Waning Crescent
Reyson stayed absolutely glum until Goldoa's Let Go. His despondency brought down the whole gang. While most of the sadness was because of his situation, the other cause was Tibarn's strict order to not allow Reyson to leave the apartment, even with him. The clothes he needed were sent to the penthouse after the tailor measured him in person. There were shoes ordered and accessories bought without his recognition. But he didn't care much.
The day of the sub-human release had come- at noon, at various points around Tellius, laguz will be set free to do whatever they pleased, unless, of course, they get caught by slave owners. Laguz, especially Gapped laguz, weren't protected by any laws. They were pets unless set free, or having never gotten caught. With money they could leave the area to somewhere less hostile or more welcoming. But the chances of survival were still small. Many wouldn't hire sub-humans for work or let them in their schools.
Today was also Ashera's birthday party, hosted by Gallia at Tellius Hall. It's been a tradition for a local gang, a sort of temporary peace treaty, to host the mayor's birthday.
"I have to come with you," Reyson told Tibarn. There were still nineteen minutes left of morning and the Hawk boss was getting dressed for the Let Go.
"Why, Reyson?" Tibarn had a feeling he would have added weight today, and nothing easy to work off.
"You can't keep me here forever."
"Actually, if I'm very careful, I can."
"Please, Tibarn." Reyson, a little desperate, clung boldly to Tibarn's belt loops, stilling all the Hawk's movements though he was amidst putting a shirt on his head.
Tibarn sighed, setting his top straight and trying not to breathe in the freshness of Reyson. "You're not exactly companion material right now. You have a... depressed air about you, and my men can't have that today. I was thinking you needed time-"
"I've had enough time," Reyson interjected, bringing up his fist for emphasis.
"Enough time?" Thinking for a bit, Tibarn smiled. "Give me a kiss," he commanded.
"What?"
"A kiss? You wouldn't believe how much I have to control myself around that wonderful, though dejected, body of yours." Tibarn let his eyes travel freely down said body.
Blushing, Reyson hissed, "You're a menace!"
"And if you want to go to the party, I'll have to fuck you."
"You're completely insane!"
"Do I have to remind you that you are on indefinite suspension? Anyway, I know you desire it."
"Now with you!"
"Actually, yes, with me, more or less," Tibarn teased, making Reyson scoff in annoyance.
Actually, Reyson was ready to make peace with the new Tibarn, whose eager nature began to wear on him, in a good way. The heron had witnessed the way he led a meeting of men and laguz as easily as he would command the old hawks through battle. He took off his new-age weapons in the same, sloppy fashion as his ancient ones, throwing them all in a pile. He kicked off his shoes the same, haphazardly, and he would fall asleep curled around him. His ready penis would poke Reyson in the back. Reyson wasn't sure if the old Tibarn shared that trait, but he was beginning to think that the old Tibarn mattered no longer.
He was beginning to think about a happier life with the mob boss Tibarn, to hold him, kiss him, to have his member all the way inside him. To be loved by and love Tibarn in return.
"W-When?"
Tibarn blinked in surprise. "Tonight, Reyson. Slow, steady, relaxing," he elaborated. He was serious at the moment, anticipating. Gods, how he wanted him.
But a reply was a short time in coming. Reyson kissed him instead, abruptly pressing their lips together and forcing Tibarn's mouth open with his own. With all his eagerness, he quickly lost energy, falling hard into the beauty of the kiss. Reyson thought, when he used his own passion, their moments together seemed twice as sensual.
When they pulled their mouths away, they realized they had intertwined their arms and held tightly to one another. They were both exceedingly aroused, but Tibarn had had enough practice to turn away early.
"Get dressed, Reyson," Tibarn ordered and then left his room.
There was five more minutes until noon when the Phoenicies gang rolled out in Jeeps and pick-up trucks and curiously acquired buses. Stores and businesses were closed, for the Let Go or Ashera's birthday, no one knew for sure, but it made Tellius seem like a ghost town that midday.
Apparently they were going to cover a large radius of southwest Tellius. No one was sure how Goldoa was to transport so many of their members all over Tellius. Goldoa were the people to go to if you were a free laguz, and many laguz took advantage of this old fact. There were many sub-humans who were going to return to slavery.
"Why would Dhengisea do something like this?" Janaff murmured, looking far and wide.
"When I am from, he made Goldoa a completely neutral country. No one, beorc or laguz, was allowed to enter Goldoa at all. It kept them from many wars," Reyson recalled, ready to sing, if the need arouse.
"I see he really hasn't changed, then."
At precisely noon, several incantation circles appeared right before their eyes. Enormous dragons stood in the middle of these magic rings, surrounded by weeping laguz. There seemed to be eight to ten to a ring. Phoenicies began recruiting.
Many of the younger laguz had no problem joining the hawks to help them in their (illegal) activities, but hardly any of the older, and the few elderly were unwanted after all.
Goldoa had made no exceptions for the Let go. Those who were extremely sick, Feral, old, or pregnant didn't matter in the grand scheme of things, whatever that was. Fortunately for them, many of the rescue teams had invested a great deal in homes and shops for these people, for a small fee of course, to be paid then or later.
Phoenicies and the more friendly of the gangs traveled further and outward to find the few more ex-Goldoans, giving them their offers. Most accepted, and some that refused somehow had money and promised to make it on their own, despite their blood.
This wasn't as hectic as everyone had believed it was going to be, and it helped that the laguz gangs were faster than Daein and Begnion. Those two used their laguz pets but not as extensively as their footmen, making them slower than the laguz gangs.
They were done in little less than three hours with plenty of time left for the eight o' clock birthday pary. This was time which Phoenicies used to get Reyson and the new recruits ready for the huge ball, buying masks and outrageous costumes. Reyson had a new leash covered in ribbons while he wore a bird costume, whose wings he added himself. Made of only silk and feathers covering the most important parts of his body, he looked almost like his heron self. Tibarn wore a matching outfit, except with a lot more coverage and brown feathers.
"You guys look great together," Janaff jeered, as they went on their way to Tellius Hall. He was dressed as some sort of assassin, wearing all brown.
"Why must this suit show my nipples?" Reyson complained.
"I like that it shows your nipples," Tibarn said naughtily.
"Of course you do."
Reyson was feeling apprehensive. He was told that this party would only last a few hours, but time was short when you were having fun, and the sooner it ended, the sooner he and Tibarn would have to lie in the same bed, get naked, caress each other...
Reyson shook his long blonde hair worriedly. He thought to himself that he'll cross that bridge when he came to it, though how soon it would be made him nervous.
When they arrived, Tibarn pulled on Reyson's leash and led him along the stairs to the high open doors of Tellius Hall. There were plenty of people who joined them, dressed to impress, scare, or just plain weird people out. Reyson bumped into Tibarn's arm trying to escape this one Pet dressed in cloth straps hanging to his skin from piercings. Tibarn held his shoulders close.
Inside the building they met up with Nailah, Volug and Rafiel, who looked most apologetic. When Reyson looked around to avoid his eyes, he caught sight of Leanne, mostly naked except for piercings and a little loincloth that left little and a little less to the imagination. Reyson went back to Rafiel's sad eyes. His costume was made entirely of different white flowers and cotton, while Volug wore the less flashy attire of all leather, shaking as he stood as he was still in heat.
Nailah wore leather as well, except her leather, as well as the eyepatch, was all red. She shook Tibarn's hand, smiling at Reyson.
"You let the little runaway out, have you? He would have stayed inside until his skin was pure white from lack of sun." Her smile was ferocious.
"Well, if you could see his face everyday, it would have been hard to hold him back."
"You're just soft."
"Perhaps."
"Well, I guess we should mingle."
Mingling took them the first fifteen minutes of the party. Then Ashera arrived, and much cheer went throughout the ballroom. It shocked Reyson when he saw her shaking hands with everyone, someone who was a goddess in his world, who could have destroyed it entirely if she hadn't been stopped. Now, here, she was just a mayor. A mayor who had heavy, important hand in the affairs of Tellius, but still, she was only a small part of the world.
Telling this to Tibarn made the Hawk laugh. "She's like a goddess around here," he said. "Don't ever want to mess with her. She has-" He wiggled his hand in the air. "-this way of making the police really strong."
Reyson thought that maybe she blesses them, but he wasn't sure. If Tibarn and the others could retain their form, why not Ashera?
He managed to shake hands with her, as if it didn't matter to her if he was some guy's slave, but got no more than that. She went to more important people and talked with them. Reyson idly wondered how she would react if he told her his story. He decided that perhaps he wouldn't like the outcome of that conversation.
After the singing and a tiny bite of cake Reyson didn't like, the heron decided to wait the rest of the party out. He saw Skrimir, ever the blunderbuss, pursuing a reluctant Soren relentlessly. Soren wore a wizard's hat and robe and had painted his face green. Skrimir looked like an animal from ancient, ancient times. He wore nothing but furs and skins of some poor animal prey. Evidently, he wanted a nice Soren robe to complete his costume.
Some time passed before Reyson needed to use the restroom.
Tibarn had made the awful mistake of putting down his leash, and so Reyson, not at all realizing what sort of danger he could get into, went by himself. More unfortunately, there were people waiting for just this kind of mistake, people working for Ashnard who had just made a deal with a certain rotund Begnion officer...
Reyson finished his business in the restroom, and just when Tibarn was looking around fretfully to see where he went, everything went to darkness around him. Just before the last lights of the bathroom went out, he thought that this was how it was to be put to Sleep.
He awoke to the sounds of arguing voices.
"We're not...people...kidnap!"
"...good of...gang!"
"How?"
He knew those voices!
Reyson opened his eyes; the blurry sight of Micaiah and Sothe was before him. He was in a bare room; he could feel that he was still in his costume, as were they, matching black leather outfits. Sothe wore a mask over his mouth.
They continued arguing as he slowly regained consciousness. Reyson discerned that Sothe did not agree to the kidnapping, while Micaiah, for some unfathomable reason, did.
"He'll be fine, Sothe," Micaiah told him softly.
"How do you know that?"
"Because I do."
"Fine. I will trust your judgment on this."
"Thank you." Micaiah turned to Reyson. "Oh! You're awake! Are you hungry? I saw you didn't eat much."
"Why are you doing this Micaiah? Sothe?"
Their shocked faces almost made him a laugh.
Sothe stood in front of Micaiah protectively, swiftly pulling a knife to his palm. "How do you know our names?"
"I come from a different time period where you exist," Reyson told him honestly, knowing that the explanation might be futile because it sounded so insane. At the moment, Reyson suddenly missed his old bucolic life, but he shook the thought away quickly. This could have happened back then as well, couldn't it?
"He's telling the truth," Micaiah said softly.
"He is?"
"He is."
Edward poked his brown head in and yelled, "Dinner's ready!" He looked guiltily at the heron and asked the same question the silver-haired maiden did: "You hungry?"
Reyson realized that he was indeed hungry, and so followed the trio, in chains. While walking through a short hallway, he asked, "What do you intend to do with me?"
"Oliver of Begnion will come and collect you."
"What? Why on earth would you let him do that? I belong to Tibarn!" He hated to say that, but it was the truth. It just under a half-hour before he was capture, he was to truly belong to that Tibarn.
"It's under our leader's orders."
"Ashnard," Reyson hissed.
Sothe looked at him. "Yes."
And here Reyson thought about Micaiah's words and believed, There's no way I will be fine!