For HiddenTruths Challenge #7: Silence: A story with no dialogue. That's nothing spoken, no telepathy, no chat room ... no form of direct person to person communication.

A nod to the Fur Writers list and tigerkat. You guys know why.

And thanks to my ever-faithful beta, Calcasieu.

Jake closed his eyes, both to assist concentrating and so he wouldn't have to see his mate's reaction right away. He knew what heat flared in those eyes as he quickly stripped and prayed it would be there in another five minutes. So many things could go wrong. Too many. Too much at risk to be doing this, but Chance deserved the truth if he was going to commit to a marriage.

Why couldn't the damn Kat know his own heritage? This could be unnecessary. Well, no, this was necessary. The fear of him freaking as the Veil lifted wouldn't be there if he knew Chance was Kin, or the impossibility of committing to him that completely could be known without risking this if he wasn't. He refused to give voice to the worst case scenario, even in the depths of his mind, despite being prepared to go through with it if he had to.

He felt the breath he was holding slip out and relaxed as the slow, tingling warmth crept through his body with the huge dose of endorphins to dull the pain. From the base of his skull it crackled down his spine, finding his balls before radiating around his ribs. He knew he groaned as his arms legs were wrapped in the invigorating pulses of pure energy as it reached up and out to embrace his head.

His nose flared as scents sharpened, subtleties he'd not known in so long they'd nearly gone forgotten rushed in from far and near. It was his mate's arousal that nearly broke his resolve, though. So close, so willing and hot it burned through his entire body with a matching need.

Then the complex scent underneath that arousal made it to his consciousness, reminding him why he was doing this. Imprinting in his mind the true scent of his Chance, bringing the old sadness that he couldn't live like this to the surface as well. That he had accepted the pale knowledge of his mate for so long.

So many little elements telling much to those that knew how to interpret it. The muskiness of a strong, healthy male in his prime. The odd, nearly citrusy note marking him as a simple Kat, one of the multitude that had long since lost their knowledge of their bestial origins to cross-breading. Then a deep, sharp spice, nearly undetectable, that spoke of a long distant connection to the Kahn, the Tigers. Not enough to mark him as Kin or Kine, but the tabby had a claim to real breeding still.

There was the expected, bizarre tint that had no comparison marking him as a willing mate to male or female, along with an extra edge that made Jake smile. One that spoke stronger than any words could that this Kat was taken. The almost lime-like tang of his pre-come brought distraction again for a moment.

His mate was calm, curious, aroused, only a little tired. Either oblivious to what he was about to see, or used to it in a way Jake was sure he would never understand even if he lived long enough to become an Elder. It was unsettling to watch another shift, even his lovers he'd turned away from, or asked them to be in whatever form they would be using when he saw them first.

Then the overlay, the foreign elements from his life were noted easily. Sweat, soaked in adrenaline and fear from their recent patrol. Worn cotton, dye, leather, brass and plastic of his clothes. Faint amounts of motor oil, mechanical grease, aloe-oatmeal parasite repentant soap, metal and the other Kats and Kantin they'd come in contact with that day. Feral and Felina. Callie, Dark Kat, Creeplings and a dozen without a name to them. Traces of the sandwich he'd eaten for lunch completed the major pieces.

They all mingled together with that unique tingle that had no name, forming a single entity that could be no other to this sharp nose. Chance Furlong.

A scent that was also a taste. Memory supplied what smell could not. The sharp, bitter-sweet, addictive flavor of the other Kat's come finally broke his willingness to continue. He couldn't let what was quite possibly the last time he'd know that arousal directed at him go, and forced the majority of physical manifestations to halt while letting his senses run and opened his eyes.

Facing him from their bed ... it nearly broke Jake's heart to see that much trust in liquidy, nearly amber eyes. Trust, curiosity. No fear. Did Chance even know fear like that? Caution of your mate, your partner. Such innocence in eyes that had seen more than anyone should. Still so innocent somehow. An innocence that would be stripped from them a little more before the night was over.

He felt the hungry smile on his muzzle at the display the rest of the familiar body made to sharpened eyes. Familiar thick stripes took on a rich texture as the minor variations in their chocolate fur became evident, highlighting muscle and slight movement. The plain mustard-gold pelt turned into a hundred shades, hinting at that long lost Kahn heritage with complex swirls and stripes following strong musculature and broad features. But the pulse of blood from that strong, true heart between his love's legs held his attention fast, blocking out much beyond the two of them and that vibrant call.

A single finger across his lips silenced the tabby as Jake knelt on the dusty wood floor, leaning forward to run his tongue up that coarsely barbed, arched shaft. From the base his thick balls where he could feel the tubes ready to pump semen out, along the throbbing, hot shaft itself concealed in it's furry sheath to bare flesh all the way to the tapering point, teasing barb-hairs on the way. Closing his eyes again to saver the feel of them catching on the course hairs on his tongue.

He looked up as the hips before him scooted forward, close to the edge of the bed so he wouldn't have to stretch. A big hand cupped his cheek, searingly hot as fur brushed fur to the skin, silk against silk, and groaned into the open mouth that claimed him.

Hot, wet, slick. The scent of his mate concentrated and exploding across his tongue brought him hard in an instant. Smooth, hard, sharp teeth of a predator long gone met his advances. A tongue rough as his own probed every recess, striking, teasing, daring and compliant all at once.

It was too much as Jake pulled away, catching his mate's eyes before he dropped his head and wrapped both arms around wide, strong hips as Chance leaned back, bracing on his forearms and chuckled lightly.

Dear gods, such trust this Kat had in him.

He brushed his cheek against firm, musky flesh once, savoring the contradictory sensations through his fur of hard flesh, soft skin, strong barb-hairs and wet pre-come. He knew as the thin tip pass his lips that this would be quick for both of them. By the time that hard shaft entered his throat he was fighting his balls as they tightened and the trembling of his own cock.

He remembered too late how and why to tone down his senses for sex as everything Chance flooded in. The tapering thickness moving in and out of his mouth and throat. The smell, a deep, sweaty intensity of what carried through the air as he buried his nose against ab and sheath. The hard barb hairs tickling every exposed inch of skin they found as Chance slid out.

The fire behind his eyes went white, intolerable as the first drops of come hit his tongue. Instinct forced his head up with a scream as his own fluids splattered the underside of the mattress, nerves and mind on complete overload.

His own rasping breath was the first thing that made it though the self-imposed blackout. Then the concern deeply integrated in his mate's scent, and the sort of distant warmth of the bigger Kat wrapped around him. With a shudder he felt to his core Jake pulled himself out of that terribly comfortable place, scenes still intentionally dull as he forced shaky legs to cooperate, placing him back in the center of the room and tried again under Chance's now worried gaze.

Still he's silent as death herself, so trusting.

Once again adrenaline, endorphins and a dozen other natural chemicals flowed through his body on command, but he barely felt it. Willing his sense of touch down even further to compensate. The pain of the shift he knew he could stand, but what was the point?

The remainder of the changes came easily after this many years. Easier still with the detached fascination he could muster as he was; sated, drugged up and nerve-dulled.

First came some the extra bulk. Muscles, skin, and sinew stretching to accommodate the bone growth that hit a moment later. Smooth and cleanly he balanced on his toes as they expanded first to give him firm footing. Foot and calf came next. Stretching, completing the shift in his center of gravity. A small part of his mind was still fascinated at how everything always grew at the same rate on both sides of his body, making the process so much easier on him than it had to be.

He closed his eyes tightly against the distortion about to come as Chance watched him in bewildered-fascination, but no fear. The only part that always hurt came quickly as his spine doubled its length, dragging all his organs out of place with it. Heart, lungs, stomach all expanded rapidly to suit the new size, though the rest did not. He let out a gasp from the bottom of those lungs as they demanded a breath or they'd collapse.

He barely noticed the shift in his arms as the obvious physical changes hit his face. His already strong muzzle lengthened and strengthened, giving it true credence as a weapon feared by all. Muscle, bone and flesh grew too heavy for a moment as his neck strained to catch up with the new demand. He intentionally blanked out the rest, desperately preparing for that worse case, that small possibility that he'd have a fight on his hands.

He knew instantly when the transformation settled, even though he'd been ignoring it, and opened his eyes to witness their fate. He blinked twice and pushed all his senses to their max before believing what they first told him.

The tabby, now the smaller of the pair, lay were he'd been left, eyes open and soaking in this new look with open fascination and still no fear. Jake followed his mate's gaze to were it had settled and had to chuckle at the hungry look flicking to life in those golden eyes.

Damn Kat took it better than he did most of the time.