Tweak

Shin woke groggy and sore but otherwise alright. Ash had tried to take the gourd with the fat and dried berries and whatnot in it, away from Shin but Shin had stubbornly kept it. Once the gourd was empty, Shin had eaten the gourd itself and lay down flat, as Ash instructed, to sleep. It had been a warm sleep, though it was wood they slept on and not fabric so it wasn’t as comfortable as Shin was used to.

Ash helped Shin down from the tree and grumbled at the young man. Shin huffed, folded his arms and glared at Ash. It took a moment for Shin to realise that he didn’t have to look up very high to meet Ash’s eyes. In fact, it was barely looking up at all.

“How…” Shin looked down.

“You are seven feet tall.”

“That’s not possible!” Shin protested, tugging down on his pants, “I grew up over night? That doesn’t happen.”

“Good, you can stop growing up and start growing out, you’re thin as a stick,” Ash muttered, slinging the bag over his shoulder, “up the cliff, I say. It’s not the river we were washed down. I think I would recall a drop like that, even if we were underwater at the time.”

“Up the cliff, how am I going to get up the cliff?” Shin muttered, considering the wilds between them and the cliff face that the waterfall was tumbling down, “how do we even know there’s a cliff beyond the wilds?”

“Well, it’s headed north. I don’t think anyone will find us under the canopy of this tree, considering Gomesh Genetics was here and never reported back in.”

Shin sighed and motioned for Ash to lead the way. Ash nodded once and walked towards the wilds. Into the forest and an hour later, the pair met the cliff face. Looking up, Shin could see a few handholds that he could take upward, but they were few and far between. Ash motioned for Shin to go up first, as if Shin had any experience climbing a cliff. Or, maybe he did, Shin admitted quietly as he scaled the rock face.

Getting up the side of a cliff wasn’t all that different from getting up the side of a tree.

At the top of the cliff, Shin sat and waited half an hour for Ash to climb up beside him. The male dropped to the small patch of tameable land there, beside the river, and panted. They paused a very long time and ate a bit of food before the continued on. Halfway through the day Ash stopped.

“Ash,” Shin walked back towards the male and prodded him several times.

Nostrils flaring, Ash batted Shin’s hands away easily and snuffed at the air. When breathing through his nose alone didn’t achieve the results he wanted, Ash opened his mouth and breathed in. Shin, getting fed up with being ignored, stuck a finger in Ash’s mouth. Ash coughed and sputtered, stepping back.

“What’d you do that for?” Ash snapped.

“What’d you stand there like an idiot for?” Shin snapped back.

“Bri,” Ash stiffened and sniffed the breeze that was coming at them.

“Isn’t that the name of your partner…?”

“Now it’s gone,” Ash growled, pacing about the area.

The breeze picked up again and Ash stiffened. Like a pointer dog trying desperately to find the scent of its master. It was somewhat pathetic, so pathetic that when the breeze died down and Ash whined sadly to himself, Shin pointed out the obvious.

“The wind is coming from over there,” Shin pointed, “and you can smell her when the breeze picks up. So rationally speaking, if we walk in that direction-”

“Bri.”

“Right,” Shin brushed past Ash and started walking.

Their path took them along the side of the river. The land they walked across varied between tameable and wild, with the wild forest parts giving them very little trouble. Few animals could live in the small amount of food the wild areas offered. It seemed that the river itself was on tameable land, the wilds that had surrounded it were being turned by the water itself. Soon some lucky bastard could own an entire river of tameable land.

But that probably wouldn’t be in Shin’s time, so he wasn’t going to worry too much about it.

As the afternoon wore on, Ash took the lead and began pointing out where they should go. Shin was wary when Ash took them away from the river, but there was little he could say or do about it. The going was uphill and steep, pulling at muscles that were no longer built for walking or running.

That night they camped on a giant boulder that had signs of someone else having camped on it. A dead fire and a scribbled word that Ash and Shin both agreed looked like the word ’safe.’ If safe had been scrawled by someone who had forgotten how to write and then gotten high on some sort of drug.

When the sun rose on the third day in the wilds, Ash and Shin ate the last of the food and left the bag by the remains of the fire. They spent a little time collecting more wood and piled it beside the fire. Had they known when someone might use the campsite next, they would have left food as well, considering those who ’owned’ that part of the wilds had been friendly to them. At noon they met the end of someone’s territory. A male, of their species, had pissed on every few trees down as far as Ash could smell.

“Doing it for a while,” Ash muttered, covering his nose and mouth with a hand, “It’s the end of his territory, but there’s only one male here, no other smells. So it’s just the end of his territory. No one owns the stuff on the other- Bri?”

And off Ash went, bounding through the forest. The male wasn’t as fast as Shin, so Shin kept up for the first hour or so. But Shin wasn’t made for long distances at high speeds. He slowed and Ash slowed with him, muttering under his breath about foolish genetics not built to last.

As the sun was setting, Shin caught a whiff of something very un-wild. The rose bushes that his family prized above all other plants. Moments after smelling the bush, they rounded a corner and came face to face with the high gates of the Ishteshtin family estates.

“Oh thank God,” Shin said, his legs nearly going out from under him.

Ash puffed at the gate. The footman peered through at them, frowning. He didn’t seem to recognise either of them. Shirtless as they were, smelly as they were, they probably looked like a couple of savages.

“Couple of males come out the wilds,” the footman said into his earpiece, “one looks to be Ishteshtin. But he ain’t Shin.”

“I am Shin, Ehsshushin Ishteshtin, tenth generation and you had best let me and Ash through these gates before we scale them and eat you out of sheer hunger,” Shin said to the man.

The man, in turn, repeated the name into the earpiece and finally buzzed them into the estate. Nose wrinkling, he informed Shin and Ash that Layaent was awaiting them in Shin’s sleeping quarters.

All Shin could think about was the shower that was in his room.

***

Hot water poured down his back, reminding him of scrapes and scratches he had forgotten about. A shower was, surprisingly, a distant second to relieving himself. Ash had been afraid that urinating in the wilds might be counted as a challenge. Thank goodness for bladder control and size being a biological standard. He washed until the water ran clear, then washed again. Feeling clean, starting to feel better, he forced himself to shut off the taps and step out of the shower.

Facial hair was a thing of the past, but that wasn’t because of alterations. Even as far back as the Emperor’s lifetime, men had difficulty growing beards. In the modern world, very few could grow them and those that could, shaved close and shaved often, to fit in with everyone else.

Ash couldn’t imagine having to shave every morning before work. He already had enough trouble getting out of bed and getting to work on time without needing the bathroom every morning for an hour.

Out of the tub, Ash patted himself dry then sat down on the edge of the tub to inspect his legs. When he had been certain that those baby spiders hadn’t bitten him, he had been wrong. Adrenaline could do strange things to a person. Including mask the feel of tens of baby spiders biting a body. Given that he wasn’t already dead, Ash decided that the bites weren’t poisonous and that he was lucky the mother spider hadn’t gotten her fangs into him.

Ash brushed a comb through his hair and inspected his reflection in the mirror. He looked like he hadn’t slept in four days and had just had his first bath in almost a week. Since it wasn’t very far from the truth, Ash gave up entirely and walked into Bri’s room.

She insisted on hugging him, again, and he detached her, again, and walked into Shin’s room. Bri followed behind like a lost puppy and settled across from Ash. They were alone for a very awkward minute before Layaent entered with a covered tray. He set the tray on the little coffee table between the two couches and then sat beside Bri and wrapped an arm suggestively around her neck.

“Shin,” Layaent called out, “hurry up, the food will get cold!”

Shin stumbled in the bathroom, or dropped something, and then muttered to himself. A short while later the young man came out of the bathroom in a bathrobe and growled as he dropped to the seat beside Ash. Apparently regretting the action, Shin winced and sat up slowly, adjusting himself.

“What,” Layaent muttered, trying not to smile, “your clothing doesn’t fit you any more?”

“You know they don’t,” Shin growled back, uncovering the tray, “oh, a sandwich? That’s what you call food? That won’t even cover the energy it takes to convert it into energy.”

“How much has he been eating?” Layaent asked Ash.

“How…” Ash said, noticing the glare Shin shot him, “about we order a big meal and Bri claims to be starving and we tell you what happened?”

“Deal,” Bri rushed off to order the food and Shin glumly took the sandwich and bit into it, making absolutely certain that everyone noticed that he was not excited about eating bread and jam.

Ash began relating the tale while Bri was gone. Mainly because he knew the first part was quick and that Layaent likely knew most of it. Layaent nodded along until Ash sat back and winced.

“That was when I raped him.”

Shin choked on his sandwich. Layaent’s eyes narrowed to pinpoints and Bri chose that moment to walk back into the room. Either the staff was getting used to her ordering large meals, or she hadn’t ordered enough food.

“No, he didn’t,” Shin said, catching his breath.

“I did,” Ash said, which only made Layaent frown. It was never a good thing when Layaent frowned.

“No he didn’t!”

“Stop,” Layaent held up his hands and looked from Shin, to Ash, then back to Shin, “when did you decide it wasn’t rape?”

“When I didn’t say no,” Shin snapped back.

“Did you decide,” Bri stressed, “before or after he finished?”

“Before. I didn’t exactly want it when he went about it, but I wouldn’t kick him out of bed if he tried it again.”

Ash had a hard time comprehending what he was hearing. Genetics had been programmed to not break psychologically, thus, it couldn’t really be the disorder where one liked their captor. Maybe Shin was just protecting him.

“Don’t tell me you rationalized the act,” Layaent muttered, folding his arms across his chest.

“I did not rationalise it!” Shin protested, “if you want the rationalization, then, well. I was trying to get away, he was in survival mode, plus the drugs you put in the tablets-”

“You drugged them?” Bri asked in a tone that made Layaent stiffen just slightly.

“And the fact that he runs on animalistic urges.”

“How is mounting your opponent an animalistic urge?” Bri asked.

“Our,” Layaent said, nodding, “closest relatives amongst the animal kingdom do it to express dominance. The… er… receiver is technically raped but to them it’s no different than biting a throat or slapping across the face.”

“Then it was rape,” Ash said, “I lay my life-”

“It wasn’t rape!”

Ash raised his voice over Shin’s, “before the Ishteshtin line, to do with me as they see fit.” he glared at Shin, then looked at Layaent, “I’ve damaged your family’s property, I fully expect to be executed for my crime.”

“Hello,” Shin raised his right hand, “wearing the ring of the dead Emperor here, power user, tenth generation male of the Ishteshtin line, do you really think I can be raped by a ninth generation-”

“Generations have nothing to do with it,” Bri spat out.

“Tweaker who, by the way, screams like a girl when spiders crawl on him?”

“There were a lot of them,” Ash protested.

“Spiders?” Layaent asked, looking far too amused by the story, “Bri, darling, the food is waiting at your door. Go get it and wait a minute before you come back in. This is family business I need to deal with it without a witness present.”

Bri frowned but went off to do as she was told. Layaent sat forward on the couch and clasped his hands before him.

“Ash believes he raped you, Shin.”

“I didn’t say no.”

“Did you enjoy it?”

Shin paused for the briefest of moments before he said, “yes. Even the pain at the start heightened the experience.”

“Would you have said yes, had he asked?”

“No.”

“Would you say yes, now that the first time is out of the way?”

“Well, I wouldn’t kick him out of bed, no.”

“Ash, do you have desires for my brother?”

Ash swallowed. That was the kicker, wasn’t it. Despite what had happened on the river bank, Ash still found himself watching Shin’s ass and wondering what would happen if he tried it again. It was just the power of it, he had told himself, the having a genetic under him and mewling.

Wait. Shin had mewled? When had Shin.

“Ash.”

“Yes, I do,” Ash said, breathing deeply.

“Alright. This is what we’re going to do. Ash, you are going to make whatever reparations you feel are necessary towards Shin.”

“Reparations…?”

“Sometimes animalistic instincts take over, we recognise that and move on. Shin is not psychologically traumatized and, if it would make you feel better about the event, we will have him analyzed upon return to the city.”

“That would make me feel better,” Ash murmured.

“Shin, you will allow him to make reparations without questioning him and without informing him every two minutes that he didn’t actually rape you. Enjoy him doing whatever he is doing because the moment Ash feels better about this whole thing, when he feels that he has repaid his debt to you, I might just kill him.”

Ash frowned. Shin looked at Layaent as if the man had lost his mind.

“That doesn’t even make any sense,” Shin growled.

“It doesn’t have to, because I said so,” Layaent said quietly as Bri re-entered the room with a heaping tray of food, “Now. Continue on with your tale.”

Despite what he thought on the subject, Ash continued on as if he hadn’t been interrupted. Shin stuffed his face and made a few comments throughout the telling. Once Ash finished, Shin licked his lips and sat back, suddenly deciding that the last half of the tray of food wasn’t interesting.

“The short peoples’ males had hair on their faces,” Shin muttered as a final statement.

“Please, for the love of God, tell me you two did not interact with them.”

“The male left things for us,” Ash protested.

“Short people? No, why bother short people, who would bother short people? They left things at the base of our tree and tall people came and took all but one and left the other so we took the other to keep ourselves alive.”

Layaent frowned at Shin, “our tree?”

“It’s a nice tree,” Shin said, chewing on a nail.

Layaent glanced at Ash, who could only shrug.

“He’s been going in and out of civility the last couple of days,” Ash murmured, “the drugs have mostly worn off but there are still times when he needs a moment to catch himself.”

“Shin, do you recall talking with Alla about Mei?”

“Yes, of course,” Shin immediately straightened, was calm once more, “Alla was going to look into my being able to adopt Mei.”

“Are you aware of who Mei’s parents were? Of the circumstances of him being an orphan?”

“No, and why should it matter? Even if his parents were those that spawned Mysh, the boy has a right to a loving family and support. The sin of the father is not the sin of the son and the sin of the older brother is not the debt to be repaid by the younger.”

Layaent considered Shin for a moment, “His parents were those that spawned Mysh. Alla brought Mei here, expecting to be able to hand him over to you. But you were lost in the wilds, which is the same as being dead. It was either put Mei back on the hovercraft and send him back to the orphanage for another review, or.”

“Or?” Shin asked.

The older man winced, “get Taya to forge your signature on the adoption papers and the willing of the boy to me in the possibility that you die.”

“Oh. So my will has been enacted then?”

“With him, being underage, inheriting most of your income,” Layaent said quickly, “we will return the money, obviously, but clan law states that -”

“Any parent who goes through a traumatic event is to have their children removed of them, if the child and or parent is deemed over emotional to begin with,” Shin grumbled, folding his arms across his chest, “you’re a bastard and if you mistreat him even once, I’ll make Ash eat your insides.”

“Why would he be willing to eat my insides?” Layaent asked Shin.

“Because he has to make reparations to me.”

“Ah,” was all Layaent could say in response.

.