Partner

This would have been done a couple of hours ago... but I got distracted with packing. Might only be a three day trip now, due to someone dropping out and such but it's still three days.

The issue with paper and pen is that my head works faster than my hand can write.

Anyone who has read sequel will have an extra clue for this one. I'm hoping I at least illicit a giggle out of those of you who have read sequel.

Read, Review and Enjoy




A week and a half for the swelling to begin to go down, after three weeks, the bruising was less noticeable and Mik could go without the tea for the daylight hours. Mik pretended not to notice that the tea got weaker each time. He knew that there was basically nothing of the pain herb in the tea after three weeks, but he drank it, wondering when Essuan would take him off of the tea. Paw carefully explained Mik’s day to her and then carefully explained to Mik what Essuan’s response was.

Over that time Galt visited several times and had discussions with Paw. Whatever it was, it resulted in Paw’s personal computer being taken away. The Sidhe was not happy about it, but hardly showed it to Galt. The creature became listless without the computer.

Nearly five months into her pregnancy, Essuan’s stomach was swelling. Oddly large for five months, round and health. Essuan refused to take the sonogram test, stating that if there was nothing wrong with the life inside her, why did she need such a test? Koln tried to tell her that it was to ensure that there was nothing wrong and she scoffed at him.

Children had for millions of generations lived inside a mother’s womb and grown and come into this world without Koln’s tests so what made Koln think that his tests would guarantee the survival of her child when he had no idea how to treat her children, let alone herself?

She was a much happier woman after Souse’s little lesson.

Lillow did not grow, she did bounce off of nearly everything and could, and did, climb most of the walls. She ran laps in the green room, ran circles around Paw as he shifted around pots and plants. The pair of them, after Paw’s computer was taken away, took to painting the walls in strange symbols and designs. Paw included perfect drawings on the walls of several different plants, of rocks and on one wall was the sketchy outline of a cliff and mountains, of a lake in a valley and what might have been a waterfall at one end.

The paints? Koln had brought them over from his personal store and, once the other Sidhe got wind of the colourful pastes, Galt was willing to bring them into every apartment. Galt didn’t run the program, but he did tighten the purse strings. So while Paw wanted a new computer, with a few games but no internet connection, it had been declined due to money reasons.

Yet there was thousands of dollars worth of paints in the apartment building now.

That fact was not lost on Paw. But after consideration and speaking with Taln, after hearing that the Sidhe could paint the hallways as well, Paw gave it up.

Mik suspected that Paw just snuck into an empty apartment and used that computer instead, for all the time the male was absent from the apartment. Was it five, or six months into the program?

By Essuan’s sixth month of pregnancy, Galt had made it clear that he was going to replace Koln. With a woman.

The partners were called in to meet the woman as soon as it was announced. Mik slid into the front row as per usual and instantly regretted it. Taln sat to his right, a partner whose name he didn’t know to his left. Hohi’s partner behind him, Koln moved stiffly into the room and Taln shifted down a seat so that the man could sit beside Mik. Edno sat on the other side of the unknown partner. Tuhn flopped into her seat, seemingly having taken on Violets temperament, and dropped her clipboard loudly into the seat beside her. Either claiming it, or just trying to keep others away.

Galt entered after they were all seated. He moved to the front of the room and waited for everyone’s attention before speaking.

“Well. I suppose you all know why I have called you all-”

The door opened and Souse and Violet came in. Souse gave way to Violet, allowed the girl to walk, stiff backed, nose in the air and obviously annoyed look on her face, down to beside her partner. Tuhn removed the clipboard and the girl sat. Back straight, eyes forward. Souse moved past Galt and refused to meet the man’s eyes, looking instead over the partners, judging the emotion in the room.

Did Souse have to be in the same room as the others for his powers to work? Did Souse need Lillow there to see the future?

More frightening… what was Violet’s power and could Souse use it?

The tall male made eye contact with the partner, a woman, who stood and moved to another seat. When Souse sat, he blocked the view of Galt for anyone who sat directly behind him.

Galt stood, startled, until both had sat, “I don’t recall inviting Sidhe to this meeting.”

“We are the leaders of our tribe,” Souse responded, “Ashun and I will ensure that this meeting’s decision is fair, not only to the partners, but to the Sidhe. You have once proven to be uncaring about the rights of the partners. We are here to remind you. Of your promise.”

“I will not renege on my promise, a promise made is a promise kept.”

“Good. Because if you did… we might have to deliver all of our computers to him.”

Mik’s head snapped towards Souse. Paw. And his manipulation. What exactly had happened? Galt was going to… what?

Separate him and Paw?

Sounded like a military thing to do, considering the fact that Koln just had a Sidhe and he was being removed from power. Remove Mik from Paw and settle someone else with Paw, severe all ties and put Mik to use somewhere else. How exactly had Paw explained that to Galt? Unless of course Galt was stupid enough to write such a plan in an email. Seemed Paw could slide around any firewall or password. Hack every system known.

Mik turned back towards Galt.

The other man cleared his throat, “as I was saying, you all likely know why I have called you here today. This program has made leaps and bounds a plenty. However. It has grown stagnant over the past three months, it’s leader too busy with his own Sidhe to carefully control funds and affairs. That is not saying that Koln is not working hard enough, his attention is divided between the only pregnant Sidhe and his paperwork.”

“Only?” Mik asked, “there’s another female pregnant. Her partner keeps calling her fat and she won’t go to the doctor.”

“How the hell do you know if my Sidhe is pregnant?” the partner snapped.

“She is, and he knows because we told him,” Souse replied calmly, giving the man a look that clearly told him to shut the fuck up, “continue Galt, we haven’t got all day. You’re replacing Koln, no fancy words, no flowery monologues. Bring out the replacement.”

“My men and women deserve to know why he is being replaced.”

“We know why,” a woman from the back row muttered, “we aren’t children, we aren’t stupid. If we were even moderately intelligent, we wouldn’t be in the program.”

A woman entered the room and closed the door quietly behind her. She waited there as all eyes turned towards her. Long of bone, high cheekbones, bright blue eyes and black hair. That hair hung loose, an odd way for a military woman to wear her hair, and long, silky locks. Those eyes moved over the room and a few cursed, a few muttered. Mik had no idea who she was, what her rank was or how everyone else knew her.

Perhaps that would have been in the explanation?

“Mari Illuen.”

“Son of a…” Koln bit down on his finger as he looked away from the woman.

Souse and Violet, Ashun as Souse had called her, squinted at the woman and then began speaking quietly to one another in Sidhe. Their muttering and murmuring was the only sound in the room as Mari walked from the door to Galt with perfect grace, perfect posture. Perfect hair, perfectly manicured nails.

Mik could almost bet that her pubes were perfectly kept as well.

“Wait. Are you a follower of Illuva?” Mik asked, as followers of Illuva always were so sparkle shiny.

Well, the hard core followers of Illuva.

The room groaned at Mik’s question and Mari’s eyes pinned the man with a look.

“Yes. I am a follower of Illuva, my father is high priest of the Blood temple in the northern corner of the continent. For those of you who do not know,” she looked pointedly at Mik, “we are the last of the Blood line. Blood being the only line, the only temple and the only bible that have held true to Illuva’s word since the first day. We serve only her whims.”

“And,” Koln looked back at Mari, his face a blank expression, “what whim of hers, brought you here?”

“Galt has informed me that you are a follower of De, Koln, so your tone can be excused. However, your words are uncalled for. A simply question would have sufficed.”

“Or maybe you should just not pick apart my words,” Koln replied in an annoyed tone.

“Maybe you should not speak at all.”

Souse raised his hand down the line and Mari’s eyes darted to him, “yes, you. Er… I must admit, I do not know your name.”

“Souse, tribe leader,” Souse muttered, lowering his hand, “Mari is not of military, so why here?”

“The military has scoured the land, looking for a follower and priest, or priestess, of Illuva to run the program. It is quite well known that Illuva is the patron goddess of Sidhe, that your people follow Illuva as you once followed Harella-shey, the mother of the gods. It was thought that perhaps as a priestess of Illuva, I would be a better suited replacement than, say, a military man who would bring in strict laws and rules to try and confine your people.”

“What about the partners?” Souse asked. Ashun muttered something to the male and Souse grunted before adding, “or the relationships between Sidhe and partner?”

“If by relationship, you mean what is going on between Mik and his partner, Paw, then those pairings will be highly discouraged. This program is about breeding the Sidhe population, not about pairing off horny people.”

“Mik is not horny,” Ashun snapped at the woman, “Mik kind and sweet and stupid. But not horny.”

“If anything,” Edno muttered, “Paw is the horny one.”

“What do you expect?” Souse growled at Edno, “from a forty-two year old virgin?”

There was a general, all around agreement from the room as Mik’s face heated up. Mari looked around the room, hands clasped before her, calm playing out on her features as she made eye contact with each and every person in the room. Once she had everyone’s attention, she turned her eyes to Souse.

“This program is about breeding Sidhe. Should a real pairing come out of it, fine, but it will be required that the Sidhe have a child of Sidhe blood with one within the tribes. If one is female, the female must take prescribed medications to prevent pregnancy. If one is male, he will have the reversible surgery done to make himself infertile during his time with the female. In no way, or form, does this program condone the creation of half-breeds and if a half-breed is created, those involved will be handed over to the Sidhe for dealing with.”

Dealing with. As in. To be killed by the tribe leaders to prevent further contamination of the blood. Child, mother, father.

Mik shuddered in his seat and couldn’t decide if he liked Mari or not.





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