Independence

A/N Hello there, and yes, this is an update. Your eyes are not fooling you… This chapter is especially dedicated to betrayed and MiraMira for all the loving they have given me. Oh, and not to forget all my other reviewers, don’t let anyone ever tell you that you’re a bad lover. Because you guys rock my world!

Btw, this chapter has not been beta’d, so do please ignore any mistakes you might find whilst reading. But, hey, at least I got the general idea across, right?



Chapter 10: Of Ri’s and Bonds



‘Aggressive?’ pondered Lex the moment the doctor questioned Crescent about his behavior.

Okay, perhaps he had been glaring almost non-stop ever since his capture but in a situation like this, it was the only form of action he could use to give everyone a clue as to what he thought about this whole bloody ‘claiming’ nonsense. As much as he would have liked to have screamed foul words at the top of his lungs, that action would have certainly given him away.

‘Aggressive behavior?’ thought Lex with a huff.

‘I’ll have you know that all my acquaintances back home have always commented on my calm and pleasant personality,’ Lex mentally said.

Yes, Lex had never been the one to have purposely stood out back in the human world. Throughout the years, once he had gotten the gist of human behavior and how human society operated, he had begun building a normal human persona. One that never acted irrationally or had sudden moments of emotional outbursts in public.

But ever since his capture and unwilling placement into the care of dominants, his whole world had turned around, leaving him at a lost of how to behave. In the human world there were specific rules, laws and guidelines on which he had relied on in the past to know how to fit in but in this strange new world, filled with fire-breathing dominants and small petite submissives, where did Lexis Rivers fit in?

Lexis Rivers the human could do nothing. No laws or human rights movements could rescue him from the Ro’s. And Lexis Rivers the Dragon, could not simply sit back and let everyone dictate his life without at least a show of defiance.

People have always said that when all your rational senses have fled, the only thing left are your instincts. And Lex’s instincts, the beast within, was telling him that they were not going down, not without a fight. And even if he couldn’t transform into said beast, its instincts and thoughts were as loud and clear as they have always been. He had been disregarding them for so long back in the human world, but now, after such a long time, he didn’t have to anymore.

So, as the two Ro’s continued talking about him, he continued glaring at them. He had to stop struggling of course, wouldn’t want to injure his ankle even more than it was, after all.

The surprising thing however was the fond glances Crescent was throwing at him while the two dominants discussed about him like he wasn’t even in the vicinity. Well, he supposed that was a good thing. After all, he had to keep them thinking that he was nothing more than an ordinary submissive with not a hint of knowledge of any languages or about the outside world. And since they were discussing about HIM, didn’t he have the rights to know what they were saying?

And what if Crescent was looking at him adoringly? He was the reason Lex was in this situation in the first place. Well, not him per say, but as he was a dominant, that made him one of the culprits too.

The sight of a small, petite looking figure entering into the examination room made Lex turn his head to get a better look. The other submissive, dressed in forest green kimono-like robes, stared curiously at the other occupants from where he stood by the entrance of the room before hurriedly darting towards the doctor.

The other Ri shyly hid behind the larger form of the healer, shielding his small frame away from the curious eyes of the other two Dragons in the room.

“Kio, what are you doing here?” asked the doctor softly, turning his head to glance at the small Ri burrowing into his back.

“Miss you,” answered the small Ri as he shyly kept his head down. His hands started fisting the Ro’s white overcoat and he was clearly fidgeting, no doubt nervous about the presence of the other individuals in the room.

Lex thought his voice sounded like that of a child’s, timid and soft, like the chiming of silver bells.

The doctor merely smiled fondly at the Ri and reached from behind him to gently tug the Ri out from his hiding place. “Come on out Kio, you don’t want to be rude to our guests,” said the Ro, guiding the nervous-looking Ri in front of him. The Ri timidly kept his eyes fixed on the floor, shifting his feet from side to side.

“This is Kio, my mate,” introduced the doctor with a smile, keeping a strong but gentle hold on the Ri’s shoulders.

“Hello there, Kio,” greeted Crescent kindly.

“This is Lord Crescent, Kio. Say hello,” urged the other Ro.

“Hello,” said the Ri softly, without even looking up from his feet.

“He’s rather shy, but he warms up to you after a while,” the doctor commented, with a warm smile.



(break)



“Do all mated submissives act this way, Michael?” asked Lucien curiously, after observing the small blond Ri.

Lucien had never been really up close and personal with many mated submissives before, having chosen to stay away from those fragile and timid looking creatures as much as possible.

When they weren’t hiding away, they were batting their eyelashes trying to get as much attention as possible from anyone in their vicinity. And knowing how jealous and protective mated dominants were towards their Ri’s, sometimes it was better to not get to close or to pay too much attention to the submissives.

That was the reason why Lucien stayed away from mated Ri’s as much as possible in the past years of his bachelor life. When there were occasions that called for Ro’s and Ri’s to be present together however, he stayed as cold and unfeeling as a statue whenever there was a Ri nearby.

“Some do, some are worse and some are attention seekers but it really depends on the Ri. Not all Ri’s act the same you know, contrary to what you believe,” Michael answered Lucien’s question with a teasing smile.

Lucien frowned a little at that but when his eyes caught sight of his own mate-to-be sitting there on the examination table, observing the occupants in the room with curious eyes, he smiled and said, “Yes, I should know better.”

The brown haired Ri looked up that comment, putting on that ever familiar glare as he glowered at Crescent. Lucien however merely smiled that adoring smile at the Ri, making the submissive’s glare falter for a few seconds.

“Your Ri’s case however is a different story altogether,” said the doctor observing the dark brown haired Ri who turned his glare over to him.

“I’ve never seen a submissive act this way, not unless they are seriously hurt and those are rare cases,” commented the doctor, smiling a little hesitantly at the glowering Ri, who had turned his glare up a notch higher.

“Is this bad?” asked Lucien whose hand had strayed to touch the Ri’s soft brown locks. The Ri glanced up at the touch and quickly flicked the hand away with his own. He then gave Lucien the evil-eye and backed up further away from the Ro.

“No, just different. He’s still new to all this after all, so this might just be the effect of nervousness. He might turn more complacent just as soon as he starts getting used to this new environment,” said the doctor as looked towards his own mate.

“Sometimes submissives are a little agitated in a new and unfamiliar territory. Kio was like that at first, always shying away and refusing to budge from the inside of a closet or from under a bed. But after some time he started getting familiar with this new environment and would explore around the building when he thought that no one was around. From then on he started getting more adventurous and eventually, he stopped hiding in dark confined spaces,” he continued.

“It just takes time,” said the Ro, moving his hand through his mate’s blond locks.

‘I certainly can’t imagine my Ri hiding under a bed or a closet,’ thought Lucien as he glanced at the blue eyed submissive. In fact, the submissive looked like he would rather chew off his own arm than be caught dead hiding in some closet somewhere. There was a sense of pride and dignity in him that was unmistakable. Any warrior with the ability to see would be able to spot it a mile away. The glower aimed at the two Ro’s was plenty proof enough.

“And speaking of new territory,” continued the doctor, “I believe Ri’s are new territory for you as well, isn’t that right, my friend?” And as he said that, he reached over to a side drawer and pulled out a few colorful pamphlets written in the Dragon tongue.

“Almost forgot these,” he said absentmindedly, as he got out a few more from the pocket of his overcoat. He handed them over to Lucien with an amused smile.

“What are these for?” asked Lucien curiously as he looked through the colorful pieces of paper. His mate-to-be in turn glanced down to the pamphlets as well, looking at them suspiciously.

“Educating your Ri? Tips to keep your Ri happy and healthy? My Ri won’t let me touch him/her, what should I do?! What in the world are these, Michael?” asked Lucien, reading the bold headlines on the pamphlets with a confused frown.

“Useful advice based on research and experience to help newly and to-be mated dominants in their journey to a happy and loving relationship with their Ri’s,” said Doctor Asa with a wide grin.

“Good luck, you’ll need it,” he again said with a wink.

Lucien merely groaned.



(break)




Lex groaned mentally.

‘What the hell, are these THINGS?!’ he questioned inwardly.

‘What to do when your Ri refuses to eat?’
‘Playmates are essential for a Ri’s development!’
‘Foods that may be harmful to your Ri.’
‘How to potty train your Ri?’

‘What the hell?!!’ Lex mentally cursed as he stared at the bright colored pamphlets in growing horror. What in the world did he get himself into? Oh, wait, what did the bloody dominants get him into?! They were torturing him on purpose, he just knew it! They were probably doing this to get back at him for all the mental curses he had thrown their way the moment he had learned of their existence. Yes, this was all just an elaborate plot to get their revenge.

‘Playmates? And potty training? Do I look like a screaming, slobbering, newly born baby to you?!’ he mentally shot the question at the two Ri’s, glaring at them and hoping they got the message. The Ri doctor merely looked at him with a small smile and Crescent was too busy gawking at the pamphlets to notice that his mate-to-be was glaring, again.

Oh, he could definitely put up with the ‘I’m just a normal submissive and therefore will not shout profanities at you’ act but the ‘I’m just a normal submissive and will let you treat me like a normal submissive (which includes potty training)’ act was something he would only ever do if he was dead drunk, running a fever of over a hundred degrees and drugged with hallucination pills, all at the same time.

‘Oh no, you are never coming near me with a bloody potty! Nu-uh, no way,’ he thought mentally forming plans of escape. He was definitely, 101% getting out of there now.

So preoccupied with his thoughts, Lex failed to notice when a small, petite figure jumped up unto the examination bed and began sniffing him. It was only until the two Ro’s had stopped talking and were staring wide-eyed in Lex’s direction did he jump out of his own mental thoughts and notice the amber-eyed Ri sitting merely inches away from him.

Lex squaked in surprise, (he would never squeak, you see) and jumped away to the other end of the bed. When had the other submissive gotten so close anyway?

The Ri giggled in delight, albeit a shy one, but a giggle nonetheless and moved closer towards the other blue-eyed Ri.

Lex was dumbfounded. Wasn’t this the same Ri who had shied away and hidden behind his mate when he had entered the room?

The same Ri, however, didn’t seem so shy anymore as he edged closer towards Lex and began rubbing his cheek against Lex’s. It was a show of affection between Ri’s and Lex was surprised that such a shy one such as this one would boldly allow the Ro’s to see him showing this sign to another Ri. Being a Ri himself, Lex knew that it was a rather sacred action, a show of affection and love between closely tied Ri’s and only shown in private, where there were no curious eyes to watch.

He himself had only ever rubbed cheeks with his twin brother, and that was when he was feeling particularly emotional. His brother however, did it as often as possible when there were only the two of them around. But then, they were brothers, it was only logical that they were affectionate with one another. But this Ri however, had done it when he and Lex had just only met for the first time.

“Wow, Kio must really like your Ri,” said the amber-eyed submissive’s mate as he observed the both of them. “Usually, he’s never this friendly with other submissives,” commented the Ro again.

‘They don’t know,’ Lex thought as he glanced at two Ro’s, with a wondering frown on his lips. ‘They don’t know what it means,’ thought Lex again.

With a sigh, Lex nuzzled back against the other Ri’s cheeks. The submissive smiled happily and practically climbed onto Lex, burrowing his head into Lex’s neck.

‘Why?’ Lex sent the mental question across.

‘Because you’re you,’ came the mental reply, forming from impressions and feelings of affection.

Lex sighed, well, he had accepted the bond. But he was surprised on how easily it was formed. Based on the reactions of the two Ro’s he supposed that submissives were the only ones who could truly understand the gesture of cheek to cheek contact. Lex would say that in human terms it would be like attaining a sworn brother or sister, like in those old Chinese kung-fu movies where they swore by blood to be adopted siblings. In the animal kingdom, it was like forming a pack. Ri’s back in their natural territory rarely banded together, but when they did, they formed a pack and cheek to cheek connection was the sign of affection and acceptance.

Being Dragons, there came the added bonus of a mind connection between pack members who could mentally connect. There were limits however to this bond, which Lex mentally referred to as a pack bond. Unlike a real sibling bond or a mate bond, there was a limit on the range of mental connection. Like with Angel, if Lex wanted, he could probably send a mental distress call and Angel would receive it from wherever he was on the planet. But with pack members, there was a certain range in which the members had to be in, perhaps a few miles radius, before the connection could be established.

This was his first pack bond so Lex really wouldn’t know that much about it but being a Ri, he at least knew the basics of it. It was ingrained in him, just as shape shifting into his animal counterpart was from the moment he had been created.

But what Lex didn’t understand was why? It was not like they were going to stay together like they would have in the wild. And besides, he never knew mated Ri’s could form pack bonds in the first place. Well, he had never met a mated Ri before but the again, how many people have?

Lex sighted mentally. Having to deal with one persistent dominant was bad enough and the sudden appearance of a new pack member was not helping, at all. How did life become this complicated?

‘Why me? Why now?’ he asked the submissive again.

‘Because it’s you,’ came the vague reply again but Lex got the sudden flash of impression that there was more to it than that.

The words, ‘you’ll see’ flashed through his mind like a premonition. Lex frowned, wondering what he had gotten himself into this time. Dragon’s were known to be associated with mysteries after all and Lex with his all luck, was bound to get caught up in one.

Lex glanced up at the two Ro’s who were still staring at them in astonishment and mentally told Kio to get off. The Ri obeyed him immediately, nuzzling his cheek one last time before climbing off the bed and jumping into the arms of his mate, who caught him automatically.

‘My mate is very nice to me,’ came the mental impression from the amber-eyed sub.

Lex was surprised at Kio’s mental capabilities. Angel would never have been able to form such perfect impressions. Kio’s mental impressions however were sent in full and complete sentences.

His surprise must have traveled over the bond because the other Ri replied, ‘I’m much older than your brother.’ And he even added a mental equivalent of a smile.

“Well, isn’t today just full of surprises,” said the doctor, looking from his own mate to the blue-eyed submissive sitting pensively on the examination table.

Lex thought the very same thing.



(break)




“Do all submissives act this way?” Lucien repeated his earlier question, glancing back and forth between his mate-to-be and the Ri doctor’s own mate. His Ri who had been glaring angrily at them earlier now merely had a pondering look on his face. His lips formed a small confused frown and there was a slight look of annoyance in his blue eyes.

“No, I’ve never seen Kio act like this,” answered the doctor, patting his mate’s head absentmindedly while looking quite lost in thought. His mate blinked happily up at him, smiling innocently as he burrowed himself deeper into his mate’s gentle hold.

Lucien’s own mate-to-be frowned even more after hearing that comment. The Ri almost seemed to be glancing suspiciously at the other Ri who merely continued holding onto his mate, joyfully ignoring everything and everyone else around him.

A small chime echoing around the medical facility seemed to interrupt the healer’s musings as he immediately glanced up at the sound and turned to look at the hanging clock on the wall. Lucien too followed his gaze, noticing that it was nearing dinner time.

“That was the dinner bell. Time certainly does fly, doesn’t it?” commented the Ri doctor.

“Would you like to stay for a bite?” asked Michael again, smiling at his old friend.

“Thank you, but no. It’s been a tiring day and I find myself wanting some quiet time after everything that’s happened today,” answered Lucien.

“And besides, I’ve only just brought blue-eyes here from the Sanctuary mere hours ago and-,” continued Lucien.

“You can’t wait to get your hands on him?” interrupted the Healer with a grin playing on his lips.

“That, too,” replied Lucien with a similar grin.

“Ah, early love, I remember it like it was only yesterday,” Michael said dramatically with a wave of his hand.

“Well, enjoy yourself,” he said again, winking at the other Ro.

Lucien merely shook his head in amusement.




A/N Hello there, my dear wonderful readers! Yes, I know, you’ve all probably forgotten about my existence. I don’t blame you, I certainly haven’t been updating for a quite a while. And to those that haven’t forgotten about me, all that I can say is that I’m so sorry for not updating any sooner. Life has been busy, as usual and I rarely have time to write nowadays. But don’t worry, I’ll do my best.

And to my lovely reviewers, I love each and every one of you so much. You’ve all been so encouraging. And to people like betrayed and MiraMira who have been constantly asking me to update, I feel ever so guilty for not doing so. You guys are a huge support, thank you. And to all my reviewers, it is all because of you that I’ve found the inspiration to write this chapter. And once again, thanks for sticking with me. I feel so loved! ^_^


Till next time. (Which will hopefully be soon)