Alternate Universes.
Meh. I don't know. I just write it.
Dawn watched the Northern Faye soldiers come out of various hiding places to greet both the War Queen and the brown curly haired Faye with woops and trills of delight. A red head followed at a more sedate pace, holding the hands of two of the most adorable children Dawn had ever seen. She kept her face impassive and her body language non-threatening, at least until a much older man walked out of the door of the house they were heading for.
*Dark Adept!* Was literally screeched in her mind.
Without a second thought or hesitation, she pushed Den behind her and had her pistol out and settled into a ready stance while Spike flanked her. All activity ceased and at least a dozen cross bows were cocked and pointed at her.
"Dawn?" Larl spoke up softly, stepping in front of Angel carefully.
"He's a dark adept." Dawn replied in a mild tone of voice, her eyes boring straight into his.
"And you're a beautiful monster." He stated just as mildly. "Tell me girly, what do you propose to do? Shoot me down in cold blood? I think you'd be a pin cushion before you could pull that trigger. And that would kill your mage and your bond mate."
"Spike's not my bond mate. He's my dad's dog. I'm Den's bond mate."
"I see. Now, tell me, Girl. What now?"
Then a pit bull emerged from the house, obviously heavily pregnant and sat down right in front of him, her expression grumpy. Spike flinched, his ears sweeping down and back. Dawn caught his body language falter from the corner of her eye and turned her full gaze to the pit bull.
"Hey, talk to me, not him!" She growled out. "I'm his commander!"
Dawn swore she could see the pit bulls nonexistent eyebrow raise in wry sarcasm.
*I said, the Wolf's Son is light with intent based gray, not dark.* Came the cranky voice in her head. *If those two idiots had bothered to do more than just glance at his aura they would have seen that.*
Dawn sighed silently to herself, letting her gaze sweep the garden area they stood in. They Faye soldiers had weapons trained on her and the red head had a glowing ball of something in her hand, the children behind her. Larl had an expression on her face much like the one her father would use when dealing with one of his more skittish canine recruits. Angel was merely watching with interest. She could feel the others in their party behind them; the waves of exasperation were almost palpable.
Den's hesitant fingers slid up her arm and settled on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry. I have more than a few prejudices to get over, it seems." He apologized in a clear tone of voice. "Dawn, I doubt the war queen would lead us into another high council."
"Bloody fucking hell." Dawn muttered and holstered her pistol then turned around to face him. "How many times do I have to remind you that you better be damned sure a target is hostile before the two of you yelp like scalded cats? I do not need a repeat of Silver Springs on my conscience. And don't give me that bullshit about only being a ground. You have a gut instinct, listen to it! I don't have any special witchy powers so if you two scream an alarm at me like that, I'm going to tend to go with shoot first and ask questions later! I certainly can't protect you two knuckleheads if I'm full of arrows and being crispy critter fried by what the hell ever it is Red over there has, now can I? Double drills for a month and no complaints or I'll triple it!"
Spike's ears and tail drooped while Den just gazed down at her with a pained expression on his face. Dawn sighed, then ran one hand lightly over his cheek before turning back to face the older man. She ignored the crossbows that were still pointed in her direction and took a careful step forward.
"Dawn Canidae." She stated, holding out her hand. The older man stepped forward and took it in a firm handshake.
"Tremayne Wolfson." He said mildly. "The War Queen's Uncle."
"That makes sense. Will I be reporting to you or a commander of the Northern Faye?"
He blinked at her for a moment, the first expression she'd seen on his face emerging. It was confusion. He glanced over at Angel, who shrugged. Larl merely sighed and frowned.
"Dawn, we talked about this." Larl stated. "We don't make non-gifted serve us or make them soldiers. We-"
"You'll be reporting directly to me." Tremayne interrupted suddenly as the pit bull came to stand next to them. "This is Bella. She'll be in charge of your training after she has her pups. Until then, you're to consider yourself on stand down. Run your people through their drills. Get acquainted with the others. And, consider yourself in charge of guarding Bella while she's in this stage of her pregnancy. Work it out between the four of you, but make sure you leave time for your mage to go through some training of his own. Angel will be in charge of that. Also-well, hello, that's new."
Tremayne had paused in his instructions to look down as Gabriel suddenly trotted in between them and jumped up to place his paws on Dawn's midsection, his tail wagging furiously. She immediately went down to one knee to allow him access to sniff her chest, neck and face. A slight smile spread over her lips as he huffed a breath in her cheek, then sat down, staring up into her face.
"Anubis?" She frowned, as if in reply to a question. "I suppose so. He's the god of our soldiers where I come from. I suppose I'm a soldier now, too, so yes, I pray to Anubis. Why?"
Gabriel huffed and wriggled, his mouth falling open in a rare happy expression. Dawn blinked at him for a moment, eyes welling with tears.
"How can you be sure?" She asked hoarsely.
Gabriel threw back his head and belled, a sweet baritone sound that swelled deafeningly. Answering cackles and howls came from the sudden influx of rock wolves and wolves that flooded the garden space and surrounded them. Spike immediately flattened himself to the ground and rolled over to expose his belly as Isis herself came to press her nose against Dawn's, inhaling deeply.
*Anubis chosen.* She rumbled, making Angel smile widely and motion for the weapons to be put away. *Sire lives. Gift of Anubis. Comes across mountains. When arrives, Queen will welcome. Comes on day Queen's mother comes home and Bella's pups born. Be faithful. Be patient. Learn well. Loved here.*
Two lone tears tracked down her cheeks only to be licked away with gentle tenderness by the alpha male and female of Larl's wolf pack. Rough, calloused hands settled carefully around her arms and drew her to her feet. She stared up into Tremayne's eyes for a moment, then took a deep breath and straightened up.
"Commander Wolfson." She nodded. "If I can be shown where I can settle Den and Spike, I'll take the first watch on Bella."
"Very well." He nodded solemnly. "Come with me. I'll introduce you to my second and you can have something to eat first."
He turned his back on her, clearly expecting her to follow him back inside the house. Dawn glanced down at Bella, who gave a heavy sigh and heaved herself up to waddle after him. Dawn gave the forward signal to both Spike and Den and followed.
When they'd disappeared into the house, Larl covered her mouth with one hand, fighting tears. Angel patted her on the shoulder and looked up as Rhia bore down on them, the twins and Maeve behind her.
"Who in the seven hells is that?" Rhia hissed. "And where did you find her?"
"I'll explain later, Aunt Rhia." Angel sighed, then turned and gestured for Torin to come forward.
Rhia watched as the normally arrogant unicorn hesitantly walked forward toward them, as if expecting to be shot or attacked in some way. He stopped just short of them, quivering nervously.
"Torin." Angel said in a soft, gentle voice.
With an almost scared groan, he shuddered. Rhia gasped as his form rippled, shuddered, then seemed to melt into Donovan's. Only it was not quite Donovan. Rhia marked Torin's eyes, Donovan's ears and a curious blending of both on his face. For a moment, she stared then gave a glad cry and jumped forward to engulf the startled man in a fierce hug.
"Oh, Goddess!" She wept, kissing his cheek then holding onto him as if for dear life. "Oh, Goddess! I thought we'd lost you both forever!"
And just like that, the rest of them were crowding around, waiting for their turn to hug him and welcome him home, uncaring that he was now something that could be both unicorn and Faye. No one seemed to care he protested he was a monster. They merely smiled, kissed and/or hugged him and pronounced
"But you're a beautiful monster, Brother, and we love you just the way you are!"
In the background, no one noticed Maeve and the twins with Gabriel, watching them with happy tears and smiles.
*You see, children?* Maeve's voice was tranquil and warm. *I told you it would all be fine. Now, why don't we go see to cracking that ice around that young woman in there with Lady Quineld? She's the same age as your sister, did you know that?*
The twins and Gabriel answered with a babble of questions at Maeve, although the casual observer wouldn't know it. Maeve had taught them in the short time that she'd been with them that sometimes it was best to only communicate mentally. She'd also begun to teach them how to be observant and how to blend in with the background so that if they chose, they could listen in on any adult conversation without notice.
Maeve knew her egg mate sometimes thought her damaged by what their mother had done. In some ways, she was. Overall, she preferred not to have her intelligence noticed. She had no aspirations to the throne or to power of any sort. She just wanted to be left alone and be a mother. Unfortunately, no dragon male would look at her twice for anything other than a quick, sexual tumble. So, she had to content herself with helping to care for the hatchlings of others.
When Ian had called her to Katarina's, she'd been hesitant, but curious. She'd adored the twins from the first moment she'd laid eyes on them. Gabriel, too. She occasionally got to see the baby girl that had come across the barrier with a young woman named Kim. Someone had named her Brianna and a young mother who'd lost her own babe was fostering her. Maeve had begun subtly exerting her will power to ensure that there were regular play dates with the twins. It was amazingly simple to manipulate the people around her into compliance.
Maeve had all of her mother's gifts and talents, right down to laying compulsions on others. If Ian knew, he'd be horrified. However, she had none of the evil intent her mother had. She'd only used the compulsion talent once and that was on a dragon male who'd thought to take her against her will. Although, if she were honest with herself, Maeve knew if it came right down to using her gifts to protect her brother or anyone she loved, she'd never even hesitate or think twice about it.
The difference between her and most creatures was she had long ago accepted that she was a complete monster. Her mother had ensured that during the ritual of sacrifice Tremayne had saved her from. However, Tremayne's touch on her soul as he pulled it back from the brink of death had shown her it was possible to be a monster with a soul dedicated to the light.
So, she might be a complete monster, but she was a beautiful monster, wholly dedicated to the light.
And she intended to teach her charges how to be the same.
Dawn watched the Northern Faye soldiers come out of various hiding places to greet both the War Queen and the brown curly haired Faye with woops and trills of delight. A red head followed at a more sedate pace, holding the hands of two of the most adorable children Dawn had ever seen. She kept her face impassive and her body language non-threatening, at least until a much older man walked out of the door of the house they were heading for.
*Dark Adept!* Was literally screeched in her mind.
Without a second thought or hesitation, she pushed Den behind her and had her pistol out and settled into a ready stance while Spike flanked her. All activity ceased and at least a dozen cross bows were cocked and pointed at her.
"Dawn?" Larl spoke up softly, stepping in front of Angel carefully.
"He's a dark adept." Dawn replied in a mild tone of voice, her eyes boring straight into his.
"And you're a beautiful monster." He stated just as mildly. "Tell me girly, what do you propose to do? Shoot me down in cold blood? I think you'd be a pin cushion before you could pull that trigger. And that would kill your mage and your bond mate."
"Spike's not my bond mate. He's my dad's dog. I'm Den's bond mate."
"I see. Now, tell me, Girl. What now?"
Then a pit bull emerged from the house, obviously heavily pregnant and sat down right in front of him, her expression grumpy. Spike flinched, his ears sweeping down and back. Dawn caught his body language falter from the corner of her eye and turned her full gaze to the pit bull.
"Hey, talk to me, not him!" She growled out. "I'm his commander!"
Dawn swore she could see the pit bulls nonexistent eyebrow raise in wry sarcasm.
*I said, the Wolf's Son is light with intent based gray, not dark.* Came the cranky voice in her head. *If those two idiots had bothered to do more than just glance at his aura they would have seen that.*
Dawn sighed silently to herself, letting her gaze sweep the garden area they stood in. They Faye soldiers had weapons trained on her and the red head had a glowing ball of something in her hand, the children behind her. Larl had an expression on her face much like the one her father would use when dealing with one of his more skittish canine recruits. Angel was merely watching with interest. She could feel the others in their party behind them; the waves of exasperation were almost palpable.
Den's hesitant fingers slid up her arm and settled on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry. I have more than a few prejudices to get over, it seems." He apologized in a clear tone of voice. "Dawn, I doubt the war queen would lead us into another high council."
"Bloody fucking hell." Dawn muttered and holstered her pistol then turned around to face him. "How many times do I have to remind you that you better be damned sure a target is hostile before the two of you yelp like scalded cats? I do not need a repeat of Silver Springs on my conscience. And don't give me that bullshit about only being a ground. You have a gut instinct, listen to it! I don't have any special witchy powers so if you two scream an alarm at me like that, I'm going to tend to go with shoot first and ask questions later! I certainly can't protect you two knuckleheads if I'm full of arrows and being crispy critter fried by what the hell ever it is Red over there has, now can I? Double drills for a month and no complaints or I'll triple it!"
Spike's ears and tail drooped while Den just gazed down at her with a pained expression on his face. Dawn sighed, then ran one hand lightly over his cheek before turning back to face the older man. She ignored the crossbows that were still pointed in her direction and took a careful step forward.
"Dawn Canidae." She stated, holding out her hand. The older man stepped forward and took it in a firm handshake.
"Tremayne Wolfson." He said mildly. "The War Queen's Uncle."
"That makes sense. Will I be reporting to you or a commander of the Northern Faye?"
He blinked at her for a moment, the first expression she'd seen on his face emerging. It was confusion. He glanced over at Angel, who shrugged. Larl merely sighed and frowned.
"Dawn, we talked about this." Larl stated. "We don't make non-gifted serve us or make them soldiers. We-"
"You'll be reporting directly to me." Tremayne interrupted suddenly as the pit bull came to stand next to them. "This is Bella. She'll be in charge of your training after she has her pups. Until then, you're to consider yourself on stand down. Run your people through their drills. Get acquainted with the others. And, consider yourself in charge of guarding Bella while she's in this stage of her pregnancy. Work it out between the four of you, but make sure you leave time for your mage to go through some training of his own. Angel will be in charge of that. Also-well, hello, that's new."
Tremayne had paused in his instructions to look down as Gabriel suddenly trotted in between them and jumped up to place his paws on Dawn's midsection, his tail wagging furiously. She immediately went down to one knee to allow him access to sniff her chest, neck and face. A slight smile spread over her lips as he huffed a breath in her cheek, then sat down, staring up into her face.
"Anubis?" She frowned, as if in reply to a question. "I suppose so. He's the god of our soldiers where I come from. I suppose I'm a soldier now, too, so yes, I pray to Anubis. Why?"
Gabriel huffed and wriggled, his mouth falling open in a rare happy expression. Dawn blinked at him for a moment, eyes welling with tears.
"How can you be sure?" She asked hoarsely.
Gabriel threw back his head and belled, a sweet baritone sound that swelled deafeningly. Answering cackles and howls came from the sudden influx of rock wolves and wolves that flooded the garden space and surrounded them. Spike immediately flattened himself to the ground and rolled over to expose his belly as Isis herself came to press her nose against Dawn's, inhaling deeply.
*Anubis chosen.* She rumbled, making Angel smile widely and motion for the weapons to be put away. *Sire lives. Gift of Anubis. Comes across mountains. When arrives, Queen will welcome. Comes on day Queen's mother comes home and Bella's pups born. Be faithful. Be patient. Learn well. Loved here.*
Two lone tears tracked down her cheeks only to be licked away with gentle tenderness by the alpha male and female of Larl's wolf pack. Rough, calloused hands settled carefully around her arms and drew her to her feet. She stared up into Tremayne's eyes for a moment, then took a deep breath and straightened up.
"Commander Wolfson." She nodded. "If I can be shown where I can settle Den and Spike, I'll take the first watch on Bella."
"Very well." He nodded solemnly. "Come with me. I'll introduce you to my second and you can have something to eat first."
He turned his back on her, clearly expecting her to follow him back inside the house. Dawn glanced down at Bella, who gave a heavy sigh and heaved herself up to waddle after him. Dawn gave the forward signal to both Spike and Den and followed.
When they'd disappeared into the house, Larl covered her mouth with one hand, fighting tears. Angel patted her on the shoulder and looked up as Rhia bore down on them, the twins and Maeve behind her.
"Who in the seven hells is that?" Rhia hissed. "And where did you find her?"
"I'll explain later, Aunt Rhia." Angel sighed, then turned and gestured for Torin to come forward.
Rhia watched as the normally arrogant unicorn hesitantly walked forward toward them, as if expecting to be shot or attacked in some way. He stopped just short of them, quivering nervously.
"Torin." Angel said in a soft, gentle voice.
With an almost scared groan, he shuddered. Rhia gasped as his form rippled, shuddered, then seemed to melt into Donovan's. Only it was not quite Donovan. Rhia marked Torin's eyes, Donovan's ears and a curious blending of both on his face. For a moment, she stared then gave a glad cry and jumped forward to engulf the startled man in a fierce hug.
"Oh, Goddess!" She wept, kissing his cheek then holding onto him as if for dear life. "Oh, Goddess! I thought we'd lost you both forever!"
And just like that, the rest of them were crowding around, waiting for their turn to hug him and welcome him home, uncaring that he was now something that could be both unicorn and Faye. No one seemed to care he protested he was a monster. They merely smiled, kissed and/or hugged him and pronounced
"But you're a beautiful monster, Brother, and we love you just the way you are!"
In the background, no one noticed Maeve and the twins with Gabriel, watching them with happy tears and smiles.
*You see, children?* Maeve's voice was tranquil and warm. *I told you it would all be fine. Now, why don't we go see to cracking that ice around that young woman in there with Lady Quineld? She's the same age as your sister, did you know that?*
The twins and Gabriel answered with a babble of questions at Maeve, although the casual observer wouldn't know it. Maeve had taught them in the short time that she'd been with them that sometimes it was best to only communicate mentally. She'd also begun to teach them how to be observant and how to blend in with the background so that if they chose, they could listen in on any adult conversation without notice.
Maeve knew her egg mate sometimes thought her damaged by what their mother had done. In some ways, she was. Overall, she preferred not to have her intelligence noticed. She had no aspirations to the throne or to power of any sort. She just wanted to be left alone and be a mother. Unfortunately, no dragon male would look at her twice for anything other than a quick, sexual tumble. So, she had to content herself with helping to care for the hatchlings of others.
When Ian had called her to Katarina's, she'd been hesitant, but curious. She'd adored the twins from the first moment she'd laid eyes on them. Gabriel, too. She occasionally got to see the baby girl that had come across the barrier with a young woman named Kim. Someone had named her Brianna and a young mother who'd lost her own babe was fostering her. Maeve had begun subtly exerting her will power to ensure that there were regular play dates with the twins. It was amazingly simple to manipulate the people around her into compliance.
Maeve had all of her mother's gifts and talents, right down to laying compulsions on others. If Ian knew, he'd be horrified. However, she had none of the evil intent her mother had. She'd only used the compulsion talent once and that was on a dragon male who'd thought to take her against her will. Although, if she were honest with herself, Maeve knew if it came right down to using her gifts to protect her brother or anyone she loved, she'd never even hesitate or think twice about it.
The difference between her and most creatures was she had long ago accepted that she was a complete monster. Her mother had ensured that during the ritual of sacrifice Tremayne had saved her from. However, Tremayne's touch on her soul as he pulled it back from the brink of death had shown her it was possible to be a monster with a soul dedicated to the light.
So, she might be a complete monster, but she was a beautiful monster, wholly dedicated to the light.
And she intended to teach her charges how to be the same.