Cida was grinning, they were sitting comfortable in a large bar in Enca. Presca had gone with Evergreen to turn in all they had gathered, along with the two ring leaders of the weapons ring while Vander and Cida went down to the bar district in the capital city of Penni to relax and celebrate.
Cida was shoveling jambalya into her mouth and smirking when Vander made a face.
"Too hot fer ya?" She challenged and Vander snorted.
"Nothing is too hot for me woman, I'm the definition of hot and I love spicy food, I'm just not a fan of...whatever this is…" He said plucking a jointed claw from his bowl.
Cida snatched it, snapped it in half and sucked out the contents.
"Swamp skidder, they taste more buttery than crab ya git." She chuckled.
"They're hairy." Vander eyed another jointed claw doubtfully and Cida laughed, snatching it from his bowl and doing the same as she had with the other one.
"Don't eat the hair, break em open and eat the meat...unless yer too squeamish." She raised a brow and Vander narrowed his eyes, grabbing one of the things and snapping it in half he sucked the flesh out and...swallowed it, smacking his lips a bit.
"Tastes...like old cum…" He choked and Cida cackled, now plucking hers out and setting them on a napkin above her bowl.
"Really old cum, they cook em in the Jambalaya for the broth, the shells and process of boiling em makes the broth tasty, but the flesh straight is...disgusting, technically...nobody ever eats em…" She chuckled and Vanders mouth fell open.
"You…" He grinned, raising a fist and Cida bumped it with hers.
"Respect." Vander said shaking his head. She got him...fair and square….he wasn't too proud to admit it either...he'd just plan some form of revenge later….
They finished their food and were six drinks in when Vanders com went off. Flipping it on he frowned at Presca, who did NOT look like he was about to walk into the bar...in fact, the man wasn't wearing a shirt and and was breathing a little heavy, his voice husky.
"Not gonna meet you two, so...ah! Ever!" He laughed "Let me talk!...see you tomorrow morning…" The com went dead and Vander glared at it, glancing at Cida.
"I'm half tempted to go find him and dump a bucket of glitter on them...damn it, we were gonna get drunk and try not to get arrested tonight!" He huffed.
Cida laughed and they put away a couple more drinks before she looked at Vander seriously and the Shadowquip narrowed his eyes.
"What? Ready to go walk the streets, cut up...maybe have drunken sex in an ally with me?" He asked and Cida snorted.
"Nah, but I'm ready for you to do something for me...if ya would...it's a favor...do it...and I'll buy ye dinner." She said.
Vanders brow shot up and he leaned close "Oh? And what if I just want a favor in return?"
Cida nibbled her lip, toying with the straw of her drink. She'd been thinking of this through the whole damn mission, since watching Vander handle getting into the smugglers ship, seducing a female mage who had about drooled all over herself when she'd seen the man.
Cida couldn't blame her, Van in his painted on black leather was immensely nice to just fucking watch, didn't matter what he was doing, could just be walking, but that leather hugged everything, so every flex and bunch of muscle was deliciously visible.
It hadn't taken Vander 30 seconds to get into the ship, and had taken him less than 10 minutes to incapacitate the woman in such a way she wouldn't hit alarms when she came to and they had gotten all they'd needed. Lists of buyers and, the names of the leaders and who got how much off each sale.
The three month mission had taken the time it had mostly just because travel through Iceburg was insanely slow because of the weather and they'd had to hit nine different depots. Cida was able to identify which guns they had to keep from getting sold, and Vander and her both had hefty arsenals of guns in requip space, alot were being turned over to Enca, but many were going to Bosco to the Citadel and some...were going to STAY in Cidas possession.
Vander was incredibly good at observation, came back every single time he went into anything with detailed information and could answer questions quickly and precisely about details of what he'd seen, so...since he could do that right under heavily guarded areas security...he could do something important for her.
"A favor then...but yeh have to be careful...this has to be done just so oui?" She said and accepted him right in her space, nuzzled right into him because suddenly she felt unsure about herself and damn it...his cherry and smoke scent, his warmth, the light of the man reassured her. His touch felt nice too, his nose trailing along her cheek, lips touching her neck.
"I'm always careful...what do you want me to do kitten?" He asked and his soft voice right by her ear made her shiver.
"I want yeh to check on my family...they don't live far, just bout 10 miles south along the shoreline once you clear the city, where the sands turn blue...I want pictures...I want to know how they are…" She whispered and Vander stilled from teasing her, pulled back, deep wine colored eyes that now had such vivid black, brighter red and hints of purple and blue along the outer edges of the iris's, they were soft, curious, no humor, just warmth.
"Tell me where they live exactly...and I'll go now, pay our tab and go have a bath, relax, and wait for me...I'll come to your room when I'm done." He said so quietly she almost couldn't hear him in the noisy bar.
She wrote the address down, she knew it so well, and handed him the cocktail napkin, when her pale green eyes met his Vander about felt the breath rush out of him at the level of vulnerability there, hurt, worry, pain…
He smiled, tipping her chin up and kissing her, soft and warm and long enough they were both a bit breathless when he pulled back. He winked at her.
"See you in a bit." He said and shadows rose up around him until he vanished and Cida looked at the bartender.
"Vodka, double shot straight."
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
The Encan coastline was where swamp met sea, Vander had traversed sections before, the shadows were abundant and the going was always easy. Snakes and such didn't trouble him, never had really but now more than before they respected his space.
The smell wasn't the Grass Sea by any stretch, it was more earthy, more stagnant, but, he imagined it could easily be a scent one could associate with home and he knew Cida loved the wilds, loved to run them, explore them and lose herself in them. He loved to watch her when she did too, on the island they had spared and played games of tag and he'd always had to work to catch her.
He'd seen the tiger many times now, understood her mistrust of that side of herself, though anymore, he was comfortable around that part of her. He understood it, respected it, never let his guard down around it and the serpents and the tiger...they had a peace between them. He came to the surface a few times as he went, getting his bearings, searching for the small group of houses and shops Cida had described when he halted abruptly, seeing a woman, younger than Cida, but with her long dark hair and those pale green eyes.
He smiled, there was no mistaking the similarities. He got his camera out, filming the girl as she danced around the little clearing, singing softly to herself. It was a lovely scene, not Disney, no animals came to her or anything like that but she enjoyed herself dancing around barefoot in a soft flowy looking dress.
She looked to be in her teens somewhere, pretty. Smirking, Vander urged Meala out, the serpent amused and curious, flew to the girl and Vander filmed it all.
"Oh! Oh tres...magnifique ya rare love!" The girl gasped as the black serpent flew into the clearing.
The girl was wide eyed, transfixed, holding her hand out hopefully Vander kept Meala back, she wasn't some tame housecat after all, and he wasn't trying to create some Disneyfied crap, just wanted to see the girl happy, smiling, so he could bring that back to Cida.
A yellow ribbon was tied round the girls wrist, another in her hair...someone was missing, missed...and he knew who.
He withdrew, having Meala fly up over the trees to rejoin him, the serpent winding around his shoulders instead of returning to her tattoo. He kissed her nose and started searching the area, finding the spot Cida had described. He moved about, silently filming everything, even stealing into the 4 different houses in the area and the three large crafting shops.
Sliding through the area he focused on getting footage of all he could, making an effort to find her parents and siblings. He was lingering in a thick section of shadows by some trees, watching a woman who he was certain was her mother, rinse off a half formed gun barrel she was working on in the swamp water when there was the crack of a gun firing and he felt a bullet sail past him, way way too close.
His dark eyes found Cidas father, gun pointed right at him though he KNEW he wasn't visible, was currently half in the shadow realms…
"Don know who ye are but yer na a ghost oui? Step to the light, if yer one o them traders? We don sell nothin to yer kind…" The man said, heavily accented, like Cida when she got riled up.
He stepped out holding his hands up, almost wincing when Meala flew out with him, the serpent hissing and baring fangs at the man hovering between him and Vander protectively.
That had eyes flying wide, the man lowering his gun as his wife shouldered the tongs holding the still hot gun barrel and walking towards them now.
"I'm not a gun trader, dealer, broker any of it. We, my team and I from White Sea in Bosco just took down that group, Benson, Faragil? They're in prison now awaiting trial, I was just coming down this way to make sure the gunsmiths were all still working fine." He lied...a little, he was making sure they were fine, they were gunsmiths, his team had done what he said, he just...wasn't down here because of some concern for gunsmiths in general...he was here on a favor for Cida…
"Les see tha Guild mark then." The man demanded and Vander shrugged as the man and his wife got closer, resting his hands on the back of his head and letting his jerkin melt away uncovering the guild seal he'd had to have Kaleb replace because when he'd bound his serpents it had somehow removed his seal because Mealas tattoo ran over that spot, so now, the Guild seal was on his back on the left side just above where part of Searshas tattoo ran.
"Yer quite the work of art…" Another woman, emerging from the back of the shop the man had come from said, smirking as she approached, eyes roving over Vander.
He shrugged again "I like ink."
The guns were lowered, the man reaching out a hand.
"Can't be too careful, heard some mages took that crap down, glad to meet you, Hietro Gousille is the name, ma wife there is Adelaide, this is er sista, Maeve." He said nodding to the smirking woman still drinking him in openly.
He pointed to the roof of the shop where two young men were standing from where they had been down rifles pointed at Vander.
"Ma sons, Gaston and Remy, Odette is out roamin, may need to get Pyotr to go find her there luv." He said to his wife who chuckled shaking her head.
"Na need, she always comes back. So, we're fine then, an ya shoulda jus walked in an said ello oui?" Adelaide said.
Vander smiled "I was just checking, had no plans to bother anyone." He said lightly and Hierto nodded "Oui, well, we blue coast folks, we like socializin, ye have time?" He asked hopefully and Vander smiled, noting yellow ribbons...tied to some trees, on every wrist…
"Little, not much, but I could stay for a little, I have to report back tonight." He said and the man nodded, grinning and pulling him along to the shop.
"We'll just ave a drink then." He offered and they all went in.
They were a loud boisterous bunch, outspoken, all of them, and Vander suddenly saw so much of where Cida got her personality from, her mother and aunt...her aunt though, no hesitation at all where expressing her interest in Vander was, even though she was clearly a good bit older than him, she dropped into the seat beside him and her hand was on his thigh shortly after.
"The yellow ribbons, I'm a mage, I travel a lot, I've seen them around before, may I ask why everyone is wearing them?" He asked, keeping his tone respectful but light.
Hierto drew a breath.
"Ma daughter, Cidalise, she went missin years ago, she was a wanderer, much more so than her sister Odette, we was on a family outing and she...wandered, we learned some slavers took her, but we've never been able to find out more, hiring mages like you ain't cheap…" he said.
Vander nodded "The work is dangerous, travel, inns, it adds up fast. If you have a picture, some way I might identify her? Any information on the slavers who took her?" He asked.
Hierto nodded to the older son who took off, hurrying from the shop.
"We can not pay ye, too many mouths to feed and business been slow cuz of the mess those gun dealers made." He said and Vander smiled.
"I wouldn't accept money for this anyway, I consider it finishing the job I've already been paid for, you're family...you deserve information." He said firmly and he meant it. He knew Cida didn't want her family to know where she was, she feared them coming for her, being the loving family they were, and she was convinced she was a danger to them.
It was a tough thing, because he understood her point of view, he himself had felt he was a danger to his own family, his friends...everyone, until recently, his magic was just so dangerous, walked such a fine line. Now he had control and it was just...beyond description how good that felt, he wanted that for Cida, planned to somehow make it happen, he just had to figure it out.
"It would mean a lot." Adelaide said her voice a little rough.
"I'll take the information to White Sea's guildmaster, and some other contacts I have, find out all I can for you, see about finding Cidalise. No charge, I promise you, White Sea won't ask for a single jewel." He told them firmly.
They talked, and Gaston returned, he'd made copies, brought a file to Vander and handed it over.
"That's all we know." Hierto said solemnly and Vander bowed.
"I have to report in, but thank you for the moonshine, the conversation, and I hope to bring you news soon." He said. He wasn't surprised Maeve followed him out, wasn't even surprised when she pushed him against a tree.
"Don get lotsa men like you out ere...how bout a romp handsome?" She purred and Vander drew a breath, tempted, but...making Cida wait back in town while he was fucking her aunt? Even he wasn't willing to go there.
"I've no time. Wish I did, maybe another time." He begged off and vanished, leaving the woman leaning on the tree, she kicked it, growling in frustration, but Vander was too far away to hear, hurrying back the way he'd come to get back to Cida.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Cida had done pretty much what Vander had suggested, she'd had a couple more drinks, gone back to the hotel and soaked in the bath for a while before laying on the bed and trying to watch the Lacrima screen. They were in a pretty nice Hotel. Prescas idea because he wanted to spoil Evergreen who insisted she was still partly frozen after almost 3 months in Iceburg.
He'd gotten them a large suite with a hot tub and Cida had avoided the common area where the hot tub was because of the distinct sounds of some pretty hefty sex happening in there. That and she was so anxious about what Vander was doing she wasn't fit to be good company anyway.
They hadn't bothered getting her a room, they all knew she'd sleep on Vander and as pricey as the rooms were Presca had refused to get her one for the sake of appearances or her pride. He'd narrowed those cool steel eyes on her when she'd said to not forget getting her a room.
"You won't sleep in it. Cida...seriously, you sleep on Vander, every single night for 3 months, you set up a place to sleep and when we wake up? It's untouched and you're on top of Vander using him as a body pillow. I'm not paying for a third room for...denial purposes. Share with Van...and I'll share with Evergreen." He smirked, kissing Evers temple.
Cida had frowned darkly "Yer gonna be fuckin her all night, let's be honest ere...I don wan Van walkin in on me in the bath." She snapped.
Vander looked insulted pretty convincingly "Pfft, like you haven't walked in on me." He said.
Cida shrugged "Only when I needed to talk to yeh an it couldn't wait."
Vander narrowed his eyes "On the island...there was NOTHING that pressing and you walked in on me like 5 times, you did the same thi…' She put a hand over his mouth then hissed when he licked it.
It was about two hours after she'd finished her bath, nearly 2 am, when Vander appeared, swirling shadows opening to let the man walk through and the moment he was clear Cida was on him.
"Why so long? Yeh didn't say anythin to ma famly?! Van...I don want them to know!" She cried and real tears dampened her lashes that had the Shadow quip frowning and hurrying to where she was now kneeling on the foot of the bed.
His hands cupped her face, thumbs brushing the worried tears from her thick eyelashes.
"Kinda hurt you think I'd do that kitten. I said nothing to them about you, but...they sure haven't forgotten you…" He said quietly, pulling the folder Gaston had given him out of requip space and handing it to her.
She recognized her mothers writing and looked at Vander curiously before shifting off the bed and carrying the folder to the small table by the window of their room.
Vander drew a breath, smiled faintly and went to the rooms com, quietly ordering up some snacks and coffee from room service, it was a thick file, they might be up a while.
An hour later Cida was munching on some poppers and taking gulps of coffee from the mug Vander placed by her. Vander sitting across from her picking up things as she finished with them so he could keep up with her.
Cida was amazed. Not only had her family not forgotten, which she'd known because she'd been back and spied on them a time or two and had seen the ribbons, knew what they meant. They had also nearly bankrupted themselves more than once, spending...tens of millions on mercenaries and mages trying to find her.
The most recent just a year ago, had collected over 190 million jewel from her family, had managed to trace her being sold and resold all the way into Pergrande and then they had been compromised, lost their partner and returned, told her family they couldn't continue the work...her father had handed over the money though, insisting the man take it and try to go free his partner.
So they knew she'd been taken into Pegrande...hiring any mage to go there….jobs that went into Pergrande paid hundreds of millions, kings ransoms really, and even then, very few mages would risk it, even for that kind of money.
Her mother had so many notes, rumors, things they had gathered through Gaston and even Odette talking to people in the city. Pytr had brought home rumors too, all of them written into the thick file.
"They...they're already savin to pay another group…" She whispered, looking at her mothers accounts, how the entire family, aunts, uncles, even friends were pitching in tens of thousands, her Aunt Maeve had...sold her home….moved in with her mother and father.
Vander nodded, watching her, he'd figured this was going to be rough. She needed pushes though, and they couldn't all come from him. He had a feeling Presca was saying things, his friend had never been one to mince words. But Cida was still...holding back on so much of her life.
"I...Van...they can't keep doin this…" She rasped, tears in her eyes.
Searsha slid out with Meala, the serpents gliding close and Vander reached out, cupping her cheek, making the reddened peridot eyes look at him.
"No they can't. They need to know you're alive, you're ok. Kitten, you can tell them...let them know, it doesn't mean you have to see them right away but...give them that so they aren't wondering, hurting anymore." He said softly.
Cida shook her head "na, yer wrong! They'll demand to see me, come runnin no matter what, I can't...can't risk it!" She shouted.
Vander narrowed his eyes.
"Cida...you have to, they deserve to know. We can come up with a reason they can't see you, it's even simple, the TRUTH, you were genetically altered, and until that is reversed, controlled, they can NOT see you. I can tell them that, hell, the King of Seven would be willing to tell them and you know it!" He said.
A growl rumbled and Vander drew a breath, Meala and Searsha gliding closer to him, watching Cida, her dark hair was shifting color...if she went cat in this busy crowded city…
"Don tell me what to do yeh damned arrogant asshole! I neva asked fer yer fuckin opinion, this is MY life MY famly!" She snarled, canines lengthening.
Vander didn't back down.
"And you're fucking your family Cida! By being a coward and hiding you are completely ruining your entire family! They have spent BILLIONS of jewel trying to find you damn it! You owe them something, they deserve that! Stop letting them fucking suffer! I'll help you! I'll get Dad to help you but stop fucking hiding from life!" He shouted back and the flash from woman to tiger happened, the tiger leaping at him.
This time Vander caught her, lunging and flashing around behind her, getting his arms around her and ripping her into the voids, he couldn't have her this emotionally off balance in a crowded city, so, he took her through the voids, wrestled with her, tried to keep her from turning but failed and grunted as claws raked over him, dug in deep, tore skin and muscle, but Meala hissed, lunging and wound around her arms and Searsha wound around her legs and helped him hold her until they emerged deep in the swamps, far to the south of where her family lived where the sands were the rich deep blue and he threw her from the shadows, whipping out of her reach before she hit the sand, curling back into the shadows grimacing as he felt blood flowing from injuries on his arms and sides where she'd managed to reach and rake him with her claws.
He wound leather over the wounds, clamping it down tight,mind racing through what he knew of Encas capital and it's guilds, he'd need a healer...soon, Cida was an engineered soldier, her claws had a substance that secreted at the beds to keep blood from coagulating...to put poison into veins...the Havati venom in his blood though destroyed the toxin, but he was still going to keep bleeding until a healer got him. It didn't matter right that moment though, he had to make sure she was safe, Even this far from the city and her family, she could cover a lot of ground fast in this form and he knew it.
Mentally he reached for Kaleb, pushing his own magic through the family link.
"Van? You ok?" The response had him letting out a breath then sucking it back in when Cida lunged toward the surface shadow he was hiding in, she was decidedly hunting his ass right now.
"Not really...just tangled with Cidas other side...she got my arms and sides...to the fucking bone." He groaned mentally, feeling blood almost pouring through the leather no matter how tight he made it.
"Shit...Where are you?" Kaleb demanded.
Vander sent him a mental image, along with Cida snarling and tearing into shadows all over the area seeking him.
"Huh...ok, I'm bringing Cristoff, be glad we're BOTH at Dads tonight." His brother said. Vander chuckled then winced, holy shit she'd done a number on him…
A moment later silver light flashed on the beach and Cida was rushing the two men who appeared but Kaleb stepped forward, eyes flaring white and Cida crumpled, collapsing in the sand.
"VAN!" Cristoff shouted, the blood on Cida, the smell of it…it came from deep...
Vander staggered out of the shadows, head swimming, watching in amazement as blood just gushed out over the sands and Cristoff was at his side in an instant, the smell of mint, the cool feel of his brothers healing the last thing Vander perceived as he collapsed.