CHAPTER FOUR: A HELPING HAND
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Snippet Five: What Makes a Home
The two groups land on the beach, all 22 people from the ports wandering around and exploring the area. The youngest of all of them, the Submissive aside, runs straight to the water. "Hey!" Yells a Merrow Pareya. "Don't you go over there by yourself! This is deep Merrow territory."
The youngest pouts and runs to the Pareya. "I just wanted to see the fish." She says as the Pareya checks her over. "My name is Odetta. And I'm 19, I'm not a baby!"
"Uh huh. Well, my name is Artak and you need to stay away from the ocean. We'll eventually have somewhere safe for you to swim at." He says, being done with checking her over. "Now go and introduce yourself to the rest. There's plenty of people to meet."
"Well," Says a female Merrow as she looks out to the ocean next to Marian. "At least this way, us Merrow won't need to dig that deep to get a water section in the house. I can see the building in the ocean below." She peers deeply into the water. "Tell me, Marian, correct?" He nods. "How much space is down there? Enough for at least ten of us? Currently, we only have five Merrow, but we should account for up to at least ten." She laughs "Especially with the number of people that are in this circle. We might end up with more." They both turn as they hear the last port open and the last of the circle arrive. "Whelp, guess fun time is over..."
Leonard lands on the beach and immediately whistles to get everyone to come to him. An Elf next to him is holding the circle's Submissive protectively in his hands. "Okay, so what exactly do you need to tell us about our still-sleeping Submissive?" He asks a less damaged Tobias.
"First of all, Caspain, go alert the King about Alexia and where we are. He'll want to bring his Healer and Medic pair to check to make sure she is fine after the scream. Cove, Loke, and Pike go back home. We probably won't need you for the rest of this given how many Gheyos my Submissive has." After Tobias says this, all 4 other Merrows port away and he turns around and sighs to the group. "I would like to inform you that Her Highness, Princess Alexia of the Water Courts is our Submissive," There are a few gasps from the group and he continues. "She is the daughter of King Alcandor's sister and has been very recently found so he will be protective over her, especially with the problems on the surface. This was just supposed to be a quick mission to get her registered, under another name, so she could start hunting before it became too hard for her to be on the surface with obvious Merrow Gheyos." He stops and looks at the Elf holding his Submissive. Their Submissive. "Well, since I started speaking, I'll go first. My name is Tobias Marin. I am a Merrow, but I lean more toward Storm than pure Water. My job as a Gheyo King was to guard King Alcandor's private residence with the four other Merrow with me before along with two others." He looks at Leonard and motions for him to go on.
"Ahem, as I said last time, My name is Leonard Zharim. I am a full Water Dragel, not Merrow." He stares at Tobias as if daring him to say anything about it. "I am the Alpha. My job is managing my family's wealth, along with now our circle's wealth. At least until we get a Paryea who is decent at earning money. Who is our Beta, who are our Pareyas, and who are our Gheyos." He says looking at all of them while sitting down and gesturing for everyone else to sit as well.
The light brown-skinned Elf holding Alexia gestures for Tobias to sit down and carefully sets her on top of him. "My name is Noel Lewis, I am a Beta," with this he pauses and bores his grey eyes into Leonard's eyes. "I am an Elf Halfling. I mostly have spent time in the family business of breeding and selling plants." He tosses his white hair over a shoulder and continues. "I am the main keeper of plants native to Nevarah's surface for the Earth & Water courts." He motions for someone else to speak.
A pale white dragel steps up and says "My name is Gerhard Knol. And I should've been the Beta, but since there is Noel, I guess I am the Rheyo instead. I am Nameless with tendencies toward Fire, Water, and Air." His bright copper hair sways as he sits down. "My job is being Lady Bianca's silent necromancer and that information cannot leave this circle." His orange eyes stare at every person in the circle. "My bearer's circle is in the business of building, so it might be best for me to contact them so that building can start as soon as possible and perhaps be done before the hunt. Or at least be livable before the hunt."
A pale white Dragel pulls two others with her and all three sit down. "My name is Loreta Shae, and my element is Air with some tendency toward Fire." She pulls at her firey red hair as she quickly closes her light green eyes. "I'm a Gheyo Prince that does Air patrol with my Queen and Princess." As she gestures over the two that sat down with her and pokes the tanned Dragel next to her.
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He purses his lips and says, "I am Philipp Perevell, 5th, an Air Gheyo Queen that patrols with my Prince and Princess." He shakes his light brown hair and brushes his brown colored eyes. He then turns to the third Dragel.
"Uh. Well I'm Ferran Belaire." He pats his silver hair out of the way and continues with, "I am a Storm Dragel, more Water than Air." He looks at Loreta and she frowns at him. He looks away, closes his ocean-blue eyes, and keeps going. "Um, well I am now a Gheyo Princess that does Air patrol with my other soul-bonded." His olive skin blushes as everyone looks at him at that comment, but looks away from everyone.
"Hmm. I guess I'll go next then." An orange-eyed man says while sitting down. "My name is Armin Mayr and I am a Were-Snow Leopard. I am also a Fire/Air Gheyo Ace. My job was mostly patrolling the Shadow Haunts, even if I have no pull towards Earth." He points a finger to another standing close to him. "We are from the same circle, but have different bearers and sires from each other." He dusts off his pale almond skin and finishes speaking.
"Hmph." The blue-eyed Were-Leopard says and goes over to ruffle his brother's bright orange hair. "My name is Lucas Mayr and I am also a Were-Snow Leopard." He repeats as he messes with his own black hair. "I am a King Gheyo," as he stares at Tobias. "but, I am Fire and Water, unlike my brother. My job is to patrol the Storm areas as I am more like them than my brother." His tan skin blushes slightly teal. "I tend to work best with Water and Air but not Fire." As he says this, he looks at his brother and sneers. "I also refuse to be in my brother's King. I'd rather eat him first." He sits near Noel to get away from his brother.
"Heh. That seems like very ruffled feathers to me." Murmurs someone with terra-cotta skin. "My name is Tânia Galvâo and I am a Water Pheolix. I rank as a Pareyic Gheyo Joker so my job used to be guarding various nests' crèches, but I can only assume I will be guarding our Submissive from now on," she looks to the still sleeping submissive and gives a chirp. She closes her bright blue eyes and shakes her dark brown hair. Tânia sits down and starts cleaning her talons with her small side dagger, content on waiting for everyone else to speak
"One Joker down," A tanned Gheyo walks up and sits down. "And me to go. My name is Monika Cardillo and I guess I will be another guardian of our Submissive." Monika looks at Tânia and tilts her head. "And the crèche, if I must." She squints her seafoam-tinted eyes and continues with. "I am a Storm Joker and never ask me about how I became one." Tânia touches her shoulder and Monika tilts her head down so her white hair with blue streaks covers her face. "My job was guarding the Merrow shores with... Well, I just guard them alone now." She gets up and then wanders over to the water and puts her feet in the ocean with her back to the rest of the group.
"Guess it's time for the last Submissive's protection?" A pure-white-skinned man sits down near Tânia. "My name is Gaspar Molinari and I am an Ice Fae. My elements are both Water and Fire, equally and I am a Gheyic Pareya Toracle. I will protect our Submissive and all of those around her." His golden orange eyes close as he squints at the sun. "I was about to sign a contract with a Paryeic circle to guard their crèche, but I can only assume my job will be to shadow our submissive and make sure she doesn't get into trouble. Or at least not too much trouble."
A dark blue Merrow sits down next and says, "Since it seems we might have one full Gheyo circle and most protectiveness done, I might as well introduce myself. My name is Marian Poole and this is now our circle property. I am a Storm Mage." Here he agitatedly sweeps his light blue hair off his face then continues. "and I will be responsible for the majority of the circle's runic warding as I am one of many rune-masters for the Water Courts; I was given this property after having saved Queen Killigan from being kidnapped until the Gheyos were able to fix the situation. I am 3/4 Merrow and 1/4 Dragel, and I am glad I am not the only mixed Merrow in our circle." He turns his cerulean-colored eyes to the next person to speak.
"Guess I'm next then!" Exclaims a red-headed Dragel. "My name is Vanessa Bruins and I am a Nameless Changling, though I do pull towards Fire from my bearer. I also pull toward Water and Air from my sire and third respectively. I am a Companion so I will probably spend the most time with our Submissive. I will probably never change into my other form, Vinny, so please do not ask for it." She shielded her sky-blue eyes from view as she sits down. "My job!" She adds, brushing sand from her pale white skin. "My job is knitting clothing and blankets with runes for my sister to sell in our shop. If you need something to be knit, just find me with, Alexia right?" She looks towards Tobias.
Tobias nods and says "Yes, her name is Alexia Perevell. Or at least that is what the King told me." Philipp sucks in a breath before a portal appears with no warning. All the gheyos not sitting grab their weapons and go next to it and Tobias puts Alexia on the sand to protect her front while Tânia gets up to protect her back.
The three that show up are King Alcandor and a Medic/Healer pair. Alcandor quickly tells the pair "Go check her out! It looks like she passed out again. Make sure it has nothing to do with her injuries from the teleport." He turns to Tobias and growls out, "Now why exactly should I not smother you under my feet like the insignificant fish you are?" Alcandor points his claws at Tobias and then says, "There better be a damn good reason you have almost lost my niece! Tell me now!"
Tobias gulps and begins the long conversation with "Well your Majesty, it began when...."
Ten minutes (and a thorough tongue-lashing from King Alcandor) later the Healer was able to get Alexia to wake up. With Tobias holding her of course. It would be Tobias' luck if he gets scratched, Alcandor thinks to himself.