Title: Bridges 4/?Author: dolphin
Series: Sequel to Lost and Found, which can be found at http://www.blooddance.com/mpreg/original.html
Rating: R overall
Summary: Sineult is sixteen and ready for cubs, Jade is married and well on his way to cubs too, and a few old family members are slipping back into the scene...
Warning: As the summary says, Sineult is sixteen. For the Kindred, this is not underage but as it is for humans in certain parts of the world, I thought I better add a warning just in case. :)
Feedback: Can be sent to me, the beta, over the ML or to dolphin, the author, at morpheus_kannon@y...
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roses and baby's breath
"Paniia danya*, Spruce!" Hemlock murmured heatedly to himself. He had visited two of Spruce's old apartments so far that day, and still no sign of his missing brother.
He honestly didn't know why he had come looking for Spruce. Maybe he was just lonely, now that Pine had finally gotten himself a mate, all of his older siblings having gotten married long ago and most now with litters. Or maybe he just wanted to see how Spruce was doing-if he had won Jade over after all. But whatever his reasoning, he was fairly sure that wandering over the whole of this city and finding nothing was not what he had had in mind.
So here he was, in front of a tiny, homely sort of florist's shop, looking over the window arrangements and cursing to himself under his breath. One bouquet in particular caught his eye; a tasteful little thing, crafted carefully out of pale pink roses in a nest of white baby's breath.
He gazed at it for a moment; then he sighed gloomily and fished around in his pocket for money. Might as well get newly-wed Pine something nice while he was here.
The arrangements in the shop turned out to be as lovely as the ones out in the window, but Hemlock found his attention instantly diverted elsewhere. His nose swung him around to face the counter, where a little blond stood, his slight shoulders hunched over the hard surface, humming to himself while he documented something or other on a scrap of pale ivory paper.
Strange, Hemlock thought, wrinkling his forehead. The little one was giving off a Kindred's scent, but it was so very faint...Maybe a halfling? But no Kindred would ever mate with a human, it was too risky. Still...
In the end he went up to the counter to ask about the roses, and also to get a discreet closer look at the Kindred, if so it was. And his nose had been right. From close up, he could easily identify the slender, emerald-eyed boy as a young cub-bearer-perhaps in his first or his second year of full maturity. Cub-bearers always smelled mellower than the deep musk that males gave off. Anything could be identified with a good, healthy nose. He grinned to himself and raised a teasing, approving eyebrow at the sweetly childish beauty of the little thing.
The small cub-bearer caught his drift quickly and blushed, turning away quickly to get the bouquet.
A smart cub-bearer then. Not any empty-headed youngling. Hemlock wondered briefly if he might agree to having lunch together, if he wasn't already taken. It was too good an opportunity to pass up. But as the blond cub-bearer came back to the counter, bouquet wrapped and in hand, Hemlock caught the faintest scent...
Oh, no.
He froze just short of accepting the flowers and dropped his gaze hastily, having caught that scent before on some of his siblings. To any male besides the father, that particular scent never meant anything good. Hemlock cringed, recalling the appreciative looks that he had been giving the little cub-bearer, and prepared to be obliterated from the face of the earth.
But the small blond with the pregnancy scent only gave him a questioning look and offered the pink roses again. Hemlock accepted them gingerly, not willing to shatter his unworldly good luck by irritating the small one with a holdup in the work.
"So, how many months along are you?" he asked in a low voice as the cub-bearer started ringing up his debt, trying to appear polite and nonthreatening while keeping his gaze pointed carefully downwards.
The cub-bearer paused and stared at him blankly.
"Months?"
Great, now he was really in for it. This cub-bearer didn't even know he was pregnant, and Hemlock didn't think that a stranger was very likely the one that any da-to-be wanted to find a thing like this out from. Really smart move.
And yet, again, the little thing showed no sign of anger or annoyance. Hemlock ventured a peek at him, only to find him blushing furiously instead, and when he spoke, it was in a lilting, juvenile accent.
"Y' c'n smell it?" he asked hesitantly. "Does tha' mean y're..."
"Kindred," Hemlock replied softly, still trying to be as gentle as possible, but no longer quite so terrified. "Hemlock Corslin-Danon. And you are?"
The small one grinned shyly. "Sineult. Sineult Brady Curan."
"Onyx's mate?" Hemlock asked, surprised. Sineult nodded, still blushing.
"I thought so. There aren't really that many Curans around anymore." Hemlock paused. "Did you know that you're..." He motioned discreetly to the cub-bearer's stomach.
"Oh! Uh-huh, I did. Onyx does too." Sineult was grinning infectiously. "'M five an' a half months."
There was still the question of why Onyx's pregnant mate was out working whilst actually not killing anybody, but Hemlock felt that this was not the time or the place to ask such a thing; so instead he asked casually, "You see Jade regularly?"
The little cub-bearer's eyebrows rose suddenly, making Hemlock cringe again on instinct before he heard what Sineult had to say.
"Y'r name's Danon? 'Re y' Spruce's brother, then?"
Hemlock answered quickly, relieved that his life did not appear in immediate danger after all.
"Yes. He caught up with Jade after all, then?"
The small cub-bearer's eyes widened. "Y' di'n't know? They're marrie' now."
Hemlock grinned, somewhat surprised but pleased for his brother. "So he did catch him," he mused half to himself. The cub-bearer lowered his eyelashes in embarrassment, but nodded.
"Did 'e really chase 'im that long?" Sineult asked tentatively, biting his lip uneasily as if the question might be taken personally and backfire. Hemlock started to answer; then he shook his head.
"That's too long a story for now. Would...would you consider meeting me for lunch?" He grinned shakily, still not quite sure that he wasn't going to get murdered for even suggesting such a thing; but when Sineult seemed to actually be thinking it over rationally he added quickly, "You could tell me what's been going on with Spruce and Jade. And I could tell you more about my family."
Sineult grimaced thoughtfully; then he smiled.
"Alright."
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
His mind isn't on his work anymore. The big old clock on the wall says ten; that leaves two hours till his shift ends and he can meet his new-found friend in the appointed spot, in the tiny open-air restaurant a street and a half over from the flower shop. He wonders suddenly if Spruce's brother knows that Jade is pregnant. No, of course he doesn't, he didn't even know that Jade and Spruce had got married. Don't be silly, Sineult.
He sighs, thinking about Jade's pregnancy. The cramps have been getting worse. And the morning sickness; that's what Jade calls it. Sineult thinks that's a weird thing to call it, because it never happens in the morning. Always in the afternoon. But Sineult never has any sickness at all. Jade says that this is because certain cub-bearers don't get any sickness or cramps at all and go away now because I'm in a bad mood and if you don't I'll have to smack you for being so lucky.
Jade is a bad mood most of the time nowadays. Sineult doesn't blame him, but it is kind of hard to talk to him when he keeps biting your head off and then having to apologise for it. He wishes there were something he could do; but even Spruce doesn't know what to do to make Jade better. So Sineult just stays quiet and does the best he can.
But Onyx is much better now. He's waiting for their cub with the same enthusiasm that Sineult has, paying more attention to their relationship and to planning for their new family, letting Spruce take care of Jade as he should. Sometimes, Sineult knows, it can get very hard to let go of a situation that has proven safe; the unknown is cold and scary. But Onyx will get used to this new way of doing things soon. Sineult and the cub will both help him.
Then he has to pause his thoughts, so as to get his numbers right when he adds up a lady customer's change. He hates adding, and usually he wouldn't be taking care of the counter, but today is a slow sort of day, so Sanya (that's his boss) told him to watch out for the store while she went out for an early lunch. Of course he said yes because sometimes when she gets too busy she doesn't even eat at all, and that's not good.
Sometimes he thinks she would do better if she had a mate.
But now the lady customer is gone, so his mind slips back to Hemlock. He wishes he knew why Spruce never talks about his family or his life before Jade. Only once has Spruce ever said a word about the rest of the Danons. And now Hemlock has that very same look about him, as if he's shy of going and speaking to his brother. Something happened; Sineult knows it. Now he just has to figure out what, so maybe he can fix it.
He stifles a giggle. How come he feels so nosy all of a sudden? Must be his cub...Spruce said he might get mood swings, like Jade is having, and he does feel sort of strange. One minute everything's funny, and then he wants to cry, and then he gets mad.
But is nosiness a mood?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
"Spruce?"
Spruce looked up from the book he had been reading and ventured a tentative smile at the sleep-rumpled, slightly rounded form of his mate. Jade was standing in the doorway between the living room and the bedroom, the quilt off the bed wrapped around him and hooded up over his head, half-hiding his tousled orange hair and trailing down behind him in a huge train.
"What, love?" Spruce asked softly, praying to every god he knew of that the bearer of his children was in a good mood this morning. The night before had produced a spectacular, mostly one-sided argument over whether or not Spruce was doing the dishes. At least, Spruce thought that was what it had been about. It was hard to tell, with Jade the way he was.
Spruce knew that all cub-bearers got cranky when they were with cub and he'd heard that human womens' mood swings took them like this too. But still, he often thought that human men were lucky; most of them, anyway. Women were supposed to swing from up to down, but cub-bearers always went from down to further down and back to down again. After the first few months, happiness was not a word or a feeling that pregnant cub-bearers seemed to know. Depression, yes; anger certainly; rage, even, but never joy. So what Jade was doing was not anything new. Just hard, on both of them.
Jade yawned, still standing in the doorway. "What time's it?" His voice came out drowsy, but civil. Spruce gave a little inner sigh of relief as he glanced quickly to the wallclock.
"Ten fifteen. Did you have a good sleep?"
This was recieved with another yawn and a petulant shake of the head. Spruce hid a smile. His mate could be so babyish sometimes, and yet, he was so cute while he was doing it. Laying his book leisurely aside on the coffee table, the elder Kindred sat up and patted his lap invitingly.
"Come on, sit with me," he coaxed. "You can sleep some more. I'll hold you."
Jade stuck his lower lip out, taking a moment to consider the offer, then pulled his quilt tighter around him to pad obligingly across the floor and curl up into Spruce's lap. Spruce sighed and buried his nose in Jade's clean hair, placing a palm gently on the distended skin that housed his twins. Now in his sixth month, the cub-bearer was beginning to show fairly well.
Jade burrowed closer at the touch, whimpering discontentedly.
"I don't feel good."
"I know." Spruce bit his lip and began rubbing his husband's shoulders in a gentle, firm rhythm. Jade never felt good these days. He knew that some pain and discomfort was normal, especially in a first pregnancy, but surely this much couldn't be natural?
Jade's feet and ankles were sore and swollen most of the time. His cramps had been getting progressively worse since the conception of the twins, but had evened out a little now. Bad still, but at least not getting worse anymore. Headaches were a common occurrance, especially behind Jade's eyes, and he was constantly exhausted. Some days he slept in until noon. Pregnancies were supposed to be draining, but Spruce had never heard of anything as far gone as this.
He picked over his memory of other pregnancies he had known. Birch's had been hard, but not this hard. Spruce's eldest 'sister' had experienced swelling of the feet and nearly-constant nausea, but never pain of this degree. Sedge (the husband of Birch's twin, Oak) had, apart from the usual irritability, breezed through his first pregnancy like there was nothing to it. Not that Spruce had witnessed any of this with his own eyes, of course. Both Sedge and Birch would have knocked his head off if he had gotten near them during the cubbing-time. But his da, Jessamine, who was a rather experienced healer of sorts, had told him enough to get him started if his own mate should get with cub.
Spruce bit his lip harder at the thought of his da's caring training. Jessamine had never actually expected that Spruce wouldn't be in touch with the family when the first of his cubs was to be born. Yet here he was. He hardly knew his family anymore. How everything had come to this, he didn't really know; it had just happened somehow, somewhere in all this mess with Jade, and the disappearance of Jade's parents, and then the sudden disappearance of Jade himself, that Spruce had abandoned all familial ties for those of love. In some inner place, he knew that it had been the right decision-would he be sitting here with a mate and unborn twin cubs if he hadn't taken that opportunity? He wouldn't have most of what he had now if he'd taken the time to keep in touch. A relationship with Jade needed a lot of nurturing, it seemed. But Spruce didn't hold it against him. Jade had been scared and naive back then, depending on Onyx for support when Onyx himself was hardly grown up. All Kindred knew that cubs and younglings, no matter how friendly you were to them, never fully trusted anyone except their own flesh and blood. Onyx and Jade had lost the only people they truly trusted during a time in their lives when they were just beginning to need to learn the ways of the world.
And when a cub no longer trusts anyone, he doesn't stick around. He runs off and hides. Which was exactly what the Curan twins had done.
So here he was, Spruce Corslin-Danon, father of twin cubs and mate to a sick cub-bearer, with no one left to help. He sighed, hiding a remorseful half-grin hidden in Jade's hair. Maybe you ought to evaluate yourself, Spruce. Your head needs cleaning out; now you're starting to pity yourself.
It was Jade's gasp that shook him free of his melancholy.
"Something hurt again?" he began worriedly, sitting up straight and laying a hand on his mate's cheek, internally berating himself for ignoring him. But Jade jerked as if off-balance as he moved, reaching out with both hands to grasp at Spruce's clothing and steady himself.
"Dizzy..." he breathed thickly. His eyes went abruptly unfocused before sliding shut, leaving Spruce holding a complete deadweight.
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* 'Danya' is an rather strong expletive in the ancient Kindred tongue. 'Paniia danya' is even stronger.Title: Bridges 5/?
Author: dolphin
Series: Sequel to Lost and Found, which can be found at http://www.blooddance.com/mpreg/original.html
Rating: R overall
Summary: Sineult is sixteen and ready for cubs, Jade is married and well on his way to cubs too, and a few old family members are slipping back into the scene...
Warning: As the summary says, Sineult is sixteen. For the Kindred, this is not underage but as it is for humans in certain parts of the world, I thought I better add a warning just in case. :)
Feedback: Can be sent to me, the beta, over the ML or to dolphin, the author, at morpheus_kannon@y...
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family history
"So, what do you want to know?" Hemlock asked, bracing himself for a long interrogation. He and Onyx's small mate were sitting at a low stone table in a little outdoor cafe that Sineult had chosen and directed Hemlock to. It was an exceptionally pretty little eatery, the benches and tables done all up in stonework under a striped canopy, which jutted off from the housed-in kitchen and ended just short of the busy street that cut right through the centre of this vast city; only a narrow sidewalk separated the clients of this tiny cafe from the traffic in the street. The food, Hemlock found, was mainly of the vegetarian genre, which seemed to be the cause of Sineult's inclinations towards the small restaurant. Strangely enough, unChanged Kindred seemed to enjoy fruits, vegetables, and grains over meat or poultry. Hemlock had often thought that this was a very odd habit for blood drinkers: but that was the way things were.
Sineult was seated across the table from Hemlock, chin in hands, a look of rapt expectation on his round, pointed pixie face, having just finished relating almost everything he knew of his limited heritage and short life. Hemlock was upset to find that Sineult was indeed a halfbreed, and that his father had completely abandoned a cub of his making. A Kindred like that was a disgrace to his kind, and in the elder days, would have been killed as such. But nowadays, it was all too easy for a stray Kindred to wreak as much havoc as he wanted to, then melt into the world of humans and be lost. Most Kindred would never do such a thing, but for the few that would there was often little or no possibility of punishment.
On hearing of Sineult's Lonely Sickness, Hemlock wanted more information: there hadn't been a case of that in over a hundred years. But Sineult seemed highly uncomfortable speaking of it, so Hemlock finally let it go. He could ask Onyx or Jade. If he ever worked up enough courage to go visit them, he reminded himself remorsefully.
Sineult scrunched up his nose adorably, trying to decide what he wanted answered first. Hemlock was at first hard put not to laugh; but the question, when it came, sobered him up considerably.
"Spruce nev'r talks 'bout you. How come?" The green eyes, previously so wide and innocent, now regarded him all too piercingly and wisely. "Did y' fight?"
"You do get right to the point, don't you?" Hemlock said uncomfortably, reflecting on his answer. Sineult only nodded, waiting still for the reply. After some thought, Hemlock sighed.
"Yes, I suppose you could say we fought. I-I said some things to him that I probably shouldn't have. He left before I could take them back." He chewed on his lower lip thoughtfully. "You know about Onyx's parents, don't you? How they disappeared?"
Sineult nodded again, silently.
"Well, after Summer and Zephyr disappeared, Jade and Onyx just took off. They were hardly more than younglings then-they had lived about sixteen years or so. About your age, am I right?"
This finally got more than a nod. "I turned s'xteen 'bout six months ago," Sineult confirmed proudly, flushing slightly.
Hemlock grinned. "I thought so. But anyhow, that's how old the twins were. And Kindred of that age tend not to trust anyone other than their anchor. You know what an anchor is?"
"Onyx said i' was the one who takes care o' y'," Sineult answered solemnly. "Like he takes care o' me, an' paren's take care o' their cub. Like that."
"Exactly. So think about it. You might trust Jade to keep secrets for you-you do, don't you? But you would never trust he, or Spruce, or anyone other than Onyx to take over every aspect of your care."
Sineult seemed to consider this; then he shook his head. "Nope."
"As you grow older, you may, but right now you're vulnerable." Hemlock paused. "I think that in Humans, juveniles are supposed to grow more foolishly independent. But, in Kindred, juveniles grow more clingy. Well, at that point, Jade and Onyx were just like that. So instead of staying with my family, they ran. They came here, to the city, where we couldn't find them, and Onyx anchored Jade."
"Mm. I know tha' part."
"Yes. But Spruce was already in love with Jade then, looking at him as a prospective mate. So when Jade ran off, Spruce wanted to go after him. You know, some think that in a marriage, only the cub-bearers are bound. They can't leave-they'll die without their anchor. But I think that males are bound equally." He eyed Sineult seriously. "Spruce could no more have let Jade go than Jade can leave him now. But I didn't see that then.
"My parents have had two litters. Oak and Birch are eldest; Oak is a male, Birch a cub-bearer. And I have two littermates, Spruce and Pine. Pine is a cub-bearer, while Spruce and I are, as you know, both males."
Sineult nodded attentively. "Which one of y' takes care o' Pine, then?"
Hemlock smiled. "Pine is married now, actually. Just a week or so ago. But then, I took care of him, because he took to me more in his personality. You might say he chose me when he was very small. But when I and my littermates were fifteen, my father died. He had a sickness of the lungs. So Spruce, as the only unattached male child, automatically took on the position of my da's anchor. Oak was all caught up in his promised mate then-Sedge, his name is. They weren't quite married yet, but Oak was taking care of him already, and I had Pine."
"So Spruce was the on'y one lef'."
"Yes. He didn't mind right then." Hemlock grinned. "I mean it wasn't as if he had to sleep with Da or anything. And Da was perfectly capable of caring for all of us. Spruce just had to be there for him, if he needed to talk or wanted input on something, or just needed to mourn for Father a little. It was emotional support, and Spruce is very good at that. Psychiatry.
"But when Jade and Onyx left, Spruce was still tied down to my da." His voice drifted off dolefully.
"How di' 'e leave, then?" Sineult piped up inquisitively after a moment.
Hemlock sighed.
"In order to leave us, Spruce had to hand his position over to someone. By then, Oak and Birch already had packs of their own going. Sedge had given birth the year before; Birch and his mate, Ginger, had only had theirs for a few months. And Sedge and Ginger were going through separation besides. Jade and Onyx are doing that now, aren't they?"
Sineult's forehead furrowed. "Y' mean Onyx gettin' all fussy 'cause he wanted t' take care o' Ja'e still?"
Hemlock nodded. "Most sibling anchors go through that. Sedge and Ginger are littermates along with Pine's new mate, Bay. Ginger was eldest, so he had been anchoring Sedge. Anyway, with all of that going on, Oak couldn't possibly take care of Da. So I had to." He smiled sardonically at his companion. "But I had Pine still, and I though that I wasn't ready for both. So yes, I do suppose you might say that Spruce and I had a bit of an argument." He sighed, shrugging. "He went anyway."
"And were y' ready?" Sineult asked quietly, calmly scanning Hemlock's face.
"In the end, it turned out that I was. It was rather hard at first, but it most likely has me better prepared for a mate than I would have been, before all of this."
"So y're sorry, an' y're scared t' go t' him 'cause he might still be mad?" the cub-bearer asked shrewdly, toying unconsciously with a stray lock of sunny hair. Hemlock leaned forward on his elbows, grinning suddenly.
"It's a bit more complicated than that; but yes, basically. You have a very simplistic mind, you know that?"
Sineult smiled lopsidedly. "I know. Ja'e says I'll nev'r grow up. Oh!"
His smile widened. "I f'rgot t' tell y'. Ja'e's gonna have cubs!"
Hemlock felt himself gaping. "He-really?"
Another enthusiastic nod. "Yup! I meant t' tell y' before, but we w're talkin'-I f'rgot." He grimaced. "Sorry."
"So Spruce...he'll be a father too, then?" Hemlock's grin returned as it hit home. "He likes that?"
"Uh-huh, lots."
"And Jade...how's Jade doing? How far along is he?"
Sineult stopped to think.
"About half a month longer 'n me. Bu' he's been really sick..."
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
It turned out that Sineult was surprisingly demanding, for such a small thing. Hemlock crossed his arms and pouted, leaning back against the inside wall of the newly-installed elevator.
"You're a bully, you know that?"
Sineult nodded, unruffled. "Yup. Onyx 'n Ja'e said I was."
But all that evaporated when they knocked on the door to Spruce and Jade's rooms and were met by a white-faced Spruce. Surprise erupted in his grey eyes upon seeing Hemlock, then was quickly veiled by sharp relief.
"Thanks the gods. Mem, I need your help, Jade's miscarrying. Does Da still live at the old place?"
"He's what!? Where is he?"
He was through the door before it really registered that he had just spoken to his brother for the first time in years. The thought was quickly set aside. This wasn't the time for old arguments. He followed his brother down the short hallway to the bedroom instead.
"How long ago did it start?" Hemlock asked, casting a sideways glance at his brother. Spruce was keeping every movement and word very carefully controlled, a sure sign that he was falling apart inside.
"Only a few minutes," Spruce replied shortly. "He passed out earlier this afternoon, but not for long. I put him to bed, but the strain was already too much, I suppose." He took a deep breath. "His water hasn't broken. Da could still save the cubs if we can get him here fast enough."
Hemlock nodded. "Alright. Yes, Da still lives where he did before. The number's the same, too. Go and call him and make sure to say it's an emergency before you start. He's still as fast as he always was, at need. He'll get here as fast as he can."
Spruce nodded and went for the telephone without question. Hemlock had always been second only to his bearer in healing matters and all his brothers trusted him to take care of things like that. It went without saying that Hemlock would nurse Jade until their Da could arrive.
The elder Corslin-Danon spared a glance of a reassurance that he did not feel for Sineult, before ducking with him into Jade's room.