Becoming Fae
Reluctant Leaders

Harmon was shocked not only with Hadria’s diary’s information, but with the fact that it was written in the language of the Celestials. I had already read a fair amount of it as well as Rollie’s, so when he asked to borrow them both, I let him. He needed the information from this side of the story, I think.

I met with Rollie and we completed the last of the pipes and heating ducts in only a few hours. By noon, I had dealt with a lot of small problems and was still at a complete loss as to how to deal with Tony. The meeting we had last night had been just as unproductive in replaceing a solution. Naz and Rollie were both adamant that Tony would retaliate aggressively, but Mal thought he could be reasoned with, since the Sin was in love with Ambrosia. Surely that would be enough to convince him to respect her choice.

Ben, Blaine, and I weren’t convinced either way. Sins were unpredictable, so how could we guess what would happen? I had to admit, though, that out of the two opinions, I was leaning towards aggression, since he was a demon. I hoped for peace, though. Hope for the best, but plan for the worst, in this case.

“Fae,” Naz nodded after I knocked on the open door to his dwelling where he and a few of the demons from his House were talking. “Are you here for information?”

“You could say that,” I nodded, coming in and taking a seat at the table, acknowledging the others. “Greed all but said there’s an arms race going on in the Pits and that the current tense calm won’t last much longer.”

“You want to know a more definitive timeframe,” he nodded. “I’ve already sent word to the spies I sent to the Pits.”

“In the likely event that Tony doesn’t take the news well, how screwed are we?” I asked him. “What does his army look like?”

“They aren’t numerous and aren’t particularly trained in combat,” one of the other demons answered. “They are, however, mostly gluts.”

“Translation?” I asked.

“Smaller, less formidable versions of Gluttony,” Naz supplied. “Still very dangerous, though.”

“But lazy,” the first demon said. “Slow and burdensome, blundering about. They’re strategy is to cause as much loss as possible while the actually trained section of the army goes right for the victory.”

“That sounds like a foolish and stupid tactic,” I shook my head. “No wonder he has no chance against the other Sins.”

“He will, however, lay waste to us,” Naz pointed out.

“Unless I can figure out how to kill him myself or keep him from being grouchy in the first place,” I nodded and sighed. “How does one anticipate the unpredictable?”

“By being even more unpredictable,” one of the others said with a shrug.

“He’s right,” Naz nodded. “So far, you’ve behaved very... not demonic.”

“Fight dirty, you mean?” I asked and they all either nodded or shrugged. “Unconventional and underhanded.”

“I’m not even sure if you're capable of it, to be honest,” Naz shrugged. “But yes, that’s the general idea.”

“I’m capable. I just... haven’t?” I made a face. “Kidney shots and groin kicks are a girl's best friend when attacked by a guy bigger than her. It’s the same idea, but I’m not sure how effective those will be.”

“Trust me, your majesty,” one of the demons made a twisted face. “Groin kicks work on all males.”

“Kidney shots, maybe not so much,” another nodded.

“Looks like I need to talk to some foxes, then,” I said thoughtfully.

“They are the best at underhanded,” Naz agreed. “The word ‘attack’ might be the wrong choice, though.”

“Speaking of attacks, do we have a blacksmith worth his salt, by any chance?” I asked. "Harmon gave me the measurements for his sword and I kind of need one sooner than later."

“Neem,” they all said before one of them pointed upwards. “He works on the surface.”

“Thanks,” I smiled and turned on my heel, leaving them to whatever they were talking about before.

“Fae!”

I turned and grinned, seeing Ben jogging down the hall towards me with Blaine behind him.

“Just the fox I needed to talk to. What’s up?” I asked him.

“Aw. Do I need a reason to want to hang out with my little sister?” Ben put his arm over my shoulders and hugged me sideways.

“No, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have an excuse now,” I lifted my eyebrow at him, making Blaine chuckle.

“He’s hiding behind his job,” Blaine grinned.

“I am not,” Ben sniffed.

“From whom?” I asked as we walked towards the surface. The way this place was made was ingenious. No stairs or ladders, just slopes.

“I’m not hiding,” Ben argued.

“A fox named Runa,” he chuckled.

“Oh dear. Is it another one of those... Heather situations?” I asked.

“She wishes,” Ben muttered.

“It would seem that Ben has an admirer,” Blaine snickered.

Ben growled at him, flashing orange fur and sharp teeth, before Blaine punched him in the arm, making me laugh at the two of them.

“You could probably use the diversion,” Blaine teased him.

“I don’t have time for ‘diversions’,” Ben rolled his eyes. “I’m shocked you do, mister Alpha.”

“Ha!” Blaine laughed. “I’m lucky the pack sent me to replace Fae.”

“Why?” I asked him.

“Being your bonded warriors is one thing, but I’m your bound hound now, too,” he said.

“He has to be near you on occasion or he gets separation anxiety like a little poodle,” Ben chortled.

“I do not,” Blaine rolled his eyes. “But I do get a little... snappish. Not the best thing for a hellhound to be, you know?”

“Right. Got it. How’s the whole Alpha thing going, anyhow?” I asked him.

“It’s... something,” he shrugged.

“Motherfu- I need to get out of here,” Ben stiffened and took off before a red-headed fox came over with a smile that faltered when she didn’t see who she was looking for.

“Runa,” Blaine nodded at her.

“Alpha Blaine,” she squeaked, ducking her head and scurrying off.

“Okay, that’s adorable,” I smirked, then hooked my arm with Blaine’s. “So, my less than enthusiastic brother, how are you really doing?”

“Are you asking for the technical report or the emotional one?” he sighed after a second.

“I can get the technical one for myself, Blaine,” I rolled my eyes.

“Before this happened, I couldn’t understand how you could run away the way you did,” he admitted with a heavy breath. “I heard the words you said about it, but I just couldn’t make that connection with their meaning and the meaning. The reluctance and the sheer overwhelming view of the future, knowing it’s nothing like what you imagined it would be.”

“At least you didn’t spontaneously change species,” I laughed.

“There is that,” he chuckled. “I guess I’m just not confident that I’m going to be good at this leadership thing still.”

“That’s something that can’t exactly be measured in real-time, you know,” I said.

“Getting wise in your old age?” he smirked at me.

“Something Mom told me that I’m trying to keep in my mind at all times,” I shrugged. “Even she doesn’t really understand. Dad might, but he was a clan leaders' kid among the dark fairies, so his comprehension on the matter is limited at best.”

We walked through the halls in silence for a while before he snorted and shook his head.

“We make quite the pair, don’t we?” he said, patting my hand on his arm. “Born to lead but reluctant to do so.”

“Truer words have not been uttered,” I laughed.

“I’m sorry I judged you so harshly before, Fae,” he said. “I know it was hard for you and I shouldn’t have held it against you when you reached your limit.”

“You haven’t had it easy either. You lost your brother, your father submitted to you, both of your parents can’t stand to be in the Sidhe because of everything that’s happened to their family here, you're the first and only Alpha hellhound which has inadvertently resulted in you looking after literally every hellhound, bound or not,” I pointed out. “The changes I faced at least were spaced out over the past year. You’re dealing with all of this in just a few months. I’m actually kind of jealous of how well you’re doing.”

“I feel like I’m barely keeping my head above water most of the time,” he muttered.

“Believe me, the feeling is mutual,” I laughed as we walked out of the ground and into the sun. “I’m literally making crap up as I go and praying it doesn’t result in a major disaster, but with the threat of what boils down to a civil war looming closer with every breath, it doesn’t seem very likely.”

“You’re doing fine, Fae,” he said. “People love you and demons aren’t known to have warm and fuzzies like that. Loyalty only extends as far as the coin goes in most cases, but every one of the people here would face death for you. Even the hounds.”

“I just hope it isn’t misplaced,” I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck.

“We’ll figure it out,” he said putting his arm over my shoulders and giving me a side hug like Ben had done. “Reluctant leaders stick together, you know.”

“Sounds like a messed-up club,” I snorted.

“We have shirts,” he winked.

“Tell me they match, and I’ll totally get two,” I smirked.