Endangered Ch. 06

Her species is almost as threatened as ours. This is a chance to save them too.

"Thank you, Annabel. In the meantime, I'm sure I could find uses for his stuff, make sure it doesn't go to waste?" proposed the sprite, impishly sitting in her perch, half under a thick spray of hot water.

"I'm sure you could," Chris muttered, reliving the vivid image of the sprite being splattered as she writhed on Annabel's back.

Annabel slapped his peck, "You were thinking about it again weren't you?"

He grinned sheepishly, it had been very hot.

"I blame you, you've corrupted my boyfriend, you nasty little ... cum slut!" Annabel flicked some water the culprit's way.

"I can't help it! You know what he's like," the sprite pleaded innocence.

A playful, giggily shower battle ensued, the sprite using the dragon's bulk as cover from the human's grasping hands and hurling little shocks of electricity or cold at Annabel, harmless but making her scream nonetheless. They flung innuendo back and forth. Eventually, the dragon caught them both and made them make up, which they did happily enough after their play-fight. It ended up turning out into a ten minute make-out session between he and Annabel, after which the dragon took his time to wash their lithe bodies very thoroughly.

***

"He's having sex with her already?" Susan's voice raised in unconstrained worry.

"Well, in as much sense of the word as possible given the physical limitations," Lillian explained, drawing a slurp of blood through the straw. "Some of the old enamouring enchantments used to use certain Sprite...How do I say this politely, ingredients? If you remember, Susan. Now she's bound herself to him, apparently offering her food is some sort of magical contract. Reyla wasn't at all happy, she seemed very surprised that a female sprite was even in the area."

It'd gotten late and Lillian had almost picked up her phone to find out where the witch and the human had gotten themselves lost but they'd just walked through the door.

It was truly night outside now, the lights of the larger city but especially the active Being district shone up through the wide windows into the dimly lit kitchen where the three women conferred.

"Well that explains why Reyla was distracted today," Michelle said. "Things didn't go so well, she snapped at one of the legal experts we had in conference, threatened to curse his lineage if he didn't start thinking intelligently. Wait, she can't actually do that, can she?"

"Yes, but not without consequence after yesterday's decree by the Synod," replied the vampire. "Reyla is usually short-tempered at the best of times but today would have been especially bad. She was aggravated by this sprite and wounded Chris when she meant to kill little woman. To top it all off, I stood aside when the dragon could very easily have meant her harm. That he only ended up telling her off like she was a spoiled child is perhaps worse than if he had."

"What did she get Chris with?" Susan assumed her son's injuries couldn't have been too bad or she'd have heard about it before now. To be honest, she was still more concerned about him taking up with the sprite so readily.

"Shadefrost, he's been healing well today but it must've hurt like hell."

Susan's motherly instincts flared visibly as her demeanour stiffened. How dare the Drow use borderline dark magic on him!

Lillian saw her reaction and put a steadying hand on the witch's shoulder.

"He stood in front of her spell to protect the sprite. For what it's worth, Reyla seemed very put out about hurting him. She sent over a powerful salve to help him heal right away."

"He's in his room?" Susan asked.

"He and Annabel went to bed early with Immianthe trailing along. That's the sprite, and she's quite rambunctious. He said he's feeling okay, just really tired and still a bit chilled."

Susan didn't respond, resisting the urge to barge into his bedroom to check on him.

"So she can just get away with attacking him?" Michelle asked.

"Well essentially, yes," Lillian spoke. "Chris could have fought her or maybe demanded compensation of some sort but it's her territory. She has the power to punish and even kill her subjects with only marginal justification if she chooses so. She'd need more because he's a dragon but the Synod would only step in if things got really out of hand. She didn't even mean to hit him, the sprite was definitely asking for trouble."

"Huh," Michelle murmured. "Things are really going to have to change around here. I can see why we got almost nowhere today, we've been assuming you have some sort of justice system with sensible rules and laws, like we do."

"We do," the vampire flashed her fangs in a wicked smile at the human before sucking out the last of her blood bag obnoxiously noisily.

"How's that?" Michelle asked when no explanation was forthcoming.

"Don't get caught, don't piss off the powerful, and protect the Secret."

"So, what? Just fight it out? That's Barbaric."

"You can't apply human logic and laws to everything Beings do. We aren't human. Our system has worked for thousands of years, but you humans are in the process of toppling one of the constants every Being has known and clung to since birth; humans don't know about us. That's going to be hard for some of us to deal with, not to mention these new restrictions."

Michelle thought that over for several moments. Realising she needed to reconsider her vision of how the Revelation would unfold. She'd been hoping Beings and humans could be covered by a single set of laws but who knows how it was going to work.

"You said you let him past you when you thought he might hurt Reyla, how is that possible?" Susan noticed the importance of the vampire's admission and even managed to hold her fierce gaze until Lillian was forced to lower her eyes.

"I don't know," Lillian spoke very quietly. "It's getting harder.... sometimes I just want to taste him so badly."

"Oh, Lillian, I'm sorry," it was Susan's turn to provide comfort. She couldn't imagine what the vampire was going through but it must have been a terribly cruel hearted decision to knowingly assign Lillian to guard her son. The thing was, it had been good for him and they appeared to get on so well that Susan couldn't help but be a little thankful. "There must be a way, to break it I mean?"

Lillian's eyes flicked to the witch, trying to convey the danger of continuing the conversation in the monitored apartment.

"No, I must be released. Reyla and I have our differences but our bloodpact is useful to both of us," Lillian lied through her fangs, doing her best to act sincere for the sake of her own safety. She wouldn't put it past the elf to destroy her after today's transgression.

Susan was instantly ashamed at her mistake. She'd been removed from Beings far too long for her own good. Anything and everything could be used against you, she'd grown complacent in her time raising Chris.

Michelle was confused to say the least. There was suddenly tension and angst in the air. Words like bloodpact certainly had connotations she didn't like. Her inquisitive nature was about to force her to ask what was going on but Susan subtly moved closer along the kitchen island to grab a piece of fruit out of the basket and placed her foot gently on top of Michelle's.

As she bit into the crisp apple, Susan looked meaningfully at the NSA agent, the questions died in Michelle's throat, replaced by a surreptitious swallow.

"Well, you've had dinner, Lillian, so why don't I take Michelle down to the lobby café for some of our own?" Susan said. "I imagine that Chris and Annabel had the right idea going to bed early, we've all got big days tomorrow."

"I'm sure chaperoning your son on a date can't be too tiring," Lillian smiled.

"It's alright for you, Lillian. You're not the one handing over your lover to an untried dragoness," Susan said, happy that the mood had brightened almost instantly. Perhaps even quick enough for a nosy Drow to overlook the poorly veiled colluding.

"You can only blame yourself for raising such a lecherous, unfaithful, womanising, boy," the vampire shot back.

Michelle's mouth dropped open before she realised Lillian was, of course, joking.

Susan only smiled knowingly as she grabbed Michelle's hand and pulled her towards the door. Lillian had it all wrong, when you were with Chris, it was like you were the only thing in the universe that mattered to him and he was the only thing that mattered to you. At least that's how it felt to her. It was wonderful.

***

The sprite paced down his chest and out onto the ripples of the dragon's abdomen, putting a hitch in her hips for his benefit as she felt his big, reptilian eyes following her shapely, naked butt. She turned, pausing to put her words together.

"I can sense you, obviously from quite a distance now that I know what's pulling me. It's even stronger here in the Ether. Just look at you!"

"He glows," Annabel agreed, snuggling closer against his side, her head resting on his shoulder. He stroked a hand through her hair just the way she liked, resting it on her scalp every now and then and scratching oh-so-lightly.

"Yes. But he sticks out like a sore wing. It displays too much power. Anyone who wants to find you wouldn't have a hard time with the help of even an acolyte psycer or anyone in tune with the flows of the Ether."

"Radek," Chris murmured, making Immianthe's warm footing vibrate like a gentle massage.

"Exactly. A Being as dark and powerful as you've described him doesn't simply let you get away. If not him then someone else, eventually, will be looking for you. We must all be ready to fight back," Immianthe said as she paced back up his cream-coloured sternum, adjacent to her mistress's face where that delightful little tattoo was lurking behind an ear, eager to play.

"Even you, little Immi?" Chris asked with a grin.

Immi whirled on him, grabbing hold of his chin and leaning up to look into his eyes. "Yes of course me! Just because I'm small you big Beings disregard... oooohhh!"

Chris interrupted her with his dexterous, forked tongue, skimming her tummy and tiny breasts.

"Mmmhhh, don't stop, Master," she leaned closer across his lips so he could mouth her entire torso while his tongue slipped past her tiny bush, between her moist, warm thighs; giving her some wonderful stimulation. "We sprites... hhhrrrrm, are quite... yes keep going... formidable!"

She reached all the way up, pulling at small handfuls of his purple hair, gyrating enthusiastically on his hot tongue as it smothered her slickening, greedy, little womanhood. However, it seemed he was only playing with her as he moved it back up to her tummy and blew her a little raspberry. She giggled and retreated.

"My fearsome little warrior, defeated with a few licks," Chris chuckled after bringing his tongue back to sample her delightfuly addictive flavour. He blew cool air across her damp skin, making her shiver.

"Tease," the sprite accused, backing away to find a spot across his chest to lie down, kicking her legs up behind her as she rolled around a little and found herself face to face with Annabel. The sprite reached out an arm and touched her nose affectionately. "Back to the serious stuff, and no more distractions, dragon. How am I supposed to help educate you two when you divert me like that? I've got enough problems with my attention span as it is!"

"Okay, okay, Immi," Annabel soothed. "Continue please, I'll keep him in line."

"Well, as I was saying, it's important to learn to reduce your presence, not only for safety's sake but because it is a helpful exercise in the basic manipulation of energy. When using magic, you draw energy to the surface from your magical centre. Then you mould that energy into your desired outcome using images, intentions, incantations, or objects. When you release that energy, your magic takes form."

Immi paused to look up. The dragon's head was propped on some comfy looking pillows so he could watch her, which he was doing intently. Her little heart fluttered excitedly at having his eyes on her.

"To hide yourself," the sprite continued, "you essentially do the opposite. Focusing on the energy contained inside of you, force it down deeper, into a calm, quiet place. Then you must try to tame it and relax. It will be hard at first, but the more you practice, the easier it will be for you to access your magic at any time. This is an excellent exercise for beginners."

"So it's like stretching or yoga?" Annabel asked.

"What's y.o.g.a?" Immi spelled out.

"Hehe, never mind, Immi," Chris said. "Annabel means an exercise which doesn't necessarily make you better towards a specific goal but will improve your all around strength, flexibility, and fitness."

"Then yes, it's like that," the sprite chirped.

"But I don't even feel anything when Bartholomew uses magic. There's no warning, he just does it."

"He is responsive and intelligent, no?" Immianthe lectured, waving a hand at the boisterous tattoo as it played across Annabel's hand which rested close to the sprite on the dragon's finely scaled chest.

Annabel nodded with a smile as her little dragon turned to look up at her, hopeful for approval.

"Then you must learn to communicate with him and embrace the magic of this wonderful enchantment so that you are one Being."

Annabel's breath hitched at Immi's use of the word. Could she be... a Being? Perhaps not in the true sense of the word but that wouldn't matter to her so much. She could be something more than human. Something relevant, someone to stand beside a dragon and meet all challenges!

Chris's lips and nose touched down gently in her brown hair as if he'd sensed her thoughts, extracting a happy coo from her as he snuffled into her scalp reassuringly. She looked down at her hand where it rested beside the sprite and made a plea in her mind to her little dragon.

Will you help me, Bartholomew? This is so crazy, I'm talking to a magic tattoo but they say you're alive, that you can change and grow... Together we could... Can we grow into something meaningful, someone who can make a difference? I want to stay with him forever but... Please, will you help me?

He stared directly back at her. It was so intense that she felt sure he was weighing a decision very carefully.

Suddenly he broke his stillness with a tiny head bob and a puff of smoke.

Annabel gasped audibly as she felt a jolt travel her entire body. Heat leapt up her wrist from the tattoo, streaking painfully towards her chest, taking hold and throbbing. It intensified quickly to almost unbearable levels but thankfully the worst past quickly. She squirmed uncomfortably as slowly, the feeling eased, the heat cooling.

"Annabel, what's wrong?" Chris asked.

"He, he's... I can feel something, a spark in my chest," Annabel took a deep breath to calm her racing heart. "I asked him to help me. I... I think he's somehow merged more deeply with me."

"Whoa," Chris murmured as Bartholomew obviously nodded in agreement. He looked a little tired from the whole ordeal. Chris reached across with his free hand to stroke Annabel's skin where he was curling up to rest. "Thank you, Bartholomew."

Thank you! Annabel echoed at him in her mind.

He merely ruffled his little purple wings and wrapped his tail up and around her wrist. She felt the spark, for she didn't know how else to describe it, calm and pulsate gently as he fell asleep.

"He is a truly remarkable enchantment," Immianthe agreed. "Perhaps you two will be more in harmony."

"I hope so," Annabel said before turning her head to steal a soft kiss from her lover.

"Do you want to practice yourself, Chris?" Immi asked.

"Um, sure but you're going to have to guide me through it."

Chris was a bit apprehensive, the magic he'd pulled off so far had mostly come from the dragon, not his own impetus.

"Of course, Master. Just do as I've said, feel for your energy as if you're about to cast. Focus on it, only a little though, please. We don't want to blow a hole in the wall if you cannot concentrate."

Chris looked askance at the sprite but felt inside himself for that energy which lurked just below his normal human consciousness. He pulled at it gently, it was much slower than when the dragon was actively guiding him but he could feel it begin to focus in his solar plexus.

"Good, Chris, good," Immi encouraged him, feeling the magic coming to the surface right underneath her. "Can you hold it there?"

Chris nodded, but it was becoming uncomfortable. It was obvious the magic wanted an outlet. Once called upon, it was eager to find its new form, embrace its release.

"Okay, now try to push it downward, deeper. Contain it, try to calm it and relax yourself."

Saying that was all well and good, Chris thought, but it was a completely different kettle of fish to put it into practice when he'd never done anything like this before. He didn't want to try to talk and loose his concentration but his efforts to push the stubborn orb down inside himself weren't working. Frustrated, he tried making a mental shove at the imagined ball.

It only hummed louder, like an angry wasp.

"Relax, Chris, don't force it," Immi soothed as Annabel stroked a comforting hand across his skin.

He was really trying, but the energy was getting more aggravated as he stressed. He took a deep breath through his nose and swallowed anxiously, resetting his efforts.

To his relief, the ball shifted. He gulped again and tried to apply gentle pressure, pushing his own essence and magic deeper within himself. It was working! Ever so slowly the orb descended past the prostrate sprite, into his belly.

The further it went, the easier it became, and as he realised it was going to work he relaxed even further until the ball came to a soft barrier right by his belly button. He felt it notch into place of its own accord, sinking into a dormant or hidden state. He finally understood how the process could conceal one's power and aura, for the energy in his belly seemed far smaller to what he had been struggling with in his chest just moments ago. It still vibrated lazily every few moments but it wasn't a struggle to hold.

"Nice work," Immi praised as Annabel looked up to find her dragon smiling nervously. "The hard part is over but the mastery is in the art of holding, not pushing it down inside you. The trick is to become used to the sensation so that you don't have to think about keeping it there. The more of yourself you try to hide, the harder it is to hold and conceal."

"Do Beings just go around like this all the time?" Annabel asked.

"Some," replied the sprite, "but it is not as easy to maintain when distractions are present; engaging in conversation or even walking down the street might be too much for most Beings. In our world though, it is always wise to hold something in reserve."

"Isn't it a bit dishonest? I mean going around pretending to be weaker than you are?" Annabel didn't like the idea that any Being they met could be far from what they appeared to be on the surface.

"On the contrary, it helps to keep everyone honest," Immi said. "If you don't know for sure who you're dealing with, it's best to be polite and careful. But don't worry about it too much, most Beings don't bother. For someone like our dragon, though, it could be important. Besides, I'm running this lesson and it's a good place to start!"

"It's always good to have an ace up..." Chris started but spluttered and coughed heavily as the energy he'd been holding spotted a chance to make a break for its freedom at lower entropy.

Smoke billowed from his mouth as he coughed, carrying tiny purple and yellow embers upwards as both Immi and Annabel started backwards. It surged back up through his body, some escaping in where it found the opportunity but most settling back in his solar plexus where it was more stable.