Spirit Bound (Furry Story)

Chapter 127: 'Cyrano' McDougal

  It's Monday evening, and the Markses, McDougals, O'Connals, and Smiths have all sat down for their meal. That includes Rosemary Marks. Her presence has raised the tension in the room to the breaking point, particularly for Dirk. Then, when Micah made a seemingly innocuous observation, it suddenly tipped over the breaking point and tempers flared. 

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 Geoff sat at Nathanial's dining room table rocking the distraught pup and waited for Liam and Mrs. Marks to check his heart. It shocked him when Dirk's already high energy level spiked higher to barely controlled levels; the patchy signs of manifestation in the Bone Spirit showed how emotionally unstable the normally professional young adult was at the moment. Any Spirit in that condition warranted careful handling, but one of Dirk's power -- like Mom -- needed to be dealt with cautiously. Something the Demon Mage was unlikely to do if she recognized the symptoms.

Dirk's voice overflowed with the loathing all Spirits held for the combination of their people's two worst enemies. "Geoff, put Nathanial down and step away before she casts her...magic. Don't let her taint you, too." Shit. From what little Geoff knew of Mrs. Marks, he figured she wouldn't let something like that slide.

Geoff stood up -- still holding Nathanial -- manifested, and snapped at Dirk in his most commanding voice, "Dirk! Stand down!" He'd never been challenged when he pulled rank like this before, so hopefully it'd work now. Of course, he'd never tried to do it with his parents or Faelen's da. Mrs. Marks looked pissed and opened her mouth to say something that'd probably make things worse, so Geoff turned to her. "Be quiet." She looked like she'd just sucked on a lemon, but she closed her mouth. A quick glance at Da showed that he didn't disapprove of Geoff's actions, but he wasn't sure if Da liked them, either. Geoff cocked his head toward the door, and Conor nodded.

The Water Elemental stood. "Dirk, with me." He dipped his head to the angry Demon Mage. "Ma'am." She didn't respond, and Da left the room with a murderous-looking O'Conall following him.

The immediate threat dealt with, Geoff felt a shiver start deep inside him. 'Shit. A Demon Mage is going to cast a spell. A fucking, true-to-life, steeped-in-evil,tainted Demon Mage.' He wanted to drop Nathanial and run screaming for the woods. 'The taint. It corrupts. Destroys. Turns people into demonic monsters, like it did to Lara May.' The shaking threatened to overwhelm him. 'And I'm already halfway there. The Prince of Darkness for real, if she does. Oh, gods.'

Nathanial looked up at him with the terror still raw on his face. "G-G-Ge..."

The fear in the Dark Elemental's heart drained away when confronted with his Akita's need, crushed by Nathanial's own shivers -- and by the way his love suddenly latched onto him seeking comfort. 'He can't even say my name.' Geoff created a pair of dragon wings on his back and wrapped them around the quivering pup in his arms. "I'll always be here to swoop in when you need me, Myo, with my wings spread wide."

Nathanial's grip loosened a hair, and while the fear still remained, Geoff saw that love and trust completely eclipsed it. "My prince." The pup snuggled in as best he could. "My prince of darkness."

Geoff nodded to Liam and Mrs. Marks. The latter still seemed pissed, but the Elemental could see she approved of what he'd said. She actually looked kind of amused about something -- the prince of darkness bit, probably. Liam stepped in and placed his paw over Nathanial's heart, but Geoff pointedly tried to not look at -- or listen to -- the Demon Mage as she waved her paws and...um...

Faelen rose from his chair and gazed over Liam's shoulder at the quivering Akita; he looked like he felt like a complete cad. "I'm sorry, Nathanial. I didn't mean to attack you or upset you. I... It's just that... Well..." Faelen scratched the back of his neck as he struggled for words. He sighed heavily. "I'm sorry."