Sirius opened his eyes, realizing he was knelt at the ground, his body now the size of his seven-year-old self. The darkness around him was hiding under a crust of light and his foggy memories were glitching mutely, the only motionless figure being the small bundle of fur sitting next to him.
"It's sad sad how you've locked me with all these bad memories like I was part of them." Sasha said, leaning his head over his tiny paws and looking blankly at the smoky people before them. They were not startling him anymore.
"I am sorry, Sasha! You didn't deserve this. It wasn't your fault things happened the way they did."
Sasha shook his head, letting his ears fall each side of his head.
"I am not upset you locked me here, Sirius. If you hadn't done it, I don't think I would have survived my own guilt. I admit at times it got too much to suffer and I was ready to give up, but then one of your new, happier memories would pop out and all I wanted was to live another day to see your clan members or our amazing mate.What really hurt me though was the fact you hated me for being weak. The fact that you haven't completely blocked me off after Fletcher died but denied my existence once you saw me as I am...small and brittle."
"I am sorry! I've always hoped you'd be this strong and powerful animal. But when I realized you were a kitten I couldn't help but be afraid... be afraid to become a target again."
Sasha moved closer to Sirius, sliding his head under the boy's palm and licking his fingertips gently.
"I may not be big and strong like other shifters, but I will never let anything bad happen to you ever again. I will try with all my might to keep you and the ones you love safe...and this time I won't fail. I will be a better shifter and I won't disappoint you if you're willing to give me a second chance."
Sirius nodded, placing his hand over the kitten's soft fur and starting to caress him gently, lifting him to his lap.
"Only if you give me a chance to be a better human as well."
⇜ꕥ⇝
Fifteen minutes in the past
"Sirius said he loves me!" Baloo chuckled once he left his mate and returned to his link with Teddy, making the later rise a brow in curiosity.
"He said something about me too?" Teddy asked, frowning when Baloo hummed a smug "no".
"He only said he loves me. I always knew I was his favorite. But don't worry, I am sure he will grow to love you too in time."
"Mhm, sure."
"What? You don't believe I am more lovable than you, kid? Psh... Sirius only endures to stay around you for your good looks. I am the brains, the one with personality and charm. I am the Don Juan, the Romeo, the Casanova!" Baloo huffed, extending his claw to pick at his nose.
"Yeah, yeah you are." Teddy sighed, almost grimacing when Baloo pulled away his paw, looked at his finger and started flicking his claws one to another in a discarding manner.
Realizing Baloo was too much of a distraction, Teddy decided to block him off and turn his attention back to his mate. Sirius' from was stilled and his eyes closed as if he was a mere statue... this until he started gasping for air an fell at the ground to his knees.
"Sirius?"
"No, no, no, not this!" Sirius muttered, making Teddy run by his side and place his hand on his shoulder. The cat shifter's face contorted in ugly wrinkles, his body being luckily hidden by the wooden podium.
"Mate?" Teddy shook Sirius'body in worry, feeling his heart being squeezed between the bony twigs of his chest when a stray tear fell down his mate's cheek. Sirius started moving his mouth in silent whispers, his body shaking profoundly and his limbs hanging numbly by his sides.
Teddy looked at Erik, asking the man through their mind link if he knew what was happening to his mate. The man just averted his gaze, telling the bear shifter to calm down because Sirius had to fight whatever battle was taking place inside his head. His son was fine...
....even if he didn't seemed fine to Teddy at all.
After a few more minutes-which passed like ages to Teddy-Sirius' trembling came to a halt and his body slumped against his mate's shoulder. Then the cat shifter placed his hands over Teddy's chest and clawed his shirt with his fingers, his ears and tail coming out before he arched his back and let out a gutural moan. Sirius let go of Teddy and curled at the ground, his clothes becoming baggier around his muscles as he started groaning and his limbs twisting funnily.
And no long after a stack of clothes was lying at the ground in Sirius' place, a small bump being visible from the inside.
Teddy knelt next to the bundle of clothes, seeing something stir under Sirius' black shirt. He grabbed the edge of the collar and widened the hole in the fabric, seeing a a small ball of fur pocking from the inside.
It took every drop of self-control in Teddy's body to stop himself from cooing out loud at the cute shifter watching him with huge expectant eyes from inside the shirt. Instead of doing that though he lifted the kitten into his palm and caressed his small head with his fingers, watching in awe how his index covered three quarters of the tinny animal's body.
"Hi there!" Teddy whispered, smiling softly when the kitten purred and started licking his finger with his little rosy tongue.
"You are such a sweet little thing!" Baloo cooed in his mind link with Sirius, being happily surprised to hear a soft voice respond him.
"Thank you! It's nice to meet you, Baloo!"
"You don't know happy I am to finally meet you too, pretty mate! What is your name?"
"I am-" Sasha started to say, but a sudden wave of gasps tinkled his eardrums and he shifted in Teddy's palm to see a huge cluster of people watching him-some with wide eyes of astonishment and others with sly mocking sneers curling their lips. Feeling panic bloom in his chest, Sasha jumped from Teddy's palm onto the wooden pedestal, looking at his mate who was now standing up and then back at the crowd.
"Why are so many people here?" Sasha asked, feeling the clan members' gazes burn him with their judgement. He gulped hesitantly and searched each and every hostile figure before his eyes, barely hearing Teddy's voice rattling at the back of his mind before deciding to dash away. He promised not to make Sirius a target again and here he was, attracting all those hateful and predatory stares towards him.
Sasha jumped on the ground and passed Teddy, running past Sirius'adoptive parents and as far away from the crowd.
"Wait!" Teddy called after his mate, starting to move towards him in concern when he saw the man approaching Sasha and lifting him from the ground.
In a matter of seconds Sasha was lifted into a harsh grasp, Freddy's bony fingers holding his fur at the back of his neck and keeping him at the same level with his face.
"Well, well, look how pitiful the big tough Sirius really is." Freddy sneered, turning towards the Clan members and shaking the small kitten who was whimpering into his hold. "Do you see whom we've been letting to torture us all this time? Who forced us to train day and night until our feet were too sore to walk and our body ached with stretched muscles and bruises? The one who gave us such a hard time for not rising to his expectations ?"
Freddy turned towards the cat shifter, scrunching his eyebrows into a threatening scowl.
"I will make you regret ever joining this clan. All you know is to boss people around and act as if you are superior to everyone else. But let me burst that bubble of yours, Sirius. In reality you are just a hypocritical weakling. A small kitten pretending to be a bulldog. You bark orders around and claim to be the leader of the clan without being half as strong or experiencing half the hardship any of us, the warriors do very day."
Sasha hissed, stretching his paw and extending his claws, scratching half of Freddy's face and making the bigger shifter drop him at the ground. The cat shifter landed on the floor daintily, looking up at Freddy whose head was now bowed. On the ground three red drops shattered against the dusty pavement.
"You little fuck!" Freddy growled, placing his hand over his bloody cheek and rising his foot in the air and then towards the cat shifter. Fortunately, before he was able to land a kick, Freddy was grabbed by the collar and pulled backwards by an angry bear shifter.
"If you touch my mate ever again-" Teddy started to threaten, but his words were snatched out of his mouth when Sasha changed in his human form and smashed his fist on Freddy's crooked nose, the latter falling at the ground.
"Don't you dare to touch me! And don't you dare to talk about other people's hardships. You don't know what everyone else has been through and you cannot compare one's sufferance and struggles to the other's! What, you're concerned that Sirius hadn't been training as much as you? Do you think he just stood there and watched you all sweat and whine whilst he wanked behind some nasty bushes? I bet you don't know he has been training since he was only 8 years old. After you marginalized him for not being fun to play with and for having bad misconceptions he started training day and night with no rest. You're calling him weak but have you seen how bulky and strong Sirius is despite having ME, a mere kitten, as his animal? I don't think that him barking at you is the reason why I am now able to break your face with only my fist."
Sasha tsked, turning towards the clan members, his palms covering his nakedness.
"And don't you tell me Sirius had been training you all so harshly for his own good. He had been doing all of these for you to be able to survive into this fucked up world. We are the mafia, not pussies."
"Well, you are actually a pussy."Baloo snickered in his mind link with Sasha, suddenly taking control over Teddy's body and lifting his mate into his arms bridal style.
"Think about what my mate said. Instead of glaring at him with those disgusting sneers, you'd better show some gratefulness." He then turned around, offering Freddy and everyone else a last devious grin. "Now if you excuse me, I have to disinfect my mate's hand from all these germs he touched."
Sorry if this chapter came out kinda rushed. I wrote half of it last night at 1 am and the rest this morning during online classes.
By the way, we are getting close to the end. About three-four more chapters with the epilogue.