Bab 103: Three's a crowd
Whether it was the shivering body in his arms, the now icy water of the tub, or the low rumble of snores coming from the sleeping wolf on the foot of the bed that woke Arei, he wasn't sure. He lifted his head from the brim of the tub and Held Jos's still unconscious body against his chest as he leaned forward to turn more hot water on. A light tap sounded at the door. {Maybe that was what woke me.} He thought turning his head toward the door as he cupped Jos tighter against his chest. "Who's there?" He called in a low voice as to not disturb her or the wolf.
"Us, open the door." Orion called from the other side.
Arei let out a long sigh of relief. "Come on in, it's unlocked." He answered keeping his voice low. He watched as the knob turned and was only slightly surprised when it was the energetic fairy who stepped in instead of his brother.
Raven pushed the door open, turning back to hold it for the other two as she spoke, "Oh man it feels great to get out of that blasted car finally!" She turned her attention into the room as she continued, "I don't know how you all got here so fast but I wish I'd... came with you... oh... my..." her words trailed off and her eyes widened as she took in the room. Her eyes only lingered on Shelly, the surprising fact the girl who HATED shifting was still in wolf form, before taking a doubletake at the tub. "What in the world..."
Arei pushed the faucet handles back with his feet. He positioned Jos against him so that her body couldn't be seen through the wet fabric of his white cotton shirt he'd put on her back at the vampire's large home. "She's Still unconscious." He tried to explain as he carefully placed her head against the center of his chest this time.
Raven arched a brow, "I see she has clothes on in there..." She looked pointedly over his bare chest and long bare legs. "But do you?"
Arei narrowed his eyes at her, "What are you implying exactly? That I'm trying to take advantage of an unconscious woman? In front of a child no less!" He gritted his teeth, irritated with the fact people always saw him and assumed he was the depraved one. He shot Orion a look. "What have you told them about me?!"
Orion shrugged as he carried several full shopping bags in each arm. "Not much." He nodded toward Jos's still form. "Ya know, just that you two... had a thing... once..."
Arei frowned, "I'm sure you made it sound perfectly perverted..."
Orion chuckled, "I did no such thing." He watched as Russ came close enough to the door to see inside. As Russ's eyes widened in shock and worry, Orion added nodding toward Russ. "I may have messed with the boy, but not too much." Orion turned to Russ as the boy continued staring silently at Arei. "Before you decide to get in a pissing match with my brother, remember he's been fighting in wars since before your greatest grandfather was even a twinkle in his father's eye."
Russ didn't respond to Orion's teasing, instead, he walked to the tub and rubbed a hand over Jos's damp hair. "How is she doing?"
Arei studied the boy closely as he answered. "The trip has been hard on her, and I'm afraid the man-made saltwater isn't doing much to help." He watched as a tentacle crept gently around the boy's wrist. To Arei's surprise the boy barely flinched as the tentacle wrapped around his wrist. "She recognizes your voice, that's good at least." Arei frowned inwardly thinking of all the things Jos had told him on their trip from Florida about the boy and her feelings for him. Judging by his tender caresses of her hair and the tentacle around his wrist, she had little worry of the boy taking her back. A sick pain built in the pit of his stomach. {Fuck...} He scrunched his brows and gave Russ a pinched smile. "My legs are getting stiff and I've had about as much of fake saltwater as I can stand, you want to switch places?" A sharp pain seized his chest when the boy's eyes shot to his, in hopeful anticipation and began pulling his shirt over his head while kicking off his shoes all at the same time.
Russ stepped into the water and slid his hands under Jos the best he could so that the large man folded into the tub with her could slide out enough to get out of the tub. Once he was all the way out, Russ carefully slid down into the water pulling Jos into a comfortable position on his chest. "How long has she been like this?" Russ asked looking up from her pale face.
Arei glanced at the clock on the microwave sitting on top the small mini fridge. "Several hours now." He looked around the room from worried face to worried face, "Any ideas?"
Raven stroked her chin thoughtfully. "I may know something..." She walked over to the tub and dipped her finger into the water then stuck it in her mouth. She turned back to Arei and Orion. "I think the problem is there isn't enough salt. I can try balancing it a bit more magically, but as far away as we are, I doubt I'll have more than one shot at this."
Orion shrugged, "If you think it will help... Either that or we can try finding a place with a saltwater pool or something."
Raven stepped closer and began examining Jos. "She'll not make another move in this condition." She frowned as she pulled back first one eye lid then another, ignoring a second tentacle wandering over her arm. She took hold of the tentacle and stood up. "I'll have to make a call or two, but I believe I can come up with something a little closer to ocean water, if not an actual ocean. She glanced down at the tentacle that was wrapped around her hand like a child holding it's parent's hand and chuckled. "I almost forgot how weird she is in Kraken form."
Russ's eyes shot to her, "You've seen her in... Kraken... form? And you didn't bother telling us about it... at all?!"
Raven shrugged, "She didn't like that form, probably still doesn't. She was always more comfortable being confused as a siren, so..." She added pointedly, "Honestly? I never figured you would see her like this, or that it was any of your business." She retrieved her cell phone from her bra and began scrolling through her contacts as she walked past Orion and out the door.
Arei let out a heavy sigh and walked toward the door as well. "I need to get our bags out of the car." He noted that the wolf had finally woke up and patted her head as he walked by. He nodded to Orion as he walked past trying to answer the question in his brother's eyes with the movement. Instead of simply opening the trunk and getting the bags like he had said, he opened the car door and sat behind the wheel gripping it tight. His mind played Jos's words on repeat along with the boy's actions here tonight. He let out a heavy groan and rested his forehead on the wheel. "Fuck..." He hit his head against the wheel with each curse word. "Fuck, fuck, fuck..."
Raven popped open the passenger door and bent down to look inside. "If you're not too busy with... that..." She indicated the banging of his head off the stirring wheel. "Maybe you could give me a ride to a twenty-four hour store?"
Arei rolled his head to the side not lifting it off the wheel. "Sure, get in."
Raven arched a brow. "Um... Alright... Are you sure, I can give you a minute... if you need more... alone time." She sat down in the seat not waiting for his answer. After he turned the car on and she'd buckled her safety belt, she turned back to him. "Wanna talk about it?"
Arei sighed heavily, "Talk about what? There's nothing to talk about." His voice dropped and sadness radiated from his every pore. "As I told the boy, I'm just tired."
Raven arched her thin brows higher, "You expect me to believe the war horse Arei is tired?!? From a car ride?" She crossed her arms over her chest. "Unlikely."
Arei huffed out a laugh as he glanced over at the fairy. "I can see why Jos likes you. She told me a bit about you over the past week. I'm not sure I want to ask for your advise... seems pretty shitty from what I've heard..."
Raven let out an indignant huff. "I gave advise, I never forced either of them to follow it or to fuck it up..."
Arei laughed, "Valid point, I guess." He glanced over at the fiery fairy beside him. She was everything Jos had said, and he could tell she was someone Jos cared deeply about. "You know, I really thought seeing her again was a sign from the gods. A chance to make up for my mistakes, my second chance with her... with us..."
"But???" Raven asked tilting her head to the side. "Orion has told us a bit about your past together and his involvement. I know what Jos thought of the whole thing. I don't know how you planned on that second chance playing out."
Arei focused on the signs as they drove down the main street of the town. "I..." he furrowed his brows. "I'll not lie to you. In all truth I'd hoped the boy would have taken her secret a little harder or at the least take longer to adjust to it giving me a chance to change her mind... to convince her I'm a better fit for her."
Raven gave a sarcastic laugh. "And how is that? How do you see yourself as better?"
Arei frowned. "Because we are the same. We have the same life span. I already know all her secrets and accepted them from the very beginning. We have a history together... and I have loved her from that very first night we'd spent together..." He swallowed hard. "And 500 years hasn't changed that for me... It hasn't even dulled it in the slightest." He turned into a parking lot of an open store. Once the car was in park he turned to Raven. "She has been the only person for me. I never moved on... and I thought she hadn't either..."
Raven narrowed her eyes. "So all this time you knew what hell you and your brother put her through?"
Arei had the dignity to blush. "I did... Our paths hadn't had the luck to cross over the years, but I'd heard the many years of reports from the council. She hadn't moved on either and I'd held out the hope she'd seek me out... until the boy..."
Raven grunted. "Serves you right then." she unbuckled her seat belt and shifted to open the door.
"What do you mean by that?" Arei asked before she could open the door.
Raven looked him over, her lips pursed together her eyes narrowed. "If you did care and you knew she was alone all these years, why not come back for her yourself? Why not swallow your pride and make the move yourself? Why not man the fuck up?" She crossed her arms over her chest again as she waited for his answer.
Arei shrugged. "I promised her I wouldn't."
Raven narrowed her eyes more. "Yet here we are." She turned to the door and pushed it open. "Now if you don't mind, as the only person in her life that cares about her as a person and not a whole to put my dick in, I'm going to go get the shit I need to save her life. I thank ya..." She slammed the door in his face as she walked toward the store. "Men..." She mumbled as she walked quickly through the shop. She was surprised when she came to the register and the large hulking man was standing there waiting. She glared at him as she set the items she needed on the counter. "What? Didn't have enough, want another piece of my mind?"
Arei didn't say anything as he took his wallet out of his pocket and slid his card. His focus held her angry gaze as he replied. "I know I messed up, don't think every lonely second of the past 500 years hasn't haunted me every second of the past week... That I didn't think, every single time I saw her fixing a snack in the kitchen, sipping tea on my balcony... fuck... sleeping in my bed... that this feels so right... this is how it should have been for the past 500 fucking years!" He pulled the card out and took the bag from the pale shocked cashier.
"Are you guys actors... or something?" The cashier asked as she looked nervously back and forth between Raven and Arei.
Arei sent the girl an attractive but fake smile that had her half melting already. "Yes, of course. We are practicing our lines and it just helps me when we're in a similar setting." He didn't bother adding anything else or checking Raven's response, instead, he turned and walked out.
Raven grunted, "I would have said 'or something' but what ever..." She said as she caught up to him in the parking lot.
"You know the rules." He said without taking his focus off the key fob. He opened her door then walked around to his.
Raven chuckled, "Yeah, I know them... and I also like breaking them."
He rolled his eyes as he climbed into the car. "So I've heard. How's Isha by the way? Last I heard she quit the council."
Raven frowned, it was her turn to look embarrassed. "She's actually trying to get her old spot back... figured we could use a friendly face after all that's happened."
Arei fired the car up and kicked it into gear. "Now that's something we can both agree on! Our girl is a sitting duck otherwise."
Raven gulped hard. "For that, I do take blame. I should have never encouraged her to date that damn vampire."
Arei's eyes widened, "You encouraged that! What the hell?!"
Raven shrugged. "I figured a vampire could handle her... moodiness... better..." She focused on the passing lights. "At the time, the stress Russ had been putting on her was causing her to lose control more and more. I figured it would be better for both of them if she let that frustration out on someone a little more... durable..."
Arei frowned. "She's responsible for all the death on the news in your area, isn't she? Not the vampires..."
Raven kept her face turned away from him as she nodded her head. "I put it together pretty fast and she didn't try hiding it when I asked her about it. I even tried to warn her... but Russ wouldn't give up and even after she finally gave in to him, he got so possessive." Raven shook her head. "Jos may have a point after all, that curse her mother put on her the day she was born may still affect her..."
Arei thought that over. "You know, that wouldn't be a bad place to start with all this. It would help her case to have the goddess on her side." He shot her a glance. "And I'm certain Calypso would welcome a lesbian fairy into her courts... especially if she were accompanied by a heartbroken werewolf."
Raven sent him a skeptical look, "You're saying Shelly and I go talk to that crazy ass woman? To talk her in to sponsoring the child she not only gave up once BUT TWICE?!" She shook her head, "What part of that could you possibly think is a good idea?"
Arei shrugged. "It's worth a try, isn't it?"
Raven was still shaking her head no but agreed anyways. "This is a horrible idea, you know that! But it couldn't hurt to try." She turned questioning eyes to him. "But what about Jos in the mean time?"
"We'll get her to a safe place, nearer the ocean and wait until the right time... or until the council finds us first..." Arei answered pulling into the hotel.
Raven shook her head some more. "This is a horrible idea. We'll all end up in prison right beside her..."
"Probably." Was all he said as he opened the door.
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
Jacquia_comics
Jacquia_comics So hopefully by now most of the first volume is coming full circle and you can kinda see where things are leading.
I'd love to know if there's any part of the story so far you still have questions about or really want me to ellaborate on! Leave any thoughts or questions you have in the comments!
edited 8/9/20
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone