The Shape of Things to Come (Hypernaturals 15)

Next Stop

It's a multi-stop kind of day. Jessica and Rachel took Paul and the kids back to the house, and I headed to Vera's place of work.

I don't get over to 'The Firehouse' very often anymore. Vera is the Siren Liaison. This is now her bar. My memories from this place are not good even if this is where I discovered many useful things about Sirens. When I am here, I usually have to be someone I am not. I hate that. Mike would probably be more comfortable with the male macho bullshit of young Sirens, but I have a strong feeling more comfortable does not equal 'like it'. Despite the way he looks, he was Morgan's lover. The means there is more to him than meets the eye.

Siren halls each have their own cultures, and while all young male Sirens in their mating years sing to seduce women, it is not always as bad as it was at 'The Firehouse'. As we have learned more about Sirens, it turned out that 'The Firehouse' is a bad blend of Siren and Texas Southern Boy.

Other Halls have similar bad mixes, too. Sandy tells tales of a Hall she found where they kept her to try to breed her. She came looking for Vampires to get herself a Juice fix on the general assumption that where there are Sirens there are Vampires. Bad assumption. Vampires were abysmally ignorant of Sirens before I found 'The Firehouse'.

After Sirens tried to engineer some anti-vampire tech, they found out payback is a bitch. We control the Sirens now. Sirens are not allowed to seduce human women with song. Only Siren women. Open mike night is a lot better now.

We also taught Sirens to sing in groups, and now and then that turns into a fine and enjoyable performance.

Open mike night. Mike. Heh.

Mike. I am still figuring out how I feel about him. My brain keeps spinning on the fact he stayed with Janie and they remained partners. That means something. I have absolutely no place criticizing anyone anywhere at any time with multiple lovers. At the same time: I wish Janie and Mike were more inclusive of each other. I know humans have a harder time being Poly. Short lives equal short-term choices. Helen has side loves we are largely not involved in. Holly. Rachel to a large degree.

But: We know those women. We love those women. It's not the same.

I would not be being honest with myself if I did not admit that it bugs me. Part of that is knowing Janie, and even in this short time coming to care about her. A reflection of Morgan, I am sure. If Morgan cares, I cannot help but also care. I know Jessica will be the same way when she meets her.

Helen obviously feels similarly but in her own much more Helen way. She not only cares, but she wants to set Mike up for a learning experience.

This is why I am at 'The Firehouse'. I figure I need to warn Vera about Helen's plans.

I would just as soon stay out of Vera's domain. This is her patch, and she does not need a CouncilCritter like me hanging around. Her authority is unquestioned since she beat the snot out of Larry.

Part of why that works is that Larry is still allowed to maintain the fiction that he is the guy that gets on the phone and calls the mysterious (to him) voices on the phone to get instructions. Larry has zero idea that we control the Siren Assembly.

The Assembly wiggles and hates everything about that. They hate that the Siren Assembly members we turned into Vampires to prove we could are still on the Assembly. That two of Assembly they tried to cut out from the governing body, Ginger and Wyatt, are not only Vampires now, but in Assembly leadership roles.

It is ironic that of the turns we have done since we have learned how to force one, most of them have been Sirens. Starting with Vera.

Sirens have no room to complain. They started it with their anti-vampire lab and having Ginger repeatedly raped. They also never paid for a similar situation with Melissa, where they held her in captivity for five years and used her horribly.