Draugs

Chapter 12 : I see Red

"Are you angry Phi Mate?" Rain asked, voice low, worrying his lip between his teeth, as he sat with Phayu in Phayu's wing of the house. The four couples had retired to their respective sides, wanting time alone with each other. After whatever had happened at the amusement park, and the confession of the younger vampires a while ago, the four older mates just needed to ensure that their Draugs were real and okay. A heart to heart was much required. Of all the things Phayu had expected of his mate, this spectacular show of power had not been one of them. He knew that he had powers, but his had come from years of use and practice. But this casual show of strength by a 19 year old fledgeling, who could have pretty much blown off the building he had been imprisoned in, and the men who had captured him, but who had chosen to wait to be rescued, blew his mind.

Phayu had seen a lot of things in his life, and he was mostly hardened against them. But seeing his little one worry was not a sight he would be able to be callous against. "Come here little one," Phayu said gently, as he opened his arms for Rain. Rain lost no time in throwing himself into the waiting arms. Phayu gathered him in without any visible effort. "Little one, I am not angry with you. I can never be angry. But that said, you are my mate, so I will always be worried about you. Now however, my worries have increased," Phayu said, still hugging Rain close. "Why Phi Mate?" Rain asked, his eyes wide, as he stared at Phayu. "Because you and your friends managed to hide this for so long little one. It is always a cause of worry, right? And now, we must protect your family as well, and ours," Phayu said.

"I am sorry Phi Mate. We trusted our parents. And guardians. We still do, we always will. But somehow, their safety was necessary for us," Rain said, pouting softly, his eyes wide. Phayu simply and completely melted. This little boy would be the death of him. He had always prided himself on being someone very sure of himself, someone disciplined, someone with an immense love for structure. But from the moment Rain had come into his life, Phayu' life had been.. well.. colourful, chaotic almost. The boy was a constant reminder that his life was no more his own. He was tied to another, and tied for eternity. Every single moment of his life, from the moment he had caught the scent of his Draugs, had been written into Rain's hands. He was holding the strings to Phayu's life and Phayu had no regrets. But Rain's honesty needed to be reciprocated.

"Rain," Phayu said. Rain immediately looked up, understanding the seriousness of his tone. "Phi Mate?" he asked, looking worried, but trying to sound hopeful. "You were so honest with me little one, so you deserve honesty in return. This is something I have not even told my brothers, but you are my mate, my Draugs. You are my world, and my mind is open to you. I don't want you to find out anything about me from my mind. I want to be open with you," Phayu said. Rain nodded, shifting next to Phayu on the couch. "I was around 7 when I was found by Pakin and Chai, in the rubble of the home of the human family I had been placed with. 2 years later, 8 year old Pai and Win and 9 year old Dean were found in the same way. I had already been training for a while, so I was taking care of them. Pai and I were shocked to know that our surnames were the same, because I had felt a sort of kinship when he was found."

Rain listened intently. He knew Phayu was only physically there, this mind completely immersed in those far away memories, so Rain didn't even try and reach out, even though he desperately wanted to. "As the years went by, we started working more and more for the Council, until finally, one day, we decided we didn't want to. We became targets of the Council that day. Even though we are close in age, I always felt the weight of being the oldest in the group, and so I decided that it was my responsibility to protect my brothers. Soon after we split from the Council, we enrolled in courses we wanted to do. And that's when the idea of this home came to me, a house which would be our sanctum. I had thought of a simple house, for the four of us. But Dean refused. Perhaps he had a premonition of what was going to be our future, or maybe he just manifested his dreams and desires, but eventually, this is what we ended up with."