Reviews :
Firesong-Writes : Hey friend, thank you so so so much :) Although the flyers aren't the main focus of the story, Lickity's and Boss's son's story is largely intertwined with Gideon's, so this is just me laying ground work. I love powering through character development, especially when it comes to the quieter, cranky characters. I appreciate you noticing the details! Thank you so much!
Burgie : Yyyyep. His first dual-parent talking-to haha
Song Listened To :
Wand Dance by Imogen Heap
*Chapter 26*
With Orion's heavy, slow moving, thudding saunter, he slowly eased his way through the massive sprawl of golden fields behind the palace's south bend. Usually a creature of habit that was en route to fulfilling his nightly walk about the perimeter of palace grounds, mostly in search for dangerous predators that could be nearby, Orion's creepy eyes gently dart about his dark surroundings in suspicious searching. Having suddenly heard loud grunts, snarls and haphazard slashing in a few nearby trees, Orion honed his incredible eye sight in the direction of the sound and was shocked to see Royal giving a nearby honey-bark tree what for. With the amount of steam and smoke that was billowing from Royal's bigger, formidable body, the expansion of his rib cage and the flared chuffing of his snout, amidst his heavy pacing and growling, Orion hurried over and was certain Royal was potentially fighting another creature.
"Hey, hey, knock it off," Orion's deep voice bellowed as his heavy saunter turned into a much heavier, intimidating gallop in Royal's defense, though upon nearing Royal, Orion gently skid his massive paws and body to a scuff of a stop and assessed Royal's singular figure in hot confusion. Royal's head flicked up, predatory golden eyes hooked tight to Orion's in a stab of entire rage, his fangs were bared and smoke billowed from his mouth. Hung at the back of Royal's throat was a threatening, golden glow of promised fire. Orion shifted on his strong legs, took a nervous step back and curled his long tail tight to his body, "Roy... What's going on, what the hell are you so upset about?"
"That asshole just overthrew me," Royal's voice growled, a deep stab of pure rage the sweet, bumbling Royal was never caught sporting. True to his size, he looked entirely terrifying in a raged form. His longer tail was unfurled and easily crowned his tail sails, of which he usually kept lazily clung to his body for the sheer fact that his curly tail was usually kept scrunch in true chameleon fashion. Orion assessed Royal's jugular and noticed a few gashes and teeth marks, ones of which dripped blood. Orion sagged and felt realization coat his brain, though both boys flinched the second a heavy gate, in which lead into the flyer's enclosure from outside of the palace, thud open and released Boss, Marble and Balba; Boss was diligently at the head of said tiny hunting party. Royal bared his fangs and inhaled a deep breath, and much to Orion's startled surprise, Royal stood on his hind legs and loudly bellowed the hunting crew a nasty sentiment, "Yeah, GO ON WITHOUT ME YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!"
"Royal," Orion stabbed in an authoritative tone, one of which he was nearly confused by, though he was thrilled Royal's heavy body sagged back down to his forelegs in a sink of dominance; no matter how angry Royal was, he was well aware he was absolutely no match for Orion. Orion bared his fangs back at Royal, a show to prove he was certainly not messing around, either. He delivered his son a hiss of full irritation, "The HELL'S gotten into you?"
"Boss took over," Royal panted through his snout, his golden eyes watched as all three beings trailed off in the moonlight, like a quick rolling fog that came and went, they drifted out of sight. Royal sagged his eyes shut and did everything he could not to allow tears to appear, "I guess I screwed everything up..."
"Boss took over the pack?" Orion wondered in soft surprise; although him and Boss had a previous conversation about such things, he was shocked Boss actually went through with it.
"It IS his name, isn't it?" Royal mocked, he huffed a hard chuff and shook his head in whole entire disgust, "I'm starting to wonder if mom named him that on purpose..."
"He named himself, thank you very much," Lickity suddenly stabbed, her silent wings allowed her to loft down to the ground, going entirely unnoticed in the darkness until now; Royal whipped around, flattened his ears in anger and dared to bare his teeth to Lickity. Lickity perked up in soft, sarcastic surprise and immediately returned the favor, and in the switch up, she largely bared her fangs as well and let loose the scariest snarl her guttural could afford. Said sudden ripple of a noise had Royal sagging in immediate defeat and Orion taking a step or two away. Lickity stood proud, ears taut, the slits of her haunting green gaze pierced into Royal's soul, "I came out here to comfort you and be here for you, Royal. Don't make me regret my decision."
"You're only here cause you didn't go on the hunt," Royal snipped meanly, Orion looked back and forth between the two as they rapid-fire bickered.
"I wouldn't have gone no matter what the hell happened tonight," Lickity snipped.
"You know you COULD'VE said no to me without Boss having to act like his balls are the size of the fucking moon," Royal barked, to which Lickity wrinkled her snout in the promise of more snarling.
"I'm about to have his child, he's protective of me," Lickity defended, "I thought you'd feel the same way about your own little brother, but to know you don't even consider him such..."
"... What?" Orion finally butt in, he glanced to Lickity for confirmation before he stabbed his now heated gaze deep into Royal's. Royal nervously looked to Lickity before he sagged a bit and gave Orion a near dreaded, defensive look of whole entire regret. Orion side-eyed Royal and dared to take a step out towards Royal's bubble, "What was said?"
"Sure, he's half your coding, but I truly thought you'd adopt him as your whole brother," Lickity muttered in disapproving sorrow, "Like how... Berri and Wren operate, or even Tessa and Penny."
"You really taking out your issues on unborn coding, Roy?" Orion dared, to which Royal sagged a bit more the closer Orion came.
"I was just angry," Royal stabbed, "It's none of your business."
"It IS my business," Orion stabbed, to which Royal perked up a bit and allowed a shred of confidence rush over his scales.
"How the hell do you figure!" Royal barked, to which Orion inhaled a deep breath and tightly got in Royal's face.
"Because I'm the one that took down the firewalls," Orion hotly hissed in Royal's face, of which sloped to hot surprise. Royal sagged, peered to his mother in gentle stun and frowned. The look on Lickity's face read dejected frustration, though Royal largely flinched the second Orion ripped himself from Royal's figure and began to largely saunter away, in a large, pacing circle, but close enough to still converse, "Well! Would you look at that... Mom and dad come together and actually agree on something, for once. You want a true kick in the pants by your parents, Roy? Something you never got a taste of as a pup? You better be ready to sit down, shut up and listen."
"Y-You never told me Orion took down your firewalls," Royal mumbled to Lickity, and though Lickity opened her mouth to reply, Orion whirled his attention to Royal and began to saunter back to their tighter circle.
"Y'know, it's not a crime to call me 'dad'," Orion eased a sarcastic chuckle, though Royal flattened his ears and narrowed his eyes in a mean, snide way.
"That's what you are biologically," Royal stabbed, to which Orion nodded in sarcastic glee and looked off.
"Royal," Lickity lilted in gentle offense.
"Yeah, yeah, he's right," Orion fingered his lip and looked off to where Boss, Marble and Balba had run off, though he eyed Royal with a sarcastic smile and shook his head, "So, your non-biological dad puts you in a time out and now your ACTUAL dad is here to figuratively swoop in to save the day. Man, it's... It's almost as if this is what you've BEEN wanting. It's almost as if this whole thing was orchestrated to my whole entire liking."
Lickity's and Royal's facial expressions sloped in hot surprise as they eagerly peered up to Orion, all three beings were frozen amidst Orion's entire unravel of a plan, and with said notions, Lickity huffed a long, hot sigh, looked off and eventually chuffed a defeated, annoyed laugh. Royal dart his eyes between his mother and father and felt weirdness crawl over him.
"Wait, you... You did WHAT?" Royal barked, he bared his fangs and dug his claws into the soft grass and soil underneath his strong paws, he sprawled his wings in whole irritation as he beamed his angry gaze deep into Orion's, "You mean to tell me, you goaded Boss into coding a pup with my mom, throwing me out of my position in the pack and dismantling everything we had so meticulously built... All so I would come HANG OUT WITH YOU?"
"There are better ways to go about getting your own son to bond with you, O," Lickity muttered tightly, Orion rolled his eyes and shifted on his feet.
"This wasn't just for my own gain," Orion smiled, he looked off and chuckle, "You're not about to take advice from other people when you're already in charge, when you already have it all. Sometimes you have to be thrown down to get back up and return to what was yours, stronger than before."
"Yeah, like I'm going to magically become this incredible leader under YOUR teaching, and Boss is just going to hand me back the position of alpha," Royal stabbed, "Now with another male being introduced into the pack? Who knows if Chester will eventually find a stick up his ass, you expect me to compete with three other males?"
"Four if you count me in," Orion mumbled, he sneakily eyed Lickity and smiled, "Y'all would run for the hills, no one would win if I decided I wanted to be in charge of your guys' silly hunting parties."
"You can't hunt for shit, Tessa tells me she has your food delivered," Lickity muttered in near smiling, irritated defeat.
"You know what, fine. I'll just live with Orion, see how you guys like it," Royal stabbed, to which Lickity looked up to the sky in the caught sag of largely rolling her eyes.
"... No, you're not living with me, I'd skin myself before I'd let that happen," Orion barked a laugh and shook his head, "You're gunna hang with me every day, you're gunna learn how to accept defeat with humility, you're gunna learn what it means to be a good leader."
"Who am I going to lead? I've been entirely demoted," Royal stabbed, though he flinched as Orion got back into his face.
"Your little brother," Orion hissed in whole irritation, "Like it or not, that pup is going to tail you like there's no tomorrow... And you're gunna love every single second of it. You raised a pup, you surely know what this is all about."
"Roy, Boss is just... Nervous. He's never had a child before, he wants to make sure this child is under a good lead," Lickity stated gently, "Sure, your leading style is good, but... You DO still have a lot to learn. I don't think Boss is ready to risk staying under a wavering leadership for the fear of Novus picking up on bad cues."
"... Novus," Royal repeated tenderly, he sagged a bit as him and Orion eagerly glanced to one another before they fixated their gaze tight to Lickity. Royal nearly did what he could not to smile, though he sagged his wings a bit and felt his heart begin to soften, "I-Is that..."
"I... Didn't mean to let it slip, we were wanting to reveal his name officially," Lickity mumbled nervously, though she shyly peered to Royal, the look of tender dejectedness on her sweet face had Royal's heart now struck with hot regret. Lickity long-blinked, looked off and furrowed her brow as big tears stung her eyes. She shook her head, bashfully glanced at Orion and finally looked down to her feet in sniffling sorrow, "Roy, I... I always wanted to give you a little sibling. I knew it was never going to be possible, with Orion around or not, either way... But, then I met Boss, and... I-I don't know, to hear you say such a nasty thing about Novus, I just-"
"M-Mom, I'm really sorry, I... That was really messed up of me to say something like that," Royal mumbled sorrowfully, he kept still and was desperate to push into his mother's gravity, so to comfort her, though he wondered if the coals were still too hot to touch. Orion sagged a bit and heaved a long sigh through his nose, "I just... Was at a breaking point and my last resort was to fight dirty."
"It's okay," Lickity meeped as she kept to herself, though much to Royal's whole surprise, Orion bashfully looked off for a moment of contemplation before he took a few gentle strides in Lickity's direction and lovingly unfurled his thick, long chameleon tail.
In a drape, Orion loosely hugged Lickity about her back and side with his tail, to which she leaned her furry cheek into his stronger upper arm. Lickity grit her teeth, shut her eyes tight and huffed a soft cry into Orion's colorful scales, and it was with this image of his own mother and father tenderly loving on each other, however platonic, where Royal felt his past wounds begin to want to heal. Royal long-blinked in tender surprise and took note of Orion's much bigger fingers so tenderly picking a few leaves out of Lickity's mane as she quietly cried, the gentleness he assured her in their little realm of secrecy behind palace grounds with nothing but Sugar Rush's glow of a summer moon to their point on the grid. Royal heaved a shaky sigh and finally looked down to his paws, though the second he started slowly sauntering over to the two, Orion hooked his eyes to Royal and gently ushered him closer with the gesture of his bigger, readied paw.
"Get in here," Orion grumbled in playful irritation, to which Royal easily sagged into his parent's presences. With ease, Royal lovingly nuzzled his face into Lickity's and was thrilled to receive the physical show of snuggly love in return, and though Orion kept the three glued, he looked up and lulled his eyes closed in irritation, "This moment doesn't leave this field, you two understand?"
"Understood," Royal muttered with an exhale of a grumble, though as him and Lickity caught eyes, Royal shook his head and gently wiped a few tears from Lickity's velvety cheek, "Mom, I'm... I'm really sorry. You KNOW I consider Novus my full brother. I'm going to love that kid like... No other. Please know that. I've been so stoked to meet him since you and Boss announced him."
"I know you two will be the best of friends," Lickity whimpered, "I just... Want you and Boss to be on good terms. I don't want there to be strain."
"There will be for a bit," Orion mumbled as he shook his head, "This kind of a scuffle won't heal overnight, but... I do believe it'll all be okay."
"I mean, now knowing you're the mastermind behind all of this bullshit, I'm wondering if you should get in front of all of us and apologize," Lickity muttered, to which Royal grinned and looked up at Orion, though he flinched in surprise and was previously due to expecting Orion to roll his eyes and go on about how said notion was never going to happen. Instead, Orion bobbed a nod of gentle defeat and looked off.
"I can, if need be. I can if... That brings peace among your guys group, again," Orion stated in low sweetness, clearly a rolling form of secrecy between all three beings, as if Orion felt safe further exposing himself to his direct family, "I guess I could've... Communicated that I wanted to spend more time with Royal, but somehow, this seemed more fun."
"For no one but yourself," Lickity stabbed, Orion smiled and lulled his eyes closed in annoyed knowing.
"Why the change of heart, all of the sudden?" Royal gently asked as all three beings finally pulled apart and allowed conversing space, "You're usually never like this."
"I guess... These past few months have softened me," Orion eased, as if he was due to regretting his words, "I'm finally around individuals who have kids and care deeply for said kids. I'm the only dead-beat dad on the lot, and I'm starting to be embarrassed by it."
Royal heaved a gentle sigh through his nose, looked down in aimless searching and finally brought his eyes back to his father's. He softened even more the second his and Orion's eyes gripped in a string of solid understanding.
"Please forgive me, Roy. Are you willing to give me a chance?" Orion wondered softly, and it was here did their little bubble of warmth, between the three, begin to nearly light the clearing on fire.
"Of course," Royal hissed with a gentle chuckle, he shook his head in mild relief and now radiated a very healthy dose of proper humility, as if now coming to terms with losing his alpha title was easier due to the fact that he had Orion to take him under his wing. Royal gave Orion a sneakily little smile and wrinkled his nose, "Dad."
"Congratulations, you two," Lickity muttered in playful sarcasm, "Now, next time you want to mess with everyone's destinies, how about you weigh the pros and cons. This stunt of yours dismantled our pack."
"Eh, you guys are just shaken up, but, c'mon," Orion eyed Lickity in sweet playfulness, "Y'really aren't giving your pack enough credit, there, love. You guys are smart, you'll figure it out."
"Guess this means I gotta get good with Boss," Royal mumbled in nervous dread, to which Lickity shook her head and lulled her eyes closed.
"Cake, you know Boss can't stay mad forever," Lickity assured.
"He has a new baby on the way, he's probably stressed over the fact that he's about to be a brand new dad," Orion ushered to Royal's dewy, softened figure, "Y'remember that feeling..."
"You were SO cranky up until Chester was born," Lickity volleyed in full sass, to which Royal rolled his eyes and looked off.
"I remember, I remember," Royal hurried through his teeth, though he jolted with a laugh as Orion firmly nudged Royal's shoulder, causing him to wobble on his sturdy legs.
"C'mon. Hang with me for the next few nights," Orion nodded, "You can revisit Boss once the dust settles."
"I thought you said you'd skin yourself before you'd let Royal live with you?" Lickity gawked with a small laugh.
"Yeah, well, we're all having changes of heart, I figured I'd join in," Orion demanded in full irritation, "Take up the offer before I change my mind."
"If we find your sorry, nerd-covered hide all over palace grounds tomorrow morning, I don't think Tessa would bring you back for round two," Lickity sneered with a laugh as the three began to walk in the direction of the palace, the air about them seemingly glowed, and though the discourse amongst the group was still thick, a fresh renewal of love assured all three beings that their puzzle would eventually be tidily put back together again.
