Work Text:
It was always so eerie to see Kanan on her first night of transformation. Despite having a couple of the physical characteristics of a wolf, she was still sentient and overall quite human-like. As Hanamaru watched Kanan sleep, she smiled a little bit, knowing that twenty-four hours from then, Kanan would be shifting into wolf form.
Dia’s family had gone out of town for the weekend, leaving Maru to deal with Kanan's heat cycle by herself at Dia’s house. The first day had been pretty tame; once Kanan had finished (which didn't even take too long) she was very affectionate, then fell asleep almost immediately. Thankfully, Kanan hadn't asked to go in the woods. It was a bit scary back there at night...
Hanamaru was jolted out of her thoughts when Kanan's leg twitched beneath the blankets, then kicked softly. Her nose twitched, too. However, Maru was entranced by one thing: her ears.
They were perked up, as if watching out for something. They were blue and fluffy on the outside, with pale pink insides. They almost seemed fake. Kanan still had her human ears, but according to her, her canine ears were much more useful and sensitive. Hanamaru sat cross-legged, towering over her and inspecting her ears with much interest. I wonder what she’s dreaming about. Is she hunting? Or is someone trying to hunt her? That second thought terrified Maru; she was quite sure it terrified Kanan as well! Of course, being a good girlfriend, she had to comfort Kanan, right? Perhaps, she thought, she could just give her a little pat on the ears.
(Or, maybe she just wanted an excuse to touch Kanan’s ears.)
She softly rubbed Kanan’s shoulder, and Kanan’s tail weakly lifted beneath the covers in unconscious acknowledgement. “Hi there,” Maru whispered. She felt a little honored when Kanan’s ears perked up even more. She liked to think it was because of the sound of her voice, but they probably just perked up at any old noise. It was still a nice thought, though. “Good girl. Good dog.”
Kanan’s tail thumped the sheets again, and Hanamaru’s heart swelled. Alright. Next level, zura, she thought, lifting her hand. She slowly reached forward, and let her fingertips graze the very very tip of Kanan’s ear-
Grr...
Hanamaru yanked her hand back when she felt Kanan vibrating beneath it. That wasn’t an “I’m aroused and you need to get me off right now” growl, or an “I’m going to win this game of tug-of-war” growl...that was a “don’t touch me or I’m going to bite you” growl, and Hanamaru didn’t like the sound of it at all. Kanan’s eyes shot open, and Hanamaru jumped back at the sight of gold. When Kanan went to sleep, they were violet, but Hanamaru wasn’t particularly surprised once she realized what happened. “Agh...Maru-chan? Was that you?” Kanan mumbled groggily.
“Uh, y-yeah, zura. I’m sorry for doing it, please don’t bite me, I just wanted-”
“No, of course I won’t! I’m sorry...I was having a nightmare and I got kind of scared,” Kanan said, propping herself up on one elbow. She seemed to wake up rather quickly; then again, dogs were light sleepers. “Y’know. Monster hunters, silver bullets, the whole thing...”
“Oh...” Kanan had told her about a couple of run-ins with monster hunters that she had had before; the aura of a werewolf was strong and not very hard to find, even with aura cloakers. Thankfully, Kanan had always escaped safely, but it left her with more than enough memories to give some pretty nasty nightmares. “It’s okay! I wouldn’t let anybody hurt you, zura.”
Kanan laughed a little bit, and Hanamaru blushed. She wouldn’t really be able to do anything, but... “Thanks, Maru-chan. I’m really sorry for growling at you, though. I’m not used to having my ears touched. Dia doesn’t really bother with them and they’re kinda sensitive. You can pet them now, if you want.”
Hanamaru still felt bad about scaring Kanan in such a manner, especially when her dreams weren’t your run-of-the-mill nightmares; however, she thanked Kanan under her breath, then reached a hand out again. Kanan closed her eyes and sighed softly, relaxing herself a little. However, when Hanamaru started to run three fingers over the back of her right ear, she opened her eyes again. “How’s that, zura?”
“Good, but...go a little lower. Like, around where it meets my head. And...hold on.” Kanan crawled from underneath the covers and rested her head in Hanamaru’s lap, laying on her side and facing away. They were both naked, and Kanan’s bare skin was warm against Maru’s. “Alright. Go around where it meets my head, and, uh...use your nails a little more.”
“Oh, like I’m scratching them...!”
“Yeah! Just like that! It’s totally just like that!” Kanan’s thick tail whacked at the air a couple of times before flopping to the bed. Hanamaru’s favorite thing about Kanan being in wolf form was definitely how excited she got. Whenever Hanamaru put a little bit of energy into her voice, Kanan’s response was tenfold. Hanamaru could read the dictionary in a happy, cutesy voice and Kanan’s tail would run a mile a minute.
Kanan was sure about what she wanted; as soon as Hanamaru heeded her instructions, gently scratching at the base of her ear, Kanan moaned softly and wriggled in Hanamaru’s lap. “Who’s a good dog, zura?”
Hanamaru instinctively asked that. After all, it’s what you ask a dog when you’re petting it, right? Kanan pouted, then responded with a huff, “I’m not a dog! I-I’m a wolf...”
“Mm-hm,” Hanamaru said, a teasing lilt in her voice. “A big, bad, scary wolf, who loves to have her ears scratched.”
Kanan growled again, but it was soft and more playful. Finally, a couple of seconds later, she mumbled, “I-I’m a good dog...”
“Yes! Yes you are, zura!” Hanamaru used both of her hands to scratch Kanan’s ears, and Kanan’s tail started to smack the bed over and over as she pushed back into Hanamaru’s hand. “Come on, who’s a good dog? Who’s a good dog?!”
“Me,” Kanan panted, grinning lazily.
Hanamaru had never heard such genuine joy in Kanan’s voice; in fact, she seemed pretty proud of herself. Hanamaru started scratching faster, and Kanan whimpered and pushed back into Hanamaru’s hand even more than before. “Who’s a cute little puppy, zura? Hmm?”
“Me, I am,” Kanan insisted.
Hanamaru’s heart felt like it was going to burst! Why didn’t Dia do that all of the time?! Kanan was making a really cute, blissed out face. She was moaning non-stop; Hanamaru might’ve thought they were moans of arousal, if she didn’t know any better. Eventually, Hanamaru slowed down again, and Kanan relaxed in her lap, though still panting heavily. “Do you want a belly rub, too?”
“Uh...you can, if you want, but...the reason they work so well when I’m in dog formーer, I mean, canine form, is because there’s not as much fur there, so the skin is really sensitive,” Kanan explained. “It’d be kinda weird for you to rub it while I’m like this, honestly...”
Hanamaru mumbled an “oh”, sounding a bit disappointed. Oh, well. In about twenty-four hours, she’d be able to give Kanan as many belly rubs as she wanted. “Thanks for letting me pet you, Kanan-chan,” Maru whispered. “Sorry for waking you up, zura...”
“No! Thank you for petting me,” Kanan said. Her voice was so sincere that Hanamaru couldn’t even giggle at her enthusiasm. Her leg was twitching a little, and her tail was still thumping against the bed, although a bit slower. “And besides, I would have woken up on my own, anyway. Sometimes, around this part of my heat cycle, I get really scared by my dreams...Dia usually helps me out, but this is even better.”
They settled into a comfortable silence, with Kanan laid across Hanamaru’s lap and gratefully receiving her gentle pets. After long minutes of feeling Kanan’s soft fur at her fingertips, Hanamaru noticed that Kanan’s breath had evened out, despite how fast it was. Kanan had fallen asleep in her lap. She was comforted when she noticed that Kanan was sleeping peacefully, with not a nightmare in sight. Hanamaru got sleepy just looking at her; they had had a long day, after all. However, as soon as she made a little move to slip out from under Kanan so they could lay down, Kanan made a soft whining noise. Hanamaru gulped and cemented her butt to the sheets, sighing softly.
Oh, great...now I can’t move!