Make up s** (Part 2)

9:58 PM. TWO MINUTES BEFORE GLASGOW'S "CAT CEREMONY".

A large quantity of torches formed a big circle, leaving only one spot free so the ceremony master (Bill) could get into it. Inside, right in the center, a man sat with his legs crossed and his eyes closed. His figure seemed almost completely peaceful, only disturbed by his own foot, which was tapping rapidly. 

As my eyes focused solely on him, a constant thought appeared in the back of my mind: How was it that he and I ended up doing it?

4:32 PM. LESS THAN 6 HOURS BEFORE GLASGOW'S CAT CEREMONY.

-Ehem… Can we talk?

-Aren't we doing that already? 

-Kind of… But it's not solving anything…

Glasgow rapidly lost his relaxed, neutral face and replaced it with a frown. Refusing to give up, he sat on the ground in front of me and placed the kittens on his lap.

-What are you doing?-I asked, confused by his doings.

-I'm waiting until you accept talking to me.

-What is there to talk about? We almost did something, it went wrong and one of us got hurt. We're both adults here, I'm sure you understand it's not that big of a deal.

He tried to say something, but the words weren't able to leave his mouth. As he was sitting there, thinking about what to do next, the cats in his legs began to mess with his clothes, scratching it and nibbling on it.

I laughed briefly, watching in contempt as the cute little babies got on the nerves of the man. He grunted and complained while taking them away from his clothes, but they still came back to cause a ruckus.

-Here-I told him while opening and closing my hands, indicating him to give the felines to me.

He doubtfully handed the kittens to me, looking to his side so he wouldn't watch my eyes (or my bare chest). They began to roam around my bed, falling asleep after 5 minutes of their little exploration.

-I really don't know how you manage to get them so agitated.-I scoffed as I took my uncle's kitten and placed it on my legs, petting his tiny head- Aww, this little dumbass is so cute.

-Wait, you're not-

-Ha, don't even dream about it. I'm still mad at you.

-Oh… Right…-he said in a low tone after moving his head downwards, looking at the ground beneath him.

10:00 PM. GLASGOW'S CAT CEREMONY JUST STARTED.

"We gather here tonight to welcome a new member to our circus. As stipulated in the rules that we never established, I will now proceed to give this young man his new partner."

I listened to Bill carefully as I tried to contain my nerves. A memory from a few hours back invaded my mind before the ceremony even started, and hasn't left since then.

It's not what I had in mind, but I have no complaints about it. Still, I'm shocked that we ended up doing it, even if she was mad at me at first.

"Now! Before presenting his partner to our new member, I shall ask him some questions!" Bill shouted out before placing himself in front of me and telling me to open up my eyes. "Rise, young man. Rise and tell me: Do you have what it takes to take care of a cat, no matter what species, color or size it has?"

4:40 PM. 5 HOURS AND 20 MINUTES BEFORE THE CEREMONY.

I don't know what to do… I practised this conversation a lot, and seeing that I wasn't able to carry it out even slightly well, my willingness to keep trying has faded. Would I have to spend my remaining time on the circus without having things with Lyra fixed?

"So…" I said awkwardly while secretly admiring her beautiful figure playing with the sleepy kittens.

Once she heard that one word, she threw herself on her bed and let out a big sigh of exhaustion. She then proceeded to take a deep breath, putting Johnny's kitten in the air before speaking.

"You know… Even though you're an asshole, Lyra thinks she's being too hard on you" she said while moving the cat's body, making it look like he was the one speaking. "I'm sure you'll understand that she's mad at you because of how you first approached her after all those days of 0 contact, but I'm also sure you'll understand that she also wanted to know what happened that day."

I gulped at 'the cat's words', thinking for a moment of what to say next. 

"Look… I don't know what to do, but I'll do anything you ask for just so we can talk, ok?" my mouth ended up uttering.

10:03 PM. 2 MINUTES BEFORE GLASGOW GETS HIS FELINE PARTNER.

-Hey, Lyra, I don't mean to pry, but can I ask why your neck is covered like that?-Aly asked me while getting really close to me.

My heart skipped a beat after hearing that question. Did she see my neck? Or even worse, did she see Glasgow's shoulders?

-Oh, I'm just a bit cold, don't worry.

-Really? But we're literally sitting by the fire.

-Shh, girls, shut up-My mother told us while redirecting our faces towards Bill and our new member. 

4:41 PM. INFO WILL NOT BE DISPLAYED.

-Anything?-I asked with the kitten in my hands.

-Yes, anything. I swear.

I noticed his eyes were still avoiding me, so I put the little cat aside and walked up to him. 

-Then can you give me your hoodie? I can't have a conversation with you if you're not gonna look at me.

He seemed unsure at first, but after a few seconds he took it off and placed it in my hands. I smiled teasingly, patting his head like a dog and telling him "good job" before wearing his garment.

As soon as the hoodie was on my body, Glasgow's scent quickly got into my system. It was weird but somehow alluring. It was almost like my body got numbed the moment I smelled his scent.

-Can I look now?

-Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah. You can look now-I answered as I got a hold on myself.

I threw myself back, landing on my bed and making the 2 sleeping kittens bounce. I took a look behind me, worried that they might have woken up, but their purring quickly eased my worries off.

-So…-he said timidly before forming a full phrase-I think I should start by apologizing, right?

-Yeah… I guess…-I said softly as I lost myself in the scent of his clothes. 

-Ok. So, how do I put this? Uhm, let's just say that I suddenly left that day because I got reminded of a certain woman.

My mind broke out of its trance after listening to his "apology".

-So you're saying you ran away because I remind you of another woman?-I questioned, my expression changing with every word I said-You have 5 seconds to explain yourself before I call Terra here.

10:04 PM. A FEW SECONDS BEFORE GLASGOW GETS HIS CAT.

"Do you promise to give your life for your partner?"

"I do."

"Do you promise to respect nature's laws?"

"Yes, I promise."

"Very well. Last question, do you promise to adapt to your partner and not the other way around?"

I got flustered by his question, a tingly sensation going through my body as I got reminded of Lyra's words.

"So? Do you promise or not?" Bill inquired again. 

"What? Oh, right." I said nervously as I came back to my senses. "I promise to adapt my nature to the cat and not the other way around."

The man smiled gently at my answer and then placed himself behind me. There, he put his hands on my shoulder and inhaled all the air he could, screaming "Fiona! Your turn!" afterwards.

4:46 PM. INFO WILL NOT BE DISPLAYED.

"So you're saying that you got reminded of some woman named Metis and that's why you ran away?"

"That's pretty much it, yeah."

"And you say this person did that without your consent?"

I nodded.

"I don't get it. Why didn't you refuse or fight back? I'm pretty sure those big arms of yours would have knocked her down instantly."

I looked down in embarrassment, avoiding her gaze once more.

"It's not that easy, especially if the other person has something that you're looking for."

"So you allowed her to do that because she had something you wanted?"

I looked down again, nodding slowly after realizing how pathetic I must've seemed.

Lyra took a look at my sorry figure and let out a sigh. Then, she crawled to where I was and hugged me. "I think it's best if we leave this for some other time. It's clear that you don't want to talk about this person," she told me while tightening the hug.

My arms reached for her back, enveloping her as I put my head on her shoulders. 

"Does that mean we're ok?"

"I'd say a 90% percent ok" she mumbled. "You still approached me very rudely after practically ghosting me for days."

"Sorry about that…"

"Hey, forget about that for now" she whispered before placing a kiss on my forehead.

As the hug went on, the tension and the awkwardness rose between us. None of us wanted to break the gesture, but we didn't want to stay there awkwardly either.

At the end, a sudden thought got into my mind, convincing me to take the initiative. With my right arm, I reached for her waist and stood up while carrying her in my arms. The things were still awkward between us, but they got even weirder when her legs locked behind my back.

10:05 PM. FIONA'S TURN TO LEAD THE CEREMONY.

A young lady walks into the fire circle with something on her arms. She's wearing a long, brown cape, which covers most of her body. The "something" on her arms is also covered up, but it's done with a blanket instead of a cape.

The young man who's in the center of the circle looks at the girl's arms nervously. Whatever it is that's under that blanket it's moving. Due to this, a question forms in my head: Is he scared or is he impatient?

4:48 PM. INFO WILL NOT BE DISPLAYED.

-What now?-I gasped as I looked into Glasgow's eyes nervously.

His usual neutral face began to tense up as his breath became more and more harsh. What he did was certainly unexpected, so I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't know why he did that either.

-I… uhmm…-He stuttered before being able to speak properly- I thought that maybe you'd like to… resume what we couldn't finish that day?

Before I could even get the chance to respond, my back was resting on top of my bed. I could feel the doubts in his hands as he touched my cheek with his thumb, so instead of saying anything, I decided to lend him a hand.

Since my legs were still crossed behind him, I pulled his lower body closer to me. Then, I surrounded his neck with my arms and moved his head next to mine. As breathing got harder for both of us, I decided to tease him by whispering "you're free to do what you want, then" to his ear.

10:05 PM. THE YOUNG LADY PLACES THE "THING" ON THE GROUND, IN FRONT OF THE YOUNG MAN.

"Now, big man, once your partner is unveiled, you'll have to take them into your arms and then give them a name," Fiona said in a serious tone before walking out of the circle. "Understood?"

Without giving me time to answer, the blanket began to move and growl, and a little striped fluffy tail emerged from it. I approached it curiously, helping the animal out as I saw them struggling with their 'ceremonial clothes'.

GRRRAAA

A tiny, high-pitched roar appeared in front of me as the blanket revealed what was hiding under it. I took the animal into my hands, inspecting every aspect of it and then looking into their eyes. 

"Hello?" I asked awkwardly as the cub stared at me with curiosity.

Besides thinking about a name for them, another thought roamed my mind: Why did the cat look so weird? Maybe weird it's not the ideal word, I think 'unusual' sounds better. 

Anyways, back to the cub in my hands, they seemed like nothing I've seen before. Their stripes made me think that the cat was a tiger, but after looking at their colour, I quickly gave up on that idea.

"What are you doing? Checking if she's a male or a female?" Bill questioned while appearing suddenly on my back. "I'll give you a little help, ok? This one's a female, so you better give her a proper name for a queen."

4:52 PM. SOMETHING'S GOING ON IN LYRA'S ROOM.

After listening to her words, a tingle ran all the way on my back. I did my best to shake off the feeling, and after recovering my breath however I could, I managed to say something to Lyra.

"That day… I told you I'd adapt to you… So…"

As I spoke in a low tone beside her ear, my hands imitated what she did that day. Following the same path that she took on my body, I touched her soft skin as I got closer and closer to her chest.

A weird expression was drawn on her face as she stared into my eyes deeply, and just when I decided to ignore her so I could imitate her movements, she lifted her head and left a trail of kisses along my neck. 

The sensation became stronger with each kiss, and in the end, it was almost unbearable. Once it reached that point, my mind wasn't able to focus anymore, relying on pure instinct and basic human desire instead of copying what she did that day.

My hands, which were once soft and gentle on her body, rapidly gave in and began to ache on the need of having her closer.

When Lyra noticed the effect she was having on me, the pressure of her legs increased on my back, pressing my body completely against hers. I could feel our harsh breathing and loud heartbeat resonating on each other's body, and with them, our temperature raised as we felt each other's touch.

10:10 PM. 10 MINUTES INTO THE CEREMONY.

The young man, who once seemed calmed and peaceful, was now tapping his feet rapidly against the ground. In front of him, a liger cub sat while moving her tail impatiently. 5 minutes went by since they met, and the lion and tiger offspring haven't been given a name yet. 

-Grraaa…

-I know, I know…-he said nervously while thinking of a name for his new partner.

-Graaa?

-No, not that one…-he mumbled as he sorted out the options that he had thought of.

Looking at him, he looks really cute when he's dealing with the cats. It's like he's always nervous while trying to understand them. Heh, who would've thought that the same person that was now discussing with a little kitty, was also the same person that…

-Are you alright?-Aly asked while touching my cheek with her finger-You're blushing. You sure you're feeling alright?

-Yes, Aly.-I shook her off quickly-Why don't we focus on the ceremony first and worry about me later?

5:00 PM. A COUPLE OF MINUTES BEFORE…

-You're really dragging this out, aren't you…?-I panted after our lips separated from each other.

-Like I said…-he whispered before placing his teeth on my neck-I'm adapting to you… So I'm just giving you the same treatment…

I felt his movements becoming harsher with each passing second. The same person who was once avoiding me so he wouldn't look at my chest, did not only put his mark in there, but he also was leaving it in a place a bit lower.

-Well… If you're going to adapt…-I said lowly as I gathered all my strength and resolve to remove the last pieces of clothing that were on us.

For a moment, there were no words, not even a sound. The only things that could be heard were our own harsh breathing, and the kittens playing with Terra outside. It was at that moment that I surrounded Glasgow's hips again with my legs, and with a push, I finally got him to do what we couldn't finish before things got messy between us…

10:15 PM. 5 HOURS AND 15 MINUTES AFTER "THAT".

GRAAA

"That's not a valid option."

WWWRAAAA

"Not that one, either."

I tickled the cat's belly and looked at her reaction, hoping that it would give me any ideas. As her only response was growling and roaring, I gave up and began to look at my surroundings, looking for anything that would make me think of a name for her.

As my eyes searched desperately for any inspiration, my eyes locked in with Lyra's briefly, and that's when I knew what to call my new partner.

I took the little feline into my arms and raised her in front of everyone. Then, as I placed a kiss on her head, I shouted out her name: Arya.