Bird of a Flock (Bow 2) - Chapter 43: Chapter 43

"I promise to follow the k'nairi rules and laws, for as long as they protect my kin and me," Eyeri spoke in broken k'nairi but was understandable. Then something happened that none of them were expecting.
The link flared through the royals as the link's magic surrounded Eyeri The boy's eyes widened as firefly-like lights appeared, floating and surrounding him. The lights buzzed and brushed against Eyeri, leaving trails of static electricity where they touched and making his hair stand on ends. All three of the royals seemed completely taken over by the link, looking at him with a look of judgement. This was different from Herymi.
Ryraso would have been worried, only he could feel the link. He could feel its warmth. It was judging the boy, just as it had Herymi. It was judging him worthy. This one was a healer and the Winglord's newly adoptive son. The link wanted him. Knowledge and understanding would come in time, Eyeri would learn how to speak k'nairi soon enough. A few badly said words could be forgiven.
"Once you are ours, little one, you will understand the true meaning of Kin," the link spoke back through not only Tai'ray's mouth but Dyn'ad and Nel'os too. More importantly, it spoke in human. It wanted Eyeri to understand.
Eyeri blinked before he yelped as pain flared through him, like he had actually been branded. The sparks dived into him and hot fire ran through him as the link caught hold of his soul. He didn't fight it though he did screw his eyes shut, trying not to fight it. He let the pain flow through him, just hoping it would be worth the risk. The sensation quickly replaced with a feeling he had never felt before. Eyeri's eyes opened again and he gasped as the pain faded and he collapsed to his knees, his hands clutching his chest.
Warmth radiated out from his centre, feeling like it was filling him up. It was a feeling which was not from him. It was gentle and reassuring, for all that it should have scared him. Ghosts of voices and emotions suddenly flowing around him with a strange sensation of being welcomed. Physical hands curled around him and Eyeri looked up into the heart of the link.
"Welcome Eyeri Zamen, to the K'nairi,"  The Winglord's face smiled gently at the boy. Eyeri flinched as he realised the words were spoken in his mind. Tai'ray tugged him close into a big hug and began to rock him gently. "I'm so sorry for everything which has happened," Tai'ray whispered into the boy's mind, true remorse flooding through with it. "Thank you for not fighting this," he added, pressing their foreheads together.
"It feels strange," Eyeri murmured, feeling light-headed and dizzy, clinging to Tai'ray's arms.
Ryraso chuckled, walking up to the two men and slowly kneeling down by them. Tai'ray reluctantly let Eyeri move into his arms, not really wanting to let go of his new flock member but knowing his father needed to hold him. "You get used to it," Ryraso promised, pressing his own kiss to Eyeri's forehead. The emotions and feelings buzzed around him agreeing with Ryraso's statement.
Eyeri giggled, not sure why but suddenly overcome with the need to. And then pain overtook his senses. This time pure pain filling him for a brief moment before he fainted like Herymi. His last real thoughts being that he was surrounded by people who would protect him dearly. That he was safe, for the moment.
The room was dark. Yerir'o had left some of the strange plant lights on but Fetmar had worked out how to turn them off. He didn't want to be in a bright, cheerful room. He was facing a choice here and it wasn't something he could do in a happy atmosphere. By insulting the Winglord, Fetmar had backed himself into a corner which was going to be humiliating to get out of now. Or incredibly painful. Fetmar exhaled and shifted where he was sitting on the window seat.
He couldn't escape. There was nowhere to go. He was not Loror, he couldn't walk over the wilds even if the k'nairi weren't searching for him. Not to mention, the window had nothing near it that he could use to climb it. It was just a steep drop. Not high enough to kill him but enough to seriously injure him. It wasn't worth it.
Light filtered into the room as the door opened and Tai'ray walking in.  Fetmar looked over at the Winglord warily almost frozen for a moment before finally standing respectfully.
The k'nairi looked him up and down before finally stating, "It is done," Tai'ray stated.
The words seemed to echo in Fetmar's ears. His heart clenched painfully as the truth of the matter hit. He hadn't made it in time to save his brother. He was now k'nairi and branded. Bowing his head, he remained silent. He wanted to yell abuse at the Winglord, wanted to rage and attack but he knew better. Yerir'o had drilled into him how to be polite to the k'nairi. Especially after fate made it so he kept fighting against them.
The Winglord walked over to him, taking note of the human. He was dressed in some of Yerir'o's slacks, the older males scent surrounding him but there was a dash of something to it. Or rather a lack of something, a lack of sex. Anyone who walked into the room would be able to tell the young man had a k'nairi protector but not a lover. Not yet, at least.
Fetmar's hair was longer than most soldiers, hanging around his shoulders. It was the same shade of dirty golden as his younger brother and their eyes were the same shade of blue as well. The family resemblance was strong, even if Eyeri was a tiny thing compared to his brother.
"Do I have your answer?" Tai'ray murmured quietly, not wanting to break the strange atmosphere in the room. He didn't need the link to tell that the man felt defeated right now. Fetmar looked up at him, his eyes sad and tired. Tai'ray almost felt a twinge of sympathy for the man but Tai'ray still wanted an answer before telling the man that his brother had been saved from being branded. Tai'ray wanted to know what this man would do if Eyeri had been.
The human looked back down, his stance slumped and beyond defeated. "I am sorry I was rude, Winglord. I'm sure you can understand my reasons. Regardless, I didn't mean to question your authority," Fetmar said clearly, sounding truthful enough.
Tai'ray nodded, "I do and that is one of the few reasons you are still here, Fetmar," he stated almost coldly, before reaching forward and catching Fetmar's chin. He pulled the man's head back up to look him in the eyes again. They were hard to look at, they looked almost broken but Tai'ray needed to see them. They were hard to look at but they were also a product of Fetmar's youth, the human would recover from this failure. "I accept your apology. I know this can't be easy for you," Tai'ray stated gently.
"I'm supposed to look after my brothers, Winglord. More than once I have failed," Fetmar said.
"Eyeri is safe here," Tai'ray said strangely.
"By your mercy, he is. If you were any different..." Fetmar argued softly, starting to get a touch more animated.
"I'm not," Tai'ray said firmly, not in the mood to let the man slip into self-pity. "Eyeri is safe. And to my knowledge, the others are too. You are human Fetmar, you can't look after them all at such a large distance. From what Yerir'o has told me, you've had to make your own fair share of deals with him and others to keep them safe." Tai'ray felt Fetmar shudder at that memory and let go of his chin. The human had done a lot to protect what was left of his family.
"And now I have to make more," Fetmar whispered.
"If you stay, I won't let you go any easier than I will let the other humans leave," Tai'ray warned. "Though I imagine that staying would be considerably better than going to Fiant," he added to remind Fetmar that realistically, not staying was not an option either.
Fetmar paled at the very name of the prison camp. Where people were 'converted' to the D'mar cause and used for the experiments of a man far crueller that Loror ever was. "I imagine so," Fetmar muttered, but managed to keep looking at Tai'ray's face, even if his eyes were no longer meeting his. "If I ask to stay. What will happen?" he asked after a moment.
"In a few days, you will receive ten lashes and the brand. After is a little more complicated now," Tai'ray murmured, his hands moving to run though Fetmar's hair. Fetmar let him, knowing full well what Tai'ray was doing. He was testing him and seeing if he would submit. "You will be housed in the consort quarters, same as Eyeri and Ryraso for the moment. You will be taught k'nairi customs and some house rules. Claiming will be explained to you as well, Ry has a full lecture about how not to get claimed, waiting for you, but I think for you, it may be too late," he teased very softly.
Fetmar smiled weakly, "Yerir'o."
"Yerir'o. If anything, you need the speech on overprotective suitors and how to deal with them from Herymi," Tai'ray smiled, letting more warmth enter his face. Seeing O'cheter react to Herymi collapsing had been interesting. Herymi was going to be under a tighter rein for a few days and Nel'os was already placing bets on when Herymi was going to punch the man.
Fetmar let out a pained groan, "Is that the reason he bit me?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck. He had known this but somehow the fact Yerir'o was going to be overprotective, possibly even possessive by human standards hadn't really sunk in.
"And why you are wearing his clothes. They are subtle warning signs for other k'nairi males to stay away. I would advise against any flirting with other people in his presence. Not unless you are planning to stay with them for the rest of your life," Tai'ray warned, sitting on the window seat and gesturing for Fetmar to do the same.
"Thanks for the warning," Fetmar breathed but sat, his hands gripping the edge of the wooden seat.
"Do you want to stay then?" Tai'ray asked, bringing them back to the original matter. Fetmar flinched but nodded. There was silence for a moment, Tai'ray waiting patiently for Fetmar to pull the courage that he needed together to say the words. This couldn't be forced. This couldn't be hastily rushed. Tai'ray was no longer angry with Fetmar for having the audacity to question him, the anger had dimmed into annoyance but the irritation was still there.  Still, he wouldn't be a good Winglord if he didn't know how to hold back his own feelings towards a person.
"Please Winglord," Fetmar whispered, meeting Tai'ray's eyes. "Let me stay with my brother." Tai'ray narrowed his eyes and Fetmar shuddered, seeing the dark look in Tai'ray's expression. He had not paid the toll here and Tai'ray was not going to let him pass.
"You know the cost," Tai'ray stated firmly.
"I... "Fetmar gave him a look of desperation, but the Winglord refused to take pity and gave him a firm, solid look. The Winglord had already been challenged once today, Fetmar had already challenged him too. His more primal side was close to appearing. Fetmar had to learn the rules here. Fetmar's shoulder slumped again and he stood up, Tai'ray worrying vaguely at that moment that he was going to have to send Fetmar to Fiant, but then the man fell to his knees next to Tai'ray.
"Please, I won't betray the Namya. If you will let me, I will follow your rules and laws, but I can't help you in your fight against them," Fetmar spoke seriously, those blue eyes looking up at him with a look that reminded Tai'ray strongly of his younger brother after he had tried to escape. Honest, sincere and scared.
Tai'ray reached down and cupped Fetmar's cheek. "I wouldn't ask that of you, Fetmar. I am, however, asking for you to obey me, the laws of my people and to not betray my confidence. I am asking you not to fight against the k'nairi from this day forward," he said stressing the word seriously. Ryraso liked pointing it out and Tai'ray felt like at that moment it was important. The k'nairi and the D'mar were different things.
"The k'nairi..." Fetmar trailed off, his eyes lightening up with something that was akin to hope as he met the Winglord's. He knew the significance of that wording. Oaths with magic bound a person to their word, it was impossible not to know if you were breaking one even accidentally.
"My duty is my people, Fetmar," Tai'ray smiled, "What is yours?"
"To my brothers," Fetmar murmured, "I will obey your laws, Winglord. I won't fight against the K'nairi as a nation. I give you my word."