Demons (Damirae)

Chapter Eighty-Nine

"Jaguars Damian, actual, real, jaguars."

"Yeah, pretty much."

She could've slapped him. "I hate you."

"No you don't.", he brushed her off with a smirk. "Quit your complaints and come see."

He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the big-cat and smaller-big-cats at the foot of her bed. With the apparent permission of their mother, the cubs bounced around Bella as Selina, sensing one of her own in the Catwoman. The child held back her squeals as her hands brushed over the fur of the cubs, blacker than midnight and softer than clouds.

Feelings no hostility whatsoever coming from the mother, Raven sat down by her, watching with a growing smile as one of her bumbling children approached. Eyes as vivid as Damian and his sister's, keen as Catwoman's and adventurous as every child's, the cub placed its paw on Raven's knee and looked in to her soul.

Raven melted.

Five minutes later, the mother's sleeping head lay in Selina's lap and the cubs (still brimming with energy) scampered after one of Raven's hairbands: thrown by Belladonna. The door was cautiously opened, "Miss Raven? Are you-", and the prim voice of Alfred Pennyworth cut off. Recovering, an apron around his waist and hands firmly on his hips, Alfred commanded the attention of everyone in the room, even waking the mother jaguar, "There had better be a damn good explanation for this. Master Damian you can't just bring home dangerous animals like this. First Goliath, then half the zoo, now this!"

Damian bit his lip, a smidgen ashamed at Alfred's tone; Raven was confused.

"Who's Goliath?"

Damian's mouth dropped and he knew he fucked up. Standing up, Damian held out his hands and, completely baffled himself, began, "Now Raven, I can't believe that it totally and honestly did not even occur to me that you don't know- how can I possibly explain this- ...look, it completely skipped my mind and I didn't even realise-"

"Damian.", his girlfriend stood up, eyes slits. "Spit it out."

"I have a hellhound."

*Another five minutes later*

"I mean really! A HELLHOUND Damian! An actual, living, breathing, HELLHOUND!", Raven paced in the same square metre of the Batcave, where Damian had told her to stand and 'do nothing else...but breathe'.

From a few metres away, staring in to the deep cavern, up and down at the stalagmites and stalactites, Damian tuned his head around and called back at her, "Yeah, pretty much."

He whistled twice, sharply, between two fingers and waited for a moment before doing so again.

A great gust of wind and a beating, swooping sound told of the arrival of his darling Goliath. Damian heard Raven's intake of breath as she stopped her ranting. In all his red, fearsome, furry might, Goliath towered over his boy, taking in the scent of him. In a moment, Damian was a slobbery mess, coated in Goliath's saliva.

"Aw boy I love you too.", he nuzzled his head in to Goliath's. "You didn't have to make a mess though, Tt.", he smiled, pulling away.

Hands to her mouth Raven took a deep calming breath. In...Ouuuut. She looked up at the creature of her homelands, huge, fierce and...so...fluffy.