Song of the Firebird

Fifty One

TW: Mentions of violence.

'I am the daddy'.

Jay studied the situation and was deeply relieved that Natasha had survived up until this point. Tilting his head, he said, 'Now, who dared to hurt my woman?' He swung the stick around his shoulders, while he ran his free hand inside his jet black locks. He had a sinister look on his face that made Natasha cringe amidst the comfort from her lover's presence. She could see the person that Jay cut out for himself, days ago in Kiara's house, materialize before her.

Ryder picked up courage at the unanticipated backup at the most needed moment. He lifted himself from the ground and stood adjacent to Natasha. He had glimpses of Jay while Natasha was dating and all those times, not once he had seen Jay angered but happy. There were times when he highly doubted that their relationship would sustain. He could bet that the table was now flipped over. A little mirth graced his sad eyes about what will become of Kirk, while the recent visitor to the cabin resembled a magnet for one hot-tempered gang leader.

Kirk, who always had a thing for strong men of mind, heart and body, could not take his eyes off Jay. His fury ebbed out of his form, as a mysterious glint began to grace his eyes at the newcomer. This is news, he thought. He did not expect a brown guy to turn up at his private property, in the middle of a cold morning, unannounced, defending his captive at the least. The stranger declaring himself to be the father of Natasha's baby amused him beyond limits.

Swirling the gun in his fingers, he stared at Jay with a smug smirk, not leaving his face. He took slow strides around Jay, not bothering to open up until he figured out the existence of his men. Skipping the confrontation, he began to circle Jay and studied his attributes.

Kirk saw Jay's unwavering black irises never left Natasha's while his pointed ears began twitching in the slightest of the move, reading every sound from the room. His hand, that was once locked inside his hair, was hanging freely at his side, fists unclenched. Kirk did not miss the broad silver alloy band, with initials J.P, gracing Jay's wrist, closer to the skin. A couple of twitching blue- green nerves, along with few others behind his knuckles, while at rest, showed off Jay's impudent inner self. Kirk stopped to marvel at the sight before he continued his study. Wide, broad shoulders and steady, tall figure— appeared with no sign of squirming or shaking, even when under a queer examination.

Though Kirk could not see beyond the many layers of clothing, he was pretty sure that Jay would make a perfect candidate for the position in his gang that he had in his mind.

As he neared the entrance to the cabin, Kirk looked away to see what had become of his team. At the distance, he could see them fighting with vigour against a new crowd, in which he could figure out the blond cashier in Natasha's café and his other captive who must have escaped. Grunting, he steered his vision at the human pile, not far away from where he stood.

Six men were beaten to a bloodied pulp and lay asleep to the rest of the show in the broad daylight. He could only reckon that this must be the work of the stranger inside the cabin.

'Impressive,' whispered Kirk, without taking his eyes off his underlings. 'Six trained men failing against one, makes me re-plan my schedules for boxing classes for my team.' He tore his eyes from the gore and focused them on the embodiment of a monster. Chuckling, he completed his circle and confronted Jay, 'Let's team up, what do you say? Let's show the world what we can do!'

Jay watched Natasha tremble, as the entire room heard Kirk's proposal. He could read her fear-stained pale face as she slowly shook her head. Taking in her response, he stared deep into her eyes and said, 'I came here to take back what is rightfully mine.' He tilted his head and turned to Kirk, 'I don't do business.' He cracked his neck and took a step forward.