Liam looked from the Elf-mom to the catdad to the catgirl, feeling small, like he was back in middle school attempting to ask a girl out for the first time in his life. And trying to get her parents permission.

But he wasn’t twelve.

He had died twice, lived two lives, and loved a woman with all his being.

“Ahem, I think you owe me an explanation as to why I was brought here against my will.” Said Liam, raising his eyebrow at the family of cats.

The shirtless man in the jacuzzi laughed, and poured himself a drink. Mixing it with Jack Daniels and what appeared to be half and half. Liam blinked, cocking his head. The half and half was in a little single use plastic pot, complete with a foil lid that you had to peel off. Besides the concoction being disgusting, it was literally from another world.

“You want some?” Said the man, unintentionally flexing his pecks.

“I’m not fond of alcohol. Especially not after being poisoned and abducted.” Said Liam, turning to glare at the oldest felinid in the room. “Why am I here? What did you do with my paladins?” He snapped, tapping into his [Mana Domination] once more, but this time he aimed it at the people, pulling on their auras like an unpleasant aunt might pinch your cheeks.

Their ears shot upward, tails going rigid as a tiny drop of their affinities went to Liam. All three men were of the same affinities, earth, life, and water. Clearly a family unit, although the woman carried the water, light, and wind affinities, but the teen was special, bearing the life, water, earth, and light affinities. A four affinity mage, who happened to be a shapeshifter. Whatever she was, greatness lay firmly in her future claws.

“We did not bring you here.” Said the oldest man, leaning back in his chair.

“You kept me from returning to my wife.” Said Liam, meeting the old man’s eyes. “Waste another second and you’ll find out exactly how thin a Lightning Lord’s patience can be.”

To emphasis his point, he raised his finger towards one of the bunnies, a white cotton-tailed affair, and aimed his finger between its beady eyes. Then hit it with a lightning bolt. The creature practically disintegrated and Liam felt his heart pang with guilt.

I really hope that wasn’t a shapeshifter too…

His lightning had the desired effect, and all felinids present suddenly became more agreeable.

“Ah, a Lightning Lord!” Said the old man, and catdad, immediately bowing their heads in reverence. While the jacuzzi uncle seemed to not notice, taking another swig of his cream whiskey.

I always wondered if felinids tasted things differently than humans… If jacuzzi uncle is drinking that, the answer is ‘YES’. Thought Liam.

“Answer me! Who brought me here and why!” Snapped Liam.

“The scouts thought you were our kin! Your skin is dark like theirs and they ventured through a portal my lord! I don’t know why Moriel brought you into our home!” Cried the elf woman, standing and offering a concise explanation.

“I was kidnapped by elves… cause… I’m a brown elf…” Liam said, repeating her words.

It was so simple.

So stupidly obvious.

Liam laughed, chuckling as he covered his face with his hands. Long moments passed without the felinids saying a word. Though they traded worried glances, not daring to move. Except jacuzzi uncle, who finished his drink and made another.

“Let me guess, the dark elves jumped through a portal, and then opened up a portal back here?” Asked Liam, finally getting control of his laughter.

“I wish! They were hunters, simple folk who tend the land and shape our homes. They can’t use dark magic. All elves are aligned with the spirits of wind. Some of our scouts wandered into a portal, found you, and wandered into another portal, somehow getting home. The devil's own luck.” Said Jacuzzi uncle.

“It wasn’t luck! They listened to my spirits.” Said the teenaged serval, tugging on the elf woman’s hand until she sat beside her daughter.

Liam was too emotionally exhausted to do anything but collapse where he stood. Only, his butt sank into a leather lazyboy, a plush recliner that conformed to his body, raising a footrest as he fell, neatly containing all seven feet of well muscled elf.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“Convenient. This room gives you everything you could want… That’s…”

Liam extended a hand, trying to conjur a pistol. Red lights flashed within his brain, a sensation that was as clear as it was obscure.

[no weapons]

He attempted to summon a plane.

[insufficient understanding]

Liam rolled his eyes, “Damn room is useless.” He muttered, picturing a jug of Jack Daniel’s whiskey.

It was an illogical item, one that didn’t really exist, but the room created the object without fanfare.

“My lord, you can use the Ark as we do!” Gasped the elf woman, eyes going wide.

“Uhm. If all it can do is make furniture and booze, this ‘Ark’ is the last place I want to be. Look, I’m going to find those elven hunters, and potentially murder them. Will that cause you any problems?” Asked Liam, realizing the dark elves had probably cost him a year’s worth of travel, and stolen all the material support that was required to make the journey to Greenwood. Not to mention that the paladins were going to Greenwood to reinforce the city, to build fortifications that Soren’s magi could not. If this elven stunt only cost a year, he would be very fortunate.

He closed his eyes.

Another year away from Nyota.

Another year of not being Furana’s father.

Liam inhaled deeply, trying to calm the rage he felt. Killing would not take him home, it hadn’t helped in Khereshetal, and it wasn’t going to help him here. Then he let the air leave his lungs slowly. Carefully measuring his exhalation. His eyes naturally fluttered open. The teen cat was sitting next to him, enjoying her own version of the lazyboy chair. Though hers was covered in felt and scaled to fit her size. She turned towards him, vertical pupils meeting his.

“I’m sorry they took you away from your wife.”

Inhale, then exhale. Thought Liam.

“Thanks.” He said, focusing on his breathing.

“Okay, forget the kidnapping. I’ll need to talk to those dark elf dumbasses later, but not today. I need some answers. How is it that a family of eclipsiarchs is chilling in the palace of dark elves? My wife… She’s an eclipsiarch herself, so I’m personally aware of the trials humans and felinids have. But you’re all alive and well? Where did this Ark come from? Is it connected to Taloc’s prison? How did an elf and felinid make a serval? And-”

A clawed hand touched his arm, the teen stopping his torrent of curiosity. “One at a time.” She said, looking to the dark elf that was her mother.

“Yes, let’s start there. You already know the tree’s true name, Ark. Though the elves call it the white Aelorn or the First Aelorn tree. Our ancestral home, and birthplace of all elves. In the days when Pandora ruled humanity the dark elves alone held these lands. We protected Ark, kept it hidden from her, lest she change humanity to fit her whims. Just as Taloc did with the felinids.” She said, reaching over and scratching her husband behind the ears. His eyes fluttered shut, pleased beyond measure at her affection.

Change humanity… Just as Taloc did with the felinids.

Liam repeated that thought inside his mind. This kidnapping was turning more into divine intervention. Here was the end to his quest. It was possible to rework the felinids with life magic, but if he had the entire laboratory, then his promise to Medusa could be fulfilled, all while leveling the playing field between humans and felinids.

“Alright, this is gonna be a longer conversation. Let’s start over with your names. Mine is Tufan Biliam Alhusam, as you surely noticed,” said Liam, pointing towards where the bunny had once been, “I’m a Lightning Lord, I also have mastery of fire, darkness, life, and earth affinities. I can use water, and I recently acquired the light affinity, but I’m a novice in both. Taloc dragged me into this world and gave me the purpose of mending what he could not, meaning peace between all races. This place, this Ark, could be instrumental in that task.” Said Liam, already wondering if the ark could solve all his concerns about felinid development.

If this ship allowed him to change the felinids to mature slower, at the same rate as humans, then the diversion here would be worth the delay. Or if he could uncurse the gorgons…

“All affinities?” Said Jacuzzi uncle, dropping his cocktail into the hot tub, and accidentally holding his bottle of Jack past its tipping point, so the brown liquid overflowed his drink, pouring into the jacuzzi.

“Yeah, that’s not important. And I want to think of you as something else besides uh- ‘hot tub catboy’.” Said Liam.

“Oh, uhm, I’m Nytaro, of the Free Pantherian Kingdom.” Said Jacuzzi Uncle, setting down the bottle of jack and screwing on the lid.

“I am Nynzo, their father, and patriarch of all Free Pantherians.” Said the older man, although something inside Liam wondered if Lumiko was even older than he was.

“And I’m Nekohiro!” Said the teenaged girl, the one that had masqueraded as a serval.

“Introduce yourself properly!” Corrected the elf mother, who stood and curtseyed. “My name is Raina, daughter of Mithraina, Queen of the southern elves. Your resemblance to my father is uncanny, thus I would claim you as my subject, but you speak of us as our northern cousins do. Time willing, I would like to hear your story, Prince Alhusam.”

Great. I’m a bastard, and my half sister has a family of cats…

Wait…

Kettle meet pot…

So do I.

“Okayyy mom.” said Nekohiro, rising from her leather recliner and lifting the hem of her dress on both sides, “My name is Moriel Nekohiro, daughter of Queen Raina and Prince Mewro. Princess of the Twilight Alliance.”

Liam blinked at the word, Mewro, somehow, Nekohiro had pronounced it with a distinctly felinid purr in the middle. The last, and largest of the eclipsiarch man stood, bowing at the waist well past forty five degrees. “I am Mewro, son of Nynzo. King of the Free Pantherian Kingdom.”

He pronounced his name without the ‘w’, turning an unfortunate accent into the word ‘Nero’. Like the insane Roman Emperor.