Chapter 32:

Chapter 32, A Moments Pause to Plan

Haruhi shivered as she undressed and climbed into the small traditional bath after Mori had stepped out. She shut her eyes and bit her lip as the images of a few moments ago flashed through her mind aided by the fact the scent of such was still in the air around her. She never knew she could be that bold, nor that responsive to a simple touch from anyone. Though she never really felt the urge to masturbate herself as she got closer to puberty, she had come across a few books that had some pretty explicit and very exotic scenes written in them. Shaking her head at some of the notions and exaggerations that she had read in those books, she dunked her head under the water.

She felt Qurdox pulse around her, quietly reminding her that she needed to have air in her lungs since she had been under the water far longer than needed. She smiled softly and rose out of the water to see him in his smaller form laying by the tub rim.

"There is nothing wrong with what has happened," he soothed. "Your courtship has no strict rules to follow, but there are some steps that tradition dictates that need to be followed."

"What kind of steps?" Haruhi asked curiously as she reached over to inspect the jars.

She listened intently while she used the liquid in the jars, having found them to be traditionally made soap, shampoo and conditioner, as Qurdox calmly explained the whole courtship process to her for the remainder of her bath. He made sure to inform her about the few tests that came up to help see if a courting pair could honestly handle each other and a family. He explained that most courtships failed in the final test that normally occurred during the six months prior to the Union Ceremony. It was also explained that, although their courtship was a little speed up in terms of physical time, they would actually have a stronger bond and a longer trial due to the flow of time inside the vortex of the Sanctuary. He also made it clear that the span of time inside the Vortex did actually count in their favor since it was still a functioning flow of time, just on a different scale than the physical span.

"Would we be able to do that final test here?" she asked curiously.

"It may be possible but that is only if the Young Void allows such inside," Qurdox stated. "There is only the issue that there is no little one to aid unless the others that are coming have little hatchlings with them."

Haruhi thought back to the conversations she had with Trekiva and Asuda but frowned when she recalled that there was no mention of any children coming. She stood and stepped out of the tub so that she could dry off. She hesitated slightly about unplugging the tub, but did so anyway. Haruhi was certain that Mori might like to clean up a little himself but knew that he would need fresh water to do so. She looked at the clothes she had worn to the little house and sighed softly. She was a little hesitant to put her soaked panties back on. She heard Qurdox chuckle in her mind at her predicament. With a perturbed glare at her summon, she silently listened as he began to explain that some elements could be manipulated to form clothes, and which ones were best for such.

After listening to the full explanation, she took a breath and began to focus on what she wanted accomplished. Haruhi felt the swirl of her magic around her and glanced down to watch as it began to work on her request. Soon the air around her began to condense into droplets of water before crystallizing around her hips. Once the swell of her magic faded, she smiled at the blue lace like panties she had formed.

"A little more elaborate than I intended," she smiled with a light chuckle. "But it will work until I can get back into my room to change."

Qurdox rumbled softly in agreement. He waited calmly as she redressed and put her other pair of panties in her back pocket. She silently called him to her side and opened the door to see Mori leaning against the opposite wall in front of the door. She could see the faint glow in his eyes and was willing to bet that she had a faintly similar one as well. She walked up to him and smiled as he got off the wall and wrapped her in his arms.

Haruhi sighed softly and nuzzled her head into Mori's chest. Although she couldn't see it, Mori gave a soft smile and held her closer to him. He breathed in her faint scent and could still faintly smell her arousal on her. He held in a shudder at the delectable scent and felt Haruhi pull back. He looked down at her with a soft smile.

"Let's see the rest of the garden before we have to go back for lunch," she suggested. "But you may want to clean up a little."

Mori nodded and let her refill the tub for him. As he lay back in the water, his mind replayed the events a few moments ago and he shivered. Although he had been with a couple other females before, doing what he had with Haruhi was more pleasurable that anything else. He knew that was mostly attributed to her being his bonded but also felt that it tied into the kind of person she was. She was intelligent, focused on matters that were truly important, carried a strong sense of honor and had a strong set of morals to guide her. Regardless of her background, she was a great find to anyone of their collective friends. She had done so much for them without fully realizing it. He fully intended to spend the rest of their lives together showing her exactly what she meant to him in every way he could, and was looking forward to doing so. Once he felt his body begin to relax for the tension due to his blood wishing for Haruhi to join them, he cleaned up and called the shadows to form around him to make a new set of boxers to hold over until he was back in his room. Once he was dressed, he let the bath drain and went to join Haruhi.

While Mori was cleaning up, Haruhi had been looking at the other rooms in the hut. The larger of the two bedrooms had a futon large enough to sleep both her and Mori comfortable and have some room to spare between them. The other bedroom had a few extra futons, and Qurdox explained that there were times when the test was done with more than one child if there were sets of twins or children close enough in age that would aid in the final test. Haruhi had nodded and looked through the supplies stored in the shelves in the kitchen. There was plenty of food to feed both her and Mori for months with little issue if they chose to use the small house sooner. She jumped slightly when Mori wrapped his arms around her but smiled and looked up at him. He returned her smile and both of them exited the small hut to continue looking around.

*~*0o0o0o0o0*~*

Trekiva sighed and sat back. He was glad that Kyoya had allowed his small addition to the garden that the young caster had made for the courting pair, as well as being very understanding to the reason it was created in the first place. The young mage was completely fine with it, in fact even chuckled at the idea since he had similar thoughts about how to help them get more comfortable with the futures together. When asked why it seemed funny, Kyoya had told him that he was fairly certain that Haruhi and Mori could handle a child easily. They had, after all, had to deal with Tamaki and Hunny, who had tendencies to act like young children, as well as Hikaru and Kaoru who acted like mischievous preteens and adolescents. There was also the fact that Mori helped in the care of his younger brother when Satoshi had been born.

When some of the antics of the four mentioned were told, Trekiva had a hard time not laughing and agreeing that the pair could handle it. He had smiled at the reminder of Satoshi. He did, however, wish them still to attempt the care of an actual child. There was a drastic difference in caring for an actual child over the care of those around you who acted as such and caring for a sibling that was roughly four years younger. Trekiva was then confronted with a conundrum. He knew that of those coming, only Vyen would have anyone close enough to the mental age needed to help with the final test.

I will need to see if Vyen will willingly part with one of his grandchildren, Trekiva sighed. Dragons are protective of their young for very clear reasons and the only children that are within my own family are too old to aid in dealing with the final test. Teshiro is about a year older than Haruhi and Hideki is already a few centuries.

"Is there anyone in mind you wish to ask and see if they are will to have their child aid?" Kyoya asked.

"Of my own family, my youngest grandchild is a year older than Haruhi," Trekiva replied with a sigh. "Of my court, only Vyen has any within the needed age selection for the trial. The only hindrance to that is the fact dragons are fiercely protective of their young."

Kyoya nodded. He knew very well that a dragon wouldn't willing give up their child for anything unless they knew exactly what was going on and why. He sat back and crossed his arms in thought. He had entertained the passing thought of asking if Fuyumi knew any in her husband's family if they had any children that they could borrow but thought better of it. He had honestly not met any of her in-laws, though now he wished he had. That, and he highly doubted that they would just hand over a young child without asking hundreds of questions that would be difficult to answer. Especially since Fuyumi never really talked about her husband's family and the information he did have on them was slim at best. He had thought about possibly asking one of the orphanages about it but that would raise just as many questions.

"Would he consent to such if given enough detail about the reason?" Kyoya asked after a long pause.

"I would need to ask him and from what I can recall of the few meetings we had had since my arrival, he has not left Mongolia as yet," Trekiva stated.

"Would a Mage be needed to get them here in time?"

"Vyen insists on flying here in the traditional way, much to his brood's concern. If he does agree to let one of his hatchlings take part in their final steps, Kayon can insure that the little one arrives with time to spare and a guardian on hand."

Kyoya nodded. The Arch-Mage would be able to ensure a child's safe arrival with little issues.

"I will leave you to your meeting then," Kyoya nodded. "I am going to get some rest and make the needed adjustments so that all of our guests will have a safe haven to reside in while they are here."

Trekiva nodded and let out a slow breath, mentally calling his council once again.

*~*0o0o0o0o0*~*

Vyen opened his eyes and glanced towards his gathered family. Several generations of powerful dragons surrounded him and he smiled softly. The call from Trekiva had been a surprising one but understandable and he was willing to aid in such an important step. He sighed and let out a low rumble that silenced the quiet whispers of his family.

"Does something trouble you, Father," one of the closer drakes asked.

"No," Vyen rasped. "Young Trekiva is in need of our aid."

"We will aid however we can," another stated.

"The young ones we will be in flight to see need to go through their final test. The only hindrance is that neither of their families nor allies have a hatchling of proper age to accomplish the task."

His family looked at each other in confusion and thought. There were many that recently had a clutch of hatchlings but they were not quiet sure if they could hand over one of their young to a pair they had never met. Unknown to many that were in the room, but noticed by Vyen, was a pair that looked down at the only hatchling they had. As the pair looked at the little girl cuddled in their arms, both looked to the other and nodded softly before walking towards their elder with a confident gait.

"We offer ours," their spoke softly. "She is the only we have and would be honored to aid the young pair."

The rest of the dragons turned stunned gazes at the soft spoken pair. Vyen smiled softly at them. He could see the underlying worry in their eyes at being away from their hatchling for so long but could also see the determination and resolve there as well. With a gently nod, he turned to the side as a silver and purple gate door opened next to him. Out stepped two males, one clearly younger than the other. The older of the two had short black hair and wore a military uniform that was varying shades of gray and partially decorated with ribbons and medals. His eyes were a pale crimson indicating his vampiric lineage. The younger had long dirty blond hair that was held into a tail at the base of his head with his bangs resting teasingly against his cheeks. On his forehead sat a light beige opal just above and in between his vibrant teal eyes. He was dressed in a pair of loose black jeans and a light blue tank top with a black leather vest partly zipped up his chest.

"Hideki," Vyen greeted softly. "Teshiro. I take it your father has sent you to aid in the arrival of the hatchling."

"Yeah," Teshiro smiled, giving a gentle bow to the aged dragon. "Dad wants us to arrive with our uncles. Apparently everyone is being given a place to stay in a haven inside a shadow vortex that carries a temporal spin. We have our Restraints on so that we don't break anything when we arrive."

Vyen nodded and the young dragon pair stepped over to the two. Teshiro smiled softly and looked at the little girl held tightly in her mother's arms. The little hatchling gazed back with sparkling amber eyes that were filled with curiosity. He and his companion waited with a shocking level of patience as the parents explained what was going on to the little drake. Teshiro smiled sadly and sympathetically as the little one cried, not wanting to go anywhere without her parents.

"Allalu," Teshiro called softly, getting the little girls attention. "You won't be away from them forever. They are coming too. You are just needed to play a game with some friends."

The little girl looked at him hesitantly. "What game?"

"It's like playing house. Our friends will play the mommy and daddy, and you get to play their little one."

"Really?"

"Yup. All you need to act as you normally do with your parents but for them. In playing this game with them, you can help them understand what it would be like if they have little ones of their own."

The little girl looked at her parents for confirmation and relaxed slightly when they nodded. Teshiro smiled and held out his hand towards the little drake's mother. He was calm as she hesitantly reached out to him before she took it, her mate's hand coming to rest over hers. Once their hands were joined, the vortex reopened and Teshiro gently pulled the small family through it.

"We will make sure they remain safe," Hideki assured before stepping through himself.

"I know the two of you won't fail," Vyen sighed as the portal closed. "Neither of you have failed to keep your vows, and I doubt you will start now."