Waves of Grey - The Harem and the Guard

Chapter 12

Keith

Keith wakes to the soft chirps and trills of the creatures at the tops of the canopy, the alarm clock for the entire forest below. Without them, you could scarcely tell what time of day it was. The thick foliage blotted out sunlight during the day, but the plants that continuously lit the areas around them were bright enough at night to keep the forest just bright enough to safely maneuver with the soft glow of blue, red, and all those in between.

He sighs to himself and opens his eyes just enough to see a sliver of the canopy that domed his cove and secluded it from the sky. He couldn't see the tops of the trees but he knew that there were several hundred yards of life between himself and the atmosphere above. He closes his eyes again and presses his face into the warmth of the blankets. He opened his eyes again when his face brushes against warm skin. Not his own. He slowly pulled back again so he could see Lance. He was curled into Keith's front sucking away the prince's warmth while cradling a blanket to his chest to retain his own warmth.

They'd both been exhausted when Lance finally was done playing. Keith had learned the hard way that apparently siren's loved to play and swim. He'd been pulled and spun around, pushed around in the pool and dragged limply along for what must have been hours while Lance's happy little chitters echoed in the warm water. Keith had a feeling though that maybe it was Lance who was a little more playful. It sent a warm feeling through Keith like nothing he'd ever really experienced before to see him so relaxed, so . . . he didn't seem like he was training his behavior. He was just making the best of what he had, taking a moment to care for himself and being kind enough to share it with Keith. Even if Keith was so pooped by the end of it the siren had to help drag him back onto land.

Speaking of which, Keith was absolutely starving and his stomach made a point to declare it loud enough he was surprised Lance didn't wake from it. Keith sat up and reached for his clothes. He pulled his shirt on slowly before glancing towards Lance. He grabbed his blanket and laid it over Lance and very carefully put it over his head. He paused to make sure Lance wasn't going to wake up and throw it off before he quickly slipped out of his undergarments that had been worn in the water the night before and replaced them with an extra set he'd had in his bag he left here weeks earlier. On their way back he'd have to take it with them to the palace so he could reload it.

He quickly slipped into his new change of clothes. It was strange to be around Lance in situations such as changing for a number of reasons. The siren was male enough that Keith wasn't worried about the siren dressing in his presence, and he was for the most part fine dressing in the others. But then again, Lance was female enough that Keith felt that it would be extraordinarily unacceptable to ever give the siren a chance to catch him indecently covered. It was so confusing. So incredibly confusing and Lance only seemed more insistent to purposefully catch Keith the more the prince made a fuss about it, the siren's curiosity no better than a child's. Except this child was clever, devious, and quite frustrating.

He got up and started packing things up, taking out what food he had before starting to fold away and stuff his blankets into their protective pouches.

"Hey!" Lance moaned when Keith came and stole the second blanket. The siren opened his eyes to glare up at Keith only for his vision to be blotted out by the change of clothes Keith tosses at his face.

"Time to get up," Keith said and folded the second blanket before shoving it away. He looked over at Lance when the Siren simply groaned and didn't move. He narrowed his gaze before standing fully and making his way over to the sleeping mat they'd been laying on. If Lance didn't want to get up then that was fine. Perfectly fine.

Lance let out a loud yelp when the mat was suddenly ripped out from under him. He rolled off the incline created by his weight on the mat and Keith's pulling.

"Remember what we're out here to do Lance. The longer we wait the worse things could get," Keith said solemnly and moved around the Siren who stared up at him with wide eyes as if he'd just been doused in ice water. "We can make it to the shoreline where it should be safe to enter the water in three or four hours. If we need we can rest before-" Keith faltered as he thought about what they were attempting to do. He couldn't possibly actually help? He couldn't swim like Lance, he could at least breathe but he'd only slow Lance down. He didn't think he was strong enough to wield a weapon below the waves. He frowned as he grabbed his ripped cape and hung it over a branch.

"I won't need to rest," Lance said quickly in all seriousness before he pulled on the shirt he'd been given quickly followed by the rest. Keith kept his back to him while grabbing their food. He left a little over half in a cache. They'd need it when they came back. They'd be tired and have a child with them . . . hopefully, have a child with them. "Once in the water, you'll hold on. You won't be any hindrance if you hold on to my torso. Maybe see if you can wrap your legs around my tail so you don't get caught by the water or thrown off. I'll need you to be able to hold Petal. In the case of a fight, I'll need my claws and teeth free. We shouldn't be bothered by small groups of guards but once we get into the Alpha's main territory past his shoals we have to move fast. There won't be a chance for error once in the den where he'd keep my brother."

"We're going into his den? Wait, isn't the alpha of the Siren empire; he's the equivalent of your king right? Won't his den be huge? And heavily guarded?"

Lance sighed and shook his head. He accepted the dried meat he was offered. "Yes and No. They're simply the strongest siren and can't be crossed unless you wish to be killed . . . or bred. There is no written law, there is nothing that makes them a ruler. We don't live like you among the surface. Anyone could take the spot of alpha if they can kill him. But you have to gain the loyalty of the local sirens to back your power so that you might be the top of command."

"Like a pack," Keith said. Lance simply gave him a questioning look. He didn't understand the term, not familiar to the idea of surface animals having their own similar pecking order.

"As long as you listen to what I tell you we should be able to make it out. No one will attack without the command of the alpha until we get close to his den. Which isn't a palace. It essentially has its own form of a courtyard but the formation itself is a deep cave with many chambers. His personal den is hidden and unknown, but where he keeps his store of wealth in food and trades is in that main cave system."

Keith nodded as he listened and chewed on his own jerky before exposing the exit to the small cove. He covered it thoroughly once they were both outside. "If your empire is in realism, truly primitive . . . then how did they know when to attack your brother? How do you appear so organized to us but sound like nothing more complex than dolphins when explained form your point of view?"

"I never said we were primitive. Sure, we may not have the ability to utilize electricity and metals as you have for technology. But we use everything around us to create a society, united we live but one for his own do we survive. Think of us for what we are Keith," Lance said turning back to look at the hybrid, stopping them a few yards away from the hidden cove. If Lance didn't know it was there he'd never guess that there was a groomed space beyond the thick and sharp brush.

"And what would that be?"

Lance took a step closer, eyes trained on Keith's own and tugging him in. He couldn't look away. "You see me on the outside as something like you. I look like you, I can speak like you . . . but you know that I am not as I appear. You know that within resides a strong creature capable of destruction. An animal. That is what we are Keith. We are a people, but we are one with nature. We are also like the animals and that is why when the planet cried out in vain on the very edge of death, rose. We rose to answer her calls as her servants. But we fought to earn the right to rule our land and protect our home. Think of us as the Sirens."