Unknown Heritage

[Maira]

The letter sat on his desk and as he continued to pace the room, Rune would glare at the letter every time he passed the desk. It was another missive from his mother and much as he hated her and wanted not to believe her, the letter had a strange ring of truth to it. It would explain many of the differences between him and both of his parents if what that letter said was true.

His mother claimed that a Custos Lord named Darius Delorme, her husband before Shadis, was in fact his father. Not Shadis. He had counted out the months between when his mother married Shadis and when he had been born and he realized for the first time that if he had been Shadis' son, he would have been born 2 months early. While it would have been possible for him to survive being born 2 months early, he highly doubted that Shadis would have allowed something so fragile to live. Likely he would have killed the premature infant and would have tried again for an heir.

As it was, Shadis must have known that Rune wasn't his if he ever thought to do the math too. And knowing this, it explained a lot about why Shadis treated Rune the way he had. Of course, for all Rune knew, Shadis would have treated him that way even if he had been Shadis' biological son.

Finally, Rune ran his hands through his hair in frustration and then stalked over to the letter. Picking it up, he read through it once more before stuffing it into a pouch on his belt. Stalking out of his office and towards the front door of the Dahl family's manor house, Rune called to one of the guards, "I'll be back but it may be a few days." The guard watched as the master of the house stretched out his wings and leapt into the air and flew off in another direction of Hell.

*****

The flight, though far, was quick. Quicker than Rune had really wanted to be honest because he had no idea just how to approach the Custos Lord that might be his father. Once he reached the Delorme family's estate, Rune landed outside the gate and declared to the guards that he had business with Lord Darius. They put him through standard questioning and when they deemed that he wasn't there to assasinate their master, Rune was escorted to him.

As he was escorted through the Delorme family's house, he couldn't help but look at it a bit synically. There were baby pictures on the walls, something that was deffinately not present in his own house. Even when he had been a baby and a small child there had never been anything so innocent and family oriented as baby pictures. His toys had consisted of knives, whips and spears, all very real and totally functional. The wooden blocks scattered in the hallway made it quite clear that Darius Delorme ran a much different house than the one he grew up in...

When they finally arrived at a huge iron-bound door, Rune smiled appreciatively. At least that was a feature that looked at home in Hell. One of the guards left Rune standing with the other as he went to knock on the door and announce to the Custos Lord that he had a visitor. After a moment the guard gestured Rune inside. As he passed the guard, Rune nodded at him and then stepped through the partially open door.

Rune didn't notice much of the office as his eyes immediately settled on the man sitting behind the desk. Could this possibly be his father? They didn't really look alike but he supposed there was still a possibility. Having had years of training, Rune knew to wait until the other Custos acknowledged him before speaking. After all, he was a soldier and the man he had come to talk with was a Custos Lord.

[Demeter]

Darius mumbled as he carefully worded an extremely apologetic letter to Thyden, one of the other lords of hell. Today had been Saiyuri's first hunting trip. Of couse, it had also been her first terrian exploration and the first time she'd handled anything other then a knife. Saiyuri, his beloved and recently discovered granddaughter, had, in her enthusiam about using a cross bow for the first time, had killed two of Thyden's prized albino peacocks.

The man was willing to let some things easily slide, this hadn't been the first time he'd lost a bird to an overeager trainee but it was still the proper thing to do. And so he labored in his hell study to word the letter just right. His office, much like the rest of the home he kept in hell, resemembled the home he kept on earth, so he didn't notice much when someone was shown into the room, rather used to the barging in style of his offspring with some complaint or another.

When he heard some shuffling from one corner, Darius popped his head up and blinked. No a child, definatly not his wife, and certianlly not one of the elite guard who watched the house. "And who are you? What do you want?"

[Maira]

Rune had been watching Darius carefully so when the older man's head popped up he didn't flinch at all. Instead he took a step closer to the desk and bowed his head in respect before clearing his throat and answering the Custos Lord's questions. "My name I Rune Dahl, I am a soldier in the service of Marrus Deluge. I have come to you not on any business of my Master's but on business of my own."

Here Rune paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. The next few things he needed to tell this potentially very dangerous man, Rune was rather certain he wouldn't respond to overly well. When he finally decided that every possible speech he had rehearsed on the flight over just might get him killed, or at the very least thrown in a dungeon somewhere, Rune just said simply, "I recieved a letter from my mother that mentions you and I just wanted to know if it possibly has any truth to it."

With this, Rune removed the letter from the leather pouch at his waist and held it out towards Darius. "Here," he said only mildly anxiously as he got within striking distance of the Custos Lord, "I brought it so you could read it as it explains things much better than I can." He was very glad when Darius relieved him of the letter, it had felt almost like a heavy weight in his hand, and he stepped back a few paces just in case Darius got upset at the contents of the letter.

[Demeter]

Darius pulled the letter closer to his face, grumbling about the flowery style of writing the author had used. He first did a quick glance over, growling when he noted the name at the bottom of the page. Ellen Dahl. While he no longer talked to the woman, he'd kept tabs on her and new that she'd married some Custos named Dahl. Now, why would this respectable looking Custos be hanging him a letter from that bitch?

Darius took a second, closer glance at the letter and the low growling in his throat grew and he knew that he was snarling. The temperature in the room shot up several degrees and he could feel his claws growing out, digging to the hard wood of his desk. That woman, who'd already screwed with his family before and caused untold damage with her mishandling of the Dion/Saiyuri fiasco, had screwed with his family even more. She failed to mention that he had a son, only two months older this his Dream. And he knew Shadis, he knew how that man operated.

Darius never said a word, knowing that his anger at the moment wasn't condusive to speech. He did stab the letter with the jeweled dagger kept in his right boot, though, wishing he could do the same to that woman. He held up a hand to Rune in the universal sign to wait and snatched his phone off the corner of his desk, shouting for his assigtant to find Ellen Dahl's phone number, NOW.

Darius left the room after getting the number. He was sure that Rune could hear the shouting even though he'd gone up to the next floor to have a little chat with his ex-wife.

[Maira]

Shortly after handing over Ellen's letter, Rune was very good he had backed away from the desk a ways. Darius's reaction was actually fairly predictable but a bit more extreme than he'd imagined it would be. Rune watched Darius as he read the letter and when the man's claws started emerging from his fingertips, he had to fight the urge to cringe. When Darius held up his hand in a gesture to wait, Rune nodded and did as he was bid.

After Darius had shouted into his phone and then stormed out of the office, Rune did cringe. Darius was a rather intimidating man when he was angry, but the part that made him cringe was he had never thought anybody could hate his mother as much as he did. And the fact that they had reacted much the same way to reading her letter made it rather clear she likely wasn't lying about his paternity.

*****

Saiyuri was tired and bloody. Her training with her grandfather had been.... informative to say the least. Her mother had taught her many things with knives and other handheld weapons but she had never used a ranged weapon until that day. Not too long into their training session she discovered that she much preffered the sharp pointy things that her mother preffered as well.

As she walked into her grandfather's office, Saiyuri was pulling out a stray peacock feather from behind her ear. Muttering to herself, wondering how the feather had gotten there, Saiyuri completely missed the strange Custos standing in front of Darius's desk until she nearly bumped into him. She would have too if he hadn't cleared his throat alerting her to his presence. She looked up in surprise and the moment she recognized the crest on his armour she had to resist the urge to hiss at him. He was one of Rhystic's men and the only encounter she'd had with the other Custos had not been pleasant at all.

Rune watched the woman wander into the office completely oblivious to his existence and he tried very hard not to laugh. She looked familiar to him somehow and he suspected that she was one of the women in the family pictures out in the hallway. So that meant she was his family, maybe a sister or cousin or something. He didn't have long to ponder her as she nearly walked right into him. Clearing his throat to get her attention, Rune then watched as her facial expressions went from confused to very guarded and slightly angry. What had he done? No matter, his only concern right now was just what Darius would do about that letter.

Almost as if on cue, Rune heard Darius start yelling. He heard his mother's name more than once and a few "how dare you"s, followed by some rather impressive streams of cursing. Hearing the woman next to him hiss, Rune pulled his eyes away from the ceiling and looked at her. She was practically bristling and her eyes were glowing red rather like his did when he was in Custos form. Yeah, she was deffinately family...

Hearing her grandfather yelling from the upstairs library, Saiyuri understood just as much as Rune had and probably more thanks to her leopard hearing. How could he be talking to that vile evil creature while she was in the house. Sure he was screaming at her about how badly she'd screwed up his family's life but still!

She had just turned to storm out of the office when she felt a hand on her arm restraining her. Turning on her captor, Saiyuri drew back her lips in a snarl and Silence rushed to the surface, growling viciously at the man. When he didn't drop her arm, Saiyuri gave into the leopard and began to Change.

He had known, against all reason, that the woman was going to storm up to the library and go off on Darius so he'd had to stop her. Ellen deserved everything Darius could dish out and he didn't want her to be relieved of a moment of it just because some hotheaded woman interrupted.

When he'd stopped her and she'd turned on him, Rune felt something inside her shift. She wasn't full Custos, that much he could tell. The feline growl threw him a bit but he still held her arm when she tried pulling away again while growling at him. Only when he felt her skin begin to move and her bones begin to shift did Rune release her. He stared at her in shock and watched as she went from normal, if pissed off, looking woman to what could only be described as a really pissed off leopard standing upright and wearing the woman's armour.

Before he could ask after just -what- she was, the woman/leopard thing, turned and bolted out of the office and shot towards the stairs he'd seen upon entering the great house. Letting out his on string of explitives, Rune followed her at a fast pace and reached the room she'd barged into shortly after she had. By that point she had changed back to something he recognized, a Custos.

Big black leathery wings filled the entrance to the room and Rune couldn't really see past her to Darius but he could still hear the man yelling at his mother. He wanted to push his way inside the room and get a better visual but he had already learned better than to touch this volatile creature standing in front of him. Instead, he just leaned up against the wall right next to the door and listened.

When Darius finally got off the phone, the woman yelled at him, "What could you possibly have been thinking Darius?! Talking to that... that -woman- with me here? Are you insane? Or do you just have a death wish from my mother?"

Rune could feel the anger boiling off of the other woman and he couldn't help but smirk. Yep, she was deffinately family too if she hated Ellen that much. After all, "that -woman-" she had been referring to could only have been Ellen.

In the library, Saiyuri was glaring at her grandfather and while she may have been furious she was also hurt beyond belief and tears were trailing down her cheeks. How could he do that to her? How?! Then, with as quick a flash as her temper had overtaken her, Saiyuri's wings slumped then dissappeared and she let herself collapse in a heap on the couch. While she waited for Darius to respond, Saiyuri just looked at him brokenheartedly.

[Demeter]

After tossing the phone away from him, smirking when the moldest plastic hit the stone fireplace, Darius just started down at his granddaughter. He loved the girl but no was not the time for histerics. He didn't mean to harsh but he was a little out of control. "Oh, stop it, Saiyuri. Sometimes the world doesn't soley focus on your problems with that woman."

Darius point at his granddaughter. "Stop. Go tell your mother that Ellen is dead. You" he said while pointing at Rune, "Stay here. We have much to discuss." He then left in a hissing, grumbling mass of pissed off Custos lord father.

***

Dion stared at her rather distraught daughter. "So, dad's gonna do Ellen in? Woohoo, yeah him." Consider Dion's rather strong dislike of the woman, one would have thought her reaction would have been stronger, or that she would have wanted to find out exactly what caused her father to want to kill something. Normally, she would have been clawing her way up the walls but at the moment, being six months pregnant and having dealt with hyperactive granddaughter for the most of the day, all she really wanted was to curl up in a ball and sleep for several hours.

She'd dragged herself down to the hell so that her Step-mother, a angel who presided over births, could poke and prod at her. "So, Saiyuri, whats this guy like. You said that he could be the cause of why dad stormed out. Mind bringing him here? Don't worry, I'm sure that dad will leave something for us."

Dion yawned and pointed behind her, to the squirming toddler trying to climb up one of the display shelves in the front sitting room. "That is yours. She's been a serious hellion all day long."

[Maira]

Being told off by her grandfather didn't help Saiyuri's mood at all but she forced herself to hide her feelings better. When she was dismissed, she got up off his library's couch and stormed out. It only took Saiyuri a few moments to find her mother, she followed her scent through the house to the northern wing and then into the second library in the house.

This library wasn't nearly as nice and formal as the one her grandfather was currently pacing in, it was more dedicated to fun books for children and adults and the floor was strewn with toys for all ages of children. Sitting on the far wall, Saiyuri could see her mother sitting with another woman on the big squishy couch that took up nearly the whole wall. It took her a moment to realize that the other woman was Genesis, Dion's step-mother and therefore Saiyuri's step-grandmother. She didn't get to see Genesis nearly enough but she really was quite fond of the woman.

She walked over to the pair of women and started going off on how Darius had been talking to Ellen and had then told her to tell Dion that Ellen was dead. She was pacing and on the verge of hissing more than once. The small vase of flowers across the room started to go brown around the edges but Saiyuri didn't notice at all.

She was actually still quite upset when she quit talking and when Dion hardly reacted at all, Saiyuri wanted to throw something at her. How could her mother not care?! That evil, vile woman had tried (and nearly succeeded) at ruining their lives as a family. How could Dion be acting so calmly about knowing that Darius had been talking to her on the phone?

Being asked about the man Saiyuri thought was at the center of Darius's anger, Saiyuri's anger abated a little bit. At least her mother wasn't totally off her rocker today... She was going to answer when she heard a loud thump behind her. Just as she turned to see her daughter getting up from where she'd fallen (likely from climbing the bookshelves), Dion said that Lani had been a serious hellion all day and Saiyuri just glared at her daughter.

The girl may have only celebrated 2 birthdays but she was physically and mentally developed to the age of a six year old thanks to her crazy mixed-up heritage. Because of the odd circumstances surrounding her age versus her appearance, Saiyuri sometimes had a hard time disciplining her daughter. Not today. "Lani! Stay off the shelves! I'm sure gramma Dion told you not to climb those. Let alone gramma Genesis." When the violet eyed girl just pouted, Saiyuri glared at her some more and growled out softly, "I mean it Lani, go read or draw. Do something quiet for a while." She watched and waited until her daughter did as she'd been told then she turned her attention back to the other two women in the room and flopped into an equally squishy chair across from the couch.

*****

Rune watched with a raised eyebrow as the woman spazzed and essentially threw a fit. When she was finished and flopped onto the couch in defeat and then Darius basically scolded her, Rune had to fight to keep his eyebrow from going any higher on his forehead. Very odd family...

When the older Custos then turned to him and ordered him to stay in the library because they had much to discuss, Rune's hackles raised involuntarily. The man might possibly be genetically related to him but he hadn't raised him and he wasn't under the man's command. If he wasn't there for the soul purpose of finding out if this man -was- his father, Rune likely would have stormed out just to spite the older man. Being ordered around by anybody but Marrus, Rhystic, and sometimes Rhystic's daughter, really tended to get on Rune's bad side. But, because of the reason he was there, Rune just nodded his head in understanding and compliance then watched as Darius stormed out of the library.

Once the older Custos was gone, Rune took to wandering the library to see just what sort of books the man collected. He was rather sure that anything too private wouldn't be in a library this easy to access by just anybody so he didn't feel like he was intruding at all.

He'd been browsing the books for a while, had actually just picked one off a shelf and was skimming through it, when he heard noise coming up the stairs outside the room. Shutting the book silently and replacing it on the shelf, Rune walked out to the middle of the room and waited for whoever might be coming. The step was too light to be Darius, that much he could tell, but other than that he would just have to wait and find out who it was.

[Demeter]

Carmine muttered as he walked. He'd only recently gotten back from vacation and he was still trying to fix the messes Darius had created. When it came to running the fifth layer with an iron fist, Darius had the market corner but he, Carmine, took care of the more delicate details of hell. Darius often said that Carmine was the one who really ran the fifth layer. Darius was absent-minded at best so Carmine often took care of the details. He let Darius intimated the people.

As it was, he needed to look up some fact that would possibly avert a massacare of several families but Darius had agreed with a Custosess held in exile and wanted revenge. There was a reason why The Dragon Lady, what Carmine mentally called Lady Mosley, was not allowed within the populated area of the fifth layer. He just needed to double check a few things and that book was in the formal library.

He knew he didn't look like a normal bodyguard, espically since he let his charge wander about on his own. The tailored slacks, silk, button down black shirt open to reveal the red undershirt he wore did not say body guard, but the sword strapped to his side did. There was not a thing ornate or fancy with Talos, the sword made for him by Zeus' smith in honor of the bronze man. The leather wrapped hilt was stained with sweat and blood.

When he walked into the formal library, he barely spared a glance for the man standing in the room, grinning when he saw that it was the man who'd set off Darius' anger. After a quick search on the single computer kept in the room, Carmine seached for a book, only to discover that it was behind the stranger. "Excuse me," he said and waited for the man to stand aside.

***

Genesis watched mother and daughter and fought to withhold a snicker. There had to be something in water, she thought as the irises in the cut crystal vase started to droop. Dion was six months along and unnaturally calm. she herself was barely two months gone and she could only guess that Saiyuri would be adding to the family shortly.

After Dion left, in search of a fluffy bed and sleep, Genesis sat next to Saiyuri. "Hey, how ya been feeling lately? Not sick in the morning or anything? How about sleep, you've been getting enough sleep, right?"

[Maira]

The footsteps finally resolved themselves into the form of a less imposing man than Darius. At least, at first glance he wasn't quite as impressive a figure. Upon closer inspection, Rune recognized a certain rather legendary sword and an eyebrow crept slowly up his forehead. So this was Carmine, Darius' chief body guard.

He watched the other man curiously to see just what he was about, the man hadn't said anything to him upon entering the library so Rune didn't figure he even registered on the other man's radar for being somebody to worry about. And in truth, Rune wasn't somebody Carmine needed to worry about. The last thing he wanted to do was stare down that sword in combat.

When Carmine finally finished whatever it was he had been doing on the computer, and came over and essentially asked Rune to move the younger nodded his head and moved aside. He knew not to piss off his betters.

*****

When her mother got up without a word, Saiyuri just glared after her. There was something seriously wrong with her mother... She was -never- this calm about anything in life. A broken nail ruffled her feathers more than she seemingly cared about Darius talking to Ellen.

She was once again on the verge of hissing, when Genesis plopped down next to her in the over-large extra squishy chair. Having Genesis that close was naturally calming for Saiyuri (for some reason totally unknown to her) and if it hadn't been for the odd questions the older angel asked, she likely would have just curled into the woman for comfort. Instead she found herself looking at the woman as if she'd grown a second head.

The first answers out of Saiyuri's mouth were, "I've been fine Genesis. I've actually been getting more than enough sleep, I think Lani is wearing me out because I've been really tired lately and pretty moody too." Then, after speaking before thinking, the true meaning behind Genesis' questions became clear to Saiyuri and she laughed. "You can't seriously think I'm? But I can't be, we've been careful and --"

At that point, Saiyuri's mouth snapped shut and she started counting the weeks on her fingers since her last cycle and when they added up to six she about cried. Shock clear on her face, Saiyuri begged Genesis in a hushed voice so Lani wouldn't hear, "Please tell me you're only teasing. Please tell me that I counted wrong. We just can't have another baby right now. We've got Sebby and Gareth, little miss Terror over there, and Brielle. We've already got four kids at home, what're we gonna do with another?"

[Demeter]

Genesis gnawed on her lower lip, contemplating if she should tell Saiyuri that she was going to end up with more then one new baby. Considering her granddaughter's reaction to just the news that she was pregnant, she decided to avoid that attack of hysterics for a while. "Ever since Darius knocked me up with this one," she montioned to her own, still flat abdomen," I've been all extra-sensory when it comes to pregnant woman. Trust me, Saiyuri, you'd better start getting the nursery together."

While she waited for the woman to relax, Genesis stared at the ceiling. "You have plenty of help in raising all of your children. Your families, your pard and his kindle all pitch in. You will be fine, Saiyuri, though I doubt Darius will be happy. This is going to cut your training short...of course that might be a good thing." She turned and smirked at Saiyuri. "Peacocks, Saiyuri? Couldn't you have hit Carrion Crows?"

***

Carma glanced at the newest person in his master's house. Seeing as how his job thrived on having his thumb on every pulse in this house, Carma had read the letter given to Darius so he knew the basics. And he remembered Ellen well. He'd handled the roll of Darius' body guard since Dion was in diapers. Of course, he often wished he'd still be Chantal's body guard in those days; maybe he could have saved her but he'd been guarding his master and the little misses, flushed about his promotion from being a general bodyguard to Darius's personal shield. He'd only earned that postion after killing the guard before him.

Carma glanced the new arrival up and down, noting that he resembled both Dream and Belladonna. So he got his looks from Darius' mother. He quickly went back to the books, selecting the one he needed. He carried it over to the few tables, quickly found the information and noting that it was ruled by all seven lords that The Dragon Lady would never again be allowed to bear arms, raise an army, massacre anything or step foot into the populated boundries of hell.

He shut the book. "So you are Rune," it was a simple greeting. He didn't introduce himself, allowing Talos to introduce him. He'd seen the look the man had cast at the double-handed sword and he reached down to pat the plain, leather and metal sheath. "And you were raised by Shadis. Shame about that mans death. He would have been fun to hang from the courtyard by his achellies tendons. Let the new soilders use him for target practise."

Carma leaned his chair back, balancing it on it's back legs, while he waited for a single response.

[Maira]

Saiyuri couldn't help but whimper at her grandmother's proclamation about getting the nursery ready. They didn't even have a house with enough rooms for a nursery! They were currently living in the house Thiery had shared with his boys' mother and it only had 3 bedrooms. That worked out fine for now, the twins in one, Lani and Brielle in another, and she and Thiery got the master. Where on earth was she supposed to squeeze in a nursery?! Behind her, the poor flower arangement blackened and crumpled as Saiyuri's mood dropped significantly.

Genesis' words about having plenty of help raising their family were true but they didn't reassure Saiyuri much. She, after all, was the one that spent all her time alone with them. She and Thiery had just gotten to the point where they were considering finally taking their honeymoon. Now what were they going to do? They couldn't tote a newborn with them, and she deffinately didn't want to travel if this pregnancy was as out of control as the last one. At that thought, Saiyuri glanced over her shoulder and was slightly relieved to see Lani happily coloring on the walls... Oh well, at least she was being quiet...

When she returned her attention to Genesis, she heard the other woman's teasing remarks about her lack of skill with a crossbow and all she had in response was, "I am a cat, I don't do long-range weapons. I do better with knives and my claws." She couldn't even find it in her right then to laugh even though she knew that was what Genesis had been trying to get her to do. Things just looked so uphill at that point and she was -not- about to ask for help from her rediculously wealthy family on her mother's side. She wasn't the type to ask help from anybody so it really wasn't anything personal against her family. She just didn't do that.

*****

Rune nodded affimatively at Carmine's simple statement regarding who he was. He wasn't entirely certain how the other man knew that but as he was Darius' chief bodyguard, he figured the man knew just about everything that went on in his master's household.

The next bit that came out of Carmine's mouth, Rune couldn't help but sneer at. His tone was cold as he stated, "The new soldiers would have had to wait, I've got years worth of reasons to have had first shot at him."

[Demeter]

Carma smirked. "You're not the first person in this house to take a swing at Shadis. You know that nasty looking scar on his back?" Carma pulled Talos from the sheath and held him out, hilt first, towards Rune. "700 hundred years ago we were both up for admittance into the elite guard and there was only one place left. I'm favored by the Greek and Roman gods. I'm not saying they helped me but they trained me. Go ahead and hold Talos, one of few swords made between Vulcan and Hephaestus that has ever left the hands of the gods."

It was a gesture of good will. This young man was strong, if still a pup, and it would never do to create an enemy. Though anyone who distrusted Shadis, even if the man was dead, was a friend in his book. At a movement in the entryway to the library, Carma glanced over and sighed. "Darius, get it off the carpet before it stains something. Go put it on the tile or something. That can be cleaned and regrouted if needed. Genesis will make you sleep on the couch, again, if you stain her antique persian rug."

Darius pouted and glanced down at the women he'd dragged through the streets of hell by her hair. Getting her out of that monstrosity of a house had been a bit of a struggle and now he was getting blood everywhere. "Yes, Carma" he sighed and dragged his burden ten feet over and depostied her on the brick hearth. He glanced over Rune, wondering what the boy thought of him being bossed around but Carma. "I see that you are still here. Carna, go get Dion and Saiyuri. I think it is time we had a family meeting. Just the four of us."

Carma, having stood when his master came, nodded and took Talos back from Rune and strode through the doorway. It didn't take long to find Saiyuri, she was in a fit of hysterics in the informal library room while Genesis look on, amused. "My ladies, if you will allow me to interrupt. Lord Darius has requested Saiyuri's presence in the formal library. He has a gift for her."

He bowed out of the room. In the years that he'd been serving as a bodyguard for the family Carma had picked up some habits of respect. When it was just a family gathering, though, Darius acted like Carma was the son he'd always wanted. Even if he had been the perpetratior of Troy's first, sweaty experience with another man. After a bit of searching, he found Dion stretched out in her old room. He kneeled by the bed and gently shoot her awake. "My Lady, Your father has returned with a present for you. Once you are able, please join us in the formal library room."

His task finished, Carma returned to his master and stood three steps behind him and two the left. Ellen may be down but he wouldn't put it past the woman to leap up and attack if pushed.

[Maira]

Rune was appropriately impressed by Carmine's words. When the older Custos reffered to the nasty scar on Shadis' back, Rune couldn't help but smirk and nod in understanding. Before his supposed father had died, he had given that scar a matching one but across his chest. When Carmine pulled Talos from its place at his hip and offered it hilt-first to Rune, the younger Custos nearly refused. He held too much respect for this man to casually take hold of his sword, that and he didn't think he was worthy of holding Talos.

Finally though he did take the sword and he had to fight to keep his face neutral. He had never thought to see this sword, let alone be allowed to hold it. As a child he had very much looked up to whoever had given Shadis that scar as an example though he had never told Shadis that.

At Darius' return to the house dragging what appeared to be the bloody corpse of a woman, Rune nearly snarled. He knew that dress even if it was covered in blood, Ellen had had it for years. Unconsciously he gripped the hilt of Talos tighter, until Carmine took it back from him and went off into the rest of the house that is.

At the dissappearance of Carmine and his wonderful sword, Rune finally focussed his attention on Darius and asked one simple question, "Is she dead?" If she was, Rune was going to be quite upset but there wouldn't be anything he could do about it. If she wasn't, he knew he was going to have to fight Saiyuri and Dion off to get his shot at the evil witch. Darius had obviously already had his 'fun'.

*****

Saiyuri was finally beginning to calm down a little bit when she suddenly had a man was standing beside her talking. It took her a moment to realize it was Carma who was talking and she looked at him confused. He always confused her when he was so formal, and it took her a moment more to shut up her reeling brain and grasp just what he'd said.

Before she could answer, Carma had bowed and left the library. To Genesis she said softly, "Your husband is more confusing than Carma and that's saying something...." Then she got up off the couch and started to leave the room. Only as she passed a quietly doodling Lani did Saiyuri think to turn and ask her grandmother, "You would mind watching little miss while I'm busy with Darius would you?" At the nod from Genesis, Saiyuri turned and made her way to the other library where Darius was standing, Carma behind him, and the stranger standing across the room.

[Demeter]

Darius glanced over at Rune. "She's not dead, yet. And she will remain alive. We will talk about this calmly and then Carmine will take her down to the dungeon where she will await a trial by her peers." Darius nudged the body with his toe. He nodded to Saiyuri when she entered. "What all want revenge on this woman and there is not enough to go around. What better way to break her then to air all of her dirty laundry in front of the public. She'll be an outcast."

Darius looked over at the doorway as Dion entered, one hand at the small of her back. Carma quickly helped Dion into one of the chairs. "Ellen has ruined more then one life. If she should pay for that, it should be in the most public way possible. She, after all, thrives on attention. That doesn't mean that her time in a cell won't be without it's problems. After all, all the elite guards are faithful to the family. They won't speak if anything...accidental happens. Am I understood?"

Dion peered over at her father and then down at the crumpled body in a lurid red dress. She understood her father's reasoning. Unlike the other two in the room, she remembered the Ellen-years. She'd always been swanning around, going to commeeties, parties, and teas with the other ladies of hell. She'd always been after her and the other girls to do something about her apperance. "Carma, can you bring her over here." Dion glanced at the stranger and Saiyuri. "I get first dibs."

When Carma dragged the body over, Dion placed a finger under Ellen's chin and raised the bruise and bloodied face. "You never thought this would back to bite you in the ass, did you. Well, guess what, Ellen. My daughter found me. You know, the one you told me was stillborn but in reality you smuggled her out of the house while I was unconcious from the delivery and dropped her off with her grandparents?"

Dion wrapped her fingers around that chin and pulled Ellen forward. "When I get through with you, you won't even recognize yourself. Just because I am six months pregnant means nothing. Take her away, Carmine."

Carmine bowed to Dion and pulled Ellen's limp body away by wrapping a hand around her upper arm and yanking.

Darius turned to Rune. "You will stay the night, won't you? We'll need to document the injuries Ellen has done to you."

[Maira]

Accidental her ass... Saiyuri stared for the first time at the woman who had stolen her from her mother and wanted nothing more than to give her a swift kick to the gut. Unfortunately she'd just been informed that there would be no killing of the evil woman but that accidents in the dungeon did sometimes happen.

Oh well, she would just have to wait her turn. After all, no matter how hurt or angry she was at Ellen, the other three people in the room had even more reason to hate her. Especially if Darius was asking the stranger to stay so his injuries from Ellen could be documented. She had no idea who he was or how he was involved with Ellen but just knowing she had caused him injuries gave him one rung up on the ladder to hurt Ellen in return.

And then of course there was what her mother had suffered... That was the real reason that Saiyuri wanted to see the woman dead. A mother herself, she couldn't imagine how she would have dealt with being told her daughter was stillborn, how she would have handled a funeral for her little girl... What Ellen had done to Dion was unforgivable.

She watched with a grim smile as Ellen was finally dragged away by Carmine, then turned and went and sat with her mother by propping herself on the arm of Dion's chair. No matter how hard she was trying to hide it behind her anger, seeing Ellen had scared the shit out of her and she just wanted to be close to Dion.

*****

Rune gave a curt nod at being informed that Ellen was alive and would be kept that way until her trial by her peers. Unlike the other three in the room, Rune had had a chance to get some closure with his mother years ago when he had kicked her out of the Dahl family's house. Still, with this new news about his paternity, Rune felt a sudden resurgence of anger at the woman.

He watched as the pregnant of the two women (sisters?) laid into Ellen verbally. Her words made him look at the other woman, the one who had done the leopard thing earlier, a little differently. Was she the pregnant woman's daughter? Custoss were known to age slowly so it -was- entirely possible. He brushed it off and tucked it away for later consideration and returned his attention to Ellen where she was cringing and trying feebly to get away from the pregnant woman.

When the pregnant woman was finally done with her, Rune watched as Carmine hauled Ellen away as ordered by Darius. He didn't realize he had a satisfied smirk on his face until Darius spoke to him and it dissappeared. Once the question, and the reason behind the question, sunk in, Rune stared at Darius like he'd grown a second. Then after a moment he answered matter-of-factly, "That woman never left a mark on my body that wouldn't fade with time. It was her husband Shadis who left permanant marks." No, Ellen had never done more than leave bruises, and once she broke his arm, but the bruises went away and the broken arm healed so he had no proof of either.

[Demeter]

"She allowed it though, didn't she?" Dion spoke after hearing the stranger speak. She'd already decided that he was somehow related the family; his hair was like Bella's and Dream's hair. "She allowed this Shadis to leave permanant marks and who knows how many mental scars."

Dion raised a hand to Saiyuri and patted her arm. "Injuries come in many forms. Ellen may have never laid a hand on me but she took my daughter from me, told me that she was dead. I finally get to find out why. Finding out why is almost better then seeing her bloody and bruised."

Darius nodded and made a mental note to call the rest of his children. Ellen had been harsh on all of them; espically Jade. Calling her a freak because she never spoke. Dream, thankfully, had never had any contact with the woman. "Her trial will be schedule for next week in the public hearing house. I'm sure there are many others who wish to speak out against her. Ah, Carma, please show Rune to one of the guest rooms and then return here. We have plenty of work to do. Dion, Saiyuri, get some rest. Gods above, Genesis would have my head if I exhasuted either one of you. Congradulations, by the way, Saiyuri." In the years that he'd been around his wife, he'd picked up some extra skills. Also, the girl was having erractic moodswings and he'd been around enough pregnant women to know.

Carma, after returning from tossing Ellen into a dank, damp cell and posting two of the elite guards at the doors, nodded and gestured for Rune to follow him. "You'll be in the east wing, same as myself. The guest rooms come complete with their own kitchen or you can go the bottom floor of the south wing. The main kitchen is there but watch out for Mrs. Plunkett. She's an odd one."

Rune pointed out various things on their way to the east wing and then reached out and grabbed at a white blur as it sped past. "And this is Belladonna, potions maker extrodanair. Bella, your father would like to see you when it's convient. And please tell me that your mamba didn't get out again?"

At a scream from somewhere in the house, Carma groaned and Bella winced. "Go! And Put it back in it's tank properly this time!" He turned back to Rune. "Her Black Mamba has a tendency to escape."

[Maira]

Rune was slightly startled when the pregnant woman talked to him. For so many years he had shoved the memories of his childhood at Shadis' hands to the back of his mind and suddenly he was being forced to relive them. It was amazing that all it took to cause his scars to throb with the memories of their creation was the sight of his broken and bloody mother and the simple words from a woman he'd never met before. Silently he nodded his head in answer to her and said quietly, "She not only allowed it but watched and laughed. It was part of my warrior training as a child according to Shadis."

He would not mention the other things those two had had done to Rune by others when he was still young. Only after he gave Shadis that scar on his chest did they finally leave him alone -that- way. There were some things too humiliating to mention in mixed company, especially when all present were strangers and one was in some strange way a hero of his... No, if he could help it none of the sexual abuse would ever surface.

Darius surprised Rune by appointing Carmine as the one to get him set up in a guest room but he nodded his head greatfully and followed the other Custos out of the library. Their walk was filled with Carmine pointing out features of the house and at one point, Carmine grabbed a woman with white hair as she tried to hurry past. From what Carmine told her, and how he acted with her, Rune assumed that she was one of his older sisters and despite his normally neutral facial expression, he found himself smiling a bit. Even he could see the resemblance between them and it made him strangely happy. At the mention of her having a black mamba that had a tendancy of escaping, Rune couldn't help but smirk. He'd had a thing for poisonous snakes as a child and the Mamba had always been his favorite.

Once Belladonna had gone off to save whoever had screamed from her snake, Rune asked quietly, "So how many siblings -do- I have? She is one of them apparently. Was the pregnant woman who told Ellen off another?"

*****

Saiyuri's eyes were nearly popping out of her head when her grandfather congratulated her. She hadn't even told anybody yet! How could he know?! Was he as baby sensitive as his wife?

Then it occurred to her. Genesis had probably told him in the simplest, fastest way possible. She and Thiery, thanks to their feline sides were able to mindspeak and she knew that sometimes Custoss and Angels could too.

Instead of getting all embarrassed or indignant or any of the other miriad of emotions Saiyuri was prone to while pregnant, she just placed a hand on her flat abdomen and smiled as happily as she could manage. She was still stressed about what they were going to do about their house but that would have to wait until she coudl talk to Thiery. Finally, once Carma had escorted the stranger out of the library Saiyuri asked her grandfather, "You're not upset are you? Since it will postpone my training even more? Genesis had mentioned you wouldn't be happy about that." She waited for his answer and placed her hand over her mother's where it rested on her other arm. It was a silent plea to Dion to save her if Darius -was- mad...

[Demeter]

"At last count you have eight siblings and Genesis, Lord Darius' wife, is pregnant with the ninth." Carmine peered into one room and then ushered Rune into the room, which turned out to be one of the small sitting rooms. "This will take a while. Your eldest siblings are Nerissa and Dion. They're twins. Nerissa was the general of Darius' army until Zahid knocked her up. She now spends her time on the Arabian Penninsula, raising her son and doing marine research."

"Dion you've met. She's the older pregnant women who spoke to Ellen. She's married to Tobin Deluge and carrying their fifth child, her seventh child. Angel of Death, that one. Then there is Jade, their younger sister. She stands to inherit everything but the lordship. She, like her older sisters, is a hybrid. She was the unfortunate witness of their mother's rape and murder. Jade was two."

Carma ticked each daughter of as he talked. "Then there is the only other boy. Troy. He's the token illegeitament gay son. He is also a captain in the calvery and his also the one who breeds the hell horses for the calvery. Then there is Astra, she's a chef. Likes knives just a little much. And then, age wise, you have Demeter, She serves hades. Then Bella, she plays with posions. and then there is Dream; Lady Dream Deluge, wife to Rhystic Deluge."

"And that is your family. Large and strange. I didn't even go into the details."

***

Darius looked at Saiyuri with a raised eyebrow. "You just killed two peacocks, Saiyuri. I think we need to take a break from the training."

Dion snickered and levered herself out of her chair. "Stop scaring the grandchildren, Father. I'm going back to my nap. This guy is driving me insane."

She saw the smirk on her father's face. "yeah, yeah, yeah, you're just happy that you are getting more grandchildren. I've never met a more baby-happy Custos." Dion continued muttering as she left the library in order to return to her room.

[Maira]

Rune listened to Carmine and tried not to cringe. He had gone from being an only child to one of how many? Nine? Soon to be 10? Holy shit! He tried to take in all the knowledge bestowed upon him by Carmine but he was certain he'd need a refresher somewhere on down the road.

For the first time that evening, Rune showed a bit of humor and asked Carmine with a bewildered grin and a soft laugh, "How do you deal with all of them?" His curiosity was sincere but he didn't want to seem as overwhelmed as he truly was.

As he waited for Carmine to answer, Rune realized had a killer headache and he suddenly had the urge to take a nap before Darius started grilling him later. He was certain that the subject matter alone would make it a most unpleasant experience.

*****

Saiyuri couldn't help but laugh at her grandfather and stick her tongue out at him for bringing up the peacocks. She was certain it would be years before she lived that one down...

She listened as her mother addressed Darius and was smiling from ear to ear when Dion finally walked out of the library. She waited just a moment, until she could no longer hear her mother's footsteps then she got up off the arm of the chair and walked over to Darius. She stood before him for a moment, as if wondering if her actions were then threw her arms around his neck and gave him a quick hug and whispered, "You make a wonderful grandfather and I"m completely jealous that Lani and this new baby get to have you around while they're little and I didn't." Then she deposited a quick kiss on his cheek and released her grip before scampering out of the library to go find her daughter and get them both home. She needed to talk with Thiery....

[Demeter]

Carma led Rune out of the little sitting room. "I generally just handle them as they come. They're all a bit spastic at times. Now, a word of warning. Those housed in the east wing share the space with the fallen angels. They have the bottom two floors. There is no access point, really, but they still try."

As they rounded the corner and ended up on the third floor of the east wing, Carma hoped that Rune could figure out how the fallens still tried to make it past the second floor. Open from ceiling to first floor, the center area was a wide, caged by wooden beams section of open air. The beams, laid in a diamond pattern, were level with the third floor walkway and the stairs were gated off with a pair of elite guards standing on the third floor landing.

"You'll be directly across from myself if you need me. If I am not in my rooms, I'm probably out saving Darius from whatever trouble he's managed." Carma circle the walkway and opened a pair of french doors. "The bedrooms all the way to the back with the bathroom attached. The sitting area is open to the kitchen and it comes complete with hot and cold running water. The kitchen is only stocked with micorwaveable foods at the moment."

After the ten-cent tour of the suite, Carma back out. "So, Rune, why don't you look me up sometime for a bit of...sparring." Carma raised his eyebrows at the last bit and he brushed past Rune on his way out. "Now, don't forget that I'm Right. Across. The. Hall." and he shut the door.