23. Chapter 23

Taking his lady’s hand in his, Bengali guided her to their

room where they dressed in comfortable clothes, boots and thick gloves. Pine

cones were a great idea. They would snap and crackle and make small explosions

in the fire making it burn brighter and was a lot of fun to watch and

enjoy. When Galina was finished

dressing, she turned to see Bengali staring and smiling at her. She returned

his smile pearly whites gleaming and batted her lashes. “See something you

like?”

“You know I do.” He approached, leaning in to nibble on her

earlobe. “You were incredible last night.”

She giggled at the sensation of his kiss and hugged him

around the neck. “I’m incredible every night!”

He smiled back at his sapphire eyed beauty. “You are, but

last night was particularly special.”

“Aww, thanks Ben. I wonder how Rangerkitty made out with her

surprise.”

“Surprise?” he asked opening and holding the door. “What

surprise would that be?”

She led him towards the staircase and started down with him

following. “Oh, she got in before him and wanted to do something nice

surprising Tygra with candles, champagne and strawberries.”

“That’s nice.” He replied pouting. “I didn’t get any strawberries.”

She turned on the staircase holding the banister and

smirking back at him. “Oh I see, you would have preferred strawberries

instead?”

Realizing he wouldn’t have changed anything for the world

other than what had occurred between them; Bengali shook his head and gave her

a tiny push. “Okay, you got me. Let’s get started on this quest for fire.”

The two white tigers exited the lodge and found a pair of

axes in the tool shed. They placed them on a couple of sleds that they pulled

behind them. Galina also found a large burlap bag perfect for carrying the

pinecones back in. She slung it over her shoulder and they headed for the

nearby forest. Very soon they came by sections of trees that appeared to be

dead. They knew these would be much easier to chop being already dried out, and

would be beneficial to clear out of the forest. Bengali picked up his axe and

began chopping the base of the tree taking turns with Galina so they would not

tire quickly. Finally, the tree looked unsteady enough; she went around the

other side and pushed hard.

“TIMBER!” he called out; the old oak came crashing to the

ground.

She made a dusting motion with her hands making Bengali

grin—by Thundera, she was strong.

Retrieving his axe, together they cut several large pieces and split

these into smaller logs of a more suitable size for the indoor hearths. Bengali

was starting to feel the muscles in his shoulders, back and upper arms spasm.

He looked at the collection of logs they had so far and announced it was time

for a break.

“I’m fine!” Galina called from the other side of the downed

tree. “Why don’t you collect some smaller branches for kindling while I finish

up here? Then we can search for pinecones!”

“All right!” Bengali

called and did just that, pulling one of the sleds behind him. After another

fifteen minutes, he returned to the site with a sled-full of sticks and looked

around confused. He was sure this is where he’d left her. Suddenly he saw her

by the sled and by the pile of wood she’d piled in it, he realized that she’d

cut up the entire tree by herself. “Galina--Seriously?”

She had been examining her claws and looked over at him with

an innocent face. “What?” Glancing at the woodpile behind her, she waved it

off. “Oh, that. We should have brought a horse with us. It’s too much to pull

by ourselves so I made a woodpile they can come back to if they need to

re-stock.”

He walked up to her awed by the work she’d done. Bengali shook his head with both disbelief

and amazement. She had so much strength for a seemingly normal sized tigress.

“You know, I take equal credit in this.” He informed her and retrieved the rope

that pulled the sled.

“Yep, fifty-fifty, all the way, Ben did you find any

pinecones?”

“Yeah, there’s a whole bunch back this way.” He led her to

the pine trees and she was pleased to see ones that were open as opposed to the

greener newer ones.

Together they collected them and once the bag was full, they

tied it at the opening and placed it on the sled with the smaller branches,

which he pulled; Galina seemed better able to handle the heavier sled with the

logs. The pair joked and chatted on their way back, and when the lodge owner

spotted them from a distance, he waved and they waved back. He was amazed at

the amount of lumber they’d collected, and was thoroughly pleased when they

informed him of the woodpile at the border of the forest.

“Wonderful, wonderful and you are done so quickly! Your

other friends are still out.”

Bengali leaned backwards, stretching out his muscles. “Next

time, we should take chainsaws. That was pretty backbreaking work.”

Galina walked behind him and massaged his shoulders. “Then I

have the perfect remedy. Come on.”

Tygra steered the snowmobile in the direction the lodge

owner had instructed. It wasn’t that the

chestnut trees were far away, but the snowmobile ride certainly did cut down on

the travel time, especially in the fresh snow. Rangerkitty held his waist while

he veered the vehicle up to the grove of trees and shut it down. They climbed

off and adjusted their gloves and scarves walking underneath the trees.

“Wow--they have such big branches!” she breathed in

disbelief. She had never seen chestnut trees before. “These would make for some

really fun climbing!”

“I agree although they are likely slippery from the ice and

snow.” Tygra drew his bolo whip, cracked it in the air, and lassoed a lower

hanging branch pulling it close to arm’s length, where Rangerkitty hurried

forward and began pulling the green spiky round nuts off. When that branch was

cleaned off, Tygra loosened his whip and the branch flew back up, tossing all

the snow on its leaves into the air, dousing them both in a cold shower of ice

crystals. She giggled and held her gloved hands out dusted in the white powder,

causing the tiger to smile. He approached her taking her face in his hands.

“You are so beautiful.” And with that said, he kissed her.

Rangerkitty kissed him back, and felt that intense rush of

desire flood though her as she did. She dropped the bag of nuts to the snow

covered earth and held his shoulders, kissing the man she truly loved. When she

pulled away, she took his hands in hers and held them. “I’m glad we have

this... you and me time today because I was beginning to feel a left out.”

“Left out? We’ve been together practically the entire time

we’ve been here.”

The tigress studied him with raised eyebrows. “Tygra, you’ve

been spending most of your free time with Crystalandra. I’m glad you two are

friends now, but I was starting to miss you.”

“Oh my love,” He pulled her into a close embrace holding her

head against his chest and stroking her hair.

“Forgive me. I was trying to make her happy and having fun with her at

the same time. This weekend could have turned out to be a complete disaster,

and I just couldn’t have that. I’m sorry for making you feel neglected.”

“It’s okay.” She smiled, hugging him back, glad to be in his

arms. “You know, call me crazy, but I was starting to feel kind of jealous,

thinking maybe, well, never mind.”

He released her slightly and gently lifted her chin with his

hand. “You were thinking what?”

She blushed. “I was thinking maybe you were growing

attracted to her, and how I couldn’t compete with someone so powerful, so

exotic, a queen even...”

Tygra knelt before her, still holding her hands. “You never

have to doubt my feelings for you, Ranger. A million beautiful women could walk

by, but you’re the one whose hand I’ll be holding. You’re the one that has

captured my heart. No weekend of ice skating and sledding will ever change

that.”

Ranger too fell to her knees in the snow and embraced him.

“I love you Tygra.”

“Love you too.” They

stayed that way a few moments more, then stood; he helped her to her feet.

Tygra snared a few more branches, and when the bag had been filled, they loaded

it back upon the snowmobile and started back to the lodge, but at a much slower

speed, just enjoying the view and each other’s company.

As they got closer to the resort, Rangerkitty slipped one

hand into the bag and pulled out the green fuzzy spiky things they had spent

their time collecting. It really did not resemble any kind of nut she had ever

seen before. Tygra looked to the side and saw her examining the nut. “It’s in a

protective outer shell. We’ll cut them open back at the lodge then later

tonight we roast them over the fire. They’re really good once they’re cooked.”

“Ooooohhhhh.”

Once they arrived, he pulled the vehicle around to the side

under the covered open area where all the snowmobiles were parked. They

dismounted and made to go into the kitchen when suddenly they saw Galina and

Bengali heading out backwards. They stopped as the two white tigers backed up

into them and jumped, not expecting anyone to be standing there.

“Should we ask?” Rangerkitty inquired, looking at her

friends.

They glanced at one another and had to suppress nervous

giggles. “I’d steer clear of the kitchen right now, if I were you.” Galina

tried to whisper.

Tygra rolled his eyes. He knew what that meant--Argo and

Crystalandra. “Ok, we’ll leave these here and go find something to do.”

“We’re gonna relax in the hot tubs. My back is sore from

chopping wood.” Bengali offered. “Want to join us?”

“Maybe later,” Rangerkitty smiled not wanting to change into

a swimsuit; Tygra nodded as well. “We’ll

catch up to you later.”

After the white tigers left, Ranger glanced over at

Tygra. “What exactly could Crys and Argo

been doing in the kitchen to drive Bengali and Gali away like that?”

“Seriously?” The

tiger inquired raising an eyebrow as he took his tigress’ hand. “Do you honestly want to know? I think you must suspect already what those

two are up to…” He chuckled. “My cousin is a hyperactively frisky feline

and I shall leave it at that. Come

on—let’s have some fun of our own in the snow.”

With Crys and Argo working diligently in the kitchen, the

couple managed to churn out between them more than one hundred and seventy-five

gingerbread cookies. Having carefully

followed the baking instructions provided by the head chef, the freshly baked

treats were laid out on the counter to cool.

Crystalandra was especially savouring this time she was

spending alone with her mate and was especially enjoying the attention he was

showering upon her. The Tiglon was

happily serenading her with his favourite songs from Third Earth’s mysterious

ancient past while they worked. It sure

did help to pass the time; however, they still had one hundred and twenty-five

cookies still to cut, bake, and decorate.

When he finished she clapped her hands delightedly slopping

the icing about on the workbench.

“That was marvellous Lee!”

She exclaimed.

“Why thank you fair maiden.”

He replied taking a deep bow, “How about you? Surely you must have a favourite that you

have heard me play at home.”

Crys nodded rather shyly.

“Yes…one song comes to mind…I can’t exactly remember the title but when

I heard it, it reminded me of you.” And

she began to sing which surprised Argo immensely as she had never done so

before until now. He was taken aback by

the quality of her voice, she sounded quite angelic. He listened intently to the words:

…Why do stars

Fall down from the sky

Every time you walk by

Just like me

They long to be

Close to you

On the day that you were born

The angels got together and decided

To create a dream come true

So they sprinkled moon dust in your hair

Of gold and starlight in your eyes of blue

That is why all the girls in town

Follow you all around

Just like me

They long to be

Close to you…

Embarrassed by the Tiglon’s silent scrutiny, Crys resumed

the arduous work of decorating. “I’m

sorry, my singing voice isn’t as nice as yours and I probably butchered it.”

“The name of the song is ‘Close to you” by a brother and

sister duo called the Carpenters.” He

said regarding his wife while she meticulously piped the icing creating little

swirls on the cookie surface. She looked

quite adorable; her face was serious with her tongue sticking out as she

concentrated on her task.

“Goddess, I am a lucky feline to have you.” He finally whispered in awe; Crys glanced

over at her mate grinning.

“Are you sure about that despite my bad temper?”

“I love your temper and the way in which you snarl is oh

so…sexy. You’re bold, outspoken, and

fearless refusing to take any guff from anybody and that is what I admire most

about you, Crystalandra.”

Crys laughed. “Is

that all, nothing else? In other words I

am your typical Sh’iar female.”

“Well, I wouldn’t exactly go that far to say you are

‘typical’ since there is nothing typical about you. You complete me my spotted leoponess, my

Marozi…” He replied blowing her a kiss.

She straightened wiping a wisp of purple hair away from her

face,

“You know Argo I must confess I was worried that you

were…” The she-cat suddenly hesitated

thinking that perhaps she shouldn’t say anything further.

“I was what?” Argo

persisted munching on a cookie; he waited expectantly for her to continue.

“Okay…I thought you were going after Rangerkitty because of

the way you were flirting and always hanging around her.”

The Tiglon’s expression became serious. “Crys…I see RK as nothing more than a pal, a

little sister. I know at times I tend to

go overboard with the flirting…I am truly sorry if I make you uncomfortable

since that is not my intention. I tell

you what; because you mean the world to me I will stop my flirtatious behaviour

and be more serious.”

“Please…don’t do that…”

Crys begged. “I couldn’t ask you

to…I understand it is part of your personality, it is who you are. If you stop you’ll wind up being boring and

stuffy like your cousin, Tygra.” That

last part she said with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. “Well at least how he used to be.”

“Hey!” Argo protested

and picking up a bag of piping he squirted some of the frosting at

Crystalandra. She squealed as it hit her

on the cheek—in retaliation, the she-cat scooped up a glop of it and hurled it

back at her mate. The icing made its

mark on Argo messing up his black t-shirt that was already covered in flour and

cookie dough.

“Crissy, just look at what you’ve done you have practically

ruined my shirt now I have no choice but to remove it!” He stated with mock anger in his voice. And with slow deliberation, he took off his

shirt making a show of flexing his well-sculpted muscles knowing how much it

drove his wife mad with lust. It

worked. Crys squeezed the piping bag she

held in her hand making it literally explode watching her mate’s strip tease.

“Oh damn it Argo—now look what you have made me do! The icing is all over my sweater!” She glanced down at herself in dismay; he

grinned, his eyes roved over the generous swell of her bosom. “Allow me then to lick it off…”

It was at this point Galina and Bengali had decided to make

an impromptu visit to the kitchen to see if the Sh’iars needed help. As they had finished chopping the wood, the

white tigers thought Crys and Argo would appreciate the extra pair of hands and

currently Ben and Galina had nothing else planned.

Making their way towards the back door, Galina thought she

would sneak a peek in through the window to perhaps catch a glimpse of what the

couple had accomplished. However, she

was unprepared by what she was presented with.

“Whoa!” Galina

uttered in complete surprise almost stumbling; Ben caught her. “What’s wrong? Gali?

What did you mean by that?”

Seeing her stunned expression he pushed past her to have a

look in through the window. “Whoa!” He exclaimed blushing. “Back away slowly hun…Nothing to see here…”

“Damn! Maybe we

should have volunteered to do the baking instead! Who knew you could have so much fun with

icing!”

Tygra grinned at Rangerkitty and grabbed her hand leading

her back outdoors. Luckily they had not taken off their winter clothes, scarves

or gloves yet. He dashed ahead, pulling her behind him, giving her absolutely

no idea what he was up to. It was the beauty of the love bind. She didn’t care.

She trusted him implicitly. As he ran, she smiled at his fervour and the

beautiful winter scenery that surrounded them.

Once they rounded the inn, he stopped and gathered a couple

handfuls of snow, then stood and mashed them into a ball. She gasped as he

turned and propelled one directly at her. She fell to the ground as the

snowball whizzed over her and landed in the soft crystals behind her, “Tygra!”

He laughed out loud and dashed forward as she struggled to

get up and form a quick snowball of her own to toss back at him, smacking him

directly in the face. She didn’t even notice when he leaped forward to tackle

her, and she shrieked at the impact of his body against hers. They fell back

into the snow, wildly giggling and laughing aloud hugging and taking turns

trying to kiss and tickle the other.

From inside the kitchen, Argo overheard strange sounds

emanating from just outside the window. He released Crystalandra whom he had

left panting in sweet satisfaction upon a table surrounded by baking supplies

and peered out the window. Seeing Tygra and Rangerkitty wrestling and rolling

around in the snow struck a certain nerve inside him, pulling him out of the bliss

that had him so preoccupied. The lavender haired Sh’iar noticed his sudden

change and lifted her head, looking at him. “What’s up?”

“They’re having a fight....”

“What?” She slowly sat up and her feet found the floor.

Finding her footing, she stood on rather wobbly legs and joined him by the

kitchen window and looked outside to see Tygra fighting to shove snow down

Rangerkitty’s sweater. “They’re not fighting.”

“They’re having a snowball fight! Let’s get in on this!”

Argo said excitedly, reaching down to pull his pants back up.

“Liargo, we can’t we still have four more sheets of cookies

to finish... we, er, wasted a little time just before.”

He was buckling his belt, grinning at his mate. “That... was

not wasted time. That was time incredibly and wonderfully well spent.”

Crystalandra actually blushed as she touched her hair and

looked at the mess they’d made in the kitchen. There were smudges of flour,

icing, sprinkles and cookie dough all over the place. The table he’d laid her

upon even had a recognizable outline of her body left upon it. She grabbed a

dish towel and began wiping it down furiously, erasing the evidence.

Argo picked up the shirt she’d managed to cover in icing and

looked it over. “I’ll need a new shirt. You ruined this one.”

“You’ll get over it.” She shot back, eying the four cookie

sheets that rested upon the other counter, still with the cut and decorated

gingerbread men waiting to be baked. “Hey, I have an idea...” she turned to

look at Argo and almost fell over when she saw him trying on an apron. “What?”

With a straight face, he held his hands out. “What? No? Not

my colour?”

“Not with those frills!” Crys laughed, holding her sides for

she was laughing so hard. Argo began

laughing too and started juggling three eggs to see if that would impress her.

Unfortunately he misjudged one throw and they each landed on the floor in a

series of cracks and splatters, making her laugh harder. She held the table for

support; sheepishly he pulled off the apron and used it to start mopping them

up.

She hurried over to him and touched his arm, taking the

sticky apron from him. “Go upstairs and get a new shirt. I’ll clean up and put

the last trays in the oven.”

He grinned, leaned in to kiss her and licked a smudge of

icing off of her cheek. “Have I ever told you how sweet you taste?”

Crys groaned and pushed him toward the direction of the

door. “Go--hurry up!” He complied and left the kitchen, shirtless and

magnificent. She rolled her eyes at his silly play on words and looked around

the kitchen. Her eyes drifted to the oven and the knobs that controlled the

heat and settings.

Outside, Rangerkitty had rolled on top of Tygra and had

escaped his clutches. She dashed a few feet away and made another snowball to

hurl when she was unexpectedly hit from behind. Ranger glanced over her

shoulder and was surprised to see Crystalandra standing there, grinning and

making another snowball. Tygra looked up

and saw her,

“Reinforcements--all right!”

The tigress leapt for cover; both Tygra and Crystalandra

began making and hurling balls of the fluffy snow at her. She hopped behind a

woodpile and started making as many as she could to be ready for an attack when

Argo came up behind her, making her jump in surprise.

“What? Oh,

sorry—didn’t mean to startle you!”

“Argo, Tygra and Crys have teamed up against me. I’m trying

to stockpile some ammunition for when they come back!”

Argo looked down at the pile of fist sized snowballs she’d

made. Grinning and shaking his head, he leaned over and pinched her cheek

gently. “My dear, you need to think bigger--much bigger.”

He took one of the snowballs and began rolling it over the

fresh snow, causing it to become much larger. First it was the size of a

cannonball, then larger than his head. Rangerkitty smacked his arm. “Don’t make

it too big! The intent isn’t to hurt anyone, it’s just for fun!”

He made several, and Rangerkitty peered out through some

cracks on the logs. Tygra and Crystalandra were approaching. Figuring they knew

where she was, she quickly stood and opened fire, throwing snowballs at the

both of them. One hit Tygra in the leg, and one hit Crystalandra in her

shoulder. They both returned fire and Rangerkitty shrieked, diving back down

behind the woodpile. Both snowballs exploded on the logs. She stood again and

was hit square in the chest with one from the Sh’iar. Wow, she’s got good aim. She realized. But I have a secret weapon.

She threw her last snowball at Tygra who watched it whizz

past him. “However did you pass your trials with that kind of aim, babe?”

“Get him!” Rangerkitty called out, and to Tygra and

Crystalandra’s surprise, Argo stood and lobbed a huge snowball at each one of

them, using one arm for each. They were knocked back into the snow where they

hastily made more snowballs to return fire. Everyone was laughing now, and Argo

pelted Crystalandra with more making her giggle in hysterics. The snow was cold, but she didn’t care. This

was the perfect blend of things; she could pummel Rangerkitty with snowballs

and have fun doing it!

She pushed Argo off of her and chased the tigress who yelped

and ran around the building. Crystalandra was hot on her heels and scored a few

more to her back as they ran. Rangerkitty saw a pine tree up ahead and jumped

as she dashed underneath, grabbing the branch and quickly released it, dumping

a large pile of snow directly onto the leoponess. It was Crystalandra’s turn to

shriek nowe covered in the frozen crystals.

Rangerkitty turned and laughed; the Sh’iar dusted herself

off and resumed her chase. “I’m going to get you for that RK!”

Rangerkitty hurried to the back of the building and saw

Galina and Bengali in the outdoor hot tub, only they weren’t just sitting in

it, they were in a full embrace and a seriously deep kiss. She skidded to a

halt gaping at them, forgetting her pursuer. Crystalandra leapt forward and

tackled the tigress to the snowy ground, then straddling her picked up two

large handfuls of snow. “Let’s see how you like it!”

Rangerkitty winced, expecting to be instantly covered in the

cold. After a couple seconds, she opened her eyes and looked up, wondering what

was happening. Crys had momentarily forgotten about her and was staring at

Galina and Bengali, gaping at them.

Rangerkitty followed her gaze. “They know how to put on a

show, don’t they?”

Crys looked back down at Rangerkitty, and then at the snow

she was holding. “I have a better idea.” She said, tossing it aside and

standing up. She offered an outreached hand to the tigress, who took it and

allowed her to help her stand up. Crystalandra was smirking now, and Rangerkitty

suddenly got the idea.

Together they made a few armfuls of snowballs and crept up

behind the two white tigers who were completely distracted with one another.

Eyes closed, hands roaming freely with the water churning and bubbling around

them. Crystalandra whispered to her new ally, ”Ready?”

“Ready.”

They jumped up and shouted and began throwing snowballs

directly at Bengali and Galina who were startled apart. Tygra and Argo, who had

come around the other side of the building and had been watching this, laughed

and ran over to join in. Snowballs began flying at the two tigers from all

directions. Galina shrieked and Bengali splashed at them. “Hey! No fair! We

have no ammo!”

“Serves you right, making out in the middle of the day, in a

public place where people could see you!” Crys taunted them throwing another

one.

Bengali splashed at her and Galina rested her arms on the

side of the tub and looked innocently at her. “And how did your cookie making

experience go, hmmmm?”

Crys stopped suddenly and looked up in horror, “The COOKIES!”

She dashed into the building and ran to the kitchen where

she could smell the unmistakable scent of burning. Grabbing two oven mitts, she

yanked the oven door open. Smoke billowed out and she coughed pulling out a

baking sheet with blackened gingerbread men. She sighed at the sight of them

and quickly tossed them into the trash, then unlatched the window opening it to

let the air clear.

The baker entered the kitchen and took a look around. “What

happened here?”

“Oh, I wanted to hurry the last batch, so I set the

temperature a little higher, figuring they’d cook more quickly.”

“How high did you set it?” he asked, peering at the charred

cookies in the wastebasket.

“Five Hundred.”

“Oh, heavens...”

Argo hurried in after her, glad to see she had actually done

a decent job of cleaning the flour and cake icing before she’d come outside.

“Aww, what happened?”

Crys shot him a look; Argo was glancing longingly at the

burnt treats in the trash can. “Can’t we just cover them with icing?”

The baker reached up putting a consoling hand on the large

Tiglon’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, my lord. I’m afraid they’re done for.”

Argo nodded. “What a

shame…and such a terrible waste of all those cookies.”

“I’m truly sorry…”

Crys apologized. “I didn’t expect

this would have happened…I thought by cranking up the temperature

setting…” She shrugged. “Well, I guess I’ve learned my lesson—I’m

definitely not the domestic type. But I

do feel badly about ruining these cookies…I wish there was something we could

do to help you for what we have done.”

“That’s all right m’lady…”

The chef replied wistfully. “My

staff can whip something up on short notice.”

“You will do no such thing.”

The Tiglon said with sudden determination in his voice, “Would you

excuse us a moment Chef?”

Argo took Crys’ hand and pulled her aside. “Marozi, there IS something we can do to

help.”

“Oh Lee I hope you’re not going to suggest that we bake more

gingerbread men! I’m sorry love but my

domestic stint is definitely over.”

He chuckled, leaned down, and kissed her on her spotted

forehead. “I’m not going to ask you EVER

to do that again…Listen, I’ve been wondering what to give the staff as a token

of gratitude for all they have done for us.

Let’s contact the home world and get our Tymperian chefs to whip up a

special treat for them.”

The she-cat clapped her hands delightedly, “Oh Lazhu that is

a brilliant idea! Yes—absolutely let’s

do it!”

The Tiglon couldn’t help but blush a deep crimson upon Crys’

use of his pet name in public. Easy there my queen that is for the privacy

of our bedroom…

Oops sorry…She

grinned. “Come on let’s hop to it; we’ve

got a lot of arrangements to make if we want this done before tonight’s dinner

celebration.”

The Sh’iars raced out of the kitchen leaving a bewildered

chef behind…