Chapter 8
"Ugh, somehow the rain makes this place stink even worse." Corsac complains, wrinkling his nose as they pass by a silver cylindrical thing smelling strongly of decay.
Fennec nods his agreement, taking care to step around the very dirty puddle in front of him.
He really hopes they find where that Leila lookalike is staying soon, if he has to tolerate another moon of daily trips into the city he thinks he might go mad.
A gust of cool wind suddenly blows past, ruffling his fur and carrying with it an even stronger scent of rot. He has to stop for a moment and shake his head, feeling a little ill, and then pauses.
There's another scent on the breeze that he didn't initially recognize, something that, the longer he focuses on it, the more apparent it becomes.
Faintly, very faintly, he can detect the scent of two cats. One that seems oddly familiar, though he can't quite place its owner at the moment, and the other belonging to...
Leila?
"Hey, Corsac." Fennec speaks up after checking a few times to make sure his nose is working correctly, his brother stopping as well.
"What, Fennec?" Corsac asks as he turns back to face him.
"Take a deep breath. What do you smell?"
Corsac gives him a funny look. "Garbage, Fennec. I smell garbage." He states flatly.
"Corsac, just do it." Fennec insists, feeling a little annoyed by his brother's response. "And pay close attention to what you're smelling."
Corsac sighs and rolls his eyes, but does as he's told, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply. When he finally opens his eyes a moment later, he looks thoroughly unimpressed. "It's just rotting stuff, Fennec. That plus a bunch of other awful human things, like smoke and-"
"Corsac!" Fennec cuts him off with an irritated growl. "Do as I said and pay attention! Don't you smell the cats, Corsac?"
Another sigh escapes his brother. "Alright Fennec, fine." Corsac replies tersely, taking a step closer to him and sneering. "Yes, I smell the cats. Big surprise considering there's cats all over the place."
Fennec scowls. "I know, Corsac, I'm not stupid." He retorts with a huff. "But I recognize one of those scents, it's Leila's."
Corsac blinks, an expression of confusion appearing on his face. "How do you know her scent well enough to-"
"I've... slept in Adam's nest enough times for it to become familiar." Fennec mutters, averting his eyes as his ears go flat from embarrassment.
"Alright, I'll take your word for it." Corsac's voice is simultaneously amused and condescending now. "Assuming your guess is correct, why exactly would the scent of a moons dead cat be around here? How would it not have gone stale by now?"
"I don't know!" Fennec snaps, scowling again. "Does it matter? Let's stop thinking about why Leila's scent might be here and just follow it, that's what Adam would want us to do." He says, turning and beginning to head in the direction of Leila's scent.
"Yeah, yeah. Fine." Corsac grumbles as Fennec begins to lead the way. "I still think your nose needs to be checked..."
"Alright, here's where Leila's scent is coming from." Fennec says to his brother as they round the corner.
He stops in place as he sees two cats standing together a short distance down the alley, in front of a damaged human structure. One is small and dark-furred, with short legs, and the other is large and muscular, bearing a thick, tawny coat.
He recognizes them both instantly, all of a sudden hit with the realization of why the one cat's scent seemed so familiar.
It's because it is.
Yang.
"Wait, is that... Yang?" Corsac whispers as he leans around the wall to get a better look, sounding curious.
Fennec quickly shuffles back a bit, ducking behind the corner a little more so that he'll be harder to spot if one of the cats glances over in his and Corsac's direction. They might currently be engrossed in conversation, but he still doesn't want to take any chances.
"Yeah." Fennec nods, staring at the two cats with wide eyes. "Yeah, it is."
The last time he saw Yang was when she was only eight moons old, when she ran away from the White Fang right in the middle of winter. That was two winters before the one that just passed, and all this time he was sure she must've died in the cold.
But here Yang is, alive and well, chatting with the Leila lookalike that Adam is so adamant about finding.
Except... is she just a lookalike?
Fennec knows that two cats from the same litter can look identical. Aside from their differences in size, he and his brother are, but that's not what's confusing him here.
What's confusing him is the fact that this cat smells exactly like Leila.
Littermates and close relatives can have similarities in their scents, but never in his life has he met two cats with the exact same one. Frankly, it doesn't make any sense, every single cat in the world has their own different and unique scent, no two cats smell alike.
So why, then, does this cat have Leila's scent?
"We should go tell Adam about this." Corsac mutters in his ear, making Fennec jump slightly in surprise. "He'll want to know where the cat he's looking for is staying, and he'll want to know she's with Yang."
Fennec sheathes and unsheathes his claws repeatedly as he watches the Leila lookalike giggle stupidly at something Yang just said, itching to sink his claws into her. But, seeing as both his brother and Yang are here right now, he'll need to find another opportunity to catch her on her own.
"Yeah," Fennec agrees, nodding absent-mindedly as he turns away from the scene. "Let's go tell Adam."
"Help!" Corsac cries out, his voice high and panicked as he helps his injured brother hobble into camp. "Somebody help!"
His shoulder aches from where he was bitten and the scent of blood is thick in the air, making him want to gag, but he can't afford to focus on his own feelings right now. Not when his brother's life is depending on it.
Cats are rushing out of their dens to see what the source of all the commotion is, staring at Corsac in shock as he and Fennec stagger into the center of camp.
"Don't just stare you idiots! Get our healer!" Corsac snarls at the closest cat. "Go!"
The tom shrinks away from him, nodding quickly before turning and scampering over in the direction of the healer's den.
Suddenly, Fennec shudders and slumps to the ground, no longer having the energy to remain on his feet. His eyes flutter shut, and Corsac lets out a cry of alarm, panic beginning to overtake him. "Fennec!" He pleads, whimpering and licking his brother's face to make him open his eyes. "Fennec stay with me, don't you dare die on me!"
"What's all this yowling about?"
Corsac glances up to see Adam exiting his den and walking across camp toward them. "Well, Corsac, do you want to tell me what happened to you and your brother?" Adam questions, raising an eyebrow.
"We got back from our patrol into the city and were making our way through the forest when a coyote attacked us." Corsac explains, a sob choking his voice. "F-Fennec jumped in the way and saved me..." He trails off into another whimper, throat constricting too tightly to continue speaking.
"Somebody take him to the healer's den, he's bleeding all over the place." Adam orders, his tone harsh and apathetic.
Two cats step forward and begin dragging Fennec away, toward the healer's den, Corsac quickly moving to follow but being stopped by a flick of Adam's tail. "You can get that shoulder looked at later, Corsac. First I want to hear how your patrol went."
Corsac blinks rapidly, tears making his eyes burn. "We-" He sniffles, feeling an anger beginning to build within him at the sheer callousness of his leader. "We've found nothing so far, sir. No signs of Leila at all."
Adam scowls, regarding Corsac with a very intense gaze before nodding. "Honestly Corsac, I expected better from you two." He spits out, turning and making his way over to the camp's exit. "You've already been searching for an entire moon and yet you've found nothing? It's pathetic."
Corsac's forced to bite his tongue to hold back a retort, clawing furiously at the dirt as he tries to control his rage. If Adam notices, he doesn't say anything.
"Tell me, where did you encounter this coyote, exactly?" Adam asks after a moment, pausing and spinning around to face him.
"By the lightning-struck tree, sir. The one near where the river forks."
"I see." Adam mutters, nodding slowly. "Well, I suppose I should go deal with that."
At that, he resumes walking, Corsac staring after his leader as Adam dissappears into the forest.
"You really should eat something." Bark suddenly snaps, pulling Corsac out of his thoughts. "I can hear your stomach growling from all the way over here."
Corsac blinks and shakes his head to clear it, feeling embarrassed as he meets the small black and brown tom's eyes, the healer scowling right back at him. As if on cue, his stomach takes that moment to grumble loudly.
"Well? Go grab something from the prey pile, your stomach's not gonna feed itself." Bark insists in an irritated voice. "Go on, get."
Corsac opens his mouth to speak, but Bark just rolls his eyes. "Yes, yes, I know you're worried about your brother, but sticking around here and fretting isn't going to do anything to help." He says, nodding toward where Fennec lies curled up in his nest, chest rising and falling slowly. "I've done what I can with the supplies I have, all we can do now is wait and see if his condition improves. Go make yourself useful and go hunting or something."
"But I-"
"Corsac, go." Bark growls, unsheathing his claws. "Now."
Corsac gives a hasty nod and quickly backs out of the healer's den, turning and beginning to make his way across camp. He's not even reached the exit before he comes face to face with Adam, stopping dead in his tracks as he takes in his leader's appearance.
Nearly the entirety of Adam's white pelt has been stained with blood, only a few white spots left amongst a sea of crimson. There's a disturbing look in his eyes, a vicious, savage hunger that sends chills all the way down to Corsac's very core.
Perhaps the most disturbing thing of all, though, is the severed coyote head that's hanging from his jaws, slowly dripping blood onto the dirt below. Corsac gapes at the sight, filled with an equal mixture of awe and horror as his leader walks past.
"There." Adam drops the coyote head right in the middle of camp, only a short distance away from the prey pile, everyone staring at it with widened eyes. "It's dead."
Nobody says a word for a long while, simply watching as blood pools beneath the head, Adam beginning to slowly groom a paw as though wishing to savor the taste of the blood that soaks his fur.
"Are you hurt, sir?" Bark questions as he exits his den, gaze briefly lingering on the head before he turns to Adam. "Do you have any injuries that need to be treated?"
"Not a scratch." Adam purrs, sounding very pleased with himself. "I was too quick for it, the stupid thing couldn't even touch me."
The smugness in his leader's voice has Corsac growing angry again, furious that his brother nearly died to that coyote while Adam was able to kill it without gaining even a single little scratch.
It's not fair.
"Oh, Bark? How are your healing supplies doing? You're not still low on plants are you?" Adam asks, raising an eyebrow at the healer.
Bark suddenly looks sheepish, his ears going flat as he averts his gaze. "Sir, most of my usual plants are still recovering from the cold. I've tried to restock my supplies as best I can, but it'll probably be another-"
"That's enough, Bark. I understand." Adam interrupts him, his tone dismissive now. "I suppose we'll just have to hope that Fennec has a smooth recovery, else your lack of supplies prove to be a problem."
"Yes sir." Bark nods, Corsac feeling sick as he watches Adam pick up the coyote head again and begin carrying it toward his den, no doubt to add to the collection of skulls he already has.
"How is he?" Corsac asks in a whisper as he steps into the healer's den, walking over to drop the mouse he'd been carrying beside his sleeping brother.
The instant he gets close, his nose is hit with an awful, sickly scent, Corsac's eyes going wide as he sees that his brother's left hind leg has become swollen and infected. "When did this happen?" He growls, whirling around to face Bark.
Bark drops the plants he's sorting in surprise, then scowls, hurrying to pick them back up. "Fennec's leg started showing signs of infection a couple of days ago, I'm doing everything I can to fight it off." He explains quickly, shoving the leaves into a pile and letting out an annoyed huff. "So don't get mad at me, alright? I'm working with limited supplies here."
"It's been a quarter-moon already." Adam suddenly speaks up, making Corsac jump. He whirls around to see his leader entering the den. "How much longer will his wounds take to heal, Bark?"
"Well, if I can just get this infection dealt with, he should be up and walking around again in another half-moon." Bark replies as he pads over to Fennec's unconscious form with a leaf in his mouth. "He's pretty feverish though, so it might take a little longer for his body to fight it off since he's dealing with fever as well."
Adam nods slowly. "Bark, I've noticed that the amount of supplies you have is even more pitiful than it was just a quarter-moon ago, care to explain?"
"Well, I- all of the good plants were hit hard by this last winter, sir. It was an especially cold one, as you know, and some of my usual plants shriveled up entirely a-and I'm trying my best to find new-" Bark falters as Adam raises the tip of his tail to silence him.
"It seems your best obviously isn't enough. At least, not alone." Adam says, and Bark shrinks into himself a little, looking ashamed. "Seeing as prey is plentiful right now and we can spare the cats, I'll select a few cats to start accompanying you on your plant gathering trips instead of going on hunts. Hopefully some assistance will make up for what you lack alone."
"T-thank you, sir. I appreciate it." Bark mutters, staring down at his feet as he begins chewing a mouthful of leaves.
"Oh, and Bark," Adam speaks up again as Bark starts slathering the chewed up leaves over Fennec's infected wound. "I see just how much of your supplies you're using to treat Fennec. If his condition hasn't notably improved within another quarter-moon, I forbid you from wasting anything more on him."
Bark's eyes widen, but he quickly nods, Corsac watching, stunned, as Adam exits the den and walks away.
He hears a snuffle and glances down to see Fennec slowly blinking open his eyes, looking very tired. "Hi Corsac." Fennec mumbles, giving him a weak smile. "Nice of you to finally drop by."
"I was here just this morning to check up on you." Corsac replies with a snort, rolling his eyes and smiling back at his brother.
"Oh." Fennec frowns. "Sorry, I guess I'm just... tired. Having difficulty getting my thoughts in order and stuff..." He goes quiet for a moment before sniffing the air and glancing over at the mouse Corsac brought. "Hey, is that for me?"
Corsac nods and Fennec smiles, dragging the mouse over with a claw and beginning to eat. As he watches his brother eat, Corsac's unable to shake the sick feeling of worry growing inside his gut.
"Well, this is the place." Yang announces, nodding in the direction of an older looking home, a quaint little house with plenty of colorful flowers painted all over it.
"This is where your parents live?" Blake questions, glancing back over at her after staring at the house for a minute.
Yang nods. "Yup. If we're lucky, Qrow might even be here today." She says, leading Blake around to the back of the house and stopping in front of a rickety fence that surrounds the backyard. "This isn't too high a jump for you, is it?"
Blake shakes her head, making a point of springing up onto the fence and perching on top of it. She's gotten a lot better at judging distances and making jumps lately. "Who's Qrow, again?" She asks, jumping down into the yard, Weiss landing beside her a moment later.
The fence wobbles quite a lot as Yang lands on top of it, shaking even more when she jumps down onto the grass next to them. "Qrow's our uncle, he's the one that was with me when I visited you at your parents' place." Yang explains, grinning as Ruby leaps cleanly over the fence, clearing it entirely. "He's practically a third parent to us."
"That's sweet." Blake murmurs as they make their way over to the cat flap in the back door. "I imagine having a third parent would be nice."
Honestly, for her, having any parents growing up would've been nice.
"It is nice." Ruby replies, nodding as she slips through the cat flap. "Though sometimes Qrow can be a bit..."
"Crude? Childish?" Weiss supplies, entering the house with Blake right behind her. "I'm just glad he's stopped hitting on me, only took me taking his niece as a mate for him to finally stop." She adds with a snort.
The three of them turn around to watch Yang struggle with the cat flap, Ruby snickering as Yang twists and squirms for a moment before finally popping out the other side.
"Hey, Qrow's just lonely." Yang protests weakly, taking a second to flatten her fur that got ruffled by the cat flap. "And you're a real pretty cat, Weiss, you can't blame him for trying."
Weiss sneers and stalks deeper into the house, looking rather haughty as she walks away. "Qrow can find a cat his own age, Yang. Don't support his weirdness." Ruby adds before hurrying after her.
Yang huffs, looking a little miffed, and Blake smirks. "Come on Yang, let's go. I want to meet your parents." She says, nudging Yang with a shoulder.
"I-" Yang opens her mouth then closes it, nodding, and beckons for Blake to follow. "Yeah, just this way." She mutters, beginning to head in the same direction Ruby and Weiss went.
Yang leads her down a hall and through the kitchen, turning into a brightly lit living room. Blake immediately spots Ruby and Weiss lounging on the rug in the center of the room, chatting with two other cats on the opposite end of the rug.
A bigger tom with fluffy white and golden fur lies in a sunbeam next to a very plump queen, who has russet fur and black spots just like Ruby. He's lazily grooming her fur, and she looks very content, her purr audible from where Blake's standing.
"I just don't get it, Mom. Why do you need to have another litter?" Blake hears Ruby asking the queen as she approaches. "I mean, isn't one enough?"
"Mom probably just wants another litter 'cause her last one was so small." Yang interjects herself into the conversation as she takes a spot on one of the free corners of the rug, Blake sitting down beside her. "Only two kits, and that's including the adopted one. I can understand her wanting more children."
"Who's this, Yang?" The tom, who must be Ruby and Yang's dad, questions as he glances over in Blake's direction. "A friend?"
"Or a new mate?" Their mom adds with a twinkle in her eyes.
"A friend, nothing more." Yang answers quickly. "Mom and Dad, this is Blake. Blake, this is my mom, Summer, and my dad, Taiyang." She flicks her tail toward each of them as she says their name.
"Nice to meet you." Blake greets them, nodding politely. "Yang's told me a bit about you both already."
"Oh? Has she?" Summer raises an eyebrow, looking amused. "Nothing bad, I hope." She says, giving Yang a mischievous grin.
"Don't worry, I've spared Blake the worst of the horror stories." Yang jokes in response, grinning back at her, and Summer chuckles.
Taiyang stops grooming Summer and turns to Ruby, frowning. "Qrow told us that you two got involved in a fight with some dog, is that true?" He asks, a look of concern appearing on his face.
Ruby gives Yang a look from across the rug before nodding. "Yeah, we did. Everything went fine though, none of us came out of it with anything to be worried about." She replies with a shrug.
"One of Cinder's cats died." Weiss adds, shuffling a little closer to Ruby. "Some of Cinder's cats helped us fight the dog." She explains when the parents look confused.
"Oh, that's so sad." Summer murmurs, shaking her head as her voice goes somber for a moment. "We heard from Qrow that you killed the dog, is that also true?"
"Yang killed it in the end, in a one on one fight. It was extremely impressive." Blake answers, noticing Yang looking a little embarrassed as she speaks and smiling at the sight.
Summer and Taiyang both turn to Yang with expressions of surprise, Yang's ears going flat as she shuffles on the spot, looking even more embarrassed now. "It honestly wasn't all that difficult." Yang mutters quietly. "Dangerous, yes, but not difficult. It's not as impressive as you think-"
"It is as impressive as you think. That dog was probably ten times my size." Ruby cuts Yang off, grinning widely at her sister's embarrassment. "Yang's just trying to be humble."
Taiyang chuckles and shakes his head, going back to grooming Summer, who looks very impressed. Ruby and Weiss start grooming each other as well, simultaneously, which Blake finds a pretty amusing sight.
"Hey, uh, you've got a spot behind your ears..." Yang trails off as Blake glances up at her, letting out a little laugh.
"Go ahead." Blake replies, tucking her paws beneath herself and lying down on the rug, Yang bending down and beginning to lick the fur on top of her head.
After a moment of grooming her fur, Yang speaks up. "You always miss this one spot right behind your ears, and it just gets so spiky." She comments between licks, her tone becoming teasing. "Everywhere else your fur is really pretty and clean, I just don't understand how you keep missing this one spot."
Blake rolls her eyes. "Hey, it's difficult to reach back there, alright? I do my best." She replies, a few seconds later adding. "You try reaching behind your ears with legs as short as mine."
"Yeah, well, it seems your best isn't all that good then." Yang jokes, and Blake makes a noise of mock offense.
"How dare you!" She exclaims dramatically, unable to keep herself from giggling a little. "I'm crushed, Yang! Crushed I tell you!"
Yang lets out a loud snort and shakes her head, chuckling. "Oh, I'll show you crushed." She growls, leaning over and flopping right onto Blake.
Blake yelps and squirms as she's enveloped by thick, fluffy fur. "Yang! Get off of me!"
"No, you make for a very comfortable nest." Yang says, trapping Blake further beneath her belly as she settles down onto the rug.
"Ngh, Yang-" With some effort, Blake manages to roll onto her back and attempts to shove Yang off of her with her front paws, but she barely even budges the larger cat, only getting a mouthful of fur for her efforts.
Yang hums. "Hmm, what's that? Did I hear my nest talking? Nests aren't supposed to do that." She comments, Blake whining in protest and squirming again.
"You two seem close. I'm reminded of the way you and Ruby would play together when you were kits."
Upon hearing Summer's voice, Yang quickly climbs off of Blake, allowing her to finally see her surroundings again. Summer is regarding them with a fond expression, Taiyang an amused one, and Ruby and Weiss with wide grins.
Yang mumbles something Blake doesn't catch and quickly begins smoothing out her fur, looking rather embarrassed. Blake's a little embarrassed as well, but she doesn't mind so much. She never got to play like this as a kid, and she's glad that even adult cats are willing to mess around and get silly sometimes.
Honestly, that's another thing she prefers about being a cat to a human. It's not stigmatized or weird for her, an adult, to play like this.
It seems that the longer she stays a cat, the more things she finds to like about it, and the harder it becomes to imagine herself going back to being human. She's no longer sure she would go back if given the opportunity, and doesn't really want to think about it right now.
For the first time in her entire life, she has friends, and if she were to go back she'd have to leave them all behind...
"So, when are we getting some grandkids?" Taiyang asks abruptly, pulling Blake out of her thoughts. She sees Ruby and Yang's eyes widen considerably at the question.
Summer rolls her eyes affectionately. "Tai, don't pressure them." She scolds lightly, shaking her head. "They're still young, they've got plenty of time to figure things out."
"Hey, I'm simply curious, Summer. They're three winters old, when we were their ages you were already pregnant with Ruby." Taiyang points out, sounding a little defensive. "It's a perfectly reasonable question to ask."
Summer gives him a gentle shove with her shoulder. "They're street cats, Tai, it's not easy to raise kits in that sort of environment."
"You're not getting any kits out of me." Ruby states loudly, sounding a little annoyed. "I've already got Weiss as my mate, Dad, and you know we can't have kits together."
Taiyang turns his gaze to Yang next, who shrinks into herself a little. "I'm done with toms, Dad." She mutters quietly, not meeting his gaze.
"Tai, stop." Summer orders, raising her voice and fixing him with a stern look. "You're making our daughters uncomfortable."
For a moment, Taiyang looks as though he's about to protest, but he ultimately says nothing, shutting his mouth and going quiet.
"So, Blake," Summer continues, turning to Blake with a smile. "Ruby and Yang have never mentioned you before today. How did you come to know my daughters?"
"I'm sorry if things got awkward there for a bit." Yang apologizes as they exit the house. "Dad sometimes gets weird about grandkids and stuff."
"It's fine Yang, honestly." Blake assures her, quickly shaking her head. "I enjoyed spending time with your parents."
They climb over the fence again, Blake momentarily blinded by the setting sun as they walk around to the front of the house. They stayed a lot longer than she was initially expecting, though she didn't mind at all, overall Summer and Taiyang were very nice.
"Your father really can't get it through that thick skull of his, can he?" Weiss mutters, letting out a quiet growl. "How can he not understand that he won't be getting any grandchildren? Why can't he just accept the fact that you two aren't going to end up with toms?"
Yang frowns, looking a little awkward now. "Weiss, he doesn't mean any harm by it, really. Dad's just..."
"A stubborn idiot sometimes." Ruby answers with a huff. "Mom too, when she wants to be."
"Also Qrow." Yang adds, chuckling. "Qrow can be the most stubborn cat in the world at times."
Blake zones out of the conversation for a while, enjoying the sights and scents of spring as they slowly walk through the neighborhood.
"Hey," She speaks up eventually, suddenly feeling the desire to do something active again. "Anyone want to race back home?"
"Race?" Weiss questions, raising an eyebrow. "Why would we do that?"
"Because it's fun, Weiss? Why else?" Ruby replies, stopping and beginning to stretch her legs. "I'll race you, Blake. I could use a good run right now."
Blake drops into a crouch and waits patiently for Ruby to finish stretching, readying herself for a run as well. She locks eyes with Ruby once she's done stretching, they both nod to each other, and then they're off.
She briefly glances back to see Weiss and Yang share a look, Yang grinning and Weiss rolling her eyes before beginning to chase after them.
Blake stares at the night sky, sitting in front of the attic window as she gazes up at the stars.
"Hey, Blake?"
She turns to see Yang walking toward her, shifting over a little to give the other cat some space next to the window. Yang takes the spot, also directing her gaze upward.
"I was just thinking about what my Dad was saying earlier, and I was wondering something." Yang continues after a moment of silence. "Have you ever thought about family before?"
"Family?" Blake replies curiously.
Yang nods. "I mean, have you ever thought about having kits someday?" She elaborates, before quickly adding. "You don't have to answer that question if you don't want to."
It's crossed Blake's mind a few times before. She's pictured herself with children in the future, on occasion, but it's never something she's given much in depth thought to. The only way she can really see herself ending up with children is if she adopts.
"No, not really." Blake mutters in a soft voice, shaking her head. "I suppose if I found the right... individual, maybe someday I'd consider it."
"That makes sense." Yang replies slowly, nodding again. "What sort of cat do you think would be your ideal mate? The kind you'd want to settle down with?"
"I..." Blake pauses.
That's a good question.
Assuming she stays a cat indefinitely, and never goes back to being human, a relationship is something she's pretty sure she'll never pursue. The idea of settling down and starting a family as a cat just sounds... weird.
But, if she really thinks about it, can she even imagine that sort of life with a human either?
She's had a few relationships in her life, all within the past four years she's been attending university. Always short, never serious, between work and school she didn't ever get much time to explore deeper things.
Honestly, Blake's not so sure she even sees much appeal to being in a relationship anymore. Sex she doesn't care for, love and romance are daunting and confusing, what else would there be for her to really gain from entering a relationship?
And besides, even if she did want children someday, she could always adopt and raise them on her own, a relationship wouldn't be necessary for that.
"I guess..." Blake frowns, having some difficulty wording her thoughts now. "I'd want him to be kind and understanding, someone who wouldn't judge me for my past or for what I used to be. Someone who would accept the fact that I'm different, and love me for it."
She knows she's being vague, it's intentional. She's unlikely to ever find the kind of person that'll make her want to pursue a relationship again, anyways.
There's an interesting look on Yang's face now. "I'm sure you'll find that special cat of yours someday." She murmurs, leaning in to lick Blake's ear. "Sweet little cat like you shouldn't have too much difficulty with that."
She turns and begins walking away, Blake staring after Yang with her mouth hanging partially open, surprised and a little confused.