Chapter Text
When he was cleared by both Quinn and Dyshoka, Ariki made his way over to Dahlia, who was watching everyone with a blank expression on her face.
Despite the blank expression, he could see her inner turmoil, even felt it in the too-tight hug she gave him despite his clear injuries.
“Portal deposited me in the path of spellfire,” he explained when she arched a brow at him. “I wasn’t able to dodge in time.”
“You’re lucky,” Dahlia informed him, voice gruff.
“Very,” Ariki agreed, and shifted so that he was standing with her arm around him.
It probably wasn’t the best idea since it meant that her scent would be all over him for his Alpha and Submissive to pick up, but the comfort they were drawing from each other right then was more important.
“I offered. Lord Maruke took me up on it,” Dahlia told him abruptly, purple-gold eyes focused on Wikhn and Wikhn alone. There was a slightly distant look in them that told Ariki that while she was aware of what was going on around them both, she was also checking in with her Bonded and receiving messages from them. “Shayla’s made up the west wing for all of you. The corridors might be tricky, given the circumstances, but it’s manageable.”
“Lucky for you, more than one of us know where that is,” Ariki remarked.
He frowned when Dahlia flinched slightly.
“If he runs…” she started.
“He won’t,” Ariki interrupted. When she gave him a surprised look, he shrugged. “I might not know him as well as you, but I’ve known him for a long time—nearly as long as you,” he said. “If he was going to run, or leave, he would have done so by now.”
“Still might,” Dahlia countered, voice quiet so no one else could overhear them. “Especially if he hasn’t figured out what he wants yet.”
“He’ll stick around, deal with the situation head on,” Ariki returned. “Things are a bit different than last time, I think. Besides, you and Lord Maruke won’t let him run away—if he does, you’ll decide for him, so he’ll stay if only to prevent that from happening.”
Dahlia frowned, wondering where her brother was getting his sense of confidence from. She knew Wikhn—intimately—and there were some occasions where she couldn’t predict the Dark Fae and his actions. This was one of those times, she thought.
And yet, Ariki seemed so confident, so assured.
Enough so that she decided to trust him and his assessment that Wikhn wouldn’t run away from things—again.
“Once Dyshoka is finished, we’ll leave, since you and Wikhn know where the west wing is,” she murmured. “Take as much time as you need getting there and settling in. There’s no time limit on the offer. And …” She hesitated. “Let him know that we’ll give him his space while he’s making his decision. It’s his decision alone and no one should be pressuring him, one way or another.” Her mouth set in a firm line as she spoke.
“No one will pressure him,” Ariki agreed.
“He’s got a contract—all of mine do—and I suppose that will need to be renegotiated,” Dahlia continued, half to herself and half to Ariki. “Since it was a King’s contract, not a Joker’s. But I won’t…” She paused, thinking of the best way to handle certain scenarios. “Your new Submissive should be involved in that, but he’ll probably flounder without having something to fall back on. So the original one will remain in place for now, but I won’t bind him to it. It’s already got certain stipulations—he’ll know what those are. Just … I know how he can be. I don’t know any of yours except for Quinn and Nyx, and him only in passing. I guess Nyx is capable, though I don’t know if they’ll get along.”
Having witnessed their initial few interactions, Ariki understood the concern there. “I can offer myself up?” he suggested, riding that thin line between a Beta doing what was best for their Circle and still recognizing that Dahlia was Wikhn’s Bonded Alpha. That she was his sister only made the line thinner, especially given what they were discussing.
She gave him a side-eyed glance. “I know you’ve had your Gheyos in the past, but he’s Dark Fae,” she said. “And he’s always been on his own sort of level.”
Ariki accepted the warning for what it was, but still provided her with some reassurance. “I know you checked into my first few, but I doubt you’ve checked every single one. And your mothers are also my mothers.” His lips quirked. “And my new Alpha is Hadrian Maruke, Blood Raven. If I can handle him, I’ll be able to handle Wikhn in a mood.”
Dahlia tilted her head, silently conceding the point. Still… “I’m going to ask you about that in the future. I’ll be very interested in hearing if you still think the same.”
Convincing a full-size dragon to enter a building and move along several corridors was easier said than done, even with Quinn there to communicate with Harry mind-to-mind. Wikhn was thankful they would only have to do it once, as once the large home had registered and accepted their presence, they could change the wing to better suit their needs, including creating a door that went from the resting room directly to a guest courtyard.
He was half-inclined to disappear inside and let the others handle Harry, but he didn’t particularly want to deal with anyone part of the Black Dahlia's circle—he didn't want to deal with anyone at all, truthfully—and he knew that they wouldn't dare approach him in the presence of a feral Submissive in their dragon form or within Blood Raven's earshot. Wikhn was still conflicted about this whole situation but he wasn't above using the new circle to his benefit.
There was also the small matter of Harry seeming to prefer his voice to the others, so Wikhn had to give the Submissive verbal instructions on where to go once they convinced him to come inside.
Not that his instructions were listened to half the time. Submissive or not, Harry was still a young dragel new to his instincts, which meant he was easily distracted by things that appealed to his more basic nature—namely anything sparkly, shiny, and pretty. He seemed particularly drawn to the silvers preferred to by Air elements, of which there was plenty in the house because Shayla had a strong Air element and a large Circle that loved indulging her.
An idea struck Wikhn and he brought out his wings, fairy dust shimmering brightly. When Harry's attention snapped to him, he let some of the fairy dust fall to the ground in a neat line.
Harry's nose went to the ground and he followed the sparkly line of fairy dust down the next couple of corridors, delighting when there were subtle changes of color—the other Fae in the Circle having caught on as well and replicating Wikhn's actions.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when Harry darted into the resting room finally, preferring the more open and airy room to the larger, but slightly cramped corridors. Almost immediately, several sets of wards went up, overlapping neatly with each other.
Wikhn scowled when two cleaning charms zinged across him,. one more forceful than the other, scouring his body and his armor clean. He growled at the two Pareya responsible—and was satisfied that he wasn't the only one complaining about the lack of warning and heavy-handedness—but the Dusk Fae simply met the growls with a challenging look while the Earth Fae simply shrugged and proclaimed, "No blood on the pillows and blankets."
It had been morning when Wikhn was summoned by the soulscream but a few hours on Earth and the inter-realm travel meant that it was now night.
It was going to be a long one, he suspected. His transformation to Joker had brought some aches and pains as his body physically adjusted to the new rank, but it also brought a burst of energy that he hadn't completely used up yet. Not to mention there was still plenty lingering bloodlust and battlelust.
He was left with quite the dilemma, one that had him literally pacing the edges of the room—though prowling was probably a more apt word. He had managed to push the bloodlust aside to get Harry to a safe place, but he couldn't do that indefinitely. And it was still strong enough that he knew he would need help managing it.
Except normally he would go to Rook or Harmony or Dahlia or a few other preferred partners for something like that. There were a few stipulations in his contract with Dahlia where he could find partners outside of the Circle for a few hours or a night if needed—even though she preferred that her Gheyos stick to the other Bonded in the Circle, sometimes it wasn’t always possible—but those stipulations didn’t cover the current situation.
The two Pareya were in a silent competition to make the resting room better suited for their needs, neither one wanting to be outdone by the other, when the order for showers came from Hadrian. Quinn and the pair of Light Fae were busy checking over Harry's claws, wings, and scales, so the order really only applied to the four Gheyos in the room.
Wikhn hesitated, understanding the implications of the order, and bristled when he felt black eyes tinged with red focus on him.
Then Ariki was there, stepping between Hadrian and Wikhn. Keeping an eye on where the other three Gheyos went, the Beta silently but firmly led Wikhn to the second bathroom in the wing.
"I talked to Dahlia briefly," he said once the door closed behind them.
Upon hearing the name, the Dark Fae's shoulders slumped in relief. He knew that he would have to talk to her himself eventually, but it was nice to have others going between them in the meantime—and taking their own initiative to do so.
"Your contract will have to be renegotiated," Ariki continued. "She's not formally suspending it in the meantime, but she's not going to bind you to it until then. Though she still had some preferences when it came to…” He gestured to the large showers.
"Who?" Wikhn wanted to know, grabbing onto the proverbial lifeline he had been handed. Not suspending the contract meant that Wikhn could still rely and fall back on it if needed, if the new Circle ever asked for something he wasn’t comfortable doing until everything was more figured out, but not being bound to it released him from any repercussions if he did decide to break part of it.
The tips of Ariki's ears turned red and he cleared his throat awkwardly. "Me."
Wikhn’s red eyes narrowed. "You're injured,” he countered. It really wasn't an issue but it meant that Wikhn would have to be gentle, which he wasn't sure he could handle in his current state. He just wanted a way to work off the bloodlust and going gentle meant being treated gently in turn, which might very well break him—and he really only trusted Dahlia to rebuild him in those moments.
"Quinn, like all in his family, is a very good Healer," Ariki replied. "I feel as good as new. But if it's going to be a sticking point for you, she was comfortable enough with Nyx's reputation that he's the other one she approved of."
Wikhn ground his fangs together, not liking that idea any better. if he had to deal with the Night Fae again tonight, he had a feeling they would break a few walls.
"I've been playing with Gheyos for years," Ariki said softly. "I know what I'm getting myself into. But if you'd rather Nyx…” He shrugged and stepped back, eyes twinkling.
Wikhn growled and clawed hands shot out to stop the Beta. "If Quinn complains, you're getting all the blame."
"Of course," Ariki replied with a light laugh.
When they were finished, Wikhn reluctantly got dressed for bed and then got to watch Ariki—who hadn't bothered getting dressed—sweet-talk a reluctant and stubborn Hadrian into taking a shower of his own. At first, Wikhn wasn't sure the Beta was going to be successful, but he got help from a slightly unexpected corner when the two Fae Pareya called a momentary truce to their silent squabble over who could fuss the best, each grabbing an arm and physically escorting—or dragging, depending on one's perspective—the new Gheyo Alpha out of the room.
The other Gheyos weren't back yet, so Wikhn took the opportunity to claim his preferred corner. He still wasn’t at ease with anything about this situation, but he did recognize the silver lining in his Joker transformation and the fact that all of the other Gheyos summoned were Jokers—he didn't have to worry about the dynamics of a traditional Suite. If he wanted to stick to the outskirts of things or sleep in a corner, he could. It was an odd sort of freedom, but not one he necessarily disliked.
Harry, however, did not seem to agree. When the other three Gheyos returned and the other newly-rank-shifted Joker did the same as Wikhn and claimed a corner, the dragon-Submissive shook off Quinn and the two Light Fae and started to pace a circle around the edges of the room, slowly herding everyone inside the resting room closer to the center.
It wasn’t the first time Wikhn had experienced such behavior, so he obliged and moved, but not without a tinge of exasperation leaking through. Harry's response—using his wing to nudge Wikhn even closer and practically knocking him over in the process—made the Dark Fae recall his earlier thoughts about the Submissive possibly being an Empath.
Ferros Empathic Submissive currently being housed by a Military Circle—it sounded like a recipe for disaster.
Once everyone was grouped together, Harry made his desire known by flaring out his wings, lifting the higher than the other so it could arch over all their heads.
“Pretty sure it's supposed to be the other way around," the Dusk Fae Pareya grumbled.
"Shut up, Santoval, its adorable," his female counterpart replied.
"Don't tell me to shut up, Mavia. And don’t use my full name like that."
Mavia's green eyes glittered. "Santoval, Santoval," she sang teasingly. "Santo—ack!" She squeaked when the other Pareya lunged at her.
A grumpy-looking Quinn braved their tussle, physically separating the pair and passing Santoval over to Rolf and Mavia over to Luna.
Harry huffed and his wing started to descend, prepared to bap anyone still standing at full height on top of the head.
On instinct, Wikhn crouched down and, after a heartbeat, silently conceding to the stubborn Submissive, deciding to get comfortable and claim his spot before the others realized the bigger issue—Harry was a decent-sized dragon, but he still had some growing to do. At his current size, he wouldn’t be able to cover everyone with his wings, let alone wrap his body around them in a protective circle.
When the others did realize the issue, Santoval used it to try and argue his point again, explaining that the Pareya and Gheyos were supposed to guard Harry, instead of Harry protecting them.
The Submissive was stubborn, however, and refused to listen, simply blowing smoke in the Pareya’s face when he got the gist of what Santoval was saying.
Luna giggled, reaching over to pat Harry’s side, but her expression quickly saddened as the dragon shifted and rested his head on her shoulder. She moved to stroking his cheek and horns as she spoke.
“Leave it. He lost too many today in that battle. He’s lost too many in general. He’s not willing to take any chances tonight.”
Santoval’s eyes softened at her words and everyone could see him give in, even though it went against all of his instincts.
It still didn’t do anything to solve the situation of too little room under Harry’s wings, but the solution was readily provided when Hadrian and Ariki returned, a new claim mark placed high on the Beta’s neck providing evidence that they had done more than just shower.
Harry’s intention was easy to figure out, even for those who hadn’t been in the room, so with a sigh and a stretch, Hadrian made sure the room could hold more than one full-size dragon—including one of his size—before shifting. His full-dragon form was absolutely massive and largely all black, except for a few red scales here and there. He was almost twice the size of Harry, so he had to take care that he didn’t knock Ariki or anyone else over and be mindful of his tail and wings.
He hadn’t really anticipated spending the night in his dragon form, but Hadrian had a feeling that he would be spending a lot of time in general like this, at least until Harry grew comfortable enough to change back into his halfling or human forms.
Ariki eyed dragon-Hadrian, raising an eyebrow after a minute. “Don’t expect me to do the same. I think everyone will agree that two dragons is more than enough.”
Wikhn suppressed a snort.
Much like Harry had with everyone else, Hadrian herded Ariki to the center of the room before forming a half-circle, covering the space Harry’s dragon form couldn’t and making it so there was a comfortable amount of space for everyone, even though they still had to sleep relatively close together. Wikhn tried not to grimace when he found himself with Ariki on one side of him and Luna pressed up against his other side, deciding it was a small mercy that neither of them were Quinn, who had a tendency to latch onto others like a sticky, clingy octopus in his sleep.
Once everyone was settled, Hadrian released his shadows, letting them blanket the room and taking note of how the others reacted. Thankfully, most didn’t seem to care or seemed comforted by their presence.
One of those who took comfort in the shadows was Wikhn, much to the Dark Fae’s chagrin. There were enough Storm elements in Dahlia’s Circle that appealed to his Fae nature so he was fine being in an Air-heavy area, but every so often he had to duck into the Shadow Haunts or the Pits to seek out the Dark. It had been manageable, but being so close to Hadrian now, he couldn’t deny that there had always been a small part of him that desired a Shadow Bonded and all of the shadow familiars they usually brought with them.
Except Hadrian was Gheyo Alpha, like Dahlia was. And even if he drew comfort from the Shadow Alpha’s presence, Wikhn knew that his soul-bond with Dahlia would always take priority over the other Alpha.
With a silent sigh, the Fae—and the Circle—settled in for a long night.