Axel watched Sora as he was sleeping. The boy looked peaceful, like a sleeping angel… but nothing lasted forever, and Axel watched, amused, as a beam of sunlight from the window creeped over Sora's face and into his eyes.
Sora winced in his sleep and tried to roll over to escape the light, but it was too late. He opened his eyes, blinking sleepily.
"Good morning sunshine." Axel whispered playfully, and Sora tensed for a moment, eyes widening… then he relaxed, snuggling up against him.
"It wasn't a dream…" Axel smiled, petting Sora's head gently. The boy had had a very eventful day yesterday, so that wasn't really a surprising thought.
"Not in the least." Axel lifted Sora's chin and kissed him, enjoying the feeling of the boy's lips under his.
"Axel, I'm pretty sore." Sora said as the kiss ended, a bit worried. He didn't think he was up to that again so soon. But Axel only smiled, reaching under the blanket to stroke Sora with skillful hands.
"There's more than one way to have fun, Sora." Then there was silence, except for moans and gasps. Sora's head fell to the side as Axel explored his neck, and he blinked.
"Axel…" He gasped out, then tugged on the redhead's hair. "Axel… why…?"
"Why what?" Axel muttered as he nipped Sora's neck lightly, enjoying the grip on his hair.
"Why… is there a winged… cat watching us?"
"What?!?" Axel abruptly pulled away, to Sora's disappointment, and turned to glare at the balcony. The cat stretched, yawning, and batted her wings a few times before touching the glass doors with one soft paw. They opened immediately, and the cat leapt inside… and became a woman. Sora squeaked in surprise, pulling up the blanket, but Axel only stared at her, unconcerned by his nakedness.
She was a hauntingly beautiful woman, slender as a reed with peach colored skin, flowing gold hair and glowing green eyes. Those, Axel knew, came from her natural heritage as a Blood Elf. But the curling red horns that swept back from her forehead, and the tiny red bat wings, were from her demonic nature. She could have been a succubus or a banshee, but she wasn't. The little hourglass pendant on her necklace told the true story.
"You summoned me, High Lord." She said dreamily, and he frowned.
"No, I didn't." He would have remembered doing that. She looked momentarily puzzled, and then shrugged.
"Then you were going to. You want me to test to see what kind of demon he's going to become." She pointed to Sora, who blinked, and Axel sighed, irritated.
"Do I?" He said dryly, but she just nodded, completely missing the sarcasm or simply uncaring.
"Yes." She took out a small vial of dark green liquid, and pulled out what looked like a large black thorn. She walked over to the bed and handed it to Sora. "Prick your finger with this. Or dip it in semen, either way works." Sora blushed at that instruction and pricked his finger. She took back the thorn, delicately smearing his blood along it before dropping it into the vial. "Hm." She stared at the vial unblinkingly for a long moment. "He's going to be a Rage. You should introduce him to them." She tossed the vial to Axel, who incinerated it.
"Any other unwanted and unsolicited advice, before you go?" Axel asked, and she nodded.
"Have the duck for supper tonight. It's going to be excellent." Turning back into a cat, she yawned and scratched herself before letting herself back out through the balcony. The wings that would have been inadequate for a woman did fine work with a cat, and she fluttered away.
"Um, Axel? I think that really killed the mood for me. And I'm starving." His stomach rumbled on cue, and Sora blushed as Axel smiled. Then he sighed.
"I think it killed it for me too, and that takes a lot of work. Ah well. There's always later." He gave Sora one last rough, lingering kiss before climbing out of bed and throwing on a black robe. Sora retrieved his white one, which was looking a bit worse for wear, and Axel frowned. He would need to get the boy some temporary clothes, and have the tailors put on the job.
Details. Everything is in the details. He mused, mentally tallying the things Sora would need. Since he had taken the boy out of the usual procedure, he would need to issue the orders himself to get things done. With a thought, he summoned his servant again.
"Please fetch us breakfast, then a set of clothing for him." Axel glanced over Sora thoughtfully. "Probably medium, and make it a Rage recruit set." The Rages' actually had uniforms for their new recruits, which was helpful.
"Yes High Lord." She nodded and departed. Sora took a seat with a wince. He was definitely feeling tender.
"Axel, who was that woman? And what's a Rage demon?" Sora felt a bit stupid, having to ask so many questions… but there was so much he just didn't know.
"That woman was Blynda, First Lady of the Hourglass. Hourglass demons are seers, mostly, although they have other abilities." Axel said easily, then frowned as the light glinted off the cuffs on Sora's wrists. "That reminds me… here." He reached over to tap them, and invisible seams in the metal opened. Then the cuffs vanished, returned to the armory. "Those were to prevent you from using your keyblade, but you'll probably need it to meet the Rage demons. They're my elite fighting force." He smiled, amused, as Sora looked a little worried. "I think you'll like them. Just don't let them push you around."
Sora snorted at that thought, and was about to say something when breakfast arrived. Axel eyed the spread approvingly. Anticipating that he would be particularly hungry, the chef had sent up some of his favorites… fried quail eggs, sausage, toast with jam and a small basket of cinnamon and date biscuits. And coffee, of course. The servant was also carrying the clothes tucked under one arm, and set them down on a chair.
"Thank you, that will be all." Axel said to her, and she nodded with a smile, glancing at Sora before she left. Sora had already picked up the clothes, and had begun changing. Axel smiled, sipping his coffee as he watched the brunette change. It was a pretty sight.
And it was just as good when he was clothed. The clothing was a little baggy on him, but the soft leather shoes it came with magically adjusted to fit. Black shorts and a black t-shirt, with a golden logo on the back. A fist rising out of a circle of gold, the symbol of the Rages, although a few of them embellished it with an upright middle finger.
"It's kind of light…" Sora was glad because of the heat, but he felt a little vulnerable. It was a lot less clothing than he usually wore.
"You'll be glad of that soon, when the hot season arrives." Axel commented as he took some of the eggs and sausage. Sora tried a cinnamon biscuit, chewing thoughtfully.
"Wait, you mean it's not hot now?" That was a rather appalling thought. It was already as hot as the hottest days of summer in the Destiny Islands. Axel shook his head.
"Oh no. Winter is just ending. In the summer it gets so hot this place is almost uninhabitable. We move to the summer palace in a month or so. It's down by the lake." Axel smiled, sipping his coffee. "The move is highly entertaining." Sora tilted his head inquiringly, but Axel didn't elaborate.
They finished the meal in a comfortable silence, and Axel stretched, snapping his joints for a moment before he stood. "We should start with the baths. The Rage's will likely be there, this time of morning." And even if not, he and Sora both needed a bath and he didn't have a private one in his chambers. An annoying oversight, but the hall itself was truly ancient. Back when it had first been built, most people had believed that bathing was unhealthy. And fixing the oversight would have been far more trouble than it was worth.
So they took the staircase down, into the bowels of the hall. Other High Lords had had their quarters at the centre of the hall, but they hadn't been flying types. Axel had always preferred being able to leap off his balcony and soar over his realm anytime he pleased. Sora winced occasionally, and Axel slowed his pace to a comfortable one for the brunette. It wasn't like he had any pressing concerns in the morning. Serious business was always conducted in the evening or night.
The hall itself was a bit of a maze, and Axel could quickly tell that Sora was hopelessly lost. And the architecture was odd, to say the least. Small passageways widened at points for no discernable reason, and the black brickwork sometimes faded into grey or even white stone. There were more light sculptures like the ones in Axel's room, but this time hanging from the ceiling and giving the passageways a light, pleasant glow. The demons they passed politely ignored them. They knew that the current High Lord, unlike many of his predecessors, preferred to not be kow-towed to at all times.
At one of the widened spots, two sirens and a banshee were singing and dancing. Scarves and bright, shiny hair fluttered through the air as they sang, their voices easily melting into a soaring harmony. Axel smiled and briefly joined their dance, moving to the beat as he pulled Sora along. The boy was struggling to stay aware as the music tried to seduce him into staying. But Axel's grip on his wrist anchored him enough to make it past the sirens.
"Those were sirens and a banshee." Axel mentioned casually as Sora blinked, coming back to himself. "Although there really isn't any difference between the two, except that men hate being called sirens." Mythologically, banshee's were supposed to be women too, but the male sirens had been willing to accept that title. "When you've become a proper demon, you'll have some immunity to their songs." Axel smiled impishly then. "What do you think of the hall?"
"Oh, it's… kind of nice." Sora wasn't at home in it yet… not hardly… but the feeling he was getting from the place was one of great age and solidity. And the demons here seemed happy enough. Then he saw something ahead of them, and blanched. "Can I take that back?" Axel turned to look and blinked.
"What's going on here?" He inquired, stepping neatly over a pool of blood and frowning at the corpse on the floor. It had been a Blade demon, but the head was missing now. A leccubi was standing nearby, looking faintly nauseated, and his eyes widened as he realized the High Lord was asking.
"I don't know, High Lord. My wife and I found him. She's alerting the Blades and Rages now." The Blades would want to know of the death of their own, and the Rages were in charge of investigating things like this. Which mostly meant ignoring it, if it turned out to be something stupid like a crime of passion. But demons being demons and the fact that they often got the misfits of all the worlds, it could always be something more troubling. The High Lord contemplated the blood for a moment, then sighed.
"The murder season has started early, I see. Well, it was too much to hope we'd get by without the usual rash of casualties. Carry on." Axel stepped carefully past the body, continuing on his way. Every year, when the court prepared to migrate to the summer palace, some people were left behind. Those clearly out of favor or those who were simply not important enough to make the cut. That was considered the kiss of death for any ambition, and there was always some winnowing of the herd right before the move. It was rather early for that, but some people thought ahead. It was the likeliest explanation.
"But why take the head?" Axel asked himself, then shrugged. It was up to the Rages to figure it out. He glanced over at Sora, who was looking a bit ill. "A lesson for you… we're all immortal here. And while we might not reproduce… thankfully… there are always a lot of newcomers. Little things like that keep the population under control." It wasn't a fact he particularly cared for, but it was very true, especially for the non-combatants. Rages and Blades could expect a certain amount of openings in the command structure from skirmishes with the angels, but everyone else had to make their own opportunities.
He opened the door leading to the baths, and hot, damp air momentarily bathed them. Sora glanced around as they stepped inside. This was clearly a changing area, with plenty of lockers for clothes and personal items. Axel stripped easily, vanishing his clothing back to his rooms. But most demons couldn't do that, and he showed Sora how to use the lockers. They had a pad to touch your hand to, creating a lock.
"These aren't very secure. Don't put anything in them you really wouldn't care to go without." Axel instructed, then smiled. "Most people won't be petty enough to steal your clothes."
"And if they do, I'd just have to walk back to your room naked?" Sora said, clearly not enchanted with the thought. Axel shrugged.
"You wouldn't stand out much, given what the succubi are wearing this year." Sora blushed lightly and shook his head, disrobing. Axel leaned against another locker, watching him with interest. Sora glanced up, meeting his eyes, and Axel felt a strange tingle in his spine. Breaking eye contact, he led Sora into the main bath area, pushing aside the curtain of beads that was all that separated the changing area from it.
The baths were rather newer than most of the hall, and had been expanded on several times. But they had kept using the original stone, which was an odd, standstone like substance. It absorbed the heat but kept relatively dry, and was pleasantly rough on the skin. Sora stopped with a squeak, and Axel grinned. He hadn't bothered to warn the brunette that the baths were most definitely co-ed.
"Right over here." He said pleasantly as Sora tried to glue his eyes to the floor, blushing furiously. The baths were divided into various hot pools, each large enough to hold perhaps twenty demons. The one he took Sora to held some of the more prominent Rages, and fortunately wasn't even close to full. "May we join you?" No one was surprised by the request. Axel usually bathed with the first lords and ladies, but he made it a policy to never be completely predictable.
"Of course, High Lord." Replied one of the demons. He was warmly tanned, with startling gold hair and a van dyke beard. Dark green, scaled wings were tucked behind him. Dark blue eyes fixed on Sora curiously. "Who is this, if you don't mind me asking?"
"This is Sora. Blynda says he'll be a Rage, and he's a keyblade wielder." That immediately satisfied his curiosity, and he nodded, extending a hand.
"I'm Semmins, Captain of the Guard in this zoo." He said with a friendly smile, and Sora shook his hand cautiously. "Let me introduce you to everyone… this is Mordred." A red skinned, heavyset demon nodded. Thick black hair spilled over his shoulders and his eyes were a gold that Sora found slightly unsettling. It reminded him of a Heartless. "This is Siglio." A very pretty girl waved at him with a smile. She was as pale as Axel was dark, her skin almost translucent and her hair pure white. Tiny little silver stub horns adorned her forehead, and a long silver tail was curled firmly around the waist of the man beside her. He was a rather nondescript, grey haired man, but his eyes glowed red and he had odd little bulbs on his back. "That's Marcus, and the disciplinary nightmare lying over there is Chemistra. She's a dark siren, don't let her sing to you." The woman lying on his stomach at the edge of the pool was idly dipping her hand in the water, and looked up at them lazily. She looked almost entirely human, but her eyes were pupiled like a cats. Sora's breath caught in his throat for a moment, as he looked at her… he thought she was possibly the loveliest woman he had ever seen. Her face was a vision of perfection and her body was richly curved.
"Fuck you Semmins, I still don't want your candy." She replied succinctly, then smiled at Sora. Her teeth were more like a shark than a human. "Here, catch." She tossed Sora a bottle of shampoo, then a bar of soap. "Hope you know how to wash, 'cause if not we'll take a loofa to you."
"You know Chem, I'm hurt." Mordred said, his voice a very pleasant baritone. "You never offer to do that to me." She sneered at him, and he added hopefully. "Would you wash my back if I gave you candy?"
"No. And if you keep mentioning candy to me, I swear I'm going to spork you." She lifted a hand and a spork suddenly appeared, summoned from the kitchen. Mordred cowered theatrically, and everyone laughed.
Axel smiled, leaning back and letting the banter roll over him. Then he spotted someone waving at him, and frowned.
"Damn." He muttered, and stood, drawing everyone's attention. "It looks like Raveana wants me. I should go see what the problem is. Semmins, can you help get Sora up to speed today, and have someone escort him back to my quarters when you're done?" He was sure Sora couldn't find his way yet, and the place had never been mapped.
"Of course, High Lord." Semmins replied, and Axel nodded, striding away to catch up with one of his first ladies. Chemistra sighed, calling in a long, elegant pipe and lighting it with a snap of her fingers.
"I wonder what she wants him for?" She said dreamily, taking a long puff of the herb mixture. "More angel trouble, do you think?"
"Does a bear shit in the woods?" Semmins replied dryly, then shrugged. "But it doesn't involve us until it involves us. So, Sora. If you're a keyblade wielder, I assume you can fight. You use magic too?" Sora nodded cautiously, and the Captain smiled. "Excellent. We can use some recruits who already know their asses from a hole in the ground."
"Sure as hell the latest crop can't," Chemistra growled, before taking another long draw of her pipe. "One of them already offered me candy, and I don't even know the bastard yet!"
"I hope you didn't kill him." Marcus spoke up. His voice was odd, dry, rasping and very soft. She shook her head.
"Nah, I just made his eardrums explode." Everyone winced as she smiled nastily. "And he'll be impotent for a week. But then he'll be good as new." Vanishing her pipe, she suddenly crawled into the pool, sliding neatly beneath the water before surfacing. Long, dark brown hair clung appealingly to light brown skin, and Sora had to fight not to stare. She was exotically beautiful and knew it.
"Maybe it has something to do with the dead body we passed," Sora volunteered, and the others looked a little interested.
"A dead body? What's this?" Mordred asked, and listened thoughtfully as Sora described the scene. "Hmm. What did the High Lord think?" He was sure Axel would have said something. Sora frowned.
"Axel said something about the murder season starting early." That bothered him a bit, although he hadn't asked Axel what he meant. Everyone looked a touch puzzled, and Marcus finally voiced the cause.
"Who said that?" Sora looked puzzled in turn, tilting his head to one side.
"Axel." There was no comprehension. "The High Lord?"
"His name is Axel?" Semmins said dubiously. "I'd heard you called him that, but… I'm certain he said his real name is Lea."
"Oh!" Sora said, catching on. "His Nobodies name was Axel. Lea was probably his name when he was whole."
"Ah, that makes sense." Semmins pulled himself up, glancing Sora over for a moment before nodding. "Well, you look like you're clean. Ready to get started?"
"Please." Sora was surprised to find that he really meant it. It felt like it had been forever since he really used his keyblade, and he was looking forward to it.
