Kinship and Kingship

[Demeter]

The messaged reached him when he was halfway to the construction site. Akos was being abducted? By who? Wheeling Kronos around to head back to the compound, he instructed his dragon to ask if they knew who was taking the man. Shorty, he received an image of the would be captor and he growled. His own thrice-damned mother was behind this?! 

Urging his friend to fly faster, Tavi sent back to Hellfire to summon Darius at once. He also ordered the two young kits to keep tracking Akos. As they flew towards the compound, Tavi's heart was in his throat. He prayed to his God to keep Akos safe. He was blinded to Akos' fate, so he pleaded to Saturn to spare him. He couldn't lose Akos. 

***
Carma could see his husband's sinking body. Now freed from the squid, Rune was quickly dropping to the bottom of their cove. Mentally cursing, Carma dove down in a desperate attempt to reach him. He'd just got Rune back and he was not about to lose him to a fucking piece of Calamari. 

On the surface, Zhara's screams and Syryn's shrieks brought the rest of their wing, vacationing on a nearby island, to the rescue. Four of the six dragons swept in to pull the tentacles from their leader and assist her in killing the sea creature while the remaining two folded their wings to dive beneath the surface of the water. The riders of these dragons fanned out over the cove. The squid had to be controlled by someone nearby. 

Carma was within reach of Rune when something snagged his arm and started to tow him back towards the surface. He fought against the hold until a wing banged into his side. Looking up and to the side, he saw the green dragon that was pulling him towards the surface. He looked over to see another green doing the same with Rune. He relaxed in the dragon's grasp and sucked in lungful after lungful of air after breaking the surface. He yelled for Zhara to run to the gateway to fetch Genesis. Rune needed a healer as son as possible. 
***
Wrapped in a sheet, Zhara stumbled out of the gateway closet to the main house and into chaos. Normally the picture of a sedate, upper class home, the grounds were full of men running around and the yard was full of the huge beast know as Hell Fire. Zhara spotted Darius, in full battle gear with the Sword of Hades strapped to his hip, Genesis trotting at his side. Darting through the crowd, Zhara ran up to her in-laws. "How do you already know about the attack? Did Syryn send to Hell Fire? Genesis, we need you at the island. Rune is badly wounded from the attack."

Both Darius and Genesis stopped in their tracks. They both slowly turned to face her. It was Darius who spoke first. "What do you mean about Rune being wounded? We've been summoned to the compound. Akos has been abducted. Zhara, what's happening on the island?"

Swallowing against her suddenly dry throat, Zhara explained about the giant squid attacking Rune and dragging him towards the open ocean. She told them about the horrible wounds inflicted by the sea creature and how he'd been drowning before the dragons of her wing had pulled him and Carma from the water. 

Darius exploded into a rage. Both of his sons had been attacked in an apparently coordinated attempt on their lives. Telling Genesis to go with Zhara to save his heir, Darius hurried to save the gentler twin. As Genesis followed Zhara to the gateway, Darius climbed up Hell Fire's side. Once he was secure in the saddle, he gave the dragon the signal to take off. As they climbed into the air, he asked for an update from the compound and for Hell Fire to connect with Syryn. 

As he circled higher, the dragon reported that Wizard and Rosie were still following Akos and his captor. They were in one of the produce fields adjacent to the compound and the hight of the crop covered the movements of the young dragons. They'd also been joined by other kits the same age. Tavi, he reported, was nearing the compound and was taking command of the situation. 

As for the other attack in the tropics, Syryn reported that a slimy sea creature had trapped and attempted to drag Rune to the open ocean. Syryn had launched a counter attack and on determining that she couldn't best the creature on her own, had summoned the rest of her wing for assistance. The creature had been dispatched but Rune, along with herself and two other dragons had been heavily wounded. Carma, she reported, was uninjured and had taken command of the situation. He had the riders and uninjured dragons sweeping land and sea for whoever had commanded the beast. He'd also requested an aquatic unit for a undersea search. A dragon healer had been summoned and Lady Genesis had just arrived to care for Rune. 

Satisfied that the situation in the tropics was under control, even if he was anxious to hear about Rune's condition, Darius gave the command to go to the compound. Akos was the gentle twin and Darius was certain that Tavi wasn't fully in command of his emotions where the gentle man was concerned. 
***
Wizard weaves through the corn stalks as he trailed Akos and the woman. Grandsire had told him to follow the pair only. He wasn't to attack the female unless told to. Many of his fellow three year olds had joined him and Rosie; they all liked Rosie's caretaker. He was the best. He heard his father calling to him, wanting to know where he was. 
*We are in the corn feilds. Circle around or she'll see you."

In the air, both Kronos and Tavi rolled their eyes at the little kit's command. They knew how to sneak up on someone. Still, Kronos gave the fields a wide berth, coming into land on the opposite side of the compound. The moment that Kronos was off the ground, Tavi flung himself from the dragon's back. Telling him to stay put and guide anyone else in, Tavi took off for the corn crop. 

He found their path easy enough - his mother hadn't been kind to the crop. Bolting into the green stalks, he moved fast to try and reach Akos before they came out on the other side. Please let him be okay, Tavi thought, along with the idea of killing her if anything happened to him. 

***
She could smell blood. She'd sliced into him when he stumbled over a bent corn stalk. It would be so easy to end it all here, she thought, but she needed this one alive. He would be easier to control and wasn't fighting back. If, by some miracle the younger twin survived his adventure, she could use him to draw Carma to her side. But everything hinged on keeping this one alive and systematically destroying the rest of the DeLorme family. By keeping Akos alive, she'd have control of France. 

Soon, DeLorme, I'll have my revenge. You and your brats took everything from me so I'll take everything from you. It was no secret that DeLorme actually loved his wife and his massive brood. They were his weakness. 

"That's far enough, Mother. Let him go and I may let you live."

Juno stiffened at that voice. What was Octavius doing here? She turned, a smile pasted on her face. "Octavius, darling, this doesn't concern you."

Tavi hefted The Scythe. "It concerns me because he is my responsibility. Now, let him go and Lord DeLorme might go easy on you," he said. Tavi tried to stay focused on his mother but he couldn't help it if he eyes searched over Akos. When be saw the bleeding wound on his neck, Tavi growled. 

Behind the woman, Wizard and the other kids huddled together. The black looked to his caretaker. He needed to help Tavi but how. The answer came from his father. He needed to distract the woman. Coming up with an idea, he called to Rosie. She needed to grab the arm with the knife and pull it away from her caretaker at the same time he slammed his tail into the woman's legs. 

While his caretaker and the female bantered back and forth, Wizard and the other kit slipped into position. Tavi had received the message loud and clear and was ready to move when they did. The kits burst into action at once. Wizard and the other males beat their tails against Juno's back and legs, causing her to scream in pain while Rosie and the females lunged forward to grab her arms and yank them away. 

The moment Akos was free from the dagger, Tavi dropped the Scythe and jumped forward to haul the younger man away. With the kits guarding Juno, Tavi pulled Akos back a few feet. He tripped over a broken stalk of corn, taking both of them down at once. After sitting up, Tavi ran his hands all over Akos, searching for any other wounds besides the slice on his neck. "Are you okay? When Hell Fire told me what happened, I couldn't get here fast enough. All I could think was don't let anything happen to him. 

And then he broke his own rules by hauling Akos up against his body and kissing the man. 

Darius stumbled to a halt, several riders crashing into his back at his unexpected halt. He surveyed the scene before him. Half a dozen kits holding Lady Juno captive and his dragon commander kissing his son. Sighing, Darius sheathed his sword. "It seems like everything is under control here. Take her into custody."

Watching as the riders shooed the kits away, Darius could only shake his head. It seemed he was right about Tavi's feelings for Akos. But what did Akos feel for Tavi and how did the Scythe feel about Akos? And were these two attacks against his sons coordinated?
***
Carma was kneeling alongside Rune, pressing a towel against the worst of the wounds, when Genesis came running up. They'd already gotten him to expel the water he'd swallowed but he remained unconscious. He stood back, wrapping his arms around Zhara while Genesis worked on Rune. 

She healed the wounds and other damage. After that, she sat back on heels and turned to the other two. "And now we wait."

[Maira]

Rose didn't want to just follow. She wanted to hurt the woman who was hurting her Akos. She could smell her caretaker's blood and the low threatening rumble in her chest couldn't be helped. She was just glad that the bad woman was concentrating too hard to notice the sound.

When Wizard's caretaker finally caught up with them and got the bad woman's attention, they finally came to a stop. She followed Wizard's lead and circled around through the corn to stand behind the woman and Akos, waiting for an opportunity to help him. After only a few minutes of waiting, Wizard relayed the plan to her and the silent snarl that split her face was both satisfied and wicked at the same time. She was going to take care of her Akos this time instead of the other way around.

When she was given the signal, Rose launched herself at the bad woman. She grabbed the woman's arm that was holding the knife between her sharp teeth and clamped down nice and hard, to make sure she couldn't escape, before pulling the arm back and away from Akos. When Wizard's caretaker had her own safely away from the bad woman, Rose slightly released the pressure on the woman's arm but she was already bleeding from multiple puncture wounds from Rose's teeth. She didn't care. Akos was hers and nobody was allowed to hurt him, this bad woman had made him bleed so she had made her bleed in turn. She only finally fully released the woman when the other riders showed up and shooed her and the other kits off so they could take the bad woman into their custody.

The rider closest to Rose, and the wounds she'd inflicted on the bad woman, looked slightly askance at her until he realized just which kit she was. Then he smiled and nodded at her with approval. Content that she had done a good job of keeping her caretaker safe, Rose backed away from the bad woman and wove her way through the now crowded corn field to press up against Wizard and twine her tail with his in thanks.

*****

Once Tavi's voice sounded behind him, Akos's mind lost all track of what was going on. He was going to be fine, the other more battle-savvy man had found him and now he was going to be fine. Knowing this, his mind and body finally gave in to the panicky emotions that had been threatening to take over him since the knife first pressed into his throat and he went into shock. He was virtually unaware of the dragon kits attacking the woman, and only when he and Tavi tumbled to the ground in a heap did he come back to himself and realize that the knife was gone from his neck and that Tavi was asking questions too fast for him to process.

He barely had time to mutter that he was fine before he was being hauled up against Tavi and kissed soundly. His eyes flew wide and after a long moment of not knowing what to do Akos pushed Tavi away, fear and hope warring on his face. What in all the hells had just happened?!

Hearing his father's voice, commanding the troops of riders to take the woman into custody, Akos whirled around and locked eyes briefly with the man. Then in his peripheral vision he noticed dragon kits in amongst the corn stalks and he looked for Rose. Seeing her with Wizard, a small trickle of blood going down one side of her jaw, he gawked at her. When she noticed him, she trilled happily at him and then scampered her way to him. When the kit reached him, she gently butted her forehead against his and then proudly showed Akos just how she had helped save him. A bit dazed, but very grateful, Akos kissed her snout and then shoved her off to go back to Wizard.

Having seen through Rose's eyes just how terrified Tavi had been upon seeing Akos in the woman's grasp, Akos couldn't help but wonder if that kiss Tavi had laid on him had some special meaning. When he turned his attention back to the other man though, he was gone from sight.

*****

The time that Rune spent outwardly oblivious to the rest of the world, he was lost in a poison induced nightmare. The squid had been an unknown species of a type that had barbs tipped with neurotoxins. Given that the dragons' metabolism rendered the toxins harmless and nobody knew enough about the squid to know about the toxins, no matter how much healing Genesis did of his physical wounds, the chemical was wreaking havoc on him. His body couldn't move and barely reacted to outside stimuli, but inside his mind was aware of the agony that seared through him, his nerves feeling like they were all made out of molten metals. He felt like he was burning alive but he couldn't do a thing to save himself, the most he could hope for was darkness that took him when the pain was too much.

After what seemed like an eternity of fiery hell, Rune finally started to notice that the searing pain wasn't quite so intense and that he was able to last longer between periods of unconsciousness. Eventually he was even able to think through the pain enough that he was aware of others coming and going around him. It took even longer before he was able to start voluntarily moving parts of his body and the first time his fingers twitched, gently closing on the hand that was holding his, Rune heard Carma shout and then there was much scuffling around him. Just before the pain took him back under, he heard both Carma and Zhara whisper in his ears and he felt a tear slip from his eye.

The next time he woke, it was to the sound of his own screaming. The pain was still horrendous and his eyes flew open as he looked around for somebody who would be able to help him. When his eyes landed on his step mother as she ran into his room, he begged her, "Please make the fire stop!" Then his eyes clenched tightly closed and he did his best not to scream anymore. Moans, groans and whimpers were the only sounds to escape him while Genesis did her best to find the source of his agony.

He wasn't sure at what point Carma and Zhara had come into the room, but as he was finally drifting off to a much deserved sleep, Rune heard them quietly talking at the foot of the bed. He also heard soft sobs and whispers of comfort shared between the two. Just before he gave in to the heaviness that was overtaking his exhausted body, Rune managed to whisper hoarsely, "I love you... both of you."

[Demeter]

Every spring saw a rush of activity at the Dragon Compound as the two year old dragons found caretakers. It was a flurry of people moving into what had once been the main barracks of the compound. Tavi watched through a telescope as his brother-in-law was flattened by the little kit that had plowed into him a few days ago.

Possessive little thing, he thought as the kit hissed at Syryn and Thalia, the two dragons bonded to Rune's mates. The two female dragons were not impressed by the little one but Tavi had a feeling that the little runt was going to be quite impressive when he grew up. Until then, Tavi was going to enjoy watching Rune get beat up.

It was his right as the man's brother-in-law to enjoy Rune's misery.

As he watched Rune try to claw his way out from under the kit, Tavi laughed. Rune would soon learn that kits did what they wanted, when they wanted to do it. He lowered his telescope and leaned against the balcony railing. The new officer's quarters were across the ravine from the trainee barracks.

Now a days, most of the riders and their Dragons had vanished into the wilds of the new reservation and only gathered when summoned. Only the trainees, the trainers, high ranking officers, those with employment and duties outside of the compound and support staff lived at the central locations. If he's wished it, Rune and his family could have moved into the apartments set aside for Darius but the man insisted on the barracks and to be treated like all the other trainees. It was only because of the children, wife and Lord Carma that he'd accepted the use of a private set of rooms.

Sometimes it was hard to remember that only a few years ago, Rune had been battling for his life after being poisoned by some strange species if squid. At the same time, Akos had been attacked by Tavi's own mother. Revenge had been her motive; she'd been romantically committed to Ellen and Shadis Dahl and their deaths had destroyed her. Blaming the twin brothers as the reason her perfect world had fallen apart, she'd hatched a plan but hadn't thought it through. Now that she was exiled to the afterlife, the specter of the Dahl family was finally put to rest. Hopefully.

Turning back towards the officer's quarters, Tavi pondered Akos. In the four years since he'd been found in the laundry of one of the Dahl estates, he'd come into his own. Currently apprenticed to the compound's Dragon Healer, Akos was becoming a valued member of the unit. And he seemed to have a knack for Dragon Health.

Akos was also the source of Tavi's own personal hell. With the exception of that one time, directly after Akos's kidnapping by Lady Juno, Tavi had managed to keep his hands off the man he loved. And it was pure torture.

Ages ago, when he'd first taken hold of the Scythe, Tavi had vowed to not form serious, romantic attachments to anyone besides those destined to be his mates. The Scythe wad stubbornly quiet on the subject and Tavi's heart had fallen for the awkward young Alati.

He wasn't about to drag Akos into a one-nignt-stand. Considering the way he'd been raised, Tavi had no clue if Akos was untouched or if he'd been used most horribly and he respected the man to much to just Look. He also hadn't asked because the end result of that conversation could have one of two results. Either he'd been used most horribly and that would mean an enraged Alati Lord with the ability to rewind time. Or he'd been untouched and Tavi was sure he'd be unable to not jump Akos.

If that last was the case, he'd want to make sure that night was something special for the man.

Of course, this was all a moot point because the Scythe wasn't talking. Dumb scythe. Grumbling, Tavi placed his telescope back on its stand and turned from the balcony. All these thoughts of Akos had caused him to need a cold shower and some "alone time."

The trip to his quarters was quick enough. The sight of Akos picking up the dirty clothing strew over the room wasn't new. The fact that Akos had the Scythe cradled in his arms was.

"You can hold it! Since when?"

[Maira]

Akos wasn't sure when Tavi gave up trying to convince him not to tidy up his room, but it had become rather common place for the older man to walk in on him doing just that. He felt a connection to Tavi, but the man seemed to keep him at arm's length so Akos just did for him what he knew best. He kept hoping that eventually Tavi would see him in a way that was more meaningful than friendship and comraderie but if that was all Akos was ever going to get from him then that was going to have to be good enough.

This day was no different than any other day he had off from the dragon infirmary, after his morning routine with Rose, he had slipped away from the quickly growing dragon and had made his way to Tavi's personal quarters. It had been almost a week since he'd stopped by and the man's room was, rather unexpectedly, strewn with clothes. A small smile playing on his lips, Akos got right to work.

He had really only just started when he stumbled across Tavi's scythe buried under some of the clothes and without thinking much of it, gathered the weapon up in his arms right along with the clothes. He was going to place it back where Tavi normally kept it but before he could, the man let himself into his bedroom. He'd heard the door open and heard Tavi's familiar footfalls but what he heard next caused Akos to drop everything in his arms as Tavi's near yell startled him.

Turning in a panic, fearing he'd done something wrong, Akos asked, "I can hold what?!" At Tavi's pointed look at the pile of scythe and clothes at his feet, Akos bent over and picked up the weapon and held it out to Tavi, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have moved it! I know that's not normally where you keep it though so I was just going to put it back." What Akos missed, was Tavi's question about how long he'd been able to hold it. If that part had sunk in, he would have answered that he always could, ever since he'd started tidying Tavi's room.

[Demeter]

Tavi closed in on Akos. He grabbed the younger man, shaking him until he dropped clothing and scythe to the ground. “How long have you been able to hold it?”

Tavi didn’t pay attention to the way Akos paled or that he squeaked when he answered the question asked. Tavi kept backing him up until Akos was pressed up against the wall. “You should have said something, Akos, as it would have made the last few years so much easier for both of us. You can hold my Scythe without being electrocuted. Do you understand what that means?”

When Akos shook his head, Tavi laughed. “It means you are mine, Akos. My mate,” he said before hauling Akos in close and kissing him.

[Maira]

Tavi's words about Akos being "his" confused the hell out of the younger man. Here he was, backed against a wall, and Tavi was staring at him so intensely. He was about to ask just how it was that him being able to hold the scythe made him Tavi's when the man kissed him.

In the few years since Tavi's mother had tried to kidnap him, Akos had dreamt about that moment after Tavi and the dragon kits rescued him from her. Tavi had kissed him then, leaving Akos with a whole lot of confusion over their relationship. When he didn't repeat his actions later, Akos figured Tavi had just been overcome with relief for saving his brother-in-law's brother. But now, with Tavi pressing his body into Akos' from chest to thighs, Akos couldn't help but wonder if Tavi had feelings for him after all. Unwilling to pass up his chance this time, Akos wrapped his arms tightly around Tavi's waist, nipped the older man's lower lip, and then returned the kiss as best he knew how. To be fair, it was only the second time he'd ever been kissed so he was just winging it, following Tavi's lead.

[Demeter]

Tavi was pleased; he'd waited so long to find at least one of his mates and he'd been tripping over one for so long. And he wasn't about to let this one go anywhere, any time soon. Once he'd kissed Akos into delirium, he'd sat down, hauling Akos with him, and proceeded to conduct the business of the Dragon Compound. He thoroughly enjoyed his blushing, squirming, armful of mate. That is, until Zhara showed up, took one look at her brother-in-law and slapped Tavi upside the head.

Scowling, Tavi reluctantly let Akos go and glared at his sister. "What in the hell was that for?"

"Saturn told Mars what happened, Mars told Carmine, and Carmine told me. I came to congratulate you and I find this. Mate or not, you should behave your self. Now, Akos, it seems that you are Tavi's mate because you can hold the Scythe. As one mate to another, you can always come to me for advise or pointers on how to pry Tavi-the-Octopus off you."

Zhara ignored her brother's shout of "Hey," and wrapped an arm around Akos and steered him from the room. "Come on, lets find some food and talk."

Later in the evening, Tavi tracked Akos down. "I apologize for my behavior earlier today. I've just been looking for you for a while now and it turns out you were right under my nose all this time. I got a little overwhelmed at the news," Tavi said while giving Akos the most sheepish look he could conjure. "Forgive me, Il mio amore."