Vander stirred, groaning a little.
"Easy little brother." Cristoffs voice made him frown, eyes fluttering open. His brother was sitting on the bed at his side, Kaleb standing by the foot of the bed, familiar file papers in his hand, a not so familiar maroon haired man standing near Kaleb, single piercing violet eye steady on him.
"I...I couldn't stop the bleeding." He grumbled, tentatively reaching for his side and frowning in surprise when he found Cida snuggled up against him out cold.
"Had to put her practically on top of you, even with Kaleb snapping her back to human form and yanking consciousness out of her reach she wouldn't stop just...pitching into nightmares about...well...killing you. She knows she hurt you, knows how bad too…she kept struggling to a semi awake state and...saw all the blood on the beach...saw at least your side which was…" Cristoff shrugged "seriously ripped up, don't know what you said to her Vander but shit.." Cristoff said, reaching across Vander to push Cidas hair back.
"Why did you push her that hard?" Prescas voice drew Vanders gaze and he narrowed his eyes on his friend who just glared back.
"We HEARD you two shouting, I came over here when it stopped abruptly to find you...well...gone." Presca said, Evergreen nodding.
"Read the files." He replied. Presca nodded, looking at Kaleb who handed him some of what he was holding.
"You couldn't stop the bleeding because her claws are lined with an anti-healing anticoagulant toxin the nail beds produce...tastes like plums." The maroon haired man said with a smirk.
Cristoff nodded then.
"Yeah, I couldn't heal you up, flesh kept just...melting open from the bleeding and every time I closed up the hole in your side you bled internally so I had to jump back to fucking Pelerno, get Thane and Cobra here and have Thane bring us back because I needed enough magic to heal your ass once Cobra reversed the toxin." He said.
Vander drew a breath sitting up and grimacing at the wave of dizziness "Yeah I know about her claws." he admitted and Kaleb looked at him sharply.
"That would be blood loss idiot, you'll need to eat, drink some tea, get some rest." Cristoff chuckled. Vander slid his hand to his side, glancing down, nothing, smooth flawless skin and Cristoff smirked.
"No scars, no marks...you're fucking welcome." He said smugly, pushing off the bed and going to the table to pour some tea.
The maroon haired man...Cobra, chuckled, shaking his head and going to the same table to grab one of the rolls in a basket there.
Vander accepted the mug of tea, sipping at it.
"Ok, obviously her family needs to know she's ok so they can stop pouring money after finding her...sweet Gods...I've tallied up over 4 billion jewel they've spent so far…" Kaleb said.
Cobra whistled "Shit, the fuck do they do to get that kind of money?" He asked.
"Weaponsmiths, gunmages, some of the best on Earthland. Plus, her Aunt owned a really big house here in the capital along with a store the family used to sell their wares through. Sold it for half of that 4 billion they've spent." Vander said.
"Damn." The man said, shaking his head.
"Yes her family needs to know, that's what we were arguing about, she's absolutely petrified about them being around her because of the tiger issue, I keep telling her it's not as bad as she's so convinced it is, but well...shit...this won't help." He growled waving to the now healed side of his body she'd ripped open.
"Her emotions feed the transformation, it takes really high running emotions now with the work King Allsaidian did with her, but...as you saw...her family generates that level of emotion. She loves them, misses them horribly, but is sure if she got around them, there would be an argument about her contacting them sooner, coming home and such and...what just happened between you and her, happening with them, and they couldn't hope to do what you did Van." Kaleb said.
Vander sighed "They HAVE to know Kaleb, should see where they live, the houses and shops are run the hell down because every spare penny not just keeping them alive is going toward finding her."
Kaleb nodded "I'm not disagreeing. You're right, and I'm going to talk to them." He said.
Vander blanched. "Wait, you can't...you have to get Cidas ok first, she'll lose her shit…"
Kaleb narrowed his eyes on his younger brother. "I am her guildmaster Vander, she's MY responsibility now. The government of Bosco is allowing a weaponized human to be a Boscan citizen because King Nuryev Allsaidian asked them to and I signed on as responsible for making sure she was brought back to health safely." Kaleb said firmly.
"I'll do that, but I won't let her family continue ruining themselves because she's got issues she's not dealing with. We're going back to White Sea, then I'm signing her up for counselling with a specialist who handles dangerous mages and putting her into a training schedule that will keep her tired enough she'll maintain control. Until this is all resolved to MY satisfaction, Cida is grounded to the City of White Sea, I want her working with Beck too, time in the conservation center there with him will do her some good, Beck is amazing with beasts too, he can help."
Kaleb said. Vander drew a breath.
"Fine, assign me an apartment next to hers." He said firmly.
"No." Cristoff said and Kaleb and Vander both blinked at him.
Cristoff smiled "You'll BOTH stay at my house in White Sea City. It's close to the guild and overlooks the ocean, has decks she can lay on to moonbathe in private and its warded to contain ME when I'm out of it during full moons, it's the best place for you two to stay."
Vander smiled "4 bedrooms, Presca you sold your place in White Sea didn't you?" He asked. Presca sighed.
"Yes because you and I decided to base out of Pelerno."
"There's room, and besides...I was going to commandeer your penthouse in Pelerno while I'm working with the little slayer from Fairy Tail...Wendy." Cristoff said.
Vander smiled. "Deal."
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Cida woke slowly, feeling a cool palm on her forehead, even with soothing familiar pale lavender eyes on hers she still bolted upright, eyes wide, panic flooding her as she searched the unfamiliar room.
"Easy kitten, you're fine, I'm fine, everything is ok." Vanders voice was like music to her ears, she remembered...remembered yelling, remembered the tiger taking over while she was in a rage, remembered blood...nightmares of tearing him apart…
But Kaleb sat on the bed she was on to her right, Vander on her left and he looked...fine.
She narrowed her eyes "Yer a damned fool." She growled.
"Sometimes he is, but then, so are you." Her eyes snapped to the silver haired mage standing a few feet away.
"Fuck you Hestor."
"Hmm, no, not interested, breasts are offensive to me." The man chuckled and she rolled her eyes.
"Cida, listen to me, look at me and listen, do not interrupt me,you start letting yourself panic, I'll knock you out and you need to know some things." Kaleb said firmly.
She looked at him, panic flashing through her, what did he know? What all had happened? Where was that file? Where the hell were they?! This wasn't a hotel room, it looked like a really nice bedroom with floor to ceiling windows across the back, one that opened out onto a huge deck and she could smell the ocean but not the swamp anymore...the Grass sea, she could smell it...they had to be in Bosco…
"Cida…" The warning rang in her head and her ears and she focused on lavender eyes.
"Good. You're in Cristoffs house in White Sea City. You did almost kill Vander, we got to him before he bled out and fortunately, the Poison Dragonslayer was at the house because he's friends with Lucy, Cristoff was able to get him to reverse the toxins your claws produce. I have the file from your parents, and...I've talked with them at great length. I've put them in touch with King Nuryev Allsaidian, and they're going to Seven, on an airship as we speak, to visit with him, see where you lived, learn all about what happened to you." He said.
When panic rose she FELT the mans magic blast into her head and cringed, but the panic was crushed.
"You'll deal with those feelings, deal with all your issues, but right now...you'll listen. Your family will not be allowed in the City of White Sea, none of them, wards have even been placed, pictures and energy signatures recorded of everyone in your family and your families friends, you're familiar with how Presca works? He did it. Here in White Sea City, you will run absolutely NO chance of them coming and finding you, not that anyone will tell them you're here, it's all just precautionary." He said.
"You will see a counsellor 3 days a week to start, work with Beck Fasion at the wildlife center and train with me, Vander, Beck and Hestor every single day. You are restricted to the City of White Sea until we are CERTAIN you are ready to be visited by your family. They do not know how long you could have contacted them but didn't and nobody will tell them. They deserved to know you are alive, and safe and they deserved to know what all happened to you. King Allsaidian will deal with that, he asked to be the one, said he owed it to you and I agree with him." Kaleb said, then tilted his head and smiled gently at her.
"This isn't going to be easy, it's going to take time. I understand how families are, how they will move heaven and earth for their own, and I don't doubt yours will be adamant about seeing you, but...until we're sure you can handle that? WE will be the ones preventing them instead of you, so they can be mad at ME, at King Allsaidian, at Bosco, but they won't think YOU didn't want to see them. You'll speak to them on the com. WEEKLY, starting at the end of this week since King Allsaidian said he'd need that much time to teach them about all that happened to you. Otherwise, no contact until you've made good progress. Understood?"
She nodded, whimpering a little.
"Good, now, I'm staying here until I'm certain you won't have an episode like before." Kaleb said, standing.
She turned narrowed eyes on Vander who held his hands up.
"Hey, I was unconscious when they found the file ok. Cut me a little slack...and, you never saw this…" He put a tablet into her hands and hit the screen, the first thing she heard was her little sister Odette singing and she froze, eyes wide on the screen.
She smiled, her sister looked so happy, her clothes weren't new...but, her voice was so good and then, she grinned as Meala flew out, watched her sister have a reaction like hers to the beautiful winged serpent.
Vander drew a breath, moving out onto the deck so he could give Cida some space and think himself. He and Presca honestly didn't NEED to work. Money wasn't an issue for either of them,they had worked in high paying fields and both had made some good investments thanks to his father and older brothers.
They had taken a lot of time off this year, no reason not to take more. Presca was perfectly happy spending time with Evergreen, Bickslow was more than busy with his new mate and honestly, he had to finish up details for Husen island.
Cobra was going to be his first try with a non-clanborn. If the serpents were receptive? He could save them. Find other mages who could adapt to the venom, develop the needed resistance in order to survive the rite.
It was all in whether or not the songs would be heard, he knew it mattered, his parents had talked about the serpents singing, he'd heard them himself, sang to them, loved that they sang to him.
Cobra was about a perfect match up too, if it didn't work for the Poison Dragonslayer who had soul listening magic? It wouldn't work for anyone.
So he had things to do around the area, needed to work with the wildlife center and Beck for the Havati, and besides that...4 months now since they had left Stella, Zen had contacted him and let him know, the concubine selected for Vander, who he didn't even remember really having sex with, had in fact gotten...very...pregnant. Typical of the line selected for him it seemed...she was having twins.
Zen found it amusing, Vander had broken the news to Arman and his father had gone on a shopping spree and let half the damned Boscan consulate know, the King, the Citadel...Vander couldn't hardly breathe at the guild here in White Sea without congratulations.
Endine, a young Earth mage who he had shared pleasures with exactly ONCE but who was...enamored with him for reasons unknown, had made a show about getting pregnant from their little romp and she had actually been pregnant too, but Vander, who took the Boscan disks religiously, was certain it wasn't his.
He'd forced her to be tested and of course, the child wasn't his (much to his fathers disappointment) Endine had screwed someone else the day after being with Vander and had lied to HIM too about being on birth control. She'd had to pay fines, served time in prison and the real father of the baby had given it up for adoption since he hadn't wanted a child and it had been taken from Endine because she had gotten pregnant with it through illegal means.
She'd gone to counselling and was back in the guild, though Vander wished she wasn't because she gave him the creeps. She always called out "Make sure you TEST her!" now when she saw him. He was contemplating making sure she had some sort of accident…
So, he had a lot on his mind, Cida needed time, he did too, it just made sense to take time off again. Kaleb hadn't argued, had smiled in fact and put the order through pulling him off the system for jobs. Presca hadn't argued either, had moved himself to White Sea City and would base out of it while Vander was working from there. Or well...he would. He and Evergreen had taken a flight to Fiore. Evergreen was going to pick up more of her things, and wanted to introduce Presca to her guildmates...now that she was wearing a Promise ring, she wasn't giving up Fairy Tail...yet at least, but she hadn't hesitated when Presca had gotten down on a knee and asked her to Promise with him.
She hadn't let the man barely put the ring on her before she was dragging him to the jeweler and put one on him too.
"I want everyone to see you're TAKEN" She said firmly. Vander blamed his sister Emzadi, who, the moment they had walked into the guild before Presca had asked Evergreen to promise….Emzadi had rushed over and grabbed the energy mage, something she had done before, pulling him into a kiss and grabbing his ass with both hands, growling out a request to share pleasure with him until Evergreen had whaked her in the head with her fan.
"Back off Emi he's with ME!" She'd snarled and Emzadi had taken a step back wide eyed rubbing her head where Evergreen had smacked her then grinned.
"Not until there's a ring involved." She'd said and Presca had smirked, dropped to one knee and asked Evergreen to promise with him right there in front of the whole guild….
It had been a hell of a moment. Evergreen had cried, Emzadi had whined about never getting into Prescas pants...which seemed to be the final straw for Evergreen since that was when she took Prescas hand and they went to the jewelers…
Vander was happy for Presca, Evergreen was a tough woman, she'd worked her ass off on their mission, and had proven to herself and to the three mages working with her, she could in fact plan and organize a mission just fine, she just had never needed to while working with Laxus and Freed.
She and Cida got along decently, Cida sort of ribbed her for being so worried about her looks and Evergreen teased Cida for being the opposite way...and for sleeping on Vander instead of with him, something that seemed to amuse Evergreen immensely.
"Thank you." Vander turned around and leaned back, resting his elbows on the railing of the deck as Cida came up to him. She surprised him them, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face in his chest.
"Fer doin all that...I...I'm so sorry I hurt yeh." She whispered, and he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her into him.
"You owe me a favor now, I'm gonna have to think what I want, but for now? I'm ok, and I want you to be ok too. So, we'll just forget about the whole kitten clawed me part of that whole thing." He said into her hair.
She hummed, but was still a little shaky, pulled back and looked up at him, her eyes red and puffy, she'd been crying watching what he'd filmed for her.
Everything was so run down, you could tell it was well kept, but repairs over repairs instead of things being replaced had taken a toll. She felt horrible about that. Now...now things were moving forward in spite of her, she was so...scared and the only comfort she felt was right then, pressed up against Vander. He...was home to her, comfort, safety, and she'd nearly killed him. That he wasn't the least bit upset or afraid of her…
Nobody was upset with her, nobody held it against her, they were helping her, Kaleb was sticking his neck out and putting the guild, the whole city around it at risk, so she could get better.
She wasn't stupid, she realized all of that, she just had no idea how to process it all. She'd gone from a number in a cell, to people truly caring about her, GOOD people. She owed it, ultimately, to King Nuryev, and one day she'd repay the man… somehow. In the mean time...she would repay Vander, for going out there, for taking her on, standing toe to toe with her, fighting it out instead of letting her keep hiding, for not dying and leaving her with more blood on her hands, and really...if she'd killed him...if he'd died out there...she doubted she'd ever have recovered, she'd have wanted death herself, maybe run back to Seven and begged Nuryev to lock her away…
He was going to be a father, she'd heard Zen tell him...twins no less. Vander a father...he was going to be one of those really outrageously fun Dads too, she could so easily imagine him that way, except, when she daydreamed about him with a baby in his arms...she was usually the mother…
"No sex, yeh can't ask that sorta favor." She said.
He snorted "Oh NOW there's limits to the favor? Tch...hardly seems fair…"
She smiled into the soft leather of his jerkin and held him tighter.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Cobra followed Vander off the hovership, eyes...he had two now...Cristoff...the dragonslayer had been giving him funny looks since they had met and, as they were standing on the back deck behind Cristoffs house next to the White Sea guild facilities, he'd looked hard at Cobra and suddenly blurted.
"Let me restore that eye, there's enough there, I can feel it...well...if you want the eye back that is…" He'd looked at Cobra and the Poison slayer had gaped at him.
"Why the fuck wouldn't I want it back?! Of course I want it back! You can do that?!" He'd snapped and Cristoff had grinned, just like all the damned Pradesh, he should have known after being around Bickslow, snap at them, curse at them, they just grinned and kept going along happy as ever.
"I can do that, come on inside, you'll need to sit down."
And less than an hour later...Cobra had opened BOTH eyes.
So following Vander off the hovership now he was looking with both eyes and when he looked up, and watched a vivid blue Havati, some 20 feet long fly by lazily, his final doubts about doing this were gone.
Lucy had talked him into it, he completely blamed Tinker-tits, and had been, on the long ride over to the island, been planning ways to make the blonde and her grinning damned mate suffer. He'd been volunTOLD to do this shit.
Not that the chocolates had been bad, tasty as fuck with carefully diluted Havati venom in them and even diluted that shit made his whole body just light right the fuck up. Lounging around the Pradesh estate, eating chocolates and Mr. Elans incredible cooking...the man was a genius, as soon as he knew about Cobras magic Cobra had been eating like a fucking KING. Delicious poisonous dishes, drinks, cookies, cakes…
Mr. Elan had him describe how certain toxins tasted then BOOM, some other incredible toxic delight was put before him. Nevermind the FRESH poisonous plants, berries, fruits all courtesy of someone named "Rowan" who he was dying to meet because he wanted some of the plants, seeds he could raise back in magnolia especially for the white fleshed apple that had cyanide all through it instead of just in the seeds! That had blown his mind, and the green mage responsible had promised him seeds and seedlings.
This though...he watched a golden serpent fly by that had to be near 50 feet, he knew Cubellios was simply Kinana cursed into a Havati Serpents form and he'd cared for that serpent immensely, the woman? Well...she didn't remember much of him, so this...this meant a alot.
Real Havati, and according to Vander, a bond with one of them was...soul deep and Cobra could already hear them, singing all over the island,it was one of the most beautiful haunting things he'd ever experienced.
His eyes roved back to the man leading him. Vander Pradesh,the youngest of the brothers, he was hot too, seriously,and while Cobra tended to stick with women for sex, he'd had his occasional romps with good looking men here and there, always a certain type too, lithe, muscular, with dark hair...Vander was...tempting, and a flirt so Cobras thoughts had gone there a few times already.
The man walking ahead of him basically painted into black leather just had Cobras thoughts wandering that way in an attempt to distract himself from his nerves...
He wasn't sure what he thought of how Vander had described the process, he needed to lure one in, coax it, and the Havati would bite him, pump venom into him, then leave and come back if it wanted to continue with you…
He also wasn't sure about singing...he didn't sing...he knew Vander did though, so maybe Vander could sing and he could...dance? Yeah….this was all out of his comfort zone by a long shot. Their discussion on the Hovercraft coming to the island had been pretty heated.
"I don't sing." He'd said flatly.
"You'll have to one way or another, they like singing. When they come in, you dance with them.."
"I don't fucking dance." Cobra had deadpanned. Vander rolled his eyes
"You'll figure it out, I'll fucking dance with you if we have to...I'm a strong lead." The shadowquip had chuckled and Cobra had glared at him.
"You try and ballroom my ass I'll poison you." He growled.
"I might like it." Vander smirked then pressed on.
"There will be a series of bites, once one decides it likes you, it will sort of follow you around, come in when you sing to it, bite you, then you get to try and survive that…" Vander had chuckled.
"Venom makes me high, so I won't be just surviving that shit...I'll be…" He stopped, he would NOT admit he was a happy drunk, no...fuck that shit, he had a reputation, yeah Vander would find out but like hell would Cobra ever admit it.
"I'll be feeling fine." He finished in a growl and Vander had snorted, shaking his head.
The island was beautiful, with some spiky peaked very high areas and lush vegetation. The serpents though, byt the time they had reached a small village, Cobra was walking with his head tipped back in wonder, watching several of them flying near them, swirling around with Vanders pair of serpents as if welcoming them back.
He jumped when firm hands caught his shoulders and jerked his eyes down in surprise, meeting Vanders smirk.
"I…" He had nothing, no snark, no sarcasm, the beauty of these creatures, the sweet soothing wonderful songs of their souls, he'd never heard anything so wonderful, never been anywhere where his own soul, head...all of him felt so….relaxed.
""Ok...lets see if any of them take to you…" Vander chuckled and looked up, moving to a house on the other side of an old fountain. Cobra stood, waiting, watching the Serpents circling overhead, his eyes almost refusing to blink. Vander returned, carrying a stereo he set up on the fountain then music filled the air.
Vander came over to him "Sing along, you don't need to be loud, let me do that, you sing with your magic, I'm positive they'll hear it, and move, let your body move, I won't judge you man...I'm gonna be busy with my pair, Mealas grown two feet, Searsha at least three since I bound with them and this is sort of...quality time for us so just...do what you feel they want you to." Vander said and then backed away from him and Cobra closed his eyes when Vanders voice rose up, singing...holy hell the man could sing…
The serpents responded quickly, coming down and Cobra sucked in a breath when one slid past him, at least 20 feet long, a deep rich burgundy color with golden eyes, instinctively, he knew it was a female too, and she was...gorgeous.
He hummed, having no idea where it came from but didn't care as he hummed along and let his soul sing the words with Vander and also unbidden, without even thinking...he moved, reaching up, turning slowly, stepping side to side and the serpent came closer and closer,circled him as he moved making him spin slowly until finally she was right there, her head was large and her fangs like daggers as she opened her mouth, Cobras arm out as he danced and then he couldn't breathe.
Pain lanced through him as long fangs sank into his right bicep, the fangs so long they could have easily passed clean through his arm but met the lower ones and he felt it, the venom, pumping into his blood, it burned, Gods it burned and he stared at the serpent, her golden eyes locked on his, her wings still moving, body undulating in the air. Vander said they flew more with magic than their wings, their wings just created the field that held them up. Cobra could see it now, could even feel the magic radiating from the burgundy scaled beauty before him.
The pain ebbed, and he smiled crookedly as his eyes hazed over, his blood singing in his veins as the songs of the serpents drowned him, he barely felt the dagger-like fangs in his arm after a moment, saw the serpent swallow and then she pulled away and he whimpered, reaching for her with his free hand but she was out of his reach too fast, he barely looked at the blood running down his arm, more upset about her leaving him, she flew up and was above the trees and out of sight quickly.
He felt Vanders hands on his shoulders. "She was beautiful...did you see those fucking eyes?" Cobra slurred the words a little but didn't care.
Vander smiled "I saw, she's big over two years old with her size. Hold still, let me get that arm bandaged ok?"
"She left...I wanted to touch her...she'll come back won't she? Fuck she's gorgeous...soul sounds like angels singing." Cobra smirked, wavering on his feet and Vander chuckled.
"You are so fucking stoned…" The shadowquip chuckled.
"I'm high on beauty man." Cobra snickered
"Come on, lets get you into the house so i can bandage you, can't do shit with you tipping this way and that." He chuckled.
"Fuck you...I can hold my...my...the fuck was it?" He asked.
"Venom...probably enough to kill a small army pal, come on inside, there we go, sit on the chair...or miss it and fall on your ass…" Vander snickered and Cobra lay on the floor laughing and muttering about the immense beauty of the serpent who had bitten him.
He managed to bandage the mans arm, elated it was working, there was no doubt, the serpents would accept a mage not clanborn as long as Vander was there to call them in and start things, they had definitely come to Vander, but once there, they had been curious about Cobra, and, once Cobra had started interacting with them, one had bitten him. The next few days would tell them if the serpent truly meant to have a bond with the Poison Dragonslayer.
Vander prayed she did….her species survival depended on it….