Draugs

Chapter 7 : Ember

"We would like you all to have lunch with us. If that is okay with you. And we can show you our house," Pai said, looking at everyone. "And it would be a good way to open our own channel of communication. It will help us to talk to each other without allowing others to know what is happening. Technology can be hacked, but what's within us, cannot be," Dean said. "Alright, that sounds great. Dean and I will show you around, while Phayu and Win will get the meal ready. Please come this way," Pai said. "Can I stay..," Rain began. "Go see the house little one. See if you can find Phi's room," Phayu said, and Rain immediately skipped off happily. Tharn and Type looked at each other. They had really needed to speak to Phayu about their son, but they were amazed how different Rain was with Phayu. For now, they would go with the others, but they vowed to talk to Phayu at the earliest.

The elders were amazed at the simple beauty of the house. It was massive, a large conference room in the basement, a dining table that could seat at least thirty to 40 people ("We hardly use this room," Pai said), a formal salon and a large family room on the ground floor, along with a big wonderful kitchen on the ground floor. There were four sets of staircases that went to four different wings, with three levels. The first level had another salon, more private and smaller, the second level had five rooms with ensuites and the top level was again common, with an indoor pool. "It doesn't look like Phayu designed it just for the four of you," Type commented. "Actually, Dean made him design this way," Pai said, laughing. "Why?" Charn asked curiously. "I don't really know. It just felt the right thing to do," Dean said, blushing. "Well, Dean is being humble. He decided to manifest our mates, and a big family. So, Phayu heard no end of demands. Guy wanted to give up after a while," Pai continued to laugh as Dean punched him on the arm.

"Please don't listen to him," Dean said, as he just ushered everyone along. The four youngest men were quickly able to recognise their mates' rooms from the scent. "Strawberries and vanilla," Rain giggled softly. "Jasmine," Team said, equally softly. "Coffee," Sky said, as the other three rolled their eyes. "Butter cookies," Pharm said, making the others giggle again. All the older men watched fondly as the younger ones ran around looking everywhere and trying to discover everything.

They were greeted with a redolent meal. "This looks wonderful Phayu, Win," Kinn said, as they all sat down. "Thank you. Umm, we did not set out blood, as we were not sure if...," Win trailed off. "Not required son," Tinn said. "We are mates, and do not require anything from the outside," Charn said. "How do you feed then?" Vegas asked curiously. "We either use bagged blood, or each other if times are desperate, which doesn't happen anymore, since we do not leave the comfort of our home," Phayu said. "How did the young ones manage without their Draugs?" Pai asked. "We give them our wrist when they need," White said. Phayu, Dean, Win and Prapai looked at each other. "We know what you guys are thinking. It is your duty and your privilege to feed your mate," Pete said, waving his fork around enthusiastically. "But you can't just take our babies from us," Tharn said, a mutinous set on his face. "Khun Tharn..," "The four of you are mates to our children. But the truth is, no matter how old they become, they will still stay our babies," Min said, sounding strained. "We have no intention of taking our mates from their families right now. We only request you to let us know when they need to be fed," Phayu said, bowing his head.

"And what about you Phi Mate?" Rain asked quietly, his voice soft. "We will continue like this awhile little one," Phayu smiled at him. Rain and the other young ones looked at their fathers beseechingly. "Phi Mate..," "No little one. Now eat, before it get cold, okay?" Phayu admonished softly. Rain looked put out, but he grudgingly continued to eat. After lunch, Win offered to show them the area around the house. Phayu was about to go with them when Tharn and Type stopped him. "There is something we would like to talk to you about," Type said, sounding serious. "Of course, anything," Phayu said, leading them to the less formal salon they had. "Phayu, as you know, physical human diseases cannot touch us. We are completely immune to them. However, that doesn't stand true for certain cerebral diseases. Rain is a wonderful boy, and we love him a lot, have no doubts of that. But he suffers from a slight form of ADHD. He finds it difficult to concentrate on things, gets emotional very quickly, needs to move around quite a bit," Tharn said. "Medicines will not work, as they are all of the human variety and our bodies will reject them. What he needs is someone constantly taking care of him as he gets restless. We tried, and I even reduced my working ours to bring some structure to him. But you have seen his dad," Type glared at Tharn, who looked properly downcast, before continuing. "He spoils him, sometimes to the point of overindulgence, just making things worse." "Ai'Type!" Tharn whined, but was subdued by another glare by his husband.