Black Roses 29

De came to consciousness gradually, into darkened warmth and a faintly spicy aroma that his inner senses identified as---safety? That was foolish, even in his drowsy state he realized that. No such thing existed in this or any other world---but so nice, to pretend for a few moments.

The peace he felt for no reason wasn't silent, however. A deep, slightly raspy noise rumbled through his body. He wouldn't have identified the low drone as a pleasant sound by itself---and yet it comforted him strangely.

Only half awake, he stretched enough to become aware that he was nuzzled into Rhion's chest like a pup snuggling its mother. The ornate coverings and silken sheets of the demon bed they shared were tangled and twisted about them, leaving more flesh bare than covered. Things had turned lively at the end, enough to where they both collapsed!

He did have a vague memory of Rhion getting up for a few minutes, ignoring De's grumbling to putter around in the side room for some reason. But before he could get curious---or lonely---enough to drag his sated body outta bed to scold Rhion back *into* bed, the human had returned, yawning prodigiously. He just grinned at De's slightly barbed questions, wrapped one arm around the boy, and fell asleep like a contented rock. The comfort of Rhion's body near him again had tumbled De into slumber as well, with only a couple of token curses at the unconscious human. No point in arguing when the only response likely was this unmelodious buzz!

Now, he inhaled the scent of his lover's body and smiled wickedly into the warm, muscular flesh as he verified the "comforting" sound. Half the wing of the palace must be feeling comforted, given the volume of the human's satisfied snoring!

It was so strange, how even unconscious Rhion could make him smile. Not something he could ever have predicted---but now, it was a fact to be dealt with, this feeling.

So much for a bit of harmless fun, sex with an attractive human and no strings attached! Who could have thought a Carlonday could be so---dangerous?

He'd never seen anything as sexy in his life as Rhion's calm acceptance of the act! Even now it had the power to stir him, and he shivered closer to Rhion's warmth, half-aroused but not really wanting to wake the man until he'd thought things through.

Usually, Rhion was up long before he was and insufferably cheerful about it! The blond must have enjoyed himself hugely to still be abed, De pondered, fighting back another smile at the thought . In fact he was grinning like an idiot, damn Rhion! He'd best get up and shower; with luck he could be dressed and smirking at the blinking human, get one over on him in a small way.

Rhion stirred a little and mumbled as De carefully wriggled from under his arm. The boy took his time, though, pausing and watching until the blond man grumbled and settled back into a doze that if less noisy was just as profound. "Some guard," De murmured, amused. But he knew on some level that if real danger had threatened Rhion would have been up in an instant, probably pulling a sword from his ass given his annoying way of being ready for anything!

When he finally planted his feet on the floor some minutes had passed, it had taken a while to extract himself from Rhion's embrace. Proving that the human was indeed a large cuddly bear who didn't like giving up his companion's warmth.

The fact that De liked being wrapped up in someone else's arms surprised him a little. He'd never enjoyed snuggling before, but Rhion made everything different.

And *that* was definitely too much to think about! Sometimes it was better to just take things as they were rather than poking at them with the proverbial stick.

Looking around at the room he realized they'd been quite---enthusiastic in their erotic endeavors. The place was a wreck! Clothes were strung everywhere! Rhion's half unpacked bag was lying in a messy heap on the floor. Wine glasses and a couple of small blades littered the nightstand. There was blood on the sheets, not too much but enough to be noticeable and some buttons were scattered aimlessly about the floor.

Where had the buttons come from? De didn't own anything with buttons, and nothing he'd helped Rhion take off the night before had been buttoned up---no, his clothes were laced and De liked them that way.

Looking at the small objects he realized they'd probably come from Rhion's bag. Did the man carry a sewing kit with him as well? He frowned a bit, and it immediately turned into a huge face splitting smile. Rhion was nothing if not surprising---but if he suddenly started playing tailor on top of everything else De was just going to have to point out how un-manly that was!

Not that he cared, but maybe Rhion would get ruffled up enough to make things interesting. Since the man had survived flirting from a tailor and cooked up a storm without a shred of embarrassment, the tease would have to be pretty clever to bother him! Rhion was as secure in his masculinity as anyone De had ever known. Still, it was a pleasant challenge to mull over as he found a clean pair of pants and slipped into them.

He couldn't cook the man breakfast, because he had no such skill, but he could certainly bring him something from the kitchen. Within a few minutes, he'd managed to gather up the dirty dishes, piled the clothes in the spot allotted for soiled laundry according to the demon scrawl and put together a tray of what he thought of as breakfast items.

There were breads, jams and fresh butter on one side of the tray; an assortment of sliced fruits and cheese lined the other. He also brought a bottle of chilled berry wine and a pitcher of juice he'd found in the icebox. He knew Rhion drank but he wasn't sure if he preferred the substance with his breakfast or not. De knew many a man who drank from the moment they rose from their bed to the moment they laid down to sleep, though that didn't seem like Rhion---not that he knew his friend all that well.

De was normally a fine judge of character. He could tally up the true nature of any man given a day or two in his company, but Rhion---Rhion was proving to be far more difficult to figure out. Every time De thought he had the older boy nailed down his perception of the man shifted and De found himself starting his assessment over again.

The total just wasn't there! It was like he'd finally found someone who was truly more than the sum of what he appeared to be. He was either one of the grand mysteries---or more cunning than De was willing to give him credit for.

Rhion's motivations were unclear. He seemed to have no desire for power, for advancement---now De might have blamed that on his white council background if it wasn't for the fact that he knew their leaders were just as power hunger as those in the dark houses. He'd played the game with many a Whimsica member---hell he'd even known they were going to try and kill him.

He'd smiled when the Whimsica's representative shook his hand all those months ago---knowing full well the man had crowned him monster and was ready to go back to his people with a death sentence in hand. De had welcomed it---even asked for it. He'd read the man instantly, took stock of him and played on every fear he'd found in him.

He'd been ready to die. Suicidal? No, not exactly. De had no desire to kill himself---no that wasn't true---he didn't have the ability. Some part of him simply refused to make the choice to die. If someone else could manage, then more power to him or her, but De wouldn't lay a blade to his own flesh.

What had angered him most was that Whimsica had failed, that they were too weak to finish what they'd started. He saw that---knew he'd felt it the day he'd laid waste to the Whimsica villages but now it seemed like someone else's thoughts. He remembered what he'd done, remembered the perverse pleasure he'd taken in doing it at the time---and yet it wasn't him. At this moment he would have given them all back their lives.

De's own father had started his day with wine in the morning and ended it with some of the strongest concoctions known to Immortalkind. It was a bad habit De thought, but one he could honestly understand.

De himself had drunk his way into oblivion many a time and at far too young an age---so he knew the type---and he was willing to bet good money that Rhion would choose the juice.

It wasn't much, De thought sternly as he eyed the tray one last time, but it looked impressive enough. It bothered him to some extent that the only skill he'd needed was the ability to use a knife to slice up the items, that at least he was adept in but Rhion was proficient in so much more. A mere few days ago Rhion's skills would have seemed useless but now---now they somehow seemed so much more useful than De's own.

He picked up the serving dish, feeling a little more in charge having done something other than sit around on his ass while Rhion tended to him like some pampered brat.

He very quietly set the tray on the nightstand, had his shower and returned to an obviously still sleeping Rhion---the sight was perfect except for Rhion's mess. Now normally De would have never dared touch another person's things but he was living in these rooms alongside Rhion, he had a right to be comfortable, didn't he? That would be his excuse if Rhion complained, anyway.

De was an extremely tidy person by nature. He didn't like things in disorder, in fact all he'd ever had was order---structure---and that in some ways had been his only sense of security growing up. So naturally he was trying to hold onto that feeling here. The fact that Rhion was a slob he could over look---as long as Rhion could over look De's need to pick up after him.

He very carefully began to tidy up the heap, he'd only meant to gather the contents up and shove them into the nearest closet, but instead he found himself folding the items and tucking them neatly away. It was almost habit to do so, and yet he knew he was probably intruding on Rhion's personal space---felt a little guilty for doing so.

Therefore he stood up, went to lift the bag onto the foot of the bed so he could lace it up properly and jumped when he was met with a wide-eyed Rhion propped up on one elbow watching him. The movement caused one of the tiny things housed in the bag's many compartments to slip from its hiding spot and tumble onto the cold stone floor.

The crystal chimed sweetly as it rolled across the floor. The echo of music followed in its wake as it danced along the dark ebony stone finally coming to rest somewhere in the room's center. And its song spun everything save memories out of the young vampire's thoughts for the moment.

De remembered the sound that the crystals of Leal made when they were dropped, how crisp and clean they sang but for some reason this Crystal's song had brought back other sounds---long forgotten sounds of Damian's past.

Suddenly De could hear the soft wind of the Leal night as it blew across the water causing the waves to softly kiss the rocky La'jerrian shore. He could hear the distant sounds of people laughing, of music and the crackling of the great bonfires that had surrounded his childhood home.

He could even smell it, the cool salt air and the warm ash that drifted in the depths of the night breeze, carried by the flame from the palace to the shore.

He paused to listen, his eyes drawn to the tiny sliver of crystal as though it held some grand secret---and it did, something about its very existence stirred a sacred place deep within Damian's soul.

He knelt down, scooped up the stone and to his amazement the sounds grew louder, clearer and for moment he was standing on the beach---his beach, the place he'd made his sanctuary---the place he'd went when the world was crashing down around him. It was the only place where he could lick his wounds, and allow himself the luxury of tears---or any kind of happiness.

Soft words made him turn, and for a moment he stared at a husky, tow-headed youth, with a fine dusting of freckles across his nose. The boy had a rather ordinary face, even plain if judged by the usual vampire standards, except for the remarkably clear topaz eyes that smiled into De's as if they shared a secret joke.

It was a face he remembered, had often dreamt about but had never really seen through the haze of his memories. He knew this person when he looked upon him and yet the face, however familiar---however profound didn't connect with any memories. He knew the eyes especially, so warm and human and unafraid of things they SHOULD fear.

De watched as the boy and Rhion melted into each other becoming one and the same, and with this change the sea and the hum of Damian's homeland fell away leaving behind a fine edge of pain that started at the base of De's neck and spread upward toward his temples.

It was simply an annoyance at first. Like the beginnings of a half remembered pain---and then Rhion reached out to take the stone from his hand. De stepped back and clutched the gemstone hard enough to split open his palm.

"De?" Rhion's tone tugged at the edges of the young vampire's mind. It was richer now, deeper than it used to be and something about his tenor was more guarded---less open.

It was his fault Rhion was this way! Somehow he'd hurt this boy, delivered him into the bitterness that was De's constant companion but he couldn't remember actually having done it.

He remembered Shining Moon, and for that Rhion owned his life---he'd given it to him---and now he waited for Rhion to take it. The man never did, but one day---when the novelty faded---when sanity won out, then Rhion would take what was granted him and go back to his bright and shining life.

"This is mine. It belongs to me." And it did. It was a matter of fact in De's mind. He wasn't accusing Rhion of being a thief, and the other boy didn't seem to believe that he was.

For a second he remembered the warm spicy taste of Rhion's blood, tender and mortal, from a time before death had claimed him and then sent him back to the living world to begin again.

"There was water---and blood---your blood!" The flashes brought pain with them, sharp and cutting as though a million tiny blades stabbed into his brain from various angles. "I know you!" De couldn't contain his shock or the mounding confusion as his shattered psyche tried to put the pieces back together again.

There should have been memories in all those empty spots, why had he never questioned the void in his childhood before? "I've always known you---you were here!" De touched his chest as he looked up at Rhion. "But I knew you as a child---I tasted you on the beach." De was trembling now, the pain filling up his body like chills.

"Yes---for a little while---I thought we'd go on from there, become close friends---but our families thought it---inappropriate. I'd--assumed--you did, too." Rhion's overly careful phrasing spoke of a certain confusion on his part also, and a bit of lingering anger at being forgotten now faded entirely to worry and concern.

"No!" De could help but snap, almost in a panic. Never for an instant would he have wanted the other boy to think that! "You are my brother, Rhion, more than any who have ever come before you." He'd spoken these words to Rhion before binding himself to the other boy---it had been a desperate attempt to hold onto something precious. "You---you're everything to me." It was too much truth and it hurt to say it.

He'd know it before, as a soft fire in his heart. Rhion he could have let slip a blade into him, feed him poison, wrap fingers around his throat and press---not because of Shining Moon, he realized---but because it was Rhion---the man who was his heart and soul!

"You remember me---only now?" Rhion's question contained a multitude of emotions, but it also held the soft tenor of uncertainty---he didn't understand exactly what was going on but his suspicions were starting to form.

"Blood of my blood, I give you my word that we will be allies in all things---that's what I said to you. I meant it, even though I couldn't remember giving you my oath I knew I had. That's why you're stronger than me, that's why I can't hurt you---I can't believe he fucking did this to me!" De was angry and hurt, to the point that he had to force the words out through gritted teeth.

He abruptly turned away from Rhion, and paced back and forth in frustration before walking back to him and taking his hand with an odd sort of tenderness. He very carefully, with shaking hands, placed the crystal in Rhion's palm as if he were afraid that he might crush the delicate stone if he held onto it for a second longer. The blood from his palm coated the stone adding a kind of ritualistic feeling to the gifting. To a vampire blood was everything; part of every truly profound moment and this was no different.

"You were the one---that summer---the kiss! You were the reason I couldn't bank the hunger." De's whole body was trembling with the force of his emotions as he spoke. "I found you--- the first time I laid eyes on you I knew you were him---you were the one---you were always the one---and then they ripped you out of me." There was anger, perhaps deeper than any anger he'd ever felt welling up in his gut---but there was also pain, and betrayal.

"They ripped into my mind---tore you from my memories---there are laws against doing that to your own kind---laws older than the blood in Lee's veins!" De was so horrified by the realization that he stepped back to try and distance himself from the crime somehow.

"I tried so hard to remember you in the Arena that day." The tears slid down his face, scalding hot against the tender flesh of his cheeks. "I was sick for days after---Shy'nnon eased the pain, blanketed the memories."

He saw the blood splatter against the stone floor before he actually registered its descent. Only then did he notice the wet warmth as it slipped over his lips and down his chin. Blood flowed from his nose as the pain grew and it continued to trickle downward unabated.

He glanced up at Rhion, just to remind himself that the older boy was real and not a figment of his damaged mind---but the look that Rhion greeted him with scalded his tender psyche---love, affection, concern and pain----enough pain that it mirrored his own and sent him tumbling into chaos.

How could he ignore such truth when it was reflected in Rhion's eyes? He turned away from the older boy in an effort to collect himself---he wasn't sure how--- but he needed to reel his feelings back in before the world exploded in a flash of red, before the pain translated into blood and destruction---before people died to ease his hurts.

His fist connected with the demon stone in reality--- his knuckles bloody, his shoulders rigid---but the wall---the real wall--- the one outside his mind remained stubbornly intact. He wanted to shatter it, wipe away the pain with destruction but for once in his life it wasn't helping. The pain in his heart was greater than anything he could inflict on himself.

He welcomed the feel of warmth spreading over his fist, but it wasn't enough to blanket the ache he felt inside, to hide the betrayal of his father from his waking mind.

"They thought I'd seduced you---I tried, but--!" But what? They were both too young, they didn't understand how to make it work---how to hold on to the magic they'd created? Neither of them knew what seduction really was. "I didn't remember anything from that summer except the feel of you, the smell---the taste! You haunted my every thought I just couldn't put a face to you. Close---close doesn't even begin to cover it---I knew you, owned you in my soul--- but I couldn't remember what was mine!"

He'd paused long enough to squeeze his eyes shut, to contemplate what he'd say next---or maybe how hard he'd actually have to smash into demon stone to make it shatter----but before he could say another word, do something irrevocably stupid, sturdy arms were around him, pulling him close and warm. He wasn't sure if this was what he wanted yet, wasn't sure he could stand it. He felt like lashing out against something---someone!---and he didn't want it to be Rhion! His body and mind racked by agony, loss, ultimate betrayal, he didn't know what he'd do!

He felt Rhion's warm breath touch the top of his head, ruffling his hair, then gently moving to his ear. "I can hold you," the soft, husky voice murmured, his arms tightening ever so slightly around De's smaller form.

For a moment the world held its breath as Rhion tenderly folded De's arms back against his own chest, wrapping him up in a comforting embrace as he cradled the tenderized flesh of De's fists in his much larger hands.

"Let it go, De. You can't hurt me, remember? And even if you did---it's worth it, you remembered me, so it's worth it." The comforting whisper trailed off as Rhion pressed his cheek hard against De's head. From the movement of Rhion's body rather than any sound, De knew his friend was quietly weeping, and not ashamed of it in the least. That was Rhion for you! He felt what he felt and was never embarrassed by showing it.

Pain ripped through him with the force of his mental scream. "They stole the most important thing in my life and left only emptiness in its place---always searching for it---needing it---they left me with---less than nothing---!!!"

He didn't know what he was saying, barely cared. He was shattered into jagged pieces that only Rhion's firm hold kept from flying apart forever.

He wasn't entirely sure how they ended up in the floor, or how long he'd cried in Rhion's arms---hell he wasn't even sure what all he'd said---but for once it didn't really matter.

Rhion was the one! He wasn't sure he could have ever explained it to the older boy, or the magnitude of the feeling it entailed but in the end that was the least of his worries---Rhion was the one---the missing piece---the one thing that made Damian whole again.

Sure he'd still keep his secrets, but the new ones would be to protect Rhion rather than shut him out. He couldn't lock the door on his heart---for Rhion already owned the key---but he could keep the other boy safe and that's what he planned to do!

He sat there, his tears spent; his body cradled in Rhion's protecting arms and sucked up all the warmth Rhion cared to give him. It was an odd thing to feel so broken and yet so safe. The anger had faded away into hurt some time ago---and the hurt into exhaustion sometime after that. Now he was only tired---and maybe a little bit broken. But he'd been that way before, and like always his wounds would mend.

Rhion played with his hair, and spoke to him now; soft words that were in fact answers to De's warily laid questions. He didn't remember everything---and he knew even less about Rhion's life than Rhion knew about his.

They had kept every scrap of information about the other boy away from him in fear that the mind trick would falter---that he'd remember something that would cause a cascade effect.

So now that the dam had burst, De inquired about this and that--- carefully, as the pain would still come in waves when a new memory no matter how trivial surfaced, but that didn't matter to De. He was used to pain, and Rhion was there, bloodied handkerchief in hand to sooth away the ache. He helped De work through each memory and together they had revealed the truth.

It had taken a while---and some reassuring on De's part that he wasn't in need of a healer. Rhion had taken in the physical connection to pain the memories inspired and he wasn't entirely sure how much 'damage' a memory could cause. De tried to explain that it was the memory of pain that was used, it wasn't real exactly---but it felt that way because the mind took the body back to that time.

"What about the bloody nose? That's physical! See, I can prove it, you leaked all over me!" Rhion pointed to his blood-spattered chest and the stained handkerchief accusingly.

De's lip quirked despite his still raw emotions. "Your own fault for holding me?" he whispered, and was rewarded with a gentle hug he could only accept gratefully.

De didn't really have an answer to Rhion's question---he'd never heard of people having a physical reaction to a remembered pain---but then again 'he' wasn't normal and usually people never retrieved the memories that were taken.

In the end he could only speculate that the bloody nose was a reflection of his own power being stressed as it healed the memory pathways in his mind. 'Even before I became immortal, I would heal faster than was normal---usually it caused a bloody nose---a fever---but in the end I would be restored to health. It was peculiar---even for a vampire, but they had decided it was because I was born a god.'

Rhion had accepted that, but he seemed to remain vigilant as they spoke, and with each wave of pain he inquired about De's health. It was pleasant, to know that someone actually cared---to believe it on some level---and yet De still couldn't fathom the reason why anyone would bother to have such feelings for him.

They belonged together. De could fit Rhion right into the space in his heart---match him up perfectly to the part that had always been there but he still didn't understand it---couldn't fully wrap his mind around it. It was a feeling, unrefined and brutally honest but without the foundation of 'why' to support it. Sure the foundation was there, somewhere in the depths of De's mind---it was just untouchable---invisible---a lost memory---or rather a lost lifetime.

"Did Lee do this to you---is he the one who invaded your mind?" Rhion's words were soft, soothing but a little too careful to be truly innocent.

Rhion pondered this, then nodded slowly with his own memories. "When I was younger---when I tried to figure out 'why' you didn't remember me I'd get these headaches---the anger and frustration, it never caused me any pain but when I tried to figure *you* out---understand you, I'd always get these unbelievable headaches." Rhion paused, his words lingering on the air---uncertain but suspicious. "I learned meditation as a way to make them go away---but the truth is I think they went away when I was able to blanket my mind---stop thinking about you---could that have been the vampire mind trick? Because it didn't seem to be anything I actively tried to do---I just forgot and went on with my life, until I met you again."

De felt like crying again, but he was too tired---too cried out to shed any more tears. It was one thing for Lee to do that to him---it was a whole different thing for him to have dared to touch Rhion's mind.

"Damnit, De---stop taking the blame for every godforsaken thing that happens in this world---You are not to blame for your father being a bastard!"

"He did it because of me." De heard the hollow sound in his own voice, marveled at how broken he sounded. "It just seems that a lot of people end up hurt---or dead--- because of me."

Rhion shook his head impatiently, bright hair ruffling against De's tense face like a caress. "You've got blood on your hands, De---I'll give you that----I can't deny it, having found you in a village full of bodies---but I think you've laid claim to a lot of blood that should be on other people's hands---shoulder your own sins, and leave the world its fair share---It's what my brother always says---and I tend to agree with him."

Rhion smiled a little crookedly. "If I chose to wallow in it, there are things on my plate I'm not too proud of. I could have tried harder to contact you for one. I KNEW there was something wrong about it, and I should have been smart enough to ignore a goddamn headache and push on to find the truth. So if there's blame to it, I'll take my share. I failed to protect you---again."

"It's not your job to protect me, Rhion---don't make it your job. My life---it's complicated, I'm complicated---events around me are complicated. I'm surprised myself by making it this far---don't tie your fate to mine." De shocked himself by shedding a few more tears. The idea that Rhion could die---and die because of him was---more than simply disturbing.

He had no idea how the next few days would sort themselves out. He still about half expected to be ripped away from the demons by either his father, or an assassin's blade.

If Rhion thought being here in the demon palace was protection enough, then he didn't know vampires like he should. Demons might have been ferocious in battle, scary sights indeed compared to the smaller more majestic vampire but they were nothing in the way of cunning.

A demon might disembowel you on the battlefield, or rip away your pride along with your clothes---he might take a mouth full of flesh just to see how you taste--- but a vampire could slit your throat in your own bed while you thought yourself protected. A thief in the night, using shadows and enchantments to conceal him. He could drain you dry within a heartbeat, a gentle smile on his face as he watched you fall. He could befriend your lover at your interment and years later send him off to bed with a poisoned kiss.

Cunning, it was the one word that embodied the vampire. Sure they could bloody themselves on a battlefield, rip out throats, but most people just saw beauty when they looked at them.

De saw killers! Ruthless, backstabbing murderers who wouldn't stop with him! He had to wait, had to see what his father would do---if Lee ordered his death, nothing would stand in the way of the assassin's blade, not even a full blooded Carlonday.

He felt Rhion's fingers push his hair back from his face gently, as if the older boy had felt the depth of his distress and sought to comfort him. Yet when he looked up it was to find Rhion's face wreathed with a smile and his eyes dancing. "Too late for caution now," the blond stated firmly, almost cheerfully. "De, what makes you think I have a choice in this? I'm NOT letting you be taken from me again. I---can't, you see," he added in a more serious tone. "I just can't."

Rhion's lips parted slightly. De inhaled his warm, moist breath and shivered, feeling more like a vampire than he ever had in all his life. And yet, it wasn't blood he craved. "You fool human," he mumbled. "You don't understand. You should---run."

De wanted to cry again, but strangely enough it wasn't sadness that filled his soul, it was joy and immediately following that was the thought that he was being a complete and utter girl about all this! All these tears and all this pain from emotions he shouldn't feel---or rather----shouldn't be able to feel if he was *really* evil incarnate!

The internal bashing actually settled his emotions down a bit, reminded him that he'd just wept all over Rhion, proving to the older boy that he was some pretty helpless child who needed coddling. Hell, he'd have made a better mate than a warrior, even in his own opinion---if it weren't for that crazy son-of-a-bitch that surfaced from time to time, he probably would be.

When Rhion pulled back he looked up at him, and his eyes must have reflected some of his thoughts on the matter because Rhion laughed at him---but just a little. "So we've talked ourselves out of hysterics, then?"

"It was hardly hysterics." De commented as he roughly wiped away the tears. "I died a few days ago and apparently, that's made me soft." Rhion stole another kiss and De let him, he wasn't about to start pushing the older boy away but he'd be damned if he continued to act like some teenage girl bawling over what should have been---*he* was smarter than that.

"You've made me breakfast, I see?" the blond drawled casually. De just looked at Rhion for a second, noticing he wasn't in any kind of hurry to retrieve his meal. He was just---giving De a way to steer them back toward normal. Being considerate, as he usually was when he wasn't being---snide or teasing! De felt a smile beginning; couldn't seem to help it even though he still felt pretty beaten up inside. Well, he could certainly appreciate Rhion's thoughtfulness this time!

"I did." He started to say it was the least he could do considering this whole mess---but he didn't. Instead he stretched a little, tilted his head with a bit of that Leviathan smugness and said. "But I think it'll take you a few more kisses like the last to earn it."

"That's my boy!" Rhion said with a huge spurt of laughter and an eager full on mouth kiss. For a split second De had started to say, rather gruffly 'your boy!' but then he realized he kinda liked it---in a perverse totally inappropriate sort of way.

And he could like what he wanted, damnit! Because, Dark One or not he was still Damian Leviathan---and that made him as politically incorrect as you got. What was one more social taboo busted all to hell? He was already several years of age and half a foot away from being even remotely close to socially acceptable as anyone's prince---and it wasn't like he could change that, make himself taller or older. So what did it matter if he let Rhion lay claim to him. They were after all soul mates, how much more equal could you get than that?

He braced one hand on Rhion's warm thigh as the kiss deepened, and realized for the first time that the blond man was totally naked. The shock wasn't for that simple fact, but because he must have been pretty damn upset to have overlooked it! Of course, Rhion had jumped straight out of bed when De started panicking, and he was far from the fussy sort who would pause to make himself decent during what must have seemed an emergency.

De felt Rhion's desire rise powerfully next to his bare arm, and shivered. Suddenly, he wasn't feeling---nearly as bad. The giddy wave of lust held nothing of weakness, made him feel alive again and as close to normal as possible. He growled into Rhion's mouth as his fingers leaped to the man's straining erection, reveling in its heat and thickness. A nice, savage fuck was what he needed now, and thank the gods Rhion seemed more than up for it. Perhaps all the drippy emotion had unsettled him a bit too!

Rhion rumbled softly; a rough purr that was half dangerous, and pushed himself into De's grip as his hands caught the boy's shoulders, urging him down to the floor. De resisted briefly, more for show than anything, and because he *wanted* to feel Rhion get impatient and muscle him down!

He wasn't disappointed; to his dark delight Rhion seemed more urgent than normal and wasted no time on smart remarks or seductive tactics. In seconds he was flat on his back, Rhion was looming over him with eyes that seemed almost as black as De's own, dilated with lust as they were. De pulled his legs back wordlessly, wrapped them around Rhion's waist. The only sound in the suddenly smouldering-hot room was their thick breathing----

And then, a discreet and somehow vilely amused cough from behind the door curtains. "Excuse me? I realize that probably humans and vampires are used to more sleep than demons, but Mish-shy has been waiting for you nearly a stroke of the clock, young prince. Luckily he does have a sense of humor and some degree of patience where you're concerned, but relying on either consistently could be dangerous."

Rhion's head jerked up and his eyes snapped into focus again, yellow as a lion's and fairly blazing with fury. "What are you, the goddamn walking clock? We haven't even bathed yet!" What he thought was "You bastard! He just remembered me after all these years, I've never been more ready to fuck him in my life and you interrupt NOW?! What kind of hell am I in??" Only Kef's ruthless training in earlier years kept him from bellowing these thoughts out loud!

"You *both* have weapons practice, what's the use of bathing?" Walker observed logically. For some reason his mellow, mildly amused voice was even more of an outrage when he remained politely out of sight!

De looked horrified as he wiggled out from underneath Rhion, "Get dressed," was all he said to his human companion as he burst through the curtain and snagged the much larger demon by his elbow.

Walker glanced down at the tiny hand encircling his arm, small enough to shake off with ease---if Damian had been a normal person. But seeing as how he'd very efficiently dealt with Icewind, Walker wasn't sure it'd be all that easy. For a second he considered doing it, not because it bothered him but to see what Damian would do.

But that was the demon in him, the less than logical being who wanted to play with the cute but dangerous creature. It was a good thing that demons no longer played with abandon.

He followed De's direction, and even let the boy shove him down onto the couch---although he smiled, and didn't try and hide it. "Stay put, demon! I'll not have you bothering Rhion before he's decent."

"I'll---try---!" Walker drawled slowly---deliberately. "But I can make no promises, my prince." He nearly said what he was thinking, that it was hard for a demon to ignore the bait that Damian laid out. To them a snarling kitten was about as tempting a sight as any, it didn't matter that the kitten had claws, or that he wanted to bloody them. That just made the rousing all that much sweeter.

Rhion burst from their chambers almost instantly, still lacing his training gear with hasty fingers. He flashed Walker a furious look before rushing to the door and calling after De. "Don't be baiting Mish-shy just because you're pissed off! De! DE! Goddamnit!" He turned from the door, focused all his attention on Walker. Obviously the boy had ignored his warnings. "Now he's gonna go in there all worked up and probably get himself another flesh wound. Couldn't you have given us ten more minutes?"

Walker looked suddenly, almost comically distraught as he mulled that over. "If ten minutes is all you needed, then it's best for all concerned that I put a stop to things when I did." Walker stood, straightened his clothes. "It seems we have a lot more than weapons to talk about today---Perhaps, I should take you to see Johan, I'm sure he could instruct you in many ways to please the prince that would take considerably longer than ten minutes."

"It was a figure of speech!" Rhion shouted, enraged and definitely offended. Then he caught Walker's amused look, glared hotly, then reluctantly chuckled. "As if you would've given us the hour or two I'd have liked---I don't think so! Johan can keep his lessons, I'd rather muddle on in my own sorry human way, thanks."

Deathwalker bit his lip to keep from actually grinning. That would just be too much of a triumph for this unusual human. He also had to drop his eyes to hide something much more dangerous, as the thought struck him that enjoying this fire-gold, sharp-tongued creature would not be too difficult, at all.

Rhion was taken aback when Walker nailed him with a look from eyes that were suddenly like shimmering gems of pale ice touched with violet-blue. The intensity of that gaze worried him greatly though he couldn't quite figure out why. Then it was gone and Walker was saying in a calm, businesslike voice, "I believe you showed some curiosity about ranged weapons when last we spoke. We will touch on those today and see if you have as much talent as interest."

Rhion grunted, still a bit red-faced from frustration, but suddenly wary of Walker's flat, civil tone. There had been something in those jeweled eyes for a splintered instant that reminded him of---what? It had been neither businesslike nor civil, that was damn sure! For a second he had the urge to back away, as if Walker had been on the verge of actually grabbing him, though the demon had become almost motionless rather than advancing.

He held his ground with a conscious effort, though. "All right," he said agreeably, saving any smart remarks for another day. "I'm at your disposal; let's see what you've got available! I know being a good shot in human terms probably won't be impressive to demons, but I always enjoy trying new gear."

There, by the gods, if that wasn't one fuck of a pleasant speech he didn't know what was. The day he couldn't out-polite a demon was the day he'd jump in the nearest ocean and drown himself.

Deathwalker tilted his head so that the hot gold streaks in his dark hair seemed to actually turn to liquid, and a smile slowly touched his rather thin, patrician lips. Uncomfortable, Rhion had the feeling that his thoughts as well as his bland remarks had been duly noted by his trainer. And strangely enough, both were approved of.

Deathwalker was nothing like the huge, half-demon axe trainer from his youth, neither in looks nor attitude. Moonripper had been brutish, while Walker seemed the epitome of culture, grace and barbed wit.