Gajeels fingers danced over the firm strings, crimson eyes following the movements of the voluptuous blonde that was happily dancing with little Hasu in her arms. Everything about the sight made every thing from his heart to his soul to the dragon within him just sing.
He was mated, the gorgeous golden fiery dragon that had formed in his skin from the crook of his neck down over his right pectoral cradled Emzadis name with it's body, like the black dragon on Emzadis neck and shoulder held his name. She was gorgeous, the most stunning woman he had ever met, on par with Lucy, Erza, every heart stopping beauty he had ever seen, of them all, with her height and her radiant power, Emzadi, to him, stood out above them all.
She was bold, fearless, confident, and at the same time wonderfully feminine with her ruby painted lips, blood red nails and airy elegant and sexy veil dresses that were her favorite attire. He'd been so afraid, so worried that he had ruined his future, that what he'd done to Levy had ended any chance he had at happiness, at finding his mate, settling down and having a family.
He'd never told anyone how much that meant to him, it was a precious secret, a burning hope and desire he'd guarded deep inside himself and prayed he hadn't lost to his own nightmarish deeds. He smiled faintly, watching Emzadi twirl and Hasu laugh as he sat with Vander and Cristoff, all three on guitars, playing music with Vander singing. It was Christmas eve, all of the Pradesh family, their partners and closest friends had filled the Pradesh estate for the last week and would be here for another week for the holidays.
Gajeel had always enjoyed the holidays in Magnolia, once he was part of the guild, and once she was comfortable with him, Lucy had always made sure he was invited to her house for her little Christmas party. He used to hover hopefully by Levy, and enjoy being with people he cared about, who cared about him.
Now, Lily was being carried around by a determined Raiu who was certain the Exceed should be his even though he did very much like his uncle Gajeel, Raiu, like Gajeel himself had been once, desperately wanted an exceed partner of his own and had been told about how several of the other Dragon Slayers had them as companions. Now the golden eyed boy was trying to win Lily over.
Gajeel and Lily had already had a talk with Kaleb and Lucy about all of them making the trip to Fiore where most of the Exceeds had settled in a lovely village and seeing if, Like Gajeel, and several other Dragon Slayers, there were any of the magical cats that would be drawn to their sons.
Having never met Exceeds before Lily, Cristoff had even asked to come, Laxus and Cobra both giving him eye rolls.
"You can't say shit Cobra, you don't draw cats you drew a snake, and your ass would cry like a baby if you ever got another one." Gajeel had snickered at the Poison Slayer who had narrowed his eyes on him.
"Least I aint tryin to bond with fluffy kittens and crying in alleys when stray cats reject me." Cobra smirked back, Gajeel had grit his teeth, he fucking hated Cobras abilities sometimes.
The Poison Slayer didn't make fun of Raius desire for a cat though, in fact, Cobra was remarkably good, patient, with both boys, had turned out to be very good at handling them, and, only he and Kaleb knew when the boys were struggling with things, and Cobra reacted just as fast as Kaleb did when that happened.
Both boys now would occasionally be discovered in the morning curled up between Cobra and Vander in their bed, when they weren't cuddled between Lucy and Kaleb, it had become somewhat rare for the boys to spend a whole night in their own beds, they simply had too many welcoming family members perfectly happy to let the boys climb into their beds and cuddle.
Everyone knew the boys were adjusting, and that they needed the extra tolerance, patience and affection right now so they could feel safe, relax and be happy in their new family. Gajeel had to admit, waking up in the middle of the night to find a Dragon baby curled up between him and Emzadi had his whole being purring in contentment. Raiu liked sleeping with them, it meant he could pull Lily off the pillows and cuddle him, something Lily was very good about.
It all awed him, a month ago he had been succumbing to darkness, miserable, lonely, certain he had lost everything that had ever mattered to him, he'd been trying to drown his sorrows in liquor and sex, going home with just about anyone, and, being the well built handsome thing he was, there was no end to the people who were all too happy to take the big slayer home with them for some fun, or just out into an ally or park, wherever they could get his clothes off of him.
He hadn't cared, had even endured a couple nasty experiences and taken them as what he deserved. He knew better now, when he looked into the fiery eyes of his mate, he knew, he had lost nothing but his grip on hope back then, he'd just needed the helping hand Lucy had held out, to get to where he needed to be, to where his mate had been waiting for him to find her, to this large warm loving family that was now...his family.
Guild or no guild, for the rest of his life, he was a part of this family and, he was happy with that, ecstatic in fact. He'd have to watch Emi though, during their mating his souls sharing with her had given her too clear a view of how crushed he'd been, a crystal clear view of how Levy had broken things off with him and his beautiful mate, wanted to turn the shrimp into a pile of ashes.
"I know you wanted her, I even understand why, but the woman is a stone cold bitch seeking to augment her own short comings, she used you, and when it became clear Jet could give her more than you could, she left you for the easier man to control, the easier man to manipulate. Lucy sees her as a friend, I see her as a woman who used her "cuteness" to manipulate people, to use them. It would do her good to see you and I together, to see how she didn't leave you with nothing, how you didn't really need anything she had to offer." Emzadi had said, then a vicious smile had curled her plump red lips.
"And I would love to burn her hair off and strip away everything that she so "cutely" uses to control people." she added in a deadly tone. He'd chuckled, pulled her in for a long searing kiss and promptly gotten lost in her again, but he'd stored the information, Emzadi would not be nice to Levy if or when the two met.
For now though, he had no plans to ever see the bluenette again, he certainly wasn't invited to the wedding, and would not be in the same country when it happened, no, his happy ass was perfectly content in Bosco, with his new mate and family and his new guild.
Emzadi was similar to him in how she liked to live, they had decided they would keep the apartment in White Sea, Emi owned a home in the same building Vander had his penthouse in. Vander owned the 30th floor of the building, she owned the 25th, same views, and while he'd been doubtful about the privacy one could achieve in a skyscraper in the heart of the capital city of Bosco, he couldn't deny once they were in the spacious condo, he couldn't hear or smell others and the way the views were from the many windows it was like they were living in the sky 25 stories above the city.
He understood now why Cobra prefered elevated retreats. He still wanted a cabin, and Emzadi and he had been walking the large amount of land her family owned, looking for a spot to build one but still undecided about whether they wanted it on the family property or if they wanted to get a place completely removed from everything. He rather liked the idea of finding a place near or in the mountains, the annual mating season wouldn't be making his life hell for two weeks a year now that he was mated, but he still very much liked the idea of a rustic retreat for him and his mate and...one day...the family they would make together.
It was funny to him, as he sat strumming the guitar, watching his mate dance and laugh with little Hasu, seeing Lucy cuddled in Kalebs thickly muscled arms, Cana dancing with Arman, Farron and Hestor cuddling sneaking soft kisses and whispering things that had alternately either Farrons or Hestors cheeks pink to each other, Cobra reclined in a lounge, indigo eyes locked on his mate, a dreamy look in those eyes a faint smile curling his thin lips as he listened to Vander sing. Bickslow was whirling around with Xally, keeping his little sister laughing while Laxus sipped at a tall glass of spiced wine and watched Beck, who was chatting with Thane and Thanes wife Casey with keen interest..
Presca was chatting with Mr. Elan, plying the man for recipes, and everyone was happy.
He would always be angry he wasn't the first one to sense it.
It was Kaleb first, his eyes snapping upward, the big Boscan lunged, Lucy tightly held to his side he reached with his other arm to grab Raiu and yank him in tight against his chest , the massive explosion of Kalebs magic expanding in a rush, one of his bone shuddering fields of power coming to bear and sweeping over everyone, knocking them over, cracking furniture and slamming the air from everyones lungs a couple of seconds before the wards and protections that a Dragon Queen had put into place flared and they watched as black and purple flames skittered over the wards, as Dragon magic clashed with something far darker and managed to hold, sending the ugly magics sparking and hissing along its edges of protection until the blackness reached the ground along the edges of the field and they watched everything it touched either burn in sickly purple flames or simply shrink and lose all form of life.
"Freed! Re-enforce the wards! Vander! I need magic sinks, channel that shit into the fucking voids! Everyone into the house!" Kalebs voice barely carried over the hideous sounds of magic hitting wards but his mental projection of those commands resonated in everyone's heads.
Freed was up, rapier in hand, runes flying out and Vander rolled to his feet, a black leather band forming over his eyes as they flared with his magic and shadows emerged in waves from all around them to fly up along the straining wards and attack the dark magic.
Kalebs wings snapped out, radiating intense light, making Vanders shadows stronger as harder darker ones formed along the edges of the light, and making the black flames retreat from where the light reached. Lucy slid from his arm, meeting his glowing lavender eyes her own taking on light as she drew up her own magic, eyes turning to the darkness above as she started chanting, Leo emerged to her left, Gemini to her right, taking on Kalebs form and suddenly two more sets of brilliantly glowing wings snapped out, Gemini stepping back and apart to start spreading the influence of the light.
Arman rushed in, taking Raiu from Kaleb and running into the house with the others as white fire surged out along the ground from the three archangels to attack the black fire and send it into retreat. There was a shattering of glass and as Emzadi was turning her magic gathering, hands and arms starting to disapear beneath a coating of blinding fire and light she watched long black wings carry her older brother up toward the center of the assault.
"ZEN! NO!" She tried to scream but had to turn again, wards were starting to buckle and her blinding light surged from her arms shattering through what remained of the weakened ones and streaming instantly up and out along the outside of the protective barrier, overwhelming the black fire and dark magic and burning it away, her hair starting to lift as heat built around her she didn't stop, sending her fire up and from the barrier ahead of her brother who now flew alongside it toward the source of this attack.
They couldn't see it from the ground, hadn't even been able to sense it until the bay door had opened and it had dropped the first dark magic bomb on the house, that bomb had exploded on the wards and now others were spilling from the hovering airship.
Zen flew right into one, wings reaching forward as he reached it, slicing through it and he pushed his magic through the rift he created, slapping the splitting device right into the column of solar fire at his side.
Gajeel was alongside his mate, eyes searching for his opportunity to engage the threat as he watched Bickslow shoot upward on his babies and Laxus step up alongside Kaleb, directing lightning, calling it from the sky even as he shot it upward to catch whatever was up there in the center of the immense bolt. He collected Hasu from Emzadi, hurrying the boy to Xally who gathered the wide eyed child in her arms and took him inside with the others.
The clouds parted to let the moonlight roar through and suddenly it was nearly as bright as day, the black fires receding as Cristoff held his hands out, open at his sides, eyes glowing silver.
Raiu struggled in his grandfathers arms watching through the window as his new family took on the threat to their home.
"Raiu, stay still! Stay with me sweetheart." Arman growled at him and the boy frowned, Golden eyes lighting, he reached a hand out and above, the clouds remained parted but blackened and started churning, sparks flying, outside Laxus grinned, blessing the pure magic he felt coming from the house stirring clouds to churn and produce more static for him to use.
"Gemini! Protect my family!" Kaleb shouted and the spirits nodded, stepping so Lucy was between them as Kalebs wings slammed down and carried him upwards to join his brothers.
As soon as he was past the still seething protective barrier Kalebs eyes narrowed, seeing Zen deflecting bombs, slapping them toward Vanders shadows and Emzadis pillars of solar fire with his wings. Kaleb turned his eyes to what had to be an airship but it was cloaked in those black flames, had it's own host of wards and protection and Kaleb narrowed his eyes, angling upward to get above it and trying to find a target. It took effort but his magic finally reached through the protections and he grabbed the first mind he found, a crewman, and his lips pressed together in a hard line.
He knew in a heartbeat whose ship it was, and what was the crewmans eyes and ears he took in everything going on around the man, the crewman was helping to push bombs to the bay and Kaleb kept him doing that, spotting a dark mage that was pushing her magic into the bombs as they were riding the conveyor belt to be dropped, there were others too, most wearing Joyan colors and Kaleb seethed with anger, their "Princess" was selling the honor of their country to Joya for her twisted obsession.
He saw the white haired woman too, Sorrano, who was watching on a lacrima screen, eyes locked on Zen who was center on the screen.
Zen, they have you in their sights, get out of range, they are preparing more bombs, you have a few seconds to back off and I'm in place to take up where you left off… Kaleb warned his brother. He watched Zen bank hard and rocket skyward right into the churning black clouds, trusting the mages on the ground not to hit him.
"We won't make it past them all and I can't teleport into open air to grab either of the Archangels while they're on the wing." a Tall hefty woman said firmly beside Sorrano.
"We shouldn't have used the fucking bombs...I had a better plan." She said furiously, glaring toward the elegant woman with long black hair standing across the bomb bay from where she was. Kurino was scanning the Lacrima screen, searching for her own target her eyes locking on the tall blonde beside the Rune Mage that was making it impossible for the bombs to tear away the wards and protections enough for the ship to land.
She turned green eyes darkly on Sorrano then whirled, heading from the deck.
"Close the doors! Captain I want us at flank speed to our top altitude and over the Palace immediately!" She snapped out, sneering toward Sorrano before she left the deck.
Sorrano glared after her. "Stupid pampered bitch, so sure of your might, I told her this was stupid...now they'll be ten times as cautious...FUCK! Make sure my sister is put back to sleep and made comfortable, obviously...we're through here, drop the bombs on the belt and close the damn doors before the wing starts getting too high and we're out of fucking range." She snarled, turning herself and rushing from the deck in the opposite direction of Kurino.
Kaleb released his hold on the crewman but not before he had the man set one of the bombs to go off,angling away quickly and diving, calling to Zen who exploded from the clouds and joined him, taking out the last handful of bombs right as the cloaked ship above rocked but still shot skyward.
In minutes it was over, the wards settled and Freed set to work repairing the damages, Bickslow returned, stepping off his babies, several of the bombs had met their ends to his blasts of green energy.
Kaleb and Zen angled down, both landing, Zen more gracefully than Kaleb still, though Kaleb was knocked staggering by a teary eyed blonde slamming into his chest and a fully crying red haired boy hugging his leg.
Arman emerged, eyes narrowed on the sky, hugging his grandson close to him he looked seriously at Kaleb who nodded, and soon every adult mind shared all he had seen through the crewman.
Lucy did cry now. "She has Yukino...Sting said Yukino went to see her friends at Mermaid Heel and hadn't come back yet, he was worried because she was going to miss the Christmas party at the guild.
"She probably intends to try for Zen again." Farron said glaring upward.
"It's her own sister…" Lucy said softly shaking her head in disbelief.
"Momma…" Raiu said quietly and Lucy turned in Kalebs arms reaching to take the boy from Arman, hugging him to her.
"Raiu, that was brave what you did to help…" Laxus said smiling at the boy.
"I helped uncle Cris." Hasu said, turning his face from where it had been pressed into Kalebs thigh.
Cristoff smiled at him, reaching down and plucking the boy up form the ground into a hug, nuzzling him affectionately "You sure did, made the moonlight brighter with me to fight those dark flames." he agreed.
"We need to leave the estate, I'm not happy about it, but I don't believe remaining in an isolated area is wise. Kaleb, the Mansion on top of the guild branch…." Arman gave his son a long look and Kaleb nodded.
"Best choice, the guild wards and protections have been recently updated and beefed up heavily because of the approaching celebrations for New Years. There are plenty of rooms, we'll all be comfortable there and have the added benefit of being in the heart of the city with a large amount of the guild planning to be there for the festivities." Kaleb agreed.
Thane came forward, looking between himself Cristoff and Laxus. "Between the three of us we should be able to get everyone to the guild in one trip, I would recommend having uninvolved mages pick up our clothes…" Thane said.
"No...Virgo can gather everyone's things more efficiently, I don't want mages not involved getting that way by coming out here." Lucy countered and Thane nodded.
Freed joined them, looking a bit strained and paler than usual but he smiled as Romino came to him, the lavender haired archive mage wrapped his arms around him and kissed his temple. "The wards are restored and re-enforced,the estate is fully protected again." He said and Arman nodded.
"Thank you Freed, I still firmly believe we are better off at the guild though." Arman said and everyone agreed. Taking only the time for Lucy to instruct Virgo on what they needed her to do, the Pradesh family left their home, re-appearing in the Guild Masters office, which had been used by Laxus most recently. The big blonde dropped his arm from around Beck and his hand from Xallys shoulder, exchanging a quick look with the burly beastmaster Laxus moved to look through the window down on the main guildhall below.
"Busy as hell, looks like they're doing the mistletoe pairings, best not go down there for a bit." He said quietly, glancing at Beck again, catching the Gold and blue bi-eyed gaze and Becks half smile..
It was a Boscan tradition for young unattached people interested in random fun,the mistletoe would appear above two people at random in the specified area and those people would retreat to one of the privacy booths, what they did there was up to them, but most chose to indulge, especially with the merriment of the festivities.
"Lets head up to the mansion, everyone can get settled in and I'll order up desserts from the kitchens, I have some decent wine if you'd like to pick some out Dad." Kaleb said, bending when Hasu came up to him and picking the boy up, settling him on hiship before sliding an arm around Lucy and leading the way to the elevator.
It wasn't what they had wanted, and Kaleb was already making plans. The crown Princess of Bosco had just used her airship to attack his family, his home. This wasn't going unanswered, but Kaleb was a strategist, not prone to rash decisions, and his Father and older brother Farron were both brilliant Ambassadors with immense experience between them, and, connections, a lot of them. This wasn't going unanswered. They just had to figure out the best way to handle this threat to their family.
A direct view of the ship had been impeded by the cloak of black magic around it, clever, the only evidence they had it was Kurino was Kalebs take over of the crewman. He had forced the explosion of one of the bombs though, caused real damage to the ship that the Princess, the second she docked, would have to explain, nobody worked on Boscan airships but Boscan ship engineers and the Princess' ship was a complex hybrid between a gunship and a luxury liner.
By causing the damage he was sure was substantial, Kaleb had put Kurino in a position where Boscan engineers loyal to her father and the Boscan military would be combing the ship to assure there weren't other secondary damages caused by the explosion, they would find those modified cells she had, she would be forced to explain it, and, while she was trying to do that, he could step forward and admit he'd caused the bomb to go off, killing the crewman he'd taken over among probably several others, her ships beacon would have already reported she was in Bosco so she couldn't turn around and retreat to Joya for repairs, her ship had damage to a bay, she wouldn't be able to fly well in the first place and she'd have heavy explaining to do if she turned around and went back to Joya on Christmas eve with the country in the middle of their holiday celebrations.
Kaleb could be held for possible charges of treason for attacking the Crown Princess' ship with her aboard, he could even be put to death for it, so they would have to plan carefully how they were going to handle this, and he saw his fathers eyes clouded with deep thought, Farrons too, felt Lucy at his side racing through ideas and all she had learned during her ongoing studies of Boscan laws and culture.
A short time later they were all very pleasantly surprised to find their clothes had ALL been moved from the house to the mansion on top of the Pelerno branch for the Guild, and, Virgo had brought over all the food Mr. Elan had prepared, including all the desserts.
Kaleb settled into a large plush couch in the grand sitting room where the Guildmaster usually received dignitaries from all over the world, Emzadi casually flicking her fingers and starting a roaring fire in the massive marble fireplace as she settled alongside Gajeel in a loveseat.
The two boys immediately climbed into their new fathers lap, the events of the evening had both excited them, and, frightened them, seeing their brand new father fly up through the churning black mass of flames...both children had been painfully reminded of all they had already lost and neither wanted to lose the man who both were coming to enjoy calling "Dad".
Lucy smiled, sitting beside Kalb and leaning into him, wrapping an arm around the boys and pressing her face into Kalebs shoulder for a moment, drinking in his strong healthy alive and well presence for her own reassurance. Then she turned, Kalebs arm settling behind her as they looked to Arman who was still standing while everyone sat.
"Kaleb already knows what setting the bomb off in the Princess' ship could mean, and...it was brilliant my son, Kurino will have no choices, Boscan engineers will be all over that ship and explaining what happened will not be easy for her, those bombs have to magically activated and set and that ship is going to be crawling with black magic residue that will have the Knights getting involved." Arman said.
"More than that, the bombs her ship carries aren't just activate and drop, they have to be magically filled to be effective, that takes time, several minutes per bomb, they require preparations, that's why most of the ships armament is guns, it's not meant to be a bomber, just to supply that option." Vander added. "So she can't try to say some dark mage snuck on the ship, converting those bombs over, overpowering the light lacrimas set into them, refitting them to use dark magic, that shit would take way too long for anyone who snuck on board to manage without getting caught, she can't claim ignorance of them being converted to dark magic."
"Crewmen have been killed, soldiers of Bosco, there will be an in depth investigation, the ship will be docked and it's engines taken offline until it can be thoroughly gone over, the special cells on board she brought back from Joya are going to be found, she'll have to explain them, they're slaver designed conditioning cells, equipped for torture and slave conditioning, she can't hide that shit and those methods are banned in Bosco, absolutely not appropriate for the Crown Princess' diplomatic ship." Farron said with a smile.
"We do have to let Altiene know what she did, and now, before the dark magic she dropped on the property can disperse." Arman said, already dialing a number on his com. Christmas eve, it was going to be hell tracking down the right people, which he was sure why Kurino had chosen tonight to attack them, most everyone was enjoying the holiday.
General Tesso though was his departed wifes brother, and one of the 4 commanding Generals of the the Order of Immaculate Light, the Citadel would mobilize at Tessos word, no matter what day it was.
He wouldn't take well to hearing the princess was using dark magic, and that she had attacked the home with his nephews, his only family, in it.
Tesso took the news like Arman had expected, with an ashen face and wide eyes.
"Well...fuck...ok, Cristoff, Kaleb, I'm calling you both in, I have to have you here, you're both knights, and directly involved. So get here immediately full dress so you show you fucking mean to be here." Tesso said firmly and Kaleb was immediately lifting the boys from his lap and handing them to Lucy, both of them whimpering a little as their father stepped away.
"They're going to change now, Cristoff will bring them to the Citadel." Arman said.
They went over all the events of the evening, Tesso asking questions and collecting permissions for formal statements to be collected.
"I won't send knights to the Guild, am I clear? So if any show up? I'm telling you now, they're not on official business and not sent by me. I can get your statements put in and can collect your formals after Christmas." Tesso said.
Lucy looked up as Cristoff and Kaleb re-entered the grand sitting room.
Cristoff was in matte grey and gold plate armor, the seal of the order bright on his chest and glittering broadsword at his hip.
Lucy was staring at his brother, watching Kaleb adjust the white and gold armor he wore, latching gauntletts in place. His armor bore more decorations than Cristoffs, both had seen multiple campaigns but Kaleb had been promoted higher and bore the distinct Wizard Saint symbols on both shoulders.
The boys were wide eyed and gaping, staring raptly at their father and Uncle for far different reasons, their gazes filled with childish wonder and admiration, unlike their mothers far more heated look. Theirs were pure glee.
"Cristoff will take us to the Citadel Uncle Tesso, we're about ready." Kaleb called, Lucy and the boys moving to him.
The boys were all about wanting to hold Kalebs longsword, and try on his helm while Lucy got her own long kiss in. Zen watched the scene and drew a breath, his uncle had been vocal about wanting to test him for the knights, get him inducted, and he was going to have to accept a military commision and be on call for 5 years by Boscan law. Knight terms were 7 year commitments, but for him, the Knights had far more appeal than the regular military. Seeing his brothers in their armor, Kaleb being seen off by Lucy, the boys scrambling to get their hugs and kisses in, Kaleb ruffling their hair before pulling Lucy in for another kiss, He wanted that some day...he really did.
Cristoffs hand closed on Kalebs shoulder as soon as Lucy and the boys had stepped back and in a flash of silver the two men were gone.
Lucy looked at the boys, who were both still grinning, smitten by the sight of their father in his armor, she couldn't deny, she'd never seen him in it and he cut one hell of an impressive figure in it.
"You know, I'm seriously hearing cinnamon chocolate cookies calling me right now." Bickslow said, wagging his brows at the boys who both lit up.
"And there are presents to unwrap…" Lucy added.
Both boys were bouncing on the balls of their feet
"Lets go get some cookies and then we'll open presents since Virgo was nice enough to bring the tree and gifts." Bickslow said holding his hands out, the boys exchanged looks then rushed their uncle, Bickslow catching them laughing, sweeping them both up into his arms and carrying them toward the kitchens, Lucy following close behind, she would focus on the children for now, let Arman and Farron handle the immediate planning. Laxus was in charge of this branch, so if any mages were needed he would be the one to call them in anyway, though Lucys own authority covered all of the guild and all of its branches because she was Kalebs mate, she was far too respectful of Laxus to overstep him.
Arman watched them go, then turned back to the others.
"Erik, what all did you learn from what you got at that bar?" He asked and Erik growled.
"Simulated succubus venom, they used a variety of naturally occurring compounds, minerals and plant substances to create something magic doesn't recognize as a toxin in its entirety, They buried it in Viniq so the minerals would get lost in the luster powder they put in that stuff, added some mild toxins, like platinum dust and cyanide, Kaleb, Zen and Cristoffs cleansing magic attacked that but the other things were slow and fast acting, combined they eventually produced the fully drunk state and acted as a powerful aphrodisiac, but it took time, combined it would be about 2 hours before full effects would be in place, the process sped up some by the fact they were dancing, then...having sex." Cobra rattled off.
"Counter venom?" Farron asked and Cobra smirked, looking to Vander who reached into his storage and pulled out some vials.
"All set up, and they're good for several days when they take this, even if exposed to the elixir in a concentrated form, this will counteract enough of the compounds to prevent full effects, now they'll either be drunk, or horny, but they wouldn't be both." Vander said.
"Any idea who made it?" Arman asked, looking at the bright yellow liquid in the vial.
"Fucking talented alchemist, only they can put together shit like this." Cobra replied.
"Something Joya has in abundance, they command the market on illegal drugs, elixirs, potions, they're infamous for it." Arman said with a look of disgust on his handsome face. He'd spent a good chunk of his career trying to get Joya to end their horrendous activities, them and Pergrand were like boils on the worlds ass in his opinion anymore.
"You don't want to know how many invitations I've had from them to visit the country, been offered huge amounts of jewel, just never felt like I wanted what they were offering." Cobra said darkly.
The venoms he could produce, especially the one unique to him, Joya would give anything to have him, a Poison Dragon Slayer that could duplicate any toxin or venom, whose body could create anti-venoms and toxins, reversal agents at his whim. They had been after him for years, and he'd always refused them, knowing full well if he set foot in that country they would lock him up and have him in chains and under needles 24 hours a day.
Nope, his happy ass stayed the fuck away from Joya.
Vander was suddenly touching him, strong long fingered hands rubbing his shoulders. "They wouldn't have you long." His mate said in a deadly tone. That went straight between Cobras legs and he tipped his head back, looking up at his handsome mate.
"You're sexy when you're protective." He growled and Vander smirked, leaning down, his wavy black hair falling over his shoulders and brushing the sides of Cobras face.
"Nobody...will ever put a chain on you...ever again." He said in a breathy growl before his lips were slanting over Cobras in a firm promise Cobra drank in.
"Nobody will ever put any member of my family in chains, we've had more than our share of that. Zen, I want this in your system." Arman said holding up the vial to his second eldest son. Zen stood and went to him, accepting the vial, popping off the stopper and downing the contents without comment, only making a small grimace at the bitter taste.
"Good for about 5 days before it starts weakening in your system, I'll keep making it." Cobra said when Vander let him up for air.
"Fine, Thanks Erik." Zen responded and Cobra nodded.
Arman was still, reading over the lacrima tablet handed to him by Thane, Gods he loved having Kalebs aid at his side, really, the man kept track of everything flawlessly, and made sure to subtly keep him updated.
"One of these days I will find a way to lure you from my sons side." He smiled at the man who smiled back.
"Not likely sir." Thane replied.
Arman sighed, but then frowned.
"Well, all hell is breaking lose at the Palace. The Princess just docked, there are alerts being sent out calling in the Council as well as the consulate high ranked staff." Arman shared a look with Farron who sighed, leaning over to give Hestor a kiss that drew a soft moan from the man before Farron put a tablet in his hands and winked at him.
"My normal aid is on break for the holidays, so guess who's filling in." He smirked.
Hestor grinned at him "I make no promises I won't say nasty things...quietly." Hestor said and Farron chuckled "I'd be disappointed if you didn't, I'm a sound mage, nobody will hear them but me."
Thane bowed to Arman.
"Ambassador Pradesh, I would be honored to serve as your aid in emergency session since Master Kaleb is serving the Knights." He offered and Arman grinned.
"See? It may be temporary but it's a start. Vander? I know you'd probably rather stay here with your mate, but I would like you to accompany us as...back up...just in case. If Altiene doesn't respond like I believe he will, if any move is made toward your brothers, I want you to remove them and bring them here then come back for us, am I clear?" Arman demanded and Vander stood, black leather on his body shifting into the combat set he wore on missions.
"Yeah Dad, I've got it." His youngest said, moving around the seat his mate was in, smirking when the poison slayer slapped his ass as he passed him. Arman smiled, meeting Cobras gaze, he liked Erik, and what made everything so much better,Vander was head over heels for the man, the two were just...a perfect fit for each other and if he was honest...Vander settling down had always been something he had hoped for but doubted would ever happen. It was fitting in a way, a Dragonslayers "mate" being the only thing that could contain his wild and free youngest son.
"If you would Thane?" Arman asked and Thane smiled, placing a hand on Arman and Farrons shoulders, Farron holding Hestor, kissing Hestors temple, Vander getting a hold of his father so he could emerge already hidden when they teleported into the consulate.
As soon as they were gone Gajeel stood "Ok, lets go make sure two little whelps have a good Christmas eve." He said gripping his smiling mate to his side and earning himself a kiss on the cheek.
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A/N Thank you to all of you taking the time to leave me so many PMs and reviews to let me know how the rewrite is coming through. It's been a long hard road redoing this story, it hurt when I lost it because I had poured so much time and energy into it. This time though, it is fully and completely my own with help and feedback from those of you communicating with me in PMs and reviews and the wonderful authors I talk with every day in Discord. Nightmare Senshi, MsPuppet, Starry, Therashae, Awesome, Sassy, now Msnikki and several others, all of you help so much and this rewrite just wouldn't be possible without you all.
Crash the Moon (Coming back soon) Gildarts in a moment of kindness saves the life of a magical creature that will change his life.
Like a Phoenix (Coming back soon) Archangel mages, created by the heavens to serve alongside Celestial, Holy and Light mages, to defend the world during a massive Demonic invasion centuries ago. Why did they go extinct? Lucy will learn the hard way after Gajeel is pulled into the underworld and Levy begs her to enslave a good man so they can rescue Levys love.