Bleeding Heart (hat + scifi)

Alexander sighed as he ran through the old part of the city. The whole city was dark, rotting, and it was most obvious here. Old buildings, condemned because of code violations and other similar issues, sat to moulder and grow over with vines and grass and thorns. Meanwhile, not far behind him, he could hear the shouts and the splashing footsteps of angry men.

Black hair, shocking blue eyes, and the figure of a slim swimmer, all encased in a wet white dress shirt and rain-tightened black slacks, highlighting his body.

Hunters. Murderers. They ferreted out vampires and werewolves and other such things, killing them one by one to save their precious normalcy. Even though we came first, thought Alexander, and are by all rights the 'normal' ones.


He grunted, vaulting over a bar...

And onto a very slick, grassy slope, covering his face with his arms as he slid down,faster and faster, then flew off an earthen ramp, into the window of a building with a crash, tumbling and slamming headfirst into the opposite wall. All went dark for Alex, staring at the ceiling, feeling the rain patter on his face and body as the stars of midnight shined upon him.

There was a rat in the corner of the building. A big one. It had found a glob of peanut butter, placed suspiciously on the floor, and, cautiously, had approached it. Rats are clever animals, but they are still animals, and the pull of the peanut butter had been more powerful by far than the numbing effects of animal paranoia. It had buried its nose in the odorous stuff and begun eating.

It did not notice the cat that was watching it- a long-bodied, slender animal, pale-coated with dark points and huge, pale blue eyes. It didn't see the slow wave of the animal's long tail as it stared down its prey. It didn't see the animal's claws extend out of its toes and then slide back in as it prepared to lunge.

And then, in that moment, just before predator descended on prey- the window shattered with an resounding, echoing crash as a body flew through it. The rat, its whiskers smeared with peanut butter, vanished so quickly it might never have been there.

The cat leapt straight up into the air, shrieking. He shrank back, tail puffed out several sizes larger and ears laid back flat against his skull. He panted, showing his pointed teeth as he stared at the figure of the man that now lay on his floor, underneath one of the many holes in the roof.

The man didn't move.

For a moment, the Siamese cat huddled in his corner, watching the still figure. That moment was all the time he needed before curiousity overcame caution and spurred him forward. His skin shivered as Allie transformed- from the small, narrow-bodied cat, a lithe young man appeared, with a sharp face, large, pale eyes, and a shock of pale yellow hair. His body was fit but small in frame, and his ears were dark and pointed, more cat-like than human. He wore a long shirt and shorts, but a long, chocolate-tipped tail twitched behind him, its frantic motions betraying his intense focus. He inched forward, staring at the prone stranger. "Hello?" he asked; when his mouth opened, pointed teeth were visible. "Hello? Are you okay? Who are you? Hello?"

Ow.

Pain filled his world as he rose up, groaning. He had intruded in a home without invitation. He could feel the lack of power, like a hollow space inside him. It hurt so much. He turned, grunting in the space. He was cold, and wet. But not alone.

The last bit soothed him, somewhat, as he looked up at his company. He smiled. "I am Alexander. Don't worry, you can trust me." he said, his words taking a strange tone as he slipped them directly into the boy's mind. He'd think he thought it, perhaps, or hear it as an incredibly good idea.

"Come on out, I won't hurt you." he said, beckoning. It was true. He didn't dare leave, what with the Hunters out in numbers, but drinking wasn't going to solve any of his issues at the moment.

The groaning, grunting sounds the figure were making piqued Allie's interest- he mistook Alexander as a human, and he found humans quite fascinating. Especially humans with the habit of breaking through windows in such a spectacular fashion. As far as Allie knew, he had never known a human with such a quirky hobby, and he was very curious as to why someone would enter a house in such a way.

I can probably trust him, he thought as the stranger introduced himself. He smelled trustworthy. And he was just lying there, after all. He hadn't done anything threatening. Yes, I'm sure I can trust him. Look, he's injured.

Emboldened by his realization, Allie crept closer, his tail lashing more slowly, now, and his ears perked. "Hello," he said, again. "Are... are you okay? Are you hurt? My name is Allie. Why on earth did you come through the window?" By the time he had finished with his questions, he was within arm's length of Alexander, and on his knees on the damn floor.

"On the run. Wet grass, like a... a slide." he made a motion with his hand to indicate the hill. "Went down, then, through." His head pained him, but he smiled. Just his type!

He pulled and tugged off the wet, cold shirt, revealing his toned torso beneath. It was cold, but not as bad as being cold and wet. He undid his pants, which were also drenched, and sighed. "Pull, would you?" he asked. "Need to get them off or I'll freeze..."

For just one second, some part of Allie's mind came up with a single spark of resistance. On the run? From whom? For what?

But he trusted this man, this Alexander. Those who were pursuing him, therefore, by definition could not be trusted. Why on earth would anyone be trying to chase down him? And the poor guy! He was freezing in his soaked clothes. Allie's fine-boned hands immediately went to Alexander's waistband, tugging his pants down below his waist; his eyes, meanwhile, were still roaming the muscular planes of the other man's torso, taking in the topography of his upper body. A light blush stole the kitten's skintone, and perhaps he would have thought better of undressing his guest the rest of the way, if he had been able to consider anything besides how lovely and wonderful this gentleman was, and how cold he must be. "Of course! Will those terrible people find you here? No one lives here but me. This is my home. Would you like something to eat? I would offer you something to eat. Or drink. But... I don't really have anything here."

Ah... freedom!

"That is fine. I ate earlier." he said with a smile, tossing aside the pants. "Much better. To be totally honest with you, I prefer being without." he shook his head at the question. "They won't chase me here. I lost what they were after anyway. Wait, you live alone?" he smiled. "I was raised in a large family residence. No privacy at all. It must be so wonderful to be able to wear as much or as little as you like."

"How terrible, that they were trying to steal from you," Allie commented, his tail twitching with anger towards these people he never knew. Really- the nerve of some people!

"I live alone, of course," the cat said, surprised. "I am nineteen. Mother... she never really enjoyed being a mother, I don't think. She never stuck with us children for long. I am sure I have a large family, as well, somewhere." He shrugged, then tilted his head curiously at the other man. A sudden smile revealed the tips of his pointed feline teeth. "Is it better to be wearing more or less clothing? I don't think about it much."

"You feel infinitely more free!" he said, grinning. "Nudity is freedom. Go on, take something off, tell me how it feels." he said, pleased to not have to use his Voice aside from that single, powerful suggestion. So naive, so adorable... He could hardly wait...
Patience. Patience.

Allie flushed, grabbing the hemline of his baggy shirt. "I... okay," he said, starting to lift it; he could help but wonder, though, what his guest would think. Underneath his loose clothing, Allie was much slimmer than Alexander, and much less of him was the hard muscle that defined the larger man. He simply wasn't, he figured, as nice to look at.

Still, he couldn't think of a single reason not to do what the other man said, and not to see if he wasn't right. He pulled the shirt up over his head, frowning as its passage tousled his short, light-colored hair.

"It's... kind of cold," he said, tilting his head slightly and trying his best to feel the aforementioned sensation of freedom.

"Ah, you'll grow used to it." he said, nodding. "It'll feel good eventually." he said, definitely enjoying the view. "Besides, if you go all the way, so will I. What do you say to that?" he asked, his eyebrows raising.

By now, Allie was sure his face was glowing pink. He folded his arms over his chest for a moment, trying to protect his hardened nipples from the cool air. But... but Alexander had said it would feel good. It had to, didn't it? It only made sense that it would. He found that his hands had migrated to the waistband of his shorts; he didn't remember deciding to unbutton them, but he didn't mind that his fingers had done so seemingly all on their own. His eyes were traveling the length of his guest's body, even though he felt rude, leering as he was. They lingered at where the other man's underwear interrupted the smooth flow of his skin. "I... well, okay," he said, starting to push his shorts down over his narrow hips. "If you will, too."

"That's the idea." he murmured. "Cats should be naked anyway, don't you think?" he asked, slipping his fingers into his boxer's waistband with a grin. with one smooth motion, they were off, and he reveled in his nudity, partially erect manhood twitching. "Go on and look, I don't mind."

"I... um..." Allie's ears swept back as he stole short, rapid glances down the length of the stranger's body, lingering just slightly longer on the newly-revealed part. He shouldn't be so enraptured by that, should he? (But why not? Alexander didn't seem to mind.)

"I suppose you're right," he said, slipping his long legs out of his shorts and then pushing his briefs down. To his surprise, the cold air didn't bother him as much as he thought it would- to the contrary, the sudden, taboo feeling of exposure sparked a rush of excitement through him, and he could feel his cock twitch upward. Flushed with embarrassment and arousal, Allie reached down instinctively to shield his privates with one hand- but the pressure of his fingertips against his flesh felt good, and he couldn't suppress a quiet purr.

"That feeling there." he murmured, standing. "That feeling of risk and exposure." he murmured. "I know you can feel it. I was the same way. Imagine running free through the woods, without a care or a stitch." he said softly. "Baring it all and not even caring." he picked up the clothes and looked them over with a smile. "Imagine... destroying those clothes that kept you from feeling this. How good that would feel."

Destroying his clothing was a perfectly silly idea. Part of him, briefly, was sure of it- but at the same instant, it made perfect sense. His heart was racing; he felt dirty and crazy and free, and it was scary and exciting. Cat-like, his pupils had grown with the excitement of it. He reached out and took his shirt, digging his sharp fingernails into the cheap cotton cloth, then raised it to his mouth, dug his pointed teeth into it, and tore it open at the seams.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" he asked, a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder. "Go on. Rip. Tear. Show it that you mean it. Earn your freedom." he chuckled. "Something feral like you does not deserve to be restrained, in any way. It ruins the savage beauty."

Savage? Allie had never been savage before. But he could be, if that was what this man wanted from him. He dug his teeth in deeper and pulled harder, tearing the fabric into three pieces, and then four. His tail puffed up and lashed back and forth as he moved on to his shorts, destroying them, as well.

Savage beauty. He liked the feelings he got from those words- images of jaguars moving like spotted shadows through trees and lions stalking through tall grass. The feeling of cold, damp air against his bare skin made him feel as unrestrained as a wild tiger in the tundra.

When he looked up at the Alexander, his pupils swollen and his expression hovering between the thrill of wanton and thoughtless destructiveness and a powerful desire for the other man's approval, he still had a scrap of cloth between his teeth. He gingerly removed it before chirping, "Was that good?"

"That was very good, Allie." he said with a smile. "Do you like it?" he asked, smiling as he moved closer, a hand on the young man's shoulder. "I might have you do a few things for me." he said quietly. "How would you like to introduce others to this feeling? Wouldn't that be fun?"