Partner

I have nearly four hundred pages for Partners.

Did I know that the below conversation would happen? Yes. It makes sense. What doesn't quite make sense is what happens afterwards.

Lets all take this moment to remind ourselves that this is me writing and I like happy endings. Just breath and relax and....

That's the last time I'm telling you guys. And no. This is not the part you all will want to kill me for. That comes later. And. Is actually worth the murdering. This... sort of causes that. I suppose. And Mik has walked into this all so. It's his fault not mine!

Yeah, I know, that doesn't cut it.

This was written over the course of two days and is caused by the paper I had to write. Which has amused me greatly.

Read, Review and Enjoy.





They entered the apartment just as the elevator dinged. Paw went to the living room immediately. Mik picked up the phone and dialled Mari. He got the woman’s answering machine. A hurried message about guarding their assets from bugs. Mik sucked at being cryptic and he really hoped that Mari knew him enough to realise that he meant Galt and Essuan’s powers.

Mik had just hung up the phone when Essuan entered the apartment and headed straight for the living room. A male entered behind her and ignored the people.

Until his eyes fell on Mik.

Brown, almost red, eyes settled on him, looked him up and down. One hand moved up to tug through dirty blond locks. The hand paused as Mik returned the look steadily. The male bore his perfect teeth for only a moment before closing his mouth and moving to the living room.

Mik set his phone on the counter and followed the male.

The Sidhe in the living room were standing, in varying stages of protecting young and females. Souse moved to the front, arms crossed, feet spread, look of hatred on his face. For all his words about the male’s blood, Souse was not going to make it easy. Earn a position, everyone.

At a flick from Souse, Mik moved around the male and was immediately taken into Paw’s arms. Paw kissed his forehead, kissed his cheek, kissed his neck and gave it a nip, before offering his own neck to Mik. Not being tall enough to reach Paw’s forehead, Mik kissed the Sidhe’s cheek, his neck and then gave it a nip before kissing Paw’s jaw.

Lillow slid between them a moment later, mesa in arm, as she pressed her head and upper body against Mik. She faced the male as she did so, pulling it away from Mik for just a moment as Paw’s hand touched her between her shoulder blades. This was not a subtle claiming, not by far. But Mik suspected that these acts would happen, one or the other, and that the male would perceive who was with who through the small touches.

Mik looked at the male and found the creature staring back at him, mouth open just slightly, tasting the air. The Sidhe moved his hands away from his sides, placed one foot in front of the other and bowed at the waist, head cocked up so that he could watch Mik the entire time.

A people amongst Sidhe must have been a curiosity, first Paw, then Lillow and Violet and now a new male?

Souse barked something at the male in Sidhe, jerking the male’s attention to the leader.

Mik took that opportunity to look around the room.

Souse stood in front of the male, clearly between him and Essuan. The leader was in an aggressive stance. Behind him, Essuan held her mesa as if showing the baby the male while Hohi stood to Essuan’s left and just ahead of her. Paw stood to Essuan’s left as well, slightly behind the woman yet set apart from the rest of the group. The rest were clustered together behind Essuan and to her right. Hohi was standing in such a way that he was ahead and between Paw and Essuan. Ready to step between the male and Lillow or Essuan at any time.

The male who had had a broken arm when he came, Raoh, stood slightly ahead of Violet in an aggressive stance, as if he expected the male to go directly for the girl. Osht, the one eyed Sidhe, stood just ahead of Raoh and to the side, arms crossed over his chest, good eye darting around the room. Violet stood almost directly behind Essuan, she was closest to being on the left side of Essuan.

A statement of power, or a statement of the Elders of the tribe? Or both? Mik dropped the thought and looked at the male, still bowing, still in what a people would think was a submissive stance. Having seen Hohi and the other males take on that stance, Mik knew it was not really submission. It was more of stating that the male meant no harm to the women.

The males of the tribe had, more often than not, come out of that bow swinging for the male they were bowing to. Like the start of a fight for dominance. Walk ten paces, bow to your partner, shoot?

Souse growled and the male bent lower, bringing his hands further away from his body as if confused. The male’s face was blank… so why did Mik assume he was confused?

The man frowned and looked over the stance.

Instead of raising himself up, the male bent lower and moved his hands away from his body. His head, tilted up to see Souse’s reaction, cocked to the side as Sidhe did when they were pondering something.

“What if,” Mik whispered to Paw, “for his tribe, that is submission?”

All Sidhe who understood people flicked their eyes to Mik and then back to the male. All seemed to consider the male’s stance. Those with power no doubt ventured out with that as well to test the currents.

Body language was another language. While it was less likely to change, because it was mostly unconscious motions, it could still vary from region to region. Souse and Paw had lived closer to people than the male had. The tribe would have been influenced by people motions and people submission. How often did people bow and actually mean submission?

For Souse’s tribe, submission was laying on the floor at Souse’s feet until the leader gave permission to stand and leave. Mik had seen Souse do this several times, with male and female alike. Never a pregnant female, but all others were jumbled together. Young or not, Sidhe submitted.

Essuan bounced her mesa on her arm and smiled at the baby’s gurgling response.

The male seemed uncomfortable. The tribe was, one by one, turning their attention away from him and to their own. Raol and Osht turned to Violet and murmured something that might have been questions as to her well being. Lillow found the texture of Mik’s shirt very interesting suddenly.

Paw and Souse were the only ones whose eyes remained on the male.

Yet even while the protectors turned to loved ones, turned to those around them and casually asked how the other was, Mik was ever aware of the underlying buzz of the room. Hohi still stood with his feet apart, ready to step in. Raol and Osht, while they had turned to Violet, remained in their places. Several other males had picked up objects near them to ‘inspect’ the item. All of the items would make good weapons. These were the weaker males who picked up objects, while the stronger ones seemed to puff their chests and make a show of having nothing in their hands.

Subtle relations that Mik hadn’t picked up on before. This one and that one touched, just briefly. Brothers standing side by side and guarding the female that they had claimed as their own. Only one would get her, the other would serve the pair as a parental unit, raising and caring for the children for lack of his own. There weren’t enough females in the group to go around. Behind Violet and to the right, in a far back corner was the crying female that Mork was partnered with. She wasn’t crying. In front of her were two females and four males protecting the females. A male showed the female the object he had picked up as if saying, look here, look at this, and she took it. Brother and sister. Siblings and family members touched but the others kept their distance.

Hohi kept his distance from Essuan, but that would be a question to bring up at a later date.

The male looked at Paw, for just a moment, and then back at Souse. He grimaced and righted himself, backing up a step as he watched over the males. Another step and the male halted mid step.

Every male in the room was watching Souse.

The leader bore his teeth at the male Sidhe and the male bobbed his head several times and took another step back. Souse leaped over the distance and caught the male with one hand about the neck. He dropped the male to the floor like a rag doll, held him there for a moment then stood. The male tried to stand and Souse dropped him back to the floor and held him there for a long moment.

The male stayed where he was, looking at the floor and Souse’s feet and then up in Souse, obviously confused.

Phone in the kitchen rang. Mik plucked himself away from Lillow, promising to come right back, but that was probably Mari and he had to talk to her about something. Lillow scoffed at him as Mik walked past the male and into the kitchen. Koln handed Mik the phone and gave the man a look.

Galt was on the line, not Mari.

Mik put the phone to his ear and wondered how he had gotten that from Koln’s look, “yes sir?”

“They have powers?”

“You were unaware sir?” Mik seemed puzzled, did his best to be puzzled.

“I was aware of a certain few dreams that one may or may not have had, I was not aware that the healer was actually capable of healing.”

“Well, sir. Any good healer can heal…”

“Mending torn flesh in under a minute, is the kind of healing I am talking about Mik, do not play your games with me, did you or did you not know about it?”

Mik did the only thing he could. He lied, and he tried to sound as insulted as possible, “sir. I knew nothing of the sort and if I did and if they had let me in on it, don’t you think they would have healed me back when Paw went into heat and went all crazy on my ass? Do not insult me. Whether or not they have powers is none of your god damned business, I might add-”

“I am the military chair-”

“Because whether or not that Sidhe have powers they cannot be used for military applications unless you want Whisper coming down on your ass and declaring war on us like they declared war on the Valeasans. Now if you have any questions as to what war on us would mean, turn on your television and switch to the news channel and take a good hard look. I will not tell you again. Whether or not the Sidhe have powers is none of your business.”

Mik clicked the phone off and thumped it onto the counter. Koln arched an eyebrow at Mik.

The younger man sighed, rubbed his face and said, “I just dug myself a huge fucking hole, didn’t I?”

“You did. But… Given… Paw…”

“You want me to resign.”

“How are you flicking to these conclusions so easily?” Koln muttered, “You’re reading better or Paw’s had some kind of affect on you…”

Mik sighed, “He’s in a position of huge power and to be here, in my current position means that Galt can try to use me to abuse him. I’ve been thinking about it on and off as well. If I’m not his partner, I can’t be used against him. Galt can’t use a sexual tie to manipulate the Sidhe. But-”

“I can talk to Mari. Shouldn’t be hard to get you a permanent visitor’s pass like your mother has for the field. Give us your written notice. Help us train your replacement. Then,” Koln shrugged, “then you can’t be used to hurt them.”


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