Tifa stood in awe at the foot of the bed as Aerith hung back some from the two of them, also taking in all in.
"Zachary? How? W-what exactly are you? Wait that sound so rude…" Tifa said looking down as she scuffed one of her toes gently against the area rug on the floor as the worried her lip before she all and once came to sit in front of him on the bed.
Zach gave a self-depreciating smile at the question, scared of how to proceed at this point. He perked when he saw that Tifa had moved closer to him, a sign she was not afraid of him. He didn't think he could deal with her fear after doing all this for her, to get to know her. She'd started to shoot off rapid questions and abruptly stopped at asking his true nature because of how it sounded. She plopped down on the bed with him, which caused Zach to start and Aerith to squeak slightly.
He tentatively reached out for one of Tifa's hands, wanting to touch her, but afraid that would be the where the line was crossed. Tifa saw what he was trying to do as he had begun withdrawing, his head down. It was wrong to see him downhearted, no matter what kind of being he was. She took his larger hand into both of her hands.
He looked up immediately at her with his vivid violet-blue eyes and smiled a heartbreaking smile at her, one that Tifa had an understanding was just for her. Aerith had even relaxed as the "old" Zach they were used to was before them.
"Where to start" he said at length, as he scratched the back of his neck nervously with his other hand and smiled.
"I am a wolf Fae, servant of the Queen of the Fae Lucrecia, scion of Minerva, Goddess of Gaia as you know. Sephiroth is our king and the song of Lucrecia and Vincent, God of Creation" he said in an even pace. "I have two forms," he said freeing his hand and lifting his arms, releasing any spells on his natural elfin form to show the females, including his ever-present tail, glowing eyes, and pointed ears. "And this one," he said and with a flicker where he'd laid again was the large black dire wolf from before.
Aerith gasped in wonder with her hand over her chest but did not back away. Tifa did not even start as she sat right next to him in the bed as this all occurred. She was truly amazed. She reached out a tentative hand and gently ran it through the coarse black wolf fur, feeling the packed muscle that quaked and bunched with power below her fingertips as she burrowed deep with the fur. She then rubbed a hand along the long muzzle of the wolf's large face to which he nuzzled into her hand, which caused her to smile. Aerith simply took a seat in a nearby chair, her sensibilities exhausted for the day.
With the same flicker, as before, Zach was Zach once more, albeit with his elfin features and his black tail in his lap. When it was all done, Zach simply sat very still looking on expectantly for more questions…or even damnations, as he internally steeled his nerves and heart.
"Why did you do it? Surely there is some sort of code to your people otherwise I am certain humans would be aware of you a lot sooner than now" Tifa inquired with true worry on her face.
Aerith surprisingly was the one to step in.
"He had no choice. In his injury protecting us, and in his delirium, he reverted to his natural state, which is against laws…isn't it? Zachary, will you be alright after this incident?" Aerith asked genuinely worried for her new friend.
Zach again had lower his head, arms crossed along his broad chest. He suddenly looked up with a look of sheer determination and happiness.
"No matter what happens to me, either by my king or by my kin, it was worth it. This will sound insane but I have wanted to talk to you Tifa for what you call months. I have saw you come and leave when you visit Angeal…but I was never brave enough to let you both know that I was that dire wolf that accompanied him. You…are right Ayr-ith, there are rules set by the Sovereign Father Vincent due to unrest between our peoples, but…I wanted, no needed to get to get to know you Tifa. I would risk it again" he said finishing with a beautiful smile.
Aerith looked at Tifa and Tifa looked on at Zachary for a long while, taking in all his features with her wine-colored eyes. So, she had a secret admirer and he was a fairy tale creature that was beautiful dream come to life.
"I…I want you to come to my den, meet my father. He will be gruff but he will not harm either of you, if you chose to come. I do have a fraternal brother named Cloud that for all my dark pigmentation, he is fair haired and a lighter colored blue of eyes. He is a white wolf Fae. You do not have to be romantically interested in either of us, but come get to know us" Zach said, unknowingly his tail had begun to wag in happiness like a common canine.
Again, the girls looked at each other and they simply shrugged at each other and simply laughed at the situation. Stranger things could happen but both agreed that he would rest for another day before taking off on this strange adventure.
Sephiroth languidly turned over among the bearskins, his own skin still devoid of clothing being pleasantly stimulated by the feeling and him feeling quite relaxed after a wonderful experience with Angeal. He could never imagine it would feel as it had and his heart leapt in joy at having someone like Angeal as a mate.
Mate.
Angeal was now his mate. He had made him his mate, human or not and he felt not one qualm at all about the situation. He rolled back again to his side and was greeted with the man's visage being bathed from beams of light from above. He looked peaceful and serene, surely a mirror to how he felt. For once he felt whole.
Sephiroth would mend things with his brother and would let his father what had occurred. Even if need be, he would deal with his uncle's volatile wrath as well. He decided he would go and bathe in the pool out the forest. He left his lover there temporarily to go and freshen up.
As he cleansed himself of the night before activities, he felt him before he saw him, and like lighting was out of the water and was dressed in his pants at least and his hair lay over his shoulder moist at the tips as he had bound it up into his antlers, not fully washing it, the ends skimming the surface of the water.
"So, I have found you, my wayward son. Why is it I have not laid eyes on you in over a fortnight Sephiroth? Were you intending on staying away from the castle, continue to aggrieve your family, and shirk off your duties as King in light of your recent mating to that human male?" Vincent said very succinct as he stood towering over his son, arms folded under his cape folded, his red eyes intense and angled at his son.
Sephiroth's eyes widen and he flushed with shame as he immediately looked down at the ground not daring to look up. Of course, his father would know of his whereabouts. His mother would not withhold it and his father was not without his own powers as a God as well.
Sephiroth spoke the truth and from his heart on the matter as he knew his father was not only hurt but very disappointed in his behavior. He'd never strayed from his will ever in his life, not even once.
"Sovereign Father, please believe that I did not set out to deceive you or the Sovereign Mother, nor to cause upset among my realm, neither among my kin. I only set out to monitor the human due to history. I did this for the better part of all of winter into the beginning I… lost myself in it along the way, became infatuated and when I was in need in the past storm because I could not shift into my form because of his presence, he cared for me since you know of my feebleness in the cold when I cannot uniform my true form. The truth of his origin and history came to light that night; it gave birth to attraction and love" Sephiroth said closing his eyes at the pleading quality he hated that had snuck into his once strong voice for his father to understand.
He didn't think he could bear seeing a disappointed or angered emotion on his father's face. He wouldn't lie. It had been a cumulative process to get to this point with Angeal and he would not back down now.
Vincent did flare his nostrils to stay his anger but he had already known all this information. He had seen Sephiroth's red string dancing in the wind, tangled among the trees of this forest and knew it was attached to someone here as he was privy to see as God of Creation. He had traced it down in his curiosity and nothing more-to that human's house.
He had initially wanted to destroy it, burn it to the ground with the man in it as well. Sephiroth was his beloved child. He had already lost two to…to these greedy creatures. But when he had saw the man…it was like he was thrust back eight years prior. It was indeed the same man. He had not harmed anyone. He had witnessed their families despair at the loss of their kin-yes, he knew he hid even as he mourned Kadaj and Loz's slain bodies. He had watched the man stumble out of their ruined home, falling and vomiting at the sight he'd saw.
Lucrecia had also confirmed exactly what Sephiroth had said, if not verbatim to how things would come to pass. From then on, he too was vigilant of the man's comings and goings, and aware of both Zachary's and Sephiroth's machinations. He was not looking forward to greeting his old friend Cid with news that his son also fancied a human female but this needed to be contained. He would also handle Zachary's meddling privately when the dust settled.
The man for all pretense and purpose seemed to be just as benign as he had been before, never wreaking havoc in his wake. Lucrecia had spoken of his soul, his devout worship she could feel from him to him at length as well.
He knew that should the mating go through it would be more trouble than it would be worth. Sephiroth would have to watch his mate die within a blink of an eye by Fae standards and it would be hard for him as Fae did mate for life typically. He'd been against it, wanted to tell his son to leave the man be, but in the end, he knew it was all for naught. The Fates controlled aspects that were even above him. All he and the boy's mother could do now was be supportive in any way possible at this point, try to shy Chaos away from the situation as his brother was still…bitter about his own aspects of humankind.
"While I do not have to agree with it, it is done and cannot be changed. It is in the Fates hands. I still believe you will be an excellent King as this bears no merit on your actions beforehand, but you will reunite with your brothers now" Vincent said with finality. "I will also speak with this…man you have taken as a mate as well. He will need to know that there are certain things he will be responsible and aware of as you are his submissive" Vincent again said curt.
Sephiroth blush a brighter red at the implications of his Father being anywhere near or saying any sentences to Angeal and him talking freely of him being…the submissive. Instead he swallowed his embarrassment and took it the chiding.
"Yes Father" Sephiroth said from his still knelt position.
Vincent tapped him on the shoulder with his gauntlet hand in indication he could rise to his full height and he did so. In a rare burst of emotion, Vincent simply hugged Sephiroth all the while with his quite neutral face and finally released him, causing Sephiroth to give a small smile. He was happy to have his father but dreaded this meeting between him and Angeal.
After coming back to the cave and greeting a confused and worried Angeal, one fully dressed and had been about to set out to search for him, Sephiroth simply crossed his arms and shook his head at the oddly adorable notion that his beloved had been worried about him, as if it was truly needed. Still though, Sephiroth felt a strange warmth at the action of the man and quickly moved forward and kissed the other on the lips silencing any questions of his whereabouts as Angeal took in his overall disposition and distinct lack of clothing and slight moisture to his hair and he knew where he'd been. He'd just as quickly registered that they were not alone as formidable form filled the entry of the cave in a rather familiar but unfamiliar cape where eyes of the said hue glowed and pierced the low lighting in the area.
Angeal gulped rather loudly but moved around Sephiroth brandishing his sword as if out of nowhere as if to protect him from the intruder that simply watched on impassively as the facial features of the one in the entry were not clear and concise. Sephiroth didn't know if he should be offended for his manhood and Kingship by the action, flattered by his mate's attentiveness, or terrified for his folly of pulling his sword on his father.
Vincent simply looked on impassively. With a gentle huff, Vincent was turning away, cape bellowing on an unnatural wind behind him as he walked into the clearing awaiting his offspring and his intended. Sephiroth quickly gathered his clothing and placed it on as well as his booting, choosing as before to leave his antlers as they were exposed and his hair down and his own sword at his hip.
They began aimless walk towards Angeal's home.
"Who is this person Sephiroth?" Angeal whispered to his mate at his side as they followed the black leather and red velvet caped man along the known worn path that he'd known to be towards his home. Something inside him told him that he knew that it was kin, that he even knew this man to be very important but it wouldn't hit him, his mind still muddled from their night of passion the night beforehand.
"The man before us is…my father. You have saw him beforehand in your youth and when I was younger as you have described him to me perfectly from your recollection of our shared past. He has come to speak with us…with you on our mating" Sephiroth said looking at his mate and noticing all the tanned color drain from his face and his smooth walking stumble a bit as finally those pieces that were floating around and screaming in his conscious saying "you know this person" hit him between the eyes. Sephiroth looked concerned but he knew he could do nothing as this would be a test of Angeal's mettle by his father. As quickly as he stumbled, Angeal's stride steadied again and he inhaled and held his head up high, determined to see whatever this was, though.
Seeing Angeal square his shoulders and take on the challenge of his father's impromptu visit and so soon after their mating made Sephiroth feel more and more safe and secure in the decision he made in the man.