Book 5

Siha: Rise of Rakhana

Part III

"Silver and Fire"

Braith wakes up on her side. Tetonbaum sits awake in the shaft with her next to him…He has a troubled or perhaps an alert expression about himself.

They look at each other simultaneously. "Braith," he leans over her, propping himself on his arm by her shoulder, his palm spread on the metal beneath her, "…how are you feeling?" he asks, with genuine concern at that.

"Sore," she stretches, and touches her neck, her shoulder, her lower half not worth mentioning…Tetonbaum examines the bruising to her skin, the injury from landing on his hilt in her shoulder, and remembers the discomfort she felt when he entered her…

"You look as well as can be," he smiles briefly, the sapphires thoughtful as he considers, "…How is my venom."

"Fine, Tetonbaum," her voice—tired, soft, intimate—and annoyed, "…Venom doesn't get too me as much now I'm with Ylyssus and Casnar…You know that..." she says begrudgingly.

Tetonbaum's lips make a line of bitterness, and he looks down, "…No, of course it doesn't…" He looks at her a moment longer before he starts to rise. Braith watches him stand. His robes collect well to his frame.

He holds out his hand.

Braith takes it in her own, understanding the offer, and he pulls her up to him. Standing face to face they connect eyes only briefly. Braith looks away first, Tetonbaum regarding her…There is no obvious affection, though he kisses the side of her head after some reluctance.

"What was that for," she asks coolly, "…You needn't even bother."

"I don't want it to feel like rape," he tells her. "It wasn't."

"No," she snaps back, "…It only feels as bad."

Tetonbaum sighs, and looks over her head at the pipe of darkness. "It will work," he says softly if a bit firm with her about it…His eyes drop to hers again, "…Trust me."

"If I didn't, we would have never done that."

She appears hesitant and uncertain.

Tetonbaum stands with her awhile, inhaling her new aroma, the black hair, the sight of those freckles, and the worried gray irises.

He nudges her to follow after him.

They walk together down a tube, no certain direction other than the way in which Braith leads, a mother in search of her children who could be far from here by now.

He keeps slightly by the rear of her left shoulder, a dark-clothed th'ane with a hulk about him, and a brightly tinted face, the sapphires ever alert. Braith stops at a junction of tubes, and looks right and left, "…Where are you guys?…"

Tetonbaum stops behind her. "Where exactly are you going?" he asks, his voice in her ear and low, "…And how are you finding your way."

Braith looks up at him on her right, "…I can feel them…I…I see some of what they see."

"Both twins?"

She nods. Tetonbaum ducks his head closer to hers, "…Will you be able to feel mine?"

"Yes," Braith looks away and back, "…Yes. I think so."

He tilts his head in thought as she turns, and begins walking left. Braith can feel him behind her, their powers less agitated about each other, and mated.

Casnar hears the footfalls, and quickly lines himself against the wall.

He looks left and waves for someone to stay down, while he presses himself tighter against the metal material and knobs.

Narrowing his eyes, he braces himself to surprise the encroaching owner of these intensifying footsteps that draw closer.

Tetonbaum draws Braith away from the next turn in the maze they are in, "…Wait behind me," he whispers, before he leaves her to head towards the turn ahead, and quickly reaches round the corner, surprising Casnar with a well-placed buff to his face.

Casnar spits and chuffs, "…Tetonbaum!—Where's Braith," as he can smell her to some degree on the hand that planted on his face.

Tetonbaum chuckles as Ylyssus, Feron with the twins and Casnar stare surprised, what with Braith come running round the corner, smack into their sights. Tetonbaum deftly steps back as Casnar grabs for him, "…I can't believe it—" Braith pushes into Casnar, separating him from the high th'ane.

He looks at her shoulder, looks at Tetonbaum, checks another thing or two about his wife before he passes her behind him to Ylyssus.

Ylyssus inspects her back, and looks at her face before she can turn towards Feron, and reach for the twins—who cry out at her return.

Casnar snarls at Tetonbaum, "…What's the story with you? First you try and kill her, now you're walking her, and she's injured!"

Tetonbaum withholds the fact she will be pregnant, too, with his child. They may not even realize it is not his, but think the child belongs to either of them, Casnar or Ylyssus. The child's looks will have to tell the secret.

Braith turns to Feron from the twins' small caresses of her hands, "…You survived."

"So did you. How'd you find us?"

"Through these guys," Braith caresses Jenner and Jaspin's crests, "…I had to concentrate but they led me to you. No other run-ins with the other th'anes?" she asks.

"None that we've bumped into—aside from him," Feron looks nervously at Tetonbaum.

Braith turns again to Tetonbaum, "…He's on our side."

"How do you guarantee that?" Casnar asks her, and looks suspiciously at his half-brother.

"He's got too much to lose," Braith replies, "…but come on, let's get out of this place."

Casnar agrees, scenting her hair in front of Tetonbaum and finding comfort in her presence with him again. They walk out from their junction of tunnels into another open corridor, and Braith sends about with her power, this time feeling Tetonbaum's power do the same but in harmony with hers.

She looks back behind her shoulder at him as the twins walk holding her hands, and Tetonbaum's sapphires jump from watching Jaspin swing her arm to her eyes…

He smiles, very briefly, but it's there.

Braith thinks about it, …Could all Tetonbaum have wanted like so primitive a thought was to have progeny…As much as the morthwyl wished to continue their existence through me…She glances at him again, uncertain, and Ylyssus catches Jenner as he trips and carries the child to his shoulder to look back at Tetonbaum as well with his dark gray eyes.

Tetonbaum's gaze delivers itself to the drell child and something tells him by the look in that miniature little expression, that Jenner knows, and if he knows, then so, too, does Jaspin.

They rest for a while in what appears to be a spiraling chamber full of columns and stairs that climb up these, strange symbols and relics in the walls by their designs.

Braith has a moment to relax some and rests as Jaspin and Jenner step over her legs and cuddle up to her.

Jenner put his hands on her belly and looks pointedly at his mother's resting eyes, her lashes down and layered.

He chirrups and lays down, resting his chest and belly against hers, turning his chin to look up at her with ponderous eyes while she slips into another stupor.

Tetonbaum feels her power purring…He looks over at her from where he stands in the wider space of those chambers, seeing her with the little ones and for some reason it warms him…

He loves Kasumi, would do terrible things for her, but something exciting is yet to come from Braith and her power…He can almost see the monster that is in her curling up, relaxing as her body formulates a small future in her womb.

Tetonbaum starts to walk over to her, his own power pacing and calling for hers like an expectant father.

Casnar and Ylyssus come into view from their separate inspections while Feron tries to sort out some application on his omni-tool and stands guard over Braith and the twins.

Casnar's emerald eyes fix on Tetonbaum, and never was there such distrust in them—towards him—than exists now…Ylyssus is better at hiding it, and goes over to fret over their wife.

Casnar approaches him and jabs a finger at him, "…When your friends show up, whose side will you choose, Tetonbaum? Will you take her to them and the twins?"

"No," Tetonbaum says politely back, "…I will protect her…I have decided to choose a side, my dear brother."

"Keep away from her, and the twins…I don't trust you so far as I can throw you, and even that requires a significant investment on my part not just to try and cut you."

Tetonbaum smiles placatingly, "…We are blood-kin, Brother…What else could bond us closer."