"I...Mother, we had agreed I had fine candidates here already." Xiao kept his voice calm as his mother stood aside and three women stepped out of her carriage.
"Yes, well, I decided some more wouldn't hurt, he needs options, you had mentioned he hadn;t liked us taking choices from him and his brother was...clear...about how little he liked it so...we are giving him choices. Gita Hitose, Lura Shen and Numita Hitose, my son Xiao Xing, High Priest of Set. You will present yourselves well, hold yourselves to the finest standards, or...I will want to know why you didn't and your parents will be...very...displeased. Woo the Archangel and your families will be honored, your lines enhanced by strong honored blood, your children cherished as treasures. Fail and you go home with nothing." Hoshiko said and looked at her son.
"Your sister Li has not arrived?" She demanded and Xiao managed not to blanch.
"I was unaware Li was coming." He replied and his mother smiled.
"Excellent, my girls will be introduced first and will have a little more time to make an impression then before he is distracted by hers." She said, looking far too pleased.
She turned and started climbing back into her carriage.
"Mother...you...you're not staying?" Xiao asked, surprised, he'd fully expected her to stay and...gloat, taunt Zen, something...Right that moment he was glad the man was off on a flight, needing to burn off steam after frustrating lessons in ancient Celestial writing and speech that morning.
"No no, I've far too much to do, you've no idea the number of families that came forward offering daughters as concubines once word was out we had Zen at one of the temples and he would be taking a mate. Seems the man was in some magazine in Bosco the month before he came here." She chuckled as she sat down.
"I'm sure one of the girls has a copy of it, you might look at it, he and his brother Kaleb and your Cousin Hestor were in it." She said then closed the carriage door and Xiao was left blinking a moment before he turned to his new….whatever they were...problems was his first tag for them.
They were all three beautiful, silver haired, Lura with moss green eyes and a body even Xiao couldn't ignore.
"Alright, I want all three of you to go to the prayer hall, take your vows of service to this temple, I'll have a priest there to oversee it in a few minutes and they will see you to your quarters once that is completed. You will NOT interrupt Zens lessons, interfere with his training or in any way impede the things he is working on here, if you do, no matter what my mother has said, you will leave on the first cart out of this temple and not be allowed back, am I clear?" He demanded and the women bowed.
"Yes High Priest."
He watched them go and inwardly groaned as he signaled to an aid and sent them to fetch a priest to see after them. As if the three he had weren't already nearly at each others throats…
0-0-0-0-0-0
As he was warned would happen, Xiaos sister showed up two days later with three more women in tow, angry her mother had beaten her there and that the other women had time to be introduced to Zen before hers.
While he was glad to see her, and happily spent time with her, he kept himself detached from her ambitions and maneuvering. Eyeing her as she lay beside him, her fingers trailing across his bare chest.
"Mother and I agree on one thing." She said and he didn't sigh, kept his face calm, he didn't want to know but knew he had to ask.
"And that is?"
She smiled "If Zen fathers children, archangel or not, they will be treasures to our family."
Xiao didn't respond and Li huffed, pouting.
"Darling brother, would you prefer me in his bed?"
Now he frowned. "No...but I have spent substantial time with him, he will not sire children like we would ask him to. Him less than his brother Vander and you saw how the Shadwoquip responded to us asking him to do that?" He watched her pale a bit at the memory.
"Zens reaction would be no less violent sister." Xiao said.
Li sighed. "I want the best, the more children there are, the better." She said and Xiao smiled faintly, leaning up to distract her, pulling her back down.
He wanted more children for their family, and Li was positioned in her temple well, but pressure for her to have children and for Xiao to start using some of his concubines was growing by the day. Having Zen here...it was giving them both a break from that as the family rose in excitement at having the Archangel to matchmake for.
If they had their preferences, Hestor Kedanza and his mate would come to the temple Hestor was the born High Priest of and use the concubines there, blessing the southern lines with a powerful influx of celestial magics, they'd love to get their hands on Farron and Arman himself too. Arman was one Hoshiko was working on herself, though his mother was surprisingly...awkward...when it came to the senior Ambassador, she would shout down Kings but put Arman in front of her and she got strangely quiet.
He wasn't too old to father more children, far from it, and his lines? His mother was a Heavenly body mage, his father a Holy Light mage and Arman himself possessed a variety of sound magic that allowed soul listening and was considered the lightest of the soul magics. The Pradesh line traced back centuries and all through it was Light mages, Celestial mages, Holy mages, it was the lightest bloodline in Bosco and, the One Magic had always seemed to guide it to remain that way.
Armans sons, with the Roulet line in them, were highly desirable though Hoshiko hadn't given up on trying to get Ganiers brother Tesso Roulet to come to Stella…
The family had other prime specimens they wanted too...Cristoff, of clan Lupren, his mother had been a white fire mage, his father a holy light mage and he possessed Dragonslayer magic, was a first generation slayer too with impressive Lunar magic and healing skills, the magic he'd have had if not for being taken by Nurem still showed through in the mans gentle Empathy and remarkable aptitude for healing, they believed had Nurem not taken him, Cristoff would have been a Lunar healer on his own, just not as strong.
Emzadi was daughter to the Chief of the Draculi clan, her parents both powerful fire mages, her mother using normal red fire but her father? He had commanded blue fire, and had been revered for it among that clan.
Even the children not born of Armans own loins were exceptional, the fates had woven carefully to bring that family together as they had. His mother had seen things, he knew she had, about Arman or his family he wasn't sure but she was keeping a lot of it to herself, plotting he was sure.
Li hummed against him and he turned his attention back to her, watching the sun set and hoping somehow he could keep the peace at his temple with 9 women there vying for the Archangel. He wouldn't say a word to his mother or sister but he had every intention of letting Zen have a voice. Any woman there would be a good choice genetically, family lines considered, any one of the 9 would fit and while mother and Li may have fits at first, they would see that and calm down.
0-0-0-0-0-0
Zen angled down, circling the temple and running his sharp eyes over the courtyard, stretching his magic out and finding it empty in the late hour of the evening. He hadn't meant to stay out so late but he'd found a cat, oddly enough, and she was having kittens on the side of the mountain overlooking the valley the Temple sat in. It had taken him some time, but with clouds moving in and the taste of rain on the wind he didn't want to leave the animal there.
He'd seen similar ones, the silver pelts with the spots, the temple priests often were followed around by them. They were smart little things and he'd spent enough time walking the conservation center with Beck he knew a little about cats, since Beck always seemed to have either a cat or dog or...basilisk or Gods knew what there giving birth or about to be. The entire city of White Sea came to the center looking for pets and Beck usually had some to give away.
He knew cats went and hid when they gave birth, so this was probably a temple cat, she'd wandered pretty damn far though, the mountainside she'd chosen was a good ten miles from the temple by air.
So he'd gathered her and the two kittens she'd given birth to so far up and now he landed on his balcony, hissing a bit when the cat bit him again at being jostled, she didn't break the skin but it still stung.
He looked around his rooms and snatched the spare blanket from the foot of his bed, setting it up into a round little next under the desk by the fireplace before finally setting the cat on it and placing her kittens in it.
He'd closed and locked the balcony, there was no way out of the room, and the creature stared at him a moment before turning a circle, curling around her babies and seeming to accept the situation, she still growled at him, like she'd been doing since he'd landed by her on the mountainside.
"Don't get bitchy with me, you were out on a mountainside with rain coming in while trying to give birth, you're mistake, not mine." He chided, tossing some wood on the fire and working with it to get it going. He actually slept better in a cool room, but he had a feeling the cat would need the warmth and he could sleep fine if he didn't bother with sleep pants or blankets.
He almost jumped when there was a soft knock at his door. Frowning he eyed the cat that was looking toward the door.
"Don't even think about it." He growled at her as he stood. It was near midnight, being the temple of Set that meant there was a lot of activity in the prayer rooms and such but rarely ever any in the residence area especially in this wing where his rooms were.
He opened the door and blinked in surprise seeing Shimako standing there with a tray. The woman blushed a bit.
"I saw you fly in, you missed evening tea and with it being cold and starting to rain I just thought…" She looked past him and saw large blue eyes blinking at her.
"You...you have a cat…" She said then heard the tiny mews of the kittens and she shoved the gladiator aside, set the tray on the table by the window and hurried to the fireside.
"Oh! This must be Hita, the female the priests were all so worried about! Where did you find her!?" She was carefully looking over the kittens then and the cat let her without complaint, just blinking it's large blue eyes at her.
Zen closed the door, opting to go sit at the table and enjoy some tea because while he wasn't cold at all, the smell of fresh lemon cookies was undeniable.
"She was on the side of the mountain to the south of here, with the rain coming in I couldn't leave her there, I figured she was probably one of the temple cats." He said and Shimako set the kitten she was holding back alongside its mother, eyes intent on the cat.
"She's not done...she still has at least one or two more babies to deliver…" She said and Zens eyes widened, the cookie he was about to pop in his mouth hovering by his lips as it registered what the night ahead of him was likely to entail...suddenly he deeply missed Beck…
Shimako caught the anxious look that flickered across his features and smiled, standing and brushing at her dress.
"I can get one of the priests, there are two who are very knowledgeable about the cats, they're usually in charge of their care and i know one is in trouble because Hita disappeared. When they get close to their time they're supposed to be locked up and kept inside, he failed to do so in time and she clearly REALLY wandered." She said and Zen nodded, popping the cookie in his mouth and standing.
"Alright, lets go find this priest then." he said and she blinked at him in surprise.
"I...you don't need to trouble yourself." She said.
"Already did, she's in my room. So, let's go find the priest and bring him to her." The gladiator prompted, raising a brow at her an Shimako swallowed under those dark eyes but nodded and led him from the room and through the temple.
Jiku had been in hot water for a week, since Hita, one of the favorite female cats of the temple, bred to a fine male and certain to produce a beautiful litter, had not come home after he let her out thinking she would just sun herself in the gardens like she always did. Yes, it was getting close to her due day and she'd already been ordered confined a few days ago, but she was so sweet and cried at the door and rubbed around his legs and he just hadn't been able to resist her begging.
He'd been kicking himself...when the other priests weren't glaring at him and calling him an idiot...ever since. The Stellan Mau cats were cherished, temple companions, and every litter was treasured, the kittens having homes before the breedings were even done. There were few households in Stella that wouldn't want one, though they were rarely allowed to live anywhere but in the temples, there were plenty of temple workers of all kinds that wanted them.
When there was a knock at his door he glanced at the clock and groaned, it was way past lights out, he'd cleaned the stables, twice because the stable manager was pissed at him too, he was supposed to be getting a kitten from Hitas litter…
Almost fearing some sort of hazing for his mistake, the young priest hovered back as he opened the door, eyes flying wide at the towering man standing there. Yep...they'd hired some thug to come beat him up...he was doomed...the man looked like he could break logs in half with his bare hands...
The woman before the man looked smaller than she was in comparison and he recognized her as one of the Heset Priestesses working in the kitchens.
"Jiku? I'm Shimako,this is mas...um...Zen, he found Hita." She said and Jikus eyes flew wide a smile lighting his whole face.
"You did?! Where is she? Is she ok? Tell me she's still pregnant!" He said in a rush and Zen chuckled as Shimako calmed the man and they led him to Zens room.
There was a third kitten when they returned that Hita was already cleaning and she didn't pay attention to any of the trio as Jiku fell to his knees looking like he might cry as he looked over the cat and kittens.
"Why did you let her out if they had already ordered her confined until the kittens were born?" Shimako was frowning after Jiku told them what had happened. Shimako was very much into following rules, they were like recipes, ignoring them could spoil everything.
"She has always laid in the garden and sunned herself, never left the temple grounds that I've ever seen...she begged so much...and look at those eyes…" He cooed.
Zen raised a brow "I found her ten miles away giving birth on the side of the mountain south of here." He said bluntly and the man blanched.
"How...how did you ever spot her?" He breathed and Zen shrugged
"I just did. Don't let her out again, no matter how big her eyes are or how she begs." The Archangel said and the man nodded quickly. With that they helped him gather up the cat and take her back to where she should have been all along.
Walking back Shimako stopped suddenly and grabbed his hand. "I forgot, come with me, I have something for you!" She said and Zen frowned slightly but let the small woman pull him into the wing by the kitchens to a residence door, he caught a couple doors cracking open as they passed but ignored them.
So far, the women sent as "Candidates" for him, far from impressed him. Most seemed petty, vindictive and selfish and he wanted none of that in his mate.
So, let them see him being dragged to Shimakos room at 1 in the morning.
"Here…" She snatched something off the table by the door and handed it to him and Zen blinked in surprise but took it, then a smile lifted his lips as he took in his white shirt,,, clean with no hint of the tea stains.
"You fixed it…" He said quietly and Shimako smiled, nodding.
"Like I said I mmph!" She was pulled in and lifted right off her feet, her lips covered by Zens, it was a brief kiss, but when he set her back on her feet she almost sank to her knees, head just spinning from it.
"Thank you...I know it's just a shirt but...it's a favorite." He said quietly and Shimako could only nodd mutely, licking her lips and blinking trying to recollect her senses.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Evergreen frowned as she plucked the last weed from her little garden, making a face as she tossed it in the trash and looked around her yard.
She was home...in Magnolia, and...miserable.
Presca was on a mission with his team, he Vander and Cida would be gone for...3 months. THREE, it felt like forever. She couldn't even complain much, they had offered to bring her, the money was very very good, but, they were infiltrating an illegal magic arms ring, and the last time they had gone undercover, Vander had been kidnapped by demons and nearly ruined by them.
This mission didn't look to be all that terrible, new information gathered by the Citadel and Steel Council simple had new direction on a trafficking ring the King of Seven himself had admitted to, while his mother was Queen, fed into. It was a decent sized organization, but not known to be affiliated with any of the same channels involved with Vanders operation going down. White Sea was still working on that, hunting Quazar who was now identified by the Boscan Magic council as Xintrophox, one of the demon generals cast into the Dark Continent at the end of the Holy Wars. Information had been updated and he was now a top priority for all of Ishgars magic councils, the Circle of Gods, what the Gods of Ishgar was called, had been notified they were meeting to come up with a course of action regarding the capture of Quazar, and Kaleb had left with Hestor for that meeting right before Evergreen had gone home, she'd not gotten to see Laxus, he'd left for the same meeting while she was still on the airship to Fiore.
So here she was. Bickslow was still in Bosco with Lucy, Freed had taken a job in Bosco with White Sea working on deciphering some missives that had been confiscated at the destroyed club in Autumn City, and she had...nothing to do.
She was getting her garden back in order, spoiled by Prescas well maintained herb garden at his house in Bosco and trying not to miss him as much as she was. He had Rowan, who lived a block down from him and was happy to come over while he was gone and make sure his garden stayed healthy.
Technically? Fairy Tail had a good green mage, Droy was good with his magic, not S-class good, but good enough he'd grown round on how much food he could raise and kept Mira in nice veggies for the guild. The thing was, since Levy had thrown herself into council work and had all but left the guild after Gajeel had told her he was like most dragon slayers, pansexual and she was not his mate, so, friends, he'd even do friends with benefits now and then, but no commitment and Levy almost never came back to Magnolia anymore, working mostly for the council though she kept her Fairy Tail membership.
Since then? Jet and Droy had been sort of...floating, and both men tended to get way too invested in any woman who showed interest in them. Jet had a string of failed relationships and Droy was just like a damn lost puppy so she was seriously hesitant to call him.
He apparently was taking care of Freed and Bickslows yards though and she wanted to kick herself for not having Freed arrange for hers to be part of that since he'd set it up before they had left.
She stood, put her gloves on the workbench and brushed off her apron, removing it and putting it with the gloves before going back inside.
She had spent a month extra in Bosco, 2 weeks of it blissfully staying at Prescas house, she had been pampered, treated like a lady, and...she had fallen stupidly hard for the energy mage. He'd tried to talk her into going with them, told her she could be their outside back up, didn't have to go in with them, they needed a coordinator anyway, but she'd never done anything like that. Laxus was the planner for the Raijinshuu, him or Freed, and she couldn't bring herself to be handling the lives of that team, especially when one of those lives...was Prescas.
She bit her lip, feeling tears sting her eyes and growled in frustration with herself. It was too early to cook dinner and while she'd always enjoyed cooking...cooking just for herself again was...depressing after a couple of weeks spent cooking for two, having Presca help, standing at the stove with his arms around her, smiling and swatting at him when he'd start kissing her neck and pulling her firmly back against him.
She did the same thing to him too, when he'd cook, and she'd admit he was good in the kitchen….in every damn way...she'd slide up and wrap her arms around him, slide her hands up his chest and dig her nails into firm pecs.
There wasn't much of anywhere in that house they hadn't played, she missed digging her fingers into that silky thick chocolate colored hair, the way his full lower lip felt between her teeth...the wonderful way she felt like the most beautiful woman in the word walking down the street with her hand tucked in the crook of his arm, the jealous looks she got and his reactions to men who would give her long lingering looks, pulling her into his side and telling her.
"See that guy? Wants you, can't have you because I'm the lucky one with you." He's say and make her giggle and blush and feel amazing. At no point, not even when they were working, had he once given her any grief over her...particular needs, letting her take time to get ready without complaint even in the middle of a mission when they were travelling through the woods.
Now...she was boyfriendless, her orchids were droopy, her herbs were all in bad shape and damn it...she wanted to lay on the couch with her feet in Prescas lap and have him rub them before...jumping the man.
Whimpering she snatched up her com and dialed.
"Hi beautiful, how's the garden?" Presca answered. She stared into those light gray eyes and almost cried, a wave of just...grief and longing washing over her so she couldn't even answer him, just hiccuped a sob.
Concern flooded the steel eyes and he frowned "Ever...what's wrong? Are you ok? Look, I can have someone there in five minutes…" He began and she shook her head, covering her mouth trying to get control of herself.
He watched her, pain and helplessness all over his face at seeing her like this. He had wanted her along on this mission, it was going to take a while, but he was on a cargo ship heading into Iceburg, even if he had Vander void hop, his friend hadn't set up an anchor in Fiore yet, he'd still have to get maybe Thane to take him to Magnolia...his mind was racing though, trying to sort out how to get to her if something was really wrong…
"Miss you…" She finally managed and he couldn't stop the crooked smile. He missed her too, like hell, wanted to bury his nose in her sweet scented hair and feel her silky skin under his fingers, kiss those pouty pink lips until the vixen in her kicked in and she started biting his.
He knew not to remind her he'd begged her to come along, knowing Evergreen she was already kicking herself for not doing so.
Instead, his mind started racing another way. "Change your mind? Wanna come help? I could have Thane come get you, bring you to White Sea City, Vander has an instant Void jump point there, he could come get you from there, could have you here in less than an hour gorgeous." He said quietly and Evergreen blinked a few times, tears running down her cheeks.
She felt like an idiot...until Presca just, side stepped her stubbornness, her mistake, her tears, no doing an "I told you so." or getting upset, just...handed her an option to choose again.
This time, she didn't second guess. "Please." She managed and Presca smiled.
"Get packed, bring clothes to handle Iceburg Ever." He told her then winked.
"Now hang up and go pack fast as you can, someone will be there soon."
She managed a shaky smile, now almost crying because she was so happy she'd be seeing him soon.
As soon as the com went out Vander rolled his eyes, hearing Cida already on her com talking to Thane, convincing the teleport mage to collect Evergreen from Magnolia.
"You are such a hopeless romantic." Vander chuckled and Presca grinned shrugging.
"For her? Probably. Fuck off, you let Cida sleep on you and don't even harass her daily for sex." Presca returned.
Vander scoffed "Almost daily. I'm using YOU as my return point so stay here on this deck in this part of the ship or I might jump back into a damned box or something and you and Cida will have to dig me and your girlfriend out of cargo." He said, Pressing two fingers into Prescas wrist and the energy mage felt and saw a mark appear on his wrist of two entwined serpents.
Vander turned and went to where Cida was sitting on a cargo crate. Her pale green eyes met his as she was hanging up her call.
"Thanes waiting, he'll jump to magnolia, either of you have Evergreens address? Don want the man walkin round lost." She said and Vander looked at Presca raising a brow.
Presca smiled, turning to his pack and plucking out a small notepad, jotting down Evergreens address and handing it to Vander.
"Fuck...fetching my best friends girlfriend because he just can't go through a long mission away from her...caved the second he saw tears." He said and Cida smacked him hard enough he yelped.
"Shut yer yap,tis romantic, sweet oui? Ye could learn somethin from Presca!" She snapped.
Vander rubbed his shoulder narrowing his eyes on the woman then smirking. "I bring you a dozen roses and whisper poetry about your beauty in your ear...that the ticket into your pants? Because I am so capable…" He purred and she rolled her eyes.
"Sincerity goes a long way ye ass." She scoffed.
"Hey! I sincerely want in your pants and if you want romance? I can deliver kitten...more than you could imagine." He smirked and Cida swallowed meeting those dark eyes...they held worlds of promises she did not want to test. Well...she did...but if she hurt the man...she'd never forgive herself, and the feline side of her had no cares about who it sank its teeth and claws into.
She'd been at Vanders side now for months, and didn't regret a single day, something about him made her feel...better, she could be wild, free...because he was, and he kept her from going too far...gave her a place to come back to after the tiger took over, she's woke a couple of times now after the tiger had control and found herself already in his bed, wrapped around him tight, face pressed into his black hair and pulled back and looked, checking over him for injuries but finding none...so...the cat had crawled into bed with him and...not hurt him, just...curled up and gone to sleep.
She'd only done that with the King, and him only a couple of times.
No, she wouldn't risk Vander, in the last months the man had become important to her...precious to her. She very much liked Presca too, he handled Vander and all his impulsiveness and roguish behavior with deft precision tempered by a fiercely loyal friendship that anyone could see between the two men.
"I'll figure you out yet." Vander said softly, having leaned in close when she was lost in thought and she shoved him back.
"Pfft, like hell." She scoffed, but her cheeks pinked a little. Vander smirked and his magic swirled around him, shadows forming a portal he stepped through and once he was gone Cida suddenly frowned a little under Prescas calm steely gaze. He looked way too knowing for her comfort….