Kinship and Kingship

[Demeter]

As she flicked another faded receipt for a sword into the “find it” box, Corrine wondered how she got herself into these messes. She flicked a bit of foolscap with some interesting drawings on it into the twenty gallon garbage can that had been hauled into the room. She’d come to visit Carma and been suckered into helping Rune clean out his step-father’s office. She flicked a receipt for a suit of armor into the “find it” box.

No one had bothered to tell her that Shadis had been a paranoid packrat with a shopping addiction as well as a bastard.

She sat on the stone floor of Shadis’ study, freezing her ass off because there were no rugs in the room, surrounded by boxes, trunks and chests of papers and plotted revenge. Not that she knew who she plotted against. Rune was off, pouring another round of sedatives down Carma’s throat. Judging by the bellows and shouts ringing through the house, he’d be busy for a while. Carma didn’t appreciate being drugged into sleep while his wound healed. As he was the only one able to either goad or force the potions down Carma’s throat, Rune was called away on occasion. So, she couldn’t plot revenge against Rune because he was helping her.

She couldn’t plot against Zhara either. When she wasn’t caring for the twins or interviewing nannies, Zhara was directing the clean up and decoration of the house. Apparently it had been several years since Rune had visited this particular Dahl residence. Which explained why she was wading through a hip-deep sea of papers, dust bunnies, and cobwebs.

She couldn’t plot against Carma; he was laid up with a nasty injury. Corrine supposed that she could find herself a necromancer and have Shadis raised from he dead so she could kill him again. Of course, if she did that, she’d have to have the necromancer raise him several times so that the others could kill him.

And that just sounded like a lot of work, mess, and money.

Corrine sighed and reached into the trunk she sat next to. Instead of pulling out a stack of paper, she yanked free a gunmetal grey lockbox. Instead of being giddy at the change of pace, Corrine groaned. She’d already gone through five similar lockboxes and none of them had keys. She doubted that this one had an available key. Hell, Shadis probably locked the keys in a box, buried that box in the garden, and ate the key to that box.

Maybe it would be worth having him raised from the dead so he could tell her where the keys were. And then she could kill him for being a paranoid packrat with a shopping addiction. ‘Course, that still left everyone else wanting to hack him to pieces and she doubted they’d understand her reasoning.

Giving up on revenge, Corrine reach for the slim dagger she’d been using to break the locks. She popped the tumbler out and started looking through the contents. Nothing exciting. No love letters, no scandalous bits of porn, no shopping receipts for ladies lingerie. Aside from his paranoia and shopping habit, Shadis Dahl had been one dull bastard.

She chucked most of the papers before reaching for the folded scrap stuck to the bottom of the box. She unfolded the paper and shook her head. “Silly place for a birth certificate,” she muttered to herself. While she didn’t know where her own certificate was, or if she even had one, Corrine knew exactly where Darcy’s was. Locked in the fire safe in her office. Where, hopefully, Darcy and Rory wouldn’t get a look at it. Damn, but she really had to fix that problem.

She was just about to put the paper in the need-to-keep pile when she caught sight of the infant’s name. Akos Dahl. Now, that stopped her short. Who the hell was Akos Dahl and was he still alive?

Corrine studied the paper, choking when she saw the birth date, November 18, 1983. To her knowledge, Rune did not now or had never had possession of the name Akos. She scanned over the rest. Ellen, may the bitch not rest in peace, and Shadis Dahl were listed as the parents. Now that was just not right. She knew that Shadis was listed as Rune’s paternal parent on his own certificate because no one could know that Ellen had gotten one in over his head and that he, in all his years of life, had never managed to father a single child.

That single fact didn’t mean that he wasn’t a bastard who wanted to raise another man’s child as his own.

Scrambling up, Corrine headed for the door and ran smack into one of the servants who’d been slipping around the house like ghosts. She looked up and nearly fell over backwards. “Akos?” she said, questioning herself rather then the man who was staring at her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Carma hissed at the vile green potion that Rune held in his hand. All the gods be damned, he did not want to be drugged again. He’d had enough of being half-aware of his surroundings. Aeven’s little healer friend had said that the wound was healing nicely and he could get out of bed if he wanted. And, oh, he so wanted out of bed. Not only that, he wanted out of this room, house, estate, portion of hell.

Last night, during one of his rarely allowed moments of being out of bed, Rune and his wife had surprised him with a…proposition. They could, if he wanted, be a committed threesome. While every person in the world knew he’d jump Rune in a heartbeat and Zhara herself wasn’t bad looking, it was the words Committed Threesome that had him trembling in his boots. Him, the great Carmine Valerio, scared of a little thing like a solid relationship.

And they’d expected him to nod his head when they suggest it. And now there was Rune, looking just delectable, with that damned bottle. First they want his opinion and then they keep him drugged.

Carma growled when Rune took another step towards his bed. “Don’t you come near me, you bastard. I’m not going have that vile stuff poured down my throat again. And don’t think I don’t know what you are up to. Committed Threesome, my ass…you and Zhara are taking pity on me, aren’t you?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zhara blinked as her older brother bounced right on past the butler. “Tavi? What are you doing here?”

Tavi plucked his nephew right out of the arms of a startled young woman and swung him high. “Mom has heard of your little venture, you know the one where you and Rune jump Carmine’s bones? She told me to come over and talk you out of it?”

Zhara narrowed her eyes. She wanted this thing with Carmine to work out for everyone’s sakes. “And are you?”

Tavi shook his head. “Hell, no. If she has you and your scandalous ménage-a-trois to focus on, shell forget that I still haven’t given her any grandchildren. Look at this way, Zhara, you sleep with two men, you’ll give her even more grandchildren and forgot that she even has a eldest son who hasn’t produced a single child yet,” Tavi grinned.

“She’s not going to buy it.”

“You’re point being? Look, I’ll have come here, seen you and talked to you. I tried. So, what’s going on?”

Zhara shook her head. “I’m trying to find a nanny for the twins. Carmine is pitching a fit because Rune is trying to dose him with a sedative again, and I keep finding dust in this house.”

“Kronos could always watch the kids.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Honestly, he hasn’t eaten a kid in a few hundred years.”

Zhara drilled a finger into her brother’s chest and snatched her son back. “I’m not letting that thing you call Dragon near my kids. Ever.”

Tavi just grinned. “Kronos likes kids.”

“Uh-huh, he thinks people taste good when smothered with BBQ sauce.”

Tavi just kept grinning. “He’s a great dragon. What’s through here?” He said and walked out of the room. Zhara just sighed and hurried to keep up with Tavi before got into trouble.

[Maira]

As a servant of the House of Dahl, Akos had learned long ago to be nearly invisible. Sure, the master of the House hadn't been spending much time at the House lately but after the birth of his children he and his wife had taken up residence again. With their return the staff had been thrown into high gear trying to get the place livable again. As such, it wasn't that strange for Akos to be carrying a basket full of dusty old linens. What -was- strange was the fact that there was suddenly one of the Master's family right in front of him before he could stop and his basket of dusty linens went crashing to the ground as he ran into the woman.

He quickly averted his gaze from the woman and then scrambled to pick up the scattered linens. When she said his name, Akos flinched and then held very still waiting for her to yell at him or strike him. When neither of those actions occurred, Akos dared turn his gaze toward her and asked, "Can I help you Lady Corrine?"

*****

Having taken care of Carma for the past couple weeks Rune had gotten quite used to the bellowing and protesting when it came time for him to have another dose of medicine, it didn't even phase him anymore. What -did- bother him was that in all the years he'd known Carma he had never seen the older Custos panic. He couldn't help but wonder what had caused such an extreme reaction. When it looked like Carma was going to bolt, Rune had forced him back to bd and had given him more of the sedative that had been prescribed by the healer.

With Carma's current round of bellowing and accusations, Rune realized he might have a bargaining piece to find out why Carma had been so freaked out. After taking the last few steps to the bed and sitting on the edge, sedative still in hand, Rune asked his past lover, "If I let you skip this dose will you talk to me about why you panicked last night? And why would you think we're taking pity on you?" Rune had never been the touchy-feely talk about your feelings type of guy, but this was a very special situation.

[Demeter]

Carma narrowed his eyes at the change in topic. Just what was Rune up to now. And now he had a new problem. Take the vile stuff or answer the question. Considering the fact that he did not want to spend the new dozen or so hours sleeping, he decided to to bite the bullet. "What the hell were you and Zhara thinking last night? Committed threesome?"

He scooted up, resting against the pillows. He refused to admit that the wound still pained him. "And besides that, me in a commited threesome, let alone in a commited twosome." He knew that he reasoning wasn't the best but he'd managed to stay unoffically attached this long.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Corrine could only stare. It was like she was looking at Rune with a few interesting changes. "Uh, yeah, Akos, you can tell me who your father is."

When the servant just stuttered, Corrine grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and hauled him towards the grand staircase landing on this level of the house. Once there she screeched for Rune to get his ass down here, now!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zhara and Tavi stumbled to a stop when Corrine screeched for Rune. While Zhara asked what was wrong, Tavi focused on the pale looking servant behind her. He looked like Rune but not.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Carma held up a hand to stop Rune's answer. "That's Corrine. Something's wrong," He scrambled out bed, hissing as the flesh around his wound twinged. He shuffled along towards the sound of Corrine's yellling.

[Maira]

Rune just listened and watched as Carma seemed to go slightly crazed. He'd barely taken a breath to answer the older Custos's questions when suddenly somebody was screeching his name and Carma was holding up a hand to stop him. Growling at the interruption, Rune hurried to follow Carma and slipped an arm around his waist to support him as they both made their way to where Corrine was hollering for him. "What is it Corrine? I'm kinda busy at the moment." Rune was -not- pleased at having his heart to heart talk with Carma interrupted by his aunt.

*****

When Corrine didn't answer his question with an order but with a question of her own Akos became even more confused, especially considering the question. What did his paternity have to do with anything? Not that he could answer her anyway, he had no idea who his father was, and he stuttered as he tried to explain that to her.

Then, before he knew what was happening, Akos was being hauled bodily through the House until Corrine stopped at the landing of one of the many staircases and she screeched for Rune to come to her right away. Akos started to shake. She was calling the Master of the House to punish him for running into her?! He didn't think that bumping into her warranted -that- sort of punishment but he didn't know anything about any of the Master's new family and maybe it was just their way.

[Demeter]

Carma would never admit that he was grateful for the Rune's assistant. The little angel healer may have said he was able to get up and move around but she'd never said that it would hurt! He tugged Rune to a stop at the landing above Corrine's location, whispering that stairs were so not happening yet. While the two talked, Carma leaned into Rune and studied the group below.

The various servants that had been scurrying around had come to halt to stop and stare. Zhara was there, along her annoyingly talkative brother. He'd admit that Tavi was a decent dragon tamer but the man could talk a Custos's ear off. There was Corrine, looking rumpled and dusty, not unusual. He narrowed his eyes at the man dressed as a sevant standing behind her. He looked oddly like Rune and Carma, being a connisor of all things Rune, noted it.

Corrine hauled Akos up the steps. She waved the birth certicate at the two men, handing it over when asked to. "Looked at the name, birthdate and parentage. Rune, did the she-devil ever give you any indicated that you had a brother?" She then, uncerimonsly shoved Akos to the front. "It's like looking at a friendlier you."

Carma teased the paper from Rune's grip to look at it. He glanced around and sighed. "Someone send for Darius, please. And get me a chair?"

Tavi looked to Zhara. She'd been stunned into staring in wide-eyed silence. He sighed and turned to nearest clump of servants. He pointed to the closest one, grinning when she squeaked. "You, send a message to Darius DeLorme, telling him to come here, immediently. You," he pointed at the next one, "Get a chair for Sir Valerio. The rest of you, prepare a room on the third floor for a meeting. Now, go." he grinned when they scattered.

Tavi turned to Zhara. "Come on, Sis, time to play gracious hostess," he said while nudging her towards the staircase. He turned to the young woman still holding Alessia. "Mind the children, dear." He plucked Kayden from Zhara and handed him off.

[Maira]

ooc: *cackles*

Feeling Carma rest his weight on him when they reached the top of the stairs, Rune couldn't help but smile. It was the first time in months that the man had been unguarded enough to give into their old familiar habits and Rune had missed it dearly. He was still smiling when Corrine hauled some poor servant up the stairs toward them and he couldn't help but wonder what the boy had managed to do to piss his aunt off.

Only, Rune never got the chance to ask because as soon as the duo came to a stop Corrine started chattering at him and waving a piece of paper around. The flapping paper was annoying so Rune snagged it away from her and had just started perusing it when Corrine directed him to look at the birthdate, name and parentage listed on it which made it pretty clear it was a birth certificate. Upon reading what was printed on that seemingly harmless piece of paper, Rune's grip tightened on it significantly.

About the same time that Carma gently pried the paper from Rune's deathgrip on it, Corrine shoved Akos toward him and made a typical Corrine-esque remark about the boy looking like a friendlier version of him. Rune just looked Akos over, noted their similarities in appearance, then snorted. Once the chair that Carma had requested was placed for the older Custos to rest on, Rune helped him into it and then stalked off back down the hallway. He needed to think. And he needed to find his own birth certificate. He had also noted the time of the boy's birth and he had a sinking feeling that he was no longer Darius's heir...

*****

Akos had no been expecting what had happened. In fact it wasn't even on the list of possible things he'd thought would happen while being dragged through the house by the Master's aunt. He'd thought for sure he was in for a beating or banishment or something equally horrible. But none of that had come to pass. Instead the Lady Corrine was declaring him as the Master's brother?!?! Surely she was mistaken, after all he was just a servant! Nobody knew who is father was and he'd been told his mother had died in childbirth. He was an orphan. Wasn't he?

Even when he was shoved forward for the Master's consideration, Akos didn't raise his eyes from the floor. Not until the Master snorted and walked away did he even look in the man's direction. Apparently Akos wasn't the only one that didn't believe what the Lady Corrine had said.

Totally at a loss of what to say or do, Akos returned his gaze to the floor and asked meekly, "Should I finish taking the linens I dropped to the laundry? If you are expecting Lord DeLorme to arrive shortly the House must look its best and a pile of dusty linens on the floor will not aid in that goal." That short statement was the most he had ever spoken to anybody of importance and it took all his self control not to shake uncontrollably.

[Demeter]

Carma couldn't help the snicker that escaped when Akos said the house should look its best for Darius. That snicker became a full blown laugh which turned into a groan. Laughing wasn't advisable when one had a nasty abdomen wound. After a few bracing breathes, he looked up to see Corrine, half hanging over the banister, laughing her head off. The others just stared. Apparently, they were the only ones who got it. "Corrine, please explain."

Corrine, snickering, straightened up. "If it wasn't for people like Carma, myself, Gensis or the DeLorme staff, Darius wouldn't pick a single thing up. He's at his best in a mess. Trust me, this won't bother him. Besides, I think he's gonna have other things on his mind, Akos, then dust."

Corrine sat on the stairs. "I'm just going to wait for Darius. Akos, please, have a seat. It'll take him a while to get here. Carma, do you want something other then a chair?"

Carma scowled. "If I am hauled back to that bed again, I'm taking someone out. It won't be pretty." He looked to Akos. The man hadn't yet sat down. In fact, he looked like he'd sooner bolt for the door then stay in their presence much long. "Akos, sit. That is an order."

Zhara wiggled free from Tavi and scooted after Rune. She caught up with him outside the room he'd taken for his own office. "Well, could it be true?" she asked.

[Maira]

The laughing fits of both Carma and Corrine startled Akos, to say the least, and he had no idea how to react. He just stood and gawked until they were finished and explained. He was still baffled at what they were saying but Akos trusted them to know the Custos Lord best. It wasn't until Carma ordered him to sit that Akos was able to do so, it just wasn't in him to sit and socialize with the nobility.

*****

He didn't realize that Zhara had followed him until she said something just as he put his hand on the doorknob to his office. He turned and looked at his wife, grimaced, and told her, "Knowing both Ellen and Shadis's tendancies towards lies and deceit I wouldn't put it past either of them to have hidden Darius's oldest legitimate son. Then he turned and slipped through the door he'd opened as he'd spoken.

Once inside, Rune made a beeline for the safe that he kept all of his most important documents in, including his two birth certificates. The one he'd known about when he was younger had Shadis Dahl listed as his father. The newer one was essentially identical except that the Dahl family crest was replaced by the DeLorme family crest and Darius DeLorme was listed as his father. For what he wanted though, either certificate would would show the same thing so he just grabbed one and skimmed it until he found what he was looking for.

Muttering some very colorful explitives under his breath, Rune slapped the birth certificate down on his desk and kicked at the trash can sitting next to the desk. If the tests, and there would be tests done, proved that Akos was indeed his twin brother, the boy was actually 12 minutes his senior. If Akos really was his twin, then everything Rune had worked towards over the past few years would have been for nothing because he wasn't actually the oldest legitimate son. If Akos really was his twin, then all Rune would have to offer his family would be the Dahl Family house, money and few holdings. Luckily for Rune, Shadis putting the boy into servitude had given no loophole for Akos to inherit anything that had once belonged to the now deceased Custos.

[Demeter]

(ooc: Corrine is evil. She just switched up her history on me)

Darius took his time in getting to Rune's house. Nothing about the message had said urgent so he meandered his way there. By the time he'd arrived, everyone was settled in the bedroom-turned-meeting-room. Carma, once Rune had returned from his office, had quietly asked for his former lover's help in bathing and dressing. He'd never admit to anyone besides Rune that he was feeling quite wobbly.

While Rune was helping him into a shirt, Carma had grabbed his hand. "It will all work out, Rune. You know Darius; he does the unexpected."

Carmine, from his spot in a very cushy chair, watched Akos. The Custos seemed to be trying to make himself as small as possible. Zhara sat next to Rune and Tavi leaned against the wall. Corrine paced the length of the room. Carmine wondered what Rune and Akos would think if they knew the truth about her. While some might argue the legitamacy of her birth, Carmine knew the truth.

Once Darius bounced into the room, Corrine yanked him in a seat next to Carmine. "Behave," she hissed at him, "and be serious for once. Carmine, please expain."

Carma looked at Darius. "Ellen didn't tell you about Rune. She also didn't tell you about Akos. Then again, she may have never known that Akos was alive but we can't ask her that now," he steepled his fingers. "You have another child, Darius, and he's older then Rune."

Darius snapped to attention and scanned the room. His gaze settled on Akos. "Him? "He asked. Carma nodded. Darius stood and prowled over to the Custos. He noticed the way Akos held himself, the way he was dressed and the way he looked. He turned to Rune. "He looks more like my mother then you. I suppose we need to decide things. Akos, if I ever kick the bucket, which I never plan on doing, would you want to be the next overlord of the fifth layer of hell?"

[Maira]

As always, his father took his sweet time arriving. This only gave Rune more time to stress over whether or not he was going to be replaced as Darius's heir. Akos couldn't possibly survive as a Custos lord, he could barely even stand to be in the presence of nobility. Why the hell did this have to happen? Couldn't -something- go smoothly in his life?

Once Darius finally arrived, everybody gathered in the room that had been readied. Rune was tense and it was taking all of his willpower to stay still where he was seated beside Carma and Zhara. The older Custos kept looking at him, probably checking to make sure he wasn't going to burst. Zhara had her hand resting on his forearm trying to reassure him that things would work out.

*****

Akos watched the gathered nobility anxiously. This was -not- something he was used to at all. Maybe if he'd been a personal servant to one of the people in this room he wouldn't be so ready to bolt. Instead, the most he normally ever saw of the nobles of the House were their dirty clothes or their feet as they passed him in the halls... Being a laundry grunt had had its perks, but he was suddenly, for the first time in his life, wishing he'd been more...

*****

When Darius finally arrived both Rune and Akos reacted; Rune straightened and paid sharp attention, Akos shrunk in on himself trying to hide as much as he could without actually hiding behind a piece of furniture. At Darius's question to Akos, and the following silence, Rune slumped a bit. Was his brother's silence just reluctance to speak to a Custos Lord, or was it because he was actually considering what Darius was offering him?

Finally Akos spoke, or tried to... His first attempt came out a pitiful squeak and he had to clear his throat and try again. "No Sir, I really wouldn't want that at all," came the barely audible answer. Then, briefly, Akos glanced at his new-found younger brother and smiled a little lopsidedly. He really wanted to get the point across that he wanted nothing to do with becoming a lord of any kind.

Rune nearly jumped for joy at Akos's answer to Darius. As it was, he just smiled back at the other Custos and nodded his thanks. They would talk about this some day and Rune would fully express his gratitude to him, but that would wait.

[Demeter]

With Akos hurrying along behind him, Tavi wondered how he got into these messes. Darius, the bastard, had decreed that Akos would be Tavi's houseguest until the long-lost prince grew a backbone.

Leaving Akos to Carmine's less then gentle tactics has been nixed when both Rune and Zhara started growling. Corrine had said "uh-uh, no way. Got enough to do at Dark Horse," before bolting from the house.

That left Tavi and Tavi couldn't say no to his employer. So, here he was, stomping towards the dragon compound with the servent turned prince at his heels. He couldn't stand being around people who jumped at the sight of their own shadows. Probably came from being around dragons all the time. Dragons, quite pointedly, didn't ncare what others thought of them. Dragons had a great deal of self-confidence.

Tavi past through the gates of the compound and wondered what Akos would make of his new home. Over the centuries, the act of dragons tearing around had turned the landscape into a dry, dusty, barren wasteland. Then again, beyond the walls of the compound, peaks soard and canyons plunged. Out there, all sorts of beasts roamed the wilds of hell, including the big, bad granddaddy dragon of them all. Old Hell Fire.

Tavi was pretty damn sure that Darius was the only Custos alive who'd seen Hell Fire. The most anyone ever saw of Hell Fire was a shadow on the ground or the last inch of a tail slithering around a corner. Tavi's Kronos, a Dragon playboy if there ever was one, was a monsterous beast but Old Hell Fire, according to Darius, made him look like a puny little lizard.

Both Tavi and Kronos took expection to the comment. Most things Darius did annoyed Tavi but the man signed his paycheck so he hauled Akos along for the ride. He turned to the Custos. "You'll obviously want to avoid anything sharp and pointy. The young, old and breeding dragons usually stay in the compound and they get nasty."

Tavi stopped before the open maw of a cave. "This is home sweet home."

[Maira]

After having given Lord Darius his answer, that he would never want to assume his throne if he were to ever die, things had moved rather quickly. Apparently, being a lost heir he needed to be broken of his servant ways and nobody wanted the responsibility. He could understand his own brother's reservations about Sir Carmine training him. And as his brother and the Lady Zhara were trying to bring Sir Carmine into a committed threesome (gossip travels fast even in Hell) he wasn't surprised at her objection either.

When the only person left in the room was the Lady Zhara's brother, and the man didn't object, Lord Darius had grinned and shoved Akos at the other Custos. Akos did his best not to squeek again when Lord Darius told Tavi, "I expect you to work miracles Tavi," then he turned and he too left the room. This left Akos alone in the room with his new "trainer" who looked none too pleased. "Come on," Tavi had muttered before leaving the room and expecting Akos to follow him.

*****

Akos hadn't even been allowed to bring any clothes, though he'd been given time to gather any special personal objects, so he only had one bag that he'd given to the servants to bring along to his temporary new home. It was probably a good thing he wasn't carrying it because as soon as he saw the compound his jaw dropped and the bag would have too. At Tavi's proclamation of, "This is home sweet home," Akos nearly turned and bolted. He was a servant, how was he supposed to live with dragons?!

Only the harsh reality that he actually -wasn't- a servant anymore gave Akos the strength not to run. Instead of running, he forced himself to take a step forward and said quietly, "If you say so Lord Tavi." Then he followed the older Custos into the cave.

[Demeter]

Tavi wandered down the twisting pathways of the cave. It had taken thousands of manhours and a couple of strong dragons to create the living quarters for the Custoss who remained within the compound. When he finally found a empty suite of chambers, he showed Akos into them. "This will be your room. The quarters are far to rough for a Lordling like yourself but probably far grander then anything you've slept in before."

Tavi swept back a curtain and peered into the smaller chamber beyond the main room. "Bathing area is back here. I don't think you have to share with anyone which is strange because I was damned sure that all of the rooms with a private spring had been snapped up. There's been no recent deaths, that I can think of. Maybe the occupant has shacked up with someone else?"

Tavi spoke more to himself then anyone else as he went around the chamber, lighting fires and torchs with a snap of a fingers. "We have no servants here. Even I, Dragon King of Hell, have to fetch my own food. So don't let yourself be pushed around. We're an unruly lot here and have little manners but we tend to like each other."

"You can sleep with anyone you want to, so long as they aren't attached or, if they are attached to someone else, as long as all parties are agreeable. Watch out for the dragons." Tavi sat down on a wooden bench and watched the wide eyed Akos. "Any questions?"

[Maira]

To say that Akos was feeling overwhelmed was a huge understatement. Why had he allowed the nobles to drag him away from his dusty laundry? He was now being called a lordling and being told not to let others tell him what to do. How was somebody supposed to adjust to that in a matter of hours? When Tavi finally paused in his ramblings and asked if Akos had any questions, the younger Custos answered, "When do I wake up?" If this wasn't a dream or nightmare, Akos was going to have to actually adjust to his new life and he wasn't sure he was up to the task.

*****

A creature of habit, Akos woke up early. He was used to being one of the first people awake but the noise coming from the tunnel hallway alerted him to the fact that other people had risen before him. Curious, Akos went to put on his clothes from the day before so he could take a look around, but instead he found clothes fancier and more well made than anything he'd ever owned in his life. There was a note pinned to the front of the shirt and Akos eyed it warily when he saw who it was addressed to: Akos Delorme.

Deciding that everything that had happened yesterday and actually happened, and that he was infact a son of Darius Delorme, Akos reached out and gingerly plucked the note from the shirt. The note was written in a small, slightly messy yet readable hand and it said:

Brother,

I have not had a chance to have clothes made specifically for you yet but as we are twins and approximately the same size I thought some of mine would be suitable for now. I hope they make your transition to your new life a bit easier.

Forever in your debt,
Rune

Akos gawked at the note for a good five minutes before setting it down and picking up the clothes draped across the chair he'd set his old ones on the night before. The shirt was black, sleeveless and mostly plain except for the very small Delorme crest embroidered in silver on each side of the collar. If he left his hair loose nobody would even see those crests. It was a tempting thought really... He quickly unbuttoned it, shoved his arms through the holes, and then rebuttoned it all the while trying to ignore how luxurious the fabric felt against his skin. He was used to rough linen, not silk.

Next he looked at the pants and squeaked. Leather?! Surely those couldn't be comfortable! But, against his better judgement, Akos pulled on the black leather thing that was supposed to pass for pants on over his boxers. He had to wiggle a bit to get them into a semi-comfortable spot before buttoning them up too. While they felt worlds different than what he was used to, the leather pants actually weren't as stiff as he'd imagined. They were actually almost like a second skin and once they warmed a bit, closer to his body temperature, he barely noticed them which was disturbing on a whole new level.

Last was the boots. Akos sat down and grabbed the socks that were stuffed in one of them and pulled them on before he put on the boots. At least these weren't horribly different from what he was used to in feel, in quality however they far surpassed anything he'd ever owned.

Fully dressed now, Akos walked to the dresser and opened one of the drawers and gawked. It was full and another note was sitting inside. This one said simply:

Zhara buys me way too many clothes, enjoy!

Rune

Akos laughed and then opened each of the other drawers in turn. They too were full, and he had a sneaky feeling that the wardrobe in the corner would be as well. What he wanted to know was who had brought in all of the clothes and when. He'd not heard anybody while he was sleeping, and he would have since he had always been a very light sleeper, so they must've come in while he'd been out rummaging for a midnight snack. When he'd come back to his room he hadn't turned on any lights and wouldn't have seen the black clothes draped across the chair before he flung his onto it. That still didn't explain where his old clothes were though... He looked around, and noticed them in a lump -behind- the chair and he snickered. Of course. He could toss a dusty sheet into a laundry bin from 20 feet away but he couldn't hit a chair with his clothes from 3 feet away.

Still smiling in amusement at his poor aim, Akos wandered into the bathroom. The sight that greeted him in the mirror stopped him dead in his tracks and wiped the smile clean off his face. Even with sleep tousled hair he did not look like the servant he'd woken up as the day before. To his sheer amazement the man looking back at him could almost have been Rune. His hair was a tad darker, not the bright silvery/white but more of an actual silver color. Their eyes were the same color, though the presence in Akos' eyes was not nearly as intimidating. In fact, if Akos was being honest with himself, he looked like a sheep in wolf clothing... With a sigh, Akos quickly finished up his morning routine of washing his face, brushing his teeth and braiding his hair into one long braid down his back all without looking in the mirror again.

Before he could lose his nerve, the "new" Akos left his quarters and made his way to the kitchen to get himself some breakfast. If it had been later in the day he might have been tempted to get himself a strong beverage to ease his nerves but as the day had barely even started he was going to have to fumble through without. When he reached the kitchen, Akos looked in and shuddered. All of the people inside were confident, self assured, and likely worked with dragons. Akos was nervous, shy, and totally out of his comfort zone.

[Demeter]

Tavil rolled out of bed and, still wrapped in his sheets, landed on the hard, stone floor of his chambers. Groaning, because he did this every morning and, by now, his hips and shoulders were most likely permanently brused, he untangled himself from his sheets and tottered into his personal bathing room. It was only because of his status that he'd managed to snag the largest of all the chambers. Sometimes, being king was good. Most of the time, it was a right pain in his arse. Everyone wanted something.

He stripped out of the pants he wore to bed the night before and plunged into the deep spring. He wallowed in the heat for a few moments before setting to cleaning himself up. Once that was done, he dragged himself free and dressed for the day. Hair still damp and holding his boots in one hand, Tavi set out for the kitchens.

Once there, he joined in with the others already awake and grabbed for breakfast. He managed to snag a plate heaping with eggs, bacon and all other sorts of foods before finding a spot at one of the trestle tables scattered around the room. While joking with his fellow dragon tamers, he kept an eye out for Akos. When he saw the Custos standing in the doorway, Tavi bellowed for him to get a move on and get breakfast. Didn't he want to meet the dragons?

Once breakfast was finished, Tavi glanced at Akos. He looked him up and down. "Hn, you'll do," he said before propelling the man towards the dusty center of the compound. A couple of dragons were sprawled around the area, most being hand fed by their handlers for one reason or another. Tavi directed Akos to one of the black dragons poking his snout into a pool of water.

The beast was big. The last time Tavi had managed to measure him, Kronos has weighed in at 50 feet from nose to tail tip and the monster just kept on growing. Tavi rapped his fist on the crown of Kronos' bony skull. "Get your nose out of there. There's nothing there but water."

Kronos lifted his head from the pool and shook it, sending droplets everywhere and soaking Tavi. With water dripping from hair and nose, and plastering his shirt to him, Tavi turning to Akos. "This is Kronos. He pretty much runs the dragons."

[Maira]

Breakfast went faster than Akos was really ready for and in what seemed like no time at all, he was standing in a courtyard surrounded by dragons and their handlers. He did his best not to look scared shitless, but he knew he was probably pretty pale and if anybody were to check he knew they'd find his palms a sweaty mess. This wasn't anywhere near the life he'd imagined for himself growing up.

When Tavi lead him over to a gigantic black beast with his nose shoved in a water fountain, Akos just stared. Then Tavi pounded on the dragon's skull and got repaid for the gesture by having water dripped all over him. Soaking wet, Tavi turned to introduce him to the dragon and Akos couldn't help but snicker at the sight.

He wasn't sure what to say in response to Tavi's introduction of Kronos. Was he supposed to address the dragon himself? Or maybe just talk to Tavi and hopefully the other Custos would relay the message in some way? Or....? Instead he asked a question that hopefully wouldn't come across too rude if the dragon was at all sentient. "How can one dragon run the others? I thought you were in charge here?"

[Demeter]

Akos didn't seem scared of the dragon and that was a very good sign. If anything, he almost seemed curious about them. "Dragon's aren't like dogs. They have their own minds and Kronos keeps them in line. I may be the ultimate ruler of this place but here, in the compound, Kronos is the big boss dragon. Out there, beyond the compount, Hell Fire is the boss dragon and his word is law."

Tavi would have gone on about the dragons, his favorite subject, except a yearling named Wizard toddled up behind him and, with a very demanding screech, headbutted Tavi into Akos. Since the younger Custos hadn't been expecting him, they both went down in a cloud dust. Groaning, Tavi untangled himself and helped Akos up. "And this is Wizard, offspring of Kronos and apparently one he favors. Up and dumped the yearling in front of me the other day. I suppose that means until Wizard finds a rider, I'm his care taker."

Tavi accepted the bucket of raw, chopped meat one of the young man brought over to him and proceeded to stuff Wizard's maw. "From hatching to about two years, the Kits, that is, Baby Dragons, are pretty much helpless and we have to feed them. After two years, the big ones herd them outside the compound and they have to learn to fend for themselves. We have a trading agreement with some of the other compounds and we swap yearlings. Kronos decided that Wizard got to stay. Most of these dragons will find riders when new recruits from Darius army are either assigned to the dragon rider unit or as older soliders are promoted to the unit. In the compound, we not only care for and train the riderless dragons, but train the recruits. We are also part of the unit except you'd consider those of us here as black ops troops."

Tavi switched out buckets and blinked when he noticed another yearling sidling closer to their little group. The little dusky red dragon, which would probably darken to deep red as it got older, had it's eyes fixed on Akos. He mentally flipped through his list of recently received dragons and decided that this little one didn't have a caretaker yet.

Tavi wanted to watch the show and Wizard was easy enough to move. He followed the food. Grinning, Tavi watched as the red reached out, grabbed a mouthful of Akos' shirt and yanked. Hard.

[Maira]

As Tavi talked, explaining the way the compound was run by both him and Kronos, Akos found himself nodding in understanding. So the dragons were either fairly sentient or at least like horses with a leader in the group that kept order. He figured they were something in between but he just wasn't sure. And he was not going to ask in mixed company because he really didn't want to accidentally offend Kronos.

When the young dragon, Wizard Tavi said, joined their little group Akos found himself actually edging a bit closer. He was actually about to volunteer to help feed the kit when suddenly he was being yanked backwards so hard and fast that one minute he ws standing, the next he was flat on his back staring up into the face of a young reddish dragon.

"Umm, Tavi, what just happened?" Akos asked nervously as he waited to see what the kit would do to him. He didn't think the young red wanted to eat him, but he just really wasn't sure what the normal protocol was for getting thrown around by dragons.

[Demeter]

Tavi laughed at the look on Akos' face. "What just happened is that the little red decided that she wants you to be her caretaker. She's taken a liking to you," he said as the red proceded to nudge at Akos with its snout. "And she's probably hungry."

He motioned to the men handing out meat buckets and two were brought over. It was Kronos who got the little red to back off long enough for Akos to gain his feet. Once he was upright, Tavi handed him a bucket. "You pretty much just move food from bucket to mouth. She'll do all the rest."

Tavi continued to stuff Wizard full of fresh meat while watching the careful feeding of the little red. "Whatcha gonna call her? She won't know her name until she's four so you need something to call her."

[Maira]

Akos stared at Tavi in disbelief. He really couldn't have just said what Akos thought he'd said. Surely no dragon would choose him for anything as important as being their caretaker. He had absolutely nothing to offer a dragon. He knew absolutely nothing about dragons and he wasn't a confident person by any means. This had to be a mistake.

Once the little red was moved away enough by Kronos for him to get off the ground, Akos asked, "Are you sure Tavi? I mean, there's no chance she doesn't just think I'm a fun toy to toss around?" The look on Tavi's face told Akos everything. For some reason the silly little red did indeed actually like him and want him as her caretaker.

He was handed a bucket of meat and Tavi instructed him on the basics of feeding a young dragon and in no time they had a rhythm going. When Tavi asked Akos what he was going to call the red, Akos stared dumbly at the other man. He barely even knew his own name anymore let alone how to name a baby dragon. "Umm... She doesn't have one already? Who named Wizard?" If he really had to come up with a name for her himself, this was going to be a problem.