Heirot

Havitharon sat up, the sheets spilling to his lap. His long hair was tussled around his bare torso. It was unheard of for another female to approach someone's Ivis in their mating bed, even if they were family. That said, it was frankly just so absurd that he wasn't sure how to respond in the slightest. He looked down at Lelana's slender finger stroking the arch of his foot. "Good morning," he greeted her warily.

Lelana grinned at Havitharon before her gaze drifted to her niece. "Tenara, dear, why don't you get cleaned up. Your father's expecting you both very soon. He said I needed to drag your, and I quote, 'tails' to the dining room."

Tenara hesitated.

"I promise to play nice with your toy," she said, drawing an X over her heart.

Tenara glanced at Havitharon. She knew him well enough that he would put a stop to anything that made him uncomfortable. "I'll be in the other room. Only a moment. Just a quick wash. I'll leave the water running for you." She slipped to the edge of the bed, dragging one of the pillows like a shield, and clenched her teeth to keep the harsh groan wanting to erupt from her as she made it to her feet locked in her chest. "Be nice."

"Always," Lelana mused.

"Never," Tenara said, scowling.

"I'm always nice to you!" Lelana called after her niece, fixing her gaze on the alien. "I am," she said to him when she heard the water in the next room turn on. She went back to tracing her finger over Havitharon's large, gray foot. "I have not always been a very good woman. In fact, I don't think I'm a very good woman now, but I do try very hard to be good to my family... to make up for the terrible things I did to them. Tenara was such a sweet child. I hated children, but she was... different. She became a bright light in my otherwise very dark, miserable world. I love her very much." She tapped her finger against each toe, as if she were counting them. "So, please, take me seriously when I say, if you break her, in any way, I will make your every waking nightmare a reality. And when I do, sleep will not save you. Death will not save you. Do we understand each other, Mr. Spiky?"

Havi studied her for a long moment. This woman gave off sexually aggressive vibes, so when Tenara was out of earshot, he'd been expecting her to attempt to claim him, or manipulate him into her bed. He was well accustomed to those things, and he was prepared to deal with them, especially now when he wasn't in rutt. Honestly, he was so accustomed to it that her behavior didn't even make him particularly nervous.

But when she spoke, her words had nothing to do with claiming him, or manipulating him into her bed. She was warning him not to hurt Tenara, and her threats had nothing to do with torturing him sexually. Well, that she knew of. She didn't know yet what his waking nightmares were - or at least he thought she didn't.

He re-evaluated the strange woman in front of him. "I think I understand you," he said thoughtfully. Understanding 'each other' was a different matter. He had no reason nor desire to make her understand him. "Shall I tell you my actual name?"

Lelana grinned. “I would love to know your true name,” she said, and touched his foot again. This time, her hand trailed over the top of his foot and up his leg beneath the sheets as far as she could reach, which, given his height, wasn’t very far at all. “It really is a pity. If it wouldn’t break Tenara’s heart, I’d mount you and ride you into the night. Such a strange, beautiful thing you are. Those eyes…” Her dark gaze met his, and it was like falling into a void, or being stripped on an altar for all your dark secrets to be spread out before a gawking congregation. There was power in that gaze, a hypnotic, searching draw that spoke of her looking into him and searching, seeing, hunting for anything she could use against him.

Havitharon's posture changed on the bed. He slid his leg from her grasp, drawing both long limbs up toward his body and crossing them. Now her behavior was starting to be familiar. That look in her eyes smacked of twisted obsession. She had significant power, and she wanted a reason to use it. "Forget about the name," he said icily. "Or anything else of mine." He placed his hands on his knees, a challenge in his eyes as they tackled hers.

Lelana grinned. “That’s fine. I likely wouldn’t have used it, anyway.” She slipped away from the bed, stepping closer to the bathroom and tilting her head towards the shower, listening.

“So, you and Tenara are lovers now?” She preoccupied herself with a collection of knickknacks on a table. “What do your kind call it? Yurivis, was it? I think that's what Tenara called it. Does this mean you care for her? Love her? No. It’s likely too soon for that, right?” She moved on to another of Tenara's trinkets, picking it up and admiring it. It was a swan. Lelana's gaze drifted to Havitharon.

Tenara moved gingerly as she exited the bathroom, wrapped in an overlarge towel. Her silver hair was dripping wet around her shoulders, but there was a light, refreshed look on her features. She paused when she spotted her aunt's gaze boring into Havitharon, then she turned her eyes on him. "Go on. The shower's nice and hot."

Havi thought about telling Lelana how little he gave a shit about what she thought their relationship was. But then he remembered what his Yurivis had told him the night before. About how she wanted his help getting her family to understand their situation. She cared about her family's understanding and approval.

"I accepted Tenara as my Yurivis," he said, feeling a chill at the words as he spoke them aloud. "She took claim of me during a rutt. It means... that I am devoted to her. I serve her without condition."

He looked up cautiously as Tenara returned to the room. He slid from the sheets, fully nude on graceful limbs, and crossed the room to Tenara's side. When he reached her, he paused cheek to cheek with her for a moment. Her warm, clean skin radiated heat across the small distance between them. He couldn't smell himself on her anymore, and a bestial part of his brain thought he ought to correct that soon. He shook off the thought. For god's sake, he wasn't in rut anymore. "I'll be back shortly," he murmured to Tenara, though his pointed gaze never left Lelana's.

Tenara closed her eyes at the feel of Havitharon's cheek to hers before he moved on to the bathroom. She went to her wardrobe while her aunt milled around her room, poking and prodding things and coming around to admire the sorry state of her bed. "Well, the maids are going to have a fun time with this."

"What did you and Havi talk about?"

"Havi?" Lelana asked. "Adorable."

"His name is Havitharon."

"Already giving out pet names?" Tenara drew a deep blue semi-formal kaftan from the closet and slipped into it. As she dried her hair, Lelana draped herself across a lounge. "So he's your servant?"

"What? No. He's..." Tenara pursed her lips as she brushed the tangles out of her hair. "He's my friend."

"I wish I had a friend I could fuck for hours on end—"

"Aunt!"

"He said you claimed him during a rut. Now, language may be different there than here, but that sounds an awful lot like you're his mate."

Tenara paused her brushing. "So?"

"Well, do you know anything about their traditions? Do his kind mate for life? Is their version of mating like our version of marriage? What are the laws, rules, traditions?"

Tenara let out a frustrated breath from her nose. "I don't know. I haven't asked."

"Don't you think its a little reckless not to?"

"You? Lecturing someone on recklessness? You dated a minotaur."

"Yes," Lelana mused dreamily. "And it left me in the same state the next morning as you. Still, those are questions I would ask if I suddenly found myself the life-partner to him..."

Tenara groaned. "I have asked questions, I just haven't asked all of those. I will, it's just... Havitharon's life was not easy and I don't want to bring up something that hurts him." Tenara began to braid her hair and pin it into a crown around her head. "It doesn't matter, anyway. Havitharon and I are stuck together, and he cares about me. He wouldn't do anything that would hurt me, especially now."

"When we remove your connect to the sword, we'll see how unlikely he is to hurt you."

Havi stood motionless and straight in the streaming water, staring at the tile in front of him. The last two days were a bit fuzzy... and sticky... in his memory. Years of experience told him to be anxious of what he'd just gotten himself into. How many times had he fought himself into a bloody heap to maintain his freedom from the Yurivis bond? So many challengers, so many political enemies throwing every trick they could think of to weaken him, break him down so he would finally submit to one of their hands. He'd fought, and fought, and fought, until the reputation for obstinance had become a holy grail, a golden noose around his neck, a rite of passage for up-and-coming Yurivi and their champions.

Then he'd woken up in rutt in that woman's arms, and she knew nothing of conquest, and reached out to him so guilelessly that he'd.... just thrown it all away. Set down the fight, and gave in. It felt good to give in. It felt right. It terrified him.

It was done. Was that what scared him? Or was it the fact that it could be undone. After fighting all these years to prevent this bond, he was now helpless to stop himself from losing it.

He cleaned himself mechanically, his muscles feeling sluggish. His washed his long hair, working his fingers through the soapy strands until they hung straight and even again. Ten minutes later, he finally stepped back out into the bedroom. His clean hair was laid in a twist over his shoulder and around his neck. It dripped water down his chest and into the towel at his waist. He looked at the two women, wondering what they'd been discussing. "I'm out of clothes. Again," he noted.

Tenara smiled at him. "I can run and get you something..."

"You're a princess, Tenara. Just ring that little gold rope in the corner. Better yet..." Lelana stood up and circled around Havitharon. "Here. For now, wear this." She twisted her finger into the air, and the towel shifted, melded, stretched. It stained black, and grew and coiled around him until he wore a pair of black trousers, a black tunic, and leather boots, sized to him. "Only one outfit for free. You'll have to get someone to put more in Tenara's closet." She glanced at Tenara. "I'm assuming your husband's moving in with you?"

"He's not my husband," Tenara said, scowling.

Lelana clapped her hands. "Alright, let's go before Vlad has an aneurysm."

Havi stiffened, spreading his arms slightly to look down at the clothes she'd conjured. They fit him almost too well, and he wondered how much of Lelana's sexual preferences was reflected in the outfit. He followed them to the door while they continued to argue. He made a mental note to ask more about what a "husband" entailed. The word was part of his vocabulary, thanks to the communication spell Tenara had used, but he couldn't quite get his head around the definition, which meant it was something without a perfect parallel in his language. Whatever it was, he was sure he didn't want to ask in front of Tenara's Aunt.

When they finally arrived in the dining room, Vlad and Tenele were already both dining quietly together. There was no sign of her other father, which meant he must still be investigating what had happened in Ighten. Vlad looked up at them with cold nonchalance. "That took long enough. Were you lost?" he asked his sister in law pointedly.

"They needed a shower," Lelana said, slipping into a chair.

Tenele's fork scraped harsh against her plate. She cleared her throat and continued eating slowly. She didn't look up at Tenara, and Tenara felt a pang in her chest. She slipped into a chair across from them, and patted the seat next to her for Havitharon. Tenara laid the sword at her feet and reached for the water pitcher.

Tenele's gaze drifted to her daughter, then Havitharon.

"So," Lelana began. "I hate awkward silences, and this feels like one of those situations where it will grow unbearable. Why don't I fill the void by saying that I think their elongated romp gave me the time to think of an alternative to plunging that sword into Tenara's heart. Though, I don't think you'll like it any better."

Vlad choked, though he hadn't been eating. "Depends. Can we plunge it into the other one?" he smiled toothily.

Havitharon tried to ignore the comment and took the seat Tenara instructed. Servants arrived almost immediately, pouring them water and offering them tea. He stared at the female maid like he'd just seen a wolf cluck like a chicken, but managed to shake his head. She bowed and retreated politely, further startling him.

Lelana giggled at Vlad's joke. "No. I wish it were so simple. I need to torture Tenara."

Tenele choked, spitting the food she had in her mouth to the plate and grabbing a glass of water.

Tenara leaned forward, peering down the table at her aunt. "I'm sorry?"

"Well, not physically, Sweety." Lelana waved her hand in the air. "Tenara's soul and magic is all tangled with the sword. Sinead was right to think that if Tenara had more control over that magic, that she would be able to have more control over the sword and, in theory, separate herself from it. Unfortunately, we all know Tenara's magic is emotionally driven. We need to teach her to control it, to use it or not use it, depending on the situation and emotions. Now, if we did that the traditional way, it could take years, but if we did it my way, it could take... maybe a week."

Vlad set his hands down in his lap and clenched them there. He had never told his daughter about what happened while he'd been prisoner in Lelana's fortress. He knew very well what Lelana was capable of. "It's true that her magic lets loose when she's upset... you're talking about doing it on purpose?"

Havitharon followed the conversation with sharp attention. On the occassions he'd seen at least, it took more than being "upset" to set Tenara off. It took devastating emotional pain. He drove his nails angrily into his lap, unaware that Vlad was doing the exact same thing in the seat across from him.