“Your target was never here.” Baram punctuated his sentence with a sharp kick to the bikers’ leader’s ribs. The woman grunted, and, on the other side of the field of battle, the nearly-dead tank made a pained noise.
Interesting.
Worry about it later. Baram picked up the boy.
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rix_scaedu‘s commissioned continuation of ♪Brown Paper Packages♫.
The tag read, in a tidy handwriting that Ackelea was pretty sure she recognized,
Don’t say I never gave you anything.
For that matter, don’t let him say I never gave him anything, either. There are a lot worse options for him than you – me included – and the boy was practically begging for it.
By signing the below, I, Ackelea cy’Solomon, agree to take Ownership of the attached package. He shall live under my name until I choose to release him.
There was a line underneath, and, thoughtfully, a pen attached. Ackelea muttered a couple quick Idu Workings to be certain she wasn’t signing anything but what she could see, and then marked the signature line with her glyph.
She knew what was coming, so she was braced for the ear-popping world-twisting feeling as the Keeping took hold; the squeak from inside the package as her ears popped was the first indication that there was actually a real, live, conscious person in there.
The boy was practically begging for it.
That could mean a lot of things, especially if she was right about her anonymous gifter. Ackelea murmured a quick Levitation Working and got the package inside her threshold. After a moment’s consideration, she settled it down on her bed.
“Hold on a moment,” she told the brown wrappings. Getting no response, she took said moment to change into a nice kilt and her favorite shirt. Pants might have given a stronger impression – but she didn’t like to wear enough clothes to wear a kilt. Too warm, too confining.
The brown wrappings, obviously, held still while she changed. And they held still while she began to unwrap them – it- him.
Someone had taken the time – ha, someone – to wrap this package up nice, so she took her time to appreciate the wrapping. Twine, real twine, tied in pretty little double-bows. Seventeen of them – she counted out loud – and then three layers of paper. It wasn’t butcher’s paper – again, she checked – just brown paper spiraled around the person inside.
She got the feet out first. Bare feet, naked feet. And then the ankles – also bare, the thighs-naked – and “Oh, aren’t you nice.” She found herself making a noise like a purr, her, purring. This was going to be an interesting year, wasn’t it?
“You are a nice one… so far.” Flat stomach, almost too flat. Skinny-boi. She almost didn’t want to keep unwrapping.
She got to the nipples, to find them both pierced with thick-gauge piercings. “Well, that’s not all that common these days, is it?” She found her lips curling in a smile. “You really were asking for it, weren’t you?” She was talking to a wrapped package. That was, she had to admit, a little weird. Right. Time to get the mouth unwrapped.
The neck was bare. That was – interesting. Useful, though. The mouth, on the other hand, he’d wrapped up, gagged with a long knot of rope. “Aah.” Ackeleah chuckled. “Ah, that’s adorable.” She patted the bare flank. “All right, almost done unwrapping you.”
This time, the boy made a noise – not much of one, just a little thing. It almost sounded like a protest.
Ackeleah pinched what came to hand – his inner thigh – and went back to unwrapping. He fell quiet again, leaving her to her monologue. “You’re gorgeous, you know. But I’m sure you know that, looking like this. Looking like – where did your clothes go? You can’t have been wandering around naked on Hell Night… well, I guess that would have counted as asking for it.” She pushed the paper off his face, revealing wide eyes, wide brown eyes staring at her. “Are you worried, boy? A little concerned about your situation?”
She was purring again. What was she going to do with herself?
She sliced the rope gagging him with a very careful application of claws, and pulled the knot out of his mouth. Hemp. He’d been tangled up by a sadist – of course, she’d guessed that already.
“There you go. Now… what am I going to do with you?”
He dropped off the in the most graceful controlled fall Ackeleah had ever seen, landing on his knees with his hands behind his back and his head bowed. His voice was rough, but there was no hesitation at all in it.
“Whatever you want, mistress. Anything at all.”
♪When the dog bites, when the bee stings…♫
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First: So, Who Are You?.
Previous: Orientation
I can do almost anything I want to you.
Blaecleah swallowed. “Okay.” It really wasn’t okay. On the other hand, he was sort of past the deciding point on this one. “Okay, so this is why it’s supposed to be hard to handle.”
“Yeah.” Niobe opened her eyes. “Yeah, that’s why it’s hard to handle. What you gave up when you took Sedge’s bet, you gave up free will. Freedom at all. Choice. Until your term is up.”
“That’s…” terrifying. “A bit intimidating.”
“It ought to be. We’re almost to my room, come on. We can handle the hard stuff inside.”
“There’s harder stuff?”
The sound she made could only be called a laugh because he didn’t want to call it a bark. “Depends on your point of view, I suppose. But yeah, it’s probably safe to say there’s harder stuff.” She squeezed his hand, a gentle sort of squeeze. “Man, I did not sign up for this.”
Blaecleah swallowed around a lump of guilt. “I’m sorry. It was just, he pricked my pride…”
“…and he wants something I can offer, and used you to get it. Oh, don’t – look, if I say ‘don’t worry,’ it’s never an order, okay?”
“Okay?” He was still trying to work on the concept that she could order him not to worry, and have it work.
“-don’t worry, you were well and truly set up. This isn’t your fault.”
Despite the don’t worry not being an order (whether or not the world ought to work that way), he found her reassurance a little calming. “Thanks.”
“Look, this doesn’t haven’t to be horrible or anything. As a matter of fact, the general goal is for it to not be horrible.” She swung open a door. “Come on in. This will be your room, too, for as long as I’m Keeping you.”
Blaecleah looked around. He’d shared a room his whole life, in the creche, but… “There’s only one bed.” It was a big bed. But still.
“That there is. Kneel.” She barely waited for his knees to start obeying the order. “Take off your shirt and then put your hands behind your head. There. How does that feel?”
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Next: Not All Bad
This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/764313.html. You can comment here or there.
Today’s news covered the 45th Anniversary of the Moon Landing, which, in my Addergoole-centric way, made me realize it’s been five years since I wrote the Addergoole story of the Moon Landing.
If You Believed…, titled from the R.E.M. lyrics, is set in Addergoole, 25 years after the moon Landing.
This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/752456.html. You can comment here or there.
First: So, Who Are You?.
Previous: Bridge…
“Still here.” Sedge was still smiling, even if he was complaining.
“I know. But we’re leaving.” Niobe gave Blaecleah’s hand another squeeze. “Come on, kiddo.”
“Kiddo?”
“Probably not the best nickname, sorry. Come on, Blaecleah.”
“I could…”
“Later, Sedge. You’ve given me something to think about, and so right now, I’m going to think about this lovely gift.” She moved from an amble to a swift walk; Blaecleah had no trouble keeping up, at least.
“Where are we… oh. Your room, right?” He swallowed. “Can I talk?”
“You’re talking, aren’t you?”
“Um, yeah, but you didn’t say I could.”
“More importantly at the moment, I didn’t say you couldn’t. Yes. Yes, you can talk. And yes, we’re going to my room.”
“Thanks. I – I’ve never done this before.”
“I’d be surprised if you had. You can’t be Kept before you’re an adult, except here, and here is… weird.”
“Here is weird.” That was something they could agree on, that was for sure.
She paused – halfway down the stairs. Blaecleah stumbled but managed to catch himself before he jerked on her arm. “Why did you agree to the collar, Blaecleah?”
He swallowed. “It was kind of dumb.”
“I’m not saying it wasn’t. But why?”
“He said I was soft. That I wouldn’t survive here.”
“Aah.” She started walking again. “That makes sense.”
“It does?” He hurried to catch up, feeling the way she was holding his hand like a leash – oh, dead gods, leashes…
“I’d have done the same thing. Pride gets people into messes sense would never allow – and now I’m quoting one of my mothers, look what you’ve done.”
“I’m, ah, sorry?” He coughed. One of my mothers? Damn, he didn’t have any, and she had more than one?
“Don’t be. I mean.” She stopped again. At least this time they were on a level surface. “That wasn’t an order.”
“Hunh? Oh. Oh! Can you… can you do that?”
“Yeah. She closed her eyes for a minute. “I can do almost anything I want to you, kid, and the almost is because we’re here.”
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This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/742949.html. You can comment here or there.
This is a continuation of Unwelcome Guests, Part the Third for my “More Please” tag.
The girls knew what to do. They had fought to defend their property – their home – before. Hell, they had been fighters long before they met Baram.
The trees knew what to do, but Baram didn’t think too hard about that. He let them grab the woman in the lead, while he went for the guy that was probably their tank. Shit, shit, the second bitch was a fireball-thrower; he moved the tank between him and the thin, ashen girl and kept hitting.
It was a quick fight, Jaelie and Via hitting from the walls, shooting rowan bullets and hawthorn arrows, the trees doing their share of damage, and Baram in the middle of the fight like some sort of bull in a china shop.
The bikers were fae, but they weren’t organized, and they weren’t all that good at being fae – except the ashen one he’d thought was a bitch, the fireball thrower. Baram took her down hard, broke her jaw and pinned her wrists with a hawthorn arrow.
By then, the tree had the leader and her probably-second-in-command, and everyone else except her maybe-a-seer-boy were down. He looked between the three of them, then decided sitting down with his hands on his neck was a good idea.
Baram grunted. “You okay?”
“We’re fine, boss. They’re not all that good at this.”
“No teamwork.” He toed the fireball-thrower. “This one’s interesting, though.”
“So’s the boy.”
“We’re not keeping them.”
“He might be useful.”
“Another… shit, he fainted. Okay.” He walked over to the tree and poked the leader in the stomach. Her eyes and stomach were about all that was visible… that had to hurt. “You.”
She grunted incoherently. Baram poked her again.
“You take your people and you leave. We’re keeping one – or two -”
“-as the fee for having the stupid gall to attack us,” Jaelie filled in.
The tank, who wasn’t quite dead, it seemed, spoke up. “What about our target?”
“Never here.” Baram added a kick to punctuate it. “Got it?”
This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/741304.html. You can comment here or there.
First: So, Who Are You?.
Previous: Baking Out & Walking In
“For the rest of the school year, Blaecleah, you belong to Niobe cy’Fridmar sh’Aelfgifu.”
“For the rest of the school year, Blaecleah, you Belong to me.” It was like déjà vu, except the rising panic in his chest. Blaecleah nodded, finding that his throat was too tight for him to speak. Niobe looked down at him, a frown creasing her lips. What had he done? “Come with me. Stand up and come with me. Here.” She held out her hand.
Blaecleah stared at the hand for a moment. What was he… oh. He set his hand on top of hers, very carefully, in case that wasn’t the right thing to do.
She clasped his hand, so either it was the right thing, or she was willing to let it pass. Tension slid off of Blacleah’s shoulders. Okay, he’d done something right. Step one.
“We’re going to go to my room. Has Sedge explained anything at all to you?”
“…no?” Was that the right answer?
“I didn’t have all that much time, ‘Obe,” Sedge protested. “I just got him, and then I brought him to you.”
“I know, I know. For your deal. Okay, Sedge, we’ll talk later. Start shopping around, see what you want, all right?”
Shopping… Blaecleah shivered. Right. For a girl, or, theoretically, a guy. Like he’d shopped around for Blaecleah.
“Easy.” Niobe gave his hand a squeeze. “It’s not fun, the first couple days, but it gets easier.”
“I don’t need easy. It’s just new.”
“I know, I know.” She reached over with her free hand to pat him on the shoulder. She was, he realized, not really all that tall, if you discounted the horns. “But there’s no reason for me to make it hard on you, just because Sedge was being… ridiculous.”
“Did he really talk me into a collar just to get you in bed?”
“This is Addergoole, kid. Stranger things have been known to happen.”
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Next: Orientation
This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/740737.html. You can comment here or there.
First: So, Who Are You?.
Previous: Change of Plans
Niobe was looking at him. Sedge was looking at him. And he was still on his knees. What do you say, ‘Obe? What was she going to say? Blaecleah’s heart was in his throat.
She sighed. “He’s a lovely boy. You really grabbed him just for…?”
“Don’t get me wrong, guys are okay in my book, but I prefer guys who prefer me, if you know what I mean. Or girls. Or…”
“We get the point. We get the point. Blaecleah, what do you think about it?”
“I’m not trying to back out of the deal. He said I couldn’t handle a year under the collar. I can handle it!” The words tumbled out over each other. He took a breath, finding he needed it. “I’m not trying to get out of the deal.”
“Trust me, kid, this isn’t going to be getting out of the deal. You’re still going to be under the collar for a year. It’s going to be my collar – but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be an easy ride or anything.”
Blaecleah swallowed. “I could…” She was a very cute girl. But he was Sedge’s. That was the agreement he’d made. She was a very cute girl. “It involves…”
“It might. It might not. But if it does, it’ll be with your consent.” Her mouth did something sort of like a smile. “I’m not a monster, at least. It’s not going to be torture, even if it’s not going to be easy.”
“I have a choice?”
“You have choices. I’m not going to take you from Sedge if you don’t agree. The whole point of the deal was agreement, after all.”
“You…” Was he really considering this? It’d been easier the first time. He swallowed again. “Why?”
“Well, we can talk about that if you say yes. If you say no – my reasons are gonna be your smallest concern.”
“Hunh.” Sedge wasn’t going to be happy if he said no, was he? Sedge had picked him up for a bet. He’d – what, lost the bet anyway? “Why do you want me?”
“Color me curious. I want to know what someone’s like who walks into it willingly.”
The lump in Blaecleah’s throat was never going to go away. “Guess I’ll walk into it willingly again.”
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Next: http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/740737.html Bridge.
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faeapoclive has shown us pieces of the apoc’s beginnings through various character’s eyes. So far we have seen the Original Series protagonists – Shahin, Kailani, and Jamian.
Is there someone else you’d like to see? Any Addergoole character who exists in 2011 in-world time is up for grabs.
Suggested:
Aleron
Speed
Anatoliy
Porter
Ceinwen
Arundel
Emrys
Conrad
This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/737568.html. You can comment here or there.
First: So, Who Are You?.
Previous: Think Before You Deal
Do you want him?
Blaecleah stood. Tried to stand. “Hey! Hey, that wasn’t the deal! That wasn’t what I agreed to.” He was still kneeling. Damnit. He tried to stand again. Failed again. “I agreed to be yours.”
“Shh. Steady.” Sedge dropped a hand on his shoulder. His hand was warm and soft, big. Blaecleah shifted his weight from knee to knee.
“This wasn’t what I agreed to.” This time his voice was quiet. He sounded like a kid. That’s not what he wanted, either. “We had a deal. You don’t think I can hack it?”
“I’m pretty sure you could. But you don’t give off the vibe of being into guys – are you?”
Into. “Is this whole place about sex?”
“Well, yeah.” Sedge laughed. “I mean, there’s magic and classes, too, but yeah, really. We’re teenagers and there’s a world to repopulate. This place has a lot of sex.” He tapped the back of Blaecleah’s neck. “This, being Mine, it’s generally a lot about sex.”
Blaecleah twisted to look up at Tall Guy. Sedge. “I. Um. I dunno. Never done sex. Might like guys?”
“Look at ‘Obe and tell me if you’d rather do her or do me.”
He found his head turning, found himself looking Niobe up and down. Blushing. “Um. Her. But she just said…”
“There’s ways around that. So. You think you can handle a year under her collar? She’s not gonna be easy on you because she’s a girl, you know. The collar’s gonna be tough no matter who you wear it under.”
Blaecleah managed a laugh. “Sounds like you’re trying to sell me on this.” He paused. He swallowed, but the thought wouldn’t go away. “Or just sell me.’
“Does sound like you’re trying to convince him more than me.” Niobe’s hand landed on Blaecleah’s shoulder. “Which is fair. What do you say, Blaecleah?”
“I’m not trying to back out of the deal.” It felt like the ground was falling out from under him. “I’m not. I can handle it. I said I could handle it.”
“I believe you, kid. I do. What do you say, ‘Obe?”
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