Parmelia had never really been the nagging sort, but if there was one thing to say with certainty it was that she had become the nagging sort. Sakhr was slowly going mad. Alouette this, Alouette that. We'll never find Alouette a suitable husband if she stays with those horrid Grei brothers. She'll never be thought of as a respectable freeborn if she stays with them. What if she gets pregnant. What if. What if.
Sakhr's head was swimming with what if's. Finally, he yielded.
That what was what brought him to the den of the brothers Grei. He'd promised his wife that he'd look into the situation, and so he was.
Standing outside of the den (was it painted red on the inside?), Sakhr loudly cleared his throat.
There was an answering rumble from deep within the den.
"Hello?"
"Yes?" The voice sounded deep and threatening, light a shaft of light in a dark room of pain and torture - bright and shocking and full of amusement. Sakhr wasn't even sure if that analogy made sense, but it was the first thought that crept into his head.
"Ah.. I am.. I am Sakhr. My wife, Parmelia - she is a friend of Alouette's. I am actually Alouette's cousin. We are ah.. worried. For Alouette."
Silence yawned. Sakhr shifted on his feet.
A large male erupted from the depths of the den, and Sakhr swore that he thought he heard the gentle titters of a female. Furrowing his brow, Sakhr took a few steps backwards and peered up at the male. He wore a swathe of fabric around his neck, and each forepaw was ringed with silver.
"I am Daska Grei."
Sakhr cleared his throat and took a few more steps backwards.
"Daska. Ah. Is Alouette here?"
"She might be. She might not be."
Sakhr's brows furrowed. What kind of answer was that?
"Ah.. well. As I said. We're worried for her well-being. That's all. Just. You know. She's family, and my wife's best friend. Parmelia said she was happy, but. I don't know how true that might be, Alouette's always been kind of flighty and --"
"She is not flighty," Daska purred loudly, hefting his body forward in a long, lithe stretch. "Please, do step back? I don't like being touched."
Sakhr choked, his mouth wrenching as he tried to figure out how to proceed. He didn't like being touched? Sakhr wasn't even close to the male. In fact, he was such a fair distance away that it felt like he needed to lift his voice in order to be heard. He pinned his ears back just slightly as he tried to figure out how to proceed.
"Okay, maybe flighty is the wrong word. She's always needed a male to validate her. It's probably the fault of the pride we hail from. Each female stayed with their father if they did not have a male to claim them. It was kind of --"
"Alouette is such a fine sub," Daska crooned softly, "truly one of my favorites. She listens, and cries out so divinely."
Sakhr wasn't sure if this was real life anymore. He really couldn't tell. Maybe it was all a horrible bad dream, and he would wake up and everything would be fine. Everything would make sense.
"I, uh."
"Do you own any subs? Oh, yes. A wife." Daska rolled his eyes. "I would never chain myself to a single sub."
"I don't really know what a sub is."
"A submissive." Daska lifted a brow.
Sakhr's jaw hit the ground. "Subm.. submissive? Are you. Wait. You're serious." Sakhr's eyes nearly popped from his head. "You're serious."
"Of course I'm serious. We share our subs, my brothers and I."
"But you don't like being touched."
"What's that got to do with anything?"
No, this was a bad dream. A very, very bad dream, and Sakhr was sure that he would wake up and everything would be the way it had been before he'd fallen asleep. This was just too absurd. Too bizarre.
Daska found himself becoming quickly bored with the male. In truth, he had no friends. The only companionship he had on a day to day basis was that of his brothers and their pool of shared subs. He didn't play well with others. This little interaction suddenly reminded him why. Males were clueless about the wants and needs of subs - and this male in particular didn't even know what a sub was.
Disgraceful.
"Not that it matters," Daska went on. "Alouette is happy where she is, here with my brothers and myself - as one of our subs. You see, we know just what she wants and what she needs. Alouette wants for nothing here with us. In fact, it's becoming quite clear as to why she left you and your," he sneered darkly, hot velvet and steel, "wife."
It took Sakhr a moment to realize that he was being disrespected, and when it finally dawned on him Daska was already retreating into the depths of the large den with the reddish-colored interior. Sakhr's brow furrowed deeply as he tried to sort out his emotions and feelings, as he tried to rationalize just what, exactly, was going on. He sat, and he thought, and he struggled, and was feeling just as confused as he had been since the very first moment he'd stepped into the doorway of the den.
He opened his mouth, closed it. Opened. Closed. There was no way he could even think of anything to say. This was just all too bizarre. He was certain that they'd brainwashed Alouette. It was the only thing that made sense. With one final 'what the ********' look into the depths of the den, Sakhr turned on his heel and marched off.
Parmelia was out of luck. Alouette was lost to them. Seduced by the deep dark secrets of the deep dark Grei brothers - and quite frankly, Sakhr wasn't sure that he wanted to dig any deeper than he already had.
wc: 1005
