Partner

This took several hours to write, as unfortunately the sick is having one last hurrah... you can likely tell where the sick hit me as the writing goes way downhill.

Tomorrow I may or may not be updating in the morning, depends on if I get up for the class or just get up and crash again.

The period of time Paw's talking about with the wormels? Yeah, that was scary for me, I thought they (the Sidhe) were going to die out and I'd not have the cuties to play with any more.

Read, Review and Enjoy.





Mari flew off of the elevator just as Wern sat up and screamed. Galt was the next to awaken.

Mari ignored them all, hopped over Past’s limp body and dropped to the floor by Mik and Paw. Mik was covered from the waist down with the blanket, his back pressed tight against Paw’s front as the Sidhe wrapped his arms around Mik.

“What…?” Galt looked around, confused.

“Mint tea,” Mari said to someone, “I know what it sounds like, but make mint tea,” she looked back at Mik and put a hand on his cheek, “are you here, Mik?”

“I think so,” he replied hoarsely, managing to focus his eyes for only a moment before everything went blurry again.

“Right. Morons,” Mari raised her voice as she stood and moved towards the board members who were slowly regaining consciousness, “I would think that that very clearly and very thoroughly states the Sidhe’s response. If you would like to try again, by all means, however, I must warn you that this time the pain and deaths you suffered while caught in such a state of mind, will be real. And anyone still alive when the Sidhe are through with you, will be thrown out the window to smash on the sidewalk below. If I have not made myself clear-”

“We are the board, we will not be threatened like this.”

“Then by all means say so now so that I may pass it onto the languages,” Mari said, Mik assumed that she was referring to one of the specific lines of the Illuen, “and have them translate it into suicidal numb nuts for you.”

“What…” Past sat up, hand going to his head as he looked around the room, “was that?”

“That,” Mik mumbled back, “was Sidhe power. And … that was nothing compared to the puppet show they could do if you upset them.”

“Not destructive in the least,” Past mumbled, “how did they win wars if they aren’t destructive.”

Paw laughed behind Mik. It was a nervous sort of sound.

“Not Sidhe power, Whisper power. Behold the power of Whisper. Spoken words not explain to yous people how wrong use of power is in war. Whisper say no use power and people go and use power. Ayato, now Ayato say no use power and all people say power use bad. Morons.”

“I concur,” Mik murmured, his head throbbing.

“Tea,” Essaun slid up to the gathering, “which ones honourable to receive?”

Sidhe. Essuan had spoken Sidhe and Mik had just… or…

He felt Paw’s concern, not in an emotional way, not in the line of the Sidhe’s body, but by the feel of Paw himself. Of Auhi pressing up against his mind. Not quite the communal mind, as nothing was feeling fuzzy like when he was in the communal mind. It was an odd awareness.

Like Paw’s use of power had tired him more than he admitted and now he was spilling into the places where his power had been.

“Mik gets the tea,” Mari responded to Essuan without turning around.

Essuan poured Mik a cup of tea and placed it in Mik’s hand. The man sipped the hot liquid, burning his tongue and mouth as he did so. But the tingle of the mint, as it hit his tongue, he felt his energy returning almost immediately. A comfort food and yet…more. Mik risked burning his mouth more to gulp the tea.

“Damn,” he murmured, “give it to Wern, she’s not part of the board. Even if she sides with them, her vote means nothing.”

Essuan huffed, but complied with Mik’s order and poured Wern a cup of tea.

“The president…”

“That’s not going to last very long, Mik,” Mari responded, “we need to get you into a bed before you crash again.”

“Right. Me,” Mik sighed, “I need a bed. But I don’t think I can produce body heat right now. Paw, will you keep me company please?”

“Only because you need heat,” Paw responded with a growl, “Paw has important things to do.”

“Mm.”

Was the only response Mik could scrounge up. Paw had used too much power and needed rest but wouldn’t admit his weakness in front of people he had just attacked. Mik was giving Paw a way out of the situation and desperately hoped Paw would go along.

Paw not only went along, he picked Mik up as a show of strength and carried him to the elevator, “Hohi,” Paw called to the large Sidhe and Hohi and Lillow both fell in behind Paw. Protection.

Nothing was scarier to Mik right then, than Hohi and Lillow.

Up to their apartment, Paw took Mik and placed him ever so gently on the nest. In Mik’s state, the nest seemed the most comfortable thing in the world. It bent and moved to his contours, rather than his body bending to it. The nest wrapped around him and comforted him.

Paw tucked the blankets around Mik and climbed into the nest beside him. A murmur of Sidhe and he sent Lillow and Hohi off to collect the mesa and bring it back to sleep with them. As soon as they were gone, Paw sighed and dropped his head onto Mik’s shoulder.

“Tha-”

“Shh, flick flick,” Paw murmured, tapping his finger on Mik’s shoulder twice to indicate a camera, “One. Two… okay. No, it’s fine. I’ve never used my powers like that before and he warned me about how I’d feel afterwards but … still feel that way. All the words in the world won’t stop it.”

“But you’re okay?”

“More freaked out that people are so easy to control. Nothing complex under the surface of most of them, even the top levels of your government have simple minds. There must be someone amongst your people who can match a Sidhe, mind for mind. Else however could they have made the first hybrid to be able to survive the rigors of life?”

“What?”

“Long time ago, after the empire, before the lines, there were lots of hybrids. But then Harella-shay said that she did not want a mingled peoples, she wanted her peoples. And so she sent wormels to the hybrid tribes and all those of people blood and Sidhe blood die, souls returning to the well. From across blackness came Sidhe tribes that were not of both and pure blood went across the lands once more. From then onward, for some reason, people and Sidhe mesh badly.”

“So who said Sidhe and People aren’t allowed to cross? In the beginning I mean?”

“Uhm. How to translate? Sidhe … uhm. Council? Elders of elders tell elders and then on to tribes. And so forbidden it became.”

“But some people blood got through.”

“Power remains, blood gone,” Paw murmured sleepily.

“And people Whispers used to be able to do that?”

“No. Over the time of the history, power varied. There were times where nearly everyone could do what I did, if they were trained the right way. Ayato can do it as easy as flicking wrist. Whispers varied in power as well, some had little power, some had great deal of power,” Paw shrugged.

“Which kind are you?”

“An Ayato Whisper. He was Whisper once and from then on, for good long time, he hardly ever used powers, because he knew how much such small ripple could affect the world. Explaining is difficult…”

“If you were anyone else, I would think you were exaggerating,” Mik mumbled, tugging the blankets closer, “cold…”

“Will be,” Paw burrowed closer to Mik, pressing his face against the man’s neck, “warm up soon. Shh and sleep.”


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