Partner

I thought this was quite long until I went to post it. Not actually that long. Weird. But happens. Ohhhh Im so evil.

Starting another arc? Or... am I?

Fwhahahaah.

Not sure when I'll be updating next. A few hours to a few days. Those of you who haven't read Sequel, I suggest you start now before it balloons.

Read, Review and Enjoy.




Mik looked over the group gathered in the lecture hall.

There were so many candidates that the program had had to ‘borrow’ a lecture hall from a local university. The lecture hall was packed and Mik was certain that there were several students amongst the number, but there was little he could do to question those waiting for him. None of them would know each other and the military did not hand out id cards.

He stood at a podium with Paw lazing at his feet. Souse, Essuan and Hohi were waiting to one side, sitting and quietly chatting to one another. Their partners were nearby. Edno’s last assignment.

Mik cleared his throat and looked at the screen that was pulled down behind him. Onto the screen appeared some facts, Sidhe statistics versus human population and expansion. A map down one side of what had once been Sidhe territory and what was now Sidhe territory.

He motioned to the maps, “this. This information you’ve been reading over the past few weeks, the programs, the web logs, the websites, the mini news feeds about Sidhe are wrong. Well. Not all of them, but a vast majority. That number, the population number? Is a guess, the best minds of our nation banded together and counted as best they could the remaining Sidhe. We actually have no idea how many Sidhe there are. There may be thirty thousand, there may be a hundred. The territory marks are guesses. Sidhe may or may not have covered the region from one sea to the other. So.

“Whatever you have learned, I want you to toss it out the window. Take a moment and think about that.”

Mik leaned on the podium as Paw made a small sound that might have been an affirmative. The next moment Paw giggled and shifted against the side of the podium for a more comfortable position.

“Now. You are all gathered here to learn about Sidhe. Hohi,” Mik called to the male.

Hohi smirked and put a foot up on the table of food that he and Essuan had been nibbling from. From there the male launched off the floor, did a flip in the air and landed on the armrests of a young man halfway up the lecture hall. The man stared in horror as those around him shrank back. The male bent, placed a hand on the back of the chair and flipped into a one handed stand before launching himself across the room once more. Hohi landed in the back corner, one hand on the wall, feet against it as if he crouched on a horizontal surface instead of a vertical one.

Every head in the room turned to follow him.

“Essuan.”

The female waited until a majority of the room were watching her. Then she effortlessly launched herself off the floor and across the room in the blink of an eye.

Females, they had found, were more agile than males. Given the space and room to move Sidhe would leap about and play tag like this.

One of the floors of the apartment was empty and when Mik had woken from a nap after the bath he had found Paw gone. Having no one to report to… Mik had gone searching… and found the Sidhe doing just this.

His reaction had been one of calm acceptance.

The candidates ranged from horror to amazement to something that might have been disbelief. Essuan scuttled across the wall and dropped to the floor expertly. Hohi dropped from his place on the wall and bounded down the steps, taking them ten at a time.

“Sidhe can and will hurt you. If you hurt them, they will kill you. They are not fragile, as we were first led to believe and they are far from stupid. It is entirely possible that they are more intelligent than you are,” Mik looked at Paw, “Paw. Sit.”

Paw bore his teeth and let out an inhuman growl before coming to his feet and flipping Mik off. The Sidhe wandered over to the table and Mik let him go.

They had discussed doing that before hand. Because Mik wanted Paw aware of what was going on. Wanted Paw to know that Mik did not really want Paw to do something.

“They will not obey direct orders. They will not eat food as you or I see it. For the most part the Sidhe we have come in contact with prefer vegetables and gain their protein from mushrooms, from nuts and the such. Each personality is different, some may prefer leaf vegetables, some may not be able to eat certain foods because of reminders or because it looks like something specific,” Mik motioned to Paw, “it is entirely possible that one of you will be Paw’s partner. Whoever becomes that partner, at least has the easy job.

“Now,” Mik motioned to the screen, the slide changed to one with a bunch of words saying how partners work, “paperwork.”

Someone raised a hand.

“Yes?” Mik pointed at the person.

“Why so little time on the Sidhe?”

“What would you like me to say? Would you like me to describe the gentleman sitting beside you when you will be working with someone out in the hall whose face we have never seen? Whose personality, habits and diet are completely unknown to us? You want me to describe to you what your Sidhe will be like when we haven’t got the Sidhe? It would be impossible. Next-”

“Mik!” Mari ran in, cell in hand. The woman didn’t even bother running all the way to Mik, she threw it at him and he caught it mid air.

“Hullo?”

“Past speaking, I need you in a chopper immediately, there’s one on the top of the building. Bring Paw. Bring him now. No time to question,” Past snapped as Mik made a motion to Paw, “we can brief you in the air. Mari will show you the way.”

“I’m turning you over to Souse. Duty calls, Souse, don’t scare them too badly, okay?”


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