Sequel

Una is a hypocrit. He will only put off that speel about sex when he goes pissy, crazy and annoyed and he loses his mind and has sex without thinking. He keeps himself disconnected from his lovers, but if he caught any of them having sex, he'd get cranky. A defence mechanism that arises because Una needs people to like him. The reason for that will, if you read the story I'm writing now, be made clear.

Secondly, I was writing this when someone asked about all the people who would have died, so it was great because it came up. Rel is really bothered by what he helped cause but his system is over loaded. He's in shock.

SunaoTsuji gets UBBER cookie for suggesting a name that totally fits and made me think on Aftermath (as te suggested and I've agreed with) for a good twelve hours in a row.

For Avernion, my view of the world like as not affects the story but I'm not one of those people who stands on a soap box and is all "the world must end!" I do enjoy stories that make me think and so that in itself affects my stories. The enjoyment of writing the story itself is another factor. I prefer the happy, giggly stuff, yes, but being able to mix it all together is even better. I try to keep it purely to what the character would know or do. So if they would have the conversation about ethics of ending the world, it happens in the story.

But that's just trying.

Anyone notice that the ENTIRE stories (Partners and Sequel) Ashun's hair colour, skin colour, structure are never mentioned?

Read, Review and Enjoy.




Una told Rel his story. Night after night, as they travelled during the day. Whenever Rel felt that this whole existence was too much, Una began telling a new part of the tale. It was like a soap opera to a lonely housewife. Or. If a lonely housewife was truly what the tabloids claimed they were. It completely distracted him.

Time passed as they moved. He and Muan settled into the roles of a pair. Muan woke earlier than Rel and made tea and as they rode on Una’s trailer (they slept in the very same trailer) Muan wrapped an arm around Rel. They were…

Well it was…

Perfect.

Except they didn’t have sex. At night, Muan would cuddle and be gentle. Rel decided, in time, that Muan was biding his time, that the Sidhe counted himself... in the doghouse, so to speak. Not that Rel wanted anything even close to sex at night. He couldn’t recall his dreams but he awoke with fear and anxiety riddling his system. Because they, Muan and Rel, were staying with Una, the immortal knew about the nightmares and would make tea in the middle of the night, when the nightmares were bad, and they would talk through the night.

Time passed and Mari grew large with child. The troupe moved and as Mari grew, the others took on her responsibilities. Her children lived with her, the eldest watched with blind eyes and said not a word, though others told him stories. Nearing the end of her pregnancy, Una called the troupe to rest on the edge of a coniferous forest.

The trailers were set up in a half-circle with the opening facing the forest. The wind from the flattened land, where a city or some such had once been, was buffered by the trailers. A central fire pit was set up and the children gathered around it with Mari watching over them and Rel being useless. He hadn’t really slept for nearly a week before the settling down and whenever he was about to fall asleep he’d have nightmares and freak out and…

It just wasn’t pleasant.

“Why don’t you just sleep?” Mari’s second oldest asked Rel.

Rel knew the boy was setting him up, that there had been something between Mari’s children and himself since they had begun to move.

“I have nightmares,” Rel said after a long moment of silence. He just didn’t care enough.

“About what?”

“The world.”

“You mean, how you destroyed the world? Killed people?” the boy snapped.

Mari was off getting water for tea. She had taken Muan with her so she was safe but Rel…

Was left with the children.

“I didn’t kill people.”

“I wonder what happened to people wearing pacemakers,” the boy muttered, “I mean, pacemakers keep the heart thumping properly. What about people with hip replacements. Or artificial valves? Or metal plates in their skulls. What about people with eyeglasses. Or ocular implants. All those people just dropped dead because of you.”

“I didn’t kill those people,” Rel responded quietly, “the Tele corporation’s product did that, all I did was shut down the power.”

“Murderer.”

Mari returned at that very moment. She pulled to a stop and eyed her son with the look of a mother who had been pushed too far by her children. Mari handed the bucket of water to Muan and folded her arms over her large belly.

“What. Did you just say?”

“I am only stating a fact. He is a murderer.”

“Go help the men with their work.”

“I will not listen to you. You may be my mother, but you only provided the soil for the seed to be planted in. I will not show respect to a nobody, commoner.”

“Then you had best start walking,” Mari jabbed a finger towards the east, “and should you actually find your grandfather, still alive, you can tell him that I send you back and that he can take his damnable acolyte and try to survive in this world. Of course. You will be raped and murdered and tortured and enslaved between here and there, but by all means. If you don’t want to live by my rules, then you will not live under my roof.”

Rel blinked at Mari, then over her shoulder to Muan. The male was looking down, about butt level and had a puzzled look on his face. Muan checked the bucket he held, as if making sure that none had spilled, that there wasn’t a hole in the bucket.

Mari’s son drooped.

“Go help the men. Maybe after you work for your bread, you will not be so quick to snarl at those who provide for you.”

The boy went off.

“Why is Muan staring at your bottom?” Rel asked Mari, puzzled as Muan’s head cocked to the side.

“My…” Mari reached behind her and patted her butt, “oh. Uhoh.”

“Your water just broke, didn’t it.”

“Yes,” Mari huffed out and went towards her trailer even as Muan dropped the bucket and rushed off to gather the healer and Una.

The males would have a long wait. Sometime during the night, after the fire had burned down to almost nothing but ash, the first child’s wail was heard. Una patted Rel’s shoulder in congratulation and stood to greet the midwife. She handed the bundle in her arms to Una.

“One healthy boy.”

“Gorgeous,” Una turned and sat beside Rel, cradling the babe carefully, “I’d hand him over, but-”

“It’s fine,” Rel muttered.

“He can hold the next one,” the midwife said quietly before she turned and walked back to the trailer.

“The other one?” both men stiffened and turned towards the trailer as a child’s cry broke the silence of the night.

The babe in Una’s arms made a fussing sound before settling down. Rel shifted in his seat and turned back to Una.

“Did. Wait. I…”

“Have twins.”

“Twins…”

“This one is male, green eyes, like as not he will have the black hair of his mother.”

“Twins…” Rel squeaked out.

“Can I make a suggestion?”

“For what?” Rel squeaked, “for twins? How can you suggest anything for twins?”

“I… would like to suggest names for the pair of them.”

“Oh. What do you want to call them?”

“Ayato and Ayan.”

“Lover and…”

“Freedom.”

.