Summary: While searching through a dusty storeroom at the palace, the guardian beasts find a box of magical ribbons.

Characters: Kochou/Seiran, Ensei with a cameo by Ryuuki/Shuurei

Author's Notes: Written for the February 2011 prompt, Adorable, at the saiun_challenge LJ community. This AU is a crossover with the manga Genju no Seiza but knowledge of that series isn't necessary to understand the story. Other pieces of this AU include "The Legend of Dhalashar" and "Love Songs and Lullabies." If this AU is new to you, I recommend reading "The Legend of Dhalashar" first since it contains a lot of background including more details about the setting and what everyone looks like in their altered forms. In this AU, Ryuuki is the reincarnated ruler of the tiny desert kingdom of Dhalashar and Kochou (a snake), Seiran (a tiger), and Ensei (a wolf) are animal gods who serve him. They can take on animal forms or human forms with some animal-like characteristics. Seiran hasn't figured out how to turn into a real tiger yet so his animal form is a cat with white and black tiger stripes.

Warnings: Very AU with magical powers and animal transformations. And this is probably too fluffy considering that it's Kochou.

…

Ensei sneezed from the dust in the rarely visited storeroom. Tucked away in a corner of the Dhalashar palace, the space housed artifacts from hundreds of years of past Holy Kings, their shamans, and guardian beasts—antique furniture, numerous boxes, urns full of scrolls, bits of armor and old weapons. It also seemed to contain at least a generation's worth of dust. "This place looks like it hasn't been cleaned since the last Holy King's time! Where do we even start?"

Kochou brushed away a cobweb with distaste and examined the shelves which lined one wall. "It would make sense to look for something smaller like a jewelry box. Shou said there should at least be a diadem, a necklace and some bracelets."

"That doesn't help much. It's been hundreds of years and there are tons of fancy little boxes here!" Ensei opened a lacquered box at random and pulled out an ornate incense burner, which he tossed and caught lightly like a ball. "It's going to take us longer to find the last priestess's jewelry than for new pieces to be made!"

"Don't throw things around so carelessly." Seiran snatched the censer away and replaced it in its box, before smacking the other man on the head. "And Her Ladyship wouldn't allow such an unnecessary expense." Despite Ryuuki's enthusiasm for providing finery for his new priestess, Shuurei had protested she didn't need the ceremonial jewelry at all; she had only given in when she learned there was an existing set she could use when needed.

"Ow." Ensei rubbed his head, leaving a dusty streak in his scruffy hair. He picked another box, this one inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and opened it to reveal a tangle of purple ribbons. "Huh? Just a bunch of ribbons?" He grinned and turned to the tiger. "Hey, Seiran, I bet these would look cute on you."

Seiran glared at the wolf god's suggestion and dragged him away in a headlock. "Shut your stupid mouth and keep looking."

Kochou was about to return the box to its place when she realized the contents weren't just ordinary ribbons. Fingering the soft material, she sensed that it was infused with magic and suspected she knew what it would do. She looked speculatively at Seiran, who had paused to examine a pair of swords, one sheathed in black and the other in white.

Perhaps, one of these ribbons would help with Seiran. He kept turning down her advances and although she could use her magic to enslave any man that looked into her eyes, there wasn't any challenge or fun in that. Making sure he and Ensei were distracted, Kochou rolled up the ribbon and tucked it into her jeweled brassiere. She'd just borrow it for a while.

…

That night, Seiran lay sleepily between Ryuuki and Shuurei in his cat form. As he drifted off, he dreamed of ancient artifacts and dust mingled with the scent of perfume. There was a feminine chuckle as something silky slipped around his neck and tightened. And that was when Seiran realized he was no longer dreaming. He felt himself being lifted and opened his eyes to find Kochou regarding him with a twinkle in her green eyes.

She smiled and kissed him on the nose. "Ensei was right. You do look adorable with that ribbon."

Seiran hissed at the mention of the wolf god's name. He tried to change back to his human form but became aware of an invisible force that he had been learning to recognize as magic. Reaching up to his neck, he felt a bow tied there. The magic in the ribbon was keeping him trapped in kitten form! He pawed at it, trying to undo the knot.

Kochou laughed softly and cuddled him to her ample bosom, which was threatening to escape from a filmy robe. "Oh, that ribbon isn't going to come off so easily. And you're going to sleep in my room tonight."

Seiran had yet to figure out how to speak normally when in his animal form so he had to settle for growling to express his displeasure. After he got out of this, he would be sure to get revenge on Ensei for that inane comment.

"Are you worried about leaving the king and priestess alone?" Kochou cooed, tightening her arms around the squirming cat. "Your loyalty is admirable but they'll be fine."

Shuurei hadn't even stirred since Kochou entered the room. Without Seiran in between, Ryuuki moved closer to the girl and hugged her. He smiled in his sleep, possibly recalling that evening when he had presented Shuurei with the priestess's diadem.

"See? They won't mind if you sleep somewhere else tonight," Kochou whispered, her breath tickling Seiran's ear. The snake woman carried him out of the king's room, closing the door behind her with a flick of her tail.

…

A saucer of warm milk spiced with cinnamon, a couple of sprigs of catnip, several kisses, and much stroking and petting later, Seiran lay in a pile of tasseled cushions atop Kochou's bed purring in contentment.

The snake woman reclined on the bed next to him, toying with one of his paws. "So, Seiran, do you still want to leave?" Her lips brushed against his neck as she leaned down and caught one end of the purple ribbon in her teeth and tugged, slowly unraveling the knot.

Kochou was pleased when his response was to purr and cuddle closer. Someday, she'd lure him to her bed in his handsome human form but this was nice for now. She gave him one more kiss before blowing out the lantern on the bedside table.

…

Although the previous night turned out to be a lot more pleasant than expected, Seiran wasn't about to pass up a chance for revenge on Ensei and his chance came in the late afternoon as the wolf god napped outside in his animal form. He stealthily approached the other guardian beast, quiet footsteps further masked by the gurgle of water from a nearby fountain. With a quick movement, Seiran whipped the strip of purple silk under the canine's snout and tied it. The resulting bow was crooked and had almost no tails since a wolf's neck was obviously larger than a kitten's. But what mattered was that it was done.

Ensei blinked sleepily, coming back to his senses. "Hey, Seiran, what are you doing?" He tried to turn back to human form without success. Pawing at his neck, he realized the problem and frowned.

"That's for yesterday." Seiran smirked. "And that ribbon looks much better on you," he called over his shoulder as he walked away.

Unaware of what had gone on the night before, Ensei pawed at the stubborn ribbon in confusion. "But I didn't do anything!"

…

Author's Notes: This was inspired by a part in Genju no Seiza where the tiger got trapped in kitten form with a bow tied around its neck although in completely different circumstances. The cinnamon milk is from the manga, too.

This might get partially rewritten if I can figure out how. I started this fic a few weeks ago but the scene in Kochou's room was a stumbling block. I'm terrible at romance and thought it would have been weird if it got too sexy anyway since Seiran was stuck in his cat form; I considered just letting Seiran escape or having Kochou humorously chase him around the room since I just couldn't seem to write that scene. So, it got glossed over so I could finally post this thing.

Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this story, reviews would be appreciated. This AU continues in "Magical Mishaps." And I've started on some fanart for this AU; check my profile for details.