Amnesia, Daniel/Alexander, NC-17 Part One of Two
Title: Visible Soul
Pairing: Daniel/Alexander
Summary: AU: Alexander is a Baron who takes in a little tabby cat and gets more than he bargains for.
Warnings: Pretty sure this counts as bestiality lmfao, animal-human hybrids, heat-cycles, voyeurism, explicit sexual content.
Author: blacktofade
Words: 7,087 / 13,194
Rating: NC-17
A/N 1: In my defence, this was going to be a G-rated cat-fest, but then all of my kinks happened /sob. Requires suspension of disbelief in regards to cat biology. I know toms don’t go into heat, but shhhh. This is my brain child and, oh god. I know. Please don’t judge too hard ;__; I’m also trying to calculate how much of my soul I’ll lose if I write an mpreg sequel. Who can say no to ass-kittens? Can possibly be bribed with kind words and/or a harsh beating.
A/N 2: Also posted at AO3. Title taken from the quote: “I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little, they become its visible soul.” Jean Cocteau. Please feel free to point out any mistakes/offer concrit.
Disclaimer: I am not associated with Amnesia or any of their affiliates. I don't mean any harm, this is all made up.
When the small tabby cat appears on the grounds of Brennenburg, Alexander’s first impression is to remove it at once, knowing that such an animal will only hinder his work if it ever manages to sneak its way into the castle. Yet, as it curls around his feet, mewling pitifully as though hungry and in need of shelter, something beyond his understanding draws him to the creature. He scoops it up into his arms, already hearing the faint purring at the attention he gives it, and carefully looks for a collar; there’s none, but from the ribs he can feel clearly under his palm, he knows it belongs to no one.
“You may hunt the mice in the castle to your heart’s content,” he tells it, briefly catching himself rubbing his fingers behind the cat’s ear. The cat purrs louder and nudges its head against Alexander’s chest as though in agreement, and Alexander sighs softly before making his way back inside, already knowing he will regret his change of heart.
He gives the cat - which after a quick glance, he realises is a tom - a small saucer of cream and leaves it to its own devices, knowing that if the creature is smart enough, he will remain on the higher levels of the castle and won’t become a nuisance.
*
The first morning after inviting the cat into his home, he almost steps on the large dead rat that sits half-eaten by his bedside as though some sort of peace-offering. He throws the remains out the window and leaves another dish of food just outside his study for the tom as a token of his gratitude.
*
He doesn’t see much of the feline for at least two weeks; almost forgets he’s even in the castle, until one day, when Alexander is settled in front of a warm fire, reading quietly, and there’s a faint meow and a creak of the door. He peers over his current page, watching as the cat nudges against the wood, forcing the hinges to give and allowing just enough space for him to slip through. He trots towards him, meowing again before he winds around Alexander’s ankles as though such affection is a common occurrence.
He sets his book aside and gently scoops the creature up, setting him in his lap and scratching carefully behind his ear. He begins to purr, kneading at Alexander’s thighs with his front paws, claws biting into his skin just a little past uncomfortable.
“Where have you been?” he asks and the cat blinks at him, his wide green eyes strangely seeming to understand. “Is it you that has been keeping the mice out of my wine cellar?”
The cat nudges his cheek into Alexander’s palm, encouraging further petting, and shuts his eyes and lifts his head, allowing better access when Alexander rubs under his chin. He feels the rumbling purr under his fingers, the noise oddly relaxing, turning his movements slow and lazy. He’s sure it is a number of people’s ideal way to spend an evening, with a roaring fire nearby and a cat in one’s lap, but it’s not exactly something he’s pictured for himself.
The cat turns in tight circles a few times before curling up, sliding his tail over his nose as though to keep it warm. Alexander continues stroking his soft fur, fingers seeming to automatically find the places that make him purr even louder, and he thinks about resuming his reading but realises he can’t reach his book without disturbing the settled animal.
Curiously, Alexander finds that he doesn’t want to take the risk of doing so and instead leans back and stares thoughtfully into the flames. The cat sighs, the noise unexplainably human, and the purring dies out as he drifts off to sleep, no longer reacting to Alexander’s attention. He thinks it should bother him, but the solid weight draped over his knees is enough to maintain the calm that winds through him, keeping him subdued and tired, as though he wants nothing more than to follow the cat’s example, despite the time being fairly early.
“If I am to keep you, I suppose you should have a name,” he murmurs quietly and the cat’s ears twitch minutely in response. He spends the rest of his evening thinking of one that might suit the creature, but eventually falls asleep sitting up before he can settle on anything.
*
“Max?” Alexander says watching the cat clean its face while sitting on the thick mat in front of the blazing fire. He doesn’t respond, just as he’s done with the twenty or so other names Alexander has been running through all night.
“Arthur?”
No reaction.
“Ivan?”
Nothing.
“Daniel?” This time the cat’s head darts up, eyes entirely alert as though Alexander has found the magic word. “You prefer that name?”
The cat stands, stretching out in long lines before he makes his way over to where Alexander sits and begins to rub his face against his knee. Alexander reaches down to scratch behind the feline’s ear, smoothing out his slightly saliva-damp fur, and the cat just purrs and closes his eyes in happiness.
“Here, Daniel,” he says patting one hand against his thigh and in a blink, the cat jumps up and starts kneading at Alexander’s legs. He laughs quietly and Daniel leans up to press his cold, wet nose into the underside of Alexander’s chin as though in answer. “Well, that is decided upon then.”
Daniel curls up and promptly falls fast asleep.
*
Daniel takes to following Alexander when he returns to the upper levels of the castle after long days, winding around his feet, almost tripping Alexander in his haste and need to be close. Alexander always sets out milk and scraps of cold meat to keep him content and after he gulps them down, Daniel falls asleep either on the floor nearby or on Alexander’s lap. Alexander often wishes he had a life as easy and he makes sure to let Daniel know, as though he will ever understand the foreign words. Daniel usually meows at the noise and rolls onto his back for a tummy rub, biting gently at Alexander’s fingers when he’s had enough.
He leaves his bedroom door ajar one evening as he changes into his nightshirt and Daniel slips through the gap and carefully explores the room as he dresses, sniffing at the low-hanging sheets on the bed, jumping onto the windowsill to peer through the glass. Eventually, Alexander makes his way over to him, running a hand down his back, watching his tail flick and back arch at the touch. He gently picks him up, curling an arm around his back legs and the other against his chest. Daniel purrs and pushes his face against Alexander’s jaw as though leaving a kiss upon his skin. Alexander returns the gesture, pressing his lips against the soft fur of Daniel’s head, and carries him towards the door.
However, halfway there, they pass by a mirror and Daniel catches sight of himself, suddenly hissing and scratching his way out of Alexander’s hold. Alexander lets out a noise of pain and drops him, though he lands nimbly on all four feet, entirely unfazed, too focussed on what he’s seen. He leaps onto the dresser, once more seeing his own reflection and growls low in his throat in warning as his body curves and he hops sideways towards the mirror. He looks almost twice as big as he raises his fur, and his tail looks more like a duster than anything else.
Daniel knocks into the glass with a dull thud and seems to realise that it’s not another cat after all because he sniffs at it for a few moment before turning to look at Alexander and making a quiet noise of confusion as though asking a question.
“That’s you,” Alexander says, rubbing the scratches on his arm, trying to quell the pain. “As strange as it may seem, you have four legs, two ears, and a lot of whiskers, just like any other cat.”
He taps Daniel softly on his head and Daniel tries to rub against his finger before he pulls it away again.
“Enough excitement for one night, I think,” he mumbles, scooping Daniel back up and carrying on once more out of the room. He sets him down in an armchair and gives one last pet before moving away, stepping back into his bedroom and shutting the door with a soft click. He extinguishes all the lamps before drawing the covers down the bed, ready for a quiet night of rest. It’s as he’s just about to crawl onto the welcoming softness of the mattress that he hears a faint jingling of the door handle.
Perplexed by the sound, Alexander makes his way back over the door, opening it carefully to peer around and discover the source. He finds Daniel standing on his back legs, paws next to the handle which he’s obviously been playing with.
“Go to sleep, Daniel,” Alexander commands, trying to shut the door again, but Daniel is too quick and slips into the room before he can move his foot to block the path. He trots across to the bed, jumps onto it, and then has the nerve to meow at Alexander as though he is being too slow.
“You’re not sleeping in here, Daniel,” he begins before Daniel curls up on one of his pillows and shuts his eyes, ignoring him completely. He thinks about moving him back out into the study, but catches a glimpse of his reddened, scratched arm and thinks he’s had rather enough injuries for one night. He sighs in exasperation and leaves the door open slightly in case Daniel wants to leave while Alexander sleeps.
He slips into bed without another word and thinks himself lucky that there aren’t two of Daniel and that he gets a pillow to himself. He draws the duvet up over him and shuts his eyes, falling easily into an exhausted sleep.
*
He awakens briefly in the night when something scrapes and burns the skin of his arm and he peers blearily through the darkness to find Daniel carefully licking at his tender sores. He wonders for a moment if he’ll end up with an infection, but the warm saliva soothes the throbbing pain and the catch of Daniel’s barbed tongue doesn’t seem as rough after a few swipes.
He fumbles half-asleep with his free hand, gently rubbing Daniel’s head in thanks, while Daniel continues his work.
When dawn arrives, Daniel is no longer beside him, but the redness of his arm is gone and the scratches are beginning to heal over already. He puts out extra milk for him that evening and watches with a small smile on his face as Daniel laps it up, purring loudly the entire time.
*
“Daniel, get down,” he complains, only half paying attention to the cat that’s slaloming through vases atop Alexander’s mantle. He doesn’t know how Daniel got up there in the first place, but he seems happy just to sniff each container thoroughly as though searching for hidden treasure. “If you break one, you’re going outside.”
Daniel meows quietly and moves to the next vase, rubbing his face against it as though looking for attention. It wobbles precariously but remains standing, the noise just enough to make Alexander look up over the edge of his notes. Daniel stares at him and Alexander is sure that if Daniel were a person, he’d have a smirk on his face.
“Don’t you dare.”
Daniel goes back to sniffing, but keeps his gaze on Alexander. Alexander narrows his eyes as Daniel presses forward slowly, seemingly innocent, before he rubs against the vase again. This time it wobbles, tips, and plummets off the mantelpiece, and there’s nothing Alexander can do but watch. It bursts into pieces when it hits the floor and the noise is deafening in the silence.
Alexander immediately stands, tossing the papers aside as he moves towards where Daniel stands. Daniel’s ears lower as though afraid of Alexander’s reaction and meows as Alexander steps closer. With one hand, Alexander grabs Daniel by the scruff and tugs him down, carrying him towards the study door and depositing him in the hallway where it’s significantly colder. He shuts the door behind him, keeping Daniel out and holding true to his threat.
As he cleans up the vase and throws the remains into the dying fire to be taken out with the ashes in the morning, he hears Daniel whining pitifully through the wood. He tries his best to ignore the noise, settling back into his chair to resume reading, however, as Daniel begins rattling the door handle, Alexander gives up and decides to have an early night.
In his bedroom, he cannot hear Daniel’s meows, but it doesn’t ease his guilt. He reminds himself that the cat did wrong and needs to be punished, but it doesn’t help either. His bed seems oddly cold without Daniel there sleeping quietly beside him, but he pulls the covers up to his chin and shuts his eyes.
*
He sleeps fitfully, waking at what feels like every hour, tossing and turning, tangling himself in the sheets. He eventually tugs himself free and stumbles half-asleep from the bed through the study to open the hallway door, outside which he finds Daniel sleeping on the cold stone floor.
“Daniel?” he says around a yawn and Daniel instantly lifts his head and blinks at him. “C’mon.”
He leaves the door open, allowing Daniel to follow behind if he so wishes. He curls back into the warmth of his bed and settles down listening until he hears the quiet, soft padding of Daniel’s paws steadily getting closer. The duvet moves with Daniel’s added weight atop it and the pillow that has slowly become Daniel’s own dips next to his face. A cold nose presses against his forehead briefly before disappearing in a flurry of purring. It seems like the closest thing to an apology Alexander will receive from the feline.
With Daniel once more nearby, he falls asleep easily and doesn’t wake again until late the next morning, when he finds himself sprawled out on his back with Daniel snoring softly on his chest, head tucked under his chin.
*
Daniel disappears for a week mid-way through April, only a month or so after Alexander takes him in, and at first he thinks that perhaps he has a home after all. However, several days later, he reappears, rubbing around Alexander’s legs and getting in the way as though he’s never left.
“Where have you been?” he asks, picking him up, noticing vaguely that he seems to be slightly slimmer and he wonders if he’s eaten. Yet, he knows Daniel is capable of catching and killing small animals, as he does it almost every day around the castle. “It’s not safe on these grounds.”
Daniel purrs quietly and never reveals his secrets.
*
Eventually, it seems to become routine.
As the months pass, Daniel vanishes almost on the exact same day each time and resurfaces just as quickly, begging for food as though practically half-starved. Alexander doesn’t have the time to keep an eye on him, but as long as he returns safely and isn’t terrorising the locals, he’s content to let Daniel continue his habit.
He blames it on being a cat thing and puts it from his mind.
*
Alexander prides himself on not startling easily, but when he wanders into his study, entirely exhausted from a day’s work in the laboratory, and finds a man curled up on his divan, he stops abruptly and lets out a low noise of surprise. The man stirs, hands unfurling from in front of his face, revealing the youthful visage of a gentleman no older than two and twenty and Alexander realises belatedly he’s fast asleep where he lies. Not entirely sure of what to do, the situation so bizarre and unusual, he settles for clearing his throat softly.
“Sir, this is private property.”
The young man murmurs sleepily, eyes fluttering as he yawns and stretches not unlike Daniel the cat, before blinking blearily up at Alexander. It seems to take the man a moment to realise there’s someone else in the room with him, but when he does, he jolts upright, his green eyes shooting open in panic.
He stands, stumbling backwards a few steps until he bumps into Alexander’s desk and finds he has nowhere else to go. His expression is sheer terror as he grapples at the wood, attempting to put as much distance between them as physically possible. Alexander holds his palms up in surrender, trying his best to soothe the man’s fright, but bizarrely he drops into a crouch and slides into the space under the desk, peering up at Alexander through the slats of the chair.
“Are you well?” Alexander can’t help but ask, suddenly worried that a patient has escaped from the local asylum and found their way into his home. The man just blinks at him as though entirely confused by Alexander’s words and it dawns on him that he must be a foreigner. He tries again in French and then in English when there’s still no response, but nothing changes, if anything the man cowers away from him even further.
With his hands on his hips, wholly confused as to what he should do, Alexander peers closer at the man, wondering if perhaps he’s a distant relative, but his face is unfamiliar. It is then that he notices what the man is wearing. At first, he thinks it’s true that the man is a patient for he only seems to be wearing a thin white gown, but when he recognises the pearl-buttons, it dawns on him that it’s one of his own shirts. It’s far too large on the man, swamping his body and reaching almost to his bare knees, his hands hidden by the length of the sleeves, but it’s decidedly one of the spares he keeps in his wardrobe.
“Who are you?” he demands, confusion finally turning to anger and the man begins to shiver, fingers digging into the wooden floor as though he wishes to dig grooves into it with his nails. He half expects him to hiss and arch his back like a cat would do when afraid, but the man remains in his hiding place, lips firmly shut. “What is your name?”
Finally, the man seems to recognise something in Alexander’s tone of voice because his head tips to one side as though listening carefully.
“Your name?” Alexander repeats and the man wets his lips, looking unsure of himself as he murmurs something far too quiet for Alexander to hear.
“Pardon?” he asks softly and the man blinks and hums in the back of his throat before answering.
“Daniel,” he says. “You named me Daniel.”
“Excuse me?”
He thinks it’s the man’s poor grasp of German, but the man repeats himself slightly surer, voice a little stronger.
“You - you named me Daniel.”
“Sir, I have never met you before.”
As though gaining confidence, the man, Daniel, inches out from under the desk, a long expanse of pale legs appearing before the rest of him. He remains huddled on the floor, fingers curled around the chair-back, peering up at Alexander with wide bright eyes.
“You took me in.”
He tucks a strand of his mousy, shoulder-length hair behind his ear and that’s when Alexander finally realises there’s something not quite right about the man’s appearance. He has two strange lumps atop his head that seem to twitch every few seconds, and Alexander doesn’t try to hide the fact that he’s staring.
“You must have me confused with another.”
The man shakes his head negatively and shifts forward again, knees splayed as though not entirely balanced, and Alexander begins to wonder if perhaps he’s the local drunk. He leans towards the man discreetly, sniffing for the heady scent of alcohol, but there’s nothing but a clean, soapy odour about him.
“Who am I then?” he asks and Daniel blinks and cocks his head.
“You’re the owner of this castle,” he says as though it’s obvious. “You’re my owner.”
The noise of surprise that escapes him is wholly unforeseen, hanging heavily in the air between them, as Daniel smiles softly.
“I am your owner?” he repeats, trying not to let the man see how affected he truly is by the words. If he had known he was Daniel’s owner, he would have surely put him to good use already. He rakes his eyes over the kneeling man and holds back from licking his lips keenly. Daniel turns to one side slightly and Alexander can’t help but notice the way the hem of his shirt rides up as something underneath twitches; his mouth quirks in amusement as he wonders if he’s not the only one interested. However, he takes a step back, startled as what appears to be a tail slips from underneath the thin material, standing out stark against the whiteness.
“Is this a joke?” he snaps, almost regretting it the minute Daniel cowers away from him at his tone. The tail curls around the man’s thigh, slipping under the shirt, and tucking itself nearly completely from sight once more. Carefully, with a slightly shaking hand, Daniel cards his fingers through his hair, shifting the strands between the lumps on his head and when he pulls away, Alexander realises they’re ears, more specifically, cat ears.
“My form shifts,” Daniel murmurs, eyes following Alexander’s every move, as though to make sure he never gets too close. “I thought I would turn back before you returned; I didn’t mean to fall asleep here.”
His feline ears twitching softly as though sensing sounds beyond the room’s walls; unthinking, Alexander takes a step forward and although Daniel shies away he doesn’t hide again, just tenses under Alexander’s gaze, his tail flicking from side to side in agitation.
“May I?” he asks, arm outstretched, fingers hovering by Daniel’s head. There’s a long, silent pause and Alexander begins to think the man will reject him, but eventually he tips his head and nudges up against Alexander’s palm.
His ears are softer than he thought they would be, the fur thin and silky under his fingertips, but they’re decidedly very real, and when he pinches one carefully between his thumb and index finger and tugs, Daniel lets out a quiet noise of discomfort that sounds remarkably like a mewl.
“Forgive me,” Alexander murmurs in fascination, not the least bit sorry, but Daniel settles again, allowing Alexander to push his hair aside to better see where the ears attach to his skull.
The man is certainly a rare gift to science and Alexander would like nothing more than to take him into the lower levels of the castle and find the line that separates his two halves, but there is something that holds him back. He scratches idly behind Daniel’s ear and the man begins to purr softly as though unaware that he is even doing it at all. He pictures himself curls up on the settee, Daniel nestled in his lap with his eyes shut in bliss as Alexander pets him with one hand and holds a book in the other. It is almost the exact same image of how he spent the night before, except with his cat - he pauses and looks down at Daniel, who stares innocently back up at him.
“You are Daniel,” he says, unable to hide his awe and Daniel nods as though it is what he has been trying to tell him from the start. “You are my Daniel. The very same one that leaves rodents at my bedside.”
Daniel’s throat bobs as he swallows, but he nods in assent and Alexander doesn’t know what else to say.
“When were you going to reveal the truth? If I hadn’t found you here this evening, would I have ever known?”
Daniel curls his fingers into his hair, tugging nervously, his eyes impossibly wide.
“I - I was waiting to turn. I’ve been unable to track the days.”
“You cannot control it?”
Daniel shakes his head and untangles the hair from around his knuckles.
“Not recently; it comes and goes perhaps once every month.”
“For how long?”
Daniel looks at the floor as though he isn’t telling the whole truth, but Alexander allows him the benefit of the doubt and doesn’t question him.
“About a week,” he mumbles and Alexander just nods.
“That is where you have been disappearing to for all this time?”
“I couldn’t tell you; you never would have believed me.”
“Yet you thought I would now? Why?”
Daniel bites his lip and swallows.
“I might need your help,” he says quietly. “I have been having difficulties.”
Alexander grunts in response, trying to sort the mayhem of thoughts in his head.
“You are welcome to the guestroom when it is ready. I will ask the servants to prepare it tomorrow. For now you may continue resting on the settee.”
“Thank you,” Daniel breathes out, voice wavering as if no one has ever offered him kindness before. He stands slowly, still holding himself as though wary of Alexander’s presence, but Alexander knows it’s ridiculous after all the time he’s spent in Alexander’s lap in his feline form. Perhaps, he thinks, it is different when for much of his life he is one being and the rest he is another. Alexander can’t imagine it for himself, but as Daniel edges around him and curls into a ball on the divan, it seems like a flawless blend of the two.
“We shall discuss this further in the morning. I expect answers,” Alexander says, tugging a blanket from the cupboard in the corner. He shakes it out and drapes it loosely over Daniel’s body, watching as he snuggles into the material with a sigh of contentment, giving no sign that he’s even heard Alexander’s words.
He puts another log on the fire to keep the study warm and then disappears into his own bedroom without looking back.
*
When he slips from his room in the morning, he expects to find Daniel asleep where he left him, but there’s nothing but the neatly folded blanket on one of the cushions. He puts it away with a resigned sigh and makes his way downstairs for breakfast.
He doesn’t see Daniel for the rest of the week, until he turns up in his feline form, meowing softly after he drops a dead rat at his feet.
Alexander stares down at him, unanswered questions hanging in the air between them.
“I thought you needed my help,” he says quietly as he scoops the cat up and goes to find him some proper food. Daniel nudges his face into the soft skin of Alexander’s shoulder through his shirt and purrs as though he doesn’t remember a thing.
*
“Daniel?” Alexander calls out, tapping the side of Daniel’s bowl.
He hasn’t show for dinner and Alexander isn’t worried per se - not that he would be willing to admit to it if he was - but he’s certainly concerned because Daniel has never missed a meal when in his feline form.
There’s a storm raging outside, thunder rolling loud and furious above as the rain lashes down against the window. He begins searching for Daniel in the guestroom, carefully lifting long draping curtains and bed sheets to make sure he’s not lounging underneath, but it isn’t until he finds him curled up and shaking in fear beneath Alexander’s bed that he realises it’s the first storm they’ve had since Daniel’s arrival.
“It will not hurt you, Daniel,” he whispers, trying to lure him out from his hiding place and Daniel lets out a pitiful meow in reply. He holds out his hands and slowly Daniel begins to inch towards him, ears flat in fear. When he’s close enough to reach, Alexander gently picks him up and cradles him against his chest, murmuring soft praise to keep him calm. “It is just the weather.”
Scratching behind Daniel’s ear, he makes his way to the window, peering out at the darkened sky. There’s a bright flash of lightening and Daniel digs his claws into Alexander’s chest and attempts to burrow further against him, pushing his face into the space under Alexander’s chin, his breath warm against his skin when he meows again.
“Alright, alright,” Alexander mumbles, drawing the curtains with one hand and carrying Daniel to the bed. “You can trust me.”
He slips under the covers still fully clothed and holds the sheet up for Daniel to tuck himself under, which he does immediately, curling up as though the blankets will keep him safe. Alexander sighs and pets him through the duvet, leaning up on one elbow and wondering how long it will be until the storm eventually passes and he may resume to a normal life.
“I mean that, Daniel. Even in your other form, you can trust me. I am not as bad as you might think.”
Daniel shuffles closer as though to counter his words and purrs almost louder than the rumbling thunder outside.
*
Alexander is not sure what awakens him as he rolls over, noting the darkness still outside the half-drawn curtains. He reaches across to the bedside table that holds a glass of water and takes small sips until he mouth feel less like the Sahara and more as it should. It’s when he’s setting the drink back down that he notices the small form at the end of his bed.
He sits up quickly, leaning forward for a closer view before he realises it’s Daniel. More specifically, Daniel in his human form. He’s fast asleep, soft mouth open, letting out quiet breaths, but he is entirely bare and shaking gently. When he reaches out to touch his arm, Daniel’s skin is cold, goosebumps littering the normally smooth expanse, and he tuts disapprovingly as though Daniel can hear.
“Daniel?” he murmurs, just loud enough that the man stirs, mumbling nonsense and not entirely awake. Daniel stretches and smacks his lips a few times before settling back down and wholly ignoring Alexander.
Alexander clicks his tongue and all but drags Daniel up the bed and Daniel fights him the whole way, limbs splaying every which way, loose and awkward with sleep, thudding without true force against Alexander’s chest. As soon as his head hits the pillows, Daniel pushes his face into the soft material, muttering something that Alexander doesn’t quite catch, but Alexander just drags the covers up over the both of them, keeping the warmth under the heavy duvet.
He curls around Daniel’s back without another thought, hands rubbing at Daniel’s skin to instil heat back into his body. Daniel hums quietly, his happiness palpable when he presses back against Alexander’s chest and begins purring as though back in his feline form. Alexander tangles their legs together and only just contains the hiss as Daniel’s icy feet slip between his own warmer ones. The purring eventually fades as he falls back asleep, but Alexander keeps touching him until the cold seeps away and he’s nothing but a wall of heat in front of him.
It takes him a little longer to follow Daniel’s lead and went he wakes again, Daniel is no longer beside him, the mattress long since gone cold where he once slept, but pillow is still dented, reminding him that it was not just a dream.
*
He’s never thought to question Daniel about why he changes form from feline to human; he’s never really given it much thought, that is until the moment he finds Daniel collapsed in the corner of the guestroom, stripped bare and sweating as though with fever.
“Daniel?” he calls out, moving to kneel at the young man’s side. “Are you well?”
Daniel flinches away from his touch and hisses as though he means it, his eyes strangely unfocussed when he turns towards Alexander. A hand shoots out, fingers curved and nails ready to strike, but Alexander catches his wrist and pins it to the floor with practised ease.
“Daniel, what is the meaning of this?”
The heat radiating off Daniel’s body rivals that from a roaring fire and Daniel leans into the palm he places on his forehead as though it soothes his burning skin.
“Is this a result of your changing form?” he asks, pushing Daniel’s hair back, away from his sweating face. When Daniel looks up, his pupils are blown wide, the green of his irises almost disappearing in the darkness. He nods, no longer struggling under Alexander’s strong hold and Alexander eventually draws away, letting the younger man sit up slowly.
“You need to leave,” he says, voice so quiet Alexander almost doesn’t hear him. “I will lock the door behind you.”
He runs his gaze over Daniel, wondering what he isn’t telling him, but when he glances between Daniel’s thighs and finds him reddened and aroused, he knows almost immediately. Daniel catches his eye, blushing furiously and looking away immediately.
“Please go,” he begs and Alexander drags himself onto legs that don’t feel entirely steady.
“You know where to find me if you need anything, Daniel,” he murmurs, slowly making his way to the door, which he grips with white knuckles.
Daniel doesn’t stand and follow, but he doesn’t close his legs to hide his shame either. Alexander wonders briefly if he’s too sensitive to even touch, if it makes his spine ache with the pressure of so much feeling.
He closes the door behind him, but even through it, Alexander hears the moan Daniel exhales, the one that goes straight to Alexander’s toes and curls them with want.
*
It’s three days after that Daniel shuffles into Alexander’s study, a large sheet wrapped around his body in the place of clothes. It must be the very same one from Daniel’s bed because there’s a dark smudge near the hem that look suspiciously like dried come; Alexander has to drag his focus elsewhere at the thought.
“Would you like a shirt and trousers?” he asks, setting his wineglass down and sitting up straighter. “I’m sure it is infuriating not having anything to wear when you’re in this form.”
Daniel shrugs, the sheet falling off one pale shoulder before he slides it back up.
“I would only need them for a week at most, but during that time I - ah - don’t often have use for clothes.”
Alexander steeples his fingers and rests his chin on them, thinking of the many ways he could address the sensitive issue. He ultimately gives up, knowing Daniel will stammer and blush any way he talks about it.
“You go into heat,” he says bluntly and Daniel lowers his face, tips of his human ears turning pink. He nods nevertheless, but draws the sheet tighter around his body.
“It began when I started becoming an adult,” he confesses, hands knotting in white cotton. “It gets worse with every change. I cannot stop it. It is best if I have somewhere to remain alone to wait it out, and eventually it fades.”
Alexander remembers Daniel’s expression the way he’d been curled in on himself.
“Does it hurt?”
“Yes,” Daniel whispers and looks so small surrounded by yards of material.
“Is there a way to ease it?”
Daniel flushes again, seeming to grapple quietly for the right words. The silence stretches on between them until Alexander gently clears his throat and Daniel finally looks at him.
“There are, um, certain acts which may be performed to help.”
Alexander holds back his grin, the way Daniel shifts in discomfort somehow entertaining him beyond reason.
“What sort of acts?”
Daniel nervously plays with a loose thread on the sheet, never quite meeting Alexander’s gaze.
“Acts of a personal sort,” he responds vaguely.
“You can either tell me or show me,” Alexander says, making it sound as though his patience is wearing thin, crossing his arms for added effect. Daniel fumbles wordlessly, starting and stopping his sentences before Alexander holds up a hand for silence. “You pleasure yourself?”
Daniel nods mutely.
“And it helps?”
Daniel nods again before raising his head and opening his mouth.
“A little, but the itch always returns quickly afterwards.”
“What makes it stay away longer?”
Daniel coughs quietly, hair falling into his face.
“Fingers,” he mumbles and for a second Alexander thinks he mishears him, but then Daniel repeats himself and this time it’s Alexander’s turn to blush, but the heat that spreads across his cheeks is anything but embarrassment. “Inside me,” Daniel adds needlessly.
He wets his lips and pictures Daniel on his knees, reaching around behind himself, slick fingers pressing into his body. He imagines how it must frustrate him, drive him half-mad with need when it’s still not enough; how he must wish for someone, anyone, to take him roughly and finally scratch the itch inside him.
Daniel doesn’t seem to notice his heavy gaze, too focussed on his own knee which has emerged from under the sheet, looking pale and unblemished, the skin of his thigh above looking perfect to place a bruise - made by mouth or fingers, Alexander doesn’t care.
“Has anyone ever helped you with your problem?”
Daniel bites his bottom lip and shakes his head. Alexander can’t stop the rush of possessiveness that rolls through him; he wants Daniel to himself and the thought that no one else has touched the man before him only sends lust spiralling down low into his stomach.
“Have you ever wanted them to?” Alexander tips his head, watching Daniel’s reaction and Daniel seems to genuinely think about it before he answers.
“No one has ever offered.”
“If I could assist you, would you let me?”
Daniel’s eyes widen in shock.
“You w-want to help me?”
Alexander holds up his index finger as he says, “Wait here just one moment.”
He knows what he needs as he walks into his bedroom, opening his cupboard, and lifting up the false bottom, revealing a stash of secreted items. He finds what he’s looking for and sets everything back into place.
When he places the object beside Daniel, Daniel’s mouth falls open in shock and the flush of his face returns once more.
“W-what is this?”
“It can help you. It will simulate the act of mating, while allowing you to remain alone in the privacy of your own room. It has never been utilised before now, do not worry. This is just a spare I own. I am a man of means,” he adds when Daniel shoots him a curious look, probably wondering why he would ever keep such an item in the first place. He doesn’t need to tell Daniel that he had it crafted just the day before on the off-chance that sometime soon Daniel would come to him for help.
“You cannot expect - ” he begins, but Alexander cuts him off abruptly.
“You said your fingers were not enough and I am giving you a temporary outlet. The only thing you should be saying is ‘Thank you’.”
Daniel shifts his gaze to the floor, looking apologetic and ashamed.
“Forgive me,” he says quietly. “I did not mean to offend you.”
He lifts the soft leather phallus and hides it under the many folds of his sheet.
“T-thank you.”
Alexander sits back in his chair, crossing his legs, and relaxing.
“Do you need oil?” he asks eventually once the silence turns uncomfortable.
“N-no,” Daniel stammers.
“No?” Alexander replies, genuinely intrigued.
“No, my body, um, creates a lubricant by itself. It’s usually wet enough with that alone.”
Alexander’s eyes flutter shut briefly as he imagines what that means. He could have Daniel anytime, anywhere. Right at this moment, he could push Daniel down upon the divan, drag the sheet down his body, and slide into the tight heat without a second thought. This time Daniel seems to notice the change in his body language, because his eyes darken and he shifts as though the itch has returned already.
“I should return to the guestroom to sleep,” he says quickly, standing and shuffling awkwardly in place for a few moments. “I do not wish to disturb your evening any more than I already have.”
Alexander holds back the laugh that threatens to escape him, understanding that Daniel is lying. He knows exactly what Daniel wishes to return to his rooms to do and it definitely isn’t to rest.
He dismisses him with a wave of his hand.
“Sleep well,” he says softly as Daniel opens the door and begins to slip through, disappearing from sight.
He only hopes that Daniel pictures him when he finally comes, filled to the brim with the leather toy.
*
It is the next morning when Daniel strolls past him in cat form, tail raised high as though he is feeling happy and well-rested. He refrains from commenting and waits until he knows Daniel is elsewhere hunting mice before stealing into the guestroom to assess the damage.
It’s the smell he notices first; the sharp, heady scent of sex that seems to linger, impossible to ignore. He wonders how many times Daniel sought release before finally falling to exhaustion and can’t help but picture him asleep with the toy still inside him, the strength to remove it gone after so much exertion.
The bed looks well-used, the sheets and duvet completely untucked, draping every which way, the pillows scattered about the room carelessly. He leaves the mess for the servants to clear up, but eventually finds what he’s searching for hidden under the furthest corner of the mattress, still slightly sticky.
He knows Daniel no longer has use for the toy while in his feline form, and he would rather his servants didn’t find his most personal items strewn about, so he takes it with him without a second thought. He stops in the bathroom to clean it, washing and drying it carefully to make sure it doesn’t become damaged, and then he tucks it into the bottom drawer of his desk, locking it after to keep prying eyes and fingers away. When Daniel requires it again, he need only ask, he thinks with a faint smile, knowing how Daniel will blush and stammer his way through his request until Alexander finally relents.
He finds himself unable to keep from counting down the days leading up to Daniel’s next heat.
*
PART TWO >>
Pairing: Daniel/Alexander
Summary: AU: Alexander is a Baron who takes in a little tabby cat and gets more than he bargains for.
Warnings: Pretty sure this counts as bestiality lmfao, animal-human hybrids, heat-cycles, voyeurism, explicit sexual content.
Author: blacktofade
Words: 7,087 / 13,194
Rating: NC-17
A/N 1: In my defence, this was going to be a G-rated cat-fest, but then all of my kinks happened /sob. Requires suspension of disbelief in regards to cat biology. I know toms don’t go into heat, but shhhh. This is my brain child and, oh god. I know. Please don’t judge too hard ;__; I’m also trying to calculate how much of my soul I’ll lose if I write an mpreg sequel. Who can say no to ass-kittens? Can possibly be bribed with kind words and/or a harsh beating.
A/N 2: Also posted at AO3. Title taken from the quote: “I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little, they become its visible soul.” Jean Cocteau. Please feel free to point out any mistakes/offer concrit.
Disclaimer: I am not associated with Amnesia or any of their affiliates. I don't mean any harm, this is all made up.
When the small tabby cat appears on the grounds of Brennenburg, Alexander’s first impression is to remove it at once, knowing that such an animal will only hinder his work if it ever manages to sneak its way into the castle. Yet, as it curls around his feet, mewling pitifully as though hungry and in need of shelter, something beyond his understanding draws him to the creature. He scoops it up into his arms, already hearing the faint purring at the attention he gives it, and carefully looks for a collar; there’s none, but from the ribs he can feel clearly under his palm, he knows it belongs to no one.
“You may hunt the mice in the castle to your heart’s content,” he tells it, briefly catching himself rubbing his fingers behind the cat’s ear. The cat purrs louder and nudges its head against Alexander’s chest as though in agreement, and Alexander sighs softly before making his way back inside, already knowing he will regret his change of heart.
He gives the cat - which after a quick glance, he realises is a tom - a small saucer of cream and leaves it to its own devices, knowing that if the creature is smart enough, he will remain on the higher levels of the castle and won’t become a nuisance.
*
The first morning after inviting the cat into his home, he almost steps on the large dead rat that sits half-eaten by his bedside as though some sort of peace-offering. He throws the remains out the window and leaves another dish of food just outside his study for the tom as a token of his gratitude.
*
He doesn’t see much of the feline for at least two weeks; almost forgets he’s even in the castle, until one day, when Alexander is settled in front of a warm fire, reading quietly, and there’s a faint meow and a creak of the door. He peers over his current page, watching as the cat nudges against the wood, forcing the hinges to give and allowing just enough space for him to slip through. He trots towards him, meowing again before he winds around Alexander’s ankles as though such affection is a common occurrence.
He sets his book aside and gently scoops the creature up, setting him in his lap and scratching carefully behind his ear. He begins to purr, kneading at Alexander’s thighs with his front paws, claws biting into his skin just a little past uncomfortable.
“Where have you been?” he asks and the cat blinks at him, his wide green eyes strangely seeming to understand. “Is it you that has been keeping the mice out of my wine cellar?”
The cat nudges his cheek into Alexander’s palm, encouraging further petting, and shuts his eyes and lifts his head, allowing better access when Alexander rubs under his chin. He feels the rumbling purr under his fingers, the noise oddly relaxing, turning his movements slow and lazy. He’s sure it is a number of people’s ideal way to spend an evening, with a roaring fire nearby and a cat in one’s lap, but it’s not exactly something he’s pictured for himself.
The cat turns in tight circles a few times before curling up, sliding his tail over his nose as though to keep it warm. Alexander continues stroking his soft fur, fingers seeming to automatically find the places that make him purr even louder, and he thinks about resuming his reading but realises he can’t reach his book without disturbing the settled animal.
Curiously, Alexander finds that he doesn’t want to take the risk of doing so and instead leans back and stares thoughtfully into the flames. The cat sighs, the noise unexplainably human, and the purring dies out as he drifts off to sleep, no longer reacting to Alexander’s attention. He thinks it should bother him, but the solid weight draped over his knees is enough to maintain the calm that winds through him, keeping him subdued and tired, as though he wants nothing more than to follow the cat’s example, despite the time being fairly early.
“If I am to keep you, I suppose you should have a name,” he murmurs quietly and the cat’s ears twitch minutely in response. He spends the rest of his evening thinking of one that might suit the creature, but eventually falls asleep sitting up before he can settle on anything.
*
“Max?” Alexander says watching the cat clean its face while sitting on the thick mat in front of the blazing fire. He doesn’t respond, just as he’s done with the twenty or so other names Alexander has been running through all night.
“Arthur?”
No reaction.
“Ivan?”
Nothing.
“Daniel?” This time the cat’s head darts up, eyes entirely alert as though Alexander has found the magic word. “You prefer that name?”
The cat stands, stretching out in long lines before he makes his way over to where Alexander sits and begins to rub his face against his knee. Alexander reaches down to scratch behind the feline’s ear, smoothing out his slightly saliva-damp fur, and the cat just purrs and closes his eyes in happiness.
“Here, Daniel,” he says patting one hand against his thigh and in a blink, the cat jumps up and starts kneading at Alexander’s legs. He laughs quietly and Daniel leans up to press his cold, wet nose into the underside of Alexander’s chin as though in answer. “Well, that is decided upon then.”
Daniel curls up and promptly falls fast asleep.
*
Daniel takes to following Alexander when he returns to the upper levels of the castle after long days, winding around his feet, almost tripping Alexander in his haste and need to be close. Alexander always sets out milk and scraps of cold meat to keep him content and after he gulps them down, Daniel falls asleep either on the floor nearby or on Alexander’s lap. Alexander often wishes he had a life as easy and he makes sure to let Daniel know, as though he will ever understand the foreign words. Daniel usually meows at the noise and rolls onto his back for a tummy rub, biting gently at Alexander’s fingers when he’s had enough.
He leaves his bedroom door ajar one evening as he changes into his nightshirt and Daniel slips through the gap and carefully explores the room as he dresses, sniffing at the low-hanging sheets on the bed, jumping onto the windowsill to peer through the glass. Eventually, Alexander makes his way over to him, running a hand down his back, watching his tail flick and back arch at the touch. He gently picks him up, curling an arm around his back legs and the other against his chest. Daniel purrs and pushes his face against Alexander’s jaw as though leaving a kiss upon his skin. Alexander returns the gesture, pressing his lips against the soft fur of Daniel’s head, and carries him towards the door.
However, halfway there, they pass by a mirror and Daniel catches sight of himself, suddenly hissing and scratching his way out of Alexander’s hold. Alexander lets out a noise of pain and drops him, though he lands nimbly on all four feet, entirely unfazed, too focussed on what he’s seen. He leaps onto the dresser, once more seeing his own reflection and growls low in his throat in warning as his body curves and he hops sideways towards the mirror. He looks almost twice as big as he raises his fur, and his tail looks more like a duster than anything else.
Daniel knocks into the glass with a dull thud and seems to realise that it’s not another cat after all because he sniffs at it for a few moment before turning to look at Alexander and making a quiet noise of confusion as though asking a question.
“That’s you,” Alexander says, rubbing the scratches on his arm, trying to quell the pain. “As strange as it may seem, you have four legs, two ears, and a lot of whiskers, just like any other cat.”
He taps Daniel softly on his head and Daniel tries to rub against his finger before he pulls it away again.
“Enough excitement for one night, I think,” he mumbles, scooping Daniel back up and carrying on once more out of the room. He sets him down in an armchair and gives one last pet before moving away, stepping back into his bedroom and shutting the door with a soft click. He extinguishes all the lamps before drawing the covers down the bed, ready for a quiet night of rest. It’s as he’s just about to crawl onto the welcoming softness of the mattress that he hears a faint jingling of the door handle.
Perplexed by the sound, Alexander makes his way back over the door, opening it carefully to peer around and discover the source. He finds Daniel standing on his back legs, paws next to the handle which he’s obviously been playing with.
“Go to sleep, Daniel,” Alexander commands, trying to shut the door again, but Daniel is too quick and slips into the room before he can move his foot to block the path. He trots across to the bed, jumps onto it, and then has the nerve to meow at Alexander as though he is being too slow.
“You’re not sleeping in here, Daniel,” he begins before Daniel curls up on one of his pillows and shuts his eyes, ignoring him completely. He thinks about moving him back out into the study, but catches a glimpse of his reddened, scratched arm and thinks he’s had rather enough injuries for one night. He sighs in exasperation and leaves the door open slightly in case Daniel wants to leave while Alexander sleeps.
He slips into bed without another word and thinks himself lucky that there aren’t two of Daniel and that he gets a pillow to himself. He draws the duvet up over him and shuts his eyes, falling easily into an exhausted sleep.
*
He awakens briefly in the night when something scrapes and burns the skin of his arm and he peers blearily through the darkness to find Daniel carefully licking at his tender sores. He wonders for a moment if he’ll end up with an infection, but the warm saliva soothes the throbbing pain and the catch of Daniel’s barbed tongue doesn’t seem as rough after a few swipes.
He fumbles half-asleep with his free hand, gently rubbing Daniel’s head in thanks, while Daniel continues his work.
When dawn arrives, Daniel is no longer beside him, but the redness of his arm is gone and the scratches are beginning to heal over already. He puts out extra milk for him that evening and watches with a small smile on his face as Daniel laps it up, purring loudly the entire time.
*
“Daniel, get down,” he complains, only half paying attention to the cat that’s slaloming through vases atop Alexander’s mantle. He doesn’t know how Daniel got up there in the first place, but he seems happy just to sniff each container thoroughly as though searching for hidden treasure. “If you break one, you’re going outside.”
Daniel meows quietly and moves to the next vase, rubbing his face against it as though looking for attention. It wobbles precariously but remains standing, the noise just enough to make Alexander look up over the edge of his notes. Daniel stares at him and Alexander is sure that if Daniel were a person, he’d have a smirk on his face.
“Don’t you dare.”
Daniel goes back to sniffing, but keeps his gaze on Alexander. Alexander narrows his eyes as Daniel presses forward slowly, seemingly innocent, before he rubs against the vase again. This time it wobbles, tips, and plummets off the mantelpiece, and there’s nothing Alexander can do but watch. It bursts into pieces when it hits the floor and the noise is deafening in the silence.
Alexander immediately stands, tossing the papers aside as he moves towards where Daniel stands. Daniel’s ears lower as though afraid of Alexander’s reaction and meows as Alexander steps closer. With one hand, Alexander grabs Daniel by the scruff and tugs him down, carrying him towards the study door and depositing him in the hallway where it’s significantly colder. He shuts the door behind him, keeping Daniel out and holding true to his threat.
As he cleans up the vase and throws the remains into the dying fire to be taken out with the ashes in the morning, he hears Daniel whining pitifully through the wood. He tries his best to ignore the noise, settling back into his chair to resume reading, however, as Daniel begins rattling the door handle, Alexander gives up and decides to have an early night.
In his bedroom, he cannot hear Daniel’s meows, but it doesn’t ease his guilt. He reminds himself that the cat did wrong and needs to be punished, but it doesn’t help either. His bed seems oddly cold without Daniel there sleeping quietly beside him, but he pulls the covers up to his chin and shuts his eyes.
*
He sleeps fitfully, waking at what feels like every hour, tossing and turning, tangling himself in the sheets. He eventually tugs himself free and stumbles half-asleep from the bed through the study to open the hallway door, outside which he finds Daniel sleeping on the cold stone floor.
“Daniel?” he says around a yawn and Daniel instantly lifts his head and blinks at him. “C’mon.”
He leaves the door open, allowing Daniel to follow behind if he so wishes. He curls back into the warmth of his bed and settles down listening until he hears the quiet, soft padding of Daniel’s paws steadily getting closer. The duvet moves with Daniel’s added weight atop it and the pillow that has slowly become Daniel’s own dips next to his face. A cold nose presses against his forehead briefly before disappearing in a flurry of purring. It seems like the closest thing to an apology Alexander will receive from the feline.
With Daniel once more nearby, he falls asleep easily and doesn’t wake again until late the next morning, when he finds himself sprawled out on his back with Daniel snoring softly on his chest, head tucked under his chin.
*
Daniel disappears for a week mid-way through April, only a month or so after Alexander takes him in, and at first he thinks that perhaps he has a home after all. However, several days later, he reappears, rubbing around Alexander’s legs and getting in the way as though he’s never left.
“Where have you been?” he asks, picking him up, noticing vaguely that he seems to be slightly slimmer and he wonders if he’s eaten. Yet, he knows Daniel is capable of catching and killing small animals, as he does it almost every day around the castle. “It’s not safe on these grounds.”
Daniel purrs quietly and never reveals his secrets.
*
Eventually, it seems to become routine.
As the months pass, Daniel vanishes almost on the exact same day each time and resurfaces just as quickly, begging for food as though practically half-starved. Alexander doesn’t have the time to keep an eye on him, but as long as he returns safely and isn’t terrorising the locals, he’s content to let Daniel continue his habit.
He blames it on being a cat thing and puts it from his mind.
*
Alexander prides himself on not startling easily, but when he wanders into his study, entirely exhausted from a day’s work in the laboratory, and finds a man curled up on his divan, he stops abruptly and lets out a low noise of surprise. The man stirs, hands unfurling from in front of his face, revealing the youthful visage of a gentleman no older than two and twenty and Alexander realises belatedly he’s fast asleep where he lies. Not entirely sure of what to do, the situation so bizarre and unusual, he settles for clearing his throat softly.
“Sir, this is private property.”
The young man murmurs sleepily, eyes fluttering as he yawns and stretches not unlike Daniel the cat, before blinking blearily up at Alexander. It seems to take the man a moment to realise there’s someone else in the room with him, but when he does, he jolts upright, his green eyes shooting open in panic.
He stands, stumbling backwards a few steps until he bumps into Alexander’s desk and finds he has nowhere else to go. His expression is sheer terror as he grapples at the wood, attempting to put as much distance between them as physically possible. Alexander holds his palms up in surrender, trying his best to soothe the man’s fright, but bizarrely he drops into a crouch and slides into the space under the desk, peering up at Alexander through the slats of the chair.
“Are you well?” Alexander can’t help but ask, suddenly worried that a patient has escaped from the local asylum and found their way into his home. The man just blinks at him as though entirely confused by Alexander’s words and it dawns on him that he must be a foreigner. He tries again in French and then in English when there’s still no response, but nothing changes, if anything the man cowers away from him even further.
With his hands on his hips, wholly confused as to what he should do, Alexander peers closer at the man, wondering if perhaps he’s a distant relative, but his face is unfamiliar. It is then that he notices what the man is wearing. At first, he thinks it’s true that the man is a patient for he only seems to be wearing a thin white gown, but when he recognises the pearl-buttons, it dawns on him that it’s one of his own shirts. It’s far too large on the man, swamping his body and reaching almost to his bare knees, his hands hidden by the length of the sleeves, but it’s decidedly one of the spares he keeps in his wardrobe.
“Who are you?” he demands, confusion finally turning to anger and the man begins to shiver, fingers digging into the wooden floor as though he wishes to dig grooves into it with his nails. He half expects him to hiss and arch his back like a cat would do when afraid, but the man remains in his hiding place, lips firmly shut. “What is your name?”
Finally, the man seems to recognise something in Alexander’s tone of voice because his head tips to one side as though listening carefully.
“Your name?” Alexander repeats and the man wets his lips, looking unsure of himself as he murmurs something far too quiet for Alexander to hear.
“Pardon?” he asks softly and the man blinks and hums in the back of his throat before answering.
“Daniel,” he says. “You named me Daniel.”
“Excuse me?”
He thinks it’s the man’s poor grasp of German, but the man repeats himself slightly surer, voice a little stronger.
“You - you named me Daniel.”
“Sir, I have never met you before.”
As though gaining confidence, the man, Daniel, inches out from under the desk, a long expanse of pale legs appearing before the rest of him. He remains huddled on the floor, fingers curled around the chair-back, peering up at Alexander with wide bright eyes.
“You took me in.”
He tucks a strand of his mousy, shoulder-length hair behind his ear and that’s when Alexander finally realises there’s something not quite right about the man’s appearance. He has two strange lumps atop his head that seem to twitch every few seconds, and Alexander doesn’t try to hide the fact that he’s staring.
“You must have me confused with another.”
The man shakes his head negatively and shifts forward again, knees splayed as though not entirely balanced, and Alexander begins to wonder if perhaps he’s the local drunk. He leans towards the man discreetly, sniffing for the heady scent of alcohol, but there’s nothing but a clean, soapy odour about him.
“Who am I then?” he asks and Daniel blinks and cocks his head.
“You’re the owner of this castle,” he says as though it’s obvious. “You’re my owner.”
The noise of surprise that escapes him is wholly unforeseen, hanging heavily in the air between them, as Daniel smiles softly.
“I am your owner?” he repeats, trying not to let the man see how affected he truly is by the words. If he had known he was Daniel’s owner, he would have surely put him to good use already. He rakes his eyes over the kneeling man and holds back from licking his lips keenly. Daniel turns to one side slightly and Alexander can’t help but notice the way the hem of his shirt rides up as something underneath twitches; his mouth quirks in amusement as he wonders if he’s not the only one interested. However, he takes a step back, startled as what appears to be a tail slips from underneath the thin material, standing out stark against the whiteness.
“Is this a joke?” he snaps, almost regretting it the minute Daniel cowers away from him at his tone. The tail curls around the man’s thigh, slipping under the shirt, and tucking itself nearly completely from sight once more. Carefully, with a slightly shaking hand, Daniel cards his fingers through his hair, shifting the strands between the lumps on his head and when he pulls away, Alexander realises they’re ears, more specifically, cat ears.
“My form shifts,” Daniel murmurs, eyes following Alexander’s every move, as though to make sure he never gets too close. “I thought I would turn back before you returned; I didn’t mean to fall asleep here.”
His feline ears twitching softly as though sensing sounds beyond the room’s walls; unthinking, Alexander takes a step forward and although Daniel shies away he doesn’t hide again, just tenses under Alexander’s gaze, his tail flicking from side to side in agitation.
“May I?” he asks, arm outstretched, fingers hovering by Daniel’s head. There’s a long, silent pause and Alexander begins to think the man will reject him, but eventually he tips his head and nudges up against Alexander’s palm.
His ears are softer than he thought they would be, the fur thin and silky under his fingertips, but they’re decidedly very real, and when he pinches one carefully between his thumb and index finger and tugs, Daniel lets out a quiet noise of discomfort that sounds remarkably like a mewl.
“Forgive me,” Alexander murmurs in fascination, not the least bit sorry, but Daniel settles again, allowing Alexander to push his hair aside to better see where the ears attach to his skull.
The man is certainly a rare gift to science and Alexander would like nothing more than to take him into the lower levels of the castle and find the line that separates his two halves, but there is something that holds him back. He scratches idly behind Daniel’s ear and the man begins to purr softly as though unaware that he is even doing it at all. He pictures himself curls up on the settee, Daniel nestled in his lap with his eyes shut in bliss as Alexander pets him with one hand and holds a book in the other. It is almost the exact same image of how he spent the night before, except with his cat - he pauses and looks down at Daniel, who stares innocently back up at him.
“You are Daniel,” he says, unable to hide his awe and Daniel nods as though it is what he has been trying to tell him from the start. “You are my Daniel. The very same one that leaves rodents at my bedside.”
Daniel’s throat bobs as he swallows, but he nods in assent and Alexander doesn’t know what else to say.
“When were you going to reveal the truth? If I hadn’t found you here this evening, would I have ever known?”
Daniel curls his fingers into his hair, tugging nervously, his eyes impossibly wide.
“I - I was waiting to turn. I’ve been unable to track the days.”
“You cannot control it?”
Daniel shakes his head and untangles the hair from around his knuckles.
“Not recently; it comes and goes perhaps once every month.”
“For how long?”
Daniel looks at the floor as though he isn’t telling the whole truth, but Alexander allows him the benefit of the doubt and doesn’t question him.
“About a week,” he mumbles and Alexander just nods.
“That is where you have been disappearing to for all this time?”
“I couldn’t tell you; you never would have believed me.”
“Yet you thought I would now? Why?”
Daniel bites his lip and swallows.
“I might need your help,” he says quietly. “I have been having difficulties.”
Alexander grunts in response, trying to sort the mayhem of thoughts in his head.
“You are welcome to the guestroom when it is ready. I will ask the servants to prepare it tomorrow. For now you may continue resting on the settee.”
“Thank you,” Daniel breathes out, voice wavering as if no one has ever offered him kindness before. He stands slowly, still holding himself as though wary of Alexander’s presence, but Alexander knows it’s ridiculous after all the time he’s spent in Alexander’s lap in his feline form. Perhaps, he thinks, it is different when for much of his life he is one being and the rest he is another. Alexander can’t imagine it for himself, but as Daniel edges around him and curls into a ball on the divan, it seems like a flawless blend of the two.
“We shall discuss this further in the morning. I expect answers,” Alexander says, tugging a blanket from the cupboard in the corner. He shakes it out and drapes it loosely over Daniel’s body, watching as he snuggles into the material with a sigh of contentment, giving no sign that he’s even heard Alexander’s words.
He puts another log on the fire to keep the study warm and then disappears into his own bedroom without looking back.
*
When he slips from his room in the morning, he expects to find Daniel asleep where he left him, but there’s nothing but the neatly folded blanket on one of the cushions. He puts it away with a resigned sigh and makes his way downstairs for breakfast.
He doesn’t see Daniel for the rest of the week, until he turns up in his feline form, meowing softly after he drops a dead rat at his feet.
Alexander stares down at him, unanswered questions hanging in the air between them.
“I thought you needed my help,” he says quietly as he scoops the cat up and goes to find him some proper food. Daniel nudges his face into the soft skin of Alexander’s shoulder through his shirt and purrs as though he doesn’t remember a thing.
*
“Daniel?” Alexander calls out, tapping the side of Daniel’s bowl.
He hasn’t show for dinner and Alexander isn’t worried per se - not that he would be willing to admit to it if he was - but he’s certainly concerned because Daniel has never missed a meal when in his feline form.
There’s a storm raging outside, thunder rolling loud and furious above as the rain lashes down against the window. He begins searching for Daniel in the guestroom, carefully lifting long draping curtains and bed sheets to make sure he’s not lounging underneath, but it isn’t until he finds him curled up and shaking in fear beneath Alexander’s bed that he realises it’s the first storm they’ve had since Daniel’s arrival.
“It will not hurt you, Daniel,” he whispers, trying to lure him out from his hiding place and Daniel lets out a pitiful meow in reply. He holds out his hands and slowly Daniel begins to inch towards him, ears flat in fear. When he’s close enough to reach, Alexander gently picks him up and cradles him against his chest, murmuring soft praise to keep him calm. “It is just the weather.”
Scratching behind Daniel’s ear, he makes his way to the window, peering out at the darkened sky. There’s a bright flash of lightening and Daniel digs his claws into Alexander’s chest and attempts to burrow further against him, pushing his face into the space under Alexander’s chin, his breath warm against his skin when he meows again.
“Alright, alright,” Alexander mumbles, drawing the curtains with one hand and carrying Daniel to the bed. “You can trust me.”
He slips under the covers still fully clothed and holds the sheet up for Daniel to tuck himself under, which he does immediately, curling up as though the blankets will keep him safe. Alexander sighs and pets him through the duvet, leaning up on one elbow and wondering how long it will be until the storm eventually passes and he may resume to a normal life.
“I mean that, Daniel. Even in your other form, you can trust me. I am not as bad as you might think.”
Daniel shuffles closer as though to counter his words and purrs almost louder than the rumbling thunder outside.
*
Alexander is not sure what awakens him as he rolls over, noting the darkness still outside the half-drawn curtains. He reaches across to the bedside table that holds a glass of water and takes small sips until he mouth feel less like the Sahara and more as it should. It’s when he’s setting the drink back down that he notices the small form at the end of his bed.
He sits up quickly, leaning forward for a closer view before he realises it’s Daniel. More specifically, Daniel in his human form. He’s fast asleep, soft mouth open, letting out quiet breaths, but he is entirely bare and shaking gently. When he reaches out to touch his arm, Daniel’s skin is cold, goosebumps littering the normally smooth expanse, and he tuts disapprovingly as though Daniel can hear.
“Daniel?” he murmurs, just loud enough that the man stirs, mumbling nonsense and not entirely awake. Daniel stretches and smacks his lips a few times before settling back down and wholly ignoring Alexander.
Alexander clicks his tongue and all but drags Daniel up the bed and Daniel fights him the whole way, limbs splaying every which way, loose and awkward with sleep, thudding without true force against Alexander’s chest. As soon as his head hits the pillows, Daniel pushes his face into the soft material, muttering something that Alexander doesn’t quite catch, but Alexander just drags the covers up over the both of them, keeping the warmth under the heavy duvet.
He curls around Daniel’s back without another thought, hands rubbing at Daniel’s skin to instil heat back into his body. Daniel hums quietly, his happiness palpable when he presses back against Alexander’s chest and begins purring as though back in his feline form. Alexander tangles their legs together and only just contains the hiss as Daniel’s icy feet slip between his own warmer ones. The purring eventually fades as he falls back asleep, but Alexander keeps touching him until the cold seeps away and he’s nothing but a wall of heat in front of him.
It takes him a little longer to follow Daniel’s lead and went he wakes again, Daniel is no longer beside him, the mattress long since gone cold where he once slept, but pillow is still dented, reminding him that it was not just a dream.
*
He’s never thought to question Daniel about why he changes form from feline to human; he’s never really given it much thought, that is until the moment he finds Daniel collapsed in the corner of the guestroom, stripped bare and sweating as though with fever.
“Daniel?” he calls out, moving to kneel at the young man’s side. “Are you well?”
Daniel flinches away from his touch and hisses as though he means it, his eyes strangely unfocussed when he turns towards Alexander. A hand shoots out, fingers curved and nails ready to strike, but Alexander catches his wrist and pins it to the floor with practised ease.
“Daniel, what is the meaning of this?”
The heat radiating off Daniel’s body rivals that from a roaring fire and Daniel leans into the palm he places on his forehead as though it soothes his burning skin.
“Is this a result of your changing form?” he asks, pushing Daniel’s hair back, away from his sweating face. When Daniel looks up, his pupils are blown wide, the green of his irises almost disappearing in the darkness. He nods, no longer struggling under Alexander’s strong hold and Alexander eventually draws away, letting the younger man sit up slowly.
“You need to leave,” he says, voice so quiet Alexander almost doesn’t hear him. “I will lock the door behind you.”
He runs his gaze over Daniel, wondering what he isn’t telling him, but when he glances between Daniel’s thighs and finds him reddened and aroused, he knows almost immediately. Daniel catches his eye, blushing furiously and looking away immediately.
“Please go,” he begs and Alexander drags himself onto legs that don’t feel entirely steady.
“You know where to find me if you need anything, Daniel,” he murmurs, slowly making his way to the door, which he grips with white knuckles.
Daniel doesn’t stand and follow, but he doesn’t close his legs to hide his shame either. Alexander wonders briefly if he’s too sensitive to even touch, if it makes his spine ache with the pressure of so much feeling.
He closes the door behind him, but even through it, Alexander hears the moan Daniel exhales, the one that goes straight to Alexander’s toes and curls them with want.
*
It’s three days after that Daniel shuffles into Alexander’s study, a large sheet wrapped around his body in the place of clothes. It must be the very same one from Daniel’s bed because there’s a dark smudge near the hem that look suspiciously like dried come; Alexander has to drag his focus elsewhere at the thought.
“Would you like a shirt and trousers?” he asks, setting his wineglass down and sitting up straighter. “I’m sure it is infuriating not having anything to wear when you’re in this form.”
Daniel shrugs, the sheet falling off one pale shoulder before he slides it back up.
“I would only need them for a week at most, but during that time I - ah - don’t often have use for clothes.”
Alexander steeples his fingers and rests his chin on them, thinking of the many ways he could address the sensitive issue. He ultimately gives up, knowing Daniel will stammer and blush any way he talks about it.
“You go into heat,” he says bluntly and Daniel lowers his face, tips of his human ears turning pink. He nods nevertheless, but draws the sheet tighter around his body.
“It began when I started becoming an adult,” he confesses, hands knotting in white cotton. “It gets worse with every change. I cannot stop it. It is best if I have somewhere to remain alone to wait it out, and eventually it fades.”
Alexander remembers Daniel’s expression the way he’d been curled in on himself.
“Does it hurt?”
“Yes,” Daniel whispers and looks so small surrounded by yards of material.
“Is there a way to ease it?”
Daniel flushes again, seeming to grapple quietly for the right words. The silence stretches on between them until Alexander gently clears his throat and Daniel finally looks at him.
“There are, um, certain acts which may be performed to help.”
Alexander holds back his grin, the way Daniel shifts in discomfort somehow entertaining him beyond reason.
“What sort of acts?”
Daniel nervously plays with a loose thread on the sheet, never quite meeting Alexander’s gaze.
“Acts of a personal sort,” he responds vaguely.
“You can either tell me or show me,” Alexander says, making it sound as though his patience is wearing thin, crossing his arms for added effect. Daniel fumbles wordlessly, starting and stopping his sentences before Alexander holds up a hand for silence. “You pleasure yourself?”
Daniel nods mutely.
“And it helps?”
Daniel nods again before raising his head and opening his mouth.
“A little, but the itch always returns quickly afterwards.”
“What makes it stay away longer?”
Daniel coughs quietly, hair falling into his face.
“Fingers,” he mumbles and for a second Alexander thinks he mishears him, but then Daniel repeats himself and this time it’s Alexander’s turn to blush, but the heat that spreads across his cheeks is anything but embarrassment. “Inside me,” Daniel adds needlessly.
He wets his lips and pictures Daniel on his knees, reaching around behind himself, slick fingers pressing into his body. He imagines how it must frustrate him, drive him half-mad with need when it’s still not enough; how he must wish for someone, anyone, to take him roughly and finally scratch the itch inside him.
Daniel doesn’t seem to notice his heavy gaze, too focussed on his own knee which has emerged from under the sheet, looking pale and unblemished, the skin of his thigh above looking perfect to place a bruise - made by mouth or fingers, Alexander doesn’t care.
“Has anyone ever helped you with your problem?”
Daniel bites his bottom lip and shakes his head. Alexander can’t stop the rush of possessiveness that rolls through him; he wants Daniel to himself and the thought that no one else has touched the man before him only sends lust spiralling down low into his stomach.
“Have you ever wanted them to?” Alexander tips his head, watching Daniel’s reaction and Daniel seems to genuinely think about it before he answers.
“No one has ever offered.”
“If I could assist you, would you let me?”
Daniel’s eyes widen in shock.
“You w-want to help me?”
Alexander holds up his index finger as he says, “Wait here just one moment.”
He knows what he needs as he walks into his bedroom, opening his cupboard, and lifting up the false bottom, revealing a stash of secreted items. He finds what he’s looking for and sets everything back into place.
When he places the object beside Daniel, Daniel’s mouth falls open in shock and the flush of his face returns once more.
“W-what is this?”
“It can help you. It will simulate the act of mating, while allowing you to remain alone in the privacy of your own room. It has never been utilised before now, do not worry. This is just a spare I own. I am a man of means,” he adds when Daniel shoots him a curious look, probably wondering why he would ever keep such an item in the first place. He doesn’t need to tell Daniel that he had it crafted just the day before on the off-chance that sometime soon Daniel would come to him for help.
“You cannot expect - ” he begins, but Alexander cuts him off abruptly.
“You said your fingers were not enough and I am giving you a temporary outlet. The only thing you should be saying is ‘Thank you’.”
Daniel shifts his gaze to the floor, looking apologetic and ashamed.
“Forgive me,” he says quietly. “I did not mean to offend you.”
He lifts the soft leather phallus and hides it under the many folds of his sheet.
“T-thank you.”
Alexander sits back in his chair, crossing his legs, and relaxing.
“Do you need oil?” he asks eventually once the silence turns uncomfortable.
“N-no,” Daniel stammers.
“No?” Alexander replies, genuinely intrigued.
“No, my body, um, creates a lubricant by itself. It’s usually wet enough with that alone.”
Alexander’s eyes flutter shut briefly as he imagines what that means. He could have Daniel anytime, anywhere. Right at this moment, he could push Daniel down upon the divan, drag the sheet down his body, and slide into the tight heat without a second thought. This time Daniel seems to notice the change in his body language, because his eyes darken and he shifts as though the itch has returned already.
“I should return to the guestroom to sleep,” he says quickly, standing and shuffling awkwardly in place for a few moments. “I do not wish to disturb your evening any more than I already have.”
Alexander holds back the laugh that threatens to escape him, understanding that Daniel is lying. He knows exactly what Daniel wishes to return to his rooms to do and it definitely isn’t to rest.
He dismisses him with a wave of his hand.
“Sleep well,” he says softly as Daniel opens the door and begins to slip through, disappearing from sight.
He only hopes that Daniel pictures him when he finally comes, filled to the brim with the leather toy.
*
It is the next morning when Daniel strolls past him in cat form, tail raised high as though he is feeling happy and well-rested. He refrains from commenting and waits until he knows Daniel is elsewhere hunting mice before stealing into the guestroom to assess the damage.
It’s the smell he notices first; the sharp, heady scent of sex that seems to linger, impossible to ignore. He wonders how many times Daniel sought release before finally falling to exhaustion and can’t help but picture him asleep with the toy still inside him, the strength to remove it gone after so much exertion.
The bed looks well-used, the sheets and duvet completely untucked, draping every which way, the pillows scattered about the room carelessly. He leaves the mess for the servants to clear up, but eventually finds what he’s searching for hidden under the furthest corner of the mattress, still slightly sticky.
He knows Daniel no longer has use for the toy while in his feline form, and he would rather his servants didn’t find his most personal items strewn about, so he takes it with him without a second thought. He stops in the bathroom to clean it, washing and drying it carefully to make sure it doesn’t become damaged, and then he tucks it into the bottom drawer of his desk, locking it after to keep prying eyes and fingers away. When Daniel requires it again, he need only ask, he thinks with a faint smile, knowing how Daniel will blush and stammer his way through his request until Alexander finally relents.
He finds himself unable to keep from counting down the days leading up to Daniel’s next heat.
*
PART TWO >>