Isshin was surprisingly amenable to the idea of putting up Feralina and her escort in the mother in law suite.

At first, Ichigo had been deeply suspicious of his willingness, but then he'd figured it out. With Feralina and her men here, there was no chance at all of permanently silencing Grimmjow. With the cat well and truly out of the bag, Isshin was thinking about Karin and Yuzu now. They didn't have enough spiritual talent to be any kind of threat, and he could charge the elven woman a good fee to use the house. That small cushion could make the difference between life and death if things ever got really bad.

It was another week before Grimmjow was really recovered from his lung infection, although he was trying to get out of bed and practice with his sword well before that. Ichigo had to practically sit on him after the man managed to work himself into fainting.

"I thought elves were supposed to be delicate, ethereal creatures." Ichigo growled as he pinned Grimmjow in place on the pallet, making the elven man swear at him. "Stop it! You've snuck out of bed three times today! Feralina's going to skin you alive!"

"I'm bored and I'm weak! I need to practice!" Grimmjow complained. "And who the hell are you calling delicate? I'm as delicate as old shoe leather!" He sounded proud of it and Ichigo snorted.

"You're just a bastard." He corrected the elf and glowered back as Grimmjow glared at him. "Are you going to stay put, or do I have to do this all day?" Holding him down was already getting old. Grimmjow squirmed for a moment before giving up.

"Oh, fine. Can ya stay and talk to me? I'm bored outta my mind and Feralina's bein' a bitch." Grimmjow complained and Ichigo nodded. He'd much rather talk to Grimmjow than find chores that needed doing, anyway. "Great, now geddoff." Grimmjow squirmed again and Ichigo laughed before pulling himself off the elf and taking a seat beside him.

"Well, really, I was told that elves were delicate, ethereal creatures. Why are you and Feralina so… not?" He asked. He wondered if the stories could really be that far off. If they'd been describing Grimm and Fera, he thought the stories should have said 'feral, beautiful and dangerous' rather than 'delicate and ethereal.' Grimmjow huffed a laugh before placing his hands behind his head.

"You really want t' know?" Ichigo nodded and Grimmjow shrugged. "What makes an elf immortal is the blessin' of the forest. Not pure blood, not personal virtue or any of that bullshit. Just what the forest decides. Almost all elves get the blessing, but half-elves and even a really rare human can get it. Most elves stick to other elves, but my family has always been a little more… prom-is-cu-ous." Grimmjow drew the word out in an insinuating way and Ichigo blushed, shaking his head.

"So you're saying you have human blood?" He asked just to spell it out. Somehow, it didn't surprise him. Grimmjow nodded.

"My grandpappy was a half-elf, and we have human blood on both sides. If you go back far enough, we even have some lupine and dragon in there." He said and Ichigo looked at him in disbelief. Dragon? "Dragons are shape changers so it ain't so far-fetched. We're the mongrels of the elf world."

"Okay. That, I can see." In fact, it sounded perfectly reasonable and explained a lot. "And why do you talk like that?" Not the most diplomatic way to put it, maybe, but Ichigo really wanted to know what was behind that strange accent. Grimmjow grinned.

"Yer hitting every sore point t'day! If my grandmammy were here she'd be givin' you the catbutt face." Grimmjow laughed before explaining. "Y'see, elves don't keep many slaves. But once inna while, we'll buy a human kid and adopt 'em, to raise 'em with our own kids."

"Huh?" Ichigo blinked. That sounded like a very strange custom. "Why?"

"T'give our own kids some idea of how humans really work, so y'don't get a daft elf who thinks a fifty year old human is a l'il kid." Grimmjow rolled his eyes and Ichigo snorted at the thought. "So that's why my mamma did. She bought the most expensive kiddo on the market cuz expensive is better, right?" Grimmjow chuckled harshly. "She's a lady," He pronounced it 'lay-day'. "So she didn't know they was aiming to sell the kidlet to some rich pervert." Grimmjow's accent was pronounced now, and Ichigo wondered why. "She did run an aura check t'make sure the kid didn't have any diseases, and was a good boy at heart. Then she took 'im home and put 'im up with me. I was already learnin' human, and I got a lot better with him around." Grimmjow smiled dreamily, looking up at the ceiling. "We was best friends, an' before you knew it he'd taught me how t' pick locks an' climb into windows an' do some real damage. He was a bit of a thief an' a street brat, y'see." Ichigo nodded. He could see that Grimmjow's childhood friend had meant a lot to him. "Got me into a world of trouble and it was the best time o' my life."

"I bet you were trouble before you even met him." Ichigo observed. He couldn't imagine Grimmjow being a good, obedient child. "So this is how he talked?" It wasn't that hard to figure out. Grimmjow nodded.

"Yeah, I've got the accent of an Inuzuri street brat. Nice, eh? By the time my mamma figured it out, it was too late. An' then I passed it on to Feralina. You'd never guess now, but she idolized me when she was a baby." Again, it sounded like 'bay-beh.' Ichigo couldn't help but find the accent charming. "Terrible taste, hah. 'Course, it's been so long since I was a kid, no one even knows I talk like gutter trash anymore. They just think it's weird." Grimmjow sighed. "Way it goes. Now, I get t' ask a question. Where's your mam? Somethin' happen to her?" The elf asked and Ichigo swallowed hard at the question.

"She was murdered when I was just a kid." He got it out as painlessly as possible. Grimmjow winced. "They never figured out who did it." That still haunted him. Everyone said it must have been a drifter, but sometimes Ichigo wondered if the monster was in their village. He'd never know, and to say that it bothered him would be an understatement. Grimmjow gently touched his knee and Ichigo looked down at the elf.

"I'm sorry t' hear that. I hope she didn't suffer long." He said softly and Ichigo took a deep breath before nodding. "And ya have sisters? Can you tell me about 'em?" He seemed really interested, probably because he had a sister of his own. Ichigo nodded and began telling him an amusing story about Karin and Yuzu.

The next few days passed quickly and it became obvious that Grimmjow was ready to leave. He was still weak from his enforced bed rest, but he was practicing with his sword without fainting. Feralina was helping him with that, sparring with him without hesitation. Ichigo expected them to just leave, but instead Grimmjow asked to have a private meeting with Isshin, Ichigo and Feralina. All four of them sat at the kitchen table as Grimmjow started to speak.

"We need t' talk." Grimmjow said abruptly as Isshin folded his arms and stared at the elf stonily. "I know y'don't like elves, and I'd be a damned fool not t' understand why. But the boy has t' go with us." Ichigo stared at Grimmjow, then glanced at his father. Truthfully, there was nothing he'd like better than to go with the elven man and learn how to fight. But his father looked quietly furious. "Y'know he can't go on like this."

"I know nothing of the sort. I've kept him safe for sixteen years!" Isshin said venomously and Ichigo winced at the accidental revelation of his age. He was well grown for sixteen and he'd been hoping to pretend he was a bit older.

"Sixteen?" Grimmjow mused, glancing at Ichigo. "I thought he was younger." Ichigo stared at him, wounded to the core. "Musta lost a few years in my head. Anyway, that means he's in the middle o' puberty. You know that makes spirit talent flare." Grimmjow said quietly and Isshin's jaw clenched. "How're you gonna train him t' use it? An' if he doesn't use it, sooner or later somethin's gonna think he looks tasty. You know how it is."

"And you have some plan on how to train him to use it? Because if he flares with you, and some spy senses it, the Dark King will kill him." Isshin said sharply and Grimmjow winced, rubbing the back of his neck for a moment.

"Um, yeah. I have a plan." Everyone looked at him, even Feralina, who'd been cleaning her nails with a dagger. Grimmjow sounded embarrassed. "We can put a retaining collar on him. Make it strong enough, an' he'll just look like a basic talent. He's strong enough I'll be able to teach 'im through the collar an' no one'll suspect a thing."

"What the hell Grimmy? Retaining collars are big! How are you going to explain that?" Feralina asked and Grimmjow actually hunched his shoulders a little. "Is this going to be something totally daft again, like the time you tried to stuff a chicken with feathers?"

"I was drunk, you bitch!" Grimmjow huffed, straightening. "And no, it's not daft, it'll work just fine." Grimmjow sighed, fixing his gaze on the wall before continuing. "We'll have to pretend he's a slave. Only a slave collar'll be able to hide the retaining collar."

"What! But the only slave collar big enough is-" Feralina stopped, staring at her flushing brother for a moment, then vented an unearthly laugh. Ichigo flinched at the uncontrolled sound and Isshin looked downright pissed. The 'delicate and ethereal' elf woman sounded like a hyena in heat.

"For fuck's sake Feralina, the girls are tryin' t' sleep! And the guards! Keep it the fuck down!" Grimmjow hissed and she managed to turn her laugh into choked giggles that threatened to send her onto the floor. "And it's not funny!"

"Y-you – you – you're the guy who broke that bastard's arm for tryin' to rape a l'il servant girl, darin' the wrath o' the Dark King, and you're gonna put a concubine collar on a sixteen year old?" Feralina gasped out and Ichigo's eyes widened. Concubine collar? "It's fucking hilarious!" She bent over, wrapping an arm around her stomach to hold in the laughter as Grimmjow looked at her in absolute exasperation.

"Over my dead body." Isshin said, far too calmly, and Grimmjow winced. "You will not be defiling my son." That only made Feralina's giggle fit worse and Grimmjow looked very harassed.

"I don't fuck babies." He growled, and Ichigo couldn't stand it.

"I am not a baby!" He snarled back, then turned to his father. "And I'm almost a man! You can't keep me here if I don't want to stay!" Isshin stared at him as though he'd been slapped and Ichigo almost felt bad for a moment. Almost. "Forget about the concubine part, dad. Is this a good idea or not?" He just didn't know enough about these retaining collars to tell. Isshin frowned, clearly trying to put his revulsion aside for a moment and address the idea on its own merits.

"It might work." He finally said grudgingly. "I don't know much about concubine jewelry, but I think it can be large and lavish, correct?" Grimmjow and Feralina both nodded. "That should hide a retaining collar. How will you explain his age?"

"Lie and say he's eighteen." Grimmjow said with a shrug, giving Feralina a glance. "Since no one would believe it if they knew he was sixteen." He added sourly and Feralina nodded, her laughing jag over. She pushed light blue hair out of her face, thinking about it.

"We can mess with the guard's minds a bit, make them think he was a slave being mistreated and you decided you wanted him." She speculated. "Everyone will buy that, he's just your type. Muscular, young warrior, could probably crack walnuts with his bare hands." Grimmjow turned brick red as Isshin muttered dire threats against both of the elves. Ichigo blinked at the description of himself. Crack walnuts with his bare hands? He glanced down at his large, but long fingered hands and wondered if he could. "But we'll have to make up a retaining collar right here and now. Good thing I came to see you, hey?"

"Yeah, yeah. Can you do it?" Grimmjow asked Feralina and she rummaged through her purse, drawing out a handful of silver coins. She regarded them with a small frown.

"I think so. The collar itself is no problem, I could do that in my sleep. I'm a bit of a smith." She confided to them and Ichigo nodded, glancing at her arms. That explained the muscles. "If your village smith lets me use his stuff, I should be able to bang out the collar right off. Coating it in silver and dazzling it to actually look like a concubine collar and not just a retaining collar is the tough part." She poked the coins. "You have anymore silver Grimmy? I don't want to use gold." She hesitated a moment, then began to unhook her earrings. "And you owe me some star sapphires."

"Didn't those belong to mom?" Grimmjow said just to needle her, and Feralina gave him a scorching glare. "Sorry, no silver, I gave it all to Ori. Maybe we could trade her a few golds for it back, though."

"I'll try it if there's not enough metal. So do we think this is a good plan?" She glanced around the table and Isshin scowled before turning to Ichigo.

"Ichigo, do you trust them with your life?" He said simply and Ichigo hesitated. Did he trust the elves that far? Once glance at Grimmjow gave him the answer.

"Yes, father. I trust them with my life. And I think they're right, I need to learn to control this." He said as firmly as he could. He'd destroyed that snake without even meaning to. What else might happen, and who might notice? The Dark King certainly could and if that happened, he would die anyway. Isshin took a deep breath and nodded.

"Alright. You are almost a man, and he's right, puberty will make this worse. But you!" Isshin rounded on Grimmjow, who looked like he wished he could climb under the table. "If you defile my boy, I will murder you in your sleep!"

"Until I'm eighteen." Ichigo snapped and had the satisfaction of seeing his father give him an outraged look. "After I'm eighteen all bets are off." He wasn't going to let his father rule his love life forever. Although he wasn't certain what he wanted yet. Grimmjow was undeniably attractive, but so was Feralina. They were both amazing and he liked them both almost equally now, although Grimmjow still had an edge in that contest. He was a bit easier to talk to than his sister.

"I really like him. Well, I'll make that collar tomorrow and we can get out of here. The servants have probably stolen all the silverware while we were gone." Feralina said as she stood and swept out of the room. Ichigo followed behind them, going to his own room.

"That'd be a nice trick, since we haven't got any silverware." Grimmjow said and Feralina shrugged as she entered her room.

"Well, they would if we did. G'night brother." She said, sitting down on her bed. Grimmjow paused in the doorway for a moment and Ichigo glanced back, seeing him smile at his sister.

"G'night sis." And he gently shut the door behind her before going to his room. Ichigo watched him go wistfully.

He really wished he wasn't just sixteen.


"Ugh." Ichigo muttered as he tugged on the retaining collar. It fit him perfectly and Feralina had done a nice job of sprucing it up, covering the iron with a fine wash of silver and setting the two star sapphires into a pattern of stars. It really did look like a concubine collar, which was only mildly embarrassing.

The problem was the retaining field. It was like wearing a damp sweater, and it made his mind feel a bit fuzzy around the edges. Grimmjow was sympathetic to the problem and assured him he'd stop noticing it in a couple of days, but right now it was very annoying. Ichigo desisted from pulling on the collar as he realized he was just rubbing his skin raw, and concentrated on the land they were riding through.

It wasn't really anything special, but Ichigo had never been out of his home village until now. So he looked around curiously, noting that the land here was not good farmland. It was far too scrubby and hilly, full of rocks and with thin soil. The trees were small, mostly spruce and poplar, so he doubted the land could be successfully logged either. The only way he could see to make a living off it would be hunting, and it was hard to say how good the game would be.

That was probably why they didn't reach another village for over a day. The next place they stopped at was mostly goat farmers, since goats were hardy enough to survive in the scrub brush of the hills. There were a few modest farms, though, and they were able to get a good meal at the local pub. Ichigo tore into his food ravenously. The elves were feeding him plenty, but cold food eaten on horseback wore thin after a while. He felt someone watching him and looked up from his food to see Grimmjow smiling at him.

"Ah, it's been so long since I was a growin', it gets hard t' remember how much a boy eats. You need another bowl, just say." He said and Ichigo smiled in thanks. He thought he actually would need another bowl, he was hungry and the stew was delicious.

"Hey, what about me? I'm still growing." Feralina said, licking off her spoon, and Grimmjow chuckled.

"Yeah, but not the right way – ow! Damn it, you got gravy in my hair!" Grimmjow yelped as he pulled the spoon out of his hair. Feralina just sneered at him and kept eating her stew with her fingers. "And don't do that, you look like a damned barbarian!"

"I look like what I am, you mean? And you asked for it, you bastard. I am not getting fat!" She snarled at him. Ichigo snickered to himself as he inhaled more stew. Watching these two bickering was a lot of fun. Fortunately, or not, the little fight was interrupted by a wide eyed servant girl with more stew and a wet cloth for Grimmjow.

"Well, at least someone's thoughtful around here." Grimmjow muttered as he tried to clean the gravy out of his hair. The result was still a bit oily, but presentable.

"They're just hoping for a tip." Feralina said cynically. "Make sure you leave them one, they deserve it for looking at your ugly face – hey!" Grimmjow had tossed the towel over her head. She scowled as she tossed it back onto the table. "Watch it!"

"Yeah, yeah." Grimmjow ate a piece of cheese, then leaned back with a sigh. "I'm done." He glanced over at the guards, checking to see if they were done as well. "Yep, just waiting on you two."

"Don't be impatient, or I'll eat extra slow just to annoy you." Feralina said before lifting up her bowl with both hands and drinking the last of the gravy. "Mmm mmm good." She then proceeded to try to lick the bowl clean, getting a bit of gravy on herself in the process. She used the towel to wipe it off. Ichigo had to struggle not to stare. His father would have given him a hiding for doing something like that.

"Mamma would have stroked out, seeing you do that." Grimmjow sounded pained and Feralina flashed him a grin.

"Yeah, that's why I'm staying with you. You're my favourite brother. 'Course, you're my only brother so the competition ain't stiff." She set her bowl down and pushed it away. "I'm done. Now we're just waiting on the bottomless pit." She playfully poked Ichigo in the side with her spoon, and he retaliated by poking her with a crust of bread. To his surprise, she darted around like an eel and snatched it out of his hand with her teeth. "Hah! Too slow." She said, her voice muffled by the bread. Ichigo grinned, impressed with her speed and sense of humor.

"Oh my god that's disgusting, he was eating that. I'm going outside while you two swap spit." Grimmjow said, hopping off his chair and catching outraged looks from both Ichigo and Feralina. Ichigo shrugged and just finished his stew as Feralina tore off the part of bread she'd caught, and handed the rest back. She ate it in a few quick bites and Ichigo couldn't help but admire her. She did act like a complete barbarian, but it was incredibly charming.

"Don't start liking me too much, Ichigo. I'm in love." She suddenly said and he blinked, shocked.

"I wasn't!" He protested and Feralina gave him a pitying look before shaking her head.

"You're sixteen, you'd fall in love with anything pretty. But don't set your hopes on me. I'm still trying to catch my man, and it's damned hard, let me tell you." She scowled at nothing, then sighed and shrugged. "But I'll get him someday. You about ready?" Ichigo nodded, pushing away the empty bowl. "Good, let's go grab my worthless brother and get on the road again. I can't wait to get home."

"I can't wait to see it." Ichigo said truthfully. He was looking forward to seeing how these elves lived.

He didn't know what it would be like, but he guessed it would be nothing at all like the stories.


He was right.

Grimmjow's home turned out to be a fortified manor, not the castle or keep he had been expecting. It was far more vulnerable than a castle would have been, but it had still been built with defence on the mind. The whole area was kept swept free of trees, and there were no windows at all on the first floor of the building. The second floor had only arrow slits, meant to give the archers a place to fire on enemies. Only in the third floor were there proper windows, and that was as high as the building went. A wall surrounded the manor and a fair bit of ground. Within that wall was a garden, complete with chickens and goats.

Ichigo wasn't really surprised to see the servants greet their lord and lady warmly. A young man tried to help Feralina off her horse, and she accepted his hand politely but handled most of it herself. Servants took the horses to be cared for, although Grimmjow insisted on taking the white horse to the stable himself. Ichigo stood to the side, feeling awkward and hoping to go unnoticed. Of course, someone had to notice him eventually and a half-elf in leathers was the first to bring it up.

"Hey, Grimm? Who's this kid?" He questioned and Ichigo swallowed before meeting his eyes squarely. He could really only tell the man was a half-elf from his slightly pointed ears. His hair was bright red and pulled into a ponytail. His eyes were a warm brown that looked very human to Ichigo.

"He's my new concubine." Grimmjow said blandly as the half-elf's eyes went wide. "So be nice t' him, eh?"

"A concubine? You? What the hell happened, did someone hit you over the head with a rock?" The half-elf demanded and Ichigo scowled. "And he's not that cute – OW! Feralina!" She'd slapped him upside the head, which Ichigo was glad about. It saved him from having to do it himself, which would probably be way out of character for a concubine.

"Shut the hell up before you embarrass yourself even more, Renji. His old owner was abusing him and my brother just had to butt in, you know how he is. We'll see about taking the collar off after we train him, if he's got it in him to be a guard or forester." Feralina said and Ichigo nodded slightly. Renji looked slightly relieved.

"Oh, okay, that explains it. You were freaking me out. So are they actually – OW! Okay! I get the message, none of my business!" Renji stalked off, rubbing his head and muttering something about elven women in general and Feralina in particular. She snickered evilly before grabbing Ichigo by the shoulder.

"Let me show you around. My beloved brother has weeks of correspondence and reports to catch up on, the poor bastard." She ignored Grimmjow's outraged look and pulled Ichigo off to show him the sights. Ichigo was quickly enthralled by it all. The vegetables gardens and animals were nothing special, but the manor was quite interesting. "Here's the chapel. Watch your head here, Grimm has clocked himself on it so many times." Feralina ducked the slightly low lentil easily and Ichigo followed her lead, glancing around. His little village had a chapel, but no actual priest. The oldest men in the village shared the duties between them. This little chapel was much nicer, with actual stained glass windows up high and glass oil lanterns that shed plenty of light. A very old man was sleeping in a pew when they came in, and didn't stir a bit as Feralina talked. "This is our priest, Dakko. Be nice to him, he's got the wits of a small chicken in a hurricane, but he tries."

"That's pretty unkind. He's probably got age sickness." Ichigo pointed out, a bit annoyed. Feralina didn't have to be quite that mean to everyone. But the elf woman shook her head.

"We wish. He's always been like that, I would know." She said and Ichigo was suddenly reminded that she was much, much older than she looked. She had likely seen the priest as a baby in diapers. "He makes a pretty good priest, though. Very good listener and his sermons are okay. Let me show you the kitchen, I imagine you'll be spending a lot of time there."

"What, working?" He hazarded a guess and Feralina laughed.

"No, eating, y' bottomless pit!" She teased him playfully, poking his shoulder. Ichigo grinned before poking her back. "I think we can skip the midden, so I'll just give you a quick tour of the sitting rooms then show you to your room, how's that?"

"Uh… how often will I be expected to stay with Grimmjow?" Ichigo asked. He would have to spend some time in Grimmjow's room, of course, or no one would believe they were lovers. Feralina paused before giving him a wicked grin.

"Oh, probably every other night. He plays a wicked game of backgammon." Ichigo blushed at the merriment in her voice. Any listeners would think she was referring to something else entirely, but Ichigo knew that backgammon was the only thing likely to happen. "Don't let him keep you up all night, that man hardly sleeps when he's well."

"Or when he's sick." Ichigo added and was rewarded with another laugh. When she wasn't absolutely hysterical, Feralina had a rather nice laugh, heavy and purring. "Don't worry, I can take care of myself."

"Oh, I'm sure you can." Feralina said with a smile as she showed him into the kitchen. It was warm and bustling with activity, and everyone greeted them both with friendly words and smiles. Ichigo basked in the warmth of the place, returning smiles and introducing himself.

He was already starting to feel at home.