Partner

Yeah I kind of cheated on the first bit...

Off to laze on the floor and pretend its not hot, so might not get
another update done until late tonight (computers make a LOT of heat,
who knew?)

Read, Review and Enjoy.

The next morning began, at Paw’s insistence, the way the
night before had ended. Mik was several hours late and a very content
Sidhe was left slumbering in his nest of blankets and pillows. All of
which would have to be cleaned… but that was okay.

The other partners had gathered and were already reviewing his
videos when he entered. When the door slipped out of his hand and
slammed shut behind him, everyone looked up from the video and looked
at Mik. It was as if they all knew.

“Yeah. And?” he asked their looks before taking the
one empty seat, beside Koln.

“Since you’re here, we can switch to something a
little more educational.”

“Like… the history channel?” Mik asked Koln, “I
don’t mind the Sidhe and all but eating, sleeping, working and
playing with them seems a bit much. Won’t we melt down and go
mad from lack of stimulation?”

Silence. Absolute, perfect silence. He had used the wrong word.
Stimulation. Mik sighed as Koln gave him a look.

“We have been concerned about that, but no, I meant more of
Edno’s night.”

“What did Souse do?” Mik asked, concerned, as Edno was
not there.

Koln turned on the new video and sighed out, “Edno was upset
by… someone… before leaving work yesterday and when he
got home. He growled at Souse. Now watch what happens.”

Souse blinked at Edno, head to the side. A moment later Edno
realised what he had just done and leapt a foot in the air and looked
around for an escape route. The only way out was tight against his
back. The sound the Sidhe made was one of understanding. Then…
then the creature giggled, reached out and poked Edno on the nose.
Another poke. Another. Edno tried to bat the Sidhe’s hand away
with his own and instead got dragged away from the door.

Souse’s poking and prodding brought Edno’s quiet
temper to the surface and wore at his patience until he took a swing
for the Sidhe. The creature rolled with the punch, caught it in the
shoulder and then gave Edno a playful jab back. Edno walked away and
Souse leapt upon him. What ensued was rough housing.

Koln shut the video off, “Now… what did you see
happen there, Mik?”

“Rough housing. Edno was in a bad mood and Souse noticed.
Body language at the beginning said that Souse was confused, not
insulted by Edno’s growl.”

“Bull,” another partner cried out, “that Sidhe
baited up and then attacked him when his back was turned.”

“Sweet glorious gods, is Edno alright?”

“He’s fine,” Koln muttered, “what I saw
was not rough housing. Rough housing is something boys and young men
do to burn off energy and is a brief struggle. This went on until
Edno tired out and found himself pinned to the floor by Souse. Now…
with what everyone else has heard about you and Paw, what do you
think was going through his head?”

Mik grimaced, “But Souse and Essuan are paired.”

“Sidhe do not draw lines. Souse bit Edno, gently, but with
enough pressure to remind Edno who was in charge. This was about
dominance.”

“No. Souse is obviously dominant,” Mik replied to
Koln, “Edno knows that, if Souse had a problem with Edno
before, then Souse would have asserted his dominance before.”

“How?”

“By swatting him upside the head in a room full of people?”
Mik looked at the eleven annoyed faces, “Did you show them the
part where I asked Paw to show us what tribe was? And your green
room? Souse could be making real progress with Edno.”

“And why do you think that?”

“The idea of tribe, it’s not just a family unit to
them. Paw talks about it as if it’s a set of ideals and moral
rules that put order to his life, rules that every Sidhe obeys least
he be excluded from the tribe. They care for one another, thick or
thin.”

“And we’ve all seen their mood swings,” Edno
moved away from the door as all eyes turned to him, “the others
react strongly to your emotions, Souse gives almost none at all. Last
night I had strong emotion and stepped out of our relationship and
over an imaginary line that triggered his reaction. The bite did not
make it a dominancy issue, it was a reminder that even though he does
this, he is still dominant. Get your heads out of the gutters and
stop viewing them as dumb animals. They have a social hierarchy and
it is more complex than ours and is something we will likely never
understand. Doesn’t make them stupid and it sure as hell
doesn’t mean they want to eat us in our sleep.”

“Unless you’re Mik,” Koln countered, “Paw
loves his popsicle.”

Mik shot Koln a murderous look, even as the others looked
confused.

Edno came to stand by Koln’s side, “they don’t
have the same personalities. Their personalities and their rank
alters their behavior. Paw and Souse don’t get along as well as
Paw and Lillow or Souse and Lillow. When the two dominant males walk
into a room together Paw submits to Souse, as we saw last night.”

“Wait. Last night?” Mik was confused.

“We… thought it best if we don’t disturb you.”
a snickering voice said.

Koln’s eyes darted to the voice and silenced the snicker,
before locking with Mik’s eyes, “it’s been shown
that the way we view the Sidhe alters the way they view us and the
way they treat us. There is someone here who is on probation because
he treats his Sidhe like a spoiled cat, and so she acts like one.”

“So Mik views his as a sex object. Why isn’t he in
trouble?”

“Sex object? Go fuck yourself,” Mik snapped at the
man, “I have never, at any point, viewed Paw as a sex object.
He jumped me, not the other way around. Would you like to analyze how
I pick my nose next? Maybe that would make you all feel like you’re
not failing with your Sidhe because you’re fucking lazy asses
not doing your jobs, but because OBVIOUSLY it takes a special
unconscious twist of the finger when its up a nose to make a Sidhe
communicate willingly.”

Mik stood and left the room, leaving stunned silence in his wake.
He didn’t get very far when he stopped, swore and almost went
back to the room. But Edno and Koln were blocking his way. The little
one’s partner was not far behind.

“The less like a normal person you sound, the better you
do,” Koln muttered.

“No, the less like a well brought up, well behaved, perfect
fucking record military man, yes sir, no sir man I sound, the better
I do,” Mik snapped at Koln.

They were all quiet for a moment before the young one said, “The
others are adhering strictly to the old set of rules. And military
laws. I mean. they stand and salute when Koln enters a room and we
just see Koln as a big fluffy kitten.”

“Call me a kitten again, and I’ll show you my claws,”
Koln muttered back at the young man.

Mik looked over the three standing before him and frowned, “Anyone
find it odd that we’ve … basically formed a group with
our Sidhe’s ranking? Souse never says anything, Essuan is
grouchy and emotional and quick to toss anyone and everyone back into
her place and the young one is curious.”

“And Paw?”

“Throws fits. He doesn’t understand his place in the
tribe. He was a leader and now he’s the lowest member and the
tribe doesn’t even really exist. He has no idea what Souse’s
rules are, because he hasn’t had time to learn them and now he
learns them only when HE breaks them. There is no one else to make a
fool of himself before Souse and Paw and show Paw that this isn’t
just because he’s from another tribe. Uncomfortable.”

“What?”

“Before today I was the miracle boy but I was still
uncomfortable. Everyone I was doing seemed to be right, but everyone
else was doing wrong and no one else could get it right. Was it me?
Was it my Sidhe? Was it the rules? How was I to know? But now that
Edno’s taken a stumble before Koln it’s … it’s
more comfortable knowing that it’s not just me.”

“How exactly do we convey that to the Sidhe? Hey,”
Koln turned to Edno, “Souse, would you mind setting something
up like that?”

Edno cocked his head to the side, imitating the Sidhe’s
confused look from the night before, and let off a random chatter
that almost sounded right. Both men looked at Mik.

“Paw said that the others didn’t want to communicate
so they haven’t yet. He wanted to communicate with me, so he
did.”

“And … if Paw is lying?”

“Then I am no longer the golden boy because we couldn’t
take anything Paw said was true, as true.”

Koln sighed, “I say we try it. Communication, working on
this tribe notion of theirs, making another Sidhe more comfortable.
Especially with Paw being the father of Essuan’s baby.”

“Here’s hoping Souse doesn’t throw me out a
window,” Edno muttered.

.