Private with Fire

He grinned as she passed, and purposefully slowed down so that she could win. Once they reached the top, panting and out of breath, he gasped, "Wow, you were great! How'd you get that good at climbing?"

She pushed herself to go faster, slowly bypassing him as they approached the top of the tree.

He flicked his tail at her face teasingly as she chased him, and slipped to the side to give her a shot to pass.

"Hey!" She cried indignantly, shooting up the tree after him. "No fair!"

"Fine then, I'll take it," he purred, and bounded up the tree, smoothly pumping his legs upwards.

She pouted. "I don't want a head start."

He looked up and pointed at the very top where a lone branch stuck out. "We'll call that the finish-line. You start first, I'll give you a bit of a head start," he looked at her challengingly, hoping it would help to distract her further.

She padded after him, looking slightly doubtful about whether the game would be distracting enough but willing to try.

"Just like any other, and really simple," he purred, and stood up and playfully skipped towards a tree. "You wildcats climb, right? We both climb and see who gets to the top first."

"Depends on what sort of game it is," she replied, glancing at him.

He glanced at her, noticing that she still seemed sorta down. "Hey, wanna play a game?" he questioned innocently.

She shuffled her paws, following his gaze up to the stars. "Yeah.....," she murmured.

Seeing her words as an invitation, he settled himself beside her on the ground and pressed close against her to keep her warm. He beckoned up towards the sky and said lightly, "Whenever I've needed comfort, I've always looked upwards at the stars."

She flushed slightly underneath her fur when he licked her face, sitting up. "Thanks, Black," she said gratefully.

He moved his paw back down right in front of her and stepped forward, towering over her but not in a dominant sort of way. He bent down and licked her face. "Well, I'm here if you'd like me to stay," he offered.

Her ears twitched slightly. "Not yet," she said quietly. "I had hoped that it was a one time thing, but apparently not. I'm too scared to try again."

"I'm sorry," he whispered, and he now dared to lift his paw and stroke her ears softly. "Have you talked to Stormfur about it?"

"Thank you, Black," Pineleaf whispered, looking up at him through watery eyes. "Stormfur is really a good tom, but for some reason he can't control himself when mating. This is the second time we've tried," she sighed. "I doubt we're going to have a family now," she added sadly, her ears drooping.

He jerked his paw back when she recoiled, shocked that his own mate was now rejecting him from touching her with his paw. "What have I done?" he whispered, and wailed, turning around and sprinting away, leaving Black alone with her.

Black watched the tom then turned towards Pineleaf. "Are you okay, little one?" he murmured, keeping his distance.

Pineleaf whimpered, pulling away from Stormfur, not allowing him to touch her.

Stormfur felt terror replace his lust as he realized what happened. "Pineleaf..." he said uncertainly, reaching a paw towards her.

Pineleaf huddled in a ball, pressing herself against the ground, scared.

He turned on her and raised a paw as though to claw her when a blur of motion came out of nowhere and tackled him to the ground.

"Leave her alone, Stormfur," Black snarled, and ran his claws right above his eyes, not touching them. Stormfur recoiled at the sudden lash of claws and wriggled out from his grasp. "What are you doing?" he growled, glancing at the trembling Pineleaf.

Pineleaf recoiled with a whimper, squeezing her eyes shut.

Stormfur was not happy when she successfully did as she was told, and he jerked his cock out of her mouth to purposefully let his last rope fall on the ground. "How dare you..." he practically screeched.

Black growled in anger and began stepping forward, ready to intervene now.