Sequel

Did my test and came home... then knitted a hat... and made a necklace... and two pairs of earings... and two bracelets. Then I wrote this even though I'm supposed to be working on Bond Mates.

This seemed a bit like when Mik was back and stumbling over himself, but then there's that tinge of something else that I keep trying to grab hold of and Rel is just stumbling all over the place with his powers. On the plus side, we're seeing him develop into power instead of being dropped into the middle of someone using power, unlike in Namesakes where it's like, wtf is going on, how is he reading minds?

Muan seems to understand most of what's going on, he seems to know what they're talking about but I'm kind of wondering how he's doing it, if he can't understand Ashun when her back is to him, can't understand Rel when there's someone between them, then how is he doing it?

Anyways.

Read, Review and Enjoy.





“What?” panic welled up in Rel’s throat, even as Muan skittered back from something that flowed off of Osht.

The male, taking his role as Rel’s father, was baring his teeth at Muan, eyeing the taller male with his good eye even as the right hand slid down and into the couch cushions. For a weapon?

Ashun stepped between them very quickly and made a motion to Muan before turning to Rel. The girl let out a sound that implied she was annoyed with stupid males and folded her arms.

“That reading stuff is a pain,” she huffed, “now, he overstepped his bounds, he’s not supposed to do that and I’ve called a time out. He can’t speak to you with his words so he went beyond what he’s allowed, to express something to you. You can advance the relationship or say no and put him back to square one.”

When Ashun paused, Rel realised that he was supposed to give his answer, “I don’t mind advancing…”

“Oh,” obvious relief, “then … you have to express to him that you want to advance. How you express that will determine how you advance and you are free to express it however you please.” Ashun made a motion towards Muan and stepped out of the way.

Muan looked puzzled, after Ashun and then to Rel. Could the Sidhe not understand what was being said unless he was face to face with someone? How much of what Muan understood was from body language alone?

Rel stood from the couch, completely uncertain as to what to do. People accepted such things with kisses and sexually inclined what-have-you and he didn’t feel like a sexually inclined relationship. Instead, Rel stood on tip toe and wrapped his arms around Muan’s neck. He gave the Sidhe a quick squeeze, a quick hug, and was surprised to when Muan wrapped his arms about his lower back and returned the hug. They stood like that for a moment before Muan very gently detached Rel.

Rel had his face against Muan’s shoulder, breathing in through his mouth as he tried to figure out what that smell was. The smell that disappeared as soon as Muan pushed him away but seemed to hang on the air, available to another sense, one that he wasn’t used to feeling with. Muan turned away, taking the book with him and to the plants, where Nave was humming to herself and Uhwan was watching closely. The young male was moving his head towards the young female and away again, as if testing her reaction but not wanting to put himself into bodily danger.

Ashun caught Rel staring at Nave.

“It’s because she’s making those sounds,” Ashun murmured, “Sidhe don’t do that normally.”

“Hum?”

“What?”

“Hum,” Rel hummed a bar of the first song that came to mind, “Sidhe don’t hum?”

“No. Paw says we sing when we’re happy, but who of us has been happy in our lifetimes?” Ashun muttered, annoyed, “Paw’s tried, but he says it feels strange. Mother hums all the time, while she’s gardening and Mik says people do it all the time.”

“But. Muan has sung lullabies to me, I’m sure of it.”

And suddenly all eyes were on Rel, Nave included. Muan looked to Rel, more curious as to what was going on than as an accusation. Perhaps Muan didn’t understand how Sidhe worked, perhaps having parents was really, truly necessary for Muan to learn these things. Things like, Sidhe didn’t hum. Why?

“I don’t understand what the problem is.”

“No problem,” Ashun responded, “More of… confusion. He hummed?” a motion to Muan.

“Yes, he hummed and sung me to sleep. So what?”

Violet eyes turned dark and Ashun blinked at Rel before she turned away, “no reason.”

“What’s he got to not sing about? What have any of you got? You’re out of reach of the people, the Sidhe rights are growing by the day and everything is fine and dandy?”

“Fine and dandy?” Something in Ashun’s voice made the males shiver, made Osht shift to be between Ashun and Raoh. The young woman turned back to Rel, drawing one of her sleeves up, “is this fine and dandy? I can’t use most of my powers because of what he did to me. And these are only the marks that wouldn’t go away. My family is still out there, my tribe is still out there and he’s still hurting them. That is not fine and dandy. We are not just a group, a big family the program up and lifted out of the wilderness, we are stragglers, we are loners and we are the ones too dangerous to be sold again on the black market and our families, the ones we care for and love are still out there. So what is there to sing about?”

“You could save them, being part of this program, as you call it so disdainfully, will save future generations of Sidhe and is saving Sidhe,” Rel motioned to Muan, “today, saving the best blood of the Sidhe. The gods smile on the program and you would spit on it because they are not omnipotent.”

“I will not leave my family in the past just so future generations can be happy. I want my family to be happy.”

“I’m not asking you to be happy, I’m asking you to work with the program, not against it.”

And there was that quiet again, when all senses were focused on him and forcing him to feel something beyond his understanding.

Ashun turned to Osht and said something before thumping off to the plants. The young woman’s feathers were ruffled and none of the other males seemed concerned with smoothing them out. Osht muttered something to Raoh and Raoh seemed to sigh.

“Craft time,” Osht muttered, seemingly annoyed with the idea of crafting things.

“What about-”

“Attend no exist,” Raoh growled. Rel started at the sound of Raoh’s voice. Despite being smaller than Osht, Raoh’s voice was deeper, gentler, “den when calm down poke and poke and poke.”

“You’re… joking… right? Poke the angry female?”

Raoh and Osht both nodded very seriously before wandering towards the craft cupboard. Rel stared after the two of them for a long moment before moving to join them. Not much choice in the matter, not like there was anything else he could do.


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