Reluctantly Rogue Pt. 02 Ch. 02

(Note: This is a long, ongoing story. It is a story with sex. It's a sexy story. It is in many ways a story about sex. But, it is not strictly a sex story. Many chapters may even be SFW.

This chapter is entirely SFW!)

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CHAPTER TWO

Broken Glass and Confusion

Atyr stood up suddenly from the bed. He slipped into the clothes from the Teggums, as his clothing from last night was still damp. He grabbed his pack and turned. "Come on. I need you with me today. All day."

The sprite, still standing on the bed, cocked her head at him. "Where are we going?"

"I came to a decision last night. There are three ways to resolve Helliot's situation. If it's going to happen one way or another, then I have to make it happen the way I want it to. First, I'm not letting anything happen to Bird. That's obvious. And the second option, well, I'm not letting Kella bind herself to a devil, whatever that might entail. So that leaves the impossible option, the one that can't be done." He pointed at Pesky. "You and me, are going to find a way to allow Bird to see Helliot, and refuse his offers. That'll send him home to the Inferno, as I understand it."

"Listen, dummy--"

"Still with the 'dummy'?"

"Always with the 'dummy'." She smirked. "Answer me this. Bird has to be able to talk to Helliot to make this work. She can't hear him. She can't see him. She can't interact with him at all unless she can re-invite him. She can't re-invite him unless she can summon him from the Inferno, and he can't get to the Inferno unless she can complete the agreement, for which she needs to be able to see and hear him. Correct?"

Atyr grinned fiercely at her. "Wrong. She can't hear him or see him. But they can interact."

"Alright... enlighten me?"

"They can write. We can put them together in a room, and they can have a written conversation. Bird writes to him what she initially summoned him for, he makes an offer, she rejects it, he goes home. Done."

Pesky was shaking her head. "It just doesn't work like that."

"Why not?"

"He won't do it that way."

"He can't, or he won't?"

"He won't but... but it's the same thing, for us."

"Oh, it's 'us' now? I thought he wasn't fae, that he was a fiend."

"We're both not mortal. We're similar in certain ways. We don't change, and we are as we are. Helliot won't do it."

"He will. I'm going to make him do it."

"Atyr, he won't."

"Well... no harm in trying?"

The sprite stared at him. He got the sense she was experiencing a bit of the annoyance he usually felt towards her. "Fine." She said. "But I'm letting you know now that it's pointless. You think he's really never considered using pen and ink over the three score summers he's been trapped here?"

"I have no idea what he's considered. But I wasn't here before, and fae take me if I don't try all my options."

"Fine. Fine. Let's go see Helliot. But let my opposition be noted."

They found Helliot sitting on a bench against the back wall of the Birdhouse, reclining with his head resting on crossed arms behind his head. He greeted Pesky somewhat apprehensively, but then turned his focus to Atyr, listening attentively and graciously to the young man's idea.

"My dear Mr. Bracken. Hardly has a single night passed and yet, with the coming of the dawn I find you already hard at work on your obligations. I have said this to you before, but truly, I commend you on your promptness. It fills me with great confidence that, as you develop your subsequent plans of action, they will lead us to a swift and satisfying resolution to our dilemma."

Atyr sucked his lip and stared at the dark-clad man, feeling somewhat emboldened after last night by the presence of Pesky, even in her diminutive form. "Subsequent plans? So you won't try this one?"

"I will not, Mr. Bracken. My apologies. If it were within my power to do it, be assured that I would jump to it with eagerness and with verve. In fact, were it so, it is possible I might have taken the opportunity at some point over the past three score and seven years."

"So, a written contract doesn't work? It needs to be spoken aloud?"

"Mr. Bracken, a written contract would be quite satisfactory. At many points in my life I should have preferred it. It is not the writing per se that presents the obstacle. The obstacle lies with the inability for Abarabirdadellet and myself to communicate directly with one another before creating such a contract."

"But you could write messages back and forth, and communicate that way."

"I could not." Helliot sat up now, and spread his hands apologetically. "I know this must seem an odd and ornery bit of pedantry on my part, for which you have my profuse and sincere contrition."

"You could not? Or you won't"

Helliot was quiet, then he stood, and walked over to the window that looked into the Ending Room, as yet with a pane missing. He pointed a velvet finger at the ground, still damp with morning dew.

"Mr. Bracken. If I may impose upon you. Would you be so kind as to secure this sliver of glass for me? The long, thin one there."

Atyr frowned, but obliged. It was hard not to trust the man, not to assume good will from him.

"Excellent Mr. Bracken. If you will oblige me further: yet another practical demonstration, as with our metaphorical examples of the apple and of the lens." He clasped his hands and smiled warmly. "Mr. Bracken, if you would be so good as to insert that sliver of glass into your left eye. At your leisure."

Atyr took a step back now, holding the glass at arms length. He looked nervously around, but Pesky seemed unconcerned. She was hovering several strides away, apparently unsurprised by Helliot's sadistic request.

"I note, Mr. Bracken, that your eye remains free of any glass. Are you physically unable? Perhaps I may assist you?" He took a small step forward, gracefully extending a hand to accept the broken shard.

Atyr dropped it on the ground, and backed away towards Pesky. "Pesky told me what you are. I'm not afraid of you, and I won't kill Bird for you, or let you steal Kella's soul." He spat. "Devil!"

Helliot continued smiling, as he bent and carefully retrieved the small, clear sliver. "Mr. Bracken, I have made no attempt to disguise my origins. It is in the surname, after all." He chuckled slightly. "Rest assured, I have no desire to harm you. More than that, it would actively pain me should harm befall you. In our brief dealings, Mr. Bracken, I have developed a fair level of respect for your integrity, your simplicity, and perhaps most of all, your promptness. I do so value promptness, Mr. Bracken.

"But, I urge you again, Mr. Bracken," he held out the long, thin glass and sunlight glinted off the wicked tip. "I should like you to drive this deep into your left eye. Might I remind you that, with your recent acquisition of that shade of immortalness which we discussed the other night, your eye will be quite healed after a night's sleep. So no harm, Mr. Bracken, no harm. Go ahead. Surely, as I have already inquired, you are not physically unable?"

Atyr began to understand. He nodded once, tensely, slowly, not looking away from Helliot's eyes.

"Ah, yes, as usual your intuition is swift. You begin to see my point." A velvet finger flicked gently at the point of the shard. "Yet another tasteless bit of wordplay, Mr. Bracken. It is a vice of mine which I cannot resist, but for which I beg your patience.

"Yes, Mr Bracken, it is possible for one in my position to utilize your clever loophole to resolve the predicament. Were I made differently, I might be able. Were the circumstances more immediate, the consequences of delay more dire, perhaps I, even as I am, might force, as it were, this metaphorical shard deep into my eye.

"But no, Mr. Bracken, I cannot do it. I will not do it." He closed his fist around the gleaming edges of the broken sliver of glass, and crushed it slowly to powder.

"Oh, and Mr. Bracken, if I may plead with you for a reevaluation of my character: I truly wish no harm to you, to Abarabirdadellet, or to your dear Ms. Bracken-to-be."

Atyr heard a tiny snicker from overhead, and glowered at fae and fiend alike.

"Should I wish you harm, Mr. Bracken," Helliot brushed the powdered glass from his gloves, staring straight at the young man. His eyes seemed almost to flicker, as if lit from within by a raging wall of flame. "Should I wish you harm, it would be entirely unnecessary to utilize such mundane, unrefined, unsophisticated implements."

Pesky cupped her hands around her mouth, and whispered into Atyr's ear, loudly and theatrically. "Second Scion of the First House of the Inferno."

There was silence between the three of them, mortal, fae, and fiend. Atyr looked calmly at his palms, then, turning decisively, made for the front of the Birdhouse.

"Hey dummy, where are you going?"

He didn't stop. She buzzed along beside him. "Can we talk a moment? You and me?"

Now he slowed to look at her. "Soon. After I tell Bird."

"Mr. Bracken, I should also very much like to converse with you before further engagement is taken on this course of action."

Atyr looked behind him. Helliot had rounded the corner of the building as well.

Pesky glared at the devil, but then turned back to Atyr, hovering close in front of his face. "I don't think we need his advice, but we do need to talk. This is not a good day for decisiveness."

The young man looked from one to the other. He shook his head, and continued around the building. The two immortals trailed after, the sprite zipping unpredictably around him, the velvet-clad gentleman strolling behind at a distance.

Rounding the corner, he found the door open, and walked in. The first room was empty.

"Bird?" he called. "Hullo?" A faint moan came from further into the house.

"Really, Mr. Bracken, I earnestly believe you'll find my advice in this matter to be of no small assistance." Pesky snorted, but Helliot ignored her. "I have, as you may recall, had three score and seven years to consider it."

"He's had three score and seven years to plot, he means. Devilishly." Pesky interposed herself in front of the tall, refined figure of the devil.

"Will you two be quiet?" he hissed. "I have come to the conclusion I don't trust either one of--"

The door to the Leaving Room opened halfway, and Kella leaned around it, looking harried. Atyr noted a significant amount of fresh blood on her smock. "Atyr, Hi! Really sorry, but Bird needs me just a moment longer." She forced a thin smile. "Be right back?"

The door closed, and almost immediately reopened. Kella's face peered back through the crack. "Hey, um, I missed you!" The door shut.

Pesky tittered at him. "She miiiiissed you." She made a kissy face, and spun around once.

"This past evening, Mr. Bracken, I had intended to discuss several important points, relevant to your discussions with the two delightful women here, which might better ensure that we proceed without difficulty towards our mutual satisfaction." He coughed meaningfully into a red glove. "Our untimely interruption, however--"

"Here's another untimely interruption, Belzy. Shut up, will you?"

Helliot stiffened. "I would dearly appreciate your future restraint, with regards to your utilization of that particular--"

"Got it, Belzy." Helliot opened his mouth again but Pesky rolled over him. "Atyr. We need to go. We need to talk. We can come back later, but first we need to talk."

"Mr. Bracken, as insufferable as this small creature may be, she is, in this single advisement, exactly correct." Pesky preened.

Helliot closed his eyes, lips thinning. "It would be most discouraging were our initial discussion with Abarabirdadellet to set forth accompanied by a poor tone; it is a potential roadblock which we must be cautious to-- gah!" Pesky had crashed bodily into his mouth mid-sentence.

"Oops, sorry Belzy!"

"You aggravate me dreadfully. A name is a matter of great..."

The two immortals began to bicker back and forth, and Atyr let their voices fade from his attention, walking over to the single window and staring down at the gentle hills of Woodstead. Every now and then some snarky comment or other would catch his ear. It seemed there might be a bit of history between the two of them.

After a short while, the door opened once again, and Kella entered the room. Pesky and Helliot continued to argue closely about some past event. Atyr glanced worriedly at them, then at Kella. She followed his gaze, and looked back at him blankly. "Atyr, hi. Sorry about that." A sharp cry came from the door behind her and she shrugged, wincing. "Um, is everything alright?"

Atyr nodded quickly and tried to smile, stealing one more glance at the bitter conversation taking place just a few paces away. Helliot was speaking in hushed tones now, a curl to his upper lip.

"... and the boy is of immense usefulness to me. I desire, nay, require his assistance, and if I cannot rely on you to keep him alive longer than your usual fodder, I--"

Helliot stopped dead, belatedly registering Kella's return. Pesky whirled on the well-dressed fiend.

"Atyr?" Kella's voice was nervous. "What is it?"

"Kella! Sorry. Just a lot on my mind, um..."

Atyr tried to ignore the arguing pair, but Pesky was now darting repeatedly at Helliot's face. The tall gentleman did his stoic best to ignore her assaults, disapproval writ deeply on his refined features.

"Right. Uhhh, I need to talk to you. You and Bird, if I can. But, I think maybe I should to talk to just you first?" The bickering stopped immediately.

The young healer smiled hesitantly. "Um, yes, of course. Mother will be busy a little while yet; she's setting a bad break." She gestured at the blood on her front. "What did you want to talk about?"

How to start. Atyr hadn't actually planned out what he would say. Bird almost made a deal with a devil and he's been here for generations and we need to send him home and also I made a deal with him too. Oh, and he wants your soul or something, and I might have promised it to him. Maybe not.

A deep voice broke in. "Mr. Bracken, now is not the time--"

A high voice cut him off. "You dummy, I swear if you--"

Atyr spoke over them both. "Um, has Bird ever told you any stories about her youth? Stories about odd things happening."

"Atyr!" Pesky was in his face, swatting at his nose. He flinched away.

"Atyr?" Kella asked. "Are you sure you're really alright?"

"Mr. Bracken, really, I cannot more adamantly stress--"

"Yes," Atyr said firmly, "I am, there's just... there's just a lot going on right now." He glared sidelong at Helliot and Pesky, who both began speaking at once, a tumble of words.

Kella frowned. "Right... if you say so. Um, yes, Bird tells many stories. What sort of stories?"

"You absolute dummy, you need to stop, you don't know what the outcome of this will be!"

"Please, Mr. Bracken, this is the only time I will ever urge you to listen to this uncultured fae creature, but--"

Atyr bit his lip. This was unworkable without privacy. "Look. I think actually I made a mistake coming here right now." He glanced at the sprite and the devil, now on either side of Kella, staring at him. He spoke slowly. "I... I need to get my thoughts in order. Um..."

"Mr. Bracken. I believe it would be in all of our best interests, if you would request that Ms. Thorn converse with you this evening, and further--"

"Atyr, really, you're acting very odd." Kella's dark eyes were searching his expression tensely. "Is there trouble? I really am getting a bit worried."

"... that she refrain from making any mention of this moment to Abarabirdadellet until after that conversation takes place," Helliot finished.

Pesky nodded. "He's right." She stuck out her tongue at the fiend. "Listen to Belzy, yes?"

Atyr nodded slowly.

"So there is trouble? What is it? Should I get Bird now or--"

"No, no, sorry!" He cut in. "I was nodding about something else... I was nodding to myself."

Kella shook her head. "Atyr, I'm going to get Bird, alright?"

"Don't let her, dummy!"

"Mr. Bracken, please dissuade her of this."

"Kella, wait. Don't. Look. I know I must seem luckless crazy right now." He bit his lip hard. "There's... yes, there is trouble. Maybe."

"Lots," said Pesky. "Not maybe."

Helliot glanced disdainfully at her. "The only trouble will be if we don't end this conversation swiftly before Abarabirdadellet enters."

"There is trouble," Atyr confirmed again, with a meaningful glance at Helliot. "But it's a longstanding sort of trouble. Scores of summers. There's no rush."

Kella nodded, not looking comforted. "I still think Bird should be a part of this, if it's about her." She reached for the door behind her.

"Stop her, dummy!"

"Kella, wait!"

She looked at him, then turned and began to pull the door open. Helliot slammed it shut and held it. Kella jerked her hand back and gasped. She threw a look at Atyr over her shoulder and grabbed the handle again, yanking hard. The door didn't budge. She turned slowly back to him, eyes wide with fear.

"Atyr." Her voice was small. "What is going on?" She backed away from the door. He reached for her hands.

"Kella, I'm so sorry, I know--"

She pulled back from him, stepping away into the center of the room. "I really need to know what is going on, and I need to know right now." Her hand slipped into the pocket of her smock.

"Kella. Just listen. Bird... she got into something weird when she was young, and it's still here. He's still here." Kella's mouth opened slightly, recognition on her face. He smiled grimly. "You know about that?"

She nodded.

"Right, so she got into something, and we need to figure out how to get rid of it. I just found out about all this and I'm not sure--"

"Mr. Bracken, might I suggest that it would be inestimably preferable were you to refrain from referring to me as something 'weird' to be 'gotten rid of.' I am unconvinced it sets a tone which will be conducive to--"

"Shut up Belzy, and let him talk."

"--and I'm not sure how to do it. How to get rid of it."

Kella was relaxing slightly, but she kept glancing nervously at the door. "Atyr, is there something fae with us now? In here?"

"Look, Kella, it's not exactly--"

"Atyr, just tell her not to talk to the old Bird already and let's go."

"What, Atyr? It's not what?" Her eyes were searching his face.

"Kella. I want to explain everything to you. Give me until tonight to sort things out. There's... yes, something fae is in the room. And also something-- look, it's really complicated." He let out a long breath. "Will you, can you just promise me you won't mention any of this to Bird until later? I can come back this evening and tell you everything I know. It's important you don't tell Bird just yet." He looked questioningly at Pesky and Helliot. They both nodded.

Kella's eyes were still unsettled. "Are we safe here? Are the patients safe?"

"Oh yes. Yes, that I'm sure of."

"I'm not." Pesky glared at Helliot.

"I resent your insinuation. If we were not in your realm, it would sorely try my restraint to--"

"You're safe," Atyr continued. "The dev- the thing Bird got mixed up with has been hanging out here ever since. I don't think it's dangerous." He glanced sidelong at Helliot, who smiled disarmingly.

Pesky snickered. "You seemed to think he was pretty dangerous with that broken glass just a bit ago."

Kella looked at him closely. "Alright. I really... I guess I don't really know what to do except hope I can trust you." She shook her head and looked at the door again. "You'll explain everything tonight?"

"I'll explain everything tonight." He tried to plaster an encouraging smile on his face.

"Atyr, I really don't like this."

"I know. I'm sorry. Neither do I." He reached for her hands again, and this time she let him, finally taking her own hand out of her pocket. "Kella, I know this is weird, but I promise it'll make much more sense tonight. I want to explain now but..." He looked sullenly from fae to fiend. "But I think it's better if we wait."

"Look, Belzy, aren't they adorable?"

Helliot turned politely away.

Atyr looked into Kella's eyes. "Promise me you won't tell Bird?"

She stared back, quiet for a long moment. Different emotions flickered, half-formed, across her face. "Alright. But you have to promise me that you'll explain it all tonight. Yes?"

"I will. I should go. Meet you here just before the gloom sets?"

"Oh delightful!" Bird shuffled in through the door, wiping bloody hands on her smock. "A second date. Well." She looked at the young pair, holding hands. They quickly separated.

Pesky giggled and flew to Atyr's shoulder. "Oops, caught in the middle of your seductive advances."

Hellio coughed in distaste.

Bird's eyes grew uncertain, and she glanced around the room. Her gaze settled on Atyr.

"Uh, yes," he stuttered, "We were, uhhh just going to go for a short walk when Kella is done this evening." Kella nodded, staring at her toes.

Pesky leaned in to his ear. "A short walk and a good, long--"

"We should leave." Helliot cut her off. "Now."

Bird blinked, and her eyes drifted away from Atyr's face, searching the empty air behind him.

Pesky drew in a little breath, and fled for the door. Helliot followed her out.

Bird's gaze came back to Atyr, and then shifted to Kella. "Well. Well, I suppose you could leave a bit early this evening." Her lips twisted knowingly, and her bright eyes locked suddenly onto Atyr's. "You've a very interesting young man here. I hope we both manage to see more of him."

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Thanks for reading as always! I'm excited to be underway with Part Two!

-ScryBells