《A Reunited Circle》


 Snippet One: A Present for the King

    <h2 align="center">Chapter One: A Child Torn from Reality</h2>


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    <u>Snippet One: A Present for the King</u>


    Early afternoon, King Alcandor sits at a desk writing a schedule for the upcoming week. He sits back after getting finished and starts drinking the cup of cocoa previously placed by his secretary Cascade. He then gets out a new folder, but before he does, he gets interrupted by the door being knocked on and opened.


    "Excuse me, King Alcandor, you''ve got two advisors and the healer here to speak with you," Cascade says she opens it the rest of the way. "I know they weren''t supposed to be here for four more hours, but they insisted that it was important."


    Alcandor sighs and says, "Let them in Cascade, it is not your fault that they do this." He gets up from his desk and sits on a couch with 2 chairs with an end table. "Please also bring in refreshments, as I am sure they will want it." He says as he internally rolls his eyes.


    She nods her head while gesturing the three Merrow to go into the room. How they had the audacity to do this to him, she had no clue, but she had a job to do so she would.


    Inside the king''s chamber, the king sits on the couch and pointedly stares at the three Merrow forcing his hand. "Well? Are you not going to greet your king as you should?" He grouchily says. "Well! Do it and sit down. Don''t waste my time!" He yells angrily.


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    The three jump in unison and scurry inside to all give a bow to their king. "I''m sorry my king," says the purple Merrow, "I was content on waiting for our scheduled time." He stares at the two other Merrow. "But some wanted to get this done sooner than later." He coughs, looking down at the floor. "Your Queen''s results are fine, but she is not pregnant yet. She must just have eaten something that disagrees with her."


    "Well, that''s a relief." King Alcandor says. "I''m not looking forward to having a child just yet with the problems on the surface right now. A child would be quite a pain right now." He says looking outside the windows. "Well, is there anything else to discuss? I''m quite busy with the Hunt happ-." Alcandor suddenly stands up as a bright light hits the middle of the room. And then a body suddenly hits the ground. "Kesmar¡¯s bloody reefs!" He yells before continuing with, "Wait, she looks like my mother! Alanni, is that finally you back??" He tries to peer at the person on the ground.


    The young woman whirls around and says "Alann-?" before plummeting to the ground in a faint.


    Alcandor looks at the medic before bellowing "Get her to a healing room now! She''s either my sister or someone else lost to us!"


    The medic hurriedly grabs the child before running to the closest healing room and starts to do a diagnosis. "Your majesty, she has a bruise on her chest and on her right side. Her lungs also look to have been damaged. She also has cuts, scrapes, and bruises from getting hit with something. Shall I heal her?" He says.


    "Yes! Heal her! I may have no clue who she may be, but she deserves to be healed at the least. Let me know when she is healed and close to waking up! I want to be there along with that brain-dead cousin of mine Alphaeus along with Kieran." King Alcandor says walking out of the room. "So much for not having a child in our life..." He sighs and heads his way to Killigan.

 Snippet Two: White Lies Are Sometimes Okay

    <h2 align="center">Chapter Three: A Watery Mess</h2>


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    <u>Snippet Two: White Lies Are Sometimes Okay</u>


    Alexia stares at him and says, "Well, it all started out when Mera got kidnapped. Thankfully Grandma Molly''s circle had its trio complete. The circle goes the following: Grandpa Troy Waller is the Alpha, Grandma Joni Reily is the Beta, and Grandma Molly Yates is the Submissive. Then one day after school a portal opened and a random Merrow baby popped out with nothing else but a locket." She fiddles with the locket on her chest and continues, "Specifically this locket. Anyway, Grandma Molly brought the babe to her new nest, and then Grandma Molly tried to contact the Water courts because she is half Merrow. She kept getting rejected though, everything was stamped that nothing was wrong and to stop foisting non-Merrow at them. After four months, Grandpa Troy decided that enough time was wasted trying to contact the Water courts and Mera was kept." She shifts and waits to see if Alcandor has anything to say.


    "I will make a note of them trying to contact the Water courts. I was too young to have anything to do with the Courts. Have your grandparents said who exactly they contacted?" Alcandor grabs a piece of paper and starts writing down a message.


    Alexia shifts and beings to speak. "No uncle, I was never told much about that time. I think it is a sore subject with them. At any rate, after they decided to adopt Mera, they found a Pareya by the name of Derek Perevell, my Oret. Eventually, everything settled down, they raised Mera and once she hit 15, she found her own circle. My papa & bearer is Brian Maurois, a Water & Fire Submissive." She adjusts and hugs her legs. She takes a breath in and continues. "My daddy & sire was Matt Alvi a Storm Beta and of course, Mera was Alanni Perevell, a Water & Earth Alpha. Originally, my Oretta was supposed to be Papa''s sister Renata Maurois, but she died when his family circle''s house burned down before it could be contracted. After she died, Mera decided to wait until I was older to get another. When Papa hit 16, he had me, I was born on January first. I am a Nameless Dragel and have no pull toward any particular element. I -."


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    At this point, Alcandor interrupts her. "No pull towards Water? How can the daughter of a Merrow have no pull? Also, how did your mother get a tendency towards Earth?" He mutters to himself about how can a daughter of a Merrow having no pull towards Water.


    Alexia widens her eyes and blinks twice. "Nope. And Grandpa Derek thinks it was whatever the kidnapper did before Mera got portaled to Earth." She lays back down on the bed and clears her throat. "After I was born, I was mostly watched by Oret. He was the one that spent the most time with me as a babysitter until Grandpa Troy made him my Oret. But it wasn''t made official until after -"


    Alcandor gets up and starts pacing. "What happened to make it official?"


    She sighs. "And that was the year that I was three..."

 Snippet Three: A Messy Chamber

    <h2 align="center">Chapter Three: A Watery Mess</h2>


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    <u>Snippet Three: A Messy Chamber</u>


    King Alcandor pants as he throws a cup at the wall. He hisses as the glass explodes and gets the attention of his Gheyos. "What! I''m busy, can''t you tell?" He asks Crimson Tide.


    "Yes, but I have been hearing noises outside your chamber so I thought to check on you." A dark purple Merrow says. "Is there anything wrong and are there heads to be destroyed?" Crimson Tide says, leaning against the door.


    Alcandor hisses louder at Crimson Tide "Ha! Yes, there is something wrong! You heard my niece came back correct?" Crimson''s head nods. "Well, apparently she is nameless with a pull to all elements. A royal merrow''s daughter should have a full pull towards Water! Whoever kidnapped Alanni must''ve messed with her elements. Or it happened during the portal to Earth." He turns around and angrily kicks the lamp next to his desk. "And on top of that, she says any efforts to contact the Water Courts were rejected." He furiously jabs his finger into the desk. "You need to look into who would have had access at the time frame of her kidnapping and figure out who worked with the kidnappers." He sighs and slumps into the chair. "You may go. But, before you look into the Water courts with Alec, figure out four Merrow guards to be sent with Tobias. Alexia begged me to let her onto the surface to hunt so I am letting her. They need to be good on their feet and fast with their weapons." Alcandor signals for Crimson Tide to leave.


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    "Yes, King Alcandor. Is there anything else I can do for you this evening?" Crimson says while about to close the door.


    Alcandor closes his eyes and sighs. "Yes, please send in Queen Killigan. She should know that my niece has been found."


    After the door is closed, Alcandor sits up straight and sends a message to Prince Raspen of the Earth Court. "Hello, Prince Raspen. This is King Alcandor. I know you a probably busy with your own circle, but I must let you know that my missing sister has been found. I am pronouncing her daughter, Alexia, to be the next royal Merrow Princess. Please let that shrimp brain cousin of mine know. He deserves to hear it from me and not from rumors."


    He then clears his throat and sends a message to the next court. "Hello, Princess Dawn..."

 Snippet Four: The Breaking of Reality

    <h2 align="center">Chapter Four: A Helping Hand</h2>


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    <u>Snippet Four: The Breaking of Reality</u>


    As the screech dies down and there are no more lightning bolts landing with more people, Monika shakes her sword of its blood. "That was some bad timing of going through this alleyway." She says to the Merrow with purple skin. "This is a known abduction site for beautiful Submissives and you were lucky she wasn''t taken." She says as she grimaces at him. "I would have your head had she been taken!"


    "Calm down, I know this is post-fight Joker, but it''ll end in more bloodshed if you get worked up." Says a dark-olive Dragel coming up to all of them. "My name is Leonard Zharim, and I AM the Alpha. I want to know who here has a purchased house big enough for..." He trails off counting the number of people there. "For 30-odd people. Arielle." He sighs loudly and continues, "Does anyone have a house or plot of land that big? Also, does anyone know who our Submissive is?


    A slim dark blue Merrow calls out "I do have land that big. My name is Marian Poole and I have 30 acres of land and water. The water has a dwelling I''m living in and the land has a 10,500-square foot building with 4 floors above ground and 3 floors below ground. Each floor is 1,500 square feet. I will start giving everyone porting directions to it." And Marian starts giving directions to people and they in turn give the info to more.


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    "Good," Leonard says. "And our Submissive? Does anyone know anything about her?"


    "Yes" coughs a half-healed Tobias. "I don''t want to say who she is though until we get to the land." He says as he looks around the alleyway. "She''s not someone we should speak about here." He glances at the four other Merrow.


    "He''s able to be transported, Alpha." Says the Healer with a lilac skin tone. "He had quite a deep stab, but I was able to patch enough to make it doable."


    "Well then. Who here can make a port for us? I can, but we will probably need two or three ports to make it not be a bumpy ride."


    Two people step up, one being Marian and the other being a pale white Dragel. "My name is Gerhard Knol, and I can do a portal to the house. Ten people come to me." Gerhard says waving people to him.


    After they ported away, Leonard says "The rest of you to me and we can deal with our submissive and whatever happened at the house."


    As the ten more people port away, Tobias sighs and says to the four other Merrow. "This is what I get for causing her uncle so much trouble, isn''t it?" They snicker and nod to Tobias. "Well, at least some of it will be his problem soon enough."

 Snippet Five: What Makes a Home

    <h2 align="center">Chapter Four: A Helping Hand</h2>


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    <u>Snippet Five: What Makes a Home</u>


    The two groups land on the beach, all 22 people from the ports wandering around and exploring the area. The youngest of all of them, the Submissive aside, runs straight to the water. "Hey!" Yells a Merrow Pareya. "Don''t you go over there by yourself! This is deep Merrow territory."


    The youngest pouts and runs to the Pareya. "I just wanted to see the fish." She says as the Pareya checks her over. "My name is Odetta. And I''m 19, I''m not a baby!"


    "Uh huh. Well, my name is Artak and you need to stay away from the ocean. We''ll eventually have somewhere safe for you to swim at." He says, being done with checking her over. "Now go and introduce yourself to the rest. There''s plenty of people to meet."


    "Well," Says a female Merrow as she looks out to the ocean next to Marian. "At least this way, us Merrow won''t need to dig that deep to get a water section in the house. I can see the building in the ocean below." She peers deeply into the water. "Tell me, Marian, correct?" He nods. "How much space is down there? Enough for at least ten of us? Currently, we only have five Merrow, but we should account for up to at least ten." She laughs "Especially with the number of people that are in this circle. We might end up with more." They both turn as they hear the last port open and the last of the circle arrive. "Whelp, guess fun time is over..."


    Leonard lands on the beach and immediately whistles to get everyone to come to him. An Elf next to him is holding the circle''s Submissive protectively in his hands. "Okay, so what exactly do you need to tell us about our still-sleeping Submissive?" He asks a less damaged Tobias.


    "First of all, Caspain, go alert the King about Alexia and where we are. He''ll want to bring his Healer and Medic pair to check to make sure she is fine after the scream. Cove, Loke, and Pike go back home. We probably won''t need you for the rest of this given how many Gheyos my Submissive has." After Tobias says this, all 4 other Merrows port away and he turns around and sighs to the group. "I would like to inform you that Her Highness, Princess Alexia of the Water Courts is our Submissive," There are a few gasps from the group and he continues. "She is the daughter of King Alcandor''s sister and has been very recently found so he will be protective over her, especially with the problems on the surface. This was just supposed to be a quick mission to get her registered, under another name, so she could start hunting before it became too hard for her to be on the surface with obvious Merrow Gheyos." He stops and looks at the Elf holding his Submissive. Their Submissive. "Well, since I started speaking, I''ll go first. My name is Tobias Marin. I am a Merrow, but I lean more toward Storm than pure Water. My job as a Gheyo King was to guard King Alcandor''s private residence with the four other Merrow with me before along with two others." He looks at Leonard and motions for him to go on.


    "Ahem, as I said last time, My name is Leonard Zharim. I am a full Water Dragel, not Merrow." He stares at Tobias as if daring him to say anything about it. "I am the Alpha. My job is managing my family''s wealth, along with now our circle''s wealth. At least until we get a Paryea who is decent at earning money. Who is our Beta, who are our Pareyas, and who are our Gheyos." He says looking at all of them while sitting down and gesturing for everyone else to sit as well.


    The light brown-skinned Elf holding Alexia gestures for Tobias to sit down and carefully sets her on top of him. "My name is Noel Lewis, I am a Beta," with this he pauses and bores his grey eyes into Leonard''s eyes. "I am an Elf Halfling. I mostly have spent time in the family business of breeding and selling plants." He tosses his white hair over a shoulder and continues. "I am the main keeper of plants native to Nevarah''s surface for the Earth & Water courts." He motions for someone else to speak.


    A pale white dragel steps up and says "My name is Gerhard Knol. And I should''ve been the Beta, but since there is Noel, I guess I am the Rheyo instead. I am Nameless with tendencies toward Fire, Water, and Air." His bright copper hair sways as he sits down. "My job is being Lady Bianca''s silent necromancer and that information cannot leave this circle." His orange eyes stare at every person in the circle. "My bearer''s circle is in the business of building, so it might be best for me to contact them so that building can start as soon as possible and perhaps be done before the hunt. Or at least be livable before the hunt."


    A pale white Dragel pulls two others with her and all three sit down. "My name is Loreta Shae, and my element is Air with some tendency toward Fire." She pulls at her firey red hair as she quickly closes her light green eyes. "I''m a Gheyo Prince that does Air patrol with my Queen and Princess." As she gestures over the two that sat down with her and pokes the tanned Dragel next to her.


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    He purses his lips and says, "I am Philipp Perevell, 5th, an Air Gheyo Queen that patrols with my Prince and Princess." He shakes his light brown hair and brushes his brown colored eyes. He then turns to the third Dragel.


    "Uh. Well I''m Ferran Belaire." He pats his silver hair out of the way and continues with, "I am a Storm Dragel, more Water than Air." He looks at Loreta and she frowns at him. He looks away, closes his ocean-blue eyes, and keeps going. "Um, well I am now a Gheyo Princess that does Air patrol with my other soul-bonded." His olive skin blushes as everyone looks at him at that comment, but looks away from everyone.


    "Hmm. I guess I''ll go next then." An orange-eyed man says while sitting down. "My name is Armin Mayr and I am a Were-Snow Leopard. I am also a Fire/Air Gheyo Ace. My job was mostly patrolling the Shadow Haunts, even if I have no pull towards Earth." He points a finger to another standing close to him. "We are from the same circle, but have different bearers and sires from each other." He dusts off his pale almond skin and finishes speaking.


    "Hmph." The blue-eyed Were-Leopard says and goes over to ruffle his brother''s bright orange hair. "My name is Lucas Mayr and I am also a Were-Snow Leopard." He repeats as he messes with his own black hair. "I am a King Gheyo," as he stares at Tobias. "but, I am Fire and Water, unlike my brother. My job is to patrol the Storm areas as I am more like them than my brother." His tan skin blushes slightly teal. "I tend to work best with Water and Air but not Fire." As he says this, he looks at his brother and sneers. "I also refuse to be in my brother''s King. I''d rather eat him first." He sits near Noel to get away from his brother.


    "Heh. That seems like very ruffled feathers to me." Murmurs someone with terra-cotta skin. "My name is Tania Galvao and I am a Water Pheolix. I rank as a Pareyic Gheyo Joker so my job used to be guarding various nests'' cr¨¨ches, but I can only assume I will be guarding our Submissive from now on," she looks to the still sleeping submissive and gives a chirp. She closes her bright blue eyes and shakes her dark brown hair. Tania sits down and starts cleaning her talons with her small side dagger, content on waiting for everyone else to speak


    "One Joker down," A tanned Gheyo walks up and sits down. "And me to go. My name is Monika Cardillo and I guess I will be another guardian of our Submissive." Monika looks at Tania and tilts her head. "And the cr¨¨che, if I must." She squints her seafoam-tinted eyes and continues with. "I am a Storm Joker and never ask me about how I became one." Tania touches her shoulder and Monika tilts her head down so her white hair with blue streaks covers her face. "My job was guarding the Merrow shores with... Well, I just guard them alone now." She gets up and then wanders over to the water and puts her feet in the ocean with her back to the rest of the group.


    "Guess it''s time for the last Submissive''s protection?" A pure-white-skinned man sits down near Tania. "My name is Gaspar Molinari and I am an Ice Fae. My elements are both Water and Fire, equally and I am a Gheyic Pareya Toracle. I will protect our Submissive and all of those around her." His golden orange eyes close as he squints at the sun. "I was about to sign a contract with a Paryeic circle to guard their cr¨¨che, but I can only assume my job will be to shadow our submissive and make sure she doesn''t get into trouble. Or at least not too much trouble."


    A dark blue Merrow sits down next and says, "Since it seems we might have one full Gheyo circle and most protectiveness done, I might as well introduce myself. My name is Marian Poole and this is now our circle property. I am a Storm Mage." Here he agitatedly sweeps his light blue hair off his face then continues. "and I will be responsible for the majority of the circle''s runic warding as I am one of many rune-masters for the Water Courts; I was given this property after having saved Queen Killigan from being kidnapped until the Gheyos were able to fix the situation. I am 3/4 Merrow and 1/4 Dragel, and I am glad I am not the only mixed Merrow in our circle." He turns his cerulean-colored eyes to the next person to speak.


    "Guess I''m next then!" Exclaims a red-headed Dragel. "My name is Vanessa Bruins and I am a Nameless Changling, though I do pull towards Fire from my bearer. I also pull toward Water and Air from my sire and third respectively. I am a Companion so I will probably spend the most time with our Submissive. I will probably never change into my other form, Vinny, so please do not ask for it." She shielded her sky-blue eyes from view as she sits down. "My job!" She adds, brushing sand from her pale white skin. "My job is knitting clothing and blankets with runes for my sister to sell in our shop. If you need something to be knit, just find me with, Alexia right?" She looks towards Tobias.


    Tobias nods and says "Yes, her name is Alexia Perevell. Or at least that is what the King told me." Philipp sucks in a breath before a portal appears with no warning. All the gheyos not sitting grab their weapons and go next to it and Tobias puts Alexia on the sand to protect her front while Tania gets up to protect her back.


    The three that show up are King Alcandor and a Medic/Healer pair. Alcandor quickly tells the pair "Go check her out! It looks like she passed out again. Make sure it has nothing to do with her injuries from the teleport." He turns to Tobias and growls out, "Now why exactly should I not smother you under my feet like the insignificant fish you are?" Alcandor points his claws at Tobias and then says, "There better be a damn good reason you have almost lost my niece! Tell me now!"


    Tobias gulps and begins the long conversation with "Well your Majesty, it began when...."


    Ten minutes (and a thorough tongue-lashing from King Alcandor) later the Healer was able to get Alexia to wake up. With Tobias holding her of course. It would be Tobias'' luck if he gets scratched, Alcandor thinks to himself.

 Snippet Six (1): Sorrows on the Beach

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter Five: A Circle Made Anew</h2>


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    Snippet Six (1): Sorrows on the Beach


    Monika quickly snaps awake in her Spinosuarus form right near a beach as a message bubble angrily sizzles next to her. She sighs and switches to her normal Merrow form and answers it.


    "This is Gheyo Ace Supervisor Mesmyr. You have missed your check-in point and have been docked 2 points. Come to the Water Castle grounds to make up the 2 points." An angry Merrow stares at her from the bubble. "I know you''ve had it rough, but you cannot miss patrol like this anymore. If need be, I will assign you a circle! Be here in 5 minutes!"


    Monika groans and looks at the grave marking next to her. She kisses it and then ports to the normal Gheyo area at the Castle. She swims over to the very angry Ace and nods her head. "Ace. I''m here. Who am I supposed to fight?"


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    "You were supposed to be here 5 hours ago!" Mesmyr says as he angrily glares at Monkia. "You should be glad that I''m only taking off 2 points and not a full 10!" He growls and then points to the training area. "Go over there and train the Pages for 5 hours. You can eat when they do."


    Monika hisses at Mesmyr. "Training? Come on Ace, I don''t deserve that and you know it!"


    He glares into her eyes. "Yes, you do! You''ve been late to every patrol this week. And the last week! Something has got to give, and if it''s you training the Pages, that''ll be what happens to you for the next 20 years." He growls at her until she lowers her gaze.


    She groans again and makes her way over to the Pages. "Listen up, I don''t have the patience for any whining." She starts teaching the ungrateful Gheyos how to do sword attacks in the water.


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    At lunchtime, Monkia is happily eating by herself outside, nestled into a seagrass bed; she snarls anytime someone comes close to her. When she is done eating, she sits there trying not to think of the next few years of being forced to train newbie Gheyos, but before long, she starts feeling a tug at her soul. She swears before pulling out her legs; she has one last thought before accepting the soul scream: At least she wouldn''t need to train the Gheyo Pages more than one day...

 Snippet Six (2): The Tears of a Lifetime

    <h2 align="center">Chapter Five: A Circle Made Anew</h2>


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    <u>Snippet Six (2): The Tears of a Lifetime


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    The light slowly pierces the window of her small apartment, Tania stretches and pulls the covers off her. She does her regular workout routine and then showers in the tiny bathroom. She rushes to get dried off as well as get dressed for work. Tania quickly walks out of the room, before pausing a looking at a small painting of two young identical twins. "I''m sorry, Gabby, and I still miss you." She says while touching the left twin¡¯s face and checking on the ever-bright candle. She then rushes to the kitchen to make a quick meal of cinnamon-coated fruit salad before bringing out her silver and white feathers and flying to Little Wanderer''s Home to guard the most vulnerable.


    Tania greets her fellow Joker with a whistle and a "Good morning Tom¨¢s, how are they this morning?" A tanned male Gheyo approaches her.


    "Good Mornin'', ''Nia. Two more months until the hunt. Were you planning on going this year?" He shakes his hair out of his eyes and laughs when ''Nia gestures something less than polite. "I''ll take that as a no. At any rate, I''ve done the first scope and it looks clear. It seems that Fate''s fortune is ours with another good day. Let''s just make sure to keep it that way." He bolts away as Tania starts to chase him around the outside of the orphanage.


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    After a playful jaunt in the air, they both go and sit in front of the gate to relieve the previous shift of guards. They both nod to the previous two Gheyos as one comes to tell them what has happened during that night''s shift. "Nothing happened last night, ''Nia. We didn''t hear anything out of the ordinary. Me and Bernardo will go fill in today''s volunteer shift lead. Uh, I think it''s Florin again. But, Rhasien and Maider are after you, make sure to call them if anything happens. ''Night." The two fly away as Tania and Tom¨¢s sit in their normal positions.


    The two pass time telling gossip about all the volunteers and assistants that deal with the orphanage. And then Tania starts to feel something strange in her chest. As she looks down, she starts rubbing her chest where her heart is. "''Nia?? Are you alright?" Tom¨¢s cries as he realizes that she is in pain. He begins to stand up before Tania makes two quick gestures with her fingers: Soul &amp; Scream. And then with a bolt of lightning, Tania is pulled away from the building. "Well FUCK!" Tom¨¢s shouts, "What the fuck am I supposed to do now?" and begins to send a message to Florin.


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    Not too far from the orphanage, Tania gets dropped into a scene familiar to her...too familiar. A feminine form shrieking as if their soul is coming out. Tania quickly pulls out her longsword, pulls out her feathers, and embraces the female. "Shh, little one," ''Nia says before continuing with "I won''t let this soul scream end in what the last one did. And I really hope you pull some more Gheyos to you, my little riptide." As more get ''ported in, Tania keeps an eye out for someone who is able to protect her back. She stares at a tanned female Gheyo Joker until their seafoam eyes look at Tania; Tania makes a motion and the dragel comes while putting their half-black and half-white scales to her feathers. Now one to protect her front. She looks around until she sees a pure-white-skinned Gheyo or Pareya and gestures at them to guard her front. He comes over and pulls out a long machete that seems to be dripping with a green sheen. Great. The poisoner. She internally sighs and reminds herself it is for her new Submissive.


    After everyone has ported in and a few dragels get brutally murdered, the chaos is all done. Tania croons at her submissive who has finally finished screaming and slightly flutters her feathers to get her Submissive''s attention. And it works wonderfully as she spins around with her teeth bared and the Pheolix braces herself for a bite. Tania chirps at her new Submissive and she slowly relaxes; the Submissive touches a feather, Gabby''s favorite silver feather that is tipped with white, before touching a few more feathers and saying "Oh, hello." in a breathy voice before passing out in the arms of her new protector.


    A dark olive-skinned dragel rushes up and Tania loudly rasps in warning as a Merrow Healer runs to the Merrow that the Submissive was just screaming over. "If you try to take her from my arms, you''ll have to feather and tar me first." She growls out.


    The Gheyo Joker at my back tosses a "That was some bad timing of going through this alleyway," to some of the non-called Merrow Gheyo nearby. "This is a known abduction site for beautiful Submissives and you were lucky she wasn''t taken. I would have your head had she been taken!"


    The dark olive-skinned dragel assures Monika with a "Calm down, I know this is post-fight Joker, but it''ll end in more bloodshed if you get worked up." He continues to walk closer to them and continues to speak. "My name is Leonard Zharim, and I AM the Alpha. I want to know who here has a purchased house big enough for..."

 Snippet Seven (1): Grandchild in Trouble

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter One: A Child Torn From Reality


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    Snippet Seven (1): Grandchild in Trouble


    An hour after Alexia left for school, Alpha Troy Miller closes his newspaper and sets it on the small table next to him. He sighs and rubs his eyes vigorously before getting out of the chair and stretching. "Molly love, have you heard from Derek yet today?"


    Molly comes out of the bedroom and hugs Troy. "Not yet dearest. Why? Are you worried about him?" She says as they sway side to side.


    "No love." He kisses her forehead and they start doing a slow waltz in the living room. "I''m just worried about Alexia and the upcoming hunt. I''m afraid she''ll get a circle and then want to leave us behind."


    Molly sighs and then nestles her head on Troy''s shoulder. "Troy, she''s just a baby to us. She won''t find a circle this quickly. While she inherited her dragel at 16 a few years ago, most don''t get circles until they hit 25 anyway."


    "You''re right love." They slowly dance and Troy occasionally spins her before Joni walks into the house.


    Joni cocks an eyebrow and looks at the two of them. "Room for one more?" She says sarcastically and starts to step behind her Submissive; but before she can move a few feet into the living room, the phone rings. Joni sighs and then answers it. "Perevell Residence."


    A reedy voice comes through the speaker. "Yes, may I talk to Troy Miller or Molly Miller, please? It is regarding their grandchild, Alexia." Joni whistles to Troy and gives him the phone.


    "This is Troy Miller speaking. What''s wrong with Alexia? She left nearly an hour and a half ago to school." Troy says anxiously.


    The reedy voice continues, "Yes, well she isn''t here today. I will flag her as not showing up to school and she will need to do a detention next Monday after school."


    Troy looks at the other two people in his circle. "Alright. Thanks for letting us know." He hangs up and pulls on Derek''s and Alexia''s bonds harshly. "Alexia didn''t go to school today. Do you think she ran away due to the hunt happening?"


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    Derek ports into the room. "What''s wrong? You''ve never pulled that hard on the bond before." He looks at their faces and his turns grim. "What happened?"


    "It seems that Alexia didn''t make it to class today," Troy says before putting the phone back down on the counter. "I''m going to go walk the path she takes to see if she''s hurt or injured." He looks at the three of them. "You guys cam come with I guess."


    The four of them run out of the house down the path they know very well. Halfway down, the four stop in their tracks at the sight of a car crash.


    "There was a girl here! I''m not making stuff up! She had white hair with red and blue streaks!" A female motorist said to a cop that was next to her.


    Derek curses before making a motion toward the cops, the motorist, and everyone else staring at the car crash. "This should make them forget about Alexia and just think it was the wind blowing the bike into the path of traffic." He looks closer at the bike and around it. "There''s magic that''s been done near that bike."


    Molly frowns to herself. "She barley is able to port herself anyway and wouldn''t do it in public like this. What made here teleport away? What was she wearing today Troy?"


    "Just the usual clothing from what I remember," Troy says before his nose scrunches up in thought. "Wait. She had that necklace! The one that Alanni had when she arrived to us!"


    Joni thinks back to the necklace. "We weren''t really able to figure out what it does, did we?"


    Derek furrows his eyebrows. "Not that I''m aware of, and I took it to an enchanter. Do you think it could''ve come from her parents?" The four of them look at each other with disbelief. "Do you think it could''ve teleported her back to them?"


    Troy growls under his breath and then forces everyone to go back home; once they''re all back in their house, Troy speaks his mind. "I think it is very possible she went back to the Merrow, yes." He looks at his circle. "Is everyone willing to quickly pack up all our belongings and go to Nevarah tonight? There''s 4 days in Nevarah to the 1 day here so we need to go there before too much time passes." He sighs before continuing. "If she is there, then we can have Pheonix Holding sell everything in the house and the house before switching everything in our banks here to be in just Nevarah." Everyone nods in acceptance.


    <hr>


    8 hours later, they finally port to Nevarah''s Eastern Gate. They quickly get through and go to find an inn for the day. After traveling through many crowds, they finally reach the chosen inn. Before Molly can even go through the door, someone knocks into her back. Before anyone can react, a soul cry happens and four are sent back to an unnamed Earth Fae. They gesture for the man to join them into the hotel.

 Snippet Seven (2): Hijinks At The Market

    <h2 align="center">Chapter Six: And So It Begins</h2>


    <hr>


    <u>Snippet Seven (2): Hijinks At The Market


    </u>


    As Leonard pulls the three with him into the house, Fabian thinks about all that needs to be accomplished. He absentmindedly notices Tania and Monika guarding the front door while Gaspar slinks around to the back of the house. He smirks and decides to start to gather the market crew to leave. "Nicolae, Phillip, Loreta, Ferran, and Vanessa, please come to me so we can get this done as quickly as possible. No one wanders alone. Phillip guards Nicolae, Loreta guards Vanessa, and Ferran guards me. Now take my hand and we will go to the main house resource market first." He turns around and walks away from the house. What he doesn''t see, is that Vanessa looks at Rebecca motioning her to join them. Nicolae sighs and distracts the Gheyo so they don''t notice the addition until it''s too late. Vanessa links her other hand with Rebecca and winks at Odeta (who giggles in reaction to all of this.) "3,2,1!" Fabian says as he ports the 7 of them to the market.


    They land on the outskirts of the market and Fabian leads them forward into it before Loreta realizes their addition. "Wait, Rebecca? Uh, Fabian..."


    Fabian slams to a halt and sighs deeply. "If you want to come along next time, just tell someone. Just go with Loreta and Vanessa. And no detours." He glares at Rebecca and Vanessa. "We need tents, all kitchen supplies, beds/bedding, bathing supplies, and Nicolae, you should consider getting many calendars." He thinks to himself for a minute. "Loreta, Vanessa, and Rebecca get the kitchen supplies and the tents. Phillip and Nicolae get the beds and bedding supplies. Ferran and I will get the bathing supplies. Here are my personal banking tokens to buy everything with. Buy whatever you think is needed and feel free to splurge." He hands Loreta and Phillip a token and leads Ferran away from the rest in exasperation.


    Phillip and Nicolae nod their heads and head off towards the bed store before leaving the three women alone. "Well!" Rebecca exclaims, "What a good time to contact my sister!" Loreta shakes her head and mutters about crazy pareyas. "Hi Iso! Your favorite sister here, please meet me at the kitchen supplies store, The Stocked Pantry, in about eighty or so minutes. Ta!" Rebecca quickly sends the message and then tugs her two companions toward the tent store. "Let''s get done with the tents so we can spend more time with my sister!"


    <hr>


    Loreta looks at the many bags at her feet. "Did we really need this many tents, Rebecca??" She chews her lip.


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    "We''ve got 31 people already, and you heard Fabian, 20 more Gheyos AND 20 more Pareyas. We''ll need the three large tents, three 1-2 people tents and four 3-4 tents for sleeping. And that doesn''t include the 2 covered tents for cooking and 2 covered tents for dining. Plus the 1 covered tent for just sitting around!" Rebecca defends the order. "Not to mention that any healers we gain will want somewhere to heal. We''ll be able to repurpose them once we are living in the house." She stubbornly says. "Now onto the cooking store! You''ll love Iso!"


    "Rebecca!" A teal-haired woman runs up to Rebecca and gives her a bear hug. "It''s been forever since you''ve been at the house! Mera Judit and Mera Trudi have missed you at the house!" She notices the Gheyo and Pareya and hisses while putting her hand on a dagger hilt. Isobella quickly pulls Rebecca behind her and threatens the two with a deeper voice, "Fuck off before I turn you into mincemeat!" She fully pulls out the dagger while simultaneously pulling out her pastel green wings.


    Rebecca grabs her sister''s hand and barks out, "No! Loreta is my Gheyo and Vanessa is my companion." She forces her sister to resheath her dagger. "I would''ve told you, but I figured you would be chill enough to not attack without getting introduced." She rebukes the angry Dragel as Loreta stares at Isobela with a hand tensely grasping her curved shortsword. "And put your wings away," Rebecca says as she smacks the back of her sister''s head.


    "Now, if you''re willing to play nice with my two bonded, I might have an in with a bonded circle for you." Rebecca continues. "We need to buy an entire kitchen, and I mean everything from cooking stoves to dishware. And you can have a hand in choosing things for your potential submissive. Are you in?" She cajoles her sister. Loreta makes a noise, but Rebbca quickly goes, "Zzt! It''s Alexia''s choice, not yours." Isobella slowly nods in agreement while Loreta angrily looks at the two of them.


    <hr>


    While this is all happening, Nicolae yanks Phillip to a stationary store that is next to the bathing store. "I hope I''m not wrong about our new mage, but I''m hoping he can connect calendars and notebooks together." Nicolae comments as he browses the store wares. "Let''s grab 35 identical notebooks and 20 identical calendars. 50 fountain pens and 100 vials of black ink." They purchase everything and move on to the bathing supplies.


    Phillip looks at the bags at their feet as they lean against the building. "Are you sure 20 bars of soap are needed? And 15 differently scented candles? And 20 sets of color-coordinated towels!" Phillip quietly whines as he tries to forget about how much money they just spent.


    Ten minutes later a message gets sent to them from Fabian that declares, "Ferran and I are done and the gaggle of girls are on their way to us. Rebecca recruited a sister to help cook for the next few days. If you are done, meet us at the market entrance. I''m done with the hijinks already..."

 Snippet Eight (1): Royals in Trouble

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter Three: A Watery Mess</h2>


    <hr>


    Snippet Eight (1): Royals in Trouble


    "Molly, we should probably wait until later in the day to go to the Air Court," Troy says to his stubborn Submissive as they fly up to the Air City.


    Said stubborn Submissive shakes her head and flies right to where she knows the Air Palace is and levels a look toward the Gheyos guarding the door. "Clan Chieftess Molly Barbeau here to talk to the current King or Queen of the Air Courts. They will want to see me."


    The Gheyos looks taken aback but open the doors and let them into the palace. "Just let the Pareya at the front door know you want to talk with them." As the circle elegantly walks into the courtyard, they can hear the Gheyos wondering who exactly they are.


    The door to the palace opens automatically when the circle steps up to it and Molly stalks into the entryway. "Clan Chieftess Molly Barbeau here to talk to the current King or Queen of the Air Courts." She says as she looks at the Pareya at the front desk.


    "Um..." The Pareya gapes as she looks at the woman. She fumbles around for a calendar before looking at the angry Dragel in front of her. "I''m sorry, but the King and Queen of the Air Courts are not available for the next month. Would you like to schedul-"


    Molly interrupts her. "What about the Crown Prince or Princess?"


    The Pareya looks around for help before pointing to a door. "T-through there. The Crown Princess Dawn shouldn''t be in a meeting this early on in the day."


    "Excellent! Thank you for your time." Molly purrs before power walking to the door and politely knocking on the closed door. After it opens, the entire circle walks into the room and the door closes.


    Molly stares at the woman sitting behind the desk and a man standing next to the desk. She waits for the woman to introduce herself (and she eventually does after a minute.)


    The elegant Princess stands up. "My name is Crown Princess Dawn. How may I help you, here in the early morning of this day."


    "I am one the Clan Chieftess of the Air Courts. My name is Molly Barbeau and I need to tell you that my circle will no longer call Earth home." Molly says before taking a seat in the chair before the desk.


    Princess Dawn looks taken aback at her. "I don''t recall any Clan Chiefs being on Earth, except for the one that got dismissed a while back."


    Molly stares at her and her eyes furrow. "That can''t be right. My family has been a Clan Chief since the Air King Christopher told my family to stay behind on Earth as one of the last safehouses there."


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    The Princess looks confused. "I don''t know what you''re talking about." She sends a message to a Pareya to find the information about the Clan Chief Barbeau. The man next to her looks at her as if to not say that.


    "My Clan Chief forefather obeyed your forefather, The King of the Air Courts, about staying on Earth to be listed as a safe house. I am the latest Clan Chief and I list my adopted granddaughter, Alexia, as the next Clan Chieftess." Molly says while glowering at the Princess.


    Princess Dawn looks down and mutters almost to herself. "Yeah, I''ve sure heard a lot about her already."


    Molly takes in a deep breath. "What did you just say?" She growls out. "What do you know about my granddaughter?"


    Princess Dawn looks up and blows out a breath. "Nothing, never mind. It must be about a different person." She clears her throat before looking at the man again.


    An aide runs into the room after a few minutes of a very awkward silence. "I found the papers you were looking for, your highness." The aide gives the Princess the papers and then leaves the room.


    After a few minutes of reading, Princess Dawn puts the papers down. "Yes, the title was revoked several years ago. I don''t know wha-"


    Molly starts rapidly asking questions with Dawn answering. "Has my family not stayed on Earth as directed?"


    Dawn fidgets before answering. "Yes, but-"


    "We were on Earth on YOUR directives for well over 700 years, correct?"


    "Yes, but-"


    "Has my family done anything against our swearings to deserve the revocation of our title?"


    "No, but-"


    "Have I not updated the Air Courts as I was supposed to?"


    "Yes, but-"


    Molly waits a second before slowly speaking. "Then why has our title of Clan Chief been stolen from us without a word? If it was due to us not being here on Nevarah, it was YOUR family who told us to stay on Earth until the last of my line."


    Dawn flinches before speaking. "Well, you see-"


    Molly glares and leans forward. "I am the last of my line...."


    The man finally has enough and puts a hand on Dawn''s shoulder. "My name is Prince Michalis." He looks at the five members of the previous Clan Chieftess'' circle. "I''m sorry, but your title was removed over five hundred years ago."


    Molly death stares at the Prince. "What do you mean removed? My family has done nothing wrong!"


    The prince looks slightly nervous about what to say. "I don''t know why it wasn''t told to you, but-"


    "But nothing, your Highness!" Molly sneers as she stands up from the chair. "Oh, I know exactly why it wasn''t told to us. Your family decided to abuse mine as nannies for over a thousand years. You better hope you never need the Barbeau family ever again!" Molly quickly leaves the room with the rest of her circle, sans one.


    Derek slowly stands up from the chair. "Prince Michalis, was it? You better hope there''s never a catastrophe that needs this circle or my granddaughters. I am the last of the Perevell clan that was personally asked by Lady Death to stay and protect any Dragels until we couldn''t anymore. Our granddaughter Alexia should be the potential Chieftess of the Air, the Shadows, and the Water. She is the adopted daughter of the Barbeau clan along with being a Clan Chieftess of the Rivi¨¨re de l''Ombre clan. She is also the last Princess of the Merrow that stayed on Earth to protect Earth''s waters..." He spins around and regally walks out of the room.


    Crown Princess Dawn and Prince Michalis both breathe out huge breaths of air and look at each other stunned. "I can only bet this is going to get worse over time, brother." Prince Michalis groans.

 Snippet Eight (2): The Struggles That Ensue

    <h2 align="center">Chapter Seven: The Bindings That Hold Us Together</h2>


    <hr>


    <u>Snippet Eight (2): The Struggles That Ensue</u>


    The Gheyos watch as their Alpha practically drags their Submissive, Beta, and Rheyo into the house. After a few slow minutes of waiting, Faidon motions to the rest to go into the house. "We''ll be going to the basements for this. I''ll explain exactly what will be happening down there." He grunts before turning to Alan. "Please guard our submissive while we bind our own circles." He says quietly. "We should be done near dinner, but if not, don''t wait for us. We''ll be done for the night by the time Alexia goes to bed."


    "Erm, yes." Alan looks like he''s refraining from saying anything. "I''ll make your excuses if you don''t come to dinner and try to make Rebecca do something that easily keeps."


    Faidon grunts to himself, goes to the front door, and then motions the rest of the Gheyo to follow him. They do.


    <hr>


    "Since we have two full gheyo suites, and potentially two future jokers to bond to the Aces," Faidon says and then looks at Armin. "we need one dominant Ac-."


    Armin snorts loudly, interrupting Faidon. "Oh yeah? Then why don''t we start now?" He snaps and then suddenly switches to his were-leopard form. He transforms from a pale almond man to a black-coated leopard with dark orange rosettes and then loudly growls at Faidon. He turns away from the ground to go scent mark the wall with his sharp claws before speedily rotating around and pouncing on Faidon.


    Faidon tries to shove the 100-pound leopard off and succeeds after a minute. "I see how it will be with you. Unfortunately for you," He says while pulling out his two Gladius shortswords. "I have trained with my uncle''s military circle for the past 12 years. Now let''s dance together, you and I." He tries to punch the leopard in the jaw with his offhand and misses so he stabs forward trying to get a gut shot. The sword manages to puncture the skin, but it doesn''t seem to do much damage.


    The leopard loudly screams and rakes Faidon down his chest. Faidon curses and tries to knock the claws from scratching him, but he misses and gets raked from his left pec to his right thigh. "You damn cat!" Faidon bellows before kicking Armin off of him. Faidon leaps on top of the leopard and is able to fully stab his offhand into the side. With his main sword, he holds it up to Armin''s throat and snarls, "Change back and yield before our submissive gets to miss her second Ace while he goes to the hospital." The leopard angrily chuffs and tries to get himself out of the hold, but to no avail is unable to shift his body at all. Armin then taps twice with his right leg and waits for Faidon to get off. "You better not be faking, leopard." Armin shakes his head and then slowly changes back into his human form.


    Armin spits out blood from the side of his mouth. He smiles before exclaiming, "I yield, Gheyo Ace Faidon. I assume you want to mark me? Choose wherever you wish, as long as you don''t cover up my clan tattoo on my back. Boy, Lucas, you''ll enjoy fighting him quite a bit. Be careful of my brother, he has quite a nasty little surprise for you."


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    Faidon goes over and bites at Armin''s right bicep. "Bite me wherever you wish Armin. We can complete our bond later after the fighting is done." After Faidon is done, Armin bites him on the lower forearm. Then the two different gheyo circles split and go to different floors.


    <hr>


    "Okay. There''s only the two of us right now with the three others guarding the shoppers." Armin purrs at Tobias. "Do you want to submit without fighting or did you want the fight?" Armin laughs when Tobias brings out his dual scimitars. "Guess that''s how it''ll be then." He grabs out a long bastard sword and grips it with both hands.


    "I refuse to let you bite me!" Tobias says before glaring at Armin. "You''ll have to earn a bite over time for me if you want me to willingly bond with you." He leaps towards Armin with a loud yell.


    Over the next few minutes the two battle it out with neither winning. Tobias laughs at Armin after he slices Armin on the leg and in return, Armin glares over at Tobias and retorts, "You''ll soon wish you hadn''t done that." He then loudly screams and knocks Tobias'' main scimitar out of his hand. Tobias tries to riposte with his offhand, but that too gets knocked out and skids into a corner. Armin then lunges at him and forces him to his knees. "Yield!" Armin bellows.


    Tobias sighs and then mutters, "I yield." Armin cuts him on his right pec and Tobias slices him on his elbow crease. "Let''s go help the Pareyas guard the house while waiting for our wayward Queen. We can bond with him once dinner is done and Alexia is asleep." Armin nods and both of them go up the stairs. On their way through the gheyo areas, they hear three obviously feminine voices moaning loudly. Tobias laughs while saying, "Guess Evelyn, Elvira, and Carmael are bonding without fighting for their ranks."


    <hr>


    On the lowest level of the Gheyo floors, Faidon and Lucas stare at each other for a few minutes. "All right. With that little staring break over, let''s get started." He pulls out his two gladius shortswords and spins them in circles waiting for Lucas to do something. Lucas walks a bit away and slowly changes into his leopard form. A 75-pound, pure-white leopard with icy blue rosettes emerges and quietly growls before leaping onto Faidon and scratching from his right shoulder down to his stomach. "Ah shit, I forgot you two were brothers." Faidon cries before trying to throw the leopard off him and cuts him from the tip of his left collarbone all the way down to his lower right hip. After He scratches the leopard''s hide, he tries to back up to get some distance from Lucas that somehow had some water on the ground.


    Unbeknownst to Faidon, the area with water was a trap for him set by Lucas. Once Faidon gets into the water and is stepping further in, Lucas flash-freezes the water into ice. In doing so, Faidon slips and falls straight onto his back while his head hits the ground with a sickening smack with all the breath getting forced out of his lungs. Lucas immediately turns back into human form and sprints over to his fallen Ace. "Ah shit!" Lucas says while healing his Ace up.


    Both of them get startled by clapping from the doorway. "Nicely done Lucas!" Evelyn says while chuckling under her breath. "I''m so glad that my Princess forced me away so that I could witness this." She walks into the room while both Lucas and Faidon get up from the ground. "I do believe that Lucas won that little duel of yours." She looks over Lucas''s body before continuing. "It looks like your marks have been sealed already, boys." She laughs before walking over to both of them. "But I''m willing to be a good consolation prize for the both of you. Just don''t mark me anywhere near my three marks, and I''m content to let you mark wherever..."


    The two look at each other and tug her between them. "Guess losing is less painful than I thought," Faidon says before kissing Evelyn on the lips.

 Snippet Nine (1): Plans are Washed Awry

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter Three: A Watery Mess</h2>


    <hr>


    Snippet Nine (1): Plans are Washed Awry


    Molly Barbeau storms into her hotel room and slams the door closed once her circle is inside the room. She looks at her Alpha. "Troy, if we are ever told to go back to Earth, please decline for me." She sits on the couch and stares at the wall. "Over 500 years has my circle stayed on Earth due to their directives..." She sobs and throws herself into the arms of her Pareya.


    Derek looks at his submissive with fondness in his eyes. "Yes. Your family was betrayed by the Air Courts." He caresses her face as she glares at him. "But think of it this way, you wouldn''t have met our daughter had your family not been on Earth. You wouldn''t have met Troy or Joni. You wouldn''t have met ME." He wipes the tears off her face. "You wouldn''t have our lovely, missing granddaughter had you not been on Earth." She inhales a breath and sits up from Derek''s lap. He kisses her forehead. "This circle wouldn''t be here if you had not been on Earth." He looks at his fellow circle mates. "The Air Court will regret their decision in time, my heart. Something will happen and your family will not be there like it has in the past." He nuzzles his marking on her shoulder before giving a look to their new Gheyo. "Gerrit, do you have many contacts here on Nevarah? We need to start the hunt for our granddaughter tonight."


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    Gerrit shuffles in place before looking at his new Pareya. "I''m sorry, but I only really came here for the hunt. I was supposed to secure lodging for my family that is coming from our home planet."


    Troy sighs before looking at everyone. "I don''t think this conversation should happen while we are all still upset by what the Crown Princess has told us. Why don''t we go to sleep and then think of what to do in the morning. Hopefully by then, Alexia has contacted us."


    They wouldn''t hear anything back from her for another full day...

 Snippet Nine (2): Circles Within Circles

    <h2 align="center">Chapter Seven: The Bindings That Hold Us Together</h2>


    <hr>


    <u>Snippet Nine (2): Circles Within Circles</u>


    As everyone in the circle disperses to either the market or the house, Alan looks at Alexei and motions him over. "It''s very likely that Gaspar is going to bond with Alexia before coming out. So we should probably grab him sometime today to make sure we''re sealed too for everyone''s ease." He says before motioning towards the beach.


    Two Gheyos come over and warn them to not go into the water. "We didn''t plan on going in, just came over for a bit of privacy," Alexei says while trying to wave the Gheyos away. After the Gheyos go back to the house, Alexei continues. "I agree that we should bond tonight. What was your plan on getting him to come with us?"


    "Well...." Alan mutters, "I planned on cornering him after our Submissive decides to go to sleep, but before he joins her. Might have to get some Gheyos to help herd our Toracle to his future tonight." He sits down and then pats the sand next to him. "We should also chat about potential Pareya. I don''t know if you were paying attention while Fabian was speaking or not, but we seem about to be a very large circle." Alexei sighs and sits down. "In addition, we''ve got only 7 Pareyas. That''s 13 more. Can you think of any that might be a good addition to our circle?" Alan says before taking his shoes off and dipping his toes into the surf.


    Alexei lies down before starting to recall any Pareya that could fit with their new circle. "There''s one set of triplets that I can think of. They''re a set of Elven Air Pareya, but I''ve heard rumors that they''re already courting a circle. Other than that, we''ll need at LEAST one Kalenta along with a Lerca. And since we have so many Pareya to fill in, it honestly might be a good idea to get one of each Pareya subtypes. And getting an Eracle would be a good idea early on. With as strong of personalities as we will have, it''ll make smoothing things over a bit more easier. Other than that, we''ve got Artak." He stops before laughing. "He''s probably already asleep somewhere. Hopefully, the market group can get something set up pretty quickly for him."


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    Alan chuckles as well before saying, "We''re lucky to start off with Nicholae in our circle, not going to lie. It''ll make keeping schedules much easier with at least one person dedicated to it. We''ll need him to start a Gheyo schedule so that Alexia is always protected." He shifts in his spot. "I think I do know a Pareya Qivlyn. She might be willing to join a circle like this. She''s a Dark Fae Halfling that''s only Earth oriented. I''ll message her later about sending a favor in once the Hunt starts."


    Soon a dinner bell rings as a new voice calls out for dinner. "We should probably go eat and see if we can talk to those some Gheyos to help us wrangle Gaspar. " Alan says before getting up and dusting himself off.


    As everyone is eating the dinner spread, an unknown port opens up next to the tents. All the Gheyos and Pareyas spring up and get out their weapons. After a few seconds, it is realized that it is only King Alcandor and three additional Merrow. But once Alexia has marked her new Gheyos, Alan goes up and asks if he can talk to two of the Gheyos. She agrees and the four of them go over to the beach.


    "Yes?" Tania asks the two of them. "What did you need our help for?"


    Alan rocks on his feet before responding. "We need your help distracting Gaspar so that the three of us can bond tonight. You may need to get Artak to get her to not notice Gaspar being gone until at least the morning."


    Tania looks at Monika before she nods. "I think we can do that, at least for tonight."


    "Great!" Alan says before asking, "Think you''d be up for sending him our way?" Monika nods before the both of them leave.


    "We should probably go and ''clean up the bedroom'' before it gets even dirtier." The two of them snicker before walking to the house.

 Snippet Ten (1): When the Mage is Away

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter Nine: The Strength of Family</h2>


    <hr>


    Snippet Ten (2): When the Mage is Away


    Marian looks at his Submissive as she looks around his room. "Thanks for following me, Alexia. I must tell you something important that is happening tomorrow. King Alcandor has requested that I look into a water system that is present in a volcanized world. He has been requested by the Steam Fae of that world to work with me on fixing their fluxing water. It should only take one or two days, but it might very well take months or years to fix the problem. We need to bond before I leave just in case it takes a long time." He looks down, almost afraid that his Submissive would say no to this request.


    Alexia sighs before giving her Mage a look. "If you are EVER that long, I insist that you keep me updated on everything that is happening! I want at least a message a month!" She sighs again before hugging him. "I''ll be sad that you''re gone from my side," She pouts up at him but kisses his lips. "but we''ll make up for it with magnificent sex when you return to us." She nips his bottom lip before pulling him to his flooded bedroom.


    She tries to seductively lay on the bed and utterly fails at it. Marian starts cackling before he goes and lays over her clothed form. "Darling love, please do not take this the wrong way," he says before he kisses her lips. "You are not the most graceful Dragel in the water." His eyes brighten with his power before he whispers into her ear. "But you are MY ungraceful dragel in the water." He bites her upper lip before he kisses her down her neck.


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    He slowly brings up her shirt before he cheekily grabs her left breast into his hand. "By Poeira''s scales, you are the most luscious creature I have ever seen." She blushes lightly purple all the way down to her belly button. Marian slowly moves down her body and slowly takes off her pants. He brings up her right leg and play bites at her ankles before kissing all the way up to her panty line. She helps him take them off before she cheekily throws them at his head.


    "When you get lonely on your trip, you can replay this in your head for company." She laughs before she flips them over so she is on top of him. They stare at each other for a few minutes before he sits slightly forward on the pillows.


    "Which way do you want me?" He asks her as he caresses the sides of her torso. "From behind? From up top? From -" Marian is interrupted as Alexia leans forward and French kisses him.


    Alexia slowly grinds at his lap until they are both moaning into each other''s mouths. "I think I want to be on top for once..." She says before she puts his hands on her hips.


    After they finish, the bond snaps into place for both of them.

 Snippet Ten (2): How To Plan a House

    <h2 align="center">Chapter Eight: The Building of a Century</h2>


    <hr>


    <u>Snippet Ten (2): How To Plan a House</u>


    Faidon went down to the Gheyo quarters after assigning the other Gheyos the day''s task. As he will be the one explaining what was to be done to the builder''s Gheyo. All the current Gheyos decided on the floor plan for each of the three floors the day before. After waiting for about thirty minutes, a female Gheyo comes down the stairs.


    "Hello, you must be Faidon, correct? My name is Katerina Mayr, the builder''s Gheyo quarters coordinator. Do you have any ideas for the space you want or do we need to walk through that?" Katerina says before getting out a pad of paper and a pen.


    Faidon nods, "We have figured out what we want. The first basement floor that we are currently on needs to be split in basically thirds. We need basically a locker room with many showering spaces. There also needs to be a locked room of some type for at least 20 Gheyo armor sets and tools. The rest of the space will be a sand pit dug into the concrete, but we will probably have our Mage do some type of rune for that."


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    "The second basement floor will have one large master bedroom with two king-sized beds with a master bathroom. That bathroom will need a pool built for Merrow in addition to a whirlpool tub. It will also have two bedrooms with queen-sized beds that share a bathroom."


    "The third basement floor will have six bedrooms with twin-sized beds and every two bedrooms will share a bathroom. Does that make sense to you?" He asks Katerina.


    She nods and says, "That makes perfect sense. Why don''t you walk me through the basement levels to show me exactly where you want things."


    He agrees and brings her to the spot of the sand pit. "This is about where we will want the sandpit to be..."

 Snippet Eleven (1): Lady Deaths Court

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter Eleven: Death Awaits Us All </h2>


    <hr>


    Snippet Eleven (1): Lady Death''s Court


    Lord Aiden stares at the entirety of Death''s Court on his throne. Lady Death is to his right and Princess Alexia is right next to her. After 30 minutes of waiting for everyone to arrive, he starts the Court meeting. "I hope everyone has taken me seriously about this Court meeting changing the future of everyone here. The long-awaited return of Death''s favorite Dragel clan has happened. The last Rivi¨¨re de l''Ombre heiress has returned to our ranks here on Nevarah." He gets off the chair and walks next to Alexia. "Princess Alexia, please introduce yourself to the Court."


    Alexia walks three steps forward and then does a low curtsey. "My name is Princess Alexia of both the Water Courts and the Shadow Courts. While I officially do not have a Princess title for the Death Courts, one will be given to me the moment there is a crown. I have been on the planet Earth learning from Lady Death herself and I hope to not disappoint her." She curtseys again before walking back in line to Lady Death''s side.


    Lord Aiden bows to Alexia before returning to his throne. "Do not talk about the Princess to anyone outside of the Death Courts. She is to be kept a secret for this Hunt as she is somewhat hunting to complete her circle." He frowns as he sees people lowly muttering in the back of the room. "This is the newest Princess of the Water Courts and is under King Alcandor''s personal protection. She is also under mine and Lady Death''s personal protection." He looks at more people chattering and suddenly jumps out of the chair. "SILENCE!" He yells angrily.


    After everyone suddenly goes quiet, he begins to talk again. "You will keep an eye on her if you spot her in the streets as if she is your own child. Lady Death has decreed that Princess Alexia and Derek Perevell are to not be touched in any way, shape, or form...; and if they are touched, death shall occur to anyone stupid enough to try anything. If I hear whispers of anything happening to either one of them, you shall wish that death had come quickly for you." Alexia''s eyes suddenly go purely black and Aiden looks down at Alexia''s form and lowly chuckles.


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    After looking at Alexia, he turns back to the crowd. "Hadrian, Kosmas, Thorne, and Briar. Stay behind after the meeting. Everyone else is dismissed."


    <hr>


    Once everyone is out of the room, Aiden stands up from the throne and looks down at the four in the room (plus Jaysca and Mariana Cunningham.) "Hadrian, I want you and your shadows to scour Nevarah from now on to keep an eye on rumors about Princess Alexia."


    "But I-" Hadrian says before Lord Aiden puts his hand up to interrupt him.


    Lord Aiden nods at Hadrian. "I know you have a busy circle with multiple bonded and children, Hadrian. But this is an order passed down from King Alcandor himself. He is worried that a double Princess will have the stupidest of Nevarah plotting a kidnapping; he is afraid of what someone like Roderick Vaughn and his equally terrible children will do..."


    Hadrian looks at Briar and Thorne before sighing. "I will keep my shadows out for any plots that I hear in the future. I will have one of my bonded keep his shadows open as well."


    Lord Aiden looks at the door that Alexia had just walked out of. "There is a Gheyo strike team that you should contact if you hear whispers. Do you have contacts in the Tenebris Military Clan A? Kosmas here is their Alpha; they are normally available for contracts, but King Alcandor was persuasive enough to them to accept one for Princess Alexia. Kosmas, also have all of your Shadow bonded keeping their ears out for whispers. Any hints that she has been kidnapped and you strike to kill. But do not make it common knowledge, King Alcandor doesn''t want it public to know that your entire circle is for her safety. Think of a way to explain your presence near her side that would not alert any future kidnappers." Lord Aiden steps down from the throne. "Do you have any words for them, Lady Death?" He looks at her form.


    "No, Aiden. I think you made it plenty clear already." Lady Death says before looking at Thorne and Briar. "You two should ask your grandson, Atticus to come out of his exile with his Prevell grandparents for this hunt. I know a certain someone that he would love to meet..." She chuckles as she glides out of the room.


    "Yes, My Lady." Both Briar and Thorne say before they look at each other, very confused and wary.

 Snippet Eleven (2): The Flooded House

    <h2 align="center">Chapter Four: A Helping Hand</h2>


    <hr>


    <u>Snippet Eleven (2): The Flooded House


    </u>


    Marian gathers the Merrow to the water''s edge to sleep in the appropriate house while the rest of the circle goes to bed in the main tent. "If you''ll follow me --." He stops as Faidon walks over with a purpose. "Yes?" Marian asks as Faidon stops in the sand.


    "I need a quick word with Adrian, Caspian, and Anemone before they go down with you." Faidon pulls the three newest Merrow to the side. "I know you have just joined, but before you bonded with Alexia, I won the fight between myself and Armin so I am the top Gheyo Ace in our circle. I don''t know if this changes your mind on who you will be swearing yourself to, but you WILL need to swear to one of us." He looks at the three of them. "Let me know in the morning if fights are needed and who your choice is." He nods at them and walks to the main tent.


    The three Gheyos walk back to the rest of the Merrow and walk into the water with the rest. "Now that he is gone, we can make our way to the house. It is not the biggest house as it was just me when I built it. If it is not big enough for all the Merrow in our circle, we can always dig a new floor in." Marian motions for the five other Merrow to follow him into the depths of the water. "Here it is," He says while opening up the front door. "The front mudroom needs the water to be removed before opening up the next door."


    "Well, welcome home to your new home Shanaya, Tobias, Adrian, Caspian, and Anemone." He sends the water out before opening up the next door. While waiting for the water to drain, he continues. "There is not much on this top floor, just a small kitchenette with eat-in dining, 2 bedrooms with king-sized beds that share a small bathroom, and a living room with only two chairs and a couch. All rooms are floodable as I do sometimes have non-Merrow over for work reasons." He quickly shows them the five rooms before going to the hole in the floor near the kitchenette. "This is the access point for the two lower levels. Just jump in and swim down; I''ll show you the rest of the house once we are all down there."


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    After all of the Merrow jump and swim down to the next level, Marian tells them about the second floor. "This floor has a full kitchen and dining room. It also has what was previously my master bedroom and bathroom, but I suppose I am willing for anyone to join me. There is also a living room with three couches and two chairs. And lastly, there is a staircase to the third floor." He shows them all throughout the second floor.


    Marian explains the layout once they are all on the third floor. "This is probably the smallest floor as it is mostly my ritual space for the warding I do. I would request that you knock before opening if I am in there. Other than that, there are two bedrooms with queen-sized beds each with its own bathroom." As he shows them the bedrooms, he coughs and says, "Feel free to use these rooms for bonding or sleeping. The rooms upstairs too. Just clean them after you are done." He nods at them before saying, "I am deadly tired, I bid you all goodnight. Feel free to join me upstairs or not."


    Shanaya and Tobias follow Marian upstairs while Adrian, Caspian, and Anemone go to their own room for the night.

 Snippet Twelve (1): Registrations From Hell

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter Twelve: Out to the World


    </h2>


    <hr>


    Snippet Twelve (1): Registrations From Hell


    The two Gheyos in charge of registrations groan as they see who has come next to the registration booth for the upcoming hunt. "Crown Prince Alcandor, I see you are here with the Merrow allowed to hunt on the surface this go around?" Lanny Pitts says as he looks at the multiple Merrow he is about to register and internally whimpers as the Merrow Crown Prince is known for being hard to work with.


    "It is KING Alcandor." A voice says next to King Alcandor, a tall regal Merrow says next to him.


    Alcandor looks regally at the man next to him. "Kieran, thank you." He looks at the Gheyos in front of him. "I''ve got six Merrow to register as hunting this time. Gheyos: Cove Cleary, Loch Kracov, and Pike Hyote. Pareyas: Brooke Neas. Mage: Loire Boehme, and Court Member Alexian Rinner."


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    As the Gheyos go through all of the other Merrow, Alcandor stands next to his niece. "Alexian, I hope you know what you are doing by saying that you are hunting."


    Alexian looks at his uncle and coyly smiles. "You act like they''ll ever catch me above ground on land." He daintily laughs as all the Gheyos in the area stare at him, including all of the Merrow Guards. He snottily raises his nose and looks away from everyone.


    Once it is his turn, he walks up to the Gheyo about to register him. He stands in the area that captures his image and he roguishly smiles until he is done.


    He walks back over to his uncle and grins up at him. "Now all that''s left is to wait a month and then the fun can begin."

 Snippet Twelve (2): Stacking the Deck

    <h2 align="center">Chapter Four: A Helping Hand</h2>


    <hr>


    <u>Snippet Twelve (2): Stacking the Deck</u>


    After they close the door to their new chosen bedroom, Adrian and Caspian lay down on the bed, but Anemone goes and looks in the bathroom. "The bathroom isn''t half bad." She says before laying between the other two Merrow. After a few minutes of silence, she murmurs, "I guess I''ll start. I don''t know about the two of you, but ever since the five years we''ve been bonded, I''ve trusted both of you. I trust your judgment, Adrian. Yours too, Caspian. I can be the tie-breaker if the two of you cannot choose the same Ace." She says before getting up. "I''ll be in the upstairs bathroom. Join me once you have decided." She leaves and shuts the door behind her.


    "Well, this isn''t the circle I saw us in. I had foreseen us in a circle with Clove as our Ace and Tobias as our King with Loke and Pike as our two Jokers." Says Adrian before sitting up and sighing loudly. "But with Alexia''s soul cry, this is our new circle. If we are lucky, we''ll get a new Merrow Gheyo as our Ace and King." He stops here before shaking his head of his longing. "It doesn''t matter now. If the Gheyos settled their ranks yesterday and the highest Gheyo is Faidon, I vote we go with him. He looks to be the oldest of the Gheyos and while he doesn''t have a blood title, I never foresaw us having one in our future circle. Alexia seems nice though, I wonder why she isn''t a Merrow though, with a Merrow mother and uncle. I suppose we''ll find out later." He turns over and looks at Caspian. "What are you thinking about?"


    Caspian sighs before turning over to look at Adrian. "I honestly was going to choose the other Ace. Since both of them have Fire tendencies, I don''t know if I''ll be able to really be able to emotionally bond with either of them." He glances away from Adrian before muttering "Not to mention physically bonding with them..." After Adrian snarls at Capsian, he continues. "After what happened to Nico and the rest, I don''t know if I''ll really ever be able to deeply trust another Ace. Except perhaps if it was Clove." He rolls onto his stomach and screams loudly into the pillow.


    Adrian rolls onto Caspian''s back and kisses his neck. "Think of it this way, I know that Faidon will require us to swear to one of them. And while Armin seems to be Fire with Air tendencies, Faidon is nameless with Water tendencies. AND, Marian is planning on doing some suppression on anyone who has Fire tendencies in the circle. So Faidon will mostly seem like Water and Air." He starts giving Caspian neck massages as he continues. "We''re both well aware that you are fine with Water and Air, given both I and your Carrier are Storm."


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    Caspian nods before murmuring, "I never saw myself with another circle after the death of my last one..." He warbles a short cry before continuing, "But, if I have to choose one over the other, I suppose I''ll have to choose Faidon. As you said, I''m used to Storms. I just don''t want another Ace..." Capsian looks pathetically at the wall. "And I just got used to Clove too..."


    Adrian rolls off Caspian and pulls him off the bed. "Why don''t we go join our Princess for a soak and then you can fight Faidon in the morning to see how he fights. Could always ask if he''d also be willing to give you a scar instead of a bite. He might go for that, have you bonded to just us, our Submissive and our Alpha instead of him or anyone else." Caspian nods and the two of them go up to the unflooded bedrooms.


    "Have a Prince!" Adrian says before forcing Caspian to get into the water. "I''m going to go to sleep downstairs, but we''ve come to the conclusion that Faidon will be our Ace. Come join me when you two are done soaking" Adrian goes back downstairs and falls asleep. After Caspian and Anemone come back, he entwines himself with them.


    <hr>


    In the early morning, Adrian sends a message to Faidon to meet them in the Gheyo section of the house as they are wanting to talk with him in five minutes. After they all converge in the Gheyo section, Adrian starts the conversation. "While Anemone and I are willing to fully bond with you without a fight, Caspian wants to fight you so you can prove yourself; but only if you''re willing to give him a scar and not a mark." He looks toward Capsian. "...And to not physically bond with you."


    Faidon darkly grins before spitting out, "Well then. This will be an interesting way to start the morning. Are you ready to start the fight?" After Caspian nods while pulling out his rapier, he draws his two gladius shortswords and goes for the attack. After several minutes, Caspian gets beaten and groans as Faidon scars him.


    Adrian laughs before telling the two on the floor, "Why don''t the three take this to the Merrow Building before Alexia wakes up and notices us gone. Caspian, go run laps to cool your battle lust."

 Snippet Thirteen (2): Callouses on the Fingers

    <h2 align="center">Chapter Eight: The Building of a Century</h2>


    <hr>


    <u>Snippet Thirteen (2): Callouses on the Fingers</u>


    Once everyone is sleeping for the night, Alexia quietly slips out of bed into the courtyard right before the house. She stares up at the stars for an hour before nodding to herself in agreement. She pulls at her three protectors before waiting for them to come outside and join her. Gaspar sprints out of the tent before Tania and Monika join them. ¡°What is it, Princess?¡± He asks before taking deep breaths.


    Before Alexia is able to speak, she notices Armin slinking toward them. ¡°Sorry to wake all four of you up, but I want some weapon instructions. I want my male form to be able to defend myself if ever needed again.¡± A lone tear slowly drips down her face. ¡°I never want to feel this way again.¡±


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    Armin quickly changes form and hugs Alexia from behind. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t care what the three of them have to say. My brother and I will teach you how to fight using a sword.¡± He slowly pushes her away from him before slowly spinning her around in a circle. ¡°I think a longsword would work well in either form, so let us begin with that.¡±


    Alexia starts to dart to Armin, but before she can hug him, he quickly stops her. ¡°It won¡¯t be easy, Alexia. You¡¯ve got no callouses on any of your fingers. It will be painful and it will be bloody. Are you sure you are willing to continue through with it?¡±


    She pauses before looking back at the tent full of her new circle. ¡°It may be painful and it may be bloody, but I am willing to defend myself and my circle if need be.¡±


    Armin grins menacingly before pulling out a longsword and handing it to her.

 Snipet Fourteen (2): Misery Loves Company

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter Five: A Circle Made Anew</h2>


    <hr>


    Snippet Fourteen (2): Misery Loves Company


    Leonard Zharim slowly wakes up in his small, cramped studio apartment before realizing that his eyes are completely laden with dried-up tears. He grumbles his way to the small bathroom before replaying what he had told his parents and siblings the previous night. He doesn¡¯t regret what he said. He completely meant every word of it; well maybe not the taunting he gave about his brother¡¯s circle. He kinda regrets that now. As he washes his body, he focuses on the fight that was had between everyone.


    <hr>


    The previous night in the Zharim circle¡¯s large house:


    Leonard, his little sister Lenora, and his little brother Reimand were sitting on the couch of the large living room of his parent¡¯s house. His bearer: Cecilia Spinell, his father: Leone Rivas, and his third: Faidon Zharim, were all looking at him as he had called this meeting (the other members of the circle and the children were at the park to give Leonard privacy). His mother waits for him to say something, but after a few minutes of awkward silence, she speaks. ¡°Well, I assume you have something to tell us, Leonard?¡± She looks at his face and then gasps. ¡°Oh! Did you find yourself a circle?! How wonderful! You must introduce me to your new Submissive right away!¡± Leonard slunks down into the sofa in embarrassment and then groans.


    ¡°Mama, no!¡± Leonard shakes his head. ¡°I didn¡¯t call you here to tell you about a circle...; in fact, it¡¯s just the opposite.¡± He stares at his siblings who motion him to be proud of himself and tell their parents the much-needed truth. He inhales and finally tells the truth to his parents. ¡°I feel like I¡¯ve been born an Advisor, not an Alpha; no matter what my physicality is. I will be renouncing my rank before the hunt and will consider myself to be a Pareya from here on out. I don¡¯t like managing people, I like managing money! I was so close to being a Lerca that I cried the night I became Alpha rank. Lenora probably remembers it quite well.¡± He gestures for her to speak up.


    She nods her head and quietly speaks. ¡°It¡¯s true Mama. After the giant party was thrown for him being an Alpha, Leonard cried himself to sleep. And Reimand and I overheard you talking to Jens later that night about how happy you were to be able to finally prove to your parents and the Water Court that you weren¡¯t a defective Merrow who was unable to produce normal Merrow Alphas, Betas, and Submissives.¡± A gasp is heard from the entrance of the house. ¡°Great...¡± Lenora says before stalking off upstairs after realizing who had just heard the conversation.


    ¡°You said that? About my son??¡± A dark olive man steps into the room. ¡°I thought you were HAPPY that I accepted your courting?! This is the last straw! Crawl back to your parents...if they will have you back. Faidon, message me when I can come to pick up my stuff later. I¡¯m going to go sleep where I¡¯m more wanted. Leonard, my beautiful twilight, I honestly don¡¯t give two flying fucks what rank you are. I will love YOU no matter what rank you call yourself.¡± He spins around and quickly leaves the house before porting away.


    Cecilia moans lowly to herself before running out the door to go and find the Shadow Dragel.


    ¡°Goddamnit, I didn¡¯t realize she still harbored those feelings.¡± A pale blue Dragel walks into the room after entering the house. ¡°I thought she was just venting about proving them right. I didn¡¯t take her seriously, I swear Faidon! You have to believe me!¡± Tears stream out of his beautiful aquamarine eyes.


    A pale-olive-skinned man sighs before holding his head in his hands. ¡°It''s alright, Jens, I believe you. I just wish Queen Manthestia had reconsidered exiling Cecilia from the Water Courts...¡± He quickly brings his head up before looking at his eldest son. ¡°Leonard. You MUST know that none of the rest of us knew this! If I had any thought that you didn¡¯t like being an Alpha, I would¡¯ve helped you renounce your rank years ago.¡± He walks over to his son and puts a hand on his head. ¡°Do you forgive me? I can completely understand if you don''t. Just don¡¯t shut out the family. Toby and Benny still need their older brother, Alpha rank or not. And Anna Maria would be saddened if her favorite water ride was taken away from her.¡±


    Leonard stands up and hugs his father. The older man weeps in both happiness and disappointment. ¡°I forgive you, father. I just cannot forgive Mother; the day after the party, she told me to ignore that thought inside my head and become the best Alpha there was. I didn¡¯t want to say anything in case everyone else thought that way.¡± Tears stream down his face.


    A teal-skinned Merrow walks in and quickly snaps at Leonard. ¡°No! We would have loved you if you had been an Alpha, a Pareya, or even a Gheyo! I know it¡¯s no consolation, but getting kicked out of the Rhabdomancer Sweetwater Colony at a young age forever messed her up. Getting banished from your home tribe is never easy to get over.¡± He strokes the stricken tattoo behind his ear. He goes quiet before he walks over and hugs Leonard. ¡°It¡¯ll be fine, Fang, it¡¯ll be fine in time...¡± He wipes the tears from Leonard¡¯s face. ¡°I should get back to the kids before they realize something is going on.¡± He kisses Leonard¡¯s head before walking back outside.


    Leonard stands up before wiping up the new tears that have fallen down. ¡°I¡¯ll come back tomorrow to talk with Papa and to start dealing with renouncing my rank.¡± He gives kisses to all of the people in the room. He sniffles before muttering the next statement. ¡°I¡¯ll start doing the circle banking stuff again next week.¡± He leaves the house and goes back home to drink and cry himself asleep.


    <hr>


    A noise in his apartment breaks him out of his thoughts. He quickly gets dried before rushing out to the kitchen. His brother, Reimand looks slightly impressed. ¡°I¡¯m glad to see you aren¡¯t totally wasted. Papa Servando is waiting for you at The Mangrove for brunch. Don¡¯t be late and break his heart.¡± His brother waves goodbye and walks out the door.


    Leonard sighs and meets his sire at his favorite restaurant. He walks into the restaurant and walks over to their usual table. Servando stands up and gives a bear hug to his only biological child. ¡°Oh my twilight, I hope you understand that I am not upset with you or anyone else in the circle. Other than your mother...¡± He pauses before looking deeply into his son¡¯s eyes. ¡°Sit, sit. I just came from the house. I¡¯m going to room with another one of my Oreta¡¯s previous students. At least until I can find something else better.¡± They both sit down and he hands Leonard the menu. ¡°I basically know your order, but here¡¯s the menu just in case.¡± Both men look at each other and giggle just a little bit before sobering up.


    Leonard peruses the menu before deciding to get his usual favorite. But before the two men could order, he felt something tugging at his body. No. Not at his body, but his soul. He gasps before looking up at his papa. ¡°Scream.¡± He ports out of the restaurant and to a battle scene. He starts to hyperventilate at the sheer amount of people that join them. He ducks behind one of his new Pareya and waits for the battle to be over.


    He tries to confidently walk over to where his new submissive is with many people surrounding her and the Merrow that is getting healed on the ground.


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    <hr>


    The morning after bonding with his new Submissive was the worst. He hadn¡¯t been able to contact his papa or any of his fathers yet about what had happened. But he is finally able to have some free time to himself to turn in the banking token information. He sends the Beta to talk with his parents before porting everything to the bank to quickly get the banking taken care of.


    After he has successfully requested the expedited tokens for the newly created bank accounts at Pheonix Holding, he ports to his sibling¡¯s shared apartment. He explains everything to his sister before breaking down and sobbing in her arms on the couch. ¡°I can¡¯t do it, Leanora! My circle has almost thirty people looking at me for directions!¡± He cries for several minutes before she brings him a beer. ¡°You know I didn¡¯t even want a circle to begin with!¡± He says as he quickly drinks the beer and heads to where the liquor is stored to take several consecutive shots. ¡°I¡¯ll be the worst Alpha in history! They¡¯ll make plays and musicals about how badly I will fail in the future for my new circle.¡± He takes another shot before throwing the shot glass at the wall, causing it to shatter all over the place.


    His sister frowns and gets up. ¡°I know this is a troubling time for you, brother, but stop destroying my shit. I have to spend time earning the money to replace all of this! You might be able to spin money from nothing, but I sure as hell cannot.¡± She forces him to sit back on the couch. ¡°And no more liquor! I¡¯m already going to have to pour you into the shower and give you something to sober your ass up before sending you off to what sounds like a lovely Submissive.¡± She goes and starts the shower before coming back to Leonard drinking more liquor. ¡°Poeira¡¯s scales! You fuckhead! I told you to stay out of my liquor!¡± She sighs as he moans before vomiting up all over himself. ¡°Next time Reimand gets to deal with this bullshit.¡± She mumbles to herself before stripping her brother and tossing him into the shower. He moans as she washes his back and hair before throwing the washcloth at her very drunk brother. ¡°Wash your junk, asshole. We don¡¯t want your poor Submissive to faint after smelling the nasty scent of the vomit.¡± She walks out of the bedroom to raid clothes from Reimand¡¯s bedroom before grabbing the last sobering potion. Once Leonard is dry and out of the shower, she thrusts the clothes and the potion at him. ¡°I won¡¯t keep any more of these on hand if you keep showing up to drink like a Spinosaurus."


    He moans and slumps into the sofa for a quick nap. Thirty minutes later, he feels a lot better and ports to his new home.


    <hr>


    About one month later, on the day of the hunt, he¡¯s back at their apartment, but this time ranting to his brother. ¡°You don¡¯t understand!¡± Leonard slurs as he drunkenly weaves around on the sofa. ¡°You don¡¯t have a circle yet; my baby brother is too young for a circle anyway.¡± Here, he giggles to himself before his brother facepalms himself.


    ¡°You do remember that I have just found an Alpha and a Beta, yes?¡± Reimand says before shaking his head in disbelief. ¡°I can¡¯t believe this. Lenora was right. Like normal.¡± Reimand gets up from the chair and stands next to his brother. ¡°You will give me the information about your Beta. I will have him come here and do something with you as Lenora and I obviously aren¡¯t having any progress with you and your circle.¡± Leonard sighs before giving up the information. ¡°Stay here while I get your Beta to come pick you up.¡±


    Reimand goes to his bedroom and shuts the door, totally expecting Leonard to make a dash to the liquor again. ¡°Hello. My name is Reimand Zharmin. I am your Alpha¡¯s brother. He¡¯s at my apartment fully sloshed; please come get him and sober him up.¡± He sends off the message with the information on where the apartment is before getting a reply in agreement.


    Five minutes later, a light brown Elf Halfling comes and knocks on the door. ¡°Hello. Reimand was it? I¡¯m Noel Lewis, Leonard¡¯s Beta. Can I come in?¡± He is let in by Reimand before shaking his head at his Alpha. ¡°By the wind in the sky, Leonard.¡± He helps Leonard up before asking Reimand if Leonard still had his apartment.


    ¡°Yeah, he still does, it¡¯s at this location.¡± Noel thanks him and takes him away. ¡°I hope he¡¯s able to help you, big brother.¡± Reimand leaves the apartment to join his small, but perfect circle.


    <hr>


    After Noel has opened the door to his Alpha¡¯s apartment, he enters the door and drops him off on the nearest chair. He grabs the sobering potion out of his pocket and pours it into Leonard¡¯s mouth. Leonard gags but keeps it down; after five minutes of waiting for it to kick all the way in, Noel starts his lecture.


    ¡°I cannot believe you! How many times have you done this? Have you done this near Alexia?!¡± He rapidly asks questions to his now sober Alpha. ¡°You do realize that King Alcandor would string both of us up by the balls if anything were to happen if you were drunk and something happened to the Submissive in our circle? The supposed love of your life?¡± He stops here and then screams at the man to try and get it through his obviously thick skull. ¡°What if she gets hurt?! Huh! She could DIE and you would be at your sibling¡¯s apartment drunk on your ass. The heart of our circle is to be protected at ALL costs, including our lives if need be. And you would be out there drunk and unable to protect it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just been two times!¡± Leonard spits before Noel angrily snaps at him in return. ¡°Plus I have a reason to be upset okay! My parent¡¯s circle broke up the night before the soul scream happened. My sire has left the circle and the rest of my fathers along with my other two mothers have kicked my bearer out of the circle for good.¡± He sobs before shaking his head. ¡°My bearer¡¯s parents have refused to take her back in so she is now both circle-less AND homeless.¡± He wipes the tears from his face.


    Leonard groans and then goes into the shower before Noel follows him. ¡°I know I¡¯m a shitty Alpha. It¡¯s why I was going to renounce my rank before Alexia called me to her side.¡± At this, Noel gasps and worriedly looks into his eyes. Leonard rolls his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not planning on renouncing it now that I have her. I¡¯ll do better. I¡¯ll get training from our Gheyos to not be so afraid of battle. I¡¯ll find an Alpha mentor that can help me with my -¡± Leonard chokes on the words in his mouth as both of them gasp in severe pain as Alexia¡¯s bond to them is tugged heavily before going dark. ¡°Kesmar, Kanto, and Poeira¡¯s scales.¡± Leonard says before the both of them feel Alexia wake back up. But not before they both groan in pain as their wings start to prickle and burn in pain. Both of them scream as they feel a sudden surge of anger, heat, and an urge to kill something flow over them. Both of their wings fly out angrily before the agony kicks in.


    Noel falls out of the shower and onto the floors as he writhes in pain as his wings change. Leonard quickly falls on top of him, also writhing in pain. After a few minutes, both of them are done screaming in pain and get up to see what has happened. ¡°Oh fuck.¡± Noel says as he spots the new sharpened hooks on Leonard¡¯s wings. He quickly looks in the mirror before spotting them on his wings as well. ¡°Fuck! We need to get the entire circle together so we can find Alexia!¡± The two of them port back to the house before recalling everyone but Marian.


    <hr>


    After everyone but Tania, Gaspar, Faidon, Adrian, Caspain, Anemone, Armin, and Evelyn is back home and everything is explained, the Gheyos try to find where their submissive is, but cannot. ¡°It¡¯s like she¡¯s in a black hole!¡± says Loreta before Tobias and Monika look at each other.


    ¡°That¡¯s not good news...¡± says Tobias. ¡°That means that serious wards were put up to prevent us from being able to rescue her.¡±


    ¡°Fuck.¡± says Ansgar before he gives a look to Konrad and Lesley. ¡°Do either of you two know anyone that has the ability to find and get through wards?¡±


    Konrad thinks for a second before having a realization. ¡°My brother Kuno just joined one of the Tenebris Military Circles! Let me contact them to see if the circle can try and find her.¡± He walks off from the rest of the group to quickly send a message.


    ¡°In any case,¡± Tobias says before looking nervous. ¡°I¡¯ll have to contact King Alcandor. He¡¯ll want to know that Alexia was successfully kidnapped and is behind serious wards.¡± He gulps before continuing. ¡°Gaspar, I hate to do this to you, can you send Lord Aiden a message about Alexia¡¯s situation? He might also be able to get a Tenebris circle after her if Konrad¡¯s brother isn¡¯t able to convince his circle to rescue her.¡±


    Gaspar groans but hangs his head while walking away from the group to be the messenger of a bad message to Lord Aiden. Hopefully, it doesn¡¯t result in him losing his head.


    Tobias finally looks at Leonard, Noel, and Gerhard. ¡°One of you should contact her grandparent¡¯s circle along with her Oret. Both will want to know.¡± All three of them wince before Noel and Gerhard walk off; Noel sends something to her grandparents and Gerhard sends something to her mentor.


    Tobias walks up to Leonard before smelling his breath. ¡°For Kesmar¡¯s sake. I really hope you weren¡¯t just drinking, Alpha.¡± He bores his eyes into Leonard¡¯s. ¡°I hope this is the last time you day drink.¡± He walks away disappointed in his Alpha.

 Snippet Fifteen (2): Misery Loves Even More Company

    <h2 style="text-align: center">Chapter Fifteen: The Scars That Never Leave Us</h2>


    <hr>


    Snippet Fifteen (2): Misery Loves Company


    Three men sit on the sofa in their previous Alpha¡¯s house. All three men sit in the house that is completely silent for what feels like hours before one of them breaks. ¡°God dammit, Leonard. Is what I overheard between you and Tobias right before we went to Lord Aiden¡¯s correct?¡± Gerhard turns and gives Leonard the evil eye. ¡°Well!¡± Gerhard yells as both Leonard and Noel jump. ¡°Is it true...¡±


    Leonard breaks his silence. ¡°Yes, alright?! Yes. it¡¯s true. I was drunk when Noel came to get me from my brother¡¯s house. We went to this apartment and I got sobered up before both of us took a shower. That¡¯s when it happened.¡± Here Leonard swallows hard. ¡°I -¡± his voice breaks and a tear falls down from his eye. ¡°I can¡¯t help what happened this morning. I can only promise to do better.¡±


    At this Gehard screeches and pulls Leonard up before punching him in the face. The two of them beat on each other before Noel puts a stop to it. ¡°Oi!¡± Noel yells before whistling at the two of them to stop. The punches slowly stop as Noel gets their attention. ¡°You two can either fight each other again or we can resolidify our bonds and fuck each other instead.¡±


    He strips his clothes off and walks naked to the only bedroom.


    <hr>


    An hour after they¡¯re all done, they stare up at the ceiling of the bedroom. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Gerhard, okay?¡± Leonard says while picking at the threads of his shitty sheets. ¡°I already told Noel this, but I was a shitty Alpha for our circle.¡± He flips over and sobs into the pillow.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Gerhard and Noel look at each other knowingly before leaving the man to cry in peace; they head to the bathroom to clean up the mess that was made as they were turned into Gheyos. ¡°It doesn¡¯t help that he was going to renounce his rank,¡± Noel whispers to Gerhard. ¡°I think in time he¡¯ll be fine with basically being the Alpha. We should all go to the pits and get training though. With Alexia being so intrigued by the Teneibris clan, we might end up joining them as another circle to pull on.¡± They quietly clean up the shards of ceramics from broken tiles. ¡°It doesn¡¯t help that his parent¡¯s circle is basically breaking apart at the seams. I don¡¯t want to tell you too much, but his bearer was kicked out of the circle.¡± Noel looks knowingly at Gerhard. ¡°I know it¡¯s no excuse for him day drinking two times, but it is forgivable. That and he planned on renouncing his rank and switching to an Advisor rank. The amount of stress he must have been under to keep the circle together as a misranked Alpha must have been intense. At the very least, we are lucky it was just drinking and not done in front of our Submissive.¡±


    Gerhard sighs before hitting his head against the tiles. ¡°Yeah. That explains a lot. We really will need to go to the pits won''t we...¡± He sighs before cuddling with Noel on the shower floor. ¡°I just wish he had said something, we are there to help him.¡± The two of them cuddle with each other for a while before Leonard shows up at the bathroom door.


    ¡°Room for one more? I do hope that this can one day be forgiven.¡± He says with sad red-rimmed eyes. He strips off his clothes and the three of them shower with each other before showing each other they still care and love each other.