Oracle

Part 40

John blinked twice at seeing Nathan enter the Rook, Oct pushing him in before closing the door firmly. "Well hello, again little one. Why are you back?" he asked, looking around the Rook to see who was in. It was mostly empty, the customers mostly preparing for the full moon in a few days. Certainly, no one was in who would care about an underage human being in the Rook.

"Oct kidnapped me," Nathan shrugged, putting his bag by one of the chairs by the fireplace and curling up in it. The little human looked tired and stressed, radiating unhappiness. "How much is it a cola here?" he asked not hiding the tiredness from his voice which only showed he was green to the underbelly.

"I saved you, more like," Oct muttered darkly, taking his ruined coat off and inspecting it to see if it could be fixed. Nathan eyed up the spikes on his back warily as Leo fixed the teenager his soft drink. John watched Nathan quietly, noting his lack of fear from the boy at seeing something which was obviously not a human thing.

"On the house for you. I'll put it on Oct's tab," Leo promised, chuckling as Oct made a complaining noise. Leo sat on the arm of the chair and ruffled Nathan's hair. "You're fine, kid," he murmured in a lower gentler tone, not missing the look in Nathan's eyes. Nathan wasn't scared of Oct's spikes but the boy had clearly just been through something traumatic. "I'll get you some salted peanuts to snack on until dinner," he added, knowing the boy was shocky at that moment.

"Someone made a move on him then," John sighed disappointedly, his fingers tapping on the wooden bar in front of him. "I had hoped my mark would be enough to deter people," he said frowning unhappily.

"He got his own bounty now," Oct commented, emptying his coat pockets onto the table in front of him. "And his brother's had increased," he added, as he began sowing the rips in the coat back up.

"Ah," John hummed thoughtfully. "You are in a bind kid," he stated, a strange presence radiating from him like a mist. The man's eyes flashed red eerily, a darkness filling the corners of the room. Nathan blinked and it disappeared. Leo now holding John's arm, the pale man looking up at John with an unreadable look. "Pet?" John asked, his voice clearly unhappy with Leo for stopping whatever had just been happening.

Leo looked up into John's still red eyes with an unhappy expression on his face. "Please not now Master," Leo murmured low enough that Nathan couldn't actually hear, John meeting his eyes squarely. "He is still at risk of going into shock. Let him recover. It's not like he's going anywhere fast," Leo pointed out not backing down.

John let out a low growl before tugging Leo close and biting his ear gently. Leo flinched but didn't fight. Nathan, on the other hand, did flinch at the show of power, his eyes widening, heartbeat thumping like a runaway train for a moment before calming again. John's eyes flashed over at him before returning to their normal green. "Ok," John murmured into Leo's ear, accepting his slave's observation. Nathan was too fragile tonight to face John in full form. His plans would have to wait until the young human had recovered slightly.

Letting go of Leo, John moved to Nathan and sat down on the chair opposite him, making sure the human was meeting his eyes. "The Rook is not meant to be used as a safe house on a long-term basis," he explained loud enough that everyone in the room could hear. "As long as people don't treat it like a hotel and aren't here for longer than 24 hours and don't return for 8 hours, the wards stay strong. When people stay here too long, it weakens the shields," John revealed, waving at Leo to join him. Leo moved over and stood next to him loyally. "Leo and Justice's blood has been used in the spell which refreshes the wards, naming them as guardians to this place. For them, it is the opposite. They cannot leave for longer than a few hours or the shields weaken," John added slightly gentler.

"So that means..." Nathan blinked looking at Leo in shock. "You don't leave?"

Leo smiled warmly at the innocent of the boy in front of him. "For me, it's hardly an issue. My condition means it is hard for me to function in daylight anyway," Leo shrugged uncaringly, having come to acceptance of his situation a long time ago.