AN: We're going in and out of lock downs and isolations like yoyos here. Bloody nightmare! Hope you are all faring well, my friends.
I'm labelling this chapter as the 8th of January, although it only just sneaks in as that. The 'overlords' arrive just shy of midnight, which is when we left out outcasts in chapter 158 facing a bunch of fully grown werewolves!
Just in Time
JANUARY 8TH
The outcasts planned fighting tactic had been difficult to deploy to begin with. Odi and Felix worked well together, having trained for centuries side by side. But this tactic, as Odi had pointed out, required great strength. He had seen his father and Felix quite literally plough through their opponents on strength alone. He simply couldn't match the power of the juggernaut!
The boys found that they were passing too many half-beaten wolves behind them, and the others couldn't subdue more than one at a time. And that was with all four- Irina, Corin, Demetri and Kate -working together to end the poor beast's life.
Odi managed to get a few punches in with one particularly large wolf, but another entered the shallow mouth of the cave, so he passed his beast behind him. Sadly, the others hadn't finished with the wolf Felix had just passed them, so they were unable to subdue Odi's offering, too. Odi, just as he had predicted when Felix came up with the tactical approach, ended up with a rabid werewolf coming at him from behind at the same time as having to deal with one coming from the front. He only realised his precarious position when he took a wolf bite to the shoulder! The same shoulder that had already suffered when he'd barrelled into the wolf who was ready to devour Kate.
The wolf forced Odi down to his knees as it sunk its teeth deep into vampiric flesh. When his anguished wail reverberated in the caves, Kate launched herself into action, throwing herself on the wolf who gripped her saviour in his mouth and centred her gift on the beast. The werewolf howled in pain. It released Odi at once and turned back into human form before Kate's eyes. The human woman made easy pickings for the vampiric girl.
Odi got to his feet, cursing the radiating pain he felt in his now useless shoulder, but thanking Kate for her quick thinking. He couldn't work out how she'd managed moving so quickly on a chewed-up leg. It must hurt as much as my arm, he thought.
There would be no more time for pleasantries as all light suddenly extinguished. The opening of the cave had filled with wolves.
"Fall back, fall back!" Felix called to his comrades. "Stack the bodies."
The young vampires worked quickly, stacking the dead wolves to create a barrier between themselves and new beasts coming their way.
"Can you fight?" Felix asked Odi.
The boy felt uneasy as he waited for Odi's answer. He was usually self-assured to the point of arrogance, but Felix knew his limits - facing the next twenty or so wolves alone definitely exceeded them!
Odi tried moving his shoulder. He could do it, though it hurt like a son of a bitch! His eyes watered from the double shot of pain coming from the burning remnants of werewolf saliva and his own venom trying to repair the damage. He was in working order, though, even if it did hurt.
"I can fight," he replied, dragging another body one-handed to their makeshift barrier.
It was a shocking sight to the young outcasts when they saw how many wolves they had already slain. Twelve, maybe even fifteen, easy. Whilst shocking to the outcasts, it was heart-breaking to the wolves on the other side. The young vampires couldn't see them, but they heard the anguished howls coming from the other side.
"Those wolves sound pissed," Irina said, leaning against the cold, damn cave wall to catch her breath. "Now what do we do?"
Odi looked around his battered band of misfits, again thinking he was scum of the earth for dragging them all to certain death. The kid was giving himself more credit than he was due - he hadn't dragged anyone anywhere, he didn't have that power, bless him. Still, he felt a crushing sense of responsibility.
Giving his head a wobble, he squared his shoulders- which hurt -and addressed his friends. "Now we…" Shit. Now we what?! Die? He slapped a hand to his forehead and dragged it down his face.
"We hold the barrier," Felix said, taking over.
"Yes!" Odi suddenly caught up to Felix's plan. "We hold the barrier, and any that breakthrough we kill. It makes it easier. They will come at us slower."
"Exactly." Felix nodded. "Which is why I came up with the idea."
And so, they went on. Those who had been at the back in the original formation, now found themselves at the front, on the ground, holding on to dead werewolves to keep the barrier in place. Kate proved quite useful in such a position as he was able to force her gift through the dead wolf in her grip right into the living wolf on the other side of the barrier who tried to remove it. Each time a wolf did manage to rip a body away from the other side, Felix or Odi was ready to reach over the gap between wolves and roof and dispatched another beast.
It felt like hours had passed, days, even, and still more were coming. It was a never-ending conveyor belt of werewolves!
And then, some hope.
Felix stopped dead in his tracks. He held in his hand the whole heart of the wolf he had just ended and wore a peculiar expression on his face.
"What are you doing?!" Odi asked him, knocking the heart from his hand. "Keep your head!"
"Did you hear that?" Felix asked, still unmoving, listening into the night. "I swear I heard my grandpa."
Whether Odi had heard Basileus or not, he had no time to answer. "Look out!" he called to the group, ducking as he did so to avoid the dead wolf being thrown their way. "What the fuck?!"
"Watch your language, young one!"
"Dad?" Odi blinked in double time. He had never been so happy to be scolded for cursing. "Oh, thank the Gods!"
"Are you all okay back there?" Magnus asked. He sounded winded, like he needed a good sit down in his comfy chair and a goblet of bloodwine to relax with. "Someone had better answer me!"
"We're all good," Odi replied. He looked around to see smiling, relieved faces - he felt the same.
"Tired, and a little beat up, Master," Corin added. "But good."
A little beat up? Magnus couldn't leave them be until he had set eyes on them. He made short work of dislodging the werewolf wall, creating enough space for him to peer over the dead bodies. More than a little beat up, he thought, giving them all the once over with his eyes.
"Alec?" he asked worriedly when he couldn't see the youngest outcast.
"Back there," Demetri replied. Felix didn't offer any additional information in regard to the catatonic state of their baby brother who remained self-immobilised, so neither did Demetri. Wrapping his arms around himself in comfort, Demetri said, "It's so good to see you Magnus…"
Magnus sighed in relief and cut the boy off with a wave of his hand. The fact they were all alive was a miracle (he was sure of it and glad for it) but he had to get back to the fight. "There are move wolves out here so stay put until we come for you, got it?"
Felix flopped down on the blood-soaked floor. Exhaustion overtook his senses as he was barely bothered by being so close to the putrid stench of wolf-blood.
"Yes, sir!" he answered for them all, beckoning Corin to join him now the cavalry had arrived.
Felix wasn't speaking for Kate, however.
No, no, no, the Denali girl said to herself as Magnus turned and left them. Summoning her strength and ignoring the burn in her gnarled leg, she followed him.
"Kate!" Odi snapped after her.
Felix leaned forwards from the ground. "He just told us to…"
Too late, Kate was gone.
"She's scared, guys," Corin reminded the boys.
"She's always scared."
It wasn't one of the boys who had replied. It was Irina, Kate's own sister, who spat out the words in disgust. Although, she did have a little appreciation for Kate's fear in this case. Kate leaving gave Irina the excuse to get the hell out of the death pit, too, so she followed the younger Denali girl into the open.
Kate limped along, holding onto the cave wall to steady herself with her gnarled leg dragging behind. At first, she wasn't sure who she was looking for. Like Felix, she had heard Basileus, and she had obviously seen Magnus in the tunnel - either one of them would do. She just wanted to be safe, and they symbolised security, protection.
Coming out into the open, Kate faced a sensory explosion! All around her vampires and werewolves moved, crashing into one another with the sound of thunderclaps! The scent of wolf-blood burned her nostrils and snarling roars assaulted her ears.
"Kate?!"
Aro? Kate looked across to the man who had called her name. She could have cried. Actually, she did cry. Silent tears of relief began to fall and once started, they wouldn't stop.
"El!" Aro called to his brother whist holding a wolf down by its shaggy throat. He nodded in the girl's direction for Eleazar's benefit and went back to his kill.
Eleazar? Kate began to seek him out with her eyes from the crowd before her. Is he here? For us?
She started limping his way. Once he'd seen her, Eleazar closed the gap in a blink and enveloped the child in his arms.
Irina wanted to do the same.
A sudden desperate need for the same protection her sister sought, for love… and it surprised her that it was Eleazar she was seeking such comfort from. But Irina stayed back. Even if she wanted Eleazar's affections, she wouldn't lower herself to telling him so. For a moment she wished Carmen had come as it would have been easier to relax her guard with the woman- maybe -but not so much with Eleazar.
With the emotions too great to bear, the eldest Denali girl tore her eyes away from her sister and her safety. There was enough going on to distract her on the battlefield.
She watched from a distance as the rest of the Volturi overlords ripped through the wolves. The merry band of outcasts had done well to keep their heads through the fight but seeing the adult vampires in action really brought home to Irina just how lucky they had been. It also showed the girl how ill-equipped the outcasts were to face down foes in such numbers. They had slaughtered so many in the cave, but now there were wolves everywhere!
So many! How aren't we dead?
Basileus' roar ripped through the landscape and a wolf exploded mere feet from where Irina stood.
The creator rarely found the opportunity to fight in the open as he wanted to keep up his mythological status from his vampiric descendants. When he did have the chance, he became a little theatrical. He stood up, covered in werewolf-blood, looking straight at Irina.
The girl felt a sudden rush of feelings. She had barely felt a thing since her mother had been executed, besides the odd flush of excitement when causing some trouble in the coven. Respect, admiration, maybe even gratitude? She nearly ran into his arms. She was ready to…
"Get back in there, now!" the creator demanded, pointing at the cave.
Feelings gone; moment passed.
Irina suddenly felt a damn fool for 'feeling' anything in the first place. She returned to wait in the fetid caves.
Eleazar stayed with Kate, fighting off the odd wolf that dared to approach whilst the girl clung onto his side. It was difficult, but the fight was drawing to an end anyway.
Kate's jaw hung slack the entire time seeing how the elder prince fared against wolves, and all whilst fighting one handed so he could keep an arm wrapped around her. She had never felt such peril, or so safe. She couldn't let him go, and neither could she take her eyes off him. You can protect us… you will protect us! Yes, she was impressed by the usually affable Eleazar slaying their enemy with relative ease, but she was also surprised! Sure, she knew he would have been trained by the creator himself, but truthfully, Kate wouldn't have believed Eleazar capable of such actions. He barely moves at home! Carmen's always saying so.
She already respected the man for taking her and her sisters in, even if a little unwillingly, but watching him work whilst keeping her clamped tight in his hold, she found that respect increase. Added to it came a sense of fear. Kate was a timid creature by nature - something that made one nervous made Kate throw up her last feed! But this fear she felt wasn't doing that. She couldn't quite understand it. A healthy fear? Is that a thing?
Caius' final encounter that evening would be in the form of a young greyish wolf, who, moments before Caius could finish him off, returned to his human form. The wolf, now a young boy no older than Alec, cowered on the ground, inching backwards to the safety behind.
Caius hesitated.
He took one step forward, ready to kill, then two steps back, wondering what the hell he should do. He hadn't killed a child since Lucius, and he was pleased about that. More than pleased - the idea of killing one now was abhorrent to him. Caius simply couldn't do it.
Whilst he was distracted with his deliberations, Caius felt a hefty blow to the face, accompanied by the sting of werewolf claw ripping through the flesh of his cheek.
He roared and roared again as a second claw punctured his shoulder.
Magnus ripped the beast away before any further damage could be done, and soon the animal was dead, its head removed from its body.
He reached down and pulled Caius to stand by his good arm and promptly clouted him across the back of his head.
"What the hell are you playing at?!" the juggernaut scolded the young master. "You could have got yourself killed!"
Caius put a hand to his cheek and felt his own blood flowing from the wound. An actual wound! It had been such a long time since Caius had been wounded… other than the ones Basileus had given him, of course. I'll never live this down. He was so surprised to see his own blood dripping from his fingers that he didn't even tell Magnus' get stuffed for rebuking him in public.
Aro has seen the altercation. Having dispatched his last foe, he was about to end the life of the child who had distracted Caius and brought about his injuries. Basileus got there first and pushed his Aro aside.
"No," he said to his son. "Caius will finish it - it was his kill."
Aro looked over to his co-master and saw the fear in his eyes at doing such a thing. "My lord…"
Shaking his head to Aro, Basileus went to Caius and pulled him away from the juggernaut's protection. "I accept your need to keep children out of the dungeons, but I'm not standing for this." He brought Caius to a halt in front of the wolf-child. "You will end him, or you will face me. And then you'll end him."
Caius nodded curtly to the creator. He would have blushed if he could have - he felt the burning heat of embarrassment chance his face from being scolded for a second time in as many minutes. First Magnus, then Basileus. Any need?
"Yes!" Basileus snapped, answering his thoughts.
Caius flashed an apologetic smile with the half of his face that still worked before kneeling at the boy's side. He truly was a child - huddled into a protective ball, naked now he was lacking his fur, and utterly harmless.
Before he had chance to ask the creator whether killing the child was truly necessary, Basileus was already standing over him with his hands on his hips. Caius instinctively cringed away from the man and chose to look over his shoulder instead, trying to find Magnus.
"See it done, Caius," the juggernaut encouraged. He knew how, and why Caius would struggle with the task, but he had to agree with Basileus on the matter. "Hesitation kills in battle. You know he's right."
Caius nodded to show he'd understood, and then took the child's head in his hands. Both the wolf-boy and Caius had their eyes closed for the telling snap that came when young pup's life abruptly end.
"Good," Basileus told him. He wasn't pleased about the child's death- he was not so inclined to be unnecessarily cruel in that way -but he was satisfied that Caius had done it. "If I find out you've hesitated again, I'll whip you bloody with a full coven in attendance."
Magnus and Aro both called out hearing that, telling the creator he was being unreasonable. Eleazar, too, thought he should show more compassion. Caius was the only one not to voice an objection.
"I'd rather whip him a thousand times than have him end up dead!"
No one could really argue after Basileus had said that.
"Go on ahead," Basileus told the others, pulling Aro back. Once they were clear, he began speaking to his son, "I'm telling you now, you will be giving them all the same, so whatever you promise Felix, you'll be promising the same to Alec."
Just before Aro could reply with a 'yeah, yeah', Basileus added, "OR, I will level things up on your behalf."
Aro's eyes bulged. "I don't think so!"
"Well, I do," Basileus pointed out. "Who do you think will win?"
Magnus sought out his son in the gloomy darkness of the cave. It took him only a moment to locate the kid and he soon crooked his finger in Odi's direction. "Here, now."
Odi made his way over to his father, gingerly stepping around the carcass of a wolf or two. He didn't hurry - who would hurry towards certain death?
Odi needn't have worried. Magnus scooped the kid into his hold as soon as he was within an arm's reach.
Glad his bleary face was hidden in his father's shoulder, Odi returned the embrace. "I'm okay, Dad."
"I'm not."
It took a few minutes for Magnus to finish hugging his boy. He muttered as he held the kid, thanking every God in every pantheon he could recall for whatever effort they put into saving his child. When Magnus finally did set Odi back on his feet, he kept hold of him by one arm.
Odi feared his father was about to smack him! You can't do that in front of everyone, he thought, cringing. You'll kill any credibility I have left! "Dad, listen…"
Magnus pulled a scrunched-up sheet of parchment from his pocket and waved it at his son. "I got your note."
The kid's eyes hit the floor, along with his stomach. "I'm sorry."
"Save it," Magnus said, returning the note for safe keeping. "We'll talk it over at home."
Odi gulped but said no more on the matter. He wasn't too sure from his father's tone whether he was in a mountain of trouble, or just a… small hill of trouble. Odi didn't have a frame of reference to use to work it out.
Magnus pulled his boy in closer and told him, "We have a lot to talk over at home, actually."
A mountain it is, then, Odi thought to himself.
Magnus released his son and beckoned Corin out of the shadows. His eyes moved over her rapidly as they checked for signs of harm. "You okay?" he asked, seeing nothing to immediately alarm him.
Corin tried to speak but managed less than stutter before the dam broke behind her eyes. Her regret, her fear, her dread. It all came out at once and her face flooded with tears.
"I know," Magnus said, scooping the young guard into his hold. "I know."
He held her tightly to his chest whilst she got herself under control. Its wasn't common for Volturi guards to sob on missions, let alone into a coven master's chest, but this was no usual Volturi mission. If it had been, Corin would not have been there! Her gift was to make people happy! She was a people pleaser, not a fighter.
"What were you thinking?" Magnus hissed into her ear.
"Please…" Corin tried to beg him for forgiveness, for protection, for anything that would mean she wouldn't lose her head for, well, losing her head.
Although she hadn't been able to ask, it seemed that Magnus understood her perfectly anyway. "No one's going to die for this young one," he promised her. "You're in so much trouble, but you aren't going to die, you hear me?"
Hearing his promises and knowing Magnus was a man of his word, Corin started to settle. Her breathing returned to a normal level with only the odd hitch in her throat.
"I want these beasts dragging outside," he told the young guard. "Any signs of movement out there, call for me."
He felt a pang of guilt putting the girl to work, especially in a distressed and beat-up state, but he knew someone would start throwing around the blame soon - having his young guard out of the way lessened the chance of it all being levelled in her direction.
"Yes, sir," Corin replied, sniffing back the last of her tears.
To avoid his father's eye, Odi looked at all the dead werewolves scattered around them. "Will we take them home?"
"Waste not want not."
Magnus stopped and tried to get an emotional reading of Odi as the kid shuffled from foot to foot. Scared. You're in as much danger of being blamed for all of this as Corin is, he thought. Odi would not be getting away with his grievous mistakes - Magnus would make sure of that. He wasn't going to take any more blame than he was due, either - Magnus would make sure of that, too.
"Corin will need some help," he directed the kid. "Start dragging these beasts out front, son."
Once Odi was clear, Magnus went to the eldest prince and pulled him aside. "El, Irina needs you, too," he said, whispering in his ear.
Eleazar scoffed. "I doubt it." To be fair to Eleazar, Irina had avoided him since he'd arrived, unlike Kate, who still clung to the man.
"I'm telling you what she feels," Magnus continued. "She needs you, even if she doesn't want you."
Eleazar looked over to the eldest Denali girl. Irina sat on the ground with her back turned towards them, as far away from everyone else as she could get in the confines of the cave. I know you don't want me, and I doubt that you need me, but I'm all you've got right now.
Eleazar huffed to himself and disentangled Kate from his legs. "I'll be back," he told the frightened child.
"Irina?" he called softly, tapping her shoulder, and crouching down on his haunches. "Are you alright?"
"Fine," Irina said, the sound of her voice cracking within the single word. "Why wouldn't I be? I'm fine… fine…"
Instinctively, Eleazar turned the girl on the ground and attempted to hug her. No sooner than he had, Irina fell into his arms and the waterworks began. Eleazar had seen the girl breakdown before, and each time had been an attempt at manipulation. Something was different this time, he felt. The tears were real, as was the fear and relief behind them.
Felix and Demetri stood to the side watching the scene unfold. They could hear their father arguing with his own just outside the tunnel. It sounded like Basileus was winning: 'I know you're feeling brave from your shot of dungeon blood, but don't you dare answer me back again, boy!'
"You're safe now," Eleazar told Irina, rubbing circles in her back to sooth her as she sobbed.
"Do you reckon Dad will be that soft with us?" Felix asked, nudging his brother.
"Not likely!" Aro answered before Demetri had chance.
"Hey," Felix giggled, such were his nerves. "Look how many we killed, Dad."
Aro could well see how many they had killed. Felix, however, couldn't see how many more wolves would have arrived in the caves if they hadn't been intercepted. Looking at the state of his boys, Aro knew his children had narrowly escaped death that day.
"Proud of me?" Felix asked, giggling again. It was most unlike him and he wished he could stop doing it!
"Not in the slightest," Aro replied, his tone dark. "But," he added, softening a little. "It takes a very special kind of moron to pull off something like this."
Felix wasn't sure whether he should take his father's words as a compliment. A special moron? I guess he's called me worse. "You mean the mission?" he asked.
"I mean not dying," Aro replied, shaking his head and tutting. "Though there's still time."
Sinking back into the wall, Felix left his brother to take some heat.
"Why are you holding your side like that?"
Felix scowled seeing his father lifting Demetri's tunic, exposing his wounds. How come he isn't getting a round of fucks like me?
Demetri might have preferred the bollocking as his father began tearing away his guard uniform to get a look at the damage. "Dad, I'm fine. Stop fussing!
"Fussing?!" Aro snapped, calling for Caius to join them to check out Demetri's injuries. "Some bastards have beaten up my baby boy - damn right I'm fussing!"
The boy's black tunic had already been removed by the time Caius got there, and Aro made short work of bringing Demetri's shirt up to his neck exposing his blackening ribcage.
"Gods' be damned!" Aro cursed, as he took in the extent of the damage.
"Whoa!" Caius exclaimed, seeing a wound similar to his own on Demetri's left side. He had clearly taken a wolf claw to his hip and had been left with bleeding puncture wounds.
"How far down does this go, Dem?" Caius asked, beginning to loosen the boy's britches.
"Just what you can see," Demetri insisted, keeping a tight hold on his already torn britches. "It's just a scratch." The poor child could barely speak without wincing.
Aro scoffed at his boy. "Don't even pretend to be shy, son," he said, rolling his eyes and slapping his son's hands away.
Caius followed the boy's eyeline to the Denali girls who were paying him absolutely no attention. "They aren't looking at you," he whispered. "But I need to."
It was always jarring when Caius was the reasonable one, doubly so when he was the kind one! Demetri nodded and let the man do what he needed.
Caius winced along with the boy. "These claw marks are all the way down his thigh."
Aro soon joined them both grimacing when he saw the extent of the damage. "Are they clean cuts? Will they need stitching?"
"No, no, no…"
Caius ignored Demetri's whining and replied to the child's father instead. "They aren't deep, but he won't heal well if I don't stitch him, brother. He'll need cleaning up first. There are bits of claw…"
"OW!" Demetri cried out when Caius plucked one of those bits out of his ragged flesh. "That's enough, I'm fine."
"Not so fast," Caius said, pressing his hand into the boy's stomach and pinning him against the cave wall. "Does this hurt?" he asked, using his other hand to push on his bruised hip.
"Not especially," Demetri replied through gritted teeth. "No worse than before you started poking at me."
Caius raised an eyebrow to his sass. "How about here?" he asked and pressed into his ribcage.
"Ahh!"
Caius stood and left the boy to his father to redress. He couldn't stand to hear kids crying. Not that such a thing moved him emotionally; it simply pissed him off.
"Cracked ribs and a bruised hip," he announced. "Luckily, the hip isn't broken."
"And some fucking holes!" Aro reminded his co-master.
"Yeah, those, too," Caius tutted. Obviously. "How did you let this happen to you?"
Demetri smirked. "How did you?" he shot back, flicking Caius' oozing cheek.
Caius damn near slapped him! After growling a few curse words, he settled on saying, "It's going to really hurt when I sew you up, Dem."
Demetri actually felt more settled hearing him say that. There was the Caius he knew and… liked. Kind of.
Basileus heard the interaction and flashed over. "You've brought supplies?" he asked Caius. "Wonderful! I can sort you out before I send you back to the coven."
Caius cringed away from the creator. "I'll wait, I can do it myself with a looking glass."
"No need to wait," Basileus said. "The children will need feeding, of course. They all look worse for the wear." Basileus passed Aro the bottle of dungeon blood he'd taken from Caius back in the guard hall. "For the children," he explained, pointedly.
Both Aro and Caius rolled their eyes, but neither would dare take another drop in front of the man - having a shot in the guard hall before they left had been brave enough for one century.
Aro's face suddenly grew stricken. "Where's Alec?!" Without waiting for an answer, he began calling his youngest in sheer panic.
"He's safe, he's safe," Felix rushed to say. "We moved him out the way." He gestured for his father to follow him to the rear rooms of the cave.
"If he's safe, why wasn't he helping you?" Aro asked. "He could have subdued all of those wolves and there would have been no need to …"
His words drifted into nothing when he set eyes on the boy. Alec lay in one of the werewolf's makeshift beds, shaking and groaning, seemingly unaware of his father's presence.
Aro, soon at his side and reading through the child's memories, began ranting in earnest. "Why the hell would you feed him wolf-blood?!"
He scooped Alec into his arms, ignoring the sweat that ran from the boy, and took him back to the others for help.
"Wolf-blood," was all he said, laying Alec back on the ground.
Basileus was appalled, Caius disgusted, though they both said the same thing: "Why would you let him feed on a fucking wolf?!"
"We didn't know it would make him ill," Felix said quietly, trying to stay out of anyone's reach lest a slap should be aimed his way.
"Werewolf-blood is toxic to us," Caius explained.
"Toxic?" Demetri asked. "Like, properly toxic?" He could see Alec was poorly from his feed, but he hadn't considered lasting effects.
All adults in the room announced 'yes' together, causing the cave to vibrate with the force of their combined voices. The racket brought Odi and Corin back into the cave, though both came to a sudden halt seeing Alec and the angry men surrounding him.
Aro's eyes fixed on the young guards… or whatever Odi was these days. "Where the hell were you pair when my twelve-year-old was being fed toxic blood?!"
"Toxic?" Odi asked. "Like, properly toxic?"
He had to cower away when he was treated to the same response as Demetri for asking the identical question.
Magnus dragged a hand down his face. You pair just had to come back in now, didn't you? "How do you not know this?" he asked them both. "Or you?" he asked Felix. "You've all been on missions."
Magnus felt a little guilty for dragging Felix into the firing line, but he needed to point out that Odi and Corin weren't the only ones who should have known better.
"I haven't been on werewolf missions, Master," Corin said, voice barely above a whisper.
Neither Felix nor Odi could use that excuse. "It's never come up before," Odi replied, just as quietly as Corin.
"I've only been on a couple of missions with werewolves, anyway," Felix said. "This is your fault, Dad."
Aro nearly chocked on his own venom!
Though it was obvious to Felix, he could see he would have to explain. "If you'd taken me on more wolf missions, I'd know not to feed from them."
"I'm going to kill him. I'm actually going to kill him."
Felix narrowly missed his father's attempted swipes as he tried to move around the man to get back to Demetri.
"Get your fingers down his throat, Aro," Basileus told his son. "He needs to bring up as much of that filth as he can."
Aro obliged and was thanked by having his small son regurgitate the contents of his stomach all over him.
Of course, Felix laughed. Kid has a death wish, Odi thought, though he couldn't stop himself from smirking, too.
Naturally, Aro saw them both. "Whose idea was this?" he asked the boys. When neither offered a response, he turned on Corin. "Answer. Me. Now."
The poor guard had no choice. "Irina's idea, my lord."
"You bitch!"
To be fair to Corin, she did mouth a genuine sorry to Irina, but she couldn't have denied Aro an answer - she was only a guard, not a royal brat like the others.
"It's alright," Eleazar told his eldest girl. "It won't kill him, it will just weaken him for a while."
Eleazar had been just as outraged as the other men when he'd heard the kids had fed Alec a wolf, but now he knew it was Irina's idea, he suddenly softened.
"He'll be feeling rough for a few days if he supped on a big one," Magnus pointed out whilst the other men scoffed at the eldest prince.
"Yes," Eleazar agreed. "But he'll survive. There's no need to overreact."
"Over re-fucking-act?!" It was more like something Aro would say but it came from Basileus! "I'll find Alec a clean feed, though Christ knows where from."
Kate didn't care if he was annoyed with them. He could be as annoyed as he liked. She just wanted him to stay. "Don't leave!" she screeched from Eleazar's side. "What if more wolves come?"
"We don't need him, Kate," Eleazar told her, gripping her a little tighter.
"Charming!" came the creators reply as he stalked into the open.
Not for the first time, Caius was glad he sat outside of the main Volturi family (in his eyes at least). He grabbed the bottle of dungeon blood from the floor and offered it to Demetri, telling the boy to take a swig.
"I can't drink it yet," he replied in a whisper. "I'll need my wits about me if my Dad's about to explode."
Felix encouraged his brother to take the bottle. "Don't worry about Dad, Dem. I can handle him."
"Really?" Caius burst out laughing. "Have you heard him, Aro? Hysterical!"
The rat bastard even repeated what Felix had said in verbatim.
Aro was in his eldest boy's face in a blink. "If you think that then you must have learned to very recently."
"Erm… I…"
Felix didn't get any further before he reared back from the forceful hand that had slapped his face. It was a nicely calculated blow, hard enough to split the boy's lip and to send blood trickling down his chin, not so hard as to dislodge a tooth.
"Jesus, Aro!" Magnus flashed between father and son before Aro was tempted to try for another. "They have been through enough for one day."
"You might get away with reprimanding him," Aro said, jutting his chin in the direction of Caius. "But you…"
Magnus raised an eyebrow and cut him off in his stride. "Do you want to finish that sentence before your old man walks back in here?"
Caius still had a raised eyebrow from Aro's dig at him. "I truly hope he does," he said before forcing Demetri to take a swig of dungeon blood. "Sit down whilst it starts working."
He left the boy then and took the bottle to Odi. "Do you need some of this?"
Magnus left Aro and Felix to their argument once Aro relented on punishing the boy for the moment. He headed to Caius and snatched the dirty blood out of his hands. Not to refuse Odi if he needed it, as Caius thought, but to keep it away from Caius. Magnus was mostly pissed at him for causing trouble between Aro and Felix. Like either of them need any help in that regard?!
"What are you playing at?" he asked the younger master in hurried whispers.
"I didn't know Aro would hit him," Caius hissed back. "Not that I blame him."
Magnus closed his eyes and counted to ten. He had to stop chiding Caius, or he'd risk alienating the guy. You do make it hard, though, he thought.
"If you ever have kids," Magnus began.
Caius tutted at the idea, seemingly forgetting he'd said he would only a few days before.
"If you ever do, and you turn out like him…"
"Whats wrong with Aro?" Caius looked over his shoulder to see the coven king stomping back and forth, ranting to himself. "I'd batter Felix if he was mine."
Yes, that's what I thought. Magnus shook his head. "Please don't start a family. I'd end up murdering you."
"You should be offering Odi the death threats, not me," Caius replied, his eyes trained on the kid in question, hoping he heard.
Oh, Odi heard alright!
There was a part of Magnus that wanted to knock his son into next week for scaring him the way he had. Overwhelmingly, though, and particularly since reading the boy's innermost thoughts from his leaving note, Magnus wanted to protect him, love him. Make peace with him.
Magnus knew he couldn't allow Odi to believe he would get away with his foolish actions- because he most certainly would not! -so he turned away rather than answer his boy's fearfully questioning eyes.
"I'm going to find us some transport," he said to Caius, giving back the dungeon blood. "Keep your eye on the kid and stop causing trouble."
Caius rolled his eyes, and then set them on Odi, purposely making him feel uncomfortable.
Odi went back to bouncing from foot to foot, just as he'd done when Magnus had appraised him.
"We've, um, we've got matching injuries." Odi laid a hand on his own shoulder, which he was pretty sure was broken.
"Great," Caius replied, unmoved.
Odi's shoulders, broken one included, slumped. "I'll get back to moving the wolves..."
"Is it broken?"
Odi stopped in his tracks. "I think so."
"Are you a doctor now?" Caius scoffed, spinning the kid back around so he could check the damage for himself.
"It's not broken, stop being a pussy." Much like with Demetri's bruised hip, Caius thought Odi was lucky to have escaped a break with the amount of bruising sustained. "Sit."
"I'm supposed to move the wolves…"
"Sit your ass down."
Odi did as he was told, relieved to take a break from dragging giant wolf carcasses through the tunnel.
"I didn't expect you to come." He'd spoken so softly that Odi wasn't sure Caius would have heard him - he wasn't sure he wanted Caius to have heard him.
"Of course, I came," Caius replied. "As if I'd give a werewolf the pleasure of killing you."
"Master," Corin said, approaching with two pails of water. "Magnus told me you would need water for Demetri."
"Leave it here," Caius told her, turning to look at the young guard. He'd planned on telling Corin she would be moving the wolves solo but soon changed tack. "Look at the state of you!" he announced, taking in her ragged appearance. "Sit down before you drop down."
Aro had heard Caius' shock, and he had to agree. Whilst he privately thought the little band of outcasts had done a sterling job of defending themselves, he still felt unnerved to see them all in such a mess.
"You'll have to get them onto a strict training regime when we get back, Caius," he said. "They're making you look bad."
"Do you want to help me move the wolves, Kate?" Eleazar asked.
"I don't think I can," she replied meekly. For the first time since the men had arrived, Kate unveiled her gnarled leg. "I'm sorry."
"My God! Caius, come and look at this." He went down to the ground to sit with her and held her close. "Hush, hush," he said to the girl with wide eyes on Caius. "You can fix this, right?"
Caius ripped open Kate's borrowed guard britches. Kate shrieked as her skin had already begun to attach to the cloth!
"Theres a lot of damage. We can't repair this in the dark, El." Caius assured them both he could do a better job once they were back in the coven and he had the proper tools.
Irina had thrown up a little in her mouth seeing the true state Kate was in. "You can't leave her like that!"
"I can't repair tendons in the dark with one needle, either," Caius pointed out. "She could end up lame for the rest of her immortality."
"If it heals like that she'll end up with ugly scars," Irina pointed out, as though aesthetics were more important.
Caius twisted the girl's leg from side to side, getting a good look. "The scarring has already begun," he said, and heard the girl sob to herself. "It will be good for Carlisle to see the repair."
Irina wasn't having that! "My sister is not some project for you and Carlisle to practice on!"
Caius ignored Irina completely. He took the water pails Corin and brought, gave one to Eleazar for Kate, and the other he took to a very woozy Demetri.
"So, she's your sister now?" Felix asked from across the cave. "You were ready to throw her to the wolves a few hours ago. Literally!"
"Shut up, Felix," Irina spat back. "You were no better with your brothers."
"I've been protecting my brothers since we left the coven, you stupid bitch!"
"Watch it, boy," Eleazar called out darkly, though he pulled Irina to sit with him in a small attempt at reining her in, too.
"No, no, I'm glad someone brought it up." Aro left Alec, as he couldn't do much for the boy anyway, and walked into the centre of them all. "I want to know what the hell you all were thinking with this little escapade, and I want to know now."
Felix felt his dozy brother nudging him from the side. So, I'm taking the fall, he thought, rolling his eyes.
"We thought we could take out the wolves and show you what we're made of," he replied to his father. "That we're mature, that we deserve some respect."
"We were doing okay until we ended up in here," Odi added.
Caius had been meaning to ask… "Why did you end up in here? I've taken you on hundreds of missions. What's the rule?"
"Don't get backed into a corner," Felix muttered, turning his face away from the others after how he'd behaved earlier that night.
They could have left after the first round of fighting if it weren't for him. They might have even got back to the coven without requiring rescue. That was a big 'might', especially as Alec was still immobile and both Kate and Demetri were in too much pain to walk far.
"We followed Kate in here," he explained. "She was… scared."
Irina snorted. "For a change."
Fair enough, Odi hadn't had a sibling for a very long time- I've got Caius, now, whatever he is to me -but he couldn't understand the Denali girl's relationship. Kate seemed willing to die for her sisters, Tanya seemed to feel more connection to home comforts that either Irina or Kate, and then there was Irina… ever bitter and resentful of her sisters' existence. At least in Odi's opinion.
"She had been chewed up by a wolf, Irina," Odi reminded the girl. "Or had you missed that bit whilst you hid from the action?"
"Odi saved my life," Kate told them all, looking to the kid with adoring eyes - and not for the first time.
Eleazar noticed and he didn't like it. The strength of his feelings surprised him. No way is my girl becoming practice for you, boy. My girl?!
"The wolf was on top of me, ready to eat me. Odi barged it out of the way and ripped its heart out."
"Is that how you busted your shoulder?" Caius asked his faux brother. "Trying to be heroic?"
Odi blushed, or would have, at Caius' snide tone. The embarrassment burned his cheeks either way.
"Are we in trouble, Dad?" Felix asked, breaking one tension, and creating a new one.
Aro's tinkling laughter filled the cave. The Denali girls both thought that was a hopeful sign, but they didn't know Aro well.
"I mean, I know we're in trouble," Felix said. "But are we in big trouble?"
Aro continued to laugh. He even started to pace again. He looked full scale lunatic with his huge grin, laughing, and shaking his head periodically.
"Keep it together, brother," Eleazar called over. He could see Aro was on the verge of snapping even if the girls- his girls -could not.
"Coven level trouble or…"
Aro stopped and turned to look at his boy. "Every level," he sang out.
That doesn't sound good. Irina pulled herself to stand. If the king was about to start assigning trouble to people, she wanted to get in first.
"It was their idea." She pointed at Felix. "His, and Odi's.
Felix found himself choking on his venom, but Odi answered for them. "It was your idea!"
Irina flicked the hair from her eyes in irritation and crossed her arms over her chest. "You told me on the way here that it was your mission, Odi."
"Felix said the same thing-" he paused and apologised to Felix "-and you did that thing you do."
Irina tried to show her disinterest by checking her nails - the state of them increased her visible annoyance. "What thing?"
"That, 'yeah, yeah, whatever, we all know the truth' thing."
Felix screwed his face up. He knew what Odi was referring to, but he knew the overlords wouldn't get it. "You aren't helping us here, mate."
"It was her idea, my lord," Corin said, telling the truth as she saw it.
Sure, it had been a group effort in agreeing to the mission and even in planning their actions, but the whole thing? In Corin's mind, it was definitely Irina's idea.
"How was any of this my idea?!" Irina asked, looking down her nose at the guard. "Why would I think I could run a mission to werewolf country? I've never been on a mission and I've never fought wolves before - that was you pair." She levelled a smirk at Felix and Odi in turn, knowing they had no way of denying her claims. "You were both chomping at the bit to put your overzealous fathers in their place."
Felix threw up his hands and backed further away from his father. "Never used those words."
Odi wracked his brains, trying to remember whether he had or not.
Irina was far from finished. "I didn't even have the right clothes to come until Odi stole me a set."
Odi heard Caius mumble something about him being a dickhead, and that his mother would have his guts for garters for stealing from her stores. He couldn't deny either fact.
"And Kate!" Irina scoffed. "She kept going on about making you and Carmen proud of us."
Kate might have complained about her sister throwing her in front of the cart had she not been so used to it. As it was, her sobs prevented her from speaking at all.
"Demetri was all, 'we don't have anything better to do', and 'theres no reason not to go', and Felix agreed with him." Irina waited for anyone to deny it.
"No reason?" Aro asked his sons.
Demetri wasn't in a fit state to reply, drugged and drowsy with Caius trying to wash and stitch his wounds, but he expected a response from the older boy.
"I don't remember him saying that, Dad."
"Corin said she had a shit shift at the back of the castle," Irina explained, smiling cruelly at the guard. "It was her idea for us to use the back gate to break out of the castle."
"You bitch!"
Odi whispered for her to be careful and held her down at his side. It may not have been fair, but Irina, as a royal brat, had far more protection that Corin did as a guard and he didn't want to see her lose her head.
"Felix broke the bars on the gate…"
Irina found she was fast running out of damning statements. Some might say she'd said enough, but she found such glee in landing the other outcasts in trouble: she had no desire for it to end. Oh! She remembered one last thing.
"Alec was desperate to come and Felix let him!"
"What?!" Felix looked frantically between his father and Irina, throwing the latter daggers and the former pleading eyes.
Aro had heard all he was willing to hear. "ENOUGH!"
For what felt like the longest time, no one spoke a word. The only sound in the caves came from Kate, who continued to softly sob.
After he'd taken in all they'd had to say, Aro ground out through gritted teeth, "This must be the most idiotic thing any of you have ever done."
Eleazar could see his brother would have good reason for laying much blame at Irina's feet, but his comment seemed to apply to any of them, which came as a relief.
Aro continued, "Its certainly the worst, I know that much."
"Oh, come on, Dad," Felix said, nervous giggle returned. "This isn't even in the top ten."
Odi found the young bruin funny even if no one else did.
Bad move, Odi.
"And what about you?!" Aro flashed to the guard masters' son. "You're twenty years old. Old enough to know better. You led a load of kids across the country to feed them to fucking werewolves?!" Roughly ragging Odi up by his sore shoulder, he jabbed an angry finger into the boy's forehead. "What were you thinking, Odi?! I'm not being rhetorical; you can join in!"
"I don't have anything to say, sir."
"Is that it?!"
"I wasn't given this life to waste it."
What a stupid thing to say! Caius looked over his shoulder to Eleazar, hoping the man would rein in his brother, but he was far too preoccupied with his own charges.
Aro felt his hands clench at his sides. "If you're going to be so careless with it, I can remove the burden."
Odi sniffed. He was scared and Aro knew it. Everyone knew it. He still had his balls for the moment, though. "You're not my Dad, my lord."
Aro agreed. "But I am your king, and I am blaming you for all of this."
No one noticed, but Caius doubled his stitching speed, ready to intervene. Fucking Eleazar, he thought, rushing his work. Fucking Aro. Fucking, fucking Odi.
"This…" Odi stuttered to speak. "This isn't my fault."
"I didn't say it was your fault, I said I am blaming you."
"That's not fair," Odi replied. He shook his head and concentrated on the floor. "It's not fair."
"Tell it to the judge," Aro sang out. "Oh, that would be me."
"Wait until we're back at the coven, brother."
Eleazar had finally spoken up, but he was so damn laid back! Caius cursed the man's perpetual passivity, and not for the first time. He tied off the last stitch in Demetri's side and dropped the remaining silk thread in his leather pouch, just in time to hear Aro say:
"I think I'd rather not take this one back to my coven at all."
"It is not your coven alone, Aro."
Hearing Caius' proclamation, Aro spun around so fast that he knocked Odi to the ground in the process.
"It's mine, too," Caius continued, moving slowly towards his co-master with purpose. "It is mine, it is Marcus', it is his parent's," he said, pointing to the kid at Aro's feet.
"I don't care."
Caius knew that wasn't true. Aro cared - he cared about everything. It was why the two of them made a good team. Aro cared about everything and Caius, nothing. That wasn't quite true either, as Caius certainly did care about Odi… something he had been refusing to admit for a good many months.
"I know you're angry…"
"Angry?!" Aro ground out. "Fucking angry?!
The venom he spat as he spoke landed on Caius' mission tunic. Caius flicked it away without taking his eyes off Aro.
The coven king was fond of issuing grand, meaningless threats, and Caius believed Odi was therefore safe. That didn't help Caius, though! It made even less sense to him that he would stand up for the kid when he knew Odi wasn't even in mortal danger.
There was something… something from within. The vampiric being, perhaps? That oh so emotional, jealous, and possessive beast within. It couldn't stand by and watch Aro play with Odi. He'd felt the same four days before when Basileus had tried joking with the kid after the disastrous card game. He wasn't joking, Caius reminded himself. It's how the creator plays, it's how he reels people in, and then he turns tables and fucks them over. Aro was prone to the same behaviour.
"Are you defending him?!"
Aro's stance changed a little; a slight crouch, one eye on Caius, one on Odi. Aro isn't playing, Caius quickly ascertained. Caius hadn't realised it with being so deep in thought, but Aro was mimicking his own stance! Caius couldn't recall the last time they had gone against each other- I was drunk, no doubt -but he was ready.
"If I have to," Caius replied, following with orders to Odi to 'stay down' and 'shut up'.
"Him?! Why?!" The sheer shock brought Aro to laughter, though there was little humour to be found. "You've not had a good word to say about that kid in months. In fucking years. Actually, ever!"
"I can say what I like about him, thanks."
And Caius proved that very fact by telling Odi to drag his ass behind him or he would kill the kid himself!
When Odi froze on Aro's order, Caius simply reached down and dragged the kid across the ground, flinging him somewhere behind. Had he been more aware, he might have realised he'd sent Odi careering into the cave wall. As it was, his concentration stayed fixed on his co-master.
"Caius, I order you to move."
"And I order you to fuck off," Caius laughed. "You'll have to go through me to get to him-" damn, he looks like he might try it! "-You know you can't take me, Aro."
Somewhere in the back of his mind, Aro knew that. But his emotional state was heightened, and he was ready to try. The panic of finding his children missing, the exhilaration of the fight, the utter fury over the outcast mission and their bullshit excuses… he needed to hit something. It might as well be Caius, he thought, settling on going through with a likely kicking from his co-master.
"I'll give it a good go, brother."
Outside the cave, just at the mouth, Basileus and Magnus had hung onto every word. Magnus had been close to breaking their cover, wishing to save Odi from Aro, but Basileus assured him Caius would do it. The juggernaut thought such hope to be folly, but he had stayed put. He told himself it was because he couldn't go against the creator, but deep down he knew it was because he wanted to believe Caius would stand up for Odi in his hour of need.
"Is this really happening?" Magnus whispered to his old friend. "Can you hear this?"
Oh, Basileus could hear! He was pleased for Magnus, but he knew Aro and Caius would be tearing a strip off each other if they didn't intervene soon.
"We had better get back in there," he said, soon pulling Magnus back again. "You look too happy, get your game face on," he chuckled, tutting at the man. By the time they had made it into the cave, Basileus, too, wore his 'game face' and bellowed, "What are you pair playing at?!"
The creator was so loud that even Magnus ducked for cover!
Caius was happy to quit his match with Aro, the latter was less satisfied.
Basileus made short work of deciding matters for his son. Plucking Aro from the spot, he shoved the coven king in Alec's direction.
"There's some fresh blood outside. Horses," he said. "See to it he only feeds from one. We'll need the others for the carts."
Felix and Odi caught each other's eye and simultaneously groaned. Travelling by hose and cart! Is there anything more demeaning for a vampire than having to travel at such speeds? Pathetic!
"You can pull the carts if you'd prefer, young ones," Magnus suggested, having felt the shift in their moods.
If he hadn't been so tired, Felix might have taken the guard master up on his offer. Still, he knew better than to argue the toss.
Aro knew better, too, now Basileus was around. He scooped up his child and did as he'd been bid, growling at Odi and Caius as he passed.
Once he was out of the way, Basileus turned on Eleazar. Like Magnus, Basileus was glad Caius had stand up for Odi, but conversely, he found himself displeased with his own son.
"You didn't fancy stepping in then?" he asked the eldest prince. "You were fine with seeing Odi take the blame for all of this?"
Better Odi than Irina.
He hadn't spoken his words aloud, but Eleazar knew his father 'heard' them.
"That's not how this works, El."
"Is there a precedent for this?" Eleazar asked the man, knowing full well they had never had a rogue, werewolf hunting mission led by a bunch of coven kids before.
"Just get out there," Basileus snapped back.
Basileus and Magnus kept them all busy. Between loading up a couple of wagons with dead wolves and a third with tired, young vampires, there was a lot to do.
Magnus had found them three sturdy carts from the closest farm. He'd had to kill a young farm hand in the barn to take them, though. To ease his conscience, because the hand was very young, he left a pouch of coin on his dead chest. It wouldn't do the boy any good, of course, but he hoped it might at least ease the family's financial loses.
Basileus had come across Magnus at the farm and helped with acquiring the horses, which is where Alec's feed came from. The other young outcasts were gagging for some blood after all their efforts that night, but they were promptly told to think again. Basileus did end up feeding them his own blood though… mostly to shut them up.
"There's one missing," he said, having counted out the feeds.
"That's all of them," Magnus replied. Magnus helped a drowsy Felix lay out more comfortably in the cart and gave him his baby brother for safe keeping. "Your faculties must be slipping, my friend."
Basileus screwed up his face and gave the juggernaut a mighty thump, giving him a dead arm to contend with. "I can count. There's one missing."
Magnus realised why the creator was missing a feed - Corin. He called the girl over, picked her up like a mere babe and plonked her in the back of the cart near Odi. Basileus soon moved into position and sunk his teeth into his wrist to reopen his wounds.
"No, my lord!" Corin gasped. "You cannot feed me!"
"Oh, can I not?" Basileus asked, cocking his head to the side. "And that is because you command me not to, right?"
"I, I, I…" Corin stuttered to a stop when nothing else would come.
Magnus stepped in before the poor girl fainted. "He's being a cruel old bugger and he's playing with you, my dear," he said, smiling at the child. "Take his blood and sleep."
"I know you're a guard," Basileus remarked, bringing his wrist to her lips. "But you are my grandson's girl, and that marks you out as a little more than just a staff member in my eyes."
She would have liked to answer, to thank him, something. Before she could, however, she was fast asleep, like her friends… and Irina (who was no longer a friend).
Basileus looked across the landscape. They were in the depths of winter, but the first signs of sunrise were beginning to break through. He glanced in Aro's direction: the man dragged dead wolves back and forth leaving nothing for Eleazar or Caius to do. He's still agitated, Basileus thought, hearing how Aro slammed a body into the cart.
"Be careful!" he warned. "If you break that wagon, you'll be dragging the whole thing home."
Aro grunted something nondescript and carried on regardless.
Basileus shook his head. He still needs time to calm down, he told himself. "Right, Caius. Give me your needle and thread. Let's deal with your war wounds."
"There's no need to trouble yourself, my lord."
"You know he isn't making a request," Eleazar said, chuckling at Caius' side.
"If you walk into the coven with a gash across your face, the guards will never let you live it down." Boom! Magnus had just hit the sweet spot - Caius' pride. "Afton and Alex will remind you at every training session forevermore."
Damn it! Caius complained about what a crock of shit it all was as he handed over his rather crude tools to the creator. Had he even had the slightest of inklings that he would take a wolf to the cheek, he would have brought his very best equipment. He would have liked a far finer needle and thinner silk thread for his face.
"I won't ruin your chance with the ladies, Caius," Basileus assured him, though the maniacal grin was rather disconcerting.
It hardly took any time at all for the creator to reopen Caius' ragged wounds, which he then stitched neatly back together. The way young coven master carried on, one could be forgiven for thinking they had sat there for a century. Even whilst Basileus fed him his magical blood for immediate healing, Caius still grumbled that he didn't need tending like a child.
"How do you cope with his whining?" Basileus asked Magnus rather loudly, his sole intent being shutting Caius up.
It worked. Caius didn't say, or whine, another thing. He even kept his trap shut when Basileus instructed him to lose his shirt so he could clean up his shoulder, too.
As if by design, Aro had calmed significantly by the time Basileus had finished. He returned to the group with hint of shame in his eyes. He was glad Magnus had taken charge of rigging the horses, though he couldn't face his father just yet either, so Aro went to his brother instead.
"Thanks for helping, you lazy bastard. Those bloody beasts reek." He looked down at his muddied, bloodied clothes. "I reek!"
Eleazar agreed and shoved the guy back a step.
Magnus came up behind the coven king and slapped a hand down on his shoulder, just ever so slightly too hard. "Good luck on the journey home, fellas," he said, making sure to catch Aro's eye.
It was a look that said, 'I don't like what you did so don't do it again', which Aro decided was reserved under the circumstances - if someone had tried to land all blame at his sons' feet, he wouldn't have been so good about it. He hadn't meant to blame Odi, really. Issuing blame gave him the illusion of control over a situation that had scared him, so that's why he did it.
Yet…
Reasonable or not, Aro wasn't going to let Magnus get the upper hand. Not in front of Caius. Not when he'd been taking the absolute piss out of Caius for the same thing. Aro was already sure he'd caught Caius smirking at him.
"We'll take the kids."
Eleazar readily agreed, too.
"What would be the point in that?" Magnus asked, unmoving. "The young ones need to sleep and I'm the only one who can keep them sleeping."
"I'll go with Magnus," Caius offered.
"Me, too!" Eleazar said.
Like a bunch of kids! Basileus shook his head. "I'm with Magnus," he told them, no nonsense. "Aro, Eleazar, you're taking the wolves, Caius, run ahead and let their mothers know their children are alive and well."
"Happily, my lord," Caius replied as he swung on his battle worn cape. Grinning from ear to ear, he turned to Aro and said, "Sucks to be you."
"Prick." Before the man could leave, Aro called him back, wanting to clear the air. "Caius!" he said. "We're good, right?"
Caius bobbed his head. "I didn't want to see you doing something you'd regret, brother. That's all."
Aro thanked him and climbed aboard the closest wolf wagon, gagging, as Eleazar did the same with the second.
"Is that all?" Magnus asked Caius. "Sticking up for Odi. It was just about stopping Aro from doing something he'd regret?"
As if I would let Aro get his hands on Odi when he's raging? I haven't stopped myself from doing that only to hand the kid over to Aro! I wouldn't have come all this way if I didn't care about him. Like I'd have taken your fist to my face for nothing?
That was a lot to say, though, so Caius chose not to say it. Instead, he simply smiled and asked, "What else would there be?"
They seemingly blinked and Caius was on the horizon. It was then that Basileus had a thought. "Where is that bottle of dungeon blood?"
AN: I'll aim for the next chapter by the end of January, so I'm wishing you all a very merry holiday season however you're celebrating. Here's hoping to us all having a brighter time in 2021!