{"sf1_id":264866,"sf2_id":"bebOaram","title":"Family Ties: I Want Love","author":"Judah Vishas","words":2118,"posted_at":"2011-07-05T14:39:00.000Z","tags":["Bat","Biting","Demon","Feline","Gay","Incest","Kissing","Love","M/M","Magic","Supernatural"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/264866-family-ties-i-want-love","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/bebOaram","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/8b/e4/8be4486a-3100-4dfc-849d-054000d6d9b3","description":"#8 of Family Ties","content":" **I Want Love**\n\nA SideProject by Kyuuketsuki\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nManya stood before the cheval mirror in Lokiera's bedroom. He combed his hair with a bejeweled  \nbone comb that had belonged to his mother decades ago. The past two weeks with his father had  \nadded several crimson tattoos to his black tribal markings, the most notable were a pair of red lions on  \nhis chest.  \n  \n\"You look a lot like her, you know.\" Lokiera said, wrapping his arms around Manya's waist. \"You and  \nNichelle really are the most beautiful things in the world.\"  \n  \n\"Were.\" Manya corrected with a sigh. \"Mummy's gone, so now it's you and me.\" He put the comb  \ndown and stared at his reflection. \"I started wearing my hair in pigtails because she did, you know.\"  \nThe younger shapeshifter said as he tied scraps of leather into his hair, forming his trademark long,  \nlopsided pigtails.  \n  \nLokiera put a paw on Manya's to stop him. \"That reminds me. I wanted to give you something.\" The  \nking kissed Manya on the cheek before walking over to the dresser on the opposite side of the  \ncrimson lit room. Manya turned around as he returned to a small wooden box with the words 'For  \nNichelle\" carved into its lid in Blacktongue. Lokiera opened the box. Inside were two ribbons made of  \namethyst silk, each with a small skull made of silver on either end.\n\n\u0026nbsp; Manya let out a little gasp of joy at the sight of the new accessories. The demon took one from the  \nbox and immediately noticed a strand of pale hair holding on for dear life. Nichelle Inkwell's hair was  \nplatinum blonde. \"Mummy wore these...\" Manya said, tying his hair up. He shook his long bangs out of  \nhis eyes and stared at his reflection. \"I love them, Daddy. Thank you.\" He said, turning around to put  \nhis arms around Lokiera's neck.  \n  \n\"I knew you would.\" Lokiera replied, holding his boy close. \"Now, you need to go home.\"  \n  \n\"What? Why?\" Manya asked. The black ink on his face swirled into a question mark for a moment  \nbefore becoming an exclamation point. The demon looked down and smirked. His father's  \ndemonhood was pressing against his stomach.  \n  \n\"Because if you don't go now, I'll keep you in my bed for another two weeks.\" Lokiera threatened as  \nhe bit at Manya's throat.  \n  \n\"I didn't realize... I'd been here that long.\" The prince said between gasps as Lokiera's fangs pierced  \nhim. \"Neirid's probably worried. I haven't called him.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"Then let me send you home.\" Lokiera said. He gave Manya squeeze that would have broken a  \nmortal's ribs and a kiss that could have sucked the breath from his body before releasing the younger  \nshapeshifter. He took the prince's hand and began to merge with the castle's floor, bringing Manya  \nalong for the ride back to the throne room.  \n  \n\"Daddy, will you at least visit us in the mortal world?\" Manya asked as they rose from the floor under  \nthe large, demon cranium throne, kneeling to grin at the black demon pelts they'd ruined together.  \n  \nLokiera sighed and shook his head. \"I can't leave Otherworld, baby.\"  \n  \nThe prince turned around and pouted. \"But, Daddy, there's so much to see in the mortal world. And  \nit's not so hot all the time!\"  \n  \nKing Lokiera just chuckled and shook his head at his son's childish pleading. \"I am sorry. If Nichelle  \nwere still here, I could, but since we're the only remaining members of the main family, one of us  \nmust always be here. Otherwise someone else could take the throne.\"  \n  \n\"Daddy, why can't you just have someone else hold your place?\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; The elder demon raised an eyebrow. \"Think about who our people are.\"  \n  \nManya chuckled. Unfortunately, Lokiera was right. In the lesser Inkwell family, the most trustworthy  \nof them all was his cousin, Faruza Inkwell. She was a born leader but given the opportunity, Faruza  \nwould command the guards to kill both of them on sight so that she could take the throne.  \nFortunately, Faruza was not of pure blood. Being part succubus, she could not rule any more than  \nLokiera allowed. The others only got worse, followed by those that the two families ruled over.  \n  \n\"Yes. I guess you're right.\" Manya replied, defeated. He retrieved Anthony's trench coat and threw it  \nover his shoulder. \"Alright, send me home.\"  \n  \nLokiera followed the demon and turned his head by his horns. \"Just don't let another fifteen years  \npass before you come see me again, okay?\" he said, kissing the prince's black lips. \"Otherworld is  \ndangerous, even for a king. You have to check on me, alright?\"  \n  \n\"Alright, Daddy.\" Manya said, barely above a whisper.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; The elder demon kissed his son again before turning away from him. He held his paw forward and  \ntraced various arcane sigils in the air before him, pale blue light trailing his fingers.  \n  \n\"_Across time and across space, leave this world, leave this place.  \nFrom this world where magic is strong, go you now to where you belong._ \"  \n  \nLokiera's words commanded Otherworld and the mortal world to reach out to one another as he  \ntraced a circle around the glowing symbols in the air. When the two worlds collided, to Manya's great  \nrelief, the cool November air from Hightown reached the throne room. Bright light from the portal  \ncompletely overwhelmed the crimson moonlight and the energy it released blew out the torches. Blue  \nlightning danced around the edges of the gateway, arcing across to touch in the center. Inside the  \nportal was a dark blue sky. It was night time over Hightown; very high above Hightown.  \n  \n\"Mortals do not need to know about these doorways, son.\" Lokiera said, holding his paw out. The  \nlightning reached out and wrapped lovingly around it, lingering on his fingertips. \"Go now. Return to  \nyour family.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Manya reached out and took Lokiera's other paw. \"_You're_ my family.\" The prince said. \"I'm going  \nto miss you, Daddy.\"  \n  \nLokiera shook his head. \"You'll be back to see me soon enough.\" He said. \"You have to bring the boy to  \nmeet me, remember. I want him to know the truth. About what happened to his mother.\"  \n  \nThe prince nodded and Lokiera raised his paw to his lips. When Lokiera kissed the back of his paw,  \nManya felt the point thousands of needles followed by a warm feeling traveling up his arm beneath  \nhis skin. He looked at his father with a puzzled expression as the king grinned, licking the blood from  \nhis lips. The young shapeshifter looked to his chest where the warm feeling stopped, forming an  \nintricate red heart there. Manya chuckled and hugged the demon once more. \"I love you too, Daddy.\"  \nHe said before jumping through the portal.  \n  \nLokiera watched as his son fell through the clouds over Hightown before the portal closed, then  \nturned and walked to the glassless windows to his left. He looked out over the lava pit that  \nsurrounded the mountain his castle stood on and put a paw on his head. \"Faruza? Faruza, can you hear  \nme?\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; It took a few minutes for his call to reach her, but when it did, the girl's voice giggled in his mind. \"Yes,  \nUncle Loki. What do you need?\" she laughed. Faruza's voice was high pitched and irritating to listen to  \nwhen she was happy.  \n  \n\"Faruza, come to the castle. I need to discuss something with you.\"  \n  \n\n* * *\n  \n  \nAnthony watched the moon from the living room of his new home in Hightown with a raw steak in his  \nclawed hand. His father couldn't cook, but Anthony had discovered that he could sear meat in his  \nmouth with the fire that burned in his chest. Even better, he'd developed the taste for blood that was  \ncommon in demons. He heard Neirid's big paws approaching and turned to face forward on the  \nsmaller sofa to make room for the bigger demon. To his joy, his father had brought him a glass of the  \nbourbon he'd finally convinced him to purchase for him.  \n  \nTo Anthony's chagrin, however, Neirid was sad. The demon didn't show it on his face, but Anthony  \ncould feel it. Neirid's posture was off, he was sighing a lot and spending a lot of time in Manya's  \nbedroom. Manya had been gone for two weeks and neither of them had heard from the slender  \nshapeshifter. Anthony offered Neirid a bite of his steak but the demon declined. He put his glass down  \non the table in the middle of the living room and his steak on a plate beside it before moving to sit  \ncloser to Neirid. He rested his head on the demon's shoulder and put his arm as far across his father as  \nhe could reach.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"He'll be back, Dad.\" Anthony said.  \n  \nNeirid sighed (again). \"I know, sweetheart, I know.\" He said. \"It's just that usually he'd call if he were  \nstaying longer in Otherworld. It's not exactly a safe place; especially for Manya.\"  \n  \n\"What do you mean?\" Anthony asked, lifting his head to meet the older demon's eyes.  \n  \nThe Nightsiren demon sat up and cleared his throat. \"Well, you don't know this, but Manya is royalty  \nwhere we're from. His father, 'Daddy' as we call him, is King Lokiera Methuselah Inkwell. Manya is  \nactually Prince Manya Vishas Inkwell.\" He stopped when Anthony held up a hand.  \n  \n\"Hold on. Our Manya's a prince?\"  \n  \nNeirid shrugged. \"Well, in Otherworld he is. He left it all to come here with me when I left.\" He  \nexplained, taking Anthony's hand and licking at the blood left on it from his raw steak. \"His family is  \ndivided in two; the greater and lesser families of the Inkwell Clan. Unfortunately, the two are not  \nalways friendly.\"  \n  \nWhen he said that, Anthony noticed Neirid's face become suddenly more grave. He could tell that the  \nolder demon was not letting on how serious the situation really was.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"The lesser family rules over all shapeshifter demons and the greater - which is just Manya and Daddy  \n- rules over them, and they do not like it. Any old Tom, Dick and Lucifer in Otherworld might try to take  \nthe throne from them, but the lesser family is the most vicious about it whenever the topic is on their  \nminds. At least, that's how they explained it to me.\"  \n  \nAnthony swallowed a lump in his throat, understanding now why his father was so vexed by his mate's  \nabsence. \"So you think he might get... assassinated or something?\" When Neirid nodded, Anthony  \nreached for his glass of bourbon.  \n  \n\"I'm sure, as your father, I should be stopping you, or something.\" Neirid said as he watched his  \nteenage son drink like a man in his thirties. \"Why do you drink?\"  \n  \nThe half-demon shook his head. \"You live with someone like Matthew Watkins for sixteen years and  \nresist the urge to set him on fire and tell me you don't need a drink.\" He heard something. '_...turned  \nmy son... alcoholic..._ Neirid chuckled at Anthony's humorless humor, but the boy heard it again. It  \nwas an echo of words Neirid hadn't spoken. _Bastard turned my son into an alcoholic..._ It was so  \nclear that Anthony thought the words were in fact spoken and answered. \"Dad, I'm not an alcoholic.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"What?\"  \n  \nAnthony cocked an eyebrow at Neirid. \"Didn't you just say I was -  \n  \n_Whoosh!_  \n  \nThey both forgot what was going on to look out the window behind them. Anthony jumped back from  \nthe couch as it circled by the window again, a high pitched screech following it. His enhanced sight  \npicked up on large black wings. \"Dad, what the hell is that?!\" the halfling asked, looking from the  \nwindow to the calm demon on the couch as he hid behind the sofa on the other side of the living  \nroom. Part of him wondered how he'd gotten over there so quickly, but it was suppressed by the  \ncertain death circling the block just outside the window.  \n  \nThe screeching sound approached again and stopped at its highest point. Whatever this thing was, it  \nwas just outside the door. When the door slammed open against the wall, black smoke swirled just  \noutside and obscured Anthony's vision. He wondered how Neirid could remain so calm. The bigger  \ndemon hadn't even turned from the window. Anthony saw a hoofed foot step into the living room  \nfrom the smoke. Immediately sucked in a deep breath and let it ignite in his chest before blasting black  \nflames from his throat at the door. Just as fast as the flames roared from his throat, however, Anthony  \nfound himself hacking up black feathers.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"Almost singed my hair again, mate.\"  \n  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;  \n  \n\n","series":{"name":"Family Ties","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/247776-family-ties-lovegame.json"}}