The Princess and the Blade

[Emora Deen]

Tenara stood up, her cheeks burning as the three men set their eyes on her. "Yes. Briefly. I'm sure he was trying to ruffle my feathers. Not poison me. He didn't even know we'd be here," she argued. "I'm fine. He's not. Here, let him have the bed..." Tenara looked to his dagger, her eyes going wide. Smoke swirled up around it as the wood beneath turned black and at least one corner lit with a bead of flame.

"I don't understand," Laurius said, fanning the dagger which only served to grow the fire. He dumped a bucket of ice over it. "How do I fix this?"

[Soran Nightblade]

Havitharon hesitated to answer. He glanced to Artisuren, who glared a warning at him. He touched the base of one of his own horns reflexively. "I honestly do not know. On our world, we do not fix this condition. It is considered merciful to allow the bond-broken to die. Most do it of their own accord."

"Thvoros," Artisuren glowered.

"Do you want to survive or not?" Havi snapped at him. "What helped you yesterday?"

[Emora Deen]

"Well that's just awful," Tenara muttered at Havi's explanation of bond-broken futures. She went into the lavatory and brought out cold rags as a shrill whistle filled the air. The ship began to rock a little more, which set her off balance. Laurius caught her, steadying her against the wall a moment. There was precious little distance between them, and she kept her gaze on the floor until he eased up and moved to circle back to Artisuren.

"We're setting sail, so let's get this sorted. We'll all die if this ship burns in the middle of the sea," he said and plopped down into a chair. "He was better after we had sex. He was better after our game of chess, where I mostly told him how to play."

Tenara tried to place the cool rags on Artisuren. "Would bonding to someone else fix you?" she asked Artisuren in the same voice she would use went tending an injured animal.

"Tell us how to save you," Laurius demanded.

[Soran Nightblade]

Artisuren flushed and looked at Tenara. If only it was this Yurivis he was connected with. But he felt nothing as she attended him. It was Laurius's demand that made him speak.

"Command me," he said, need and shame wreaking havoc on his voice. "There is only one Bond. Mine is gone, and I can't forge it again," he looked to Laurius. "But if....you c-command it, for some reason, I feel like I would survive."

[Emora Deen]

Laurius seemed bewildered. “I made you to serve me,” he said, shifting out of his seat and stepping towards Artisuren. “I tore you from your dark, cold world to serve me. You belong to me, remember? What more must I say to end this?” He looked to Havi. “How is a bind made on your world? I will do it, whether it works or not. Maybe it will get it through his thick skull who he belongs to now.”

[Soran Nightblade]

"If I belong to you, master, stop leaving me behind!" Artisuren snapped at him. His fever was blurring his thoughts. "You keep doing it..."

Havi blinked at the man's outburst. They said a bond-broken Ivis went mad in a matter of days. He wondered if that was what he was witnessing, or if this male was always this volatile. "It will not work. To start with, neither of you are in rut," he said, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

[Emora Deen]

Laurius glanced at Tenara. “How do you deal with this nonsense?” Then, he turned back to Havitharon. “Human men don’t experience whatever it is you do. That isn’t a factor here…” He bit his tongue before he went into anymore details. The differences in their mating techniques were not the issue here.

Instead, he turned to Artisuren. “I haven’t left you behind,” he said evenly. He pointed to the dagger. “You are always with me. I carry you everywhere I go.”

Tenara eased forward. “In fact,” she said, smiling at Artisuren as she sat next to him. She leaned in with a kind, conspiratorial smile. “He carries you next to his heart. So really, for humans, that is as close as you can be to someone.”

Laurius blinked at her sentimental connection for what, to him, was simply strategic. He was a righty. It was easier to get to and use…

[Soran Nightblade]

Artisuren bit back the horrifying urge to cry. The Yurivis's gentleness nearly undid him. More than that, he wanted to scream out of sheer frustration. "It's not about whether I'm with him. I want to be for him," he told Tenara. These people didn't understand, and he couldn't explain. What was the point in service if it was only for his own self preservation?

"He wants to be used, not cherished," Havi finally cut in. He turned impatient eyes on Laurius. "It doesn't matter where you keep the dagger or how you feel about him. Pretty words won't fix his nature. Command him, or fuck him, those are your options. If you plan to neglect him like you did today, you might as well kill him."

[Emora Deen]

Tenara felt a jolt at Havi’s words. Command him or fuck him… Was it the same between them? Was Havi only happy if she were giving him those two things? Her soft gaze lingered on him, appraising as if she were trying to sort out a puzzle.

Laurius glowered at Havitharon and then turned to Artisuren. “Stand,” he said.

[Soran Nightblade]

Artisuren rose to his feet, wobbling only slightly. Maybe Thvoros had put the situation too coarsely, but that was to be expected from a dysfunctional male who notoriously detested the Yurivis bond. And among these people who didn't understand a thing, perhaps blunt was best. He wondered what Laurius thought about it. He'd just claimed ownership of him, and he liked his knife, so maybe this would actually clear things up? He stood chest to chest with Laurius and cast him a challenging, curious look.

Havi looked at the door crossly. He didn't want to stay for this.

[Emora Deen]

Laurius looked Artisuren in the eye. "You want to be commanded. I'll command you. My first command is for you to say what you mean at all times. If you enjoy my touch, you tell me. If you don't, you tell me." He didn't bother asking if the being understood. "On that note, we're going for a walk, unless the Princess enjoys a show?" He glanced to Tenara, all wicked smiles.

Tenara, though, was still looking at Havitharon. When she realized Laurius was speaking to her, she jumped a little, and looked at him as if she hadn't heard his jest. He was a little disappointed. "Ugh..."

"Come, and sure-footed. You're too heavy to carry," he told Artisuren, going to the door. He opened it and stepped aside to let the being pass. He dug into his pocket and tossed a brass key toward Tenara. "I prefer if you don't leave the room, only because I don't want you leaving that behind." He nodded to the dagger. "If you do, though... Lock it up."

[Soran Nightblade]

Artisuren walked - carefully - out the door where Laurius indicated. He was too relieved to be embarrassed about obeying another male. He'd had all day to come to terms with the situation alone, and his throbbing body was undeniable proof that male or not, he now needed this person if he intended to survive.

If you enjoy my touch, you tell me. If you don't, you tell me. The commands echoed in his bones. Why ask him that? Of course he didn't want to do that with another male.

"...unless the Princess enjoys a show." Then why did that voice, speaking those words, give him goosebumps? What did he mean about a show? He waited outside the door until Laurius finished talking with the princess and came out with him.

"We're going for... a walk?"

____

Havi watched stiffly as the businessman made his way out with the other Ivis. Even with them gone, he still felt irritated. He blew out a harsh breath. "What a mess."

[Emora Deen]

Laurius closed the door. "A walk," he said, and motioned for Artisuren to follow him. The ship was busy with people coming and going and getting acquainted with the newness of their voyage. There were few avenues for privacy when the night was young, but Laurius knew well enough that few people tended to lurk in the cargo hold. On the other ship, there had been two. One for large items and another for smaller, rarely used items. Extra sails and ship repair supplies. He didn't lead him to the large hold, because that had a large hole in the ceiling covered with a grate that could be moved for offloading the larger items. Too many people could look in or hear down below. He led Artisuren to the smaller one, or in the direction he expected it to be. Again, he found himself a little turned around, but eventually found the door.

"Get in," he said after peeking inside and ensuring there was no one there.

[Soran Nightblade]

Artisuren took in the unfamiliar smells of the ship's belly as he followed. He wanted to ask questions, but the rocking of the ship combined with his shaky condition made walking upright about all he could focus on. When they reached to room Laurius had apparently been looking for, Artisuren proceeded warily. His heart was already pounding in his chest by the time he stopped and turned to face him.

[Emora Deen]

Laurius closed the door. The room was nearly pitch black. The only source of light poured in through a narrow porthole along the wall. Pale gray spilled across the floor in a funnel between them, a line Laurius wondered if he should cross.

He did.

Laurius stepped toward Artisuren and pushed him up against a stack of crates. "Stand still," he said, just in case Artisuren lashed out. His hand clamped partially around the alien's throat, pinning him to the wood. The other hand went between the man's legs. "Two choices, eh? Which do you want? The one where I order you to do jumping jacks until you vomit, or the one where you suck me off? I know which one I'd prefer... But I guess the thing about orders is I don't have to give you a choice..."