Chapter 63: Etched in Bone
The lazy half-lidded eyes of the Blade that his idle scratching drew out of her only briefly passed his mind as he adjusted the harness, his maintenance of the electrical grid turning into something of a hide-and-seek game with the modifications Harrow had made.
It wasn’t an awful job, all things considered, but she made some hasty patches that would be an issue if they were to kick-in the whole base worth of speakers at once. She had ignored a few fuses that would split the load and consolidated them in ways that would work, sure, but if something else drew more power then it would lead to issues. Probably not a fire, but it wouldn’t be the best if say, the kitchen, found itself no longer being supplied due to a line of wiring frying.
It had taken quite a white to locate and adjust the changes, Joseph taking a seat next to Scarlet as the female idly watched Pan go about the settlement with the goal of avoiding the newly developed ‘weapons’ that her training now involved.
At some point, the Blades were outfitted with something Joseph could only call ‘paint-balls’, small spherical leaves holding a fair amount of ink. It was harmless, but his bond had started taking the task Tel gave her with more sincerity once he had asked her to wash off before she went about hugging him or Violet and causing collateral damage due to her stained fur.
Watching her wander from location to location with a tablet in paw and both ears on a surprisingly accurate swivel made him chuckle, the triangular protrusions snapping to even the subtlest discord in ambience that the Blades left in their wake.
The slightest content purr to his side drew his gaze away from Pan and to the lounging female who was bordered by a tinge of red reminiscent of her namesake in the bright noon sun, the Lilhun apparently enjoying the results of his absent thoughts and habit of playing with the fur of whoever was within reach. He contemplated stopping the gentle scratching on her exposed lower back, but she had been a rather reliable void in which he could voice his troubles without worrying about consequences, and she seemed rather pleased to partially drift as she was, so he just let his idle fidget do its thing.
A glimpse of blue caught his attention, the newly-added Atmo assisting in the construction of whatever was left to be done with the bathhouse. He hadn’t had much of a chance to speak with Cobalt or Rose, given that they spent most of their time helping out around the settlement. Or much of Mi’low’s group either, now that he thought about it.
There were a bunch of people that he plainly forgot the names of, and others that he had only really spoken with long enough to sort them out and tell them who they would be working under. It wasn’t a level of impersonal leadership that he wanted, but until he could walk up and communicate without worrying about taking someone along, it was a status quo that he was going to need to begrudgingly accept.
The purring at his side ceased, it shifting into long breaths of slumber. The chuckle he tried to repress as the supposed personification of death on his fingertips surrendered to his tactile wanderings failed to be silenced, but it didn’t stir the female. He switched to an old habit with animals and stroked her snout from the nose all the way back to her neck before repeating the motion and allowing the feel of her fur satisfy the nostalgia, settling his wrist upon her shoulder blades and feeling the texture at the nape of her neck.
“I would have never taken you for a tamer of Blades, my male.”
He jolted slightly at Tel’s voice, the lack of noise or scent beforehand failing to alert him of her presence. She smirked at him as she mirrored Scarlet’s posture and laid prone on his other side casually.
He glanced down at the sleeping female before cautiously removing his hand, the other moving to repeat the process he had established on his girlfriend. “I think Jax said something along those lines a few days ago.”
The grey-furred female chuckled, her tail slowly finding him and pressing against his thigh, a teasing lilt to her voice. “I hope you do not intend to take another.”
He mentally noted the slight edge to her voice reminding him that Pan was a special circumstance in their relationship, and not one Tel would be happy about an attempt to repeat. It should have seemed weird, based on what he knew of their culture and how... he wanted to say forward, Jax and Harrow were about their jokes, but it actually eased him to feel a sense of familiarity within their dynamic. He frowned outwardly as an errant thought wondered exactly how much of the pair’s constant prodding was facetious, but Tel’s tail catching his chin to redirect his aimless eyes to her own tossed the curiosity aside.
“Jealous?” He managed to smirk with the words. They actually hadn’t much chance to spend too much time together since they had returned, and their ‘game’ from before had been reigned in for some reason, so he wanted to poke at her a bit, if only to feel out their relationship for his peace of mind.
She rolled on her back, his hand allowing gravity to trace it over her side and settle on her stomach as she languidly drew his face down to her own. Her gaze took a dangerous turn as they separated mere fractions from the light touch of their lips. “I have no qualms purging those that seek to take you from me, my male.”
Despite the clearly hostile content of the message, all he could hear was the slightly sulking tone she hid beneath the sultry cadence. “You’re cute when you pout.”
Her hardened expression of possessive seduction faltered, a warmth and longing displayed before dismissed with a breath.
“I am surprised all the same,” she commented finally, glancing to the other female still dozing in the sun thanks to his encouragement. “They may be dull, but they should never rest while they are tasked.”
He looked over, snorting before returning to watching the settlement, his thumb lightly following the curvature of her jaw as she absently pressed into his fingers. “It’s not a big deal. I’d rather she be up here dozing than harassing Pan.”
“Oh?”
He nodded with a large exaggerated motion. “She’s gotten pretty good at hiding and popping up out of nowhere. Not your level, mind you, but enough that Pan wouldn’t be able to deal with it yet.”
Tel seemed to chew on his words for a while. “You believe it is due to your influence?”
“Maybe,” Joseph passively allowed, teasing the fur on her cheek with his palm. “She started getting annoyed when I noticed her and made a point to tuck away better each time.”
“Yet she lay next to you under your touch?”
A disapproving look was shot down to her, meeting her placid curiosity that was returned. “I guess she gave up? I’m not sure. You gave up after a while too, didn’t you?”
She hummed in agreement before dismissing the topic with a soft shrug. “I suppose. I will need to train them directly to bring them to standard, however.”
“Like what?”
“Not exposing themselves so willingly, to start.”
The ear of the Blade flicked with their continued conversation, bleary eyes revealing themselves behind heavy lids until they shot open once she registered that Tel was staring at her. Scarlet quickly scrambled to a kneeling posture, her tail pinned to her back.
His mate opened her mouth to speak, propping herself on her elbows as the expression on her face declared her intention to chew out the negligent guard, but Joseph distracted her by lowering for another kiss. The smallest of daze fell over her at his interruption.
“It’s my fault. I didn’t like being distant with someone expected to look out for me. I’d rather know who’s got my back.” He rested his head against her own, the smouldering indignation that was going to be unleashed instead being instantly quenched by his affectionate attentions. She huffed, a dismissive glance given to Scarlet before she begrudgingly accepted his request to spare her the tongue-lashing.
In all honesty, he just didn’t want to have to start over with one of the other girls. Scarlet had become pretty routine to have there while he was around and about, and he had gotten used to how she operated. He knew roughly how far she liked to be from him, as well as how quickly she would respond if something came up. It was like having that one place for something you rarely needed, but could reach for without looking when it was.
The fact that she happened to be an outlet that he could complain to would change soon enough—there was only so long he could whine at her before she sync’d up—but until then, he was going to enjoy the privacy.
Tel spoke again once the Blade had started to leave, annoyance and fondness in equal parts in her voice. “You mustn’t treat them as more than they are.”
He frowned. “Tel, I know that you guys didn’t exactly grow up on rainbows and dreams, but they’re still people.”
“They are Blades.”
He felt the familiar chill on his words, the tone surprising him slightly as he recalled Mi’low’s remarks regarding how he wanted to level with those who looked to him for guidance. “They’re mine, Tel. I decide how I treat them.”
Her eyes widened for a moment before a deep look of satisfaction wet her gaze, a paw pulling him close, her claws lightly teasing his skin as she murmured into his ear. “Of course, my Sheath. Forgive this one for her transgression.” The provocative lilt stoked a suppressed urge despite his sour response, and although he was aware that he might have slipped some annoyance with others thinking how he did things was ‘wrong’ into his response, the light bite on his ear pushed him dangerously close to the edge of reason. “Or would you like me to show my... sincerity?”
The slight trill to her words matched exactly to the avaricious grip she seemed to place on him, like there was just a sliver of self-control separating her from repeating that night in the guest-house. Her breath was gaining weight, her voice damp and promising. Her slow inspection of him was flooded with a firm burning lust that had been forcefully subdued since he had completed his promise with Pan.
It could have been that she felt spurned by him doing so, but something about the way she seemed to constantly undress him with her regard and the subtle stiffening of her body with even the lightest touch suggested that the only thing going through her mind in those moments was how irritated she was that something was holding her back.
Where Pan seemed forward—albeit soft spoken—with her desires, Tel’s everything whispered into his ear that she wanted to exert a total control. Like she wanted every rolling shudder to be of her own making. To dedicate herself to him with every breath in a moment of pure and naked trust.
It brought to mind the many times their flirting slipped past the invisible boundary and fell solidly into the territory where he found himself at her mercy in more ways than one, but never felt like it wasn’t something he would have been okay with if only things were just a little different.
He became very aware of how much she used to drive him up that particular wall, and was reminded exactly why as her tail travelled towards his lower, stopping before he gave into the impulse to take her up on her suggestion. A whisper preceded her disengaging in the display and rolling to her feet.
“Soon, Joseph, but not yet. The ripest fruit tastes the sweetest, no?”
He sat in a slightly frustrated haze as she descended from the roof, a laugh released as he realized that—despite all his hesitation about the arrangements they had settled into—he really needed to pass that final barrier with her. He didn’t know why Tel was holding back from it, and he wanted to respect her need for time to adjust to the idea of Pan being included in their grouping, but little acts like that made it hell for him to deny that he was a hair’s breadth from making a questionable decision atop a roof.
A skyward glance and reminding himself that Harrow needed help with both lessons and her project helped distract from the effects of Tel’s teasing, it taking longer than he wanted to admit to get to his feet and switch gears so that it wouldn’t be glaringly obvious to the orange-furred female how worked up he had gotten.
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“Is this right?” she asked, holding up what she assumed to be a passable attempt at forming a coherent sentence in English. Mama, to her credit, had made remarkable progress in practising the alphabet and held her own tablet forward for Joseph to inspect as the male fit together the final pieces of the prototype bracer.
He gave both tablets a quick inspection before returning to his checks in ensuring that the device in his paws wouldn’t explode once the proper pieces were activated. “Mama’s lettering is actually making me mad, but I guess that much time spent sculpting would give her a stupid amount of precision. Harrow; it’s ‘the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog’, not ‘the brown quick fox jumps the lazy dog over’.”
She pouted, annoyed with the arrangement of sentences that English constantly defied. The example she was trying to write out was suggested as a way for her to work on every letter while keeping it space-efficient. Given that the translator kind of sorted words in the correct order, writing it out proved to be slightly perturbing. “I thought I had it right that time.”
“You’re close though,” he commented encouragingly as he fiddled with the tensions of the straps on his arms. “Your spelling is right, which is something Violet is struggling with. I don’t blame her, English is a terrible language, but it’s surprising that you catch on so quickly.”
Harrow dismissed the praise with a paw. “I’ve dealt with worse on deprecated systems. These rules aren’t any more confusing.”
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Joseph glanced at her, a raised brow meeting the question on the tip of his tongue. He drew his lips thin and shook off the apparent urge to ask. “Whatever you say. Won’t be long until I’m banging my head on a desk trying to sort out Lilhun grammar anyway.”
She reached over and poked his shoulder, grinning at him once she had his attention. “I could offer you some personal lessons if you’re struggling.”
Mama chittered at the blank look the male returned, the Atmo enjoying the peaceful time with them. Harrow turned to the big blue insect. “Mama, why were you with Violet anyway?”
The Atmo looked to her tablet before considering something, the rounded joint of her blade pressed to her mandible in a stolen gesture from the Human in the room before she shook her head, conceding that she lacked a method to answer in any meaningful way.
Disappointed that she would have to wait until Mama could communicate through the writing of a language they were both just learning, she turned to Joseph with an old curiosity. “Why does it feel like a bunch of us are copying your mannerisms?”
The heavy clunk of the hidden dagger deploying startled him, the action accidental. He blinked before confirming that it was something that was supposed to happen, answering her in a tone that suggested that he wasn’t entirely paying her much mind. “Like what?”
“Like putting your fist to your lips when you think, or rubbing your neck when you’re embarrassed, or dragging your claws through your hair when you’re stressed. The way you avert your eyes when you notice you’ve been staring at one of us, or the way you rest your head on your fist when you’re tired.”
He paused his inspection, giving her a cautious glance before he returned to his work more slowly. “You’ve been paying attention.”
She flicked an ear and felt her cheeks warm slightly. “No, you just do those a lot.”
“I guess,” he accepted with breath, fiddling with the retraction mechanism.
“Anyway, a bunch of us started doing some of those. Even Mama copied it in her own way, and Pan does the same thing as her by laughing into her wrist.”
“It’s a social thing.” Joseph eased as the dagger retracted with a swift motion, though seemed unsatisfied with something and started disassembling it again. “In Humans, anyway. We copy small gestures or phrases of those we like to fit in better. It’s mostly subconscious, but we feel closer to those more like us, so social groups tend to share some of the same quirks here and there.”
Harrow paused her absent repetition of the exercise, raising a brow in his direction with a curiosity in her voice. “Yet both Lilhun and Atmo copy it as well?”
The Grand Hunter didn’t slow his work, holding the device eye-level and rotating it while making sure not to aim the deploying side towards him. “Looks like.”
“Why?”
He laid it back on his lap, gingerly adjusting the part he found not to be up to his standard after a moment of thought. “I’m not sure. Maybe because you’re both pretty social as well? I doubt it’s unique to us. Could be that you just never questioned it before now.”
Harrow glanced to Mama, the latter nodding with his assessment, though without proper communication she could only assume what exactly she was agreeing with. The orange-furred female watched Joseph reassemble the bracer, giving the mechanism a few cycles and nodding to himself before passing it over for her to assess.
“Do you guys do it with each other?” He accepted the tablet Mama offered, borrowing Harrow’s inkwell to write out the individual words for the same sentence she was practising, seemingly skipping over spelling for the moment.
“With ourselves, yeah,” she confirmed, testing the bracer. The deployment was quicker than before and felt far more stable after adding the retention gear. “It’s just weird that we would do the same with others.”
“You constantly joke about sleeping with me,” he deadpanned, nodding at her smirk when the dagger receded with the same speed as it appeared. “Wouldn’t be too off to say that I’m not too alien.”
The snort ruined her attempt to secure it to her arm, forcing her to adjust it and start over. “Maybe we’re just curious what it’s like?”
“I disappoint enough people as it is.”
“Based on Pan’s expression, I’d say you didn’t.”
She enjoyed watching his stalwart facade fade, replaced by a cough into his fist as he tried to retain his composure. A few repetitions of activating the sliding lever proved it to seem sturdy enough for their purposes, though proper machined metal would solve the durability issue. The recoil was numbing her arm, however.
“Moving on,” he insisted, a refusal to meet her eyes brought forth a giggle of victory. “Your lettering is fine, so if you want, you could start transcribing the metal documents Rob sent. Get used to writing a lot of words in specific orders to get a feel for the grammar.”
“Think that will work?”
He shrugged, seemingly happy to be off the previous line of conversation. “Given our limited time, sure. You pick up quick, so it’ll be better than nothing. I’d like to just throw a dictionary at your head, but I don’t have one on my terminal.”
She conceded, nodding along with a suggestion to the problem in mind as she removed the prototype with approval. “Ask Rob to send one.”
Joseph thought about it, critiquing Mama’s first attempt with the sentence. “Oh, shit. Mama got it first go! Nice! As for Rob, those things get huge, so I don’t know if it’ll be feasible to send.”
“Why so large? Does the language change that often?”
“Constantly.” He nodded with exasperation, handing back Mama’s tablet with a new set of words.
“Why?”
A shrug was his response. “English is a terrible language.”
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Pan flinched towards the slight shift in the pattern of speech and footsteps around her as she neared the hunter’s lodge, a slight shimmer of shadow making her wary, the redirection of a Blade proving to be disconcerting. It wasn’t that she found more importance in the task since they had added the ink to their attempts; it was the fact that she couldn’t hold her mate when she wanted if they were to succeed.
The change in plan had made her slightly sour with the grey-furred female whom thought it efficient to requisition such devices from Harrow, but the comforting embrace of Joseph’s emotions whenever the female was mentioned made it hard to stay irritated.
It was certainly... something within her being effected when he openly started to display his affection in Tel’s direction. The small spark of greed that plagued her when she proposed her demand of allowing herself to be the first whom would take him had vanished, replaced by a desire to see the new love fully develop so that the sensation of unsatisfactory distance could be banished. He certainly held the female dear, that much was blindingly obvious, but some part of him was restrained.
Perhaps it was the glances in Pan’s direction that he assumed her ignorant of when he absently found himself tracing the female’s form with a gentle touch, or the stoppage of progress whenever they would tease something more intimate beyond the surface, but he seemed to be hesitant to accept that Pan would encourage them to continue.
It would be a lie that she did not tire of feeling his heat as her own, abandoned and untended, mere moments away from fuel that would burn him to his peak were he to be pursued even slightly further. Yet Tel refrained, some desire to lock him down within a bunker of protections from that which no other foretold, waiting for a moment within absolute certainty that nothing would cease their carnal drive.
A part of her was tempted to... No, it would do no good for her to be distracted while about her tasks.
Although Joseph had returned, the subtle tension around the settlement seemed like water to her oil, none lasting as she spoke to the various members whom may have something to mention that had not been passed along to the various Heads for one reason or another.
Heralt had taken to the task of shields rather excitedly, the male weary of making ranged weapons that would be critiqued and discarded by Harrow. He seemed undeterred by the admittedly blunt female, her deft dismissal of lesser quality results doing little to hamper his enthusiasm for having a creative outlet while he awaited the installation of the new experimental forge. He instead set about burying himself deeper within his work, now that it was an area he had much experience in assisting with—albeit with different materials.
Heralt wasn’t the only pack-member to have since addressed her less plainly over the suns. Atrox, seeing her quite often whenever Mama was free, had led to some small conversations on occasion, and the carpenters seemed to have lost their edge as well.
The only thing she was uncertain of was how to deal with the return of the High Huntress, the female seemingly preoccupied with managing the concerns of her pack and sorting smaller disputes that would previously have Pan walking from building to building just to mediate.
Mi’low had some rather... choice words, for how Joseph presented himself during the interactions with Grand Hunter Trill’s pack, if Tel’s grumblings were to be believed. If it were not for her mate’s insistence that he didn’t mind people disliking how he did things, just that they did as he asked, then she may have found reason to make an issue of it. Even if it was clearly something that grated at him on some level.
The thoughts crossed her mind as her ear snapped to the side, her glare focused on a Blade whom seemed to be about to throw the infernal ball that would delay the intoxication of her bond’s touch. A smirk grew on the otherwise impassive expression as they conceded that they had been found, the weapon of mass dissatisfaction put away.
Pan lingered on the female until they had left view, the casual saunter of the would-be assailant blending in with the crowd leaving the lodge, each holding portions of meat that were distributed for them to return to their dens and prepare. Several of the pack offered an impersonal but polite nod to acknowledge her, ones that she returned passively as she already wished to soak in Joseph’s scent back at the den.
Entering through the broad doors, she heard Mi’low before she seen her, the female only a bit taller than herself still being obscured by the few Lilhuns preparing their latest catch from whichever expedition Jax had led them on. The female was in the process of outlining which dens were entailed to how much based on their contributions around the settlement, some extra being afforded to the den of the male whom secured the beast.
Kelth, the cook who had accompanied the High Huntress as a guard, noticed the Paw’s presence first, leaned low to inform the female of the intrusion. The red-furred female stopped what she was doing, pawing off a tablet to the male to continue reading aloud as she gestured to a side-room for Pan to follow.
“And what might bring the most powerful female in the pack to my domain?” she started, closing the door behind her and nodding appreciatively at the smooth action of the instalment.
Pan waited for the female to take a seat behind a desk that apparently had been added when Mi’low claimed the lodge as her office of sorts, remaining standing as she propped her tablet against her chest and readied a quill to take notes if required. “I am performing my usual rounds to condense any possible oversights or misgivings that may not have made it to the ears of the various Heads. As a representative of your pack, there may be more things that you have yet to add.”
The High Huntress retrieved a water-skin from a cubicle and filled a cup, taking a drink as she gave the Paw a disinterested look. “Is that the task assigned to one such as yourself during our absence?”
The incredulous tone irked her, but she maintained a passive facade. “It is one that became necessity. Cohesion is the primary objective of our Grand Hunter.”
“Before or after displaying his inadequacy to all whom cross his path?”
Pan’s ear twitched, first towards Mi’low’s words, then again towards what she assumed to be a curious Blade. A roll of her eyes disguised the check for whom it may be, settling on a near-black coat that rimmed with a deep scarlet colour as the sun pieced the dense fur. Scarlet... Joseph’s personal guard, or something similar. The lack of focus on herself and the slight edge to the eyes of the female suggested that Pan wasn’t the current target of observation. Curious.
She adjusted her tablet, feigning her own impatience with the waste of time rather than the slanderous remark. “It seems we are both aware of how well your leadership fared against his own.”
A flash of a smile almost didn’t happen across the female’s face, her posture relaxing from the oppressive presence within the room. “It is reassuring to see at least one of those whom my pack are indebted to is in possession of teeth.”
Pan lowered her tablet, a saccharine sweet lilt to her voice that Tel inspired within her leaking through the confidence in her mate, both pouring through the filter of knowing that Mi’low was repelled from her thoughts to bed the Human and subsequently proceeded to neglect her duty in search of another. “I am but an extension of my bond. Were he to feel your flesh worth biting, then perhaps you may know why I am feeling rather restless listening to your trivial slights. If you would, I wish to proceed. If you have little to add, then please inform me so that I may return to him.”
The snap between a reticent—if annoyed—defective, to a female whom would wish nothing more than the ire of her mate to give her justification to silence the words tricking against him seemed to stun the actress, Mi’low pausing with her cup raised to her muzzle. Silently, she lowered it to the desk with a soft clack.
The red-furred female gave her an appraising look before dropping all pretenses of being a High Huntress at all, replacing the Lilhun with a passive female that felt nothing like the antagonistic wall that Pan had taken issue with, her words soft and genuine. “He is going to invite discord amongst those involved in the treaty. His approach, though adept at solidifying those within his influence, is mere vulnerability to those outside of it.”
She raised a paw to stop Pan from interjecting, a polite smile given with a calibre of proficiency that betrayed her origins.
“Much of what I did, while he was occupied mollifying his own members, was smoothing relations that his lack of presence incurred. Take it as you will, a warm bed with the right people does wonders to loosen the passages of trade.” She lowered the appendage, crossing her arms on the table and fixing her haphazard posture. “Power, dear Paw, is a driving force of such arrangements. He is of great utility within his sphere, and his pack daunting in their armament, but his demeanour invites those with more to oppress him. He offered den and sanctuary to those whom were cast aside by their betters, techniques to those who lacked them, and promise of gainful employment for those whom are of lesser skill to be returned with his secrets.”
Mi’low shook her head. “His offers beget great tidings for those whom accept, and all he asked was a paltry amount of materials and a peaceful coexistence be given for the trouble.”
Pan furrowed her brow, unsure what to make of the female now that she seemed to be speaking honestly for the first time. “I fail to see where he was wrong to do as such.”
“What is to stop others from raiding this settlement for its treasures and workers?” The High Huntress gestured broadly before answering her own proposition. “Power. Larger forces of greater armaments, and the presence to communicate that at a glance. None will respect one whom deigns to discard his position and speak to all as equals, even filtered betwixt your twisted interpretations of his words.”
The red-furred female settled herself back into her more proper posture, the polite smile returning. “Your claws are sharp, Paw, but you are reigned by his temperament. The assassin he has swooned will crumble beneath his influence as well, given time, and you will be left bare to those with the option to take all that you have gathered. So forgive me, Huntress Pan, for sharing my gripes so brashly, but I only hold one thing in my interest, and my pack does not benefit from his actions beyond these walls of platitudes. He has given them much, that is true, but it means little if it is all extinguished like the flame of a candle, leaving naught but smoke to fill the void.”
Pan contemplated the words of the female, several striking her as dire affronts to all that she believed, but some landing true. There was but one mistake made. “You have not felt his love, Mi’low.”
“I was chased away from such by the grey-furred one,” she replied sardonically, a lopsided grin falling flat.
The bonded mate shook her head, a warm smile breaking the intensity in her gaze. “All of his pack are loved, Mi’low, yourself included, but only those who seek to embrace it know of its impact.”
“Will his ‘love’ gain us the tools or numbers to dissuade those who seek to take from us? Will it deter the siege of the less scrupulous?”
A chuckle bubbled from her mouth, a paw held to stifle it as she recalled the determination underneath his questioning suggestion to seek more of their kit’s kind. It wasn’t a mere possibility, but an iron clad declaration of intent roiling underneath the darkest depths of his being. He did not hope to bring back those who would come, he demanded it, and nothing—not one restriction he held to himself—would be between him and the happiness of their kit.
Tel would likely have taken him in a heartbeat were she exposed to the abyss he sustained beneath his peaceful exterior, as Void-touched as she was.
Pan was aware of the heat behind her eyes, her every thought at the moment recalling the end of their embrace, his tight hold upon her and the walls of conviction that promised her the consequences for those who sought to harm her now that his very soul had claimed her. The oneness she achieved by surrendering her everything to be occupied by his own. The cool call of a Void that wished her well, and the liquid mercury that seemed to flow through her veins like a life-sustaining ichor that solidified on her form like silver bricks of protection. The resonating vestiges within her that ticked like clockwork in time with his heart, the sensation of connection to his greater will.
The violence he commanded, yet held restrained by his quiet wish for peace. The strength of such a small voice within the raging torrent, enough to quell all but the briefest flashes. ‘Teeth’ that would rend all before him to ensure those within his walls remain safe. ‘Fangs’ that wanted little more than to never see use.
She designated herself to be his ‘shield’, not because she would not follow those echos that called for the end of others whom incited him, but because he needed one whom would guard him and his before he could truly accept a locked-away part of himself.
Pan allowed the frankly hysteric giggling to resolve, Mi’low’s expression settling between worry and caution. What remained in the Paw’s gaze was a frigid love piercing through glassy eyes, an extreme manifestation that she had been reluctant to dedicate herself towards while her mate remained fearful of others. With the possession of one whom would act as his claws, and a reminder of her role within him, she accepted her calling.
“His love, Mi’low, will warm those who it encompasses.” She opened her arms wide, relaxation rolling down her form as she voiced the truth of The Guardian that had been etched into her bones, warmth pooling in her stomach like magma. Joseph’s everything surging through her blood with strong and defiant strokes that dared any to remove that which he has claimed, and her earnest reciprocation boiling inside of her. “And freeze the remains of those who seek to disturb it. He will gather the faithful and the desolate, mould them in his designs, and reign over them with a gentle touch.”
The High Huntress erred away from directly confronting her, the eyes of the female striking a hint of fear. “You believe more that fail to demonstrate their might will ease our troubles?”
The giggling returned, fading in but a moment as she composed herself, putting away the quill and tucking the tablet under her arm. “I believe the difference between a caring caress and pierced veins to be but a careful application of ones claws, Mi’low. He may not cut flesh with his own, but those who have accepted him do, and they will act upon the need.”
Pan turned on her pads, opening the door and exiting, leaving behind a slight warning once she remembered the remarks uttered earlier. “I have documented your complaints and will present them appropriately. My piece has been said on your dislike for my mate, but I fear that you may have gained the interest of his other, and she does not hold such compunctions about utilizing her ‘teeth’. May the remainder of the sun treat you well, High Huntress.”
The rapid flick of Mi’low’s eyes to the now-vacant window and slow dawning of realization and caution was the last thing Pan’s confident gaze observed before she shut the door behind her.
Those that remained within the lodge took a second glance in her direction. Gone was the reluctant aura presented as she remained away from her mate’s side, replaced by surefooted steps and the thrumming of need that trickled over her capacity as she fully intended to indulge in his influence more directly upon her return.
The comfortable swirling of arctic air that pulsed through her core with every breath reassured her of her commitment. Joseph was intent on claiming all who might need his protection, and she would be his fortress in which they remain safe.
There was but one piece missing before the completion she yearned for would be reached. One component that had not been fit properly for the resonance to carry through with clarity.
Her tail swished with a certainty she wasn’t capable of before, a quiet smile on her face as she began her short journey to return to his side. It was rather unfortunate that what remained would not be gained by her paws, but she could wait.
She hummed the chiming tune that she had associated with the intimacy of being in his arms, his soothing touch being ambrosia to her system.
A powerful ticking lay still underneath her heartbeat, it slowly awaiting the shift it required to function fully.