Something Furry Part 5
This was a teahouse? Duo looked around the hallway in surprise. It was more like stepping into a forest- the walls were hung with fabric cut to look like leaves; the carpet was a deep brown and springy underfoot. Here and there were sculptures of trees, spreading leafy canopies overhead. His mate smiled at his reaction.
"They like to play to people's expectations."
"Heero." A voice said from the shadows behind the door. "Welcome."
"Trowa," Heero replied. "This is Duo. Quatre should be expecting us."
Duo blinked as a man pulled himself out of the shadows. A fall of dark hair covered one half of his face. His visible green eye studied Duo for a moment.
"You are welcome here, Duo of the Pride."
"Thank you," he managed.
"Quatre is waiting for you in his office." Trowa smiled slightly and vanished back into the shadows. Heero gave a little tug on Duo's arm and headed down the hallway. They passed several curtained alcoves and a few rooms. In each one golden haired woman sat bending over crystal ball or their client's' palm. The murmur of voices filled the air.
"Course he loves you." "She has another lover." "Don't trust the one armed man."
They passed one of the golden-haired women in the hallway. She was carrying a teapot and a stack of cups. Heero nodded at her and she smiled back warmly. Very warmly. Duo remembered what Wufei had said about the ladies being fond of Heero, and moved closer to his mate. She just grinned at him and continued on her way.
Duo realized that the hallway was a lot longer than he'd first thought- but had the building been this long? This seemed nearly double the size of what he'd seen outside...
"Heero- the building-"
"It's bigger on the inside than the outside." Heero rolled his eyes. "Like I said, they enjoy all the little enchantments- and it's a good draw for the tourists. "
Finally, they reached the last door in the hallway. There was a large face carved into the surface, and much to Duo's surprise, Heero spoke to it.
"Please tell Quatre we're here."
The eyes opened and the face smiled. "He already knows. Please come in." The door swung open and Duo followed Heero into the room.
Where the hallway had looked like a forest, this room looked like a tent. The walls were hung with silks and a small brazier blazed in the corner of the room. Small tables were scattered around the room beside large silken pillows. Duo half-expected to see harem girls lurking in the corners.
"I see you redecorated," said Heero to the blond man lounging beside the center table.
"One gets tired of the same old things," the man replied with a dazzling smile. Duo blinked- seated on a cushion behind the blond man was the other man from the front door- Trowa. How had he gotten down the hallway before they did?
Trowa winked at him.
"Please, have a seat." The blond gestured to the pile of cushions across from him. "It's always good to see you, Heero," he said with a look that made Duo want to growl. Then he turned that look on Duo, and the urge to growl turned into the urge to blush. "And who is this?"
"Thank you," Heero sat down on one of the cushions, tugging Duo down beside him. "This is Duo- my mate. Duo, this is Quatre Winner."
Duo couldn't help the small skip his heart made to hear Heero refer to him as his mate. Quatre's smile widened. "Wufei said you had managed to win a gorgeous shifter as a mate- I'm glad to see he wasn't exaggerating for once. Pleased to meet you Duo."
"The pleasure is mine," Duo returned automatically.
"Oh, it could be." The blond lifted an eyebrow at him and then turned to Heero before Duo could react. "So, Heero, how can I help you today?"
His mate looked annoyed. "Quatre- you're psychic, why do I have to explain it? You know already."
"Sally really has made you lazy. There's nothing wrong with observing the forms. Besides, unlike Sally and the girls, it's an effort for me to do that sort of thing."
"And you're calling me lazy?"
"Ha. You know I don't exert myself unless I think I should. Besides, you always have such interesting problems- it's fun listening to you explain them."
"Oh, then this should be amusing. Duo came to me because someone had cursed him with a were-shape. A wolf, to be precise. I took it off of him-"
"So you have the curse? Bet that's useful."
"Yes- except it's not a wolf shape now."
"It's not?"
"No. I have Duo's form- it turns me into a jaguar."
"Can I see the mark?"
Heero shrugged out of his coat and rolled up his sleeve.
"You could just take your shirt off."
"You can see it fine this way."
"Spoilsport." Quatre leaned over the table and examined the mark on Heero's arm. "Odd. The mark is still the same. Just like I drew it out. Nothing changed that way."
"So you are the one who made this?"
"Of course." Quatre said matter-of-factly. "You know perfectly well only that you or I could cast that sort of thing around here."
"You could've warned me."
"Why would I do that? Wufei's been saying for years that you needed to- what was his phrase- 'get laid more often'? It seemed a perfect opportunity." He smiled cheerfully at Heero.
"I'm going to kill that dragon."
"Why? Do you not want your kitty? I'll happily take him."
"Quatre-" Duo was impressed. He didn't know his mate could growl like that.
"Kidding. Anyway, the curse shouldn't have altered itself- that's nothing I did. I'm not even sure there is such a thing as a were-jaguar curse."
"Well, there is now." Heero pointed out.
"Good point. I'm going to have to go look and see if any of my books have an answer for you. While I do that, maybe you can deal with our little artifact?" Quatre got to his feet.
"Where is it?"
"Over on the table there- under the cloth. I had to shield it here, of course. I can't tell what exactly it does, but it came in with a bunch of charm rings."
"I'll take a look."
A moment later, they were alone in the room. Duo blinked. "Do they do that often?"
Heero nodded. "Of course." He got to his feet and moved over to the other table. "Stay there- not that I think this thing is going to do anything bad, but you never know."
"All right." Duo stayed where he was, but kept his eyes on Heero. He hoped whatever it was Heero was examining wasn't that dangerous. His mate unfolded the cloth and started muttering under his breath- Duo couldn't make out all the words. Maybe he was trying spells on the thing?
"Do you like him?" The voice in his ear made him jump. He turned to find Trowa beside him. Where had he come from? Duo would've sworn that he vanished with Quatre.
"Sorry," the fae smiled, his voice still soft. "I didn't mean to startle you."
"It's okay." Duo tried to calm his pounding heart.
"Don't worry, Heero can't hear you. We cast a spell to make sure he couldn't." Trowa patted his shoulder. "So you can be totally honest. Do you like Heero?"
Duo was a little worried. Cast a spell so Heero couldn't hear? And Heero had been nervous about bringing him. He felt himself tense, even as he tried to answer casually.
"I like him very much."
"Why?"
Duo blinked. "Why?"
"Yes. Why do you like him?"
Duo had to think about it for a moment. Of all the strange questions! "There's lots of reasons- but the main one is that he's kind to me."
"That's good," said another voice on the other side of him, and Duo managed not to jump. One of the golden-haired women was perched on the table, smiling at him. "You aren't used to kind people, are you?"
That was true enough. "There aren't many in the Pride, no."
"If you could leave him- without having to worry about going back to the Pride, would you?" Trowa asked.
How did they know he didn't want to go back?
"Psychic, remember?" The woman winked at him. "I don't blame you- I wouldn't want to go back there either."
"So, if you didn't have to worry about it- if for example, we offered you sanctuary here," Trowa continued, "would you stay with Heero anyway?"
Sanctuary? Here? Duo wasn't sure he'd like that. He felt much happier in the shop or at Heero's home than he felt here. Were they trying to get him to leave Heero? Why? Was this why Heero had been worried about bringing him here? There were lots of stories about the fae spiriting people away. He shifted, just a little, ready to defend himself. But- what if they used magic?
"I want to stay with Heero." He answered and hoped they didn't take offense.
"Why?"
He said the first thing that came into his head. "Because I'm happy with him- and I think he needs me." Would that discourage them? Would he be able to get away? Why didn't Heero turn around?
"Ah. So you like him, he's kind to you- and you've already realized that he needs you. A very good start!" The woman looked pleased.
"It is?" He asked, completely at a loss. Maybe they weren't planning on trying to steal him?
"Oh yes," she tapped her nose. "Wondering why we're so nosy?"
"Well, yes," he admitted and she chuckled.
"We've been worried about him." Quatre had reappeared behind the table, a book in his hands. He smiled at Duo. "Don't worry- we aren't going to harm either of you- and I have no intention of taking you away from him. We just needed to talk to you without him listening."
"Why?"
Quatre put the book down on the table and sighed. "It's just- well, you know that not all magicians are good, right? That some of them- well, go bad?"
Duo frowned, wondering what Quatre was getting at. "Right. Magicians that grow up in places that don't understand them- mistreated as children-"
"Right- that's one way for a magician to turn to dark magic. And we- the fae- we usually try to find those children- but we don't always succeed. Some slip through our searches. Heero was one of those- we didn't know about him until he showed up in the city."
"But- Heero's not evil-"
"No. But not all magicians turn only as children. Other ones turn later in life. Heero- and Sally can affirm this too- Heero is one of the ones that had the possibility of turning in his future."
"No-" Granted, he hadn't known the man for long, but he couldn't even imagine it.
"I'm afraid so."
"But- he's not like that. Heero wouldn't-"
"I hope not- and the possibility of him turning has just decreased significantly. As of two days ago, in fact."
"Why?"
"Because of you."
"Me? But-"
"You. That's why I agreed to help your Grandmother. It's why Sally didn't warn Heero about your status. We knew that he needed you. There were other ways you could've met- but this was the only way to get you firmly into his life."
"So- it was all a set up?"
Quatre laughed. "No. It was simply a series of events that we didn't try and stop."
Duo considered it for a moment. "But- why tell me?"
The fae shrugged. "Because you need to know."
That wasn't really an answer. But before Duo could say anything more, Heero turned around. His eyes narrowed slightly, but his tone was mild.
"It's a charm ring- just like the others you usually get. It's iron of course- and it's already been imprinted with the spell." He stood up, balancing the ring on his fingers. "You shouldn't have a problem selling it- or I can take it back to the store and sell it there for you."
"What's the spell?" Quatre asked in the same sort of tone.
"It's a sleep spell. The wearer can cast a sleep charm with a ten-foot radius around them." Heero sat down next to Duo, still with that wary look in his eyes. He nodded at the woman. "Hello Irea."
"Heero. Good to see you," she smiled back innocently.
"Hm. Well, I wish I could say I was as successful as you, but all I found was a reference to a similar spell being cast on a shifter. Apparently shifters don't usually get curses to turn them into animals-"
"It would be sort of redundant," Trowa agreed, from his space behind Quatre's shoulder. Duo wondered when he'd moved.
"Right- but the same sort of thing happened- somehow the curse took his shape and passed it on instead of the one the magician intended. This writer speculates that shifters have an odd effect on the were curses- since they sort of have one naturally- their ability warps the curse to match."
"But then wouldn't the curse just stop working on them?"
Quatre shook his head. "No, the author surmises that the adjustment takes place when the curse is moved- since the moving spell makes the curse fluid for those few moments- and vulnerable to being tampered with."
"Hn. So I wouldn't have to worry about this curse then?"
"I shouldn't think so." Quatre tapped the book. "No ill effects were reported."
"Thank you." Heero got to his feet, and Duo hastily followed. "We should get back to the store. What would you like me to do with the ring?"
Quatre's eyes met Heero's. "Consider it a gift. I am sure you can think of someone who could use that sort of protection- but I wouldn't count on it being the only one they need."
Heero's expression softened a little. "Thank you."
"You're very welcome."
Duo followed Heero down the long hallway and back outside. Heero took a few steps away from the front door and then turned, pulling Duo close. "Are you okay?"
"Fine." Duo was surprised to see that Heero looked worried. He was even more surprised when Heero reached out and touched his fingers to Duo's forehead, muttering something under his breath. "What is it?"
Heero took a deep breath and moved his hand away. "It's nothing. Just- checking. Here." He dropped the iron ring into Duo's palm. "Put that on- it should bind itself to you. We need to get back. I'm glad it stopped raining." He turned on his heel and started off down the sidewalk.
Duo slipped the ring on his finger and hurried down the street after his mate. "Heero? What-?"
"Just twist it around your finger once quickly to activate the charm. Since you put it on, no one should be able to take it off you."
Oh. Duo blinked down at the ring. That would be very useful if one of the Pride tried something. But what was wrong with his mate? He didn't like the expression on Heero's face at all. "Thank you-"
"It's not my gift," Heero cast a quick look at him. "Quatre meant it for you. I still think we need to look into more protections for you- the ring is too easy to get around."
"What do you mean?"
"If you were knocked unconscious- or they caught your hands somehow-"
Duo shivered. "Good point." He moved closer to Heero, matching his pace. He could feel tension rolling off of his mate. "Are you all right?"
"Fine," Heero gave him a smile that didn't reach his eyes and Duo knew he was lying.
TBC...
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