Soul Bound

Ahhhhh sorry about the massive delay. Few issues, Mel and Lou are trying very hard to hide from me and I've been busy with somethings. Let's just say that in a couple of months time, if you know your way around Amazon's kindle books, you should keep an eye out for me! A Two Lovers story that's not exactly appropriate for AFF but one that could fill in a few gaps between Namesakes and Partners.

I'm trying quite hard to finish this story, but Lou and Mel, as I said, are trying to sleep. Apparently they were quite hoping to go home as soon as Tanis woke up. I dunno, maybe it has something to do with the other somethings that have been keeping me busy.

Anyways,

Read, Review and Enjoy.

 

Mel slid into the guest house and looked over the clean surfaces and the grumbling Sidhe male. Lou had a duster in his hand, a long stick with thick feathers tied onto the end. He was hunched down just slightly and growling half heartedly out the corner of his mouth as he dusted Mallia’s head. The woman stood with a rag in hand, arms crossed, weight shifted to one hip and a stubborn look on her face. Her green eyes flicked to Mel as he walked into the house.

He took in the image of woman and Sidhe and turned on heel, marching out of the house, around the tree root that separated him from the rest of the village and into Una’s house.

“Why is Mallia dusting my house?” he asked, dropping into a seat beside Illuva.

“She’s decided to spend the winter with you, much to her father’s chagrin,” Illuva responded quietly, turning the page of the book she was reading, “there are multiple guest rooms there, but this is a trial run for her, to see how the pair of you cohabitate. She’s very insistent on going with you, Mel. And I know you don’t like that and that you’ve little experience with strong females, but it’s usually best to simply relax and let her do as she pleases.”

“With me.”

“Well you can say no to that part,” Illuva said pointedly, “but yes, in a general sense of the word, yes.” the goddess paused and tugged on a lock of hair as she looked up and towards Una and Durth’s bedroom, “they’ve been fighting all morning. Tanis has informed Una that Una is to step down, basically, and to allow him to do Mother’s work instead of Una and Durth. This is a problem for Una. One more person speaking to Mother who is holding it over his head.”

“I’m betting Una isn’t used to being told what to do.”

“Oh, he used to be at the beck and call of Shey-har, so he was once used to taking orders about everything. But since tasting freedom, he has been insisting on doing things his way and such on.  I told the others to prepare the guest house, which is why Mallia is there. The perishables have been dealt with and linens are out being washed, you and Lou can take possession of the house tomorrow afternoon.”

“What will Tanis do all winter?”

“Learn languages, mathematics, about the stars and whatever else he can absorb in that amount of time,” the goddess sighed and closed her book, “Mother born are uniquely adapted to learn very quickly for the first few years after their change. They like taking advantage of this. Language is one of the first things to learn, because language shifts each generation. A child will alter the meaning of one word and thus alter the meaning of the word for everyone in the village, slang and jargon become every day things and over the course of a few hundred years the language shifts so much that it is hardly recognisable. They must be able to adapt to these changes, for the times when they have their long sleeps and wake to a whole new world.”

“Ah,” was all Mel could say, “and… what about Tanis?”

“Ah, you mean his emotional state. Vera,” Illuva raised her voice and turned to the bathroom. A moment later the older immortal stepped out with wet hair and clean clothing, “he is asking per Tanis’ mental state.”

“He’ll be fine,” Vera crossed the common area and settled across from Mel and Illuva, “He may feel a bit frustrated or anxious but that is completely normal. Una will not have sex with him or try to do such a thing. All of a sudden Tanis is like a brother to us, feels just like that. Sexually speaking Tanis does not appear to be very active. He’s more tired than anything else and he will have plenty of time to sleep.”

“But he will learn languages.” Illuva said, instantly.

“Of course,” Vera murmured in response, “I hear the pair of you are going to be staying at the guest house with a young virgin.”

“I have no intention of pursuing her!”

“Good,” Vera said, “because I think she’s a fool. She’s young, how in the hells does she know that she wants to be a simple surrogate and nothing more? Young, attractive, virgin, good blood. I know a hundred young lords who would pay massive sums just for the chance of courting her.

“Anyways, let her run the house, let her pretend to be woman of the house. It will give her a good dose of what it will be like, being your surrogate. Perhaps that will scare her off.”

“Right…”

“What are you going to do all winter?” Illuva asked quietly, “you won’t have to hunt and you certainly won’t be training considering how quickly Lou picks up something as complex as shadow walking. How does the male even have power?”

“Sidhe still have power,” Vera said, “Ayato simply used a high priest to allow people priests to use power. Those who have too much people blood have no power, but then, according to the Sidhe, those ones should not exist anyway and are coming to be fewer and fewer.”

“I suppose,” Illuva muttered to herself, “but I still don’t like it, not one bit.”

“Well, I usually spend winter reading or mending things that are broken. Of course I would also train and hunt for food, deal with the cooking of food and caring for the Death Hall. I haven’t had a winter to myself in… twelve years.”

“There’ll be a lot of time to talk,” Vera said quietly.

“Practice power use,” Illuva offered.

“Tell stories.”

“Cuddle-”

“Oh,” Mel held up a hand to interrupt them, “Ashun said that I need to groom Lou. For that, it seems, I’d need a soft brush, a stiff brush and a hard brush.”

“You’ll also want a stiff sponge, it is a delight to wash with,” Illuva said, “Sidhe like baths but Mallia will be able to help with that. A few nice oils and soaps. With the soft brush you clean the hair, with a stiff brush you scrub the skin, especially any spots that he might be shedding on. Dog tribe doesn’t shed much, does it, Vera?”

“No, they do enjoy a stiff brush over the skin and then the soft brush over that. Petting and massage delight them, much like it can a dog. The stiff brush you use on the fingernails, back and forth across the nail, not up and down. If he walks out of the house with bare feet, do the same with the soles because the dirt he gathers there can cover scratches and holes in the bottom of his feet. You have to worry about possible infection. Dogs will ignore a scratch and are stubborn, more stubborn than cats in some ways.

“File his nails every few days and clip his hair once a week and wash his ears every time you wash him. A soft cloth over the ear should work. I’ll give you a soft, little brush to clean his teeth with along with all the rest. Lou has nice teeth but not great teeth, by spring you can improve that if you brush his teeth every day.”

“Why are you saying I should do this?”

“Because with Sidhe, they don’t necessarily clean themselves. Their parents do or their siblings do or their mate does. You clean him and he will treat you with the same respect,” Vera paused, thinking for a moment before she sighed and continued, “look through his hair. Check for anything that isn’t supposed to be on a head. Sidhe attract many different parasites, these creatures don’t bring them harm but they don’t help either. Remove the parasites and then give him a pet and you will not only make his day but make him healthier at the same time.”

“Alright, where do I get these items from?”

“Illuva, would you be a dear and make them?”

The goddess sighed but reached down beside her and pulled up a wicker basket. She set it in front of Mel and motioned to each of the items in turn, “soft brush, stiff brush, hard brush. This is the sponge and the little brush for his teeth. Nail file, you can clean under his nails with that as well as file his nails down.”

“You just made that?”

“One of the perks of being a god,” Illuva said quietly, “I don’t like doing it often. People take advantage of this as much as they can. But this is a special case and the two of you haven’t exactly the time to wait for merchants to come around and deliver the goods you need. Oh, oils are underneath it all along with some soap. I’ll check back once a month to see if the pair of you need anything else. Since I went and broke you and all.”

.