An Assassin, A Magician, and a Pack o' Feien
(compiled by Ice Queen)
"You're sure?" Shade asked Aleric as they headed up the stairs of the new Fleet Headquarters. He pressed the button for the door to open. Waiting for a long moment before the door slowly opened. They didn't know Shade, and it showed. But they did know Aleric.
"Unfortunately, yes." Aleric said. "You're the best help she can get right now, but this is where the feien come from. I'm not exactly sure why she was in the rubble..."
A small dark spot over in the still vacant lot of the old HQ, Sunil had no doubt she had already been spotted. The bright color of her markings tended to have that effect. So, without any effort to hide her intentions - she stood up and flitted over towards the new HQ's door and up behind the man and feien entering now.
"Hrmpf." She didn't introduce herself, but grumped a bit and crossed her arms over her chest as if she was impatient with them for some reason.
Aleric glanced up at the blue feien, trying to remember where he had seen her before. She was... she was... Had he met her before? At the moment he was so focused on the situation at hand that he couldn't really remember. And that was very rude, wasn't it?
"You realize that 'she' is standing right here, don't you?" Callisto asked from where she was sitting on Shade's held out hand, one leg crossed over the other as they hung over his fingertips. "And 'she' can speak for herself."
"But 'she' doesn't remember anything, and her bond doesn't know anything to begin with!" Shade finished, earning a dirty look from his newly found feien. He shrugged, almost throwing Aleric off of his shoulder.
"You're all a very self-absorbed lot aren't you?" Sunil sniffed, and then looked around as if the scenery was of particular interest to her. "Aren't you going to introduce yourselves?"
She might have met the male-ish one before, it was a toss up. He certainly hadn't made a strong impression. The female-ish, however, she had not met. She would have remembered a look and attitude like that.
"My name's Brunswick!"
"Mate, I don't think she was talkin' t' you." Jack Bierce shrugged in a half-apology, appearing seemingly out of nowhere in his usual manner, and offered a cheeky grin to Shade and the various feien. "Sorry. Kid's got no manners." He motioned towards the door. "Are you goin' in or can I scoot around?"
"I do so have manners." Brunswick's eyes took in Aleric and then skittered over to the two females. He beamed. "Hey, Aleric. Who are your gorgeous lady friends?"
"Forgive me, I'm--" Aleric stopped as Brunswick asked his question. "Aleric. This is Callisto. She's a newly reborn ancient, and this is Brunswick, and you are...?" He said to them all, focusing on Sunil at the end of the comment.
"Oh, right, yeah." Shade said, glancing over his shoulder before he bounced up the stairs two at a time. "I'm new to this whole bond thing, so Al over here said I should check in here. He's my girlfriend's feien."
"His EX girlfriend's feien." Aleric added with a slight frown at the black skinned male.
"Not for long!"
"Sunil," she offered with a frown, following Shade into the building. "And I don't like being called a 'lady'," she directed this last comment to Brunswick, for while she did privately suscribe to the theory she was hot - she didn't believe in all the girly crap that went with being a lady.
"You don't? Does this mean you're not? I don't mind. I..."
Jack sighed and reached up to cover Brunswick's entire head with his hand as he trudged up the stairs after the others. "He got into my breakfast cereal," he explained absently. "Good to meet you lot."
Callosto looked over the small blue female feien, raising an eyebrow. "There's no reason to dislike being a lady." She said, pushing at her head and looking slightly languid. "But how do you wind up with a female bond?" She demanded of Aleric.
"She was the one that revived me." Aleric replied.
Callisto thought that over, but didn't look very happy about it. "Do they have hairbrushes in this place? And water? I feel dirty."
"So... what's it like being a bond?" Shade asked the human. "Is there anything you got to do? Like take them for walks or play fetch?"
"Excuse me??!" Callsito demanded abruptly.
"There is to!" Sunil insisted, moving over to hover closer to Callisto. She was not using her inside voice.
"I don't want to 'conform to the standard of behavior" people expect of 'ladies'." She made judicious use of air quotes during this little tirade and she was clearly quoting someone in particular by the way her voice changed. "I don't have this stupid need to be clean and nice all the time."
She gave Callisto a pointed look. "I think enough feien are already like that."
Jack's eyes twinkled with amusement as he watched the two females squaring off, his hand still over Brunswick's head to prevent the inevitable comment from his feien. It hadn't been long but he already knew the kid had no respect. Which made him wonder yet again why they had sent him to -him-. It sure as hell wasn't to learn respect and manners. Turning his attention to Shade, though, the amusement showed up in his grin. "Oh, it's pretty basic," he answered. "Just, y'know, don't let 'em get ate an' don't let 'em get into the rum."
"That's not too bad!" Shade replied. "Although honestly I wouldn't mind seeing her drunk for some reason."
Callisto stood, stretching in a cat-like movement before looking at the female. "I never said I was nice." She added before taking to the air. She made a face, not used to the flight.
"Here, let me help you." Aleric said, rushing forward.
"I can do this on my own, thank you." Callisto gritted out as she balanced her flight.
"Right... well... the water is this way." He said, moving slowly towards the kitchen backwards, making sure she didn't drop like a brick.
"I dislike this severly." Callisto said coldly. "I know I can fly better than this."
"You're newly reborn."
"Then you aren't much a lady," Sunil muttered after Callisto. "You're just high-maintenance." She raised her voice and looked at Shade. "I would count on having to put more work into her than just not letting her get eaten."
Jack shrugged again and finally removed his hand from Brunswick who immediately snorted in utmost annoyance and stood, fussily smoothing his hair back (thus making it look like a slightly drunken hedgehog as opposed to a thoroughly wasted one). "Depends," he answered Sunil. "Obviously, you're all good to go on your own. No one needs t' make sure you stay alive, eh?"
Without a thought, his hand went to his pocket and removed his packet of cigarettes. The gesture was pure automatic pilot, pure habit. What finally stopped him, though, cigarette halfway to his mouth, was a prominent No Smoking sign. He huffed and instead tucked the unlit death-stick behind his ear. "So, mate," he addressed Shade. "You just got the little gel, huh? Pretty little thing."
"She is, isn't she?" Shade replied with a grin before turning to Sunil. "She's just scared. I found her stuck under a slab of concrete about an hour ago. Who knows how long she'd been there. Poor kid. No wonder she's trying to do things for herself."
The water turned on easily enough for Aleric and he squirted out some soap for her, handing it to her without a word. Callisto sniffed it briefly, looking confused.
"You rub it over your hair and body, then wash it off." Aleric said softly.
Callisto bit back a remark and did as he said.
"Scared." Sunil snorted. "I'm never scared. And I've been in some bad scrapes."
She looked at Brunswick with disdain. "You shouldn't let your bond silence you like that. They don't own us. Unless you're just too young and weak to stand on your own without his help."
Brunswick grinned at Sunil. "Honey catches more flies than vinegar," he sing-songed. "Keep that in mind, sexy lady!" Then, he neatly stepped forward off Jack's shoulder and free-fell for an instant before his wings caught him. "I'm going to check out the diva," he announced. "Wanna come along?"
Jack bit back a laugh and merely contented himself with glancing at Shade and rolling his eyes expressively.
"Diva's a pretty good word for her, huh?" Shade agreed. "Hell, I even named her after one." He walked over to one of the blue chairs and draped himself over it, wishing he had a beer. "It's been a seriously long day." He announced. "And I've still got to stop over at Ice's. Then finish up my job... might do that tomorrow, though..." He said thoughtfully.
Aleric glanced up as Brunswick got closer, picking up on the magic energy. But Callisto was completely unaware, since she had discovered the joyous hobby of singing in the shower. Her voice was husky, almost rasping, and she was singing a very... very unlikely song, that for the life of her she couldn't remember where she had gotten it from. Or what it meant.
"I'm on tonight! My hips don't lie and I'm startin to feel you boy..." Of course, had she known what it meant she would have chosen a different song.
"Why would you want to attract flies?" Sunil said in disgust, before following quietly after Brunswick to see the Diva in action.
"To get them to do stuff for you," Brunswick shouted over his shoulder at Sunil before landing at the sink beside Aleric. He eyed the singing Callisto and grinned at the male ancient. "She's cute but don't worry. She's too old for me," he said. "Soho and Marne are even cuter."
Jack threw himself into the chair opposite Shade, utterly unworried about what his feien might be up to. Lounging like he was born to it, he shrugged lazily. "Take a break," he suggested. "Bonding to one of these little guys can take it out of you. 'Specially if they're high maintenance. The morning after I got him, I got woken up at six a-emma by the sound of my entire bloody library hittin' the floor. Apparantly, he'd gotten 'curious'."
"I'm just waiting to break it to her that we won't be on Gaia for much longer." Shade replied with a shrug. "I mean, sure, we'll drop in once in a while, but until I get a new job--" He shook his head. "Damn but I hope she doesn't get attached."
Aleric glanced up, looking confused. Then he shook his head. "No, I'm not worried. I'm already... attached." He said calmly. "But I worry about her. She's been thrust into a lifestyle she's never known, with a past she doesn't remember. It's... a difficult thing to deal with."
Callisto leaned back, washing her hair out and rinsing the soap from her body. Then she stepped out from under the water, soaking wet and smiling widely. She had enjoyed that! "Now... food would be good." She said, glancing over at Aleric before looking around. She didn't want to rely on him anymore than she had to.
"But flies aren't very useful," Sunil commented. "And besides, I've found that fear will make people do what you want as effectively as affection."
And then her mind caught up with her mouth and she added, "Yeah, Soho is pretty cute. Afraid I don't know Marne though."
Brunswick watched Aleric help Callisto flutter towards the kitchen, decided against following, and turned his smile on Sunil more fully again. "Cute little redhead," he elaborated. "Very friendly. Like, -very- friendly." He paused and gave Sunil a quick, calculating once-over. "You're an adult, aren't you?" he asked suddenly. "Did it take long to grow up and just how strong are you? Since you said something about fear, I'm figuring that you have to be pretty tough."
Absently, he sank down to sit on the edge of the sink, legs swinging so his heels banged against the inside of the appliance. "Fear works, of course," he continued. "But it isn't always a good long-term thing."
"I am," Sunil said, grimacing. "But I am not all that strong. Once upon a time I was, but then the world changed and I was a juvenile for a second time. Its a long ******** story."
She sighed and sat to sit by Brunswick, although not close enough to touch him. "In my limited experience I think that trying to keep anyone around for long-term, no matter how nice you are to them, is futile. People grow apart. People die or leave or just plain disappear. Settle for short-term kiddo. It means a lot less effort, aggravation, and disappointment."
And then feeling old and sad, Sunil changed the subject.
"So, friendly females? Too bad I'm not into juvies."
"I could--" She started out once again as Aleric opened the fridge for her.
"Do that, yes, I know." Aleric said patiently. "But it's only gentlemanly." He explained.
She raised an eyebrow at him, then headed into the fridge, only to shiver with the cold hitting her wet skin. "It's very cold in here." She chattered out as she grabbed something off the shelf and flew out. It was a piece of cheese, just barely small enough for her to carry. She sniffed it as she made her way back to the counter, looking confused before she took a nibble. "Hmm..."
"Your name is Sunil, right?" Aleric asked, turning to the blue feien. "Silva's spoken of you."
The smile Brunswick shot her could have won awards as Cheekiest Monkey Ever. He was clearly enjoying the conversation for reasons probably best known only to himself. "Good thing, too," he said. "I'd hate to break up our beautiful burgeoning friendship over 'em. You can have Galatea if you want, though. She's not my type at all." Actually, that was being mild; the blood feien gave him a headache because he felt like he should know her but couldn't place her. "But hands off Marne and Soho. Oh, and my sisters."
"I promise to keep my hands off them as long as they're juveniles. When they grow up, all bets are off." Sunil grinned. "If you're up to it, we can fight over it when you grow up - squirt."
She looked over to Aleric and nodded. "I am and I can only imagine what Silva says. It's too bad I lost the edge I had against him when he was a juvenile."
"He said you were a... very strong fighter." Aleric said. "But he's gotten stronger with age. Perhaps you might join us for one of our training classes?"
Callisto looked at them both. "Who's Silva?"
"Silva's a big bully. An old man who thinks he knows everything." The beaming smile Brunswick gave Aleric seemed to indicate he was joking but, seeing as how the ancient had already witnessed Brunswick and Silva butt heads before... Well, it was open to debate.
Jack tilted his head and studied Shade. "So... You're not from around here, then, huh?"
Hrm, well that was a tough invitation to accept or to refuse. To be seen in her current state of weakness was embarassing to say the least - but Silva was one feien Sunil had a grudging respect for. Training with him might not be... too bad. She gave Aleric a measuring look before answering.
"Silva probably does know quite a bit. Perhaps I might join you sometime if the offer is genuine."
She stood up and then ran a hand through her short hair.
"But right now I have to be going. I'd say its been a pleasure, but it hasn't. And you," she looked at Brunswick, "maybe I'll talk to you again."
And with that, she hopped off into air and zipped for the door.
"It's genuine." Aleric called after her. "Farewell, Sunil." He said a little more softly, before turning to the other two. Callisto was working her way through the piece of cheese as if she were starving.
"This is very good." She said, almost surprised. "It stinks, but it tastes wonderful." She finished off her piece and looked at them. "Now... could you please tell me where we are?"
"We're on Gaia. In the Fleet building. They're in control of the feien breeding and trying to keep our species going. Things have... changed since you were last alive." Aleric said. He looked at Bruns. "And Silva is not quite a bully... if he were you would be in much worse shape, I'm afraid."
"He sounds... charming." Callisto drawled.
Shade snorted, looking thoughtful for a moment. "I'm from a black hole, actually. Where this crazy woman lives and runs a universe wide empire." He said, as if that happened daily. "You?"
"Eh, he's him." Brunswick braced his arms behind him and craned his neck to watch the adults. "Just you wait, though, Aleric, man. I'll learn so much that some day he won't be able to land a hit on me. Promise."
Jack didn't even react to the strange address given and merely waved his hand in a vague direction eastwards - or at least he thought it was east. "Born and bred in London," he answered. "I moved here for some peace an' quiet. Then I got the little bloke over there an' things aren't so quiet."
"Yeah, I can see that happening." Shade replied with a nod. "Are all feien so mouthy? Even the purple one, Al, he's pretty hardheaded..." He shook his head. "I need a beer."
"I expect you to." Aleric said with a nod. "That's what we're training you for." Although it would take a lot more work before the boy got to that point. "But what we really want is for you and the others to keep from--" He hesitated.
Callisto frowned. She had been tossed into a drama where she didn't know all the players, and it irritated her greatly. "Is he a feien?" She finally asked. "This... Silva guy."
"'Course he is." Brunswick eyed Callisto and decided that being a revived ancient probably meant head trauma and brain damage. At least to start with. "He's Aleric's 'brother'. Soho's, too." Suddenly, he spun in place to sit Indian style and look at her more closely. "Do you remember any brothers or sisters of your own?"
Jack's face twisted into automatic distaste, an Englishman in New York syndrome indeed. "I could point you to a decent bar, mate," he offered, "but the beer is like water 'n' piss. Most of it is 'round here. Drives a guy to the rum 'a' cokes."
Shade snorted. "It figures." He said. "How about straight rum?"
"I don't remember anything, actually." Callisto said softly, not looking at the juvenile. "The first thing I remember was--" She stopped, images of the darkness trying to devour her flashing vividly through her mind. For so long she had laid there, powerless to stop it, powerless to keep the thought that she was going to die from racing through her head, over and over again, and--
"Peace, sister." Aleric said, once again wrapping his arms around the other ancient. "You're free now."
Brunswick frowned a bit, confused at the female feien's reaction. Quietly, he stood and looked around. Spotting a bit of paper towel, he picked it up and dampened it with a drop that clung to the faucet. Then he padded over and held it out to Aleric. What a damp cloth could do, he had no clue. But it was worth a shot.
Laughing, Jack nodded. "Nothin' wrong with straight rum. So long as it's not that spiced shite."
Shade grinned. "I could go for that. But I should probably get Al back to my old lady..." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Ex old lady." He corrected himself reluctantly. "They find out you've got a dirty job and they dump you like cold turkey, you know that?"
Aleric took the cloth with a soft thanks and wiped gently at Callisto's tears until she shoved his hand away. "I'm fine." She said, shaking it off. "I'm fine already. I just don't like the dark very much."
Brunswick considered her words for a moment and then bent down to look into Callisto's face closely. "Is that an element thing or just a personality thing?" he asked and there was no bravado in his voice, just honest and almost gentle curiosity.
"Tell me about it." Jack lazily stretched his arms upwards and yawned. "That's why I don't tell 'em what I do. Well, not really. Most birds get excited enough over the professor thing." He grinned and hauled himself out of the chair, stretching more and rescuing the unlit cigarette tucked behind his ear. "You'd think they all had some kind o' kink for it, right?"
"Professor, huh?" Shade repeated. "That really work? Usually I tell them I'm a business man. Or a cleaner. Cleaner works pretty well as a title. But then you get strange looks." He said, looking thoughtful. "And they ask you if you're a janitor. I mean, I guess you could call it that... kinda twisted, if you ask me. I mean, using a broom--"
"It's a--" Callisto hesitated. "I like the light." She said softly.
"She's a light feien." Aleric provided. "Who was stuck in a very dark place for a very long time."
"Gotcha. Makes sense." Brunswick grinned at Callisto. "Tell your bond to get you a nightlight or something. Demand it. He has to be nice to you."
Jack raised an eyebrow at Shade. Not that he objected to what he read between the lines there with the term "cleaner" but he was surprised to find an assassin here and with a feien. No wonder the little purple guy had been so dodgy about Shade acquiring the diva. Probably didn't trust him to do right by her. Oh, well. Not his business. "Well, the diploma helps prove the idea that I'm a professor. Oxford doesn't just hand those out for cash." He grinned. "An' it sayin' professor o' alternate religions makes it easier t' lie about the real job description."
Alternate religions meant something a little darker than catholicism, Shade thought, not too surprised. "Makes sense." He said with a nod. "But see, I didn't even tell Ice what I really do. She snooped, as far as I can tell. Don't ever leave those little business notes in your pockets man, it's just asking for trouble. Course I had to learn that the hard way. Not like it's hard enough to find a girl like that..." He shook his head, pulling out his wallet and tugging a picture out to hand to the other man.
"I figure she'll get used to it, you know? It's not like businessmen really have souls to begin with!"
"Yes." Callisto agreed. "He does."
Aleric looked from one, then to the other. "I'm afraid..." He started out slowly. "That he really doesn't. Not if he doesn't want to."
"What?" Callisto asked. "why not?"
"Yeah, why not? I mean, Jack's no prize but he's not bad. If even he can be nice, why not this guy?" Brunswick frowned.
Jack slipped his cigarette between his lips, neatly held in the corner, as he reached out to take the picture. Taking his time, he studied it. He had to admit. The girl was cute in an exotic way. "I dunno," he finally said. "It depends on the girl. What she can take an' all. How the moral code goes." He shrugged and handed it back. "Believe me, it can get hard findin' a girl who'll put up with a right b*****d like us. Da found one but I haven't had any luck yet."
Shade nodded. "I would quit..." He said after a moment. "But it pays so damn well. You know?" He shook his head. "And what would I do afterward? Not like I've done anything else in the last... God knows how many years. Other than draw hentai manga." He added absently.
"Because..." Aleric said slowly. "Shade is a... very dangerous man." He finally said.
"He didn't seem that dangerous to me." Callisto said, offended at the comments about her bond, even if she didn't really know him well. She picked up the white piece of hair he had given her, tying her hair up once again. "What makes you think he is?"
"What makes you think he isn't?" Brunswick eyed Aleric. "You know something that you're not saying."
"Eh, I'm sure you could think of something." Jack shrugged negligently. "Cross-job skills an' all that." A wicked grin lit his face and he perched on the arm of his abandoned chair. "Kinda like I do teachin' sometimes. When I haveta. After hellbeasts, what's a college freshman got that you can't handle?"
"Teaching?" Shade repeated. "Nah, she'd really not like that. A school for future... cleaners would just make things worse, you know? Guess I could water it down, call it self defense or something." He shook his head. "M'not sure. But it's a thought."
"I'm afraid..." Aleric said slowly. "That Callisto's bond makes his living by hurting others. Fatally."
"..." Callisto shook her head. "I don't believe you."
Knowing Aleric a bit better than Callisto, Brunswick merely stared at the ancient. There was no way that Aleric would lie about something like this. No way.
"Sure is. Guess it all depends how much you want the girl, huh?" Jack absently scratched at the back of his head and regarded Shade thoughtfully. "An' how much she wants you. I remember, this one time, Mum kicked Da outta the flat. Told him not t' come back 'til he could look her in the eye an' tell her honestly that he would never get mixed up in her business again. See, he didn't much fancy her area of doings." He shrugged. "They worked it out an' I got a little sister 'bout nine months later."
"Huh... maybe I'll ask her after this last job. I've already got the first half of the pay, you know? Can't let them down now." Shade said with a shrug. "Then I thought I'd hit a few other planets, maybe catch a Breaker game, or the festival on Carn's coming up soon..."
"I'm afraid it's true." Aleric said softly. "That's why my bond is no longer with him. And that's why... why I am so sorry..."
Callisto didn't know what to say. She could almost come to hate that truthful tone of his. "I don't have any choice. Do I?"
Brunswick grimaced and shook his head. "Maybe he's picky about it," he suggested. His Machiavellian mind bent back and pointed out that some people weren't so nice and the loss of them from the world wouldn't be -that- tragic. "Jack's got some comics and one's about a vigilante sort who..."
"And relax away. Sounds good to me. You'd be sellin' yourself short if you thought this was all you could do, mate." Suddenly, Jack changed gears and stood again. "Hey, how long you gonna be around here?"
"Not long." Shade said with a shrug. "Maybe a week or two at most. It all depends on if Ice shoves me into another dimension again. This place is so dinky that it's hard to find, you know?" He stood as well. "But hey, maybe we can get that rum before I go."
Callisto sighed. Then she stood straighter and awkwardly took to the air. "Vigilante or not... he's still my bond." She said reluctantly. "And if what Aleric's told me is true... I need him to live." With that she headed slowly and shakily for the hallway.
Brunswick cast a final look at Aleric, shrugged, and stepped off the counter to follow Callisto. There was precious few other things he could do, after all. Even if he felt like he wanted to.
Jack nodded. "Sounds good to me," he agreed. "I haven't found anyone up for that kind of thing yet. Everyone keeps pretty much t' themselves 'round here an' I live out in the sticks."
"They don't know what they're missing." Shade replied, holding out a hand as Callisto came in. She dropped on to it silently, not looking at him. He hesitated, wondering what the problem was. "We have to be going now." He said as Aleric came in and hovered near his ear. "Nice meeting you--"
"Oh. Heh." Jack laughed and shook his head, even as he motioned for Brunswick to settle on his shoulder. "Jack Bierce." He held out a hand. "We've got lousy manners, mate. Glad you mentioned it, though. I don't fancy drinkin' with a guy who I don't know the name of."
"Shade." Shade replied. "Spose it could be Shade of Kori, but I'd rather not run around with that name. Shade works." He shook Jack's hand, grinning slightly. "See ya, Jack." He said before heading out the door, his mind fully focused on what was bothering his feien now.
"Well, then." Jack turned his head so he could easily eyeball his feien. "Did you have a nice outing, lad? Make friends with the new gels an' all?" He raised an eyebrow. "An' what was wrong with the purple bloke?"
"Um..." Brunswick shrugged and settled himself better on Jack's broad shoulder, folding his legs up neatly and wrapping his arms around them. "Well, if you must know, that guy you were being all palsy with? According to Aleric, he hurts people for money."
Deciding that while this didn't actually seem to bother Brunswick, the feien wouldn't appreciate him outright laughing at him and his obvious self-importance at the knowledge, Jack merely bit back a snicker and nodded solemnly. "He's a hitman, Bruns, m'lad," he explained. "There're worse jobs out there. Can't say I support his area of expertise but... Well, he wouldn't be one if there weren't jobs, right? Economics, m'lad. Horrible, nasty things."
The tall Brit moved towards the exit, one hand extended to push at the door as the other searched his coat pocket for his lighter. "Though he's prob'ly gonna have to realize that he can't have that job an' his girl, sooner rather than later. He's not gonna like that at all."
Brunswick frowned and wrinkled his nose against the immediate smoke that appeared once they were outside. He had a lot to think about. He would have to get in touch with Bavaria and Munich and Berlin, too. If there were hitmen about, they ought to know. It could be useful information.
The rest of the long, long walk home was silent - both man and feien lost in their own thoughts.
