One who calls her mother
She was there! Melantha could feel it in every fiber of her being. The woman with skin darker than the darkest of nights and eyes of glowing flourestent blue-green. The one she hadn't seen in over five hundred years. The person she had thought was dead... Her mother. It had taken too long to track her down. She had to ask hundreds of different animals to go out looking for the one she was searching for. Many failed, a few had caught sight of her, and only two had come back to tell her of this place she stood at the gates of now.
Her heart skipped a beat as she walked up closer to the gates and looked through the bars. They were going to be reunited... After so long, she would see the one who gave life to her again! She was nervous. More than nervous, she was down right jittery. How would her mother react to see her like this? To see her looking so much like a human?
At the moment, Melantha wore a pair of baggy jeans, her tail wrapped around one of her legs beneath the fabric so it would be hidden, a slightly baggy white T-shirt, a pair of black gloves to match her jeans, and a pair of sneakers. Her fur had been waxed earleir that day and she wore the liquid makeup to make her skin seem like it was a light tan. Melantha also wore her hair loose to cover her ears although she had neglected in dying her hair that day so it remained white.
She stood there looking through the bars for about a full minute before calling a sparrow over. The sparrow landed lightly on her outstretched hand. Without movign her lips, she asked the feathered one to take a flight around the building to see if Zia was somewhere out in sight. Knowing her mother, Melantha didn't think she'd perfer being indoors to being outside. Her mother wasn't really one to adapt to human life very well... But then again, she didn't really know anymore. There was a chance her mother might have a change in heart and completely became one with humanity.... On second thought, no. There was no chance.
The sparrow took off, returning a couple of moments later to tell her that it saw no coal skinned woman. Melantha ran her tounge over her fangs then shifted her weight from one foot to another before givign a sigh. She had half-guessed that it wouldn't be that easy to get to her. There was another way to find her though. She had been close to doing it upon her arrival but had tried to be silent about it-- but there was no choice now but to go with instinct. Even wolf cubs called for their mothers when they were lost so there was no shame in this.
Melantha took a deep breath, trying to contain her emotions but them fighting against her restraint on them. The glowing flourescent sky blue of her eyes became much more obvious as she took another deep breath inward before calling out as loud as her voice would let her. "MOTHER!!!!!!!!!!!!" She screamed out in the language Zia would be most familiar with. "MOTHER!!!!!!!" She shouted again, so hard that she brought herself to the tips of her toes and had her hands positioned aroudn her mouth to try to make her call louder.
"ZIIIIIAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!" She yelled out in case her mother only answered to the name that the humans had given her.
The darkness of the chamber she had been sleeping in was made a little lighter but not from anyone switching on the bedside lamp. No, it was from the markings that Zia bore on her skin. The markings that had lit due to her irritation of being woken out of a comfortable sleep. The yelling hand't been the cause though, the faint voice being absorbed into her dreams in which she was back in Egypt. No, it was the strange tugging without tugging sensation that pulled her out from in the realm of dreams and into the waking world. And with the awakening came the slight discomfort of her still healing wounds which had been forgotten while she had been fully asleep.
"MOTHER!!!!!!!" There came the voice from her dream again but this time she knew it was not of the dream itself but someone calling in the tongue of her birthlands. She rose her head up from Hank's chest then slowly shifted into a sit, her eyes locked on the window. Was it Jade calling her? No, she strongly doubted it. The cub that her mate and her had adopted had never spoken... And the child being outside was impossable at this hour.
"ZIIIIIAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!" Her ears lengthened to their true length and her eyes narrowed some. Who could this stranger be that was waking her? How many people knew to speak in her native language and call for her specifically. For a moment, the thought of someone from her past being the one who called crossed her mind. But not even remembering the part of her life where she bore a child or of anything about Melantha, she told herself that the thought couldn't have been right. It may possably have been another who has arose that had the ability to understand and speak her tounge as that had been happening lately.
She looked over at the chambers in which Jade lay before looking back to Hank. "I will return. There is someone I must teach not to wake me in such a way.." She muttered to her mate before slipping out of the bed and moving to the window. Graspping the bottom part of the window she opened it as she had seen others do before then moved to crouch in the opening, hands and feet gripping the ledge. Her agitated mood could be clearly seen in her bodylanguage as well as a defensiveness. She not only felt protective of her mate while he was still injured but of the recently adopted girl. This was more than enough to fuel her irritation.
In one swift movement, she leapt from the window, judging the height as one that would not damage her if she were to go from it to the ground. The mostly healed wounds streched some and there was a slight bit of stiff pain but that was ignored. There was some shock to the balls of her feet and to her hands upon impact but she sprang up anyway, also ignoring how her knees complained about the jolt. Then, Zia swiftly made her way to where the yelling had come from, to the gates.
There, on the other side of the metal structure was a female child. One she did not recognize but one that seemed to be causing the tugging without tugging feeling that she had had upon waking. "You, who are you and how dare you call for me?" She demanded in almost a snarl. "Speak quickly for I am in not a kind mood." She finished in cold tones. Zia was glad that she hadn't caused herself to bleed, that would have just made her look weakened and left her open to attack.
Re: One who calls her mother
There had been closeness , a time just for them, something so rare these last few days that it was all the more treasured Then, still holding Zia in his arms, there had been contented sleep and that too was a blessing. It was something he had had too little of recently and the strain was beginning to tell. Still it seemed that a turning point had been reached, things in med lab beginning finally to settle down, new help coming in to ease the burden. Hank really thought that there was a chance that he Zia and Jade could start spending some time together, just as they had spent that night at Talia’s party. Something he had despaired of before. And that would be good. In fact it would be more than good
After all you didn’t just adopt someone and then never be there for them! What kind of a father would he be if he did that! Hank still had difficulty believing the turn his life had taken. In the space of a few days he had gone from solitary middle aged bachelor to family man. Even if the family was unique to say the least. He wasn’t complaining though. Far from it. In fact the felt happier and more fulfilled than he had ever done in his life before. He had love and passion in his world now. People to come home to at night! If he ever got the chance, that was. And that in itself was something he had never thought possible. Until he had met Zia! l
He had however thought that he might just make it through the night without interruption but that it seemed was too much to hope for. There was something, clawing him back to consciousness.. No, he didn’t want to go….not again. He grumbled slightly as his doctors reflexes kicked in, preventing him from simply sliding back down into sleep. What was it? Not his com badge that was for sure. But something, tugging at the edge of his mind, refusing to let him go… Reluctantly Hank forced his eyes open, noting the faint illumination that always marked Zia’s discontent.
Surely it wasn’t his fault Not again. There was still no ringing of alarms, no voice telling him that yet another emergency was waiting for him in med lab…..Please god he thought suddenly Don’t let it be yet another young woman waiting to join the team. I don’t think she’d believe me if it was and I said I had nothing to do with it. And I surely do not want another fight! He was still recovering from the last one, the wounds Zia had inflicted on him somehow refusing to heal despite the use of the shiar machines. It was a fact that intrigued him more than anything else, a phenomena he hadn’t yet had enough time to investigate fully but which he didn’t intend to let drop. Stil,l waking now, it did seem to be a girls voice he was hearing as he gathered his scattered wits about him Faint, to faint for him to catch the worlds in his sleepy condition but strangely compelling all the same.
"I will return. There is someone I must teach not to wake me in such a way.." And with that Zia was out of bed and heading for the window. She wasn’t happy, he could see that , but it still caught him by surprise when she opened it and jumped. He had thought she was merely going to try to see who was causing the commotion not pursue them immediately! Cursing himself silently he leapt from the bed to follow, hesitating only a fraction of a second before jumping himself. It was a long way down but he was a feline and cats always landed on their feet. Besides he knew his own capabilities. This was risky but not suicidal and since Zia had come into his life risks were something he was getting more and more used to taking.
It was after all a risk simply being with her, letting her into his life like this. She held his heart in her hands and those hands weren’t always tender. Though they were always loving. What they shared was passionate and intense and ultimately dangerous. Like Zia herself. And Hank wouldn’t have had it any other way. Yet he knew she had changed him as he had changed her. She had opened up the wilder aspects of his nature, he had showed her that she could know peace. It was in the coming together that they were strongest each one completing the other in ways they hadn’t thought possible. That was something he rejoiced in but it wasn’t always so easy for other people to relate to Zia’s unique nature. Nor did she always fully understand the ways of those around her.
That was why he had jumped, his injured body protesting at the ill treatment he was inflicting upon it as he did so. Not because he thought his mate would be in danger, she was strong and quick, more than a match for any enemy, but rather out of concern for anyone she might find in her path. And it seemed he had been right to be concerned. He could sense her anger as if it were his own directed at the girl who waited on the other side of the gate. He felt strange when he looked at her as if somehow he should know her yet he was sure he had never seen her before in his life. It was an odd sensation and one that bothered him more than he liked to admit. Was she using some mutant power to influence him And if so was Zia susceptible to it as well?
Her words didn’t suggest that she felt any bond with the stranger "You, who are you and how dare you call for me?" Was there something more than mere antagonism in her words? He wasn’t sure but he felt there might be. . "Speak quickly for I am in not a kind mood." Now her voice was icy and he knew that one false move on the girls part could well result in an attack. He had no idea who she was or why she was there, but he knew he wanted her to live long enough to find out. Still Zia had made contact, asking the question rather than pouncing. He was her mate not her master. Yet still he could offer some aid to the stranger without challenging Zia’s authority.
“You woke us from sleep” he said, realising as he did so that he was speaking in ancient Egyptian as if his mind had registered that this was the right thing to do. Realising also that he had come straight from bed and therefore had nothing to conceal the inhuman nature of his body or the blood oozing from the claw marks that his hasty exit from the room had reopened! Ah well! Modesty was also something that Zia seemed to be making him leave by the wayside.” My mate does not react well to those who do that. But she is willing to listen to your reasons for doing so”
Re: One who calls her mother"You, who are you and how dare you call for me?...Speak quickly for I am in not a kind mood."
Melantha felt like she had been stabbed in the heart and hit by a huge block of ice all at the same time. She saw no familiarity in her mother's eyes which also added confusion about the whole situation. Just to top it off, another person arrived, large, furred, and unclothed--- he had come form the same direction her mother had. For some reason, she felt a connection to him almost like the one between herself and her mother. ” My mate does not react well to those who do that.But she is willing to listen to your reasons for doing so” He stated.
That would explain it! Of course there would be a connection if her mother had coupled with him. Right after the realization struck her, she took a partial step back, her eyes widening in shock and displeasure. "What have you done to my mother!?" She demanded, fangs flashing in the moonlight. Usually she was calm, usually she was peaceful, but this involved her mother and if this man had done something to make her mother forget or change, she was going to be angry. "Why doesn't she remember who I am!? Have you brainwashed her or something!? How did you trick her into your bed!? Did you drug her? Is that it!?" The increasingly distressed Melantha asked, her markings coming to life and showing even through the makeup.
Since there wasn't enough dew nearby where she stood, she brought her hand up and licked it before using it to wipe the makeup off her cheek some. Under the makeup, there was pure white skin with a thin layer of even paler fur that was already growing back. "It's me Mother, it's Melantha. Don't you recognize me!?" She pleaded. Melantha pulled her gloves off to reveal the clawed hands she had and quickly took off the rest of the clothing she ore as a disguise until all she stood in was the tube shirt and pair of shorts she wore underneath. Her tail was in plain sight now and she had let her ears slip out from where they had been hidden under her hair. Unlike most of the rest of her, her tail was left unwaxed and unshaved.
Re: One who calls her mother
Now that he looked at her more closely Hank could see that the girl was upset. Or maybe that was an understatement. She looked at him with anger shining in her eyes , though neither his appearance nor his lack of clothing seemed to be the cause. "What have you done to my mother!?" she asked throwing the words at him like so many daggers. Hank’s yellow eyes flashed wide in surprise. Mother! Automatically he looked towards Zia seeing the emotions succeed each other on her face Confusion Anger… Doubt. All intense. If you knew how to read her Which few people did. All covered up by a mask of calm that was more alarming to him that anything else.
Every instinct drove him to her side and yet he held himself back. If what the girl said was true then the moment was hers alone! She had never spoken of a daughter but then he supposed they had barely touched on the subject of her past She was here with him now and that had been enough. He had known that the words would come in their given time. They had to be earned, like her trust, though her love had been most freely given. And most willingly accepted! They had come together so fast, two halves of a puzzle finding each other despite all the obstacles that had been set against them. And they did fit. Their bodies had acknowledged that fact even before their minds had.
And now Hank’s body was acknowledging this young woman’s claims as well. It wasn’t just the bond that he had with Zia although that tugged at his soul. His own mutant senses could verify what she had said. At least up to a point. He was neither Wolverine nor Daredevil but his sense of smell was nevertheless acute and it was telling him that there was a family bond between these two females. And yet his mate wasn’t acknowledging her offspring and he didn’t know why.
And neither did her daughter. "Why doesn't she remember who I am!? Have you brainwashed her or somethingshe asked desperately still speaking in the ancient language. It was all too obvious that they were related . Markings appeared on the girls body , the same as the ones that had called him from sleep. He felt himself being caught up in her anguish, imagining how it would feel if Zia forgot him. Or trying to! It was too hard. The pain would be too great .Yet this girl must be feeling just such a loss and as for Zia …. Which was harder? To have been forgotten or to suddenly realise that something as important as your own child had been lost from your memories? Hank didn’t know. All he was sure of was that there was suffering in store for both of them and he only hoped he could do something to ease it.
Though from the hostility he felt directed against him he thought that he might be fighting a losing battle on that score"How did you trick her into your bed? the stranger continued her anger growing.. "Did you drug her? Is that it!?" His own eyes flashed momentarily at the accusation though he soon regained control. *Easy now* he told himself taking a deep breath *The last thing we need is for her to bring out the animal in me.Though her mother does it all too easily. Which*.. his humour returned as fast as it had left.. *may explain why drugs weren't necessary when I woed her. Though I doubt that that answer would please her daughter any more than her own hypotheses do*
Indeed the girl was becoming more and more distraught by the minute, wiping away all traces of the disguise which had let her pass for human as if the makeup and clothes were all that was holding back Zia’s welcome..It's me Mother, it's Melantha. Don't you recognize me!?""“Easy child” Hank said gently, assuming once more the role of peacemaker if only she would let him. “There must be an explanation for this. Let us take the time to find out what it is”Edited by: HankMcCoy13 at: 5/11/06 4:46 pm
Re: One who calls her mother“You woke us from sleep... My mate does not react well to those who do that.But she is willing to listen to your reasons for doing so” She heard Hank state. Not reacting well was an understatement especially with all of the times they have been woken so far. It had been just when she had thought there would be no rude awakenings that this unknown child came calling out for her. Zia was tempted to really not react well, that meaning reaching through those bars and clawing out the child's throat...
She saw the girl's eyes widen and watched the girl step back.... Now she was just out of reach, damn it! "What have you done to my mother!?" The girl demanded. Zia's eyes narrowed in irritation, confusion, and coldness. What nonsense was this child spouting!? "Why doesn't she remember who I am!? Have you brainwashed her or something!? Did you drug her? Is that it?!?" The girl demanded from Hank causing his mood to shift which she felt herself, causing Zia to become even more angered. How dare she take that tone with him! Before Zia could say anything, the girl started removing the clothing that she wore before undressing though, she had licked her earlier gloved hand and wiped away some face-paint to reveal white skin underneath.
"It's me Mother, it's Melantha. Don't you recognize me!?" The girl, Melantha pleaded in an almost demanding tone. “Easy child... There must be an explanation for this. Let us take the time to find out what it is” Hank spoke in a calming tone. But Zia didn't believe that the girl would be so easily calmed. Judging by how Melantha's tail lashed from side to side, she was angry and upset and in her eyes was a kind of desperation.
She was about to argue about the girl being her daughter, she was about to deny it but as she looked at the pale figure in front of her, she couldn't speak. It was outrageous what this child was declairing! Zia had only coupled with two men in her life, Hank and the man from the time right before her long sleep. The girl was defionately not a cublet that was made between Hank and herself... And she looked nothing like the type of human that the other man had been... So it was impossable!
But..... Zia did have large gaps in her mind where her memories seemed to have been blanked out. All she could see in those spots was emptiness, darkness, at most fog. Melantha... the name sounded familiar... But she couldn't take a full grasp on it. But a slight sliver of a memory shifted through the fog... Japan... Zia's anger turned to more confusion and caution. Giving a small swallow, she spoke, switching from ancient Egyptian to ancient Japanese.
"Japan, I was in Japan and you were there also. That is all I know of you, child. My memories are shattered, some of them missing, my mind not having woken fully from the long sleep I had been in." She stated. She paused, her markings dimming back to normal as she continued to look at the girl. The child hand't been telling a lie... Zia could tell that this was truely a child of hers. "When did you come from me and how? I do not remember ever laying with a third man or becoming with child." Zia stated before looking to Hank.
"Many parts of my past.... is...... held from me. I did not know of this..... cub..... but I can not help but to say that she is telling no lie." She stated in the language that was most spoken around this territorry. Her head hurt, causing her to bring a hand up to the side of it.
Re: One who calls her mother“Easy child... There must be an explanation for this. Let us take the time to find out what it is” The tone that should have been calming only made her more upset, her not liking the thought of her mother having gotten caught up in another relationship which was, in Melantha's mind, bound to fail and hurt Zia again! She had just been about to snap at the blue man when her mother spoke, cutting her off and doing an amazing job of distracting her from the furry form.
But still, the bats came, swarming not too far away and the flutter of their wings becoming more obvious. They were picking up on her distress and acting upon it. She could hear their words whispering through her mind and she tried to tell them to calm themselves but still they were in a bit of an uproar.... But she couldn't pay attention to that now.. Her mother was speaking to her. //Stay back, winged ones. There is no need to attack, there is no threat.// She thought to the bats before fully drawing her attention onto the onyx queen before her.
"Japan, I was in Japan and you were there also. That is all I know of you, child. My memories are shattered, some of them missing, my mind not having woken fully from the long sleep I had been in.... When did you come from em and how? I do not remember ever laying with a third man or becoming with child." Melantha smiled, her eyes showing hapiness but sadness at the same time. It was a strange mix of feelings.
"Many parts of my past.... is...... held from me. I did not know of this..... cub..... but I can not help but to say that she is telling no lie." Her mother told the blue man.
Her mother remembered her!-- Kind of. But even a hint of a memory was enough for Melantha. "Almost five turns of a century, Mother, that was when I was born. I was made from one night of one man's trickery-- a man who's family you stood guardian over for three generations before and one who betrayed you like every other man who you have come to grow close to." Melantha stated, switching her language to match the japanese Zia had been speaking. She then flicked her tail before shooting an untrusting glare in the blue man's direction.
The way her mother had looked at the man as she explained to him that she didn't know of Melantha--- it irritated the girl. "You don't have to explain anything to him. He's not really your mate, I won't let him be. You have fallen too many times for their tricks, mother." Melantha stated. The bats that had been gathering now flew into plain sight. They made a living cloud behind her, so thick they could have been a wall. //Go away. I didn't ask you to be here. I can handle this on my own and if not, I'll call you when I need you here.// She thought to the bats.
They didn't want to listen to her. From what she could hear, they wanted to attack the one who was bothering her so much. Melantha didn't think that it would be a good idea, Zia was a territorrial one when it came to her mates and blindly defensive of them. Melantha wondered how her mother could be like that after the last time. //I said leave!// The bats scattered like glass that had been hit with a stone, only a few defying her and remaining there, flying around her.
Re: One who calls her mother
At first he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him but no it was true Bats were gathering, drawn to the girl, a darkening cloud surrounding the area like a physical manifestation of her distress. It was unsettling. Hank could feel his combat training kicking in readying himself for battle should they attack. Still as of yet it was only a possibility of action, latent, showing both in his eyes and in his stance.
His main concern however was for Zia. Everything in this world was still so strange to her, making it hard to find peace. Would this new arrival bring her joy or add to her confusion? At the moment it wasn’t clear, then Zia began to speak, the tone thoughtful though the words themselves were spoken in a language he didn’t understand, japonese perhaps or something resembling it. Melantha obviously did though and whatever Zia said brought a bittersweet smile to her face, as hope and disappointment fought each other for dominance.
"Many parts of my past.... is...... held from me. I did not know of this..... cub..... but I can not help but to say that she is telling no lie." This at least was meant for him, Zia slipping back into English to share her confusion with her lover. He wanted to cross to her and hold her, offering what comfort he could but that was something which he would not do lest she believed that he thought her too weak to deal with the situation alone. And weak was something Zia most certainly was not. Still he moved closer, offering moral support by his presence as a mate should, keeping a watchful eye on the bats, ready to take care of that problem if need be and leave her to concentrate on this reunion with his daughter.
However his proximity didn’t seem to please the girl. Although he couldn’t translate the words her looks spoke volumes. Instantly the bats closed in around her as if waiting for a command. He wasn’t sure whether she was purposefully calling them or whether they merely honed in on her anguish but in any case just as it began to look as if their intentions were malevolent they suddenly exploded in to motion not to attack but rather to disappear again into the darkness their cries echoing at the very edge of his hearing.
So confrontation had been avoided or…… looking back at the girl Hank smiled Been postponed was more likely. "Ah Zia" he said "how could ever doubt that she was yours She has her mothers beauty …. And her temper."
Re: One who calls her mother
She didn't like the way the male had stepped closer to her mother nor did she like the fact he had grinned after her winged friends had left. "Ah Zia... How could ever doubt that she was yours She has her mothers beauty …. And her temper." He stated. At that, Melantha gave a small growl.
"You don't know her! So don't act like you do! You don't know HALF of her temper and you have no place commenting on it." Melantha snapped in modern English. Unlike Zia, Melly didn't have an accent when she spoke and she had no problem bringing up the vocabulary. English was one of the languages she spoke fluently, having had time to practice it.
"As for that bit about beauty, flattery's not gonna get you anywhere. Now step away from my mom! Like I told her, you're not really her man-- I won't let you be. She's had enough bad breakups and I'm not gonna see her get hurt like that again just because she's foolish enough to let herself be tricked again!" She declaired. "I don't see how she could do it-- how she could let it happen even one more time. But this time I'm going to protect her." Melantha claimed.
"If she gets too close to you she'll only get hurt worse than if this is nipped at the bud." Melantha stated. The possability of her mother being pissed off by what she said worried her. That was the only thing that made her stop on that topic. Her point had been made anyway. She didn't appreove of her mother having another mate and she wasn't afraid to say it or try to get her mother to drop him like a bad habit-- in which Melantha saw him as.
As she looked to see her mother's reaction, she was met with shock. Her mother didn't look like she was going to snatch her heart out and eat it. No, she-- looked touched.
//Melantha will be polite to everyone else almost-- promise!//-------------------------- //zia made me edit because I accidentally assumed she'd be pissed when she wasn't going to be//
Re: One who calls her mother
At first, Zia had been ready to tear the little girl's throat out but then it suddenly changed to another feeling as she picked up on the child's emotions. Melantha was not out to attack anyone just out of spite or out of insanity, it seemed that the girl was trying to protect something.... Trying to protect her mother... Zia had been hurt before, how amny times she didn't know. But it seemed that Melantha knew and by the way she spoke, her pain had been the child's pain.
Hank had been right in asking her how she had doubted that the child before her was her own. She did hold some resemblance and there was that familiar feeling to her. "Since she is one of my womb, she should come to this side of the gate.... But..."
Zia turned back to the child, eyes full of warning. "I feel your concern and your protectiveness.... but you will not be trying to cause my mate and myself to become undone. He has more than prooved his place and has already won a battle of dominance. You will respect this or I will slay you, do you understand?" Zia more stated than asked. There was no question, it was a command. One that she expected to be followed.
Zia knew that this child of her own blood but she did not know her enough to even partially regret saying what she had said. She knew already that she would feel different towards the cublets she would have with Hank... but now, she was unsure of herself as far as if she would be a good mother. After-all, she had forgotten one cub already. How could a good mother ever forget?
Re: One who calls her mother"You don't know her! So don't act like you do! You don't know HALF of her temper and you have no place commenting on it." *Guess she doesn’t feel she’s ready for a step father then* Hank reflected wryly * Or if this is her way of welcoming me into the family it leaves a lot to be desired.* Still there was no malice in the thought. This was a hard situation for them all and some sparks were bound to fly. He just had to make sure they didn’t start a fire! And it didn’t look as if he was off to a good start.
"As for that bit about beauty, flattery's not gonna get you anywhere. Now step away from my mom! The girl spat the words at him like vitriol but the bitterness behind them spoke of a pain that was genuine and far reaching. “Like I told her, you're not really her man-- I won't let you be.” Was it him, what he was that appalled her? Barely human by any standards, at least in form! Or would anyone who stood at her mothers side claiming a place in her affections have received the same hatred. Hank didn’t have long to wait for an answer. “She's had enough bad breakups and I'm not gonna see her get hurt like that again just because she's foolish enough to let herself be tricked again!"
So this was all about protection, was it? The idea of anyone thinking Zia would ever need someone to protect her should have made him smile but it didn’t. In the realm of emotion and commitment she was as vulnerable as anyone, perhaps even more so and he was well placed to know it. Troubled, betrayed, she had nevertheless offered her heart to him, knowing that in doing so she opened herself up to the possibility of hurt. A hurt her daughter wanted to keep from her. How could he do anything less than respect the sentiment even if the fear was ill founded?
"I don't see how she could do it—Melantha went on “how she could let it happen even one more time. But this time I'm going to protect her. If she gets too close to you she'll only get hurt worse than if this is nipped at the bud." She was too late in any case. They were already close in all the ways that mattered. Though she could hardly be expected to realise that! How would Zia react to the threat though Hank wondered. Hopefully not with anger! There was no cause for it here, not when love motivated the girls actions. And it seemed his mate agreed.
. "Since she is one of my womb, she should come to this side of the gate.... she declared her words echoing his own feelings “But..." The inevitable warning, the setting right of the balance. Melantha’s concern could bring her mother pleasure, give her cause for pride even, but there was never any doubt who was in charge of Zia’s life. And Hank suspected she was about to make that very clear. "I feel your concern and your protectiveness.... but you will not be trying to cause my mate and myself to become undone.” she told her daughter. “He has more than proved his place and has already won a battle of dominance. You will respect this or I will slay you, do you understand?"
Stark and to the point, as always! And just as violent. Zia was like a finely crafted sword, pure, exquisite but unmistakably deadly. As Melantha no doubt knew better than him. Still he hated the thought that he could cause conflict between them.”She must of course come in” he said gravely ”I will have the gate opened right away and as for the rest……
He turned to Melantha, directing his words to her, not in anger or in supplication but rather with calm dignity and a sincerity that was hard to deny. “You say I do not know your mother and in many ways that may be true But I say that you don’t know me either You don’t know how I feel about her or how we are together. A daughters place without doubt is at her mother’s side. Give me a chance to show you that mine is too.”
"Since she is one of my womb, she should come to this side of the gate." One of her womb, those words clawed at her although she was good at hiding the fact that it hurt to have her relationship to Zia spoken out in that way. It didn't hold the same level of care and affection as the way she used to treat Melantha before they had been separated for so long. Where was the strong love? The closeness that had been between them? Even back when Zia had been involved with that human knight, she had been loving towards her. Right now, it seemed that Zia was accepting the biological fact of being her mother but not the spiritual one.
"But... I feel your concern and your protectiveness.... but you will not be trying to cause my mate and myself to become undone. He has more than prooved his place and has already won a battle of dominance. You will respect this or I will slay you, do you understand?" He had won in a battle between the two!? This brought shock into Melantha. He had to have used some trick. Or have excluded powers from the battle somehow managing to get Zia to agree to that. Still, that wasn't the main part of Melantha's shock. The main part was that to her, it seemed like Zia was holding this male above her own child.
Memories came, memory of the last relationship her mother had been in. They had had their disagreements about that too. Had even had an arguement that drove Melantha to part form her mother only to return too late. That flash of light she had seen, her mother's energy had been the only thing to bring her back to the territorry her mother had taken up to be with that male.. There had only been ashes and smoke when she had gotten there, sowing of her mother's temper lost and heart broken. When she had come upon her mother, Zia had been unable to even recognize her or even be aware of her surroundings, it seeming like rage was all that was in her mind... Then the sleep.
The sleep was something Melantha almost thought would never be over. She had waited nine decades at the place where her mother had been buried in that cave-in, mourned for that time and protecting the thing she had started to think of as her mother's grave. She didn't want to go through that again! What made it all the worse was having been forgotten by her mother now that she knew Zia was alive and had found her. Even though she had accepted that Melantha was her daughter, she had still had no problem with telling her that she would slay her.
Zia would slay her if she came between them. That was something her mother never would have said in the past. In the past, her mother never threatened her like that. Melantha had no choice but to believe her though although it hurt her to the core. This was unfair! Why did it have to be like this? After all of this time, why did it have to end up like this!? "Understood..." She answered in her bbirth language.
Tears came, spilling down her cheeks, colorless and unglowing due to her having had human blood in her veins mingling in with her mother's. With the blood of the race that had no name. The only other person she knew that was the same breed as her mother was one uncle she had come across for a couple of short brushes of a time. A man with exactly the same capabilities as her mother and who had been around for a century longer.
The times they had met, he had been searching for her mother even after having been told about Zia's fate from Melantha. Melantha and her uncle had only had a few moments of speech between them each time they had met but from what he had told her, she knew that he had met Zia at least one time. Melantha wondered if her mother had forgotten him also. She then wondered if Zia would give him the same threat. From what she knew of her uncle, as little as it may have been, Melantha knew that he would not take it lightly. He was too much like Zia, maybe even more intense. Her mother seemed to have changed through the time that Melantha had lost her in.
”She must of course come in-- I will have the gate opened right away and as for the rest……" Melantha's attention came back to the present and to the world outside of her thoughts as the man spoke. “You say I do not know your mother and in many ways that may be true But I say that you don’t know me either You don’t know how I feel about her or how we are together. A daughters place without doubt is at her mother’s side. Give me a chance to show you that mine is too.” He stated.
"You're right, I don't know you. But she doesn't know you either so she shouldn't trust you as much as she's doing right now. I'm giving you a chance only because of my mother but I swear on my grandparents and their creator that if you hurt her like those other two have, I will kill you even if Mother feels she will still slay me. I'll be watching you closely, blue-man. And don't expect me to name you as father for I only have one parent." She told him a bit coldly but the voilence stripped mostly away from her words.
Re: One who calls her mother”She must of course come in..." Hank's tone was serious as he agreed as she had the feeling he would. He was her mate and if he had been the type to not want to bother with a child she had produced with another male, he could have stated his disagreement and have had her abandon the girl but he was not that type... and strangely, that brought relief. she hadn't even realized that it had even a concern of hers until that momtent. Sure, he had taken in Jade as a child but there was the chance that he may have felt differently about one that had passed from her own body.
It was a matter of how territorrial he may be towards her. On how much the thought of her having been touched, mated, and impregnated by another male effected him. She herself was extremely territorrial when it came to Hank. She was territorrial about other things but especially about her blue furred mate. The thought of another female touching him in the ways that only she should made her want to destroy the female. She had had plenty of dreams about tearing a woman apart for touching Hank the wrong way and some where she gutted them for even looking at him in a way where it would seem they were plotting on taking him away from her. Dreams so vivid that she could almost taste the blood when she woke.
If the day came when a cub of Hank's were to appear, a child of another female's womb, Zia would not send it away or kill it... That was unless it was attempting to bring its mother into the mix. Zia refused to share her mate with another femlae so the mother would have to either die or have to proove to Zia that she is not trying to steal Hank's affections from the rightful mate. And if the mother of Hank's cub happened to have another one of his cublets growing within her, Zia would cause its end one way or another before it was born. Otherwise, the new life would be a threat to the bond that Zia and Hank had as mates. It would bring the chance of the other female using it as a means to take Zia's place at Hank's side especially since Zia had not birthed a cublet of his yet.
Those thoughts led down the trail which brought her to think about motherhood again and her capabilities. She wondered why there were no signs of life in her womb yet. There had been many.... many a time that Hank and her had coupled. Each time, rolling into the debths of passion that seemed to go beyond any other mating they had done before. there was never any holding back, both plunging into the feral love-making which would make even the most promiscuous of Humans blush with the intensity of a thousand suns and be unable to tear their gaze away. More than enough to begin the seeds of life within her... Yet.... Yet she felt nothing different in the flow of her energy there was no sign of growth within her womb...
Maybe it was because she was unsuited to be a mother that she was apparently barren? No soul wanted to be born through her because they knew that although she excelled in hunting and killing, she lacked in the ability to be as maternal as she should? She wanted to have cubs with Hank! No, it wasn't a want, it was a need. She almost felt like she was dieing at the thought of never being able to be the bearer of Hank's cublets. Although she was in pain on the inside, she kept her expression the same as it had been on the outside, not changing her demeaner in the slights as far as what could be seen.
Hank had said something to her and she just gave a small nod even though her thoughts had drowned his words out. She had also missed what he had said to Melantha and some of the girl's reply. "..... but I swear on my grandparents and their creator that if you hurt her like those other two have, I will kill you even if Mother feels she will still slay me. I'll be watching you closely, blue-man. And don't expect me to name you as father for I only have one parent." Had Zia had hackles, they would have rose ut instead, her markings lit up in her anger.
"Even if he were to hurt me, you shall never lay a claw on my mate!" Zia hissed out. "Just as no one shall bring harm to you!" She finished. She made herself calm back down, which was hard to do due to the different emotions coursing through her but she managed to do it. "It is late... Once the gates open, we should return to the sleeping chambers." She spoke a bit quietly, her mind obviously on some things. She then looked to Melantha, into her eyes. "We can talk when we go to hu She told the girl... her daughter.
Re: One who calls her mother"You're right, I don't know you”. Melantha said. “But she doesn't know you either so she shouldn't trust you as much as she's doing right now.” Once again she was right, saying exactly what he would have said to anyone else who had gotten themselves into a relationship this deep this fast. No doubt it did seem like reckless madness from the outside. It just felt so right from the inside. It wasn’t logical, or even remotely sensible. One look, one touch and their whole lives had been changed irrevocably. And he for one wouldn’t have had it any other way. Even if their relationship did bring with it its own fair share of problems. Like this girl now standing before him.
Well at least now she was interspersing her threats with some more reasonable comments which had to be progress. “I'm giving you a chance only because of my mother” Melantha continued coldly. but I swear on my grandparents and their creator that if you hurt her like those other two have, I will kill you even if Mother feels she will still slay me. Hank sighed slightly, deciding to concentrate on the positive fact that she was actually going to let him prove himself rather than the violent words that followed it.
I'll be watching you closely, blue-man.” she told him “And don't expect me to name you as father for I only have one parent." Now that was unexpected. That she could have thought he would want her to do that. It brought home to him the complexity of the situation they now found themselves in. And at the same time its simplicity. Despite the fact of who and what they were, in the end this was still the same age old story that had been playing itself out since the beginning of time. Mother! Daughter. The intruding male! Each one with different needs and expectations. Each one trying to find their place in the relationship, wanting to have it all! Fearing they would end up with nothing.
Well others had gone through it and survived and Hank didn’t doubt that they would too. With time he could build up Melantha’s trust, hopefully win her respect. And if they came to have more than that then so much the better! Because she was family, whether she wanted to be or not.
He had been about to answer Melantha when suddenly all his attention was drawn back to his mate , her swift anger once again flashing as brightly as her markings "Even if he were to hurt me, you shall never lay a claw on my mate! Just as no one shall bring harm to you!" It was such a typically Zia thing to say and yet something wasn’t quite right. Not anything he could put his finger on just….. he couldn’t explain it…… but he knew that he wanted to take her in his arms and hold her till it passed. “It is late... Once the gates open, we should return to the sleeping chambers."
It was obvious she didn’t want to talk about it here and now. And after all there were so many unexpected and no doubt disturbing memories that must have been stirred up by Melantha’s arrival. It was only to be expected that some of them would be hard to deal with . "We can talk when we go to hunt " she told Melantha, standing aside as the gates parted to admit her daughter into the Institute. Hank held back. Letting Melantha take her place at her mother’s side, letting Zia lead the way to their apartment, to their life. As they approached the hall he smiled wryly. *Ah Zia there are some people I would walk through fire for but you are the only one for whom I would traverse the Institute naked And if that isn’t a proof of devotion then I don’t know what is!*
........
Thread closed... well... how could we do better than fading out on a naked Hank !
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