Sequel

Cookie for Surrylee! Though, as Lillow... or Souse... maybe it was Paw, stated, the future is fluid. However, as I said, I now know his state. My characters can hide things from me, and they do take on a life of their own. So while I have this plot over here, characters usually go and do something else, because what I have planned is out of their personality to do. These characters, while aren't going for my plot bit by bit, are at least working their way there. So they get a cookie themselves.

Muan is a piece of Rahl-ta, though, he is a part of the game and Rahl-ta is using him as such, in trade for something that Muan wants.

Which could be freedom. Or Rel. ... Or both.

Here Una seems a bit harsh, but he's concerned with getting a specific soul into a place where he can protect the soul... least someone else goes and does something nasty. He also explains a few things, possibly in a round about way, but that's the way Una is used to working.

Read, Review and Enjoy.





The ride back to the program building was uncomfortable to say the least. Muan spoke and Una listened, eyes on the male at all times. Una wasn’t just being a polite listener, the immortal interrupted Muan several times and had Muan repeat certain things. By the time they arrived at the building Muan was, seemingly, telling the story of the events that had happened while he was with the program. When the car pulled to a stop Una asked Muan one question in people.

“Who is Lel DeAn’ge?”

Muan pointed at Rel. Una’s purple eyes shifted to Rel. Eyebrows drew down into a frown and then Una looked to Mari.

“Well. That explains why she tastes like him and he smells like you,” Una muttered, turning his attention to Mari, “Muan has told me that he was part of a tribe captured and bred for the sake of your people, slaughtered for their bones. You are part of a … group… that are trying to put a stop to the abuse to Sidhe and that you rescued Muan but was too late to save most of the rest of his tribe, Muan has laid claim to Lel who has, in turn, laid a very blatant claim on you. Is this true?”

“We saved Muan, yes, but Rel has no claim to me,” Mari snapped.

“Then… I won’t kill you… pieces announce.”

“Lal,” Muan raised his hand.

Paw raised his hand, but if he gave an answer to Una’s question, it wasn’t a verbal one. Mari had a puzzled look on her face, but raised her hand halfway and said Illuva’s name. Una looked to Rel.

“I said pieces announce.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“…” Una’s eyes narrowed, “a sleeper then. Where is the key?”

“Dead,” Paw’s eyes welled up in tears.

“Oh?” Una’s head turned just slightly to the side as something dawned on the man, “Oh…”

Una hadn’t questioned the vehicle, though he called it a carriage and said he had seen better in his day. He didn’t seem surprised by the elevator or the electrical lights or fascinated by the building. The group moved to Rel’s floor. Not to make Rel comfortable, not because Rel’s floor had more space or some such, no. Because Rel’s floor could be locked off, Una could be contained on the floor itself.

On the floor, Una did a slow spin, looking around the floor before he let out a disgusted sound.

“Plants will not keep them happy for long. Over the winter yes, but come spring they’ll start itching again, they have to migrate, why don’t you people ever listen? I wrote fourteen myths on the migrations of the Sidhe so you would know-”

“They no longer migrate,” Mari snapped, cutting Una off as she stormed to the kitchen, “I need a drink.”

“No,” Rel and Una said at the same time. Rel because he didn’t think drinking was the solution, though it was damned tempting, and Una for…

Rel tried to push into Una’s mind only to be batted away by a force greater than himself. Una spun on Rel and glared at the young man.

“Stop that. There are very few who could penetrate me and even fewer who I will permit to do so. And you, my dear, are not one of them.” Una paused and something made him chuckle to himself, “hardly awake a day and I’m doing it already.”

“Doing what?” Rel asked.

Muan made a motion behind Una’s back. The double meaning of penetration. Rel groaned and rubbed at his face with his hands.

“Now. I have a list of demands. Call your… king.”

“President.”

“What in the name of the gods is a president and why does the word make me want to bend the man over a table and have my way with him?”

The elevator dinged about halfway through Una’s speech and Talen and the council stepped off. Talen had a wicked look on his face, a smirk, like he had finally found someone he could screw with. Hopefully not literally.

“I think my wife would have something to say about that Una.”

“You’re the president?”

“Yes.”

“Is your name President? Or your rank?”

“My rank, Una.”

Una considered Talen for a long moment before he said, “I want a nice hat,” Una motioned as if putting on a hat, “and clothing. Four trailers made of wood in the design I give you as well as two horses for each trailer and three spare horses for carrying odds and ends. I will of course need people to come along for the first way around, but that can be discussed after the rest is gotten.”

“No. Oh, look flashing pictures?” Galt snapped, “if you’ve been asleep for the past four hundred years, why aren’t you impressed?”

“I am Mother born, sir,” Una said in a cold, malicious tone, “and you have built your metals and your plastics atop my mother. If I didn’t need you alive, I would kill you this instant. Someone get that Sidhe something to put him to sleep before he ruins himself with his worry.”

Una motioned to Paw. Rel was stuck in place, but Muan moved towards Paw and tugged the shorter male towards the nest. Rel hadn’t moved because there was something about Una, something in the way he moved that was just… So…

Unnatural.

Una caught Rel watching him, “yes, I am not your species and I do not move the way you, or the Sidhe do, kindly stop staring or I will start staring at your crotch and that useless piece of meat you call your manhood.”

“Why you-” Rel started, only to have Muan step between Rel and Una and give Rel a look before the Sidhe started talking.

Muan chattered on while picking several leaves for a tea. Una followed Muan towards the kitchen and settled at the dining table as Muan made tea. Rel moved to the table and settled across from Una. Mari took a third seat and Galt tried to take the fourth. Una waited until Muan had taken Paw a tea before he cleared his throat and looked at Galt.

“Move.” Una said to Galt.

“You are-”

“Move him.”

Muan plucked Galt off of the chair as if the man, wider and heavier than Muan was, weighed nothing at all. The Sidhe dumped Galt on the floor. The man looked flustered and upset, Galt stood, only to have Muan push him back to the floor again. With a look that clearly stated that Muan could, and would, keep doing it until Galt got the point.

“Fine. Have it your way.”

Muan let out a huff and sat down, giving Rel a look. The Sidhe had been so very tempted to sing out “I love it my way,” a jingle about a fast food joint. Rel gave his head a shake and looked at Una, who was looking at Muan, amused.

“Tea please.”

Muan stood went about making tea for ten people. Una watched Muan walk away before he looked at Rel and then Mari.

“I have not had a servant upon awaking in… millennia. Of course, the last time I awoke with a servant, Rahl-ta was trying to buy me,” Una looked at Muan for the Sidhe’s reaction, but Muan showed no outward sign of having heard the immortal’s complaint, “Now, Whisper, please explain to your people my demands.”

“You put Whisper to sleep,” Rel pointed at Paw.

Una looked at Rel, summing the young man up in a matter of moments. Rel was fairly certain he didn’t want to know what Una had decided about him.

“Do you think just anyone can enter another’s mind? That bit the gods like passing out, about everyone gaining their own free will, keeps a majority of power users, and Whispers, out of the minds of the people.”

“Well Muan can-”

“And you’ve been to the hells, it’s all over your waking soul, you wear the mantel of Whisper and don’t even know what it is, what you are? No wonder you weren’t the least bit flattered when I first spoke to you.”

“You were naked,” Rel snapped.

“Paltry little details. Now. You will be my go between, between your people and me. If they upset me, if they piss me off please make it very clear that,” Una set a hand on the table. The wood around his hand bubbled and roiled as if it were a boiling liquid, “I have no qualms about sending them back to their makers.”

“Oh, I want to see!” said Talen, who was sitting cross legged on the floor, a stupid grin on his face.

Una made an exasperated sound, “silence piece.”

“But.”

Una turned to Talen, thusly turning his back on Rel. Whatever look Una gave Talen made the president, and most of the council, pale.

“Fine, but you’re answering questions,” Rel snapped at him.

“Not all of your questions have answers,” Una turned back to Rel and smiled kindly at him, “my dear.”

Muan set out a teacup before each chair then began handing the cups out to the council members, huffing at Galt as he walked the last cup to Past. Sticking his nose up in the air as he walked back to the table.

“Why is Talen a fake?”

Una pressed his lips together and considered the question a good while before he answered, “He is a fake of who?”

“Mik.”

“Mik is the fellow who died?”

“Yes.”

“Brown eyes and hair, not much of a notice to him but ohhhh so attractive and you’d do him… again? Oh, Whisper, you randy thing, you.”

Rel looked down at his tea for something to do as a blush burned his cheeks, “so what?”

“Well Mik being a him is a surprise. The key has been female for the past two millennia of the game, as she, the key, was held by Tahl-ra. Of course, the fools made the key with a piece of Rava’s soul, so what did they expect? It was only so long before the gender changed and the warrior manifested.”

“Warrior?”

“A type of soul. One of the first types of soul, besides the key. A warrior is one who instinctually knows about war and survival. They are the ones whose families you do not poke. Not if you want to live. Not if you want your family to live. Rava once slaughtered an entire village because they tried to burn Ayato. Ah, poor boy went out of his mind.”

“For trying to burn Ayato?” Mari asked, sounding like she didn’t believe Una.

“After they beat him to death. Just a little detail one tends to forget,” Una muttered, “But they made Mik out of Rava and Rava was what?”

“Uhm…” Rel had no idea, besides being the lover, what Rava was.

“Rahl-ta’s betrayal,” Mari murmured.

Key. Was that not what his mother had told him? Rava had been the key to it all and when he had asked, the key to what? She had smiled at him, patted him on the head and said that it was best not to get him involved in such silly things.

According to myth, Rahl-ta destroyed a soul when the soul deemed itself worthy to play the game. The soul had a mate, part of the game, who the soul had hidden in plain sight by somehow…

Making a fake.

Talen was a decoy, Mik was the real key. Talen was out in the open, running a country while Mik. Mik had quietly been tucked away with Illuva and De’s pieces.

“Oh, holy sweet gods.”

“Marvellous, his mind works.”

Illuva had the key in hand.

“Of course, if Mik is really dead, then the key has not changed hands.”

“WHAT?” several of the council members snapped, horrified, upset and cranky. Talen just laughed.

“But he’s dead. We just had a funeral.”

“I am simply saying,” Una said, picking up his tea, “if Mik is dead, then Illuva no longer has the key in hand. Which means Paw can’t join his lover in the afterlife. Of course, to control such a thing, she would need Ayato and Rava’s permission, as they play the game as one, and Talen is their piece. Which means she’s about to let Rava off his leash. If she hasn’t already and Ayato,” Una glanced at Rel, “is going to need a body. Which means you are going to have to find yourself a woman and get busy with it, because I am not going to allow him to just be born to any Aniege, any where. Not again.”

Una paused as his words set in, to sip his tea. The immortal held it in his mouth for a long moment, face screwing up to disgust as he spat it back into the cup, “good gods, why would you use horse piss to make tea?”



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