Chapter 14 Safe
Safe
Zavida
“This is interminable,” I whisper to Oriel as he stirs the potion in front of our group.
Xerxes gives me a knowing look, but I don’t let it stop me.
“I really hate that Kit has classes we’re not in.
Every time we discover something new about this conspiracy or his powers, I feel like it gets more dangerous for him to even sit in classes without someone beside him. ”
X tuts quietly, putting their hand on my arm. “Zav, you know we can’t get KK moved into our classes; that douche in the admin office won’t approve it. Plus, he doesn’t want us to smother him all the time; it will reinforce the belief that he’s too weak to make it on his own.”
“Ugh, I knowwww.” We both look at the crow shifter as he groans his agreement. “What? I don’t like him being on his own, and though Slash is in this period with him, the next one is uncovered. Alabaster is a dick, but he will not assault the kid—that’s what helps me not molt over it.”
I chuckle, smiling a bit as our brother expresses more concern than normal.
Neither X nor I have seen him molt over stress in a long time, so he’s definitely the next in line to fall for the newbie who’s thrown our group into chaos.
“Oriel, don’t pick at your feathers; it won’t help.
I get it because I struggle to keep my tails from popping out constantly, but at least they don’t hurt me. ”
Xerxes sighs, leaning their hip against the counter as they watch the hex potion out of the corner of their eye.
“Guys, KK is improving a lot, even if it doesn’t seem like it.
The magic is coming slowly, but he’s asking for help, trusting people to protect him, and even trying to snark less with Jas.
I see his issues fading bit by bit as he gets more comfortable with us.
Just keep showing him we’re safe; isn’t that what we all had to do for each other? ”
Thinking about that for a moment, I nod.
“You’re right, X. None of us were predisposed to trust one another because of all the court intrigue—other than Slash and Jasper.
One by one, those two brought us into the caliphate fold by sharing our struggles and trauma.
They didn’t call it that; they simply said we were bonding by fire or some shit. ”
“Maybe we need to work on that with KK, so he gets even more comfortable,” Oriel replies, tapping his lips with his painted fingernails.
“Carefully, of course, because he’s still trying to heal properly, and not without asking if he’s cool with it.
We don’t want to take away from his ability to cope by dumping on the poor dude. ”
Such emotional intelligence today—I’d say I’m shocked, but I actually believe my brothers have more than they show on the daily.
“You want to get Kit on his own and have a guy bonding over the bad stuff?” X says as they wrinkle their nose.
“I don’t know about that. Feels like it might go super sideways if he feels pressured to reciprocate.
I’m pretty sure he hasn’t repeated his story to anyone outside of his shrink or whoever his fosters were.
At least, not in full, you know? That might fuck up his progress. ”
“Or help it,” I murmur. “Maybe only talking to adults who likely blamed him and then discarded him is why he can’t heal.
He’s been made to feel like he should have known, should have done something different, and that he’s a burden.
You can tell by the way he’s constantly explaining his issue and defining his boundaries; he’s had to re-iterate them so many times that it’s a reflex to do it now. ”
“Well, fuck,” Oriel says. “I sort of figured that he was just doing that because he’s mouthy. Fuck knows, our prince thinks that, Zav.”
Ducking my head, I whisper, “When Jas and I first… you know… he had to devise ways to get me to actually give him boundaries. My trauma worked the opposite direction as KK’s, and he was always on me to stop apologizing for having them.
I noticed Kit was over explaining and being not apologetic about it in the same way I was holding back.
It felt familiar, and I’m pretty sure it’s because he has to in his mind or someone will violate him again. ”
“I agree.” Xerxes reaches over, stirring the concoction for a moment before they look at us.
“When I measured him, I was very cautious, but besides the new tattoos he’s hiding and the small scaly patches…
he has scars. Not a crazy amount, but enough to concern me, so I didn’t ask.
I don’t know if they’re related to the incident or some other heinous BS, but he definitely has seen some shit. ”
Oriel nods, digesting that information as he adds a few ingredients to the bubbling liquid in the cauldron. He’s quiet for a moment, then he sighs. “That’s not unexpected, I suppose, but it doesn’t mean I like it. In fact, I really fucking hate it and some of the others will, too.”
“I don’t feel upset he hasn’t pried into our shit, though.
” They both look at me and I shrug. “The guy is keeping his pain to himself, and his obsessive need for boundaries means he wouldn’t ask if we didn’t offer it up.
I think he’s trying to be respectful, in his own way, and that’s unusual for the demon world. ”
“So many things here differ from how KK was raised—both in the ‘normal’ human world and the bullshit he grew up with. It’s honestly surprising that he is adjusting without a lot of craziness.
I don’t think I’d do nearly as well were it me.
” Xerxes grabs a handful of herbs, tossing them into the simmering pot with a satisfied expression.
“Which is why I’m also not worried about that situation.
His hands are full and he’s doing the best he can with the tools he has, hmm? ”
Our glitzy brother is right—Kit is definitely trying, and even his quirks have become endearing—so we can be patient, even my irascible lover.
By the time we finish Curses they could be anywhere, hiding behind a disinterested look or pretend smile.
Prince: I’m waiting…
Enforcer: I have Cardio after my quick lunch at that time. I will go.
Chef: Then he has Lit with O and me, so we’ve got him from there.
Thief: Where’s dinner tonight?
Prince: Dorm unless there’s an unscheduled change of plans.
Thief: Aye, aye, Captain Crankypants!
Prince: …
With that decided, I move swiftly to the class I need to get to.
It’s way below my skill set, but jumping one course was the most the comp sci professors would allow when I registered.
I won’t have to focus for long on whatever we’re assigned, which means I can use the time to work on things that will actually benefit my caliphate.
Plus, it’ll please Jasper, and I like when he’s pleased—it’s good for both of us.
Once I get up the stairs to the tech floor, I head for the lab with renewed purpose.
I need to program web crawlers for accounts of the rest of the ‘Apalachin’ thing the supes on the surface called that weird meeting.
I want to know if the general public has gotten wind of the orc attack, if any gossip is floating around about the rest of the event, or even if people know my caliphate was there.
That will be the first thing I tackle after I zip through whatever Turing has us doing.
“This is odd,” I mutter as I open the door to the lab to find a very sparsely attended class. “Where the hell is everyone?”
The spectral form of the professor raises his hand to shush me, and I roll my eyes once he’s turned back to his own computer.
Professor T isn’t really a ghost, but he’s been co-opted by Discordia from his proper home in the Legendary realm to teach.
I assume he’s being paid a fortune because storybooks and legendary types aren’t fond of coming to Hell versus the deity’s place.
He’s fucking amazing, though, and when I’m really allowed to learn from him, I know it will be amazing.
Since I will not get an answer to my question, I plop down at the computer I favor in the corner and log in.
Once I’m into the system, I look up at the whiteboard to get the assignment and fly through it as fast as my fingers can type.
It only takes a few minutes to complete and email, at which point I look at my screen with a hidden smirk.
One flick of the app on my phone shrouds the lab computer in my own security, and I get to work.
The web spiders for the surface don’t take me long—I’ve been doing that shit since I was a wee demon.
After I have those set up to notify me of any findings, I code a series of malware that I’m going to try to infect the intranet at Discordia with.
I want to use it to trigger alerts for specific words and phrases that might help us identify who the fuck is helping Darkstar, and who might be after KK.
There are more basic ones that monitor social media in Hell for our names and families, but those are mostly to keep track of what’s being said.
We’ve never needed them to keep someone from doing terrible things to us because we’re so damn strong together.
Kit doesn’t have that and I want to do my part—as small as it may be—to help him stay safe.
After all, I promised to make it up to him and I’ll be damned if I’m going to fail.