan's kingdom. There are some researchers who might know more, but they'd want to know why--" and this had to be kept secret.

Al realized that he was throwing out waves of confusing pheromones, want and need and fear and incredible sadness. He hated seeing this happen to Edmund, and he hated not being able to help. There was no hiding in his fur, and changing back wasn't an option. He'd never control himself. He's not sure as it is.

"I should -- I -- I'll guard the door. I'm sorry." It was pretty much pure cowardice and he knew it. But he also knew he wouldn't be able to hold out even one mating with Edmund. The only way this could get worse was if they ended up bonded. There would be no coming back from that. So Al fled, curling his bulk against the door of the tent and sucking in breath after breath of slightly fresher air. Anything that didn't smell like Edmund, or smelled less like him. By the time Edmund was finished, maybe the tent would reek less of the Al's heartbreak.

[just_edmund]

Perhaps such knowledge could be bought, at the right price. "If it could be managed discreetly...somehow..."

Edmund's mind didn't seem to be working properly either right now. His nose, less sensitive in this body but much more so than a normal human's, was picking up all sorts of things he had no idea how to interpret. If Al wanted him...but there were those strange notes of things that did not seem like desire at all, that were explained the next moment when Al suddenly bolted from under him, leaving him bereft of his Alpha.

"No," Edmund gasped involuntarily, for the sensation of loss and emptiness was agonizing, and he was thrown back to those feelings of turmoil and abandonment. "Al...I'll turn my back to you, you don't have to watch...but please, it hurts."

Drawing up to his hands and knees, he slid towards Al with beseeching eyes, desperate, pupils blown wide. In that moment, he was not a King but simply a man in great need. His pride forgotten, he begged. "Let me curl at your back, I swear that's all, it's enough, I just need to touch you or I'm going to go mad." He didn't know what he was going to do if Al said no, but insanity wasn't out of the question.

[ironysoul]

Managed discreetly? The only way, the only thing Al could possibly think of -- if it continued any longer -- Edmund would need an Alpha. A mate, someone dedicated to him, available at any notice to help him when the heat struck. Someone devoted and willing to keep his silence. Someone suitable for bearing his children.

And it couldn't be Al. No matter how much he'd grown to care about Edmund, he'd never be able to have children with him or carry on the line. He wasn't a panther. And he had obligations to his pride. But the thought of someone else mating Edmund made him run hot, then cold with rage.

He'd never been like this. For years, he'd prided himself on rising above such animal instincts. But now he couldn't hold himself at bay. Heaven the faintest wift of Edmund's desperation as he froze dug under his skin again, drove him crazy with want, and the scent of his own desire sparked, followed by a wave of bleak longing.

"I can't keep you safe, Edmund." He couldn't leave either, not with Edmund begging him to stay. His instincts warred, and he was frozen in a half crouch, shamed and shaking. "I'm not safe. I don't trust myself not to hurt you." Hurt that Edmund would undoubtedly welcome now. And would be redoubled, when the reality of their situation cleared.

"I'll stay if you want. Here." At the door, across the tent from Edmund, but still within reach.

[just_edmund]

Confusion and distress mingled in the beckoning sweetness of Edmund's heat-scent, a combination that many an Alpha would be hard-pressed to resist. To relieve his suffering, to take care of and protect the vulnerable body while satisfying its needs and marking as their own...yes, it was a powerful allure, and Edmund was dimly aware that it wasn't quite fair to Al to make him endure such temptation. Especially when, a hand-span away, he saw Al shaking and crouching as if terrified.

Kneeling before him, Edmund touched the golden mane from behind, the warmth and energy of the soft fur seeping almost instantly through his fingertips. He sighed in relief, some of the panic eased. "You're the only one I trust to keep me safe like this," he murmured. His hand rhythmically stroked Al. "You'd never hurt me. I trust you."

He knew the two of them had different definitions of what it would mean to be hurt. He knew Al didn't want - was choosing not to - mate with him tonight. He even respected that. But he needed Al to trust his instincts more.

"I want you to stay." Edmund hesitated before adding, almost shyly, "Is there anything I can do to make this easier for you?"

[ironysoul]

It both helped and hurt, hearing Edmund say he trusted him. Al was acutely aware of the desire, dizzying and sick, that brewed inside him. He knew Edmund shouldn't have that faith. At the same time, hearing it made this easier. A little.

"No, just -- just do what you need. I'll stay." Edmund's touch intensified his own want, but it relieved Edmund's panic, and that, in turn, cleared Al's head enough for him to think. He'd done this before. He could do it now. For Edmund. He had to.

[just_edmund]

Edmund didn't understand the different pheromones rolling off of Al right now, but then Al always had been a little confusing to him. Edmund was just happy to have him close at hand, staying with him for - for getting through his heat.

And getting through was exactly how he approached it. There was nothing very erotic about the glass phallus when he had a warm Alpha lying right behind him, but he was making the best of it and letting his imagination run wild as he lay back, propped up against cushions piled right next to Al's back, and warmed himself up with his fingers. Even near the half-open door of the tent, with a breeze wafting through, the scent of his slick curled through the air, sweet and almost wistful, like it needed to be combined with an Alpha's stronger aroma to be truly complete.

Edmund's breathing grew heavier as he imagined Al's fingers instead of his own, opening him up for their mating. "H-how did you manage during the Long Winter?" he asked, to fill the silence and give himself the pleasure of listening to Al's voice in answer. "When you were always in your Beast form. Did you take any mates then?"

[ironysoul]

Al tried hard not to listen, or look, or smell any of what Edmund was doing. Even though he'd done this before, it was hard to believe Edmund was treating it so casually, already working himself open and carrying on a conversation like it was nothing.

"No," Al admitted softly, half closing his eyes as he tried to maintain his composure. How could he explain that in a hundred years, he'd never entered rut? He'd soothed several omegas through their heats, and Winry and Edward had certainly been through this, but Al never had, himself.

"Jadis wouldn't allow the pride to grow. We suppressed as best we could."

[just_edmund]

Talking was easier than silence, right now; it wasn't even truly silence, with the soft lewd sounds of wet fingers sliding within flesh, and Edmund's audible breaths as he felt the rising lust begin to take hold of him in earnest. Words covered over some of that.

"Suppressed? That's...impressive." Edmund couldn't imagine actually suppressing what he was feeling, not without finding some kind of outlet for it. This particular method was just barely getting the job done. He reached for the flask of oil, coated the bulbous shape with a generous helping, and the smell of sweet almond mingled with his own earthier scent. The only thing missing, really, was a layer of Alpha. A hint of it wound through anyways, stemming from Al's lower back...his tail, really. Edmund bit back a curse.

"You must be masters at dealing with this sort of thing then. Care to share any helpful tips?"

He almost laughed; they might have been speaking of hunting paths, weather patterns, any mundane and platonic topic that one might trade friendly advice on. Certainly nothing that would indicate he was knuckles deep fingering himself, about to trade in for a more filling replacement, and Al was doing his level best not to broadcast any more signals than he could help.

[ironysoul]

And yet, Al wasn't any less aware of what edmund was doing. How he was touching himself. Despite all Edmund's attempts to stay quiet and keep himself withdrawn, every sound hammered against Al's over sensitive ears. And the smells -- no matter how he tried to ignore them, he couldn't escape Edmund's scent, woven through with need and desire.

"I think -- I think the siren bite made things worse." That was a convenient explanation for why he was so much more affected now than he'd ever been before. And it allowed Edmund a convenient shield as well, to hide his lack of control behind. It seemed plausible at the very least.

[just_edmund]

Edmund rolled his eyes. That might be the right explanation, but it didn't give him anything practical to work with. "I'm sure it did," he said, with a flicker of his usual sarcastic jauntiness. It wasn't easy, when his hands were so, er, busy and his mind short-circuited with gratuitous lust. "The timing didn't help either." A full moon, and getting bit and thrown into heat right at the height of battle when his adrenaline was already at its peak.

"What I still don't understand is...how you came to be with me now. If you didn't trust yourself around me. If it really was that bad, that I'd be unnaturally...appealing." Edmund didn't know how else to put it, considering how honest their own body chemistry was right now. He breathed in audibly as the cooler glass pressed to his skin. "Aah... not that I'm complaining about you being here, you know. There's...no one else I'd rather. But. There were other loyal Alphas you could have asked."

Strangely, the conversation (at odds though it was with his actions right now) soothed him with the distraction of focus on something other than overwhelming need, enough that the first breach of the phallus sliding into him was greeted with only the tiniest of whimpers instead of a full-blown cry, like he might have if he'd been thinking about how warm and thick Al would be in its stead...

[ironysoul]

Al would actually prefer to have any other conversation. But he could sense the calm coming from Edmund, however slight, and he realized it was actually helping his king to talk. About this. And that was why he was here, wasn't it? Because he couldn't deny Edmund anything.

"I saw it happen. I thought -- I'd helped omegas before, and it hasn't been this hard, so I thought I'd be helpful for you. And it's my responsibility, and if I went with you then no-one else--"

It wasn't that the thought of another Alpha made him near homicidal. It wasn't that he imagined anyone else hearing those small, tiny noises and ripping the glass away, shoving deep inside Edmund and -- definitely not.

"I didn't want you to be with someone else and not -- not know, if you were okay."

[just_edmund]

I'd helped omegas before. Something in Edmund roiled at the thought. Even though he knew perfectly well that Al had helped them exactly as he was helping Edmund now: chastely. Still. His body reacted as if Al had cheated on him with other omegas. Which was ridiculous because Al wasn't even his.

Heats were horrid.

Then no-one else would...

Edmund turned sharply to look at Al, sliding a hand back through his mane. Al had felt the same sort of possessiveness. He hadn't wanted another Alpha doing this job, maybe not being as strong and breaking down and taking advantage of the King. Edmund nodded and twisted his head to the side to drop a kiss to the shining fur. "Thank you, Al," he said, breathless but heartfelt. "I"m very glad you did."

Warm flowed through him from where they were connected. Before he could help himself, he found that he was whining softly and pushing the toy in with his other hand. "It...changed my body," he gasped. "The outside. But what about...would I bear children, if an Alpha..."

That was what his scent was saying, wasn't it? That he was fertile. It was a strange, enticing vision, carrying Al's children. It would also be disastrous for the line of succession, unless they married immediately.

"Is that what you were afraid of?" Edmund asked him softly. "Why you wouldn't..."

[ironysoul]

Edmund kept ramping up the touches. Curling closer to Al, petting him, kissing him, all while he made those sounds. It was driving Al to the very edge of his senses.. And Edmund still didn't understand.

Panthers were lone creatures. They made their way through life individually, with other panthers drifting through. But lions -- everything revolved around the pride. Especially mating. There were no second chances for lions, once a match was made. A pair of alphas like Ed and Winry would start their own pride, and by all rights Al should have split off long ago, to find a mate of his own. An alpha, to begin a pack with, or an omega in a pride he could leave.

But their pride was different. Whatever Jadis had done to them had changed things. That was why Peter didn't want them changing, or leaving. Or taking mates.

And if all the people for Al to fall in love with -- finally, the first person in his life to spark his interest. And it was Edmund. Completely unsuitable. A panther, a king... Al's frustration ratcheted higher still. Why couldn't Edmund understand how torturous it was, to even hear that the King would consider him...

"I-- I don't know," he admitted, trying to focus on Edmund's earlier questions. "I don't know what will stick."

[just_edmund]

It was true, Edmund had had little experience or exposure to the pride dynamics that consumed Peter and the others. The Panthers did as they pleased, and that suited him tremendously. He had learned their customs, such as they were, and lead with strength in times of need, but he didn't have to ask anyone's permission before he did something. Al's obsession with his duty was admirable and frustrating by the same token. If he knew more about it...or if he could explain to Peter...

His fingers were still curled in locks of golden fur. Edmund leaned back, spreading his legs to give himself room to work and inadvertently opening up his scent to hang thickly in the air. The rules about interspecies mating seemed antiquated and prudish to him. He didn't even know if it was possible to have offspring - maybe they wouldn't have Beast forms at all - but the thought of carrying Al's whelps made him mewl with taboo pleasure as he filled himself up with the smooth glass shaft. Things that he would have found strange and even degrading, were now exciting.

He felt the bump of the larger bulb against his entrance and whined again. "If you - if you had knotted me tonight..." He ached for it, would have done anything to have Al on top of him now. Unable to speak any more and keep going, he rolled up to feel the tip grinding within him. Throaty, unheeding sounds keened from his lips. His skin made the blankets beneath swish softly as his hips rose and fell, fucking himself in the absence of his Alpha to do it for him.

[ironysoul]

Al had done everything -- gods, short of shoving his nose under his paws, he'd done everything to try and block it out. And nothing had worked. Edmund's scent hung heavy over the room, driving under his skin, and he felt every twitch and roll, every gasp.

And still, Edmund mused about what might happen, casually calling up every image Al was trying to suppress.

"Edmund, please," he gasped, shoving down further. Those thoughts weren't helping either of them. Al had no idea what might happen if he knotted Edmund like this, when he was ripe and fertile, but he knew it would destroy him. It would probably wreck their pride, even if Edmund didn't catch. Edmund's reputation could be salvaged maybe, with careful concealment. But Al-- if peter killed him, it would be a kindness. Because he would never get over Edmund. It was already too late, probably.

[just_edmund]

Edmund's head was thrown back against Al's bulk, his body arched, more helpless with need than he'd ever been before. Distantly, he heard the desperation in Al's voice. It seemed to match his own. It made it worse, so much worse that he trusted Al implicitly to see him like this, or smell him, to touch him. Whatever happened, Edmund found himself wanting it to happen.

"Al." The name slid out of him on a whimper, with everything in him tight and on the verge of breaking. He squirmed, panting. "Need you...I can't..."

This must be what it felt like to go mad. Feverish, coherent thought stuttered with mere instinct and impulse, heart pounding out of his chest. The ache was so great, his body thrummed with the hurt of it. Surely normal heats weren't like this. There was something foreign in his blood, urging him on. Would the poison work itself out of him? Or had it changed him for good, made him like - like this forever?

"I wanted you, before," he breathed, a helpless confession. "Always - wanted you, all those weeks. Pretended I didn't, to make it - easier, on both of us." Edmund laughed, almost a sob, as he tried to bring himself off. He was so close, he just couldn't... "This - hasn't changed any of that."

[ironysoul]

God, as if Al didn't know. If he were someone else -- if he could be with Edmund, and just move on -- if he were anyone else, gods. But he isn't. He can't. Being with Edmund would destroy him, while Edmund just -- moved on to the next lover, presumably. He wasn't the one tied to his desires.

"Edmund, please, that doesn't help." Al can't sob in this form, but he's sure if he were in human form he'd be a wreck by now. He can't believe that Edmund understands what he's pushing for, that he'd knowingly cut Al this deeply. But at the same time -- he hasn't learned. He hasn't respected every rejection before this, he still pushes, and Al can't bring himself to cut his king off.

[just_edmund]

Edmund could never be intentionally cruel to Al, even as far gone as he was. There was a new stringency to Al's pheromones, something sharp and sad. Edmund hated that it was because of him. He turned to Al.

"What would you have me do, then?" A distinctive catch in Edmund's voice, like he was swallowing tears. "I pursued and you said no. I stayed away and you think me fickle. I am honest with you and still hurt you. I didn't ask for this - " He gestured wildly to the tent that reeked of blatant need. " - and yet we're here. I ask you then, what would you have me do?"

His voice rang of desperation. More than he needed relief (and he needed it badly just then), Edmund needed to know where they stood. If Al could just be honest in turn with him, give him some kind of explanation and course of action, even if it was away from him, that would be something.

[ironysoul]

What could he say? Al's heart shattered again, hearing Edmund's desperation and sadness. He was supposed to be helping, but he was making things worth. Poor Edmund, trapped with a worthless Alpha who wasn't providing any relief.

But what Al needed from Edmund, he couldn't demand. Could he say, 'I need you to love me the way I'm afraid I love you,' and not get laughed out of the tent? Could he even acknowledge how deep his feelings had grown for Edmund, and how watching him with any other partner was torturous now? The sting from his dalliances had soured something within Al, hammering home how little he meant to Edmund in the grand scheme. And how close he still was to falling into this abyss, one that seemed impossible to avoid.

"I need you to understand," he said finallly, his own voice bleak. "I wouldn't have chosen this for us, for you. I'm sorry, Edmund. I wish --"

[just_edmund]

Caught in a confusing swirl of emotions, of desire and heartache mingled, Edmund slid to one side to pillow his face in Al's fur. The most honorable and faithful among Men or Beasts, kind and warm-hearted and selfless, a man infinitely worth loving and being loved by, and yet who couldn't be his. It was a cruel turn of events, but for love of him, Edmund would accept whatever he wished, even if it meant parting ways forever.

It wasn't any sort of answer like what he was expecting to hear. Edmund was stunned into silence for a moment or two. "Oh," he said quietly. And then, even more quietly -

"What would you have chosen for us, Al? For me? What would you wish for?"

It seemed important to him. To know what was in Al's heart, and what he saw for the two of them. His breath shuddered unevenly across golden spikes of hair, stirring them into motion, while his free hand stroked another wayward patch smooth. Strangely, it was now that Edmund found himself most wanting to listen to what Al had to say.

[ironysoul]

What could he possibly say? The truth was too raw. Every time they'd come close to this before, Al had fled. Maybe it was cowardly. But they couldn't have what either of them wanted, and why keep fighting it? Why imagine what could have been, when what could have been involved changing so much about who they both were...

But Edmund's tone demanded an honest answer, and what else could Al do but give him that? His king leaned into him, pet him soothingly, more concerned with Al than with his own, overwhelming need.

"I wish you were a lion," he confessed. It wasn't a fair wish. Edmund would be so different if he were a lion, if he had his own pride. If he understood why Al couldn't leave his. If Al were able to mate him, properly...

"I wish we could be together."