Part 2 of 3.
Chapter 5
Strange Behavior
The day had started out normally, only with the addition of Renee and Sanuye. We ate breakfast, I had my morning lessons and then we hung out. We were in the lounge room. I was playing with Zara, tossing her ball. She would chase it and bring it back. Sometimes she would give the ball to her mom. Alex was sitting on the couch. Ragen was following Renee around.
"Mama!" Ragen nudged her hand.
"I'm on the phone, Ragen." Renee said.
"Mama…" He rubbed his scent on her.
"What, I'm still here. No, the 11th is fine. I'll be back by then." She said to the person.
Ragen whined and tugged her arm. Renee struggled to keep her phone to her ear. She frowned, about to scold him, when Alex moved to get Ragen. He barked and bit at Alex. His magic flared aggressively. Alex jumped back. Ragen went back to marking his mother.
"I have to deal with something. So, 2:40 on the 11th? Thanks. Bye." Renee hung up. "I told you I was on the phone, Ragen. That wasn't nice."
"My mama!" He pouted.
"Apologize to Alex." She told him.
"No, I mark Mama." He refused.
"I wasn't gonna mark Renee." Alex said.
"Ragen." Renee narrowed her eyes.
"… Sorry." He muttered.
"Now, be nice, ok?" Renee scratched his ear.
"Yes, Mama." He intoned.
They sat on the other couch and Ragen got his cuddles. Zara tried to play with him. He looked at Renee. She encouraged him. They chased each other. Puck suddenly popped in.
"Look at the happy family." He cooed.
"What are you doing here?" Alex asked.
"Well, since you're not doing anything important, I decided why not give the Pets a quick lesson!" Puck smiled.
"Puck!" Zara yipped, jumping up and almost dragged Puck down.
"Hey, easy now. Let's show your mommies what you can do." Puck landed and petted them both. Ragen was ok with it.
Zara's and Ragen's lesson was a showcase of all the spells and things they learned. Alex and I would assist whenever we were needed. Puck made it a game. Whoever did the best got a prize. They levitated things, changed sizes, and made illusions. Ragen had a little trouble with the newer stuff. Zara won by a hair. The prize was a rubber bone.
Then we had lunch. It was beef stew. Ragen had two big bowls and kept asking for more. Fox redirected him to the cheese rolls. He would only share them with Zara, Renee and me. Renee got him to eat some fruit so he wouldn't feel so bad. Ragen seemed to be fine.
"Owen, let Ragen have a light snack in between meals." David told him.
"Very well, sir." Owen said.
Everything was fine until my afternoon lessons. Ragen was upset that Renee had gone outside without him. She said she would be back in a bit. He laid on my lap and whined for me to pet him. I rubbed his ears. Owen tried to get him to leave, but he wouldn't.
"Mistress mine!" He barked.
"Talia will pet you later. Why don't you go play with Zara?" Owen suggested.
"Mine." He repeated.
"I'll still be here. It won't be long." I told him.
Ragen looked at me and decided that I was telling the truth. He marked me heavily and then left. He made sure we knew he didn't want to go. I finished up my lessons quickly. Then I went to find Ragen. He was with Zara. They were in the hall, dragging some blankets.
"Hey, who's blankies are those?" I yelled.
Ragen made a dash for his room. Zara ran the other way. I frowned before going after Zara. She was slowed down by the big blanket she chose. I caught up with her. Her ears flattened on her head and she laid on the blanket.
"Zara." I held out my hand.
She put her hand in mine.
"Gimme the blanket." I told her.
"Fresh scent go nest." She whimpered.
"You just got new stuff." I pointed out.
"More scent." She nuzzled my arm.
"Zara…" I sighed.
"I luv you, Mistress." She took it to her nest.
"That wasn't a yes!" I shouted.
Zara returned with a pillow from her room and gave it to me. It smelled like her. I took it. I discovered that they took the blankies form my room. They also left some toys on my bed too. I put them off to the side and remade my bed. Ragen came in with a gray blankie with white stars. I added it to my bed. Zara came in soon after. She watched me, tail wagging. I rubbed the scent glands on her face. She let me pet her for a few minutes before she jumped on my bed.
"Mistress rub tummy!" She smiled.
"Do you want rub tummy or cuddles?" I asked.
"Both." She replied.
"Yea, rub tummy!" Ragen agreed, getting up on my bed.
I lied next to them and rubbed their tummies. Zara's paw thumped on the mattress when I got an itchy spot. Ragen's scent wafted through the air. It was a bit different, but I didn't know why. The honey was a bit sweeter and the nutmeg gave it an earthy scent. The saffron was subtle. Tummy rubs turned into cuddles and then nap time.
When I woke up, Ragen was gone. Zara was chewing on a toy. It looked new. Her tail wagged. The clock in my room said it was dinner time. That was weird. Why hadn't anyone gotten me? I went outside. As we went to the dining room, I realized the hallway smelled like soap. What had happened?
When we finally got to the dining room, everyone was there. The clan, the Xanatoses, everybody. Goliath and a few others looked like they had gotten in a fight. I frowned. Zara went to her mother and asked for pets. Sanuye gave her ear scratchies. Fox noticed me.
"We'll get you dinner in a minute." She said. The others turned and saw it was me.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"You don't know?" Alex furrowed his eyebrows.
"We napped." Zara told him.
"Ah." He hummed.
Goliath stepped forward. "Did you notice anything strange about Ragen?"
"Uh, huh… He was more cuddly, I guess. And pushy. He interrupted my lessons for pets." I shrugged.
"He likes the lass, Goliath. He wouldn't have been short with her." Hudson said.
"I don't understand. What's Ragen got to do with anything?" I questioned.
"Ok, let's start from the beginning. When Renee came home from the Pet store, he wanted her attention. They played for awhile. Ragen wouldn't let near them. I just thought he missed her so I went to play some video games. Apparently after he was done playing, he went to go mark the house. That's when things went wrong." Alex paused. "He's not going to like it when he gets home."
"Is that why the hallway smells like soap?" I asked.
"It's more than that, Talia. He sprayed the house. He marked rooms with his pee." Angela interjected.
"Oh." I said.
"We didn't notice for a bit. The castle is big. But apparently, he had gotten to the clan's area around sunset." Alex added.
"Our presence made him upset and something set him off. Alexander and Puck managed to subdue him." Goliath finished.
"Where is he now?" I asked.
"Owen took him the vet. We should hear from him soon." Xanatos said as his phone rang.
Part 3 coming soon.
