Empires of Saturn, Part One

Chapter 4, Gifts

Chpt. 4 Gifts

Draconis was quite thoroughly exhausted, going home now, after a very long 16-hour Standard Day. That Torhindrin, Narin... He needed to have some words with his daughter about that.

Draconis believed him when he'd said he did not know why he had been sent here, but that didn't help him at all, so regrettably he thought he would probably have to keep Narin afraid enough to keep talking when Draconis asked him things, though while he had some ideas, he really didn't know what kind of use he had for the limited degree of knowledge Narin seemed to possess.

Pulling into his driveway, going around the circle of the fountain, Draconis pulled into his garage, which he had his IPCA open the door to. He got out, closing the door with a sigh, going inside.

He walked straight into Proxima, Alpha, and Birana all arguing with each other, while Courus awkwardly stood to the side watching, and trying not to get sucked in. He had a cut through his shirt across his ribs that Draconis wondered about, but at the moment, the yelling was the final straw for his patience for the day. "Enough!" He said loudly, and firmly, nobody apparently having realized he was there yet. They were all staring at him in surprised silence now. "Courus, go home." Draconis said. "Alpha, go to bed. Proxima, just do whatever you want, so long as you are quiet about it. Birana, come with me please."

They all seemed astounded to have been not only interrupted but then immediately ordered apart with an instantaneous end to their discussion.

"But-!" Alpha began.

"No!" Draconis said firmly. "I am exhausted, and I am going to briefly speak with your mother before I finally get some sleep. Go. To. Bed."

"Listen to your father." Birana said quietly, then she looked at Courus. "You should get that cut dealt with." She opened a portal in the air beside him, making him jump. It led right in front of his house. "Go now. We will see you in the morning."

Courus was wide-eyed, and he didn't say anything, just simply nodded and left through the portal, which promptly closed behind him.

"Guess we're continuing this tomorrow?" Proxima asked in mild displeasure.

"So it would seem." Birana said, following Draconis as he walked away, towards his bedroom.

Alpha seemed to want to argue still, but he decided against it, going up to his own room with an unhappy expression. Proxima shook her head, going the same direction, except her room was downstairs.

In his bedroom, Birana right behind him, she closed the door as Draconis fell into a chair, exhaling. "So. How was your day?" He asked her.

She tilted her head, saying simply. "You don't want to know. Yours?"

Draconis gave a laugh. "Oh my day was a blast Birana! The most enjoyable, most fun, not terrible and irritating, timewasting extravaganza known to the history of mankind. Now, did you know that our daughter has had a Torhindrin captive her own age in the capital prison for almost a week?"

Her eyebrows shot up. "I did not. Did you know that Courus and our son got assaulted and kidnapped by another Torhindrin man today?"

His eyebrows shot up. "They what?"

"You are welcome to ask either of them. I'm sure you noticed the bloody slice on Courus' ribs. You can blame a Torhindrin knife for that."