Partner

Hence Suryalle's bonus cookie.

In which Paw finally opens up. Well, a bit.

It's finally a somewhat decent hour for me yet all I have to do is write or play my game XD and my game seems boring compared to this.

Read, Review and enjoy

EDIT: edited because Paw did not find it hilariously funny, See did





When Mik woke, several hours later, he found himself free of his bonds. It was early evening but he still got up and showered and dressed in clean clothing. He changed the sheets on the bed so that the cleaning woman wouldn’t complain around Paw about it. By the time he made it to the kitchen, Paw had brewed some tea and was sitting at the kitchen table. There was a cup waiting for Mik, with sugar and milk sitting on the table for the man to add to his tea.

Mik slid into the seat, wincing at the throb that had spread from his ass and into his hips.

Paw poured the tea and added the sugar and Mik liked before pushing the mug closer to Mik. The man wondered how long Paw’s arms had grown over the past month, for the Sidhe to reach so easily across the table without leaning.

“Well?” Mik murmured, “you want to talk?”

Paw chewed his bottom lip for a moment and sighed, picking up his cup, “suppose. Suppose Mik wants Paw speak properly as well?”

“It would prevent misunderstanding.”

The Sidhe sighed again before sipping his tea, “fine. Mik, you, want to know about my tribe.”

“Yes,” Mik picked up his own cup and sipped the tea. It was a combination of things that he couldn’t identify but he swore that underneath it all he tasted a hint of mint, “start at the beginning.”

“Paw’s tribe was from northern north of country… ehm…”

“Far north?”

“Yes. Souse and his tribe lived just south of Paw’s tribe. They had moved there from farther south, the land they took was traditional hunting grounds of Paw’s tribe. Paw went out to fight them and … was killed.”

Mik frowned, “What? Is… Paw like Whisper?”

Paw took a breath in, “Souse heard that the name of the tribe’s leader was Paw, so when I took on leadership, I took his name.”

“I’ve been calling you the wrong thing this entire time?”

A shrug, “you never asked my name. And Souse. Souse thinks I am Paw.”

“Ah… eh..” Mik wasn’t certain which question he wanted to ask first.

“My real name is Auhiloliuwasuhifish…”

“Can I still call you Paw?” Mik murmured, quite certain that he would never be able to say that properly.

“Of course. My tribe called me Auhi. But I would prefer you only called me that in private. The real Paw was my older brother. He stood like Hohi but he was ill. Something in his blood made it hard for him to breath and so he chose to be leader so that he could not pass on his blood. He was afraid to let me near outside females because he feared it was in my blood as well. Despite the fact that we had different fathers. Paw challenged Souse and lost. He did not understand the rules, dominance in Souse’s tribe, amongst the members, means banishment. But for a lone Sidhe to come in and challenge… Souse did not want Paw trying to set up another tribe.

“He killed my brother, only to follow his trail back to our tribe. He brought four of his best with him and they slaughtered the elders. Our teachers and caretakers, our healers and our weavers. The elders stay in the old time tree and do the small chores, teaching the children how to do the chores and how to care for the tree. I declared Sehhaus on them, a type of war. For fifteen years we fought, but once knowing Souse and his tribe, we managed to evade them. Souse grew weary of fighting, he had a child and wanted to settle it for good so he burnt down our old time tree.

“To do such a thing. Is so… people. We were horrified.”

“If it was a people thing to do, why did his tribe back him?”

“They did. All except Essuan. She,” Paw spat it out, “Called Whisper in. Whisper said that we were no longer allowed to fight and he chastised me for starting Sehhaus. Told me I had to make amends,” a huff and Paw took a sip of his tea, “Souse was the one who killed my brother and my elders and then my home. But I was the one who had to humble myself at the bastard’s feet. Whisper said that Souse was just reacting to what he knew at the moment. That because of his upbringing, the act of burning the tree could be forgiven. Forgiven? Ours was the oldest old time tree for miles around. My tribe was facing homelessness for seventy years.”

Whisper had forced Paw into doing something extremely irrational, to go against everything the Sidhe stood for and for what?

“He knew we were coming. Even though we came with Whisper he still hit me, made me grovel at his feet. I could have killed him then and there, I have more than enough power, more than enough strength. I wasn’t leader just because my brother was, despite what he thinks.

“His child was what spared my life. A dwindly thing that was obviously of bad blood, it slipped between us and he took pity on it, rather than put it back into its place. Whisper told Souse he had to trade with us for an old time tree. Souse stated that if we mingled our blood with theirs, they would be more than willing to give us as many seeds as we needed to start an old time tree.”

“Couldn’t you just steal the seeds?”

“No,” Paw shook his head, “Never try to steal the seeds of an old time tree. Elders have nothing to live for if they are taken, or so we are told. They will give their lives for the seeds and thus are more dangerous. Not as dangerous as a female protecting her child, but close enough for a Sidhe to smart enough to not try. Paw said that he was not going to mingle, that he had no interest in breeding, that he was the leader of his tribe and thus did not have to,” Paw stopped and caught himself falling into Sidhe habits. The creature rubbed two fingers over his lips in a moment of silence, “Souse huffed at me but Whisper made him swear it. Souse agreed.

“Whisper pulled me to the side and made me promise that I would make every effort to show good faith. That Souse’s tribe outnumbered us and was obviously stronger. Souse was told the same, I suppose, because when I went to his old time tree he invited us to bring our children and promised that even he was not people enough to harm a child. For a time we lived together, waiting for those that had paired off to choose one tribe or another and for a pregnancy to arise. Then the bad blood child went missing. Essuan was screaming and crying and everyone was concerned. It was the only child she was ever likely to have by Souse, as he was not willing to step down and let one of the others take over and she, for some reason, agreed with him.”

Maybe Essuan was the one with the capability to see the future, and Souse was simply clever enough to use that to his advantage? Unless he shared what he knew with his mate, but were Sidhe ever that trusting of one another?

“One of the healers gave Essuan something that calmed her and she stopped screaming. But it was still there, echoing off of everything. It wasn’t Essuan who was screaming, it was the child. Paw’s tribe and Souse’s tribe went out, all fighting adults. Elders and children stayed behind. We numbered… hundred and fifty or so. They knew. How, we have no idea. Most were taken, caged. A few escaped. The man from the television. He’s missing some toes. The one who bit them off was shot in the legs, then the arms, then a … clip? Was emptied into its torso.

“Essuan was mad with grief. They tranquilized her. Souse fought angrily, tearing at those who tried to bring him down. I. I went after Souse,” Paw looked away guiltily.

“You were going to kill him.”

“And then call my tribe out,” Paw huffed, “they caught us both. They caught Lillow after she pulled some kind of tab on a man’s jacket and he exploded. See, Huff and Nuun all tasted people blood. See tore the throat out of a man and then drank the blood,” Paw grimaced, “He thought it hilariously funny at the time. He was the male who is no longer part of either tribe. Huff and Nuun were his co-conspirators. Huff tore apart three people before he was brought down. Nuun stood back to back with his brother, Cosht. Cosht died and Nuun took a man’s head off for it.

“All of us had been violent. Well. The thirteen of us. We heard them talking. Wanting to sell us but not certain who to sell us to. Then Koln was there, I guess they thought he was an idiot and would buy anything he could get his hands on. So he purchased us for… twenty … million?”

“That’s a lot of money,” Mik murmured, “surprised the program had that much even.”

“Put us on a truck with no cameras and no windows. Koln’s first thing, the first thing he did, was undo Souse’s bonds. The others had said Souse was obviously the most aggressive. We were in a people’s city, wire all around and too high to jump over. We weren’t going anywhere. He offered Souse clean water and food and Souse tried both before handing them to Essuan. When Essuan passed them back, Koln freed her of her bonds and so on down the line. He left the truck, closed and locked the doors and we started moving. Loud noises and my stomach dropped out of me and my ears popped. Then rumbling down a road. Many turns later we were stopped and the doors opened into a room. Not comfortable but it was better than before.”

“When did Souse-”

“In the room. He figured the program didn’t know our language,” Paw moved his hands up and down the cup, “he said that if I didn’t stay in line he’d either kill me or discipline me, but I’d learn my place one way or another and if I didn’t then he’d throw me to the people. We had no idea what you wanted. Koln entered with a doctor person and they saw to a few wounds and treated us like animals but we were okay with that.

“The morning you came, I had bit Souse. He wasn’t pleased with me and sent me off, a day of ignoring, he said, would remind me of my place. Then the bastard gave me away. Like I was his own tribe or something. Fucking. Bastard.”

Mik blinked, recalling how Souse had stressed that he had given Paw to Mik.

“Why? If you had no idea what was going on… why would you… go along with it?”

“We heard Koln’s speech. Souse knew the language and he translated for the others. I understood some. When Mik crossed the line Souse thought he had balls. He told me I had to go to you.”

“Sacrificial lamb to the slaughter. If you weren’t hurt the others would consider complying. But at least it turned out good.”

Paw nodded his head and looked away, “I wanted Alan.”

“Ouch,” Mik muttered, feeling hurt.

“I… just felt like he was temporary. I knew you weren’t one to be easily driven off and I wanted to get away quickly. With Alan I knew whoever ended with him would not be there long,” Paw reasoned.

It didn’t hurt any less, the knowing, the rationalization. Mik could have ended up with any of the other Sidhe.

“You get along with them now,” Mik said finally.

“Paw… sees things in a different light.”

“And you can’t… explain?”

“Souse may be a bastard but he cares for his people. Beneath that bastard exterior is a man who is capable. If war is necessary, he will be my general. Essuan may not be the best blood, but her children hold the potential for being something more. More than I am, most definitely. Lillow has power, has the balls and the learning to know right from wrong. When she grows up she will be the type of Sidhe that people are afraid to meet. You have seen me when I am upset, the way I move that way that makes you shiver in fear. She will move like that always. Her and Hohi are a pair that are not to be meddled with. Their kind of connection used to happen all the time, before people began killing too many and we had to couple quickly to make more of ourselves.”

“Wait. General? Sidhe aren’t a uniform nation.”

“Says who?” Paw’s head twitched to the side, “It is true that the Sidhe nation has never turned against people as one.”

“Well there were the wars some twenty thousand years ago that-”

“Skirmishes.”

“Thousands of people were killed.”

“Skirmishes,” Paw stressed, “If they want a war, I’ll give them one. I will not allow Mik to be bathed in the blood of his people simply because my own people take pity on his. Sidhe can protect themselves, Mik should not have to lose his life for them.”




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