sharan never liked the tattoo shop. the music was too loud, the buzzing of the machines insistent and aggravating, and it put him in a mood of annoyance–much like the man he was searching for did. the lollipop in his mouth tasted bitter at the thought, sour now instead of sweet, just like everything else about this godforsaken town. he missed his jungle. he missed being the king. he missed the fear in the eyes of the animals that were lower than him. it hadn’t taken him long to gain that power back, even in the form of this sad, weak man. many would pay a pretty penny to have a woman sit in their lap, and sharan made sure they payed a pretty penny.
with a grimace he took the lollipop out of his mouth, ears already assaulted with the loud, harsh music of the shop the moment he walked in. though he couldn’t help but relish all the eyes that landed on him as he did so, strutting across the small lobby and into the back as though he owned the place. idly he wondered if he’d run into maleficent ( such a baggy, insufferable woman ), and made sure he’d be in and out as fast as possible. he was only here for one thing, anyway.
there he was, sitting with his back turned towards him, and sharan couldn’t help the predator-like smile that crossed his lips because of it. he wasn’t with a client, not like he would have cared if he was, and sharan stood there a moment or two watching him before he decided to make a move. with a heavy hand, sharan placed it around the back of kaa’s neck tightly, leaning in until he was a ghost away from the shell of the other man’s ear. “kaa.” he hummed, fingers tightening almost painfully around the back of the man’s neck, contrasting with the light tone of his voice. “outside. now.”
It was a slow day at work for Kaga. He didn’t have any appointments scheduled for today, so his boss decided to put him on walk-in duty, the worst. These were the spur of the moment customers who usually had no idea what they wanted, and regretted even being there later on. The only reason he cared was because they were wasting his time, when he could be doing something at least productive, but no. Instead here he was, stenciling out designs without even thinking about them. He had briefly allowed himself to delve back into his memories of the jungle, and the feeling he would get while hypnotizing the animals, having them do whatever he pleased before eventually eating them.
And then there was Shere Khan. He let out a soft sigh, his hand stopping the movements on the paper for a moment. The powerful tiger who Kaga worked with to keep the jungle in order... god, how he missed it. If he remembered hard enough, he could still hear his purr against his ear--
No, wait. That was someone’s breath on his ear. Kaga was about to stiffen when he felt a hand on the back of his neck, and a voice. A voice, even though turned human, the tone and tempo of which he would recognize anywhere. “Shere Khan.” He breathed, and when the hand tightened around the nape of his neck, he felt no panic or fear. Just pure excitement and elation. He was back. They were back. He got up from his chair obediently and followed him outside, quickly making up an excuse to his manager before they slipped out from view.
“You’re back!” His heart almost leaped into his throat, taking in the tiger’s new form. He was... extremely handsome, of course. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you, where-- no, never mind. It doesn’t matter now.” Kaga shook his head, thinking better of asking where he had been. Now was the time for him to be a good follower, and to do whatever Khan was here to tell him to do. “What do you need?”
