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Chapter 117: Post-Date Blues

Nathanial stepped through the portal and into his basement subconsciously humming Mack the Knife. He swung his tail around and sent a flicker of magic out to turn the music on, selecting his 40's and 50's playlist. Louis Armstrong's rendition of Mack the Knife came on, making Nathanial laugh. He spun around and then began dancing up the stairs.

He could sense Nick and Micah moving around down in Nick's room; they were separating, cleaning up, and preparing to come see him. Most likely. He put their gifts -- with small tags to identify whose was whose -- on the counter and switched the channel on the home entertainment system so the music piped into the kitchen. 'Hmm. Lunches first and a bit of homework. Jim should be here in twenty-odd minutes to run the kung fu lesson.' He spun around again and bounced toward the stove as he pulled everything he'd need out of the cupboards and kitchen. He turned the stove on to let the pan heat up and began logging what he used into the computer.

A tenor voice sang out from the entrance to the kitchen. "Mack's back in town!"

Nathanial turned around with a grin. "Hi, Dad!"

Garret was smiling broadly as he leaned against the door frame in his kung fu clothes; the earthy colours of the silk set off the adult's orange fur and blue-green eyes. Nick's flair for style was inherited from both his parents. "I guess I don't need to ask you how your date went, though I actually thought you'd be out a bit longer. I personally like capping off a good date with a good lay."

Nick and Micah trooped up the stairs, both already wearing their own kung fu clothes. They sat down at the counter with Nick nodding in agreement with their father. "Yeah, why are you back so early?"

Nathanial tossed some strips of beef into the pan, flipping the cast-iron wok to stir them as they sizzled fiercely. "I would've liked to, um, spend a bit more time with Geoff, but I have a lot to do." The veggies were all chopped, so he tossed them in the pan and put his chemistry homework on a clear space of the counter. "I budgeted enough time to crash your lesson and still study a lot. Would you have the time to study those magic textbooks with me, Nick?"

Nick fixed the gold cuffs on his clothes. "Sure. I don't know if I'd call that studying, though. Some of it's new, but it's so basic that 'study' just doesn't fit. Merely telling Mikey the highlights is all he needs to understand it."

Micah chirped, "Yup! That stuff is even easier than my science lessons!" His eyes kept flicking to the boxes. "So, um, Nats..."

Nathanial played dumb and faced the stove as he stirred the sauce into tomorrow's lunch. "Yes? Oh! You guys had supper, right? What did you have?"

Micah fidgeted, still trying not to stare at the mysterious box with his name on it. "We... Yeah, um, we had supper. It was, uh, good."

Garret played along with Nathanial. "I took them out to Il Mercato, a nice Italian restaurant on Spring Garden Road. I actually thought Micah liked it. 'Uh, good' isn't exactly the glowing praise I expected after treating my little pup to a nice big dish of spaghetti. Nor after letting him have some tiramisu."

Micah's attention was yanked from the box at the memory of the cake. His eyes closed halfway and his tongue lolled out of his mouth. "Oooh. Tiramisu...Mmmm..."

Nick laughed at his brother. "Yeah, that was some cake. I had the rigatoni with pancetta and goat cheese. It was really good, but I'd like to see what you'd do with it. What about you? Where did you go?"

"Tiramisu..."

Nathanial laughed along with Nick and Garret at Micah. The pup _really_liked his sweets. Nathanial shook his head in amusement. "We wandered around a bit and stopped in at that game store." The store had packed the statuettes in paper and put them in small boxes -- they were the nicer ones and didn't come in that plastic clamshell stuff -- so it only took Nathanial a second to carefully unpack the gift Geoff bought him. He showed it to his family and blushed. "Geoff bought me this."

Nick chortled. "It looks like you're fired up, Nats." That was the character Natsu Dragneel's catchphrase: 'I'm fired up!'

Nathanial ducked his head and pulled the food off the stove. The rice would take a while yet to cook, so by that time the stir-fry should be cooled enough to box up. "Geoff certainly was. He--"

Garret quickly held a paw up and interjected. "No details, okay?"

Nick and Micah groaned in disappointment, but Nathanial protested, "No, nothing like that! He... He was really romantic." He felt his face heating up even more as he remembered the look in Geoff's eyes when his boyfriend kissed his paw. He'd seen it in movies and thought it was a sweet gesture, but he never understood how it could provoke so much blushing and giggling...until now.

Garret looked surprised. "I would've expected Faelen to be the romantic one. He has a mature and very sensitive nature, one that I'd expect to understand how powerful small gestures can be. Geoff... Well, I thought he always thought with his dick."

Nathanial laughed. "Heh, he does that, too. There were times today where he was very alpha and, um, dominant," As expected, Nick perked up, but Nathanial ignored him. "But at dinner he-he was _charming._He seemed to know just the right thing to say to cheer me up."

Nick scowled and demanded, "Why did you need cheering up? He was supposed_to be taking you on a nice, _relaxing date. One that you'd been looking forward to. So what did he do to upset you?"

Nathanial crossed his arms and leaned back against the stove -- the part that hadn't been used to cook the stir-fry. Nick's tone rubbed his fur the wrong way. "I offered to get him tickets to the Mooseheads game on Saturday, but he said no because he didn't want to drag us out to watch something only he'd enjoy." The memory of their argument overrode the annoyance he felt toward Nick, and he subconsciously began drooping as he addressed his father. "He said he'd like to go with you, Dad, with one of the other O'Conalls as a bodyguard, if one would like to see a game, but he wouldn't enjoy the game if he knew we weren't. Faelen got mad at him, and they started fighting."

Micah shot the now-guilty middle Marks a dirty look and piped up. "Mr. O'Conall, Faelen's granddad, liked hockey, right, Dad? He likes soccer, so he has to like hockey; they're almost the same game." Garret looked like Micah just stabbed him in the heart. "Maybe he can come over and take Geoff to the game! I like him." A conniving look crossed Micah's face before it was replaced by a guilty -- then sad -- one. "I hope he doesn't hate me."

Garret growled. "I don't plan on letting him anywhere near you, so it doesn't really matter."

Nathanial sighed morosely, his good mood thoroughly shot. His voice was almost dead, crushed by the fatigue caused by all of those worries and troubles he knew he had to take care of. "He wasn't in control, no more than Conor or Alpha McDougal were...or you. We went through this already, Dad. Go get ready for kung fu or something, guys; I have a shitload of work to do. I probably don't have time to waste on crashing your class after all." He began cleaning up and felt like banging his head against the wall when he noticed he hadn't touched his chemistry homework.

His father came over and hugged him with barely any hesitation. There was usually a little hitch in his movements when he steeled himself to hug someone, but it was barely noticeable this time. "I'm sorry, Nathanial. You're right, we did go through that, and Micah wasn't hurt... Not like you. I'm so very sorry about that and wrecking your evening just now. Den can come over and be Geoff's escort to the game; he can even crash here if he wants. My company has box seats for the Mooseheads, and they almost never get used, so I can take Geoff, Faeden or whoever wants to go, and Conor and Dirk. Hells, the box comfortably seats ten people, so I can take quite a few."

So, Dad, Geoff, Faeden, Dirk, Conor, and five more. "I'll ask Conor. You know they'd probably want to sleep here for a few nights, maybe come over earlier in the week so they can visit." That meant dinners and making sure the cleaners prepped all of the guest rooms. Hells, he'd have to see if it'd just be the men; some of the women may want to see the game or visit, too. He knew that Liam never really had a chance to meet any of the wives of his sons, or_their children -- other than Den and Kiera. So. Much. _Work. He'd never get it all done when so much other crap kept piling up, but Geoff... He looked so excited when Nathanial offered to buy tickets before he said no. Liam would be quietly ecstatic at the chance to properly see his family, and to check on Aoife and find out if he'd get the opportunity to see her have a pup -- to be a grandfather again. Liam was alive for Faeden's birth, but none of the other grandchildren...not that there were many others, from what Nathanial had heard

His dad tensed up. "I won't be here all week. I got a call while you were on your date; I have an emergency to deal with in T'aipei, and a couple other major clients in Asia have been wanting to see me in person. I need to fly out first thing in the morning tomorrow and won't be back until late Friday night. I've talked to Lisa, and she'd be happy to coordinate my schedule with you -- she says I'm terrible at making sure everyone is up to date -- and she can ensure you have all of my contact numbers."

Nathanial paused for a split-second while he considered that. "Would it still be all right if people came over? I'll make sure no one is here when Nick gets home from school, so there shouldn't be a repeat of last time. I'll have Conor talk to the potential guests and run the list by you first, if you want."

"I trust you, Nathanial; just don't feel pressured to take on more than you can handle. Your priority is you and your brothers first, school second, and everything else a very distant third." He glanced at the clock. "Jim will be here in a few minutes, so let me go call Conor and talk to him about this." He flicked his gaze toward the present-boxes when he let his eldest son go and smiled.

Nathanial smiled, too. His father's comforting embrace had chased away the worst of the gloom. He pointedly ignored his brothers, pretending he'd forgot they were in the room, and asked his dad, "So, I wonder if Nick and Micah will like the presents I bought them? I saw these while checking out the store Geoff bought my gift in and thought of those rascals right away." Micah was fidgeting enough to make his stool rock, and his eyes were dancing back and forth between the box and Nathanial. Nick had a tiny smile on his face, knowing what his older brother was doing, but he still looked like curiosity was eating him up, too.

Garret leaned sideways against the island, crossed his arms, and hooked one hindpaw over the other. "They'll like anything you bought them. I'm sure Nick would be proud to wear that bright pink Hello Kitty backpack, and Micah is a huge fan of the Spawn comics, so anything from the series would be fine." Okay, the first joke was funny, the second was not. Nick looked like he thought the first one wasn't very funny, either.

Micah cocked his head to the side. "What's Spawn?"

Nathanial's voice was frosty and his eyes bored into his father's even while he answered Micah's question. "Nothing you will read, watch, or otherwise partake in. It's a very mature and violent comic about an evil man who tries to mend his ways but gets dragged to the hells, Turned, and then rebels against his Demon Lord master. He winds up on Earth using his demonic magic to fight against other Demons. It's...a nasty comic even by the standards of the time it was written -- one of the grittiest and horrifically graphic in comic history. You would not like it and will not read it."

Garret held up his paws. "Okay, okay. Sorry. It was a joke. I understand, now, that it was in poor taste." Nathanial still glared at his father, who added, "Very poor taste."

Nick scowled. "It wasn't a very good joke. Come on. Hello Kitty? My rep would be ruined if I showed up with something like that. I'd be bullied for the rest of my school life. I could host a party a night until graduation and still wouldn't live it down."

Nathanial grinned evilly, getting a bit of revenge. "I know. That's why I got an 'I love Edward Cullen' t-shirt, instead. That way everyone would know what a big Twilight fan you are."

Nick didn't appreciate that joke, either. "Fuck you. That is not funny, Nats!"

He stood up and prepared to storm off, but Nathanial stopped him. "All_right,_ no more joking, Nick. Open it up and see. Jeeze, I don't know why you expect me to take all your teasing if I can't return it. You know I wouldn't embarrass you like that." He added telepathically, *I was going to get you a nice My Little Pony statue, Twilight Sparkle in fact, but I knew you wouldn't want it around where people might see it. So, instead, I got you something you'd like but wouldn't be embarrassed to have on display.* However, he couldn't let swearing like that go. "And, Nick, that's your warning this week. Don't talk to Dad or me like that again, understood?"

Nick opened the box sulkily, saying, "Yeah, I know. Understood." Micah's paws were twitching in anticipation, but he waited for permission. Nick pulled out the Catwoman statue and his mood improved immediately. It was one based off the DC comics rather than one of the movies, so it was a human female rather than the live-action Panther. It was a challenge to get a sexy -- but not slutty -- statue of her, since most of the statues made were based on the movies, now. "Wow, thanks, Nats! She's damned hot. The guys who made the statue did a great job of capturing her character."

Garret looked a little surprised. "I didn't think any of you would appreciate a sexy woman."

Nick shrugged. "I told you that I'm pretty sure I'm bi. I like perky breasts and big dicks, just not on the same person. I think I prefer big, strong guys like Alpha McDougal overall, but I wouldn't say no to a sex kitten like Selena Kyle, especially if she's carrying her whip." Micah made gagging noises and stuck his finger in his muzzle. Nick swatted the back of his head. "Shut it, Sprite. There's nothing wrong with a little pussy."

Micah rubbed the back of his head. "Meanie. Girls are gross and, yeah,_there's something wrong with them -- you can get one pregnant by accident. They never say what they mean, too. You're always trying to guess what they want 'cause they'll never just tell you. And they always try to boss you around. There's this girl at school who's always, 'Micah, sit here' and 'Micah, could you get me a...?'" He growled and rolled his eyes. _"Everything! A straw, a milk, a napkin, anything she can think of. Every. Day." He slumped over and put his head on the counter with a thump. He sighed dramatically. "It never ends. Girls suck."

Garret burst out laughing. "She likes you, Micah. She's trying to get your attention."

Micah's face scrunched up. "Ewww!!" Nathanial laughed and slid Micah's present over. Micah bounced upright on his stool. "Yay!" He ripped open the box, sending shreds of the paper used to pad the statue everywhere. He seemed momentarily disappointed when he noticed it wasn't from Super Mario but jumped off his seat a moment later and spun around. He stopped and wore an outfit matching Link's, including the sword and shield. Nathanial didn't know he could do that, but it made sense if his brother could make a riding crop to go along with bondage gear. Micah copied the pose the Elf was in, and then swung his sword down. "Hyaa! Take that, bulblin!" Bulblins_were one of the monsters in the _Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and they really annoyed Micah.

Garret raised his voice, his ears raised in alarm. "Hey! No swords in the house! And be careful with them wherever you are; you could really hurt yourself."

Micah whined, "Aww, Dad!" He fumbled with the sword while he sheathed it. "Thanks, Nats! This is really cool. His ears look like Granddad's." His eyes grew large. "Sensei uses a sword. Do you... Do you think we'll learn how to use swords?"

Nathanial knew the answer was 'yes,' but it may be longer before Micah did just because of his age. "Why don't you ask Si Fu Jim?" As if saying his name summoned him, Jim walked up to the gate. Nathanial opened it for him.

Garret's ears flipped down and then perked forward, an odd tic of his Nathanial had noticed that meant he'd just remembered something that had slipped his mind. "Phone! Right." He trotted over to the dark sitting room to call Conor.

"Jim just arrived at the gate, Dad!" His father nodded, but now that Nathanial's attention was drawn to the sitting room, he found himself distracted by his roses. The ten pots were lined up near the patio doors where they'd be out of the direct light during the day. The leaves were fully unfurled and stretched toward the doors. The silvery tops caught the faint light coming in from the kitchen and did shine a lot like moonlight reflecting off of fog. The flowers were fully open too, and the tiny droplets on each petal did_sparkle like stars in the night sky. Micah was right; they were _gorgeous."Wow." Nick and Micah looked at him curiously. "The roses. They're..." He moved them toward the doors like they seemed to want and vowed to remember to move them back in the morning. "Micah, could you remember to remind me to move the roses out of direct light in the morning? Or if you're up around dawn, could you move them? Just be very careful not to poke yourself on a thorn." Nick trotted toward the sitting room to look at them.

Micah nodded. "Sure. You gonna change, Nats? You'll practice with us, right? I can get the door for Si Fu."

Nathanial rubbed Micah's ears. "Yeah, I will. I'll find time to get everything done." He wasn't sure when or if he'd _ever_get everything done, but it was more important to spend time with his friends and family than the proverbial stove.

The storm that'd been moving in from the ocean at supper was now almost on top of them; the wind was howling, and flashes of lightning illuminated the sky.

Nathanial thought the kung fu practice was nice, if less intense than Liam's practices. Garret's natural athleticism was showing through; even to Nathanial's eyes, he was better than any of his sons, including Nathanial. Despite starting later than Geoff or Faelen, his father's technique was at least on par with them, or so Nathanial thought.

The storm that had been stalking them all day finally pounced just when practice ended, so Dad told Jim to wait for it to end before heading out. If it went too long, he could drive Jim home, or if all else failed, the Bear could just stay the night and catch a bus in the morning. That was preferable to Dad, at least, because he had to catch a plane in the morning, which meant leaving the house a little after seven. Nathanial offered to open a portal for Jim, but none of the Polar Bear's friends stayed in the dorms, and he didn't have the phone number for anyone nearby. No phones meant Nathanial couldn't peek through and figure out where to open a portal. That left the Bear at the Markses' place for at least a little while.

Since Nathanial was the only one who had school work to do, Jim and Garret were in the basement playing Mario Kart with the younger pups while Nathanial finished his up. He'd decided to put off doing his Society 'homework' with Nick in case the storm passed and they could do it without the Server throwing a tizzy at Jim's presence.

Nathanial had just finished at half-past eight when Garret set his controller down. Dad stood and stretched. "That's it for me, guys. I need to pack." The lights flickered and were swiftly chased by a resounding peal of thunder. Garret shook his head. "That's some humdinger of a storm. I don't think it'd be safe to drive you home, Jim."

The Bear shook his head. "No, it doesn't seem to be letting up, either." He looked very uncomfortable. "I-I don't want to put you guys out, though. I really appreciate the offer, but..."

Garret clapped his paw on Jim's shoulder. "Nonsense. We'll wait a bit longer, but it's getting close to decision time. Turn the news on while I go pack, and see what's happening out there."

Nick turned the game off and switched the news on. Garret paused to see what was up, but it was a story about the race for the Republican nomination in the States, so he turned and trotted upstairs.

Jim stretched in his chair, Nathanial's usual seat, with a groan. "The heat's busted in the dorms, so I wasn't really looking forward to going back, but it just feels odd crashing with you guys." He hastily added, "Not that I don't appreciate it or mean that I don't like you, it's just, well, I don't really know you guys. And while it's comfortable down here..."

Nathanial knew Jim felt uncomfortable with the grandiosity of the main floor; the third floor guest rooms might be too posh to let him sleep comfortably, if the walk up there didn't overwhelm him. Even the second floor rooms might be too much, but there was no way Jim would sleep down here with Nick and Micah so close, especially considering how desirable they -- particularly Micah -- found the massive Bear.

Nathanial smiled and stood up. "You wouldn't be sleeping on our couch. We have tons of spare rooms upstairs." A thought came to him. "You live close to the kwoon, don't you? Si Tai Gung Cheng's kwoon, I mean." Jim nodded in confusion. "If your dorm is nearby, like a few blocks, I could just open a portal to the kwoon's showers like I do every day and find your room from there. I don't know why I didn't think of it before." He opened the portal to the kwoon.

Nathanial paused as Nick abruptly smacked his head and sat up straight. "Duh! Local news, not national. Of course the CBC News Network wouldn't have up to date news on a storm in Halifax!" He flipped the channel over to the Halifax station.

The screen showed a local reporter standing on the waterfront by the ferry terminal. The Grey Squirrel wore a bright yellow sou'wester and slicker, and he stood under a bright spotlight, but he was still partially obscured by the driving rain. Behind him you could faintly see huge waves rolling across the normally placid harbour, with every wave that hit the wharf sending large gouts of water high into the air and onto the wood of the quay. "The storm is hitting Halifax pretty hard, Tom! Trees are down across the city, and as you can see, the waves are very high in the harbour!"

The scene changed to the warm, dry, and brightly lit studio interior. Tom, a Harbour Seal, looked perfectly comfortable at his desk. "Thanks, Dave. That was Dave Solmes reporting live at the Halifax Waterfront. Now, let's check in with our meteorologist, Kalin Mitchell, for the latest."

The camera switched to a different location in the studio, where a thirty-something Alpine Marmot man stood beside a brightly coloured radar map. "Thanks, Tom. As you can see, I have the weather radar up, and it's showing heavy returns all across the region and down as far as New York City. The satellite is showing this massive band of clouds running along the Eastern Seaboard indicating that this storm is drawing warm air and huge amounts of moisture right up from the Gulf. We can expect no relief from this late fall storm until it slides offshore and out into the Atlantic. Current projections have it moving out tomorrow afternoon or early evening."

Nathanial shook his head. That was that. It might even delay his father's flight. He stepped through and started to motion for Jim to follow him when a crack of thunder rattled the building, and he suddenly had a splitting headache. The Polar Bear ducked his head to step through and followed him nervously. The si fu's voice rumbled in the pitch black once Nathanial closed the portal. "Uh...damn, this is dark." A bright flash of light came in from the hallway and their ears rang from the huge thunderclap. "Just-- Just get me to the library. My dorm is next to it, and there's an underground tunnel connecting the buildings."

'Easy enough.' He cast his mind out into the storm and noticed everything starting to feel...fuzzy to his senses, like he was getting bad reception or something. He did locate the library in short order, though. It was virtually empty, so he just found a washroom in the basement and opened another portal. The storm must be what was making his head hurt. "Here you go. You're in the basement of the library close to the stairs leading up to the atrium."

"Perfect!" Jim eyed Nathanial momentarily before he turned and stepped into the library. Now, he looked like he was berating himself over something. "Thanks, Nathanial."

The Akita winced when another bolt of lightning struck nearby. They were getting closer and a lot more frequent; the wind shrieked and shook the building, almost like...like the piercing cry of vicious birds of prey circling him, stalking him, and it made him shiver. There was just something unnatural_about the pitch of the thunder and the timbre of the wind, almost as if something was..._hunting him. "You're welcome. I need to get home, but I might see you tomorrow."

Jim raised a massive paw in farewell, but Nathanial just quickly closed the portal, opened one home, and jumped through. He closed it with an agonized sigh, but the pain was fading rapidly. He stepped over to the homework desk and leaned against it, relieved.

A picture of a thirteen year-old Weasel was displayed on the TV. "The storm has prevented the vigil for Donald 'Donny' Markham from being held."_He was smiling cheerfully at the camera, one paw held a giant hamburger and his other held a can of cola. _"But the family still plans on holding the funeral Tuesday. The public outpouring of grief at the loss of another gay teen to suicide has prompted his parents to hold a public funeral. Based on the numbers showing up for the vigils, it's expected that two to three thousand people will attend. The Halifax Metro Centre has graciously offered the use of their facility, and other businesses have..."

Nathanial heard nothing but a faint droning buzz after that. He could feel all too keenly the numbing anxiety that must have plagued Donny's family for that far-too-long month -- a month that he knew would've stretched into an eternity. Every creak of the house, every pawstep approaching the door, every faint motion glimpsed out of the window would freeze time in place until they saw it wasn't their son or brother...or a police officer coming to give them the news they dreaded. A whole month. He slumped to his knees and blindly grabbed at the first thing he could find, reaching for comfort. Searching, but never finding...

Thick fog covered the choppy water of Halifax Harbour, hiding their bone galleys from prying eyes. Nathanial stood on the deck of the recovery vessel surrounded by over a dozen corpses and waited for the final body to arrive. Everything in sight was tinted the blue-green of Hades' fire, and the boat was swathed in the mild scent of his incense. Off to one side of the galley, the fog swirled and a faint shape could be seen -- a teenaged boy strode on the water, summoned by the Macabre Reveille spell.The young man's body -- the boy's body -- moved in the purposeful stride forced onto it by his spell, but Nathanial could see in his posture the scars -- both physical and emotional -- that preceded his last trip to the harbour. Nathanial knew that pain all too well. After a month of searching, of desperation and panic, he'd finally, finally found him. He failed his brother in life, but not in death. He was bringing Nick home. The shape stepped out of the fog. Nathanial could clearly see his brother -- battered and bruised, but there_._

Off to his right, Nathanial heard Nick suddenly cry out in pain. Nathanial ran to the bow of the boat and peered through the fog. Nick staggered backwards out of the gloom before falling heavily onto the pavement of the school parking lot.

A large Bull -- Sam Falkner, Nathanial's old nemesis -- lumbered after him. He grabbed Nick by the shirt and chest fur with one beefy hand and hauled the much smaller Dog upright. Sam punched Nick in the gut so hard that the pup's shirt tore off in the meaty fist that held it along with a fistful of fur. The Akita flew back a couple metres before collapsing into a pile. The Bull dropped the scraps of fabric and bloody fur. His heavy hoof-falls echoed terrifyingly in Nathanial's ears -- he knew that sound all too well -- as he clomped over to the still figure. Sam kicked Nick in the chest, aiming right for the bleeding patch of bare skin. "Where's your brother, fag? He's much more fun to beat the crap out of."

Nick choked out, "I don't know..." He raised his gold eyes and looked right at Nathanial. "Nats? Where are you?"

"I'm here!" Nathanial tried to jump out of the boat, but something held him in. He struggled vainly and cried out again. "I'm here! Sam! Leave him alone; I'm over here!"

The mist swirled above Nick, and Nathanial saw himself in the kwoon laughing and joking with his friends as they practiced kung fu. He was too busy with his friends to help his brother. The fog spilt back into the void, hiding his shame and Nick's torment. The sound of a young Fur getting beat up drifted across the water, interspersed by lowing laughter.

The ship's figurehead intoned, "Souls of the damned... Lost soul has been found..." A faint glimmer of light shone out over the water to the left.

Nathanial turned to see what it was. Lily hovered behind Nick. Her white fur and dress sparkled with divine beauty as she floated down to land by the corpse of her son. Large angelic wings enveloped the dead pup at the same time she hugged him. She rested her face beside his. "Oh, my poor boy. My precious little boy. Where was Nathanial when all of this happened? Why wasn't he there to take the punishments you deserved?" The angel twitched. Nathanial could see blood trickling out of the wounds that took her life. "His fate was to take the pain and suffering allotted to his brothers, to pay for your happiness by forfeiting his own." Blood dripped off her nose and fell onto the pure, white feathers. Smoke rose from her wing and spread as further drops splashed onto the desecrated plumes. Her dress was also changing, stained by the blood oozing from her bullet-pierced heart.

Her voice was no longer that of a grieving mother, but was filled with the loathing he had grown used to. "You disgust me, Nathanial. You worthless sack of shit." She thrust Nick away from her, but her claws hooked onto the pup's soul and yanked it from his body. She began rending the tormented spectre in front of Nathanial's horrified eyes. "The only thing that stopped me from cleansing the world of this fucking Demon years ago was you. You took everything the Fates had allocated for him. Him and that monster you call a brother."

Micah screamed in fury high in the sky and dove at his step-mother; his wings droned like a hive of vengeful bees. Lily just laughed. She spread her blood-drenched wings wide, exposing her sodden dress and the gaping bullet wounds that killed her. The fallen angel rose gracefully into the air with Nick's lacerated and silently pleading ghost clutched in one paw and pointed at the Changeling. "Fool." A lasso of smouldering blood speared out from her free paw and caught his wings. Micah fell to the floor in front of Lily's desk, knocking over the splintered rods she used to beat his eldest brother; the bamboo sticks grew arms and legs and held the Changeling down. The fog faded away, and they now stood in her office. "Nathanial isn't here to save you." She pointed over her shoulder and an image of Geoff and Nathanial appeared. Geoff had Nathanial braced against a wall of the showers as they had passionate sex. "He's tied up at the moment. The mutt is too stupid to realize, even after being warned so many times, that he's reaching above his station and is going to get burned." Lily cackled cruelly. "But only after you are." The bonds around Micah seared through the gossamer wings. Micah's screams branded Nathanial's soul. His baby brother began screaming again as the rods began laying into his small body...which quickly grew still and silent under the heavy blows.

Lily's vindictive smile mocked him as she gazed over the now-unrecognizable, bloody lump in front of her desk, then folded her wings and sat in her chair. She looked around, mockingly singing, "Nathanial! Oh, Nathanial! I have something for you, if you ever come back to check on your precious little brothers." She bit daintily into Nick's ghost and savagely ripped a chunk out. His brother was screaming silently, begging Nats to come save him, but the eldest brother was paralyzed. She swallowed it and wiped her muzzle on her sleeve. "Where, oh where has my little boy gone? Where, oh where could he be?"

One of the bamboo rods dragged Micah's soul from the mush and passed it to Lily. Micah's spirit clawed at the carpet as he tried to drag himself to the door -- to Nats -- but the rods were too strong. They dragged him around the desk, with Micah's claws digging deep furrows into the plush carpet; each scratch freeing the many years-worth of Nathanial's blood that had soaked in so deeply that it seemed the house itself bled from its wounds. Lily licked her chops in anticipation. Nathanial struggled to do something -- anything! -- but he couldn't move. First he'd failed them in life and now in death.

Mom met his eyes momentarily and tossed the hiltless blade of his favourite kitchen knife to him, before she turned her attention back to Nick. "Come, my little morsel, it's dinner time. Your failure of a brother can get his own food, if he manages to not hurt himself, for once. I don't want his incompetence to steal the fun I have in store for you." Nathanial picked it up, feeling the sharp metal cut into his paw...

The TV droned on; it had switched back to coverage of the storm, but the storm outside couldn't compare to the storm raging in Nathanial's mind. He could hear his mother's taunts and insults in the shrill shrieks of the wind. He could hear the screams of his brothers as she tormented what remained of them. Each blow from those rods echoed like thunder in his ears and the sympathetic pain he felt momentarily blinded him. Then, finally, the news crew went to a different story, the pending funeral of Donald Markham.

Nathanial saw the picture of Donny smiling at whomever was holding the camera. 'Why him? Why Donny? He was so happy, happier than I've ever been in my life...except over the last month and a half. He died in that time, alone and suffering. He plunged into the cold water of the harbour with his soul dragging him down like a millstone tied 'round his neck. It's true. He suffered because I didn't. Nick will die because I'm having fun. My suffering was the only thing that kept my brother safe and happy all these years, and now it's too late to save him.' He found an unexpected pool of strength and resolve. 'No, if my suffering absolves the suffering the Fates had for him, my death...'

A sharp pain lanced across his wrist.

---

Liam lay upon his bed in his customary home attire -- nothing. He had returned home after his most enjoyable date and spoken to his father about the events of the day, though only for a short time, as Dad was still up to his muzzle in work. Walter was pleased, if distracted, and soon returned to his books. Liam could not fault him; this potential breach of security was of utmost importance, and Liam himself felt great urgency about it. Then Liam had spoken to Conor and Hao, in hopes that the cause of this breach -- and its extent -- could be found. After talking to Hao Chan, he began working on the auction.

He'd finished the painting he had in progress, though it evoked the memories of his beautiful daughter Muiry and of his sweet Kaoru. If only his suspicions about the bond he had with Faelen were true; he did not know if he could bear to lose Faelen as he had so many others.

He then narrowed down the list of potential music for the interludes.

With his work finished, he now expected the Wolf to call. His love was thinking of him, and the indecision Liam had sensed for the last half-hour was fading. Faelen did not wish to bother him and felt speaking on the phone interfered with his duty to his master and his clan, but Liam believed the Wolf would succumb to temptation and call, if only for a short time.

As if that was a cue, Liam's phone rang. He answered it and laid back on his pillows, tail wagging. "Good evening, my love." He felt his heart warm, banishing the shades of sorrow brought on by memories of Muiry and Kaoru.

Faelen laughed. "If only it was this easy to cheer Geoff or Nathanial up."

"They do not love you as I do. Nor was I in as deep a depression as they delve." Liam sighed. "I do wish it was as easy to comfort our sweet Akita. He is steeped in sorrow and pain, and I greatly desire to bring a long-lasting joy to him."

Faelen exhaled, the force of his breath blaring through Liam's cell phone like the gales outside his window. "Yeah. But I think we, or at least Geoff, did a good job at getting the pup to smile today."

Liam heard Geoff's voice near Faelen. "Huh? You said someth-- Oh, you're on the phone with Liam? Say hi for me."

Liam spoke before Faelen could relay the message. "Good evening, Geoff."

Faelen tipped his phone down and spoke to his master. "He says hi, too." Liam heard Geoff sit at the homework table in the basement and toss a text book down; the thump of the heavy text hitting the table indicated the white Wolf was once again treating his books disrespectfully. "We're working ahead in our German class. We reviewed tomorrow's lessons already, but we figure being a day or two ahead wouldn't hurt. There are too many things that could pop up."

As if that was a signal to Zeus, the god of thunder cast a rapid succession of thunderbolts down upon the city. It sounded as if he was aiming at the neighbourhood around Liam's kwoon and office. He hoped it was mere coincidence and that Bao and Jim would remain safe. He felt relieved that the Polar Bear, at least, should have long been finished at the Markses' and arrived at the university roughly forty-five minutes ago, assuming he kept to his schedule. Liam did not enjoy storms such as these. They evoked many bad memories from Timeus.

Liam nodded to himself. "A wise precaution and one I have learned the value of many times. And to your earlier point, yes, Geoff performed marvellously this evening. Nathanial's heart melted a great many times, and the radiance of his smile would have pierced the deepest gloom of Tartarus." Liam felt his voice warm at the memory. "While my smiles may never match his, that is how my heart soars at the sound of your voice, for you are a treasure that not even the greatest gem from the halls of Lord Hades can equal."

Geoff retched, but the sound of his phone ringing kept him from making a snide comment. Considering the talk of flowers he had made when speaking to the sweet Akita, Liam was greatly amused at his audacity. The Elemental searched for his phone, if the sound of shuffling papers was any indication.

Faelen chuckled. "It's probably Myo calling for his precious skunk cabbage. I hope Geoff doesn't forsake me and start searching through the forest and under all the hedgerows. I don't fancy tromping through all this rain looking for flowers."

"Shut it, Narse." A book thudded onto the floor. "Hah! Found it!" There was a momentary pause, during which a brilliant bolt of lightning struck near Nathanial's house. Liam could hear the voice of Zeus within the thunder. He sought blood. Liam felt a chill even before Geoff exclaimed, "Micah!? Why is he calling me?" Liam felt ice water flowing through his veins. The Dark Elemental answered the phone, and Micah's frantic voice could be heard even before Geoff greeted the Changeling. Geoff nearly shouted into the phone in panic, "What's wrong!?" A brief delay and then a most frightened exclamation, "Shit, shit, _shit!"_The Wolf's phone clattered on the desk and the sound of pawsteps thundered across the McDougals' basement, fading as they went.

Liam did not wait for Faelen's reaction. The Ancient One was already off his bed and yanking his window open. He moved the telephone from his muzzle and yelled over his shoulder as he leapt through the closed screen, "Dad! Emergency! Giving aid!" He took no more time than that, for the Fates waited for no mortal or immortal, and once Atropos's shears cut a string, it was nigh impossible to reattach it to the tapestry of life.

He plummeted through the rain-laden air and landed lightly upon the lawn. His bare paws momentarily scrambled for traction on the soaked grass before he took off as fast as he could toward Nathanial's, ignoring the storm and his nudity. He thrust the phone back up to his ear, but Faelen had already hung up. He could feel his love's anxiety and could sense that he was pelting down the forest path to their mutual destination.

A moment later, a bright flash of lightning reminded Liam of his own predicament: Zeus was actively guiding the storm, and the god of thunder never_cared for the priests of Hades, _especially this one. Liam funnelled more energy to his lungs, heart, and legs, and ran as fast as he possibly could. Such a race would tax him greatly, for this was far beyond any natural sprint; even he, with several lifetimes of training, could only push a physical body so far. He would still have ample chi when he arrived, but it might take a moment to catch his breath; the lungs could only do so much. What happened to Nathanial? Did Zeus do something to him? Or was Zeus merely playing within the tempest, distracting himself as many of the gods were wont to do? They may not interfere in mortal affairs openly anymore, but they would still entertain themselves in this realm.

Liam felt a change in the storm; he had been noticed. He had hoped to get under cover within Nathanial's house, preferably in the basement, without the god of thunder seeing him. Yet, the gods were like Nathanial: they saw much, and over a large area one could only hope to evade detection where a god was watching if the god was fixated upon another target. It appeared Zeus was _not_so engrossed.

His lungs straining, he yet managed to murmur, "Lord Hades, please help me reach safety."

The wind shrieked like a giant eagle and swept toward him just as Zeus had against poor Ganymede. Rain mixed with sleet and drove against him with enough force to curb his momentum; the freezing precipitation began to grease the pavement. Liam grimaced and sent more chi through his legs to give his hindpaws greater traction. It would be most painful to slip and fall right now, and may provoke the god of thunder to become more than a nuisance. Even when the wind picked up debris and threw it at him, Liam thanked Hermes for blessing his travel and Lord Hades for keeping the god's younger brother in check.

He was running short of breath and developing a stitch in his side by the time he reached Nathanial's front gate. He wished his body could withstand a final sprint, but he was already taxing his capabilities. Regardless, he knew he had enough speed to leap over the wall. He did so, but Zeus had coated the entire yard with a blanket of wet snow, and in his fatigued state he slipped and collapsed onto the grass. His muscles were at their limit and would no longer allow him to push them. He struggled upright and staggered toward the door.

As if his show of weakness was a cue, he sensed the gathering of a major electric charge, which raised every hair on his body and spiked his adrenaline in a way which was most unpleasant. He had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but...

He parted the Veil and stepped into the realm of souls, allowing the lightning bolt to strike where he had stood. If he had merely taxed himself _physically,_then he would have recovered in roughly half a minute once he arrived, but spending this much chi -- and stepping through even such a flimsy barrier was a great feat indeed -- would render him weakened for several minutes.

The world was shadowed in this place, a prelude to the deeper shadows of the Underworld, but the fire of his soul blazed fiercely in his eyes, revealing the truth behind it all. He could see the ephemeral nature of all mortal structures of this subdivision, too new to have established any real presence in the realm of souls. They did nothing to block the sight of all souls nearby: Nathanial, Garret, Nicholas, and Micah were all in the basement, and all but Nicholas were on the floor between the chesterfield and the washroom, a most worrying sign. The fiery glow that was Nicholas moved toward the television. Nathanial's soul nearly eclipsed the others, a dark, wildly pulsating orb that spilt beyond its mortal shell, yet beneath the darkness lay more, more than Liam could see. He did not have the time to study it though, for his chi would not withstand a prolonged trip here.

Through the faint flickers of the house, he could clearly see Geoff and Faelen running through the trees; they were manifested and he still beat them here. The primary cost to his chi already paid, Liam used the opportunity to travel more swiftly -- as it was far quicker to move through the ethereal plane -- and crossed the lawn in a few 'steps,' even walking through the wall and floor of the house to re-emerge in Nathanial's basement with little trouble. He wavered and collapsed onto the chesterfield, naked, soaking wet, and exhausted.

Nicholas leapt up off the couch, startled. "Shit! Sensei, where did you come from!? What happened to you?"

Liam could now smell singed fur. It appeared he did not quite avoid the bolt of Zeus's wrath. A wide streak of fur along his back was burnt off, and the skin was deeply reddened and warm to the touch. A few blisters -- or more -- were likely in his future. "Irrelevant. Help me up. What of Nathanial?" Liam felt a modicum of his strength return and heard Nathanial's inconsolable sobs.

The back door banged open, followed by the sound of howling wind, rain, and Geoff's terrified voice. "Nathanial!" They would still have to cross the storage area and laundry room, but that would take mere seconds.

Garret yelled, "He'll be fine! Close the door!" Geoff burst into the room, but Liam could hear Faelen returning to close the door as asked.

The Dark Spirit was manifested; his fur inky black and eyes a light-absorbing purple. He charged across the room and knelt beside Garret. Nicholas finally helped Liam up from the chesterfield and turned him so he could see. Nathanial was lying on the floor, his head cradled in his father's lap as he sobbed. Beside them were Micah and Snow, both whimpering in concern. Geoff was now crouched next to Garret, dripping water all over the floor, and had his paw on Nathanial's back. Liam had not known Snow was there; he was not visible in the ethereal plane. Perhaps his proximity to Nathanial caused their essence to show as one, which would also explain why Nathanial's soul appeared to cross beyond the bounds of his flesh. As for Nicholas, it appeared he had been at the couch to mute the television; a story pertaining to some Weasel named...

Ah.

"The news story of the young Weasel we found has caused great distress in Nathanial, I presume?"

Nicholas nodded. "Yeah. He... He was sawing the ruler against his wrist, like he was trying to..." Tears welled up in the Demon Mage's eyes, but he blinked them back fiercely. "I thought..." He cleared his throat, but it was still hoarse, choked off by emotion. "I thought he was past this. You guys were helping him. Why? Why Nats? It was just some dumb story about another gay kid offing himself because he couldn't handle the bullying. It had nothing to do with Nats. I was always afraid I'd hear a story like this on the news about him, but why would--" He waved his paw at the screen. "--that set him off like this?!"

Nathanial lifted his head off his father's lap. The pup's face was soaked with tears, matting the fluffy fur of his checks to the skin beneath; his eyes were red from the torrent. "B-Because it was you! Me! Th-That could have b-been any of us; that story is about all of us!_Those bullies just won't let _up! He probably w-went through th-the exact same crap I was, but i-it was him that they killed. H-He's me! He's you, Nick! Those fucking bullies could have made you kill yourself! And I let it happen!"

And Liam knew who the main culprit was in Donny's death. Who had inflicted this current pain upon his sweet Akita. "Betty Chan."