Sequel

My classes are awesome and hardly boring at all, but they still make my brain melt. So while this was mostly written Tuesday morning (I was trying to finish it Tuesday morning to get it updated for you all) it didn't get finished until just now. Which turns out better in the long run as per Partner's next update. However, I can't promise Partners will updated today as my brain is still pretty much mush. The last third or so of this chapter is basically a testiment to that.

Paw's error was my error, but it seems there's something underneath that conversation that Rel is missing. Maybe Mik can shine some light on it. Maybe.

Read, Review and Enjoy.




Like waking from a long, comfortable nap, Rel stretched with a groan and was brought awake by the lack of a physical body beside him. Muan was not in the bed with him, the Sidhe was curled up in the nest at the end of the bed, whimpering quietly as he twitched under the blankets. What had woken Rel was the dinging of the elevator doors. Mari stood by the elevator, arms crossed over her chest as she looked over the mess of the apartment.

Melted candles everywhere. Rel truly hoped that none of the candles had run over their holders. He didn’t want his day to start off with Mari snarling at him.

“I… would let you sleep,” Mari muttered as she approached the bed, “but the Elders have suddenly decided that you and Muan are to attend the feast tonight, because we are making them attend then you have to go as well.”

“Seriously?” Rel sat up and ran his hands through his hair. It felt gritty… like he hadn’t showed the night before.

“Not quite,” Mari responded, “they had a long meeting and a discussion in an older dialect of Sidhe to determine whether or not you two should or could attend. They have taken this very serious and believe that you two are able, capable to attend or. They believe that you need to attend to be better able to survive.”

“When is…” Rel looked out the window. The sun was already setting, “now?”

“Two hours dinner begins. After the decision was given, I was stopped by Mik but after that I came straight here. Mik has strongly suggested that you both wash thoroughly. Dress comfortably and don’t wear anything that can’t be easily replaced. Though,” Mari frowned and looked around the apartment, “I doubt there is anything here that can’t be replaced. While you’re out, the cleaners will move through here and clean up the candle wax from last night. So wake…” Mari looked down on Muan, “him. He looks like he’s having a nightmare…”

“He …” probably wasn’t. Muan was probably still at the house in the plain, running over the grass or swimming. Or bringing in more wood, as Rel had been so cold last night. But Rel didn’t say that, he just gave a grunt and leaned across his bed and tapped Muan on the shoulder, “Muan.”

The Sidhe groaned and opened his eyes, rubbing at the gritty bits at the corners of his eyes, “wha?”

“We’re going out.”

“Auh?” Muan’s face screwed up, the Sidhe looked around the apartment and sighed loudly.

“Muan,” Rel waited for Muan’s attention before motioning to the bathroom, “wash.”

Muan’s lip curled up in distaste, but the Sidhe still clamoured out of bed and to the bathroom. The door shut and Rel was left with Mari. Alone. They didn’t speak. Mari wandered around the apartment, inspecting this and that. When Muan left the bathroom, hair wet and minus a shirt, Rel gathered a pair of clothing for him and for Muan. He handed Muan a set as he walked to the bathroom. He showered, being sure to scrub every inch of skin, under his nails. Washed his hair twice. If Sidhe could smell as well as he thought, he doubted they would appreciate day old sweat and bodily odours. Once washed, Rel dressed and ran a comb through his hair. His hair might stay down for the moment, but by the time it tried, it would once more be standing on end.

Rel left the bathroom and found Mari and Muan standing by the elevator, waiting for him. The man sighed and approached them.

“This may be hard to understand,” Mari said, motioning downward, “but you both have to put shoes on. You can take them off in the pool room, if you are invited to do so. It is a way to tell guests from Sidhe and how to tell who has upset who recently.”

“How are we going to explain to him to,” Rel glanced down at Muan’s feet. The Sidhe was already wearing shoes. With no socks, but shoes nonetheless. He sighed and donned the pair of shoes by his feet.

Down the elevator the ride was silent. Muan peered at the walls as if wondering what was going on. The Sidhe knew that people stepped off the elevator to get to them, but he didn’t know how it worked. When the doors opened, Muan seemed startled that the apartment was not before him.

A long hallway, painted with plant after plant, after plant. Rel couldn’t identify any of them, yet on down the hall they went through their cycles. Spring, summer, fall, winter. Each season they passed, Muan reached out and touched the wall, as if expecting to touch real plants. Winter turned to spring again right before the large double doors.

Mari pulled them to a stop outside the doors and moved between them and the door, “Now. What you’re about to enter is not at all like what you have experienced before. You’ve been dealing with one Sidhe, there are thirty-four grown Sidhe behind this door and they all have diverse personalities. Try not to allow yourself to be overwhelmed. That would end badly for us all. Alright?”

“Yes.”

“Good. You may go in now.”

Rel and Muan shared a look before they stepped around the woman and entered the room. The pool startled Rel. Usually the smell of chlorine would permeate most of the floor a pool was on. This one smelt of water, but not a hint of chlorine met his nose. The next thing that startled Rel were the huge windows along one wall. As tall as the room was, the windows ranged the entire way and opened up onto a look over a park of some kind.

Along the walls were tables with food and flower arrangements, plants and, in one place, a young girl in a t-shirt with scars running the length and width of her arms. She was sitting between two flower arrangements, smiling politely at the two grown males who were obviously flirting with her while a third male stood to the side, looking rather ruffled. Another male, one of his eyes sealed shut by a nasty looking scar, stood to the other side, arms crossed as he looked about the room. These three, the one eyed male, the little female and the ruffled male, were connected. They had the look about them of a group who had come through a great deal together, forever joined by their experiences.

Rel wondered what it was like to have someone else to share that kind of pain with.

As if the girl heard his thought, she looked over the males flirting with her and right at Rel. Her violet eyes narrowed, delicate eyebrows drew downward. She looked upset.

Rel looked away quickly. Perhaps staring was wrong amongst Sidhe, perhaps it was an invitation the likes of which he was not going to act on. Ever. He turned, looking for anything, anything at all to distract him, and was startled to find that an older female had snuck up on him. Not female. Older woman. She was people born and there was something about the way she smiled at him that made him cringe and want to hide.

This was the type of woman Rel hated doing business with. She wouldn’t take no for an answer. Reminded him of that woman who wouldn’t sell her property just because…

Her garden had been a monument to her son. Rel glanced Elshia Palsten up and down and felt the cold wave of realization. She was Mik’s mother and she had been the woman who had refused to sell her property. Rel had had to find another location for his condominium and she had called him… what was it again…?

“Hello soulless, greedy, conniving prick.” Ah. That was it, “You do recognise me, don’t you?”

“I do,” Rel murmured in response, “and to be fair, if I was all those things, I would have used that bi-law I told you about to take the house rather than… telling you about it so that you could fix the problem.”

“You only did it to flaunt your power over me.”

“…” that was true. Creepily so, “No.”

“Yes you did, young man, do not lie to me, I am a mother.” Rel cringed away when she stepped towards him.

Muan stepped between them, hands in front of him, the Sidhe made a sound that was almost an “oooo” and the woman stopped. Elshia huffed and glared at Rel.

“He needs a firm hand, not someone stepping up for him just because you like him.”

“Completely spoken wrongly,” Rel replied, pointing out the obvious.

“Like that was spoken right, what you just said?” She snapped back at him.

“Mommy, please,” Paw approached slowly, “he was a business man at the time, simply following the money. He’s never had a family, he doesn’t understand what it’s like.” Rel was insulted, to say the least, but he didn’t have a chance to say so, as Paw ushered Elshia off towards Mik. Once the woman was gone, Paw turned towards both Muan and Rel, “here, alive. Survived. Good. Dark path not always easy to travel.”

“What?”

“You, him, through the sands and across the dark path. Not of many people can make that journal,” Paw’s eyebrows drew down, “jargon. Gerbils… journey. That journey.”

“That. Journal?” Rel frowned himself, wondering why that word popped out of his mouth when he meant to say journey, “what journey?”

“Does Rel feel no ill effects?” Paw looked Rel up and down, “no head aching, no bodily tired? No fuzzy minded?”

“No, I feel fine, thanks.”

“’Cause Muan have headache,” Paw motioned to the taller male. Rel glanced at Muan as the Sidhe rubbed at his temple. When Muan realised they were looking at him, he dropped his hand quickly and gave Rel a gap toothed smile, “Paw’s stomach all woozy and head clouded. Rel fine?”

“… yes, what’s so hard about that to get?”

“Lel… ehm…” Muan made several hand motions that Paw watched intently.

“Ah.”

“Auh.”

“Lel?” Paw looked at Rel questioningly.

“Rel,” he corrected sternly, “he insists on calling me Lel and from him it’s fine, but my name is Lel. Rel. Rel damn it.”

“Like how Mik says he’s Mik instead of Mikkums,” Paw shrugged and looked at Muan, “people no change names through life. No grow after birth. Muan-eh iiiehshnin,” and motions to Muan and then off to one side of the room. Muan watched Paw’s hands and made a face, like someone who was hearing another person destroy a beautiful language, but gave a nod. Paw looked at Rel, “Lel go see Koln. Paw take care of Muan.”

Muan huffed out, an irritated sound. Paw walked off, talking to Muan as he went, “people always need know that someone else looking after peoples people, stupid like that. Think Muan not care for self. Muan able, Muan capable. Come, come.”

Muan followed Paw off like a lost puppy, leaving Rel standing in the middle of the entranceway, alone.

“Come on,” Taln appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Rel’s wrist, tugging him insistently to a circle of couches, “we’re allowed to be in the Elders’ place.”

“Why? Places set aside for Elders should not be open to anyone except Elders, leaders and the families of Elders. Or. Those being judged,” taking all of his electives in ancient cultures was suddenly coming in handy.

“Uhm. Koln and I … have been coming and going here for a while. The Elders like herding us over here,” Taln’s cheeks turned pink with a blush, “I think they’ve been pushing us together.”

Rel blinked at Taln and took a seat, “What’s Paw doing with Muan?”

Taln looked over at Paw and Muan, wandering down the tables, “likely teaching Muan our language. Though. Just because they know our language, doesn’t mean that they will talk.”

Koln approached the seated area, two cups in hand. He held one out to Taln, bending to peck the younger man on the cheek. Taln went from pink to bright red.

“Well,” Koln murmured to Taln, “we have our fourth. Three days and we’re free.”

Taln smiled at Koln and suddenly found his drink very interested. The younger man was embarrassed about liking Koln? Or was he a shy, quiet, type? Rel couldn’t figure it out. Instead he was left watching the public displays of affection between a middle aged man and a young man. And somehow he didn’t find it the least bit creepy.

“So,” Koln said to Rel, sitting on a couch and pulling Taln with him, “how are you?”

“Fine.”

If Taln and Koln were ‘together’ now, why were the Elders still openly inviting them into the area set aside for them? That was the question that concerned Rel the most as Paw let out a whooping sound. Rel turned just in time to see the Sidhe leap into Mik’s arms.

What in the seventeen hells?


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