Order's Wrath
Order's WrathThe room was stiflingly warm. Soren sat between Eli and Logan in the small, under-air-conditioned office of Mr Cohen, the long time lawyer that the Sauls had worked with. Mr Cohen dressed as sharp as the blades on his wrist. He was a short but wire thin bisharp, with dark red skin and eyes framed by dark blue glasses. His face bore a sharp look in his eyes and slash thin mouth that matched the steely glares of his clients. With five fire types crammed into the office, the early August humidity was palpable enough for both Soren and Eli to be soaking their best suits in sweat, even inside. Logan was sweating too, but wasn't showing it as much as his own clients. Noel, Simon, and Mr Cohen all seemed to be completely unaffected. After a five second staredown that felt like hours, Mr Cohen spoke, in a low, grating voice that brought to mind the sound of grinding gears. "Welcome to Lassaire," rasped the bisharp. "Let's make this quick, shall we?" "I was going to say the same thing," said Logan, his voice and face neutral as he shuffled papers in his hands. "Shall we review with your clients' demands?"
"I think that would be best," nodded Mr. Cohen. "Noel and Simon Saul have requested Soren Saul to annul his marriage to Eli Vatra, and if he refuses to do so, that he legally changes his name. He must also sever contact with the Saul family in all ways. This means that if he chooses to call, visit, or contact them in any way, that would be grounds for harassment charges. The same restrictions would be applied to Eli Vatra as well. Also, if he were to take the latter course of action, he is to return his grandmother's inheritance." "The second part is new to me," said Logan, his sharp clawed fingers now scratching his chin. "You're basically demanding an indefinite restraining order?" "I have drafted the legal details here," said Mr Cohen, holding out a neatly typed document on yellow paper. "Obviously the nitty gritty legal details go deeper than what I
described, but I'm sure you and your clients get the gist." "That I do," said Logan, gravely, his gold eyes scanning the paper. "Soren, Eli, do you have objections to this new demand?"
Eli shook his head, but Soren nodded. "I have a question. What if I myself am approached by someone I am supposedly forbidden to contact? Am I allowed to reply without retribution?" "Under the unlikely event that we or anyone other Saul decided to contact you, you would be able to reply, but planning for such an eventuality seems like a waste of all of our times," said Simon with an aggressive frown. "I simply wanted to know," said Soren, keeping his tone even. "I just wanted to be sure I would not cross any lines." "And what about the final condition?" asked Mr Cohen, pointing to one of the later paragraphs on the document. "Do your clients object to the condition of returning Jeanne's inheritance?" "We do," said Soren, "But let's go through exactly what you want before the dispute starts." Mr Cohen nodded. "Returning Jeanne Delilah Baile's inheritance entails three things. The first is that Soren must return the furniture and instruments that he received from her. The second is that Soren relinquishes control over what remains of the trust fund that he received. The final demand is that Soren repays what money he has spent from said trust until the original balance of $45000 is restored."
"My clients dispute your demands about the inheritance," said Logan, crisply. "Obviously you claim that Soren is no longer the rightful recipient if he is no longer in the Saul family. However, my review of the will has not provided me with any insights that would support the claim. From my review of the will, it seems to be phrased in a manner that Soren's portion of the inheritance belongs to him regardless of his familial status..." The next hour was a back and forth battle of semantics where Logan and Mr Cohen waged a civil, restrained, but intense verbal war. Soren and Eli couldn't add much to the process. They had gone over this whole process when they arrived in Iowa, and reviewed it a second, third, and fourth time in the drive to Wisconsin. All that Eli and Soren could do was watch Noel and Simon glare daggers as Logan argued with the skill and eloquence of a master orator. Five minutes past the turn of the hour, Soren felt a brush of tails and a rustle of damp fabric as Eli left the room. He probably just needed the restroom. But as as the time approached two thirty, he was still nowhere to be seen. Soren glanced through the office windows facing the hall, searching for a glimpse of Eli's slim figure or kind face. After a few seconds of searching, Soren thought he caught a snatch of bright orange out of the corner of the window in the office door.
Quietly, Soren excused himself, slipping out of the office with promises that he'd return as soon as possible. Eli was sitting on the bench outside of the office, his knees tucked under his muzzle. He was biting his nails as he nervously tapped his foot on the wood. Soren swept Eli off of the cold bench. He wrapped Eli's body in his own, squeezing him tight with his arms and all of his tails. "Tell me what's wrong," whispered Soren, giving his love a kiss on the cheek. "It's their eyes," whispered Eli, gripping Soren even tighter, pressing his cheek into Soren's breast pocket. "They're just staring at me. They look so angry and this whole mess is my fau-" "No," said Soren, shaking Eli in his arms, speaking and holding him much more fiercely than he had intended. "Listen to me, Eli. Listen to me. Don't you dare say this is your fault. Don't you dare blame yourself for their bullshit. They'll get in your head and make everything they do your fault. They don't even need to speak. All they need to do is look at you and they'll make you feel guilty and depressed and hopeless. Everything becomes your fault. They did it to me for fifteen years and it made me so miserable. I won't let them do it to you too."
"Soren... I can't go back in there. I can't stand how they're staring at me." "I know... I know," said Soren, his voice lowering into a hush. "But we need you back in there soon. I need you back in there. Please. I'll hold your hand the whole time if you want, but we can't hide out here forever." "Won't that make them angrier?" asked Eli as he took Soren's hand in his. "Good," said Soren, firmly. "Come on. Let's just get this over with. We can be done with this in an hour or two. We just need to do this together." "I love you, Soren," sighed Eli, holding them tightly together. "I love you too, Eli," said Soren, kissing Eli twice. "Are you ready?" "I think so." "Come on," said Soren, taking Eli's hand in his. "Let's just get this over with." The two slipped back into a silent room. Logan had obviously paused for them. Pointing a sharp claw at the original will, Logan spoke in a calm, firm voice. "Depending on how you twist the words, one could argue that Soren would lose the inheritance if he was estranged from your family. However, you seem to be willfully ignoring this last passage, which I have reiterated both here in this office and when we corresponded at a distance." Pushing his square glasses farther up his nose, Logan read in a louder, more forceful voice. "...These parts of my will belong to Soren Saul, the first son of my daughter Noel, wherever he may live, doing whatever he chooses to do, and by whatever name he choses to live by."
There was a brief pause as Logan pulled another crisp yellow note out of his briefcase. "Your primary argument is that because Soren is discarding the family name he is no longer an applicable recipient for the inheritance. However, that line explicitly negates that argument. I have also provided many cases in the states of Kansas, Wisconsin, and California, where a similar situation has happened, and the plaintiff lost
the case. Those three states are where Soren has at one point held residency, and any laws about inheritance that apply only to those states still rule in favor of Soren." Mr Cohen closed his mouth, pressing his grey lips together. he did not speak. Logan tapped the desk with his fingers, drumming a beat against the wood. Eli gripped Soren's hand even tighter as Noel and Simon continued to stare at both of them. No one talked for over a minute. The beat of Logan's fingers ceased as he leaned back and crossed his arms. His steel grey horns gleamed in the light of the office. "All right," said the houndoom, his face falling into a deep frown, his gold eyes now cold. "Let's drop the pretense, shall we? Let's talk about why we are really here."
"What do you mean by that?" asked Simon, his voice loud in the confined space. "I don't think you ever actually planned on winning this case," said Logan, growling now as he dropped his air of crisp professionalism. "You demanded that this case be settled here, in person, despite the fact that Soren, Eli, and myself live hundreds of miles away. You threatened legal action on the day of their wedding and demanded that the case be settled as soon as possible. You have no real argument that could actually support Soren giving up his inheritance, and getting that inheritance back has no real meaning to you. You're obviously well to do people. you don't need old furniture or instruments or even the money. You have set up this entire kerfuffle out of sheer spite." "Spite?" asked Noel in indignation, speaking for the first time in hours. "You think that we started this whole, painful affair because we were bitter?" "That is exactly what I think," said Logan, now glaring back at Noel and Simon with a ferocity that put the two to shame. "All this case really is is an excuse to make Soren and Eli change any of their honeymoon plans at the last minute and then waste their time and money on a plane ticket and legal fees. Well, unfortunately for you, Soren's father in law, me, is a lawyer, and I don't charge for family. So, I'm going to be candid. Let's drop the bullshit and speak plainly. If you want Soren to change his name and cut
contact, fine, we've agreed. But if you want to take the inheritance case to court, I assure you that any competent judge would throw this case out. You have no hope of winning. I can make this whole affair long and painful, and I won't let go until we win."
Simon opened his mouth to complain, but he shut it. his dark, beady eyes flicked from Soren to Logan to Mr. Cohen and back again. He bit into his lip as his quills flared red. "... Fine. Fine. We can settle this here. Forget the damn instruments." "I'm glad you've decided to act your age," said Logan. "We have some paperwork to sign, and then I believe that all parties would be perfectly happy if we never spoke to you again." Logan stared over the top of his dark frames, his fingers steepled and tapping together. His implacable gaze quelled Simon's retort, who instead muttered darkly as he took a pen from the desk. By the end of the hour it was done. As Soren signed his name for the last time, a weight seemed to lift off of his chest. It wasn't until he was on the other end of the ordeal did he realize how afraid he had been of losing the case. They stood up wordlessly to leave. None of them wasted time or energy pretending to be polite anymore. Logan and Mr. Cohen had a few business words to exchange, and Soren and Eli waited outside the office door for him.
Simon and Noel left the office. Noel had returned to her place on Simon's arm, unable to look either of them in the eye. She paused as she passed Eli, biting her lip. They stood there, Eli and Noel locking eyes as Soren and Simon glared at each other. After a minute, Noel seemed to have gathered enough courage to speak, addressing Eli. "I hope you realize I bear either of you no ill will. It is not in my nature to wish ill on others.. but I do hope that whatever you and Soren think you have fades quickly. I hope that you two will see the errors of your ways and that I can one day have my son back." Soren's whole face contracted, lost for words in his fury. But before he could reply, Eli's voice broke the silence. it was calm, but dangerously cool. "If you had paid attention to anyone but yourselves, you would have realized that you lost Soren long before we even met." Noel's jaw dropped in outrage, but Soren spoke, forcefully to quell any retorts. "Goodbye, Noel." Taking Eli's hand, he turned around. Together, they walked to the stairs, one of Soren's tails draped around Eli's slender waist. Soren wasn't sure, but he thought he heard a small, choked sob behind him.
Soren sat on the edge of the bed, dressed in gym shorts and his undershirt. He was happy to be out of his suit. He and Eli had watched a movie, cuddling up so that they could unwind after the days events. Soren couldn't even remember what they watched.Eli stepped out of the hotel's tiny bathroom with a cloud of steam. He was dressed for bed, only in his boxers. He sat down next to Soren, kissing his cheek. Soren turned to greet Eli, burying his nose in cream colored fur as he inhaled deeply to take in the scent of Eli's blackberry conditioner. "You smell nice," whispered Soren, slightly unnecessarily. "Thanks, sweetie." Eli turned to hold Soren close, nuzzling him as he ran a hand across a silver cheek. Breaking apart, Soren flopped onto the queen bed, groaning in exhaustion as he spread his limbs across the blanket. "So... I guess this is the first great ordeal of our marriage. That came far too fast. Aren't we allowed to have our honeymoon first?" "Maybe we should get them all out of the way now," said Eli, scooting backwards so he could rub Soren's shoulders. "Why not get them all done this year so we can spend the next sixty free and clear."
Soren gave out a tiny growl as he felt Eli's hands run across his shoulders and chest. "I don't think it works that way, sweetheart." There were a few minutes of silence as Eli continued to rub Soren's shoulders. "I'm glad we won," said Eli. "I know you'd be crushed if you lost those instruments."
Soren sat up, sweeping Eli into his arms and kissing Eli on the lips. "I'd take you over those instruments any day." Without warning, Eli buried his face in Soren's chest with a tiny, solitary sob. "Thank you, Soren. That means so much." Soren was perplexed. "Eli... Eli, darling, why are you surprised?" "I'm not surprised, Soren," said Eli, kissing Soren again. "I'm touched. I know you'd be willing to leave behind those instruments to be with me, and that means a lot. I know exactly how much all of those instruments mean. They aren't just about music. They're all so full of memories. They hold fragments of you in them, and Jeanne and me too now. And I know you'd throw them all away if that's what it took to stay with me. But I know you'd be crushed to leave them behind, especially if you had to give them back to your parents."
Eli and Soren shared another long, extended kiss. They threw each other deeply into their arms, and as they kissed over and over Soren found Eli cradled in his arms, and not long after that Eli was straddling his lap, pressing their chests and arms and lips together. "Are you looking for a little extra love tonight, dear?" asked Soren before kissing Eli again."I think you need it more than I do," whispered Eli as he cradled Soren's muzzle in his hands.There was a period of silence as they continued to hold their bodies and lips together. Soren ran his hands slowly across Eli's bare back, his fingers spread apart so that they left tracks in the fur. "I do need it, Eli, darling." whispered Soren, slowly lying back, letting Eli begin to undress him. "I do need it..."