Tarantella

Tarantella

Cinnamon sometimes stayed in Panne, when she could travel. Her day consisted of going through her schoolgirl routines on Earth, communicating with the empaths and such in her nouvelle familia, or noufam, and when she found time in energy, projecting to Minx or Qsim and screwing Drepanon's brains out.

She'd settled quite well, she thought, into her role as a wife. She visited Panne Fortress on Qsim-Pannenoire only when she had what she deemed "sufficient" energy. She took it upon herself to cook several dozen dishes of various meats for her new mate, often unseasoned but with warm blood, and served usually with a goblet of amaretto or slivovitz. The dining table was rather long: the Fortress had, after all, been built for Drepanon and Illybrius, by the latter, who feared or pretended to fear the former. When Orion wandered off and left Illybrius lonely (he had given Illybrius a pendant with a sort of password that would instantly transport the maharus to Orion's side, but Illybrius chose not to use it except in case of an extreme emergency), Illybrius visited the couple and sat at one end of the table, as Drepanon sat at the other, and Cinnamon would pass him the nearest non-poultry-non-fish serving and produce a bottle each of absinthe, sake, and vodka.

With her comparatively small appetite and swift eating habits, Cinnamon was often the first to finish. When the men finished eating, she'd give them each a massage and (to Illybrius's chagrin) a cuddle. Sometimes she'd simply curl across their laps and sleep afterwards; sometimes they had a threesome; sometimes both simultaneously, depending on Drepanon's mood.

One evening, Illybrius was lonely, but he did not want to bed with his counter and her mate. He wanted somebody all to himself, and while he enjoyed rough sex, he found Drepanon somewhat too brutal for his constitution. So he headed to Minx instead, to the Temple at first, but neither Maheone nor Rulean was there. Obsidian next, but Fabrizio Starling turned hi down so he headed to Larlia's room out of nostalgia. She turned him down, of course: Everybody on Minx, especially in Peruru Village, knew that Illybrius was married. Sleeping with other men was one thing, but a married man sleeping with women other than his wife was intolerable.

"But Akuma's ill," Illybrius protested, "and even if I am not directly the cause of her regurgitation--"

"Go take care of her, then, and leave me be," snapped Larlia. "Anyway, I've an appointment with your mother, and she'd be less than pleased at your behavior."

Illybrius scowled at that. "I doubt she'd care," he grumbled, and pressed on, intent on getting his way.

He turned out to be wrong, for Neferbelii teleported into Larlia's room just then and was livid with her son.

"Nice to finally get your attention, Mother," he snarled as he left, pants in hand. As luck had it-- or misluck if you prefer-- he walked in on his grown sons, half-brothers to each other, kissing (among other things) on his way back to the Temple.

"Shape up," he growled by way of greeting. "You've got twin half-brothers on the way."

Krevjus and Heath just looked at him blankly for a second, then went back to making out. Disgusted as much with himself as with his sons, he spat on the ground and stormed off.

The Temple was still deserted when Illybrius got to it. He made his way to Maheone's laboratory easily and spent half an hour studying his comrade's notes. He worked silently at making himself a companion, a familiar of sorts as he saw it. It was easier than he'd expected, but drudgerous enough that he understood why there weren't many Enon-like "scratch-babies." Eventually, though, he ended up with a perfect creature, or near enough.

'Twas a winged-- technically, he supposed it might be an equinekie: a zebra who could take the form of centaur or man. In centaur form, obviously, the wings would be in a different position than zebra but the same as man, and they could be retracted. The wings were shaped like a bat's, but were covered in glossy black feathers. When these were shed, the leathery skin underneath would be shown to be white. Satisfied, Illybrius led his new friend to the half-rebuilt Palace and fell asleep leaning lightly against him.