"Dad."
Cody's voice made only a slight impression, through the thick, lazy haze of sleep, and Xaver grunted, squeezing his eyes shut.
"Dad.."
Xaver grunted again, and folded his arms under his head, rolling onto his belly, where he was laying in the middle of the living room. Cody climbed up onto his back, a small leg brushing either side of his ribs, and messed his hands through his father's dark, lush hair.
"DAAAADDD!"
"Cody, I can hear you.." Xaver mumbled, wincing as Cody rapped on his head with his knuckles. Gently, but the spot smarted after a moment.
"Then get up, sleepy-head! You promised!"
"I said-"
"You said today. TOOdayyy."
Xaver turned his head slightly, peering up at his son, sitting on his back, through one opened eye. He frowned, wolfishly.
"If I got some sleep, I said."
"But you've been sleeping off and on all day!" Cody whined.
He was right - much unlike himself, Xaver had been crashing, falling asleep, all over the house.
He was exhausted.
He'd taken a day to run to his realm, and work.
And work.
And work.
Cody hopped up and down on his back, and Xaver sighed, then rolled, toppling Cody off of him, and attacking his sides, tickling him. Cody beamed, giggled, then screamed.
"Stop! Stoooooppp, okay, ok!"
Xaver let him go, settling on his knees with a chuckle as Cody scampered to his feet, and hid around the couch.
"Get dressed, you silly bird. And hurry up, alright?"
All he got was a boyish giggle, and the sound of footfalls as Cody bounded down the hall, and into his room.
As Cody was running back the hall, Ginny was emerging from it, and had to move quickly to avoid colliding with Cody. She carried a large clothes basket in her arms, she had been doing chores since she had woken up. She often neglected housework until the very last moment, until she couldn't handle the mss anymore.
She glanced at Cody's back as she set the basket on the couch, and looked at Xaver with an eyebrow raised high beneath the hair that had fallen out of her hairtie. "What is that about?"
"Told 'em we'd get some hot cocoa and candy in Hogsmeade today, sometime last week, I guess."
Xaver grinned up at her, from where he knelt on the livingroom floor. He rose, slowly, and moved to her, plucking the huge basket out of her arms and holding it under one of his easily, over his hip. He smiled slightly, and made toward the laundry room.
"I think I'm in over my head."
He made a low growl as he yawned, lazily bumping open the door.
"You know it. He's going to squeeze every last thing from you that he can." Ginny followed him, her giggles light. She shook her head slightly in amusment.
"I swear, between you and his grandparents, he's going to be deathly spoiled!" She laughed again, as she began the washing machine. As she put soap in it, she smiled, "He's excited though...and happy..."
Xaver passed a scowl, through his grin.
"Come now, I don't spoil him much."
He didn't, really. He didn't think, anyway.
Xaver beamed at Ginny, before fighting off another yawn. He turned slightly, and began shoveling clothes into the washer.
"He's always excited. And happy."
Xaver envied that, slightly. He, himself, was too mellow a creature, anymore.
All the bouncy qualities had been ruthlessly beaten out of him.
"I hope he always stays that way. Always happy." Ginny smiled at him as she helped him put the clothes into the washer. They were side by side, their arms brushing now and then, but it was nice. It made Ginny happy, because a few years ago, she would have given anything to have been this close to him.
"What mother doesn't want that for her child?"
"M-"
Xaver bit back his reply.
"With you around, he'll remain in his ways," he said quietly.
He looked at her, through the corner of his eye, and smiled very slightly, nodding his head.
They finished loading the clothes, and Xaver set the basket up on a shelf, stretching his arms high into the air afterword, grunting, as he sighed.
"Spring cleaning, or whatever they call it, are we, my love? It's a little early.. Snow's still falling."
"Hadn't noticed." Ginny's dry sarcastic reply was coupled with a small laugh. She smiled at him, placing the basket out of the way as she stepped from the laundry room, "Not exactly spring cleaning. Just catching up on the winter cleaning I avoided..."
She shrugged, smirking at him, "I get lazy sometimes."
"Mmm.."
Xaver dropped his arms with a heavy sigh, and in one step was behind her, wrapping his arms around her middle and pulling her back snugly against him, bowing his face into her hair.
"I like to think I'm responsible for your being distracted. I do so love to be lazy with you."
Ginny put her arms over his, chuckling, "Of course you like to think that. But maybe you are the last thing on my thoughts, hm?" She teased him gently.
He ws always on her thoughts, as was Cody. They meant everything to her.
"Psh. You lie, woman."
He grinned at her, and pressed his lips to her cheek, hugging her close, before releasing her, stepping away, and to the fridge, withdrawing a carton, and swirling the contents slightly.
"But as long as I'm still on your thoughts, I suppose."
Xaver winked at her, getting a glass out of the cupboard, and pouring himself some orange juice.
He was returning the carton to the fridge, when Cody sounded in the hall, making his way toward them.
Ginny laughed at him, "Who'd want to think of you?" She stuck her tounge out as she heard Cody and then grinned at him. She swiftly took a step forward and kissed his lips before stepping back into place. All before Cody had taken three more steps.
"Hey, before you go, can I give you a list of things to pick up while you are there?" She didn't know why she asked, she knew he would.
Xaver grinned wickedly, warmth spreading through him from the press of her kiss. He poked out his tongue at her when she stepped back, eyes glittering in amusement over his glass as he took a sip. He nodded, leaning back against the counter as Cody bounded into the kitchen not slowing down once until he crashed into Xaver's legs, wrapping his arms tightly around them.
Xaver looked down at him with a bemused expression, not having moved much of an inch, and shook his head.
"Sure, love. I think we can make time. I know one of us will have the energy, anyway."
Xaver winked at her, nodding to Cody, and chugged down the rest of his orange juice, then waved his hand. The glass was polished, cleaned, and put away before one could blink, without the slightest noticable stirr of magic. Too tired to bother doing it by hand.
"I have to make another trip, though, to my realm, after. I should be in by early morning."
He said it quietly, almost bitterly, the fact of the business not in the slight appealing to him.
"Morning...?" Ginny's face fell slightly, but she hid it quickly. She could tell he didn't want to go as much as she didn't want him to go. But being away from him the whole night wasn't something that appealed to her.
Instead, she changed the subject, "Just some of the basics...break, milk, fruit..." She went to a drawer and pulled out a pen and scrap paper, writing down a few of the things they needed.
"I'll try to make it early early morning. If I can," he said softly, understanding her disappointment in the way he related so closely to it.
It was only half past eight in the morning, then, and he didn't expect he'd leave to his realm until at least one..
Xaver bent over, and pried Cody from his leg, hoisting him up, so he sat on his shoulders, either leg draped around his neck, setting his hands onto his head. Cody said nothing, oddly, and wrapped his arms around Xaver's forehead, planting his chin atop his head, smiling at his mom.
Xaver's own hands resting over Cody's feet, he sighed, quietly, watching, waiting, patiently, as Ginny wrote her list.
Ginny finished the list and folded it. She turned and walked over to 'her boys' and stood on her toes, pulling Cody down slightly to kiss his cheek, then Xavers while she slipped the list into his pocket. She smiled at them for a moment, liking how much they looked alike. No doubt they were related.
"Is there anything you want packed up? I could probably get some clothes together for you or something." Ginny smiled, wanting to do something for him.
Instinctually, Xaver slipped his hand into his pocket after the note, smiling when her lips brushed his cheek.
Thoughtfully, his mouth pulled into a frown at her question.
A majority of his clothes had been brought home from his realm, and plenty of others had been bought, over the time he'd been home. What he'd need, though..
"Please, Love, if you would."
He nodded to her, that small smile returning.
"Some comfortable clothes to change into would be great."
Xaver stepped foreword and kissed her, backing away with a grin and chuckling softly, as Cody tugged his impossibly dark hair.
"Daaadd. I love Mom too, but come on, let's go! ..Why do you need to pack?"
He'd only been partially listening.
Xaver shook his head.
Ginny rolled her eyes at Cody, "Glad to see I rank high on your list." She told him, raising an eyebrow, "Your father is going on a business trip tonight." She explained to him softly. She nodded at Xaver, then, a small smile playing her lips.
"Both of you behave, ok?"
Cody frowned, then, at the top of Xaver's head, and fell silent.
Xaver winked at her, smiled, and nodded.
"Of course," he said, his deep blue orbs hinting old boyish mischief. "I love you."
He kissed her on the lips once more, then they were gone, vanished from the spot.
They appeared in the middle of the crowded streets of Hogsmeade, Cody still comfortably rested over Xaver's shoulders, his hands loosely gripping his father's matching raven hair. Not at all afraid of heights, and the trait showed.
The pair instantly brought about stares, and curious glances. Even without wing, both were attractive in their own way of appeal. There was no doubt Xaver had always been a handsome male, and he had lost none of his cool, mysterious charm, or dark, drawing looks. Clad in black shoes, and pants, and a navy blue sweater that accentuated the moody glow of his impenatrable eyes, and the toned breadth of his shoulders and abdomen, his attire was crisp, and solemn. Despite the fact that Xaver hadn't been able to remember to change, since the night before.
Cody reflected him closely, though hinting also of Ginny's likes, eyes bright and still undaunted, and darling as he looked down at his dad, his lips pursed.
"Where first?"
"Candy!" Cody said, pointing at the candy shop. His excitement was contagious to the passersby, and they smiled at the father and son. Cody grinned back, but kept his eyes on the candy store a few feet down the road.
"I want chocolate, and licorice, and all kinds of sweets." Cody told Xaver, thinking aloud. He tugged on his fathers hair, maybe a bit too hard, in his excitement.
"I promised you a few bits, not the entire shop," Xaver said, half bemused, reaching up to grasp Cody's hands even as he started toward the Candy shop, not bothered, really, by it being the first stop.
He gently, but firmly, squeezed Cody's hands, wincing slightly.
Xaver wasn't normal, but he was still a man, and not immune to pain.
"You can get a few bars, mm?"
"Just a few? Daaaad, c'mooooon!" He whined, squirming around as his father squeezed his hands. Nevertheless, he was still happy. At least he was getting something. He knew to appreciate each and every time he went somewhere with his dad, because there might be a day he wouldn't be there.
After all, his dad hadn't been there for much of Cody's life.
((bbs, dinner real quick))
Xaver couldn't help a grin.
"Yes, just a few. And something for your mother too, of course. You can pick, this time."
He chuckled, a low sound that had been once a very rare thing to hear, though Cody probably didn't know that. Ginny probably didn't, either.
They moved through the crowd slowly, Xaver, despite the pressure on him to leave, wanting in the least, to hurry, and at ease, and patient like he usually was.
"Though, we can do or stop by something or somewhere else if you think of it, and it will be real quick. I d-"
He stopped so suddenly, a pair of students had to nearly dive out of the way to avoid walking into him. Xaver froze, staring into the window of the Owlery as if he'd seen death, itself, unmoving, his features turned ashen, the dark blues of his eyes wide with surprise.
Though, there was nothing there, but their reflections..
As Xaver jerked to a stop, Cody did too, his stomach hitting the back of Xaver's head. It hurt the boy slightly, but he made no noise, his eyes following Xaver's gaze, "You what?" He asked, his voice low suddenly.
His dad was surprised. He could tell simply by the tone of his voice. Cody waited a moment as Xaver stared into the empty window, "Dad? What is it?" He stared too, seeing only himself sitting onto pf his father's shoulders.
Xaver blinked.
"I-"
He stalled, then clamped his mouth shut, biting back his own words.
I'm going crazy. I've gone crazy. ..
He shivered, uneasily, within, keeping the thoughts firmly to himself.
Slowly, he began to move again, though as soon as his gaze was almost completely adverted, motion so quick it blurred caught his eye, once more, and his gaze snapped back.
Kylie waved at him, at them, all innocent smiles, an actual reflection in the mirror.
Xaver shook his head, half mentally reeling, though he wouldn't dare show it.
Too real.
Too real.
"Dad?" Cody's tone changed, concern seeping through.
"What is-" His words stopped as he saw Kylie's reflection. The girl looked innocent enough, happy enough. Cody tilted his head slightly, trying to figure out why this reflection was freaking his dad out so bad.
The girl looked familiar in the way that he recognized how she was similar to his father.
Xaver didn't spook.
It just wasn't in his personality.
He was spooked.
A shudder went through him, and he clenched his jaw, his hands lightly resting on Cody's shoes.
"Kylie," he said.
Simply. Softly.
He was moving within the next breath, and he didn't look back. Forced himself not to. Kept his eyes straightforeword, until the entered the candy shop. Easily, he reached back and gently gripped Cody's middle, lifting him up, and setting him onto the ground, beside him, holding his smaller hand within his own.
His features were neutral, composed, though the moody blues of his eyes burned like a disturbed sea. He fought for calm; prepared himself for the questions he knew were to come.
Cody turned immediately, facing Xaver with a confused expression, "Kylie?" He repeated after his dad.
He forgot all about the candy, all about not getting as much as he wanted. His interest was focused on his father and the mysterious girl, obviously named Kylie.
"Who's Kylie? Why are you upset? What's going on?"
Xaver ran his other hand through Cody's hair, and cupped his chin, meeting his son's eyes with a graveness within his own.
"My little sister. Who is dead."
He thought.
"You've seen her before, that one night my memories went a little loose, and you were allowed in my thoughts, remember?"
Cody thought for a moment, then nodded, "So why can we see her?" He asked, not exactly afraid, simply puzzled.
Xaver swallowed, releasing Cody's face.
"I do not know, Cody."
The we part, worried him.
"I thought that when someone died, they went away for good...?" Cody's statement was a question at the same time. He tilted his head, looking at his father with a strange look.
"Are you ok, Dad?"
He had thought the same.
The dead were supposed to stay dead.
He'd been along that rift enough times, he thought he'd understood at least that.
Xaver looked at Cody for a long moment, his thoughts gravitating through shock, confusion, and a similar curiousness.
"No," he admitted, softly to him.
The weight of the confession was untold, but the honesty was good in its truth.
"No. I will be, though. Once I understand this.. these things.."
He shook his head.
"But I can't believe we're in a candy store and you aren't running wild. Time, you know! Better make a dash for your stash, my son."
"Are..." Cody began, then let it drop. He nodded and obediently went to a candy shelf, looking through all the different kinds he was able to choose from.
But he glanced back at Xaver now and then, worried about his dad. He had said he'd be ok. Cody hoped so, he loved his dad alot and didn't like it when he was upset.
Xaver wandered the shop a little aimlessly, reserved, and silent, though his features actually displayed the thoughtful discontent he felt. He trailed Cody, habitually noting, and keeping tabs on every other heartbeat in the shop.
This was mental. Rediculous.
Cody saw her too, he reminded himself none too lightly.
Suddenly, randomly curious, he fished the note Ginny had written to him out of his pocket, sliding it open to see what it read..
'Milk, eggs, bread, cereal, sugar, hamburger, noodles...' The list went on, common foodstuffs for a small household. Ginny's small script was easy enough to read, there was nothing but food on the list.
Cody picked out a few candy bars, and walked over to his dad, "Got 'em! Look, here's this dark stuff Mom likes...and here's stuff with caramel..." He rambled on,m hardly paying attention to what he said. Instead, he watched his father's eyes, his young brain already picking out distinct things. He couldn't tell what his dad was thinking, but he knew it wasn't happy.
Xaver slid the note back into his pocket as Cody approached him, his gaze flickering over the candy bars, and then his son's face, amusement flickering to life like a warm flame behind his blue orbs.
"You mother loves those darks.."
"He likes sweets much as Lady Kylie did, doesn't he?" came a voice to the left of them, speaking almost as if from Xaver's own thoughts.
Xaver tensed, his head turning swiftly to the side as he moved slightly closer to Cody. Fierce, protective instincts set in as soon as his late little sister's name was mentioned in the formal terms, and it showed, in the way the Fallen lord nearly bristled.
It was all in body language, though - Xaver neither pulled a face, or shuffled Cody behind him - the hard, cool instincts in his burning gaze were threat enough.
"Excuse my intrusion, my lord."
It was a male, built lean, and tall, bronze of skin with a hawk's eyes. Fierce, golden jems that fell away, as he made into a low bow.
When he straightened, it was all smooth, easy movement.
There were no wings, or obvious signs to give him away - though the way he moved, the subtle differences, the way he smelled, the way he looked - it was obvious enough, if one knew what to look for, that he was a Fallen.
Xaver rested a reassuring hand on Cody's shoulder, but never glanced away from the other male, his head tipping to the side very slightly, his gaze unwavering.
"Yes.."
It was both a statement of acceptance, and a pushing order to get to the point.
The other Fallen didn't miss it.
"I need your help, Milord."
Xaver watched him, a moment longer, before reaching down to Cody, gently taking the sweets from him and sorting through them, before ushering him down, to the register. He paid for the sweets, and dropped a golden coin or three in the tip jar, then offered Cody the little bag.
"I thought that was the purpose of my leaving so early. That, and so you would not bother me whilst I was with my family."
Xaver's gaze was sharp, his tones quiet, and easy, but sharp.
The other, who had followed them lightly, clamped his mouth closed, looking away.
Cody kept his mouth shut. He didn't know the man was a Fallen, he only knew there was something strange about him. He also knew his dad was a bit peeved that the man had shown up.
Cody took the bag from Xaver, occasionally looking at the man with interest. He wasn't scared, just curious.
"I didn't think-"
"I assumed as much, you may be certain."
Xaver cut the other a razor glance, but the bronze Fallen seemed to ignore it.
"What is your name, little lord?"
He knelt down, before cody, coppery gems not missing the similarities between father, and son.
Cody clenched the bag tightly in his fist, his own ice blue eyes observing the man with intelligence. He inspected him for a long moment before answering, "Cody."
He saw nothing wrong in admitting that much. He slid a glance upward at Xaver, to see if it was okay.
Xaver clenched his jaw when the other knelt down, instinct having his fingers itching to pull Cody up into his arms, and simply walk away. Hurry, if necessary.
Propriety kept him in place.
Cody's reserved answer actually loosened his nerves, slightly, and when his son looked up at him, Xaver smiled down at him, the warmth emenating from him honest.
He placed a reassuring hand on Cody's shoulder, and nodded.
"Cody Xian. Stars and stones, won't those werecats fear you-"
"Miixan."
Xaver tilted his head to the side, even as he shook it, his frustrated blues burning with reignited fury.
"It would do you well to keep from mentioning any more. Walk with us, if it suits you."
-Where else would you like to go, my son?- Xaver's tones were far gentler, far warmer, in Cody's thoughts.
Cody gave the man--Miixan, possibly?--a strange look when he mentioned werecats and praised his name. 'Cody' wasn't his full name. It was a shortened version of his middle name, actually. Nonetheless, he looked up at his father as he heard the thought directed at him.
"Three Broomsticks." He answered, aloud.
Ginny kept avoiding teaching him telepathy.
"The Three Broomsticks it is."
Xaver ignored Miixan's odd expression, confusion written over the bronze features, and took Cody's smaller hand within his own.
"So that's it?"
Xaver blinked, turning back slightly to look at the other Fallen.
"What?"
"This conversation is over? You're walking away?"
Xaver frowned, tiredly.
"Go home, Miixan. I will come to you. Later."
His gaze hardened.
"Unfortunately, your problems do not come first. Cody does."
Cody smiled as his father clasped his hand, but the smile faded as Miixan spoke. Cody was a genius, but it didn't take one to realize that Xaver was annoyed with Miixan's bad timing.
He said nothing else, simply kept his hand in his dad's, taking it as a sign of comfort.
The amber eyes of the other Fallen burned with threats untold, and he hissed slightly, before shaking his head, angrily. Suddenly, light brown wings materialized from his back, shimmering to life and full form - and he jumped, growling slightly, up into the air. He jumped high, over the heads of some, and there he spread his enormous wings to the shrieks and surprised yells of spectators, and in one beat, he was gone, ascending high into the skies.
Xaver frowned in his wake, and at the disgruntled stir among the other people on the street, looking around as if wondering when the next odd winged-man was going to pop out, and not knowing there were two more in their midst.
He bent down, and scooped Cody up into his arms, holding him at his side and continuing to walk, the boy's weight not bothering him in the slightest.
"Today has been eventive, hasn't it?" he asked, lightly.
Cody nodded, "Who was he, Dad?" He asked, now prepared to be talkative since the other man was gone. He tilted his head slightly, "What did he want?"
"Miixan," Xaver said quietly, in the same light tone as before. "His name is Miixan. A Fallen, like us. Sort of."
Xaver headed down the road, avoiding people, toward the Three Broomsticks, uncaring of the curious gazes passed their way.
"He wants to meet with me. Wants help with some things.. He's getting impatient, like you saw.."
"What things?" Cody asked, holding onto his dad with one hand to steady himself. He smiled sweetly, hoping his dad would tell him. His mom had this annoying habit of avoiding subjects she felt he was too young for.
Xaver glanced at Cody, not oblivious to the sweet begging of his expression. He smiled slightly, in response to it, then shook his head, his expression souring.
"He wishes assistance.. support, in arms. In power. He is infatuated with power."
Xaver's smile was grim.
"Make a guess what he wants of me."
"Politics?" Cody frowned, thinking of warfare. There were two kinds that really mattered, physical and psychological. Politics were simply a psychological aspect of war. But then again...
"Your abilities?" Physical war was a good way to make unwilling people bend to your wishes.
Xaver inclined his head once, gravely, his thoughts running a mile a minute, still fixed, in a way, on Kylie's.. 'appearance.'..
"Yes," he said, quietly, as they stepped into the Three Broomsticks.
He set Cody onto the plush seat beside him, then leaned back almost comfortably in the booth, folding his hands over the hard oak table, his handsome head bowed slightly as he blinked at them.
"When you have things others want.. some will ask, beg, or persue of it. When your mother and I are married, you will come to understand this, more than ever."
Xaver frowned at the thought, but did not elaborate.
"No one wants anything of me." Cody said, laughing at what he thought was a ludacris idea. He became somber once more, however, once he looked at Xaver.
He watched him, then thought it best to change the subject. The current one was affecting the overall mood of the outing.
"When are you going to marry Mom anyway?"
No one wanted anything of Cody, thank the heavens, right then, sure. But that had been because of Xaver's long absence and lack of knowledge of his son, and Ginny's protection.
Xaver didn't know how long that peace would last.
"When are you going to marry Mom anyway?"
Xaver blinked, and looked down at Cody, watching him for a moment, before a dazzling grin split his features, a low chuckle sounding in his throat as he pushed away his worries, not oblivious to the boy's change in topic.
"Two butterbeers, please," he said, looking to the side, speaking before the waitress had even fully opened her mouth. She blinked, not having known he'd seen her, but nodded, and stepped away.
Xaver smiled down at Cody, then shrugged his shoulders.
"I've been thinking about that a great deal, as of late. I haven't come up with anything solid, though."
Cody smiled, "I don't think it matters when, really...just having you back..." He looked at his dad slyly, "She doesn't cry near as much as she used to, if at all."
Cody was right, actually. There had been a time, after Xaver left, that Ginny hadn't cried at all. But after Cody's birth, and until Xaver's return, she had cried nearly every night. She had done her best to conceal this from Cody, but him being the smart kid he was, he had quickly found out. But he'd have never let her know he had known.
((*nudges Xaver* ;)))
Xaver looked at Cody sharply, though he failed to respond, distracted, as the waitress came back over to them, and dropped off their drinks. She glanced at Xaver, over her shoulder, as she stepped away - that same look of interest written over her features as it did many a woman - though, Xaver pointedly ignored it.
"Finish up your butterbeer, Cody. We've got to get to the grocery store, before it closes."
He smiled slightly, at the irony of the statement - for no average walls could really keep him out - and took a long pull from his own drink.
Cody nodded, doing as his father said without question. As he drank the last drops, he looked around the bar, swinging his legs to his own tune and humming slightly as all small children are apt to do. He glanced at the waitress who had looked at Xaver with such interest, puzzled by the look in her eyes. Adults were so simple, yet got confusing when they mixed boys and girls around.
"Dad, why do you have to go to your home so much?"
Xaver took a final pull from his own butterbeer, then set the bottle on the table with a dull 'clunk', staring at it for a moment, before he tore his gaze away, and glanced at Cody, then rose, his movements smoothly blended - almost liquid, in the way he slowly shifted, and rose to a standing position, smoothing his shirt, absently, over the hard planes of muscle, beneath.
"Because I am their King," he said, very softly, offering his hand in an utterly paternal motion. "It is my duty to serve them, as much as it is theirs, to me."
Cody took Xaver's hand and sighed, "Can I come with you? Please dad?" He begged softly, doubting his dad would say yes. Knowing even more that if Xaver did agree, Ginny wouldn't want him to go. Still, he wanted to ask, wanted to try. He was supposed to be the prince, wasn't he? How could he be a prince of a place he'd never seen before?
Which made him remember, he'd have to ask to go see the place where his mom was queen. He stored that thought away and looked up at Xaver, waiting for his answer.
Cody took his hand, and Xaver tilted his head, letting out a breath in a slow, eased fashion, eying his son almost curiously.
"Come..?"
"Why can't he come, huh?"
Suddenly, there was another man, standing only more than in inch or so in front of Xaver, head tipped to the side in mocking interest, his body long, and lean, and very slender, his musculature very thin, and effeminate, though there was a quickness - a twitching, that threatened speed and agility far beyond that of a normal man. Xaver gripped Cody's hand and pulled the boy to him. The man rolled his neck, and behind him, a long, fuzzy striped orange and black tail curled, swinging lazily to and fro.
"Why," his voice was a noticable few octaves higher than Xaver's tones, "don't you let your little boy come see the spoils of your war, Xaver Alexsander?"
Xaver's gaze darkened, as another male stepped up, to his other side, with the same loping, graceful style, slightly pointed ears, and long, impossibly feline tail wagging behind him.
"You realize this is human territory, do you not?"
"Of course we do.."
The werecats, in unison, grinned, and the newest arrival blurred slightly, moving to the side - and he plucked a child, perhaps younger than Cody, and wrapped an arm so firmly about the boy's chest, the kid could only make soft mewling sounds, clawing at the man's arm for breath, his short legs dangling as his mother screamed, but dared not advance upon the man's threatening glare. The other cat looked down at Cody, an eyebrow quirking.
"Else your heir would have been catfood."
Xaver quite literally bristled.
It was a natural thing, for birds and cats to dislike each other.
But upon the subject, one rarely would think of anything else, besides your common bird, and your average domesticated housecat.
The tension, however, ran farther up the bloodlines. To even those enormous birds, and those of bird-like tendancies - and wild cats, and were cats...
"You dare boast."
He had been about to try and persuade his father. Maybe even beg, he really wanted to go, before they'd been interrupted. Now Cody scowled, "Hey! Leave that kid alone! He didn't do nothing!" He stomped a foot angrily, "Stupid cats!"
He didn't know why these cat-humans made him so mad. They just did, he guessed. He gritted his teeth with anger, "Stupid cats." he repeated. He looked to the little boy, his face showing something like compassion, "They're just dumb old oversized kitties. Be your mom has one! Pull it's whiskers, bet it'll scream!" He glanced over to the cats, grinning rather scarily, "Bet it'll cry like anything else. Stupid cats."
Still, he kept near his dad, holding his hand tightly, even as he taunted the others.
Both pairs of large, hazel eyes widened, pupils narrowing to slits at Cody's outbursts. The boy raised his hands above his head, and swatted, but the male that held him squeezed, and though the effort from him seemed almost easy, he had the boy in such a powerful vice that bones snapped in a series of crunches, beneath his hold. The boy's arms dropped, and his eyes rolled back into his head, and he bagan to twitch, though subconsciously, fighting for air.
"Stupid cats..?" the one nearest Cody and Xaver hissed. "Better than stupid. Oversized. Birds."
He looked at Cody.
"I know you bleed like everything else. ...And we do cry, yes, little one. Ask your father. We do cry-"
Xaver's reaction was too quick for the cat to even notice it. Without dropping Cody's hand, he brought his other elbow up, and into the male's chin, snapping his head back, then instantly down, driving his arm forcefully down into his neck. The werecat crumpled to the floor, eyes still open, and glossy - completely still.
"You killed him..."
A woman covered her mouth with her hand, as the whispers quickly spread, like a flood, throughout the now completely silent room.
The werecat holding the boy tapped his fingers over the child's arm, fingernails curled into claws, the sharpness of the points drawing dark rivulets of blood. He grinned, and the pair vanished, even as the boy's mother lunged for them.
"You killed him!"
The woman was screaming now.
Xaver shook his head.
Panic was setting into the crowd.
"Out of here. Let's go, Cody. Now."
Cody looked back at the boy's mother, biting his lip, "But..shouldn't we help him? Her?" He was overcome by an enormous sense of guilt suddenly. He froze as he realized that it had been his fault the boy had been hurt. His fault. he was the cause.
He swallowed, not able to look away from the mother crying over her son.
Xaver stopped, in trying to rush Cody out of the mass of confused people, and reached down, curling his fingers about Cody's jaw, and turning his face toward him.
"I know where he is going."
His tones were very quiet. Very solemn. Very dark, though the gentle, paternal affection was still there. The worry.
"I won't stop until I find him. And demons in hell, when I do..."
Xaver tugged Cody's hand, and ducked out of the crowd, gently leading him out into the busy street.
"I know what you are thinking, my son. Don't do so - he would have harmed him with or without your words, or reason."
Cody was pulled along, but his feet felt heavy. He was shaking slightly, trembling. He clutched Xaver's hand tightly, swallowing around a large lump in his throat.
He heard his father's words, but didn't believe him. He knew it was his fault. And if the boy died, that would be his fault too.
Finally, he managed to speak, "Where are they?"
Xaver took one glance at Cody, and his heart thudded in a heavy, bruising new rythm against his ribs. He bent down, and scooped his son up in his arms in one fluid movement, even as he continued to walk, wrapping one arm beneath the boy's rump, and the other across his back, cradling him in the circle of his arms, against his chest. It was so easy to forget Cody's youth and actual age, when he acted so much older, and mature all the time. In the same situation, his own father would have cursed, chided, and perhaps even swung at him in reprimand, for any outburst or any foolish, child's mistake.
That was the difference in the men - Xaver instead held Cody tightly to him, having no blame or anger for any other than the werecats, themselves.
He found it interesting, on some odd level, however, that Cody found it more disturbing he might be responsible for an innocent's pain, than Xaver killing another. It was as confusing as it was outrageous - but Xaver didn't particularly want to push it, on any count.
"They are," he said quietly, "where the probably came from. Their own territory. Their own realm. The one my realm - our realm - has had no peace with for years, now."
Cody held onto his father tightly, his pale features even paler as he listened to Xaver.
"They...are you going after them?" Cody turned his eyes on Xaver, frowning, his eyes dark with a sudden firmness, and wide with fear.
Cody thought of the boy, and swallowed again, "Dad..." He struggled with what he was about to say, "Don't go alone. They'll hurt you." And that'll be my fault too, Cody thought the last part. His thoughts weren't protected by any barriers, the only people close enough to him with the power to read minds was his parents, and they never let on.
He thought of the werecats and shivered, against his will. He didn't particularly mind cats. Normal, nice, pretty, domestic ones. They had always been indifferent to him as well, but now he thought of cats completely differently.
"I must. That boy is no older than you, yourself are - and he is more or less powerless to them. I know where they are going - and it would be wrong of me, to not at least try, follow."
Xaver heard Cody's worries, but made no mention, nodding slowly, once, to himself, even as he continued through the street, Cody wrapped firmly in his embrace.
"The quicker I get to him, the more likely I can bring him back." Alive...- he left out.
Xaver knew he would be able to find the child.
His matter of physical state, however - that, the Fallen lord could not guarentee.
"I may have some help. But no one really knows the Cats, like I do."
He left it hanging, at that.
Once out of the enormous crowd, he began to pull energies - and with never stopping, he transported them, the world about them disfiguring, then mutating back into their familiar home, in Xaver and Ginny's room. He swept a kiss across Cody's brow, then set the boy down onto the bed, tugging the casual shirt over his head, and tossing it aside, though the shirt never landed - it shattered into a million foamy pieces, then disappeared with a whisper of magic, to appear in its dirty whole in the laundry basket downstairs. He shifted, now, the naked hard, sculpted musculature of his torso bunching, and pulling, as he bent and quickly drew open and closed drawer after drawer, searching.
Finally, he reached in the bottom drawer, pulling out a blue, satiny shirt of foreign fabric. He slipped into it, but didn't bother to button it down, bare flesh beneath the open slit. He pried his fingers into the hidden breast pocked of the shirt, and withdrew a very small, perhaps finger-long sized whistle, made of a very light, bleached wood. He stowed it into the pocket of his jeans as he closed the drawer with the heel of his boot, then he made to the closet, sliding open the doors with a barely restrained haste.
Cody watched his dad, his worry and unease growing in his chest. He fidgited, wanting to beg his dad to take him with him. But he said nothing, just made small noises of unease.
And then Ginny was at the doorway to the bedroom, a basket of clean clothes on her hip. Her eyesbrows jumped as she saw them, and she watched Xaver for a moment. "What's going on?" She asked, walking into the room and setting the basket beside Cody. She looked down at her son, patting his head, and looking at Xaver.
"Is something wrong?"
Xaver didn't pause when Ginny entered the room - knowing she was there, for he could feel her presence, without her having to even say a word. He bent into the closet, and when he straightened, in one hand was a faded pair of dark outdoor boots, and in the other a long, black dyed-leather sheathed sword, it's length about up to his middle. He leaned the sword against the wall, kicked off his dress shoes, and hiked the boots on, pulling his jeans over them as the laces tied themselves. He lifted the sword again, and untied the long strap, then shouldered it, diagonal across his back.
"There was a mixup in town, Baby. They took a kid. I'm leaving early."
Xaver looked anything but pleased about it, but as he turned, and faced them, he tried for a reassuring expression.
"I'll be back as soon as I can, Love. Hopefully by early morning, like I said earlier. Then I can run out and get those groceries for you - we didn't have time."
He moved to her, and drew a hand up, cupping the side of her face, and catching her gaze for a moment, before he pressed a gentle, but loving kiss over her lips. He swooped down, after, and planted another atop Cody's head.
"Don't you worry, Xerxes," he said firmly, meeting the boy's eyes.
"I'll find him."
Without a breath, or even a stir of magic, he was gone.
Cody swallowed around a lump in his throat and looked down at his hands. He started to shake, then started to cry. Ginny, who had naturally been surprised since the beginning, sat on the bed next to Cody, putting her arms around him.
"Hush, angel...what happened?"
Cody clung to her, "Momma...they took a little boy! They hurt him! And daddy went after them..."
"Shuush, honey. It's okay, dad will take care of the people who took the little boy." Ginny rubbed his back, planting a kiss in the same spot Xaver just had.
"Not people. Cats."
Xaver appeared in a very small room, the walls white-washed, and the floor of a light grey tile, the only light coming in from what remained of the sunset, filtering through the glass of the dome that made the entire ceiling. The room was completely empty, save for a red-cushioned, tiny child's chair, upturned, and tossed into the corner. Xaver blinked at the chair, sucking in a breath as the magic of the transport caught up to him, and readjusting the band that strapped the sword across his back. He went to the nearest wall, and trailed his fingers along it, almost absently, until he found a very small grove - he pressed it, and the wall gave way.
He closed the door behind himself, making little sound as he padded down the stone hallway, running a hand through his thick, obsidian hair.
"You're early."
Xaver closed his eyes, stopping.
"Didn't think you'd make it back so early, my lord. What changes?"
Xaver turned his head slightly, gaze taking in the sight of one of his Fallen, suited up in the near weightless armor their craftsmen were now selling.
"Everything."
"Cats?" Ginny furrowed her brow, confused at first, then understanding. Of course. If there were bird-people, there had to be cat-people. It's just how things were.
Cody nodded, though, "And they came into the shop...and they grabbed a little boy and took him."
"Shhhh, honey." Ginny said, hurrying to sooth her terrified son. But he wouldn't have any of it. He cried, and cried, muttering about how it was his fault.
"No, baby. It isn't. I promise you."
-later-
It was done.
The child was with his mother. Bruised, beaten, and he couldn't remember the last month - but he was alive. He would recover.
Xaver hadn't sustained much injury, himself, in fetching him.
Nothing time won't heal, he reassured himself.
The kid was home.
His work was done.
And, after he'd hobbled into the meeting he had set up, and was over an hour late to, and after he'd been caught falling asleep twice - the board sent him home.
It was done..
It had to be done.
He didn't think his body could endure anything else.
The shopping would have to wait, he thought idly, as he appeared in the well-kept living room. The lights were off, and he didn't hear anything. ...Ginny and Cody were probably asleep. He hoped they were. He'd feel even worse, if they had been waiting up all night for him.
Catching the time at barely past four in the morning on the clock above the fireplace, Xaver sighed, drawing in a deep, threaded breath, and letting out with a low grunt of pain. Slowly, he stripped, kicking off his boots, and tearing off the shredded remains of his shirt, tossing his socks on top, and torn, stained jeans after them. In his boxers, he knelt, wings expanding behind him, then folding around his figure as stretched out on the floor, before the fireplace, the dying flames in the hearth illuminating the dark, protesting bruises that littered his body, and the very last of the scrapes that had already been to work in healing themselves. He tucked his head into the crook of his elbow, damp raven hair splaying across the sinews of his strong forearm - he'd showered in his realm before he'd returned, but hadn't been able to change..
Sleep, carried him off within seconds.
Cody hadn't wanted to be alone. He was too afraid, too scared. So Ginny had asked him to sleep in her bed, with her, under the pretense that "she wanted his protection." Cody had agreed, knowing she wasn't really in need of protection from anything. He agreed because he was afraid.
He had fallen asleep hours ago, sleeping deeply and peacefully, hardly moving. Except to stick his thumb in his mouth, and to clutch the blankets tighter.
Ginny had slept, but off and on, never really out for more than 10 or 20 minutes. Always checking on Cody, and always pushing his hair out of his face before drifting off again. She hoped Xaver would be there in the morning. She hoped nothing would keep him.
And, as she saw two hours after he had come home, nothing had. She had gotten up at six, finally annoyed with the sporadic sleeping. Dawn was starting as she walked softly from her room, leaving Cody in the mess of blankets and pillows, still sucking his thumb.
She almost tripped over Xaver.
She knelt down, placing a hand on his shoulder and gently shaking him.
"Baby? Why don't you go to bed? Cody's sleeping there."
It was always worse, the morning after.
The morning after an extreme workout. Or an extreme beating.
You felt it.
When Ginny touched his shoulder, Xaver, very uncommonly, didn't respond. Only after her shaking him a bit, did he grunt a low, husky response.
He barely heard her words - sleep beckoning him back, and never fully realeasing him from its sticky bonds.
"Ifshummnn.."
His wings twitched as his eyes squeezed shut, and he rolled onto his side, rubbing at his eyes with his knuckles. Oblivious of the bruised, marred spots that now decorated him, a particularly nasty, angular one adorning the flat of his stomach, just above his navel.
"Wah..."
He yawned, sucking in a deep breath. Tucking his head back into the crook of his arm as he exhaled.
"..What, now?"
Ginny sighed, shaking her head slightly.
"Go lie down in our bed with Cody if you want to sleep." She told him, enunciating each word and poking him in the arm a little. She let her eyes swim over his body, smiling slightly, because even with the bruises and marks of a beating, he was still oh-so-very attractive.
She didn't like seeing him hurt, but what could she do about it. He would heal himself, in time.
She touched his face, gently, speaking softly, "He was afraid to sleep alone last night."
She spoke slowly to him.
Like one might a particularly slow person.
A grin caught and snagged the corners of his mouth upwards, widening, as he felt her gaze run over him.
"He was afraid to sleep alone last night."
Xaver's eyes slid open, and his head tilted slightly, sleep and amusement fading to a dull clawing sensation at the back of his skull.
"He shouldn't have seen that.." he said quietly. "..How's he doing, Babe?"
He shifted, enjoying the touch of her hand, and brought his own up, to cover hers, squeezing her fingers, before drawing the backs of them to his mouth, and brushing kisses across their breadths.
He looked up at her, the blue, dark oceans of his eyes heavy with sleep, but illuminated with worry.
Ginny sighed, sitting on the floor beside him, keeping her hand in his, and smiling after he kissed it.
"He cried for a long time last night...we have our work cut out in convincing him that none of it was his fault. My poor angel..."
Ginny stared off at the almost dead fire, looking at the embers with a sad longing. "He's growing up, I suppose...but I wish he was still a baby. I miss it...when he hardly remembered anything that happened over an hour ago...and I miss even more when he was an infant..." She smiled sadly, shaking her head, "He was very bright eyed, and you could tell her knew what was going on...while at the same time, he didn't understand it all...when he needed me for everything, and I could calm any and all ailments he had by feeding him, or changing him...of simply holding him."
She frowned, "It took me an hour to get him to calm down. I felt so useless." She looked away from the fire, squeezing his hand, which she still held, "You look exhausted, hon."
Xaver kissed her hand again, before he released it, remaining on his side, and propping himself up on one elbow, despite the soreness of his body, running his other hand through the lush, dark locks of his hair.
"I feel guilty, of that."
He was too tired to be angry anymore. He could be angry at the world for hurting his son, later...
He wached her, with mild facination as she spoke, of Cody being a baby, her care and love for the child so plainly written over the beautiful features lit by the dying firelight, that his heart ached. He'd come to terms with knowing that he could never truly understand, all of what had been.. but her feelings of uselessness - to those, he could relate.
"I am exhausted. I couldn't even make it down the hall."
He waved his hand idly toward the mouth of the hallway, trying to make some light of the situation, though he felt far too solemn and tired to muster much energy for it.
"..I might just take you up on that suggestion and curl up for a few more hours with our boy. I don't think I'd last much longer if I didn't."
Ginny smiled, "And I'm sure he'd love to wake up with his daddy near him." She paused, "He was afraid that you wouldn't come home on time." She shook her head, "The boy rarely tells of his fears, but when he does, they aren't those of a regular child, and they really sweep you off your feet."
She paused, sighing at her own tiredness, "Go lie down. I'll go get that shopping done while you two sleep."
Xaver sighed, softly.
He didn't, after all, have a great track record of coming home in a timely fashion. His absence for the youngest years of Cody's life, was to that.
"He's not a regular child, sweet. I mean, look at his mother."
He winked at her, in an effort of playfullness, though his smile faded, as he sat up.
"I told you I'd do the shopping.. I can do it now, or later.. You look tired, yourself - will you not come to bed with me, then let us do that, later?"
"No, no." Ginny shook her head roughly, "You go to bed, I'll do the shopping. Now shut up about it." She leaned sideways, planting a firm kiss on his lips.
She was tired. Fatigued, no matter how much sleep she got, lately.
A frown pressed a firm line into his mouth - though it was quickly covered by Ginny's lips, and the expression instantly dissapated.
"Mmh," he grunted, a low growl of a whine as she pulled away.
He didn't protest, however - instead, he shook his head, reaching out and entangling his hand in her hair, gently pressing his fingers to the back of her head, and drawing her close again, claiming her mouth for another set of kisses - prolonging the sensation this time, taking and giving, plundering the fullness of her lips until his heart was about to run away without him. Grinning as the kiss broke, he pressed his lips to her forehead, then rose, releasing her, stretching his arms high above his head, dressed only in his boxers, wings a large, and comfortable presence behind him.
"Alright.. But I'm stealing you into bed, later. No matter what you say."
A corner of his mouth tipped upward, wickedly, even as he started toward the hallway.
"Oh, and Ginny?.."
Her eyes closed with the kisses, and she couldn't think stright for a few moments. No matter, she didn't need to think. When he said he'd drag her into bd later, she simply chuckled and nodded. She smiled up at him, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them as he stood. Watching him for a moment before looking away, back towards the waning fire.
"Yes, love?"
Xaver paused to look back at her, his body aching with newfound injury, though he refused to show it. His heart aching, at the sight of her.
"I love you, Ginny. Truly. Madly. Deeply. Don't you ever forget that."
He smiled at her, then turned, slowly being enveloped by shadow as he stole, quietly, toward their bedroom, and the promise of peaceful rest.
Ginny was pleasantly surprised into silence as he stole into the shadows. She simply starred after him for a long moment, smiling goofily. She suddenly wanted to go back and lie down with him and Cody,snuggle under the covers with the two most important beings in her life.
But instead she stood, still smiling, and went to find a sweater so she could go shopping.
She was a fool at times.
She hummed to herself, even as she transported, landing on the outskirts of a muggle village close to their home. She could have walked, but it would have taken twenty minutes, each way. And she didn't feel like it right now. Ginny walked swiftly into the center of town, where shops were already opening, even though the sun had just peeked above the horizon.
As she stepped into a shop, an older lady smiled, "Ginny..." She said, surprised, "What a treat. It isn't often we see you or dear little Cody."
Ginny smiled tightly, not really at ease with this particular muggle. She was nosy, and a busy body. Thankfully,she lived about half a mile away from Ginny. "Hello Mrs. Walker. Pleasure to see you."
Mrs. Walker smiled, looking around with intrest, "Where is your little boy, Ginny?"
"Home. Asleep. With his father." Ginny answered easily, shrugging. Where else would he be?
"Oh!" Mrs. Walker looked even more surprised. Last she knew, Cody's dad was gone, and Ginny had been raising Cody alone. Deadbeat dad returns, she thought to herself.
Ginny frowned as she heard the thought, but said nothing about it. Instead she smiled again, "I have shopping to do, ma'am."
Xaver could feel himself grinning like a fool, still, as he entered the bedroom. Like a fool in love.
He padded to the bed, his gaze softening as his blue orbs flickered over his son, curled up amongst the blankets, fists clenched on the sheets. Xaver crawled into the covers and curled up behind the boy, drawing the youngster to his chest, wings between them and all, wrapping an arm protectively around the boy's middle.
He tipped his head, resting against the pillows, his chin just over Cody's head, and allowed his eyes to close, sleep again gripping at him, with nimble and swift fingers..
It took Ginny forever, at least it seemed so long to her, to find everything they needed. And it took even longer to stand in line to pay for the food. Finally, though, she was soon her way out of the store, ignoring the old women who stood gossiping outside of the shop.
She heard snatches though.
"Guess his father came back."
"After so long..."
"Are they even married?"
"No. Do thy plan to be?"
"How should I know?"
"I wonder what he looks like...?"
She smirked to herself, shaking her head as she carried the bags of groceries away. She walked most of the way outside of town before transporting herself and the food back to her house, pushing open the door with her foot. She was quiet as she went about putting the food away, and quiet as she finished and looked about.
No one was awake, it seemed. She sighed and walked back the hall.
"Cody, Xaver? Either of you two awake?"
It was odd for Xaver to be able to sleep well, even when he was most comfortable. Odder still, for him to fall into a deep sleep - and that, indeed, was in which he'd fallen. He didn't hear Ginny arrive, and he didn't stirr to her moving about in the kitchen, putting the various foods and goods away.
He didn't respond, when she called for him, or Cody, the covers wrapped around the boy, but his own figure barren save the moody shade of boxers he wore, his head tipped downward, his chin brushing his chest. Eyes closed, and unresponsive.
He remained unusually still, and made no reply..
Ginny sighed again as she reached the door to the bedroom, and shook her head. She understood Xaver's tiredness, but why in the world was Cody still asleep? She slowly walked over, reaching around Xaver to shake her son.
"Angel, time to get up. It's way past dawn."
Cody opened his eyes, tilting his head so he could see his mom.
"Don't wanna." He muttered, snuggling closer to Xaver's body, "Comfer'bl."
Xaver still didn't stir, his breathing remaining slow, even, and deep. In sleep, he couldn't conceal the dark, weary discoloring beneath his eyes, even as it was slowly fading, or the many bruises that littered his form - nor the youthfulness that still remained in his creature, showing through without the consciousness of his thoughts to conceal it.
Cody snuggled against him, and instinct drew Xaver's face to the back of the boy's neck - but he made little other movement, remaining asleep..
Ginny sighed, "Just because you are comfortable doesn't mean the day isn't passing quickly. Come on, Cody. Get out of bed."
"Nope." Cody closed his eyes again, his face breaking into a smile. He knew his mom wouldn't simply pick him up. Not with Xaver's arms around him like they were. He liked where he was. He could hear his dad's breathing, could feel him beside him. Cody imagined he could even hear his dad's heartbeat, though he was slightly too far away for that.
He felt so safe, and warm, and floaty like. As if he was on a cloud.
"Brat." Ginny said, shaking her head and giving up. Though she could relate, she too liked sleeping near Xaver.
Distantly, Xaver could hear Ginny and Cody's voices - and the knowledge of their nearness brought him comfort enough to remain in the grips of sleep. His thoughts wandered, as be fell back to that black obyss - though a few of them, even as his conscience faded, brought a physical shiver that reverberated through his figure.
Completely asleep once more, Xaver absently pressed his face deeper into the swell of the pillow beneath his head, yawning, limbs tightening, then falling slack, and still.
Unaware of the mild argument going on over him.
Ginny threw up her arms and walked from the room, shaking her head.
"You're still going to bed early!" She called out behind her as she walked from the room, pulling off her sweatshirt as she went into the living room. She threw it on the couch and looked around her.
She'd done all the cleaning yesterday.
She ran a and through her hair and went to her desk, pulling a book from the small shelf above it. She sat down in the middle of the floor, opening the book. Inside were pictures, or so it seemed. But the pictures had not been taken by anyone. They were snapshots from Ginny's own memory.