Food. What could be better than food? Wine. Wine was better than food. And so was Tequila.
Ah, Tequila . . . They didn't have Tequila, though. All they had was scrumptious food and delectable wine. Honestly, Kenzi didn't know if the food and wine was amazing, or if it was just the fact that she hadn't eaten in . . . well she didn't know how long it'd been since she had last eaten. Whenever it was, it was long enough for her to work up a hardy appetite.
They were seated in the middle of the jungle among the most beautiful foliage. The greens of the hanging leaves and the browns of the swooping vines cocooned them and created the most beautiful contrast to the vibrant pink, yellow, and purple flowers ever known to man. The light shining through the blind like shades of the fanned leaves above gave just enough of a glimpse of how beautiful the day really was. Sounds of the surrounding inhabitants that streaked their festive songs of greeting and the calming flow of serene waters in the near distance added the perfect soundtrack to the relaxed mood.
In front of the 4 Fae and one human sat a stone table adorned with a feast fit for the Gods. Vibrant colors of green, brown, plum, yellow, reds, and whites decorated the beautifully crafted dishes prepared for the guest. At either end of the table sat a huge pitcher of wine for them to enjoy, and they did as they were served by the six natives who escorted them there. The six visitors piled their plates and stuffed their faces as one of the young men came to refill their drinks.
''Hey! You!" Kenzi pointed at the native fellow, who seemed startled by her brashness as he made his way towards the tiny human. Kenzi vaguely motioned toward her plate before asking around a mouthful of food, "What is this stuff?"
"That is Chilaquiles. It's served on a corn tortillas or totopos with salsa, molè, chicken, queso fresco, onions, and avocado. But since we do not have meat, we use beans instead." He meekly answered.
"Well, whatever it is, I like it! Bring me some more, and keep that wine coming!" Kenzi ordered over another forkful of food.
"Yes ma'am." The young man said before scampering away.
"Excuse me?" Dagny politely stopped the native before he got too far. "What exactly is this?" She questioned while pointing to another dish on the table.
"That is Chiles en nogada. It is made with walnuts, pomegranates, chili, and slew of other spices indigenous to our area." He said, happier to answer the young Valkyrie's question.
"Well, it is delicious." Dagny smiled. "I'm sorry, I didn't get your name."
"It is Avi." He answered bashfully with a head bow, slight blush tenting his cheeks.
"Well, It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Dagny, and this is Kenzi," Kenzi smiled at Avi after downing the last of her wine. "And Vex," Vex hardly lifted his head as he shoveled a mountain of food into his mouth. "Mark," The young shifter waved at the native and earned a hesitant wave back. "And Dyson." Dyson, having barely taken a bite of his food, just stared at the brown skinned lad, having been watching him the entire time. "Can you tell us how long we were in that room?"
"Of course, you were locked away for approximately 17 hours."
"That's all?! It seemed longer than that." Kenzi argued.
"Yeah, I for sure thought he was gonna say like 3 days. A week even!" Vex's over exaggeration earned an eye roll from Dagny before she continued to talk to the young man.
"Can you also tell us where we are exactly?" Dagny was ever polite in her question, smiling widely.
"Well I do not know if I am allowed to tell you that just yet, but you are in no way in any danger. We are just close enough to civilization to survive, but far enough to stay out of visibility."
"Okay, well do you know where our other 2 friends are?" Dagny continued.
"Yes they are in our doctor's hut, preparing a cure for our people."
"Can you lead me to them?"
"Dagny, I think we all should stick together." Dyson finally spoke sternly, not prepared to let the young Valkyrie out of his sight.
"Exactly, so lets all go stick together with Bo and Lauren." Dagny answered. It had been gnawing at her that they had split in the first place. She thought now more than ever they should have stuck together, but seeing as she was outnumbered by those who wanted to eat and her stomach had been grumbling, she followed along. She was worried though. She wanted to know where her sisters were and if they were okay. She also wanted to check on Lo to know what was going on and offer her assistance to find a cure as quickly as possible so that they could get back home.
"Umm, I'm not done eating." Mark mumbled apologetically in Dagny's direction.
"Yeah, me either." Vex concurred, less remorseful.
"And as much as I would love to see Dr. Hotpants get her science on, 'cause to be honest I haven't seen it in a while, I kinda like eating more." Kenzi was not moving anytime soon.
"If I may?" Avi interrupted, "I am prepared to offer my blood oath that I will lead lady Dagny to the succubus and the doctor, if she would like, without harm." All except Dagny eyed the young man suspiciously at his proposition.
Dagny knew that the choice was going to be ultimately left up to Dyson. Bo had left him in charge, and as much as they all acted like no one among them was the boss, they all respected Bo's word. She waited hopefully, imploring the wolf with her eyes that he could trust the young man and trust her, that she would be able to handle herself if this was a trap. Dyson was worried though, he would not allow any of his family to be hurt any further and he couldn't protect them if he wasn't around them. But he also couldn't deny the tiny blonde's eyes, which were seeking to reassure him that everything would be alright. The young man seemed genuine enough and there seemed to be no real motive for him to harm Dagny, so against the small nagging voice that was always in the back of his mind telling him to protect at all cost, Dyson grunted his consent with a head nod.
Dyson kept his eyes furrowed in a scowl of warning as he peered directly at Avi, conveying his message that if Dagny was harmed in anyway, that would be the end of Avi as well. Avi got his message and graciously nodded his understanding while giving his word. Kenzi eyed the wolf cautiously, silently asking if he was sure, but was reassured when he simply nodded. No further argument was made from anyone else at the table, they trusted Dyson's decision.
Kenzi caught Dagny by the arm before she had a chance to move, and looked her in the eyes like a worried mother would their child. "Remember what I say? If the hands start to crawl…"
"Hit 'em in the balls." Dagny completed the saying Kenzi had instilled in her since she a child to defend against overzealous boys.
"Good girl." Kenzi winked, released her arm, and went back to eating. Dagny vacated her seat swiftly and made her way to Avi's side.
"Shall we?" Avi escorted Dagny past some hidden shrubbery, walking at a determined yet comfortable pace as he led her away from the group and further into the forest. They walked in a comfortable silence, occasionally stealing glances and polite smiles at one another. Finally, Dagny decided to break the silence.
"So Avi? You're a Neith?" She said slowing down to a more leisurely pace.
"Yes, eleventh generation of the migrated clan." He answered proudly.
"Migrated, hmmm." Dagny replied conversationally, not really knowing what he meant by that.
"Yes, from Egypt. We lived there for centuries until a series of unfortunate plagues and modern development threatened to eradicate and expose our kind. Thus leading to our expulsion."
"Well how did you end up here, so far away from home?" Dagny asked interested.
"Our increased wisdom led us to these forest, and we found the Chaacran people and the spring."
"Well that was lucky."
"It is not luck, it is our abilities. We are infinitely wise, able to discern the best road taken in harsh situations and when dealing with others."
"And your wisdom told you to kidnap us?" The Valkyrie narrowed her eyes and asked dryly.
"Yes, well sometimes our warrior nature overrides our wisdom." Avi seemed embarrassed by his confession. "However, we were correct to proceed with caution. Would the succubus had not possibly harmed or killed a number us if we had approached with our weapons and such for caution's sake?" The young man continued to muse thoughtfully.
"Oh yea, she probably would have killed at least like six of you guys instantly." Dagny couldn't deny the facts. "I mean the way you did it wasn't much better either, 'cause now she sort of hates you guys. But on the bright side at least you're not dead, right?!"
"There's a silver lining to everything." The young man said somewhat sarcastically.
"I mean, she still might kill you once she gets her powers back, but don't worry. I don't think Lo will let her."
"Lo?"
"Dr. Lewis. I call her Lo, we all kinda do." Avi thought about it for a second, curious to why they wouldn't just call her by her real name. They didn't use alternative names in the clan. Somehow though, the idea seemed endearing and he liked it.
"What do they call you?"
"They usually just call me Dagny. But Kenzi, that's my mom, she calls me Lil' D. And Bo recently started calling me Dag or Daggers. Sometimes Vex and Mark either call me Valkyrie, that's my species, or Tamsin 2.0, that was my mom's name-"
"I thought you said Kenzi was your mom?"
"Well, she raised me, but my real one- the one who gave birth to me, died when I was born. I heard she was really cool though, and badass." Dagny proudly brought her enthusiastic rambling to an end. For some reason, she found Avi extremely comfortable to talk to, and kind of cute.
He was at least 6'1, and his dark tanned skin contrasted beautifully with his greyish eyes. The long waves of curly dark hair hung around his perfectly chiseled jaw and added to the rugged quality about him. It didn't hurt that he wasn't wearing a shirt and his pecks, abs, and arms were on full, beautiful display. Despite all of that, he seemed gentle, intelligent, and a bit shy, and the small dimples that appeared around his full lips added just the right amount of innocence. Dagny wondered how old he was.
"We are here." Dagny was brought back my Avi's voice. "They are in there." Avi motioned towards a fairly big hut made of leaves, twigs, and what looked like clay. It was very beautiful and stood out for where they were. Coming out of the entrance of the hut were three women, one holding a swaddled bundle and patting it reassuringly.
"Thank you."
"I will return to let the others know that you have arrived here safely. I will be seeing you . . . " Avi hesitated self consciously for a second, "Daggers." Dagny smiled at how cute and awkward it was to watch Avi try to use her nickname. It only made her like him more.
"See ya, Av Man." Dagny drawled cheekily, making Avi blush, as she trailed a hand down the Adonis's pecks and abs before walking past him towards the hut.
…
Lauren was frustrated beyond belief. They had brought the baby to her as soon as she was settled into the natives' "lab." It by no means was anything close to what she had back home at the clinic, but it had just enough equipment and supplies for her to figure out what was going on. She had drawn the child's blood and had gone through several samples and slides, trying to figure out the best plan for attack. Everything she thought of seemed to prove inadequate, though. Coupled with the fact that she was restrained by limited supplies and limited time, Lauren was extremely stressed and extremely tired. The high that she had woken up with had worn off quickly, and now she could feel the affects of sleep deprivation wiping over her. Lauren was use to being sleep deprived and having to solve intense problems in little amounts of time, but not when she was completely out of her element. Not when she was in the middle of an unknown forest with the freedom of everyone she loved and the whole existence of an entire species of Fae riding on it. Not when she was being heavily watched by a warrior goddess and an extremely territorial succubus, who she was sure would kill each other if she didn't get them out of there quickly. Lauren was more than overwhelmed, she was completely encumbered.
As Lauren continued to ponder on her problem, Dagny sauntered into the hut.
"Hey! Did you see the baby? He is so cute." Dagny said, taking a seat next to the doctor who was inspecting some slides of blood through her portable microscope.
"Yeah, his name is Karlo. I had to draw some blood from him so that I could know exactly what I was dealing with with this water." Lauren responded not taking her eyes off of her work.
"Any ideas?"
"Not really, unfortunately. I can't seem to figure out how to most effectively solve their problem."
"Well if anyone can do it, I know you can. Come on, talk to me." Dagny knew how Lauren got sometimes and that sometimes the only way to get her to work through her problems was to get her to talk about it out loud.
Lauren sighed before moving away from the microscope and rubbing her temples before focusing on the young Valkyrie. "So I've managed to figure out the correlation between the Chaacs and the springs. There's a pheromone released after the age of puberty in the male Chaacrans. It triggers a type of chemical reaction, if you will, when exposed near the water to set off its abilities."
"Okay then, what's the issue? Can you just make the kid secrete the hormones?"
"Well that would be the logical solution, but its more difficult than that. The pheromones aren't just laying dormant in his system to be brought out like I thought they would. They are not actually created unless exposed to certain agents, which are not released until he hits puberty and the hormones in his system changes. I mean, I could try to increase the amount of hormone production in his system but that's not a guarantee. Plus, it could lead to other medical problems and malformation down the line for the child's growth in the future. Which is something, as a doctor, that I'm not comfortable with." Lauren was completely exasperated at her prospects.
"Okay, so then what's your other options?" Dagny said, trying to keep the back and forth of ideas going.
"In order to get the hormones, I would literally have to accelerate his cellular senescence. But how to do that?"
"Chemically I would guess." Dagny offered, genuinely trying to help.
"Of course, but that's the thing. I don't have any of the normal supplies or samples I would need to test a gambit of things to try. Plus, we're kind of on a time limit and we do not have the luxury of tentation on our side. We need a chemical agent to speed up his growth" Lauren thought for a second before something ingenious dawned on her. "Unless . . . We can use a biological one." Lauren slowly turned her head with wide eyes and stared at Dagny like she was a piece of freshly cooked meat.
"What? Do I have something on my face? A zit?!" Dagny felt her face, panicking like the teenage girl she was at heart.
"Your blood." Lauren offered almost catatonically as the symphony of ideas ran through her brain.
"I'm bleeding?!" Dagny panicked even more.
"No! Your blood is the agent that we can use. I mean look at you! You're technically 6 years old and you have the body of a 26-year-old." Lauren turned back to her microscope and began to furiously jot down notes and equations with the solution she had just discovered.
"Excuse you!" Dagny exclaimed indignantly while crossing her arms. "I will have you know that I have the body of a very ripe 18-year-old! Maybe even 16!"
Lauren didn't even bother to look up from her notes, "Well, in that case you really shouldn't be drinking. Seeing as you are not completely developmentally mature and the ethanol in alcohol could have a negative affect on your physical and mental growth." The doctor smirked, knowing that she had outwitted the younger blond.
"I always felt like I was 26-years-old at heart." The Valkyrie replied with a coerced change of heart.
"If I can use your blood and draw out what makes you age at such a rapid rate, I can reengineer it and add it to Karlo's bloodstream to hopefully kickstart his metabolism and help him reach puberty at a faster rate. I mean, in essence we would be basically cutting his life span short but if it works, it will kick start the water sooner and he could use that to live a longer life anyway." Lauren was on a roll now.
Dagny let the information settle in her brain before something struck her. "But where would that leave us in terms of taking the water back home? Seeing as we would still have to wait a number of years for him to reach puberty before the water started to work again. If we took the water home now, it would just be regular water." It was a real concern.
"I mean, right now the problem is that I don't have the right equipment or resources to conduct the proper test or make the things I need happen. Hopefully, I can take the water and a sample of his blood and be able to artificially recreate the pheromone from it. That way I can stabilize the water more and then in turn be able to do experiments on it to create a serum that can sustain our lives." Lauren answered, moving across the lab to grab some supplies out of her bag.
"Sounds like you've got a lot of work to do." Dagny smiled, proud of her Lo.
"Indeed. But first things first, aging Karlo and saving the Neiths. Roll up your sleeve." Lauren ordered while securing a pair of gloves and preparing a needle with a couple of vacutainers.
"Yes ma'am."
On the other side of the room, Bo had moved away to give Lauren some space. She had watched Lauren the whole time and could tell that she was getting agitated. She couldn't imagine that it was helping that her and the warrior chick were basically having a staring match the whole time. Bo had done all but peed on Lauren to get Elyah to back off and Bo knew that her next move would be something that Lauren would consider inappropriate and reprimand her for later. So instead of going down that route, she just backed off. She trusted Lauren and knew that nothing would happen, but just in case she stayed close.
As Bo examined the little plants spilling into the room she found humdrum, Elyah took the opportunity to address the succubus.
"I feel as though you harbor a slight sentiment of acrimony towards me."
"What?" Bo said, caught off guard by the warrior.
"You don't like me." Elyah stated simply.
"Oh, well in that case … No, I don't like you." Bo answered sarcastically.
"May I ask why?"
"It could have something to do with you drugging my family, dragging us to a secluded dungeon, and holding us hostage. Or it could also be due to you kidnapping Lauren while she was bleeding and taking her away to someplace where I had no idea where she was!" Bo snarled out. She frowned and crossed her arms for effect. "Not to mention your kind of a bitch who tried to goad me earlier."
"Oh, so that's why." Elyah deadpanned at Bo's dramatics.
"And don't think I haven't noticed the way you keep looking at my girlfriend." Bo said while raising an eyebrow to let Elyah know that her intentions had not gone unnoticed. Elyah offered the succubus no response initially but held her gaze in acknowledgment of the succubus's strong accusation.
"Speaking of Doctor Lewis, I was wondering about your agreement."
"What agreement?" Bo asked confused.
"Your coital agreement." Bo just stared at her, prompting her to elaborate. "Well, seeing as you are a succubus, which means you indeed have a healthier appetite than most, and Dr. Lewis is indeed a human who is very much alive. I assume you two have some agreement about your feeding, which I also assume includes others." Elyah knew she was treading sensitive water, and apparently she was doing so at a rate that was too slow for the succubus because her foot had started to tap impatiently. "I guess what I'm really asking is, is your open relationship open for all?"
"We don't have an open relationship." Bo answered curtly.
The warrior was confused. "Well what would you call it? You are indeed in a relationship but are allowed to sleep with others outside of that commitment."
"I don't sleep with other people. I feed off of them, there's a difference." Bo defended.
"Not really. Not when you're a succubus." Elyah said not maliciously, but honestly.
Bo didn't like what she was saying but she also didn't have what she felt was an adequate comeback. "Your point?"
"I was wondering if Dr. Lewis was free to sleep with other people as well. If so, I would love to avail myself."
Bo set her jaw and took a menacing step into Elyah's personal space. "I'm going to say this once, and one time only. Lauren will not be sleeping with you or anyone else that is not me, for that matter, ever! Got it? And if I ever see you trying to change that to the contrary," Bo paused to glare straight into Elyah's eyes to make sure that she was paying attention, dropping her voice to a dangerous octave. "I will kill you."
"So, you are allowed to be with others but Dr. Lewis cannot? That does not seem fair." Elyah replied, completely unfazed by Bo's threat or proximity.
"You know nothing about fair. When I sleep with others its because I have to, because if I don't I will die. It's a biological need."
"And you're going to tell me that Dr. Lewis's needs aren't biological?"
"Oh, you best believe I fulfil every single one of her needs." Bo said with enough flair and attitude to put even Kenzi to shame.
"It is totally inequitable for you to be able to sleep with others and she not. Just because you love her and your biology demands it, doesn't mean that its right for you to hold her to a standard that you yourself cannot live up to. What you do is no different than if Dr. Lewis decided to go out and have relations with someone else."
"Wrong!" Bo corrected sternly. She took another step more into Elyah's space, causing the other brunette to step back momentarily. "When I go out I don't want to. I would give anything to be completely faithful to Lauren. Anything! But I can't! I've tried, believe me. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy sex, but its just that, sex! Its not the same as when I make love to her, when I give her everything I am and everything I will ever be. So no, its not the same. And you implying that Lauren is the same as any other 'joe shmo' on the street that I feed with, kinda pisses me off."
"Do you not think that Dr. Lewis would be evolved enough to separate sex from love making as you have?" Elyah questioned further.
"Our relationship is Lauren's choice. Furthermore, I would advise that you drop this line of questioning. Because I promised my baby that I would play nice," Bo said, making sure that Elyah knew exactly who she was referring to and that Lauren was indeed her baby. "But I'm not going to be able to keep that promise if the implication of sex with my girlfriend comes out of your mouth one more time. Oh and yeah, I know big words too." Bo punctuated her statement with a hard shoulder check as she walked away, leaving the warrior to ruminate on her words and decide if this was really a battle she wanted to pick.