Whose Mark is it Anyway - Dungeons
Title: Whose Mark is it Anyway?
Fandom: SGA
Series: AU - Telpa ‘verse Sequence 1.5
Characters/Pairing: Parrish/Lorne
Orientation: Slash
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 5,249
Notes: I present a missing scene from the Telpa ‘verse. It would fall Between Choice and Mine to Keep in sequence/chronology. Written for![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
clwilson2006 as a giftie for the scifiland gift giving - because I’m warped and kinky and twisted and have a dirty mind, and I think she actually *LIKES* that about me.
Prompt: HC Bingo fill: “Dungeons”
Wrin Parr’ish was annoyed with himself. In a temper, he strode into the main audience chamber of Bardero Parr’ish. He seemed to have no control or restraint when it came to his new body telpa, Lorne. In the two days following his acquisition of the telpa, he had found the only way to keep his mind from drifting to thoughts of Lorne was to keep Lorne close at hand, where David could see him.
He hadn’t even been able to assuage his temper on the object of his annoyance, since Lorne had proven thus far to be a perfectly well behaved telpa. He didn’t need punishment. His form was perfect. He was always where he needed to be, when he needed to be there. And he smelled good. David couldn’t even discipline him for his hygiene habits.
“David! What is that doing here?” The DranWrin bellowed, and pointed behind David.
He stopped in his tracks, and though he knew precisely what his father was talking about he affected an innocent look and said airily, “My apologies, DranWrin, what is what doing here?”
“Don’t start playing games with me. I am in no mood for you today, David. The telpa, what is that telpa doing here?” His father’s cheeks began to pink up a bit as he grew more and more irritated with David’s attitude.
David glanced over his shoulder at Lorne, following in his wake at a respectable distance. “Oh. That’s Lorne,” he deliberately didn’t answer the question put to him, in an attempt to gage just how much nonsense his father would actually tolerate before the threats became serious.
“I did not ask for its name. I asked what it is doing here. This is a business meeting, David!” The DranWrin was now fully red in the face. When he started huffing for breath and grunting, David would back off.
“I bought a body guard.” He hadn’t actually thought of it until that moment, but Lorne was rather well suited to the task, being former military.
“You don’t need a body guard in attendance on the grounds of your own Bardero, David!” this exclamation came from his brother Phil, glaring daggers at him from his seat beside their father. The representatives from the other Barderos expected at the meeting had yet to arrive, and so The DranWrin and Sran didn’t have to be polite yet.
“He’s in training. He goes where I go,” David replied, and moved to take his seat. He gathered his robes under him and settled himself comfortably for what promised to be a long and boring meeting.
Once he was settled, he glanced back at Lorne. “Rer.” Lorne hesitated for the barest fraction of a moment, glanced over at the scowling and highly agitated DranWrin then obeyed the order of his Wrin. As he reached David’s side, he bent down when David crooked his finger at him. “You will wait there, by the wall. You may stay standing at attention or you may go into Pol if you tire. If you need to use the necessary before the meeting breaks to do so, change your position to catch my attention and point to the door. Do you understand?”
“Yes Wrin,” Lorne replied, and went to take up a position behind David, but within the range of his peripheral vision.
As expected, the meeting was tedious. The DranWrin got into a heated argument with DranWrin Mac’Kay which resulted in DranWrin Mac’Kay, Wrina Jean and Wrin Rodney storming out of the meeting. Sasso Cal’dwell almost left along with the representatives of Bardero Mac’Kay, but was calmed down by the always level headed Wrin Wools’ey. David was mildly disappointed that it all ended so quickly; the dispute was the only remotely interesting thing to come of the meeting.
The DranWrin called David over as the proceedings ended and people began to leave. “David, you will go to Sasso O’Neill’s place and collect the telpa he is sending for training.”
“Surely Max and Anjenne can be trusted with this errand, DranWrin?” David hated the trip to O’Neill’s; it was remote and hard to reach and he had to leave the carriage and walk through a more disreputable part of the city to get there.
“Are you questioning my order, David?” The look on his father’s face promised painful retribution, should the answer to the question be anything but, ‘No, DranWrin.’ Having no desire to spend the night bound to the cross or chained and hung from the ceiling and whipped by Phil eagerly carrying out their father’s orders, David wisely made the proper response.
He knew where the line was and he had no intention of crossing it. His mother might have raised a troublesome pest, but he was a smart troublesome pest.
~*~
Walking through the poorly lit streets, David was very much on edge. He hated this part of the city.
A hand fell on David’s shoulder and he jumped, startled at the unexpected touch. “Someone is following us, Wrin Parr’ish.” Lorne had moved up very close to David’s back.
“Are you certain?”
Leaning close, Lorne spoke quickly and quietly. “Yes, Wrin Parr’ish. I count three shadows; they have been on our trail since we left the carriage. They are using the alleyways to duck into. One has a sword; I saw a glint of metal in the streetlamp.” It was the longest string of words Lorne had spoken together at one time since David had purchased him.
With a heavy sigh, David mentally calculated how much further they had to go to reach O’Neill’s Tavern. The longest unlit stretch still lay before them. Their pursuers probably intended to make their move there.
“Stay close, they’ll probably move on us when we reach the end of this row of buildings,” Lorne nodded at David’s low order and fell just a step behind him.
The attackers were sneaky, they didn’t wait. And there were six of them. Three more emerged from an alleyway in front of them, trapping David and Lorne between the two groups.
Armed only with David’s dagger, hastily drawn and poorly wielded, it was a very quick fight. He didn’t even get one good hit in. David was knocked unconscious by a blow from behind.
~*~
“Wrin Parr’ish? Can you hear me?”
David roused slowly. The first thing he noticed was that his arms hurt. The second thing he noticed was that he was cold. He was cold because his feet were bare and he was standing in a thick puddle of slimy ooze. His arms hurt because his wrists were manacled together and his arms were pulled up over his head, attached to chains going up to the ceiling.
Wonderful; he had ended the day in chains, despite doing his father’s bidding.
“Wrin Parr’ish?”
“I heard you, Lorne, now be quiet.” He could barely make out Lorne’s figure in the light being cast by the torches in the wall sconces. “Are you chained too?”
“Yes.”
“Have they questioned you?”
“No.”
“Do not use my title again. They might not know who I am.”
“They were looking for a mark on your neck and feet, I don’t think they found one,” Lorne offered, his voice echoing slightly off the stone walls of the dungeon.
“No, they wouldn’t have, that isn’t where I’m marked.” They hadn’t checked the discreet areas where a Wrin or Sran would be marked, so it stood to reason that they didn’t know David was a Wrin, which led him to believe they had fallen in with brigands.
Lorne replied, “They checked me too. They were excited to see Wrina Emma’gen’s mark. They said I was fair game.”
Damn. David had meant to have Lorne properly inked with Bardero Parr’ish’s mark, but had not gotten to doing so. David was safe from sale in the pens no matter what happened, due to the red mark of a powerful Bardero on his person. But Lorne’s mark was a dead Bardero, a house in disgrace. He was, as he had quoted the brigands as saying, “fair game.”
Approaching footsteps echoed through the dungeon. “Well, I see you’re awake,” a deep voice said.
“Yes. Now undo these bindings and let me loose.” David met the dark eyes of the unpleasant looking man now standing before him.
The man laughed, “Now, why would I do that when I went to all the trouble of trussing you up properly?”
“Because if you do not, I will make sure that you are hunted down and destroyed.”
“Big threat, little man, you don’t even know who I am.”
Lorne cleared his throat and called out helpfully, “Koyla. I heard them talking when they brought us in. His name is Koyla.”
Koyla scowled in Lorne’s direction, and if looks could kill, the telpa would be dead.
“Yeah, he fits the description. Ugly as a whorehog,” Lorne said in a mocking voice, drawing Koyla’s full attention. The man strode over and backhanded Lorne. David winced as he heard the impact. Lorne’s head snapped back and hit the wall behind him and he slumped forward, unconscious, dangling limply from the chains that held him to the wall.
“If you have permanently damaged my property you will answer to the Magistrar!” David shouted, truly concerned for Lorne.
“I do not answer to the Magistrar,” Koyla growled.
“No one is above the law.”
“I do not fear the law.”
“Then fear the wrath of my father. When he finds out about this, he will have you tracked down and killed.” It was David’s hope that his father’s name still held sway in the more nefarious circles that dwelt and did business in The Springs.”
“And who might your father be, little rich boy?”
“DranWrin Oscar Parr’ish,”
“You’re lying,” Koyla snapped, but lost some of his former bravado as he eyed David.
David jangled the chains and glared at the brigand leader. “Am I? Is that a chance you’re willing to take? Release me and my telpa now and I am willing to forget this abduction.”
Koyla moved across the gap separating them. “Where’s your mark?”
Sighing heavily, David replied, “Left hip.”
Rough fingers undid the ties of David’s plain gray trousers. He regretted not wearing his robes; the ornate Bardero robes might have prevented this abduction. But the garb was a two-edged sword; the robes might have marked him as bait ripe for a ransom. Dragging the waistband down, Koyla shifted over to allow the torchlight to fall on David’s skin.
Angrily, Koyla dragged the trousers up again. “Ladon! Get your ass in here and undo these chains!” He paced in circles as his henchman appeared and started undoing the bindings holding David.
“If I release you?” Koyla asked.
“Amnesty. This time. If our paths cross again, I shall not be so forgiving.”
Koyla stroked his chin. “I could ransom you.”
“My father wouldn’t pay. And when you sent my body back to him, he would hunt you down and see that you regretted it for the rest of your life. He does not lack the resources to do it.”
When the chains fell free, David rubbed at his abused wrists and tossed his head towards Lorne, “My telpa too.”
“Ladon! Wake the telpa and let him loose.”
Wincing in sympathy as Lorne was splashed in the face with a bucketful of cold water, David waited for Ladon to free him. He moved to Lorne’s side and caught him when he would have fallen to the stone floor of the dungeon.
“I cannot just let you walk out of here,” Koyla said.
“Mask us and leave us at O’Neill’s, neutral ground. I have neither the means nor desire to have your men followed from there,” David tried to infuse disdain into his voice to convince the brigand to let them go. Koyla could still decide to kill them and dump the bodies. Parr’ish hoped that alternative did not occur to Koyla or his man Ladon.
It seemed it did not. He and Lorne were blindfolded and led up narrow stone stairs. David almost fell when his foot touched upon open air as he climbed. He immediately pressed against the wall for the rest of the climb. “Lorne, stay close to the wall.”
“I am.” Smart Lorne. He had been unconscious when David revealed his identity, and so did not know that the brigands knew David was a Wrin. He was still following David’s command not to address him by title.
They were taken to a carriage, shoved inside and driven quite a distance, likely in circles so that they could not find their way back, which was a wasted effort, since David didn’t pay any attention to the details of the trip. He had no intention of reneging on his part of the deal. He would not seek Koyla out for this affront, so long as Koyla kept his part of the bargain.
When the blindfold was removed, David blinked at the gaslight he stood beneath. Behind him, when he turned was O’Neill’s Tavern. Lorne was rubbing his head and blinking at the light as he stood beside him. A dark, non-descript carriage drove off into the night, leaving them there.
David turned to Lorne. “Are you bleeding? How bad is that head wound?”
“I don’t think so.” Lorne held the hand he had been rubbing his head with up in the light. There was no blood on it. “It hurts, but my vision is clear, I don’t think it is too serious.”
“Are you nauseous?”
“No. I’m hungry, actually.”
“That is a good sign. O’Neill will feed us. Let’s go in, eat, collect the troublesome telpa that my father is so eager to get his hands on, and arrange for an escort back to the carriage.”
~*~
Arriving back at Bardero Parr’ish, David decided not to mention their little escapade. The less his father knew, the better, was David’s belief. He left the new telpa from O’Neill’s with Anjenne and retired to his chambers with Lorne at his heel.
He waited until Lorne was inside and then he slammed the door, venting some of his pent up anger over the day’s events. Lorne jumped at the sound of the door slamming and stopped in his tracks. David saw his shoulders curl in, ever so slightly, as if bracing for a strike.
“I’m not angry at you Lorne. Go run the bath.” He waved his crop in the direction of the bathing chamber.
“Little Priestess!”
“Yes, Wrin?” She ran forward, having come out of the antechamber at the sound of the door slamming. Only David ever slammed the door to his chamber, he was the only one permitted to do so. The DranWrin could, if he ever came to these rooms, but he never did.
David glanced at Laura, who was looking at the crop in his hand apprehensively. He needed to get rid of this excess anger, but he knew in that moment that he would hurt the girl if he touched her. His training asserted itself. He should never raise a tool in anger. He tossed the crop aside and threw himself into his favorite chair to sulk.
He was in a mood tonight for certain. Even the thought of Laura’s mouth on him didn’t perk his interest.
“Go find Mual; I need some lotion for chafing.” David held his reddened wrist up for her to see. She nodded and ran from the chamber. Smart girl.
Lorne appeared in the doorway of the bath chamber. “The water is ready, Wrin Parr’ish.”
“Then get in it. Soak yourself for a while,” David snapped and Lorne looked surprised at the order. David was surprised at himself for giving it. He wasn’t usually so solicitous of his telpa. Another symptom of this odd fascination he had for this particular telpa. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
Soft hands on his wrists made him snap his head up. Laura knelt beside the chair, a jar of Mual’s lotion in her hand. “I’ll put it on, if you like, Wrin.”
He sat back again and held his wrist out to her and closed his eyes. Her touch was gentle and the lotion soothed. When she had done both wrists, he kept his eyes closed and head tilted back as he told her, “Go and check on Lorne. He might need some of that as well. Look at his head too, he took a nasty hit.” He heard the flip-flap of her sandals on the tile as she went to do so.
Another gentle touch on his shoulder roused him from a light sleep. Lorne stood beside the chair, his hair wet from the bath and slicked back, a towel wrapped around his waist. “I’ve refilled the bathing tub, Wrin.”
David nodded and pushed up out of the chair. “Go wait for me in my chamber. Don’t bother getting dressed. You can lie down, but don’t go to sleep, or I’ll wake you and I won’t be happy about needing to do so.”
He hadn’t touched either of his new telpa in a sexual manner since that first day when he brought them home. But he needed to work this mood off, sex might do it.
He bathed quickly and toweled off, padding towards his chamber, unconcerned with his nudity. The curtains of the antechamber fluttered and Laura stepped out. “Go to bed, Little Priestess, I’ve no further need of you tonight.”
As expected, Lorne had done exactly as David had ordered. He was on the bed, wide awake. He was obviously acutely uncomfortable being there. His cock was limp against his thigh. Seeing his discomfort, David remembered again that Lorne was unaccustomed to sex with men. He shivered at the realization that he would be the first.
“Relax,” David climbed up onto the bed and trailed his fingers across Lorne’s abdomen. He lightly stroked Lorne’s cock, though he didn’t respond in the way David had hoped. Giving a sigh, he waved to the table beside the bed. “Get the lotion.”
Lorne rolled and retrieved the jar. David dipped two fingers in and scooped up a glob of slick greasy ointment. “Tes.” Lorne blinked at the unfamiliar command. Making a rolling motion with his hand, David ordered, “Tes, means roll over. I want you on your belly - right now.”
Chewing his lip nervously, Lorne flopped over.
“Ven.” He slapped at Lorne’s thigh. Lorne obeyed, spreading his legs apart, though he did so slowly. “Are you afraid of me, Lorne?”
“Noooo,” his answer was hesitant.
“I wouldn’t hurt you here. I’m not the sort that likes pain in the bedroom. Elsewhere, but not in my bed,” David wondered if the words were as reassuring as he intended them to be. When Lorne relaxed slightly, David thought something must have gotten through, either the words or the tone. “Have you been hurt before, by sex games?” David needed to know, he didn’t want to repeat something that would shut his telpa down. He had seen the scars on his telpa’s body, in places a lash should never be used.
Lorne just nodded, again, hesitantly. David thought that Wrina Emma’gen must have been quite cruel, to have carried her Training Room aberrations to the bedroom.
“I don’t use sex to punish, you are permitted to enjoy yourself here, and that is the last I will say on this matter.” At those words, Lorne sagged slightly against the mattress, relaxing even more.
David slipped his fingers into the crack of Lorne’s bum, slowly sliding down and spreading the lotion. “Don’t tense up. It will always be worse if you tense up.” He dipped his finger back into the jar and then reached down and pushed the tip of one finger into Lorne’s hole. “Easy Lorne, you’re clenching. Bear down a little, it might help.” He rubbed small circles on Lorne’s lower back with his other hand until Lorne relaxed and his finger slid in and out with ease.
He applied more lotion and pushed a second finger in. He wriggled his fingers and found Lorne’s hot spot, lightly poking at him until Lorne let out a low moan of pleasure. “Does that feel good?”
“Yeah. More like that, do that again,” Pleasure was loosening Lorne’s tongue; he was forgetting his manners and giving his Wrin orders. David smiled at the lapse and added a third finger, stroking in and out, loosening Lorne’s hole and getting him ready to accept David’s cock.
When he was able to get a forth finger in, he figured Lorne was as ready as he ever would be. “Go up on your knees.” Lorne slowly obeyed, but now because he was a little drunk on pleasure. “You may Bir, if you like,” David told him.
He pushed Lorne’s shoulder down when he came up onto his hands and knees. “Down, just your ass up for now.” He liked the line Lorne made, and took a moment to admire just how pretty his telpa was. He stroked Lorne’s flanks as he moved up behind him.
Unable to wait any longer, he grasped his throbbing cock and rubbed against Lorne, shifting until he was where he wanted to be. He pressed forward, slowly breaching the hole he’d so meticulously prepared. He had obviously done a good job; Lorne remained relaxed and just groaned as David pushed in. When he was in to the hilt, he paused, waiting for Lorne to adjust.
“More?” Lorne glanced back over his shoulder and asked. His eyes were glazed over and David smiled triumphantly, he’d known Lorne was a keeper the moment he’d set eyes on him in the pens.
He wanted more, so David gave him more. He pulled almost all the way out and sank back in. Lorne grunted and then sighed as David did it again.
“Goddess,” Lorne swore. He suddenly started to shove backwards, meeting each thrust. Letting out a joyful laugh at his telpa’s eagerness, David obliged him, grasping his hips and yanking him back to meet him as he moved forward. Lorne started murmuring, “Yes, more. Goddess. More.”
The vocal encouragement nearly sent David over the edge he was precariously holding onto. Lorne had not obeyed his command to Bir. David contemplated ordering again, but then decided not to throw Lorne off balance with a command when he was lost in the heat of the moment. He reached around and grasped Lorne’s cock and started to stroke him. At the same time, he changed his angle to make sure to hit the spot that had brought Lorne such pleasure earlier.
Lorne gave a shudder and gasped, hitting his climax and spraying the bed beneath him with his essence. David came soon afterwards. He pulled out and let Lorne collapse down onto the bed.
He dropped down beside him, watching his telpa. Lorne had a slight smile on his face as he dozed. When David caught himself about to caress Lorne’s cheek, he jerked his hand back and chastised himself for the momentary weakness.
When he shifted to get comfortable on his back, Lorne’s eyes suddenly sprang open and he looked slightly panicked. “I’m sorry Wrin, I’ll move.”
“Stay there. Or get under the covers if you’re cold. You’re allowed to sleep here. Or go back to the antechamber if you prefer your own couch.”
He waited to see what Lorne would do. Lorne got up and shuffled to the door. Sliding beneath the sheet, The Wrin felt a slight unease come over him. It lightened a bit when Lorne came back into the bedchamber with a damp rag in his hand.
He approached the side of the bed. “Shall I Cre?”
“Yes, thank you.” Pulling the covers back, David smiled as Lorne gently washed him off. When he was done, Lorne tucked the blanket back around David and then left the room.
David didn’t realize how much he wanted the telpa to stay until Lorne came back and slid beneath the covers beside him and wriggled around before settling against the pillows.
Smiling, David reached over and doused the lamp beside the bed and settled in to sleep.
~*~
It was the best night of sleep The Wrin had in a very long time. When he woke, he was embarrassed to find himself wrapped around Lorne. He untangled himself and got up. He stood beside the bed, staring down at the sleeping telpa. He looked so young, with his face unguarded in sleep.
Quietly, David went to the bathing chamber for his morning ablutions. When he returned, Lorne was just waking.
“Time to get up. We’ve errands to run, the things we didn’t do yesterday thanks to Koyla’s interference.”
Lorne quickly rolled out of the bed and turned to make it up.
“Leave it. Someone will see to it. Go dress, we’re going into the city, wear Bardero colors this time.”
The telpa was waiting by the chamber door, clad in green and gray when David finished dressing. Silently, David opened the door and strode down the corridor, knowing Lorne would be at his heel.
Before going to the dining hall, David stopped at the major domo’s chamber and told him he needed the small carriage.
David wanted to be done and about his business, so he handed Lorne a plate and told him to serve himself from the food set out on the table. He gestured to the small alcove beside the dining hall where there was a simple table and chairs set up for telpa to use while serving in the main dining hall. “Go there and eat. Come to me when you’ve finished.”
Rushing through his meal, David was finished before Lorne came to him. He pushed away from the table and led the way to the front doors. The carriage and driver waited.
As Lorne settled onto the bench beside him, David reached over and cupped a hand behind Lorne’s neck, drawing the telpa across the bench seat to him. He bent his head and put his mouth to Lorne’s neck, halfway between his jaw and the collar of his tunic. He held Lorne there, sucking on the same spot. When he pulled back, he nodded in satisfaction at the purpling bruise he had made.
Lorne’s eyes held confusion as he looked at The Wrin.
“Mine,” David said simply, his last word on the matter.
By the time they got to their last stop David was hot and tired and very cranky. Bardero Mac’Kay was being a nuisance and would not cooperate with the guild’s edicts. Ordinarily, David would have stopped by Sassa Zoe’s to burn off the aggravation from the failed meeting, but he had no desire to do that today. He made the driver stop in front of a marking shop and climbed down to the walk in front of it.
“Rer, Lorne.”
Lorne eyed the sign over the door and followed.
“How may I assist?” the shopkeeper asked.
David grabbed Lorne’s sleeve and pulled him forward. He put a hand atop Lorne’s head and forced it down, exposing the back of his neck as his brown hair fell forward. “I want THAT obscured.”
The marker eyed Wrina Emmagen’s mark on Lorne’s neck. “I don’t know, a breeding mark is not supposed to be…”
“I don’t give a shit about the marking traditions. They aren’t the law. I want Wrina Emma’gen’s mark off my telpa!” he was being unreasonable, he knew it as soon as the words came out of his mouth. He didn’t care.
“Oh, Bardero Emma’gen, I didn’t realize, it has been a number of years since that mark was stricken. Of course, of course, this is a different situation entirely. Which Bardero are you from?”
David sighed and rolled his eyes. He could have waited until the private marker the Barderos used came around to them again in the autumn, but he was impatient. “I’m Wrin Parr’ish.”
“Your pardon, Wrin. I don’t often get a Wrin visiting my shop.” The marker eyed the ink on Lorne’s neck. “I won’t be able to cover this with your mark, you understand.”
“I know. Just obscure that one. Put mine somewhere else.”
“I can do that.”
Lorne straightened up when David pushed at him to do so. He looked confused. “Wrin?”
“I will not have what happened yesterday happen again. You are mine. My mark will be on you, not that she-demon’s.”
The telpa’s eyes went wide at the vehemence in David’s tone. He nodded and followed the marker to the chair-bench combination at the back of the shop. Lorne straddled it and set his chin in the indentation made for the purpose.
It did not take much time for the marker to fill in the ink and make a small colored square on the back of Lorne’s neck where Bardero Emma’gen’s infertility mark used to be.
“Where do you want your mark placed, Wrin Parr’ish?”
Feeling magnanimous, David said, “Lorne, choose.”
Lorne raised his head and smiled dopily at David. He was obviously on a marking high. “Can I have it where you have yours?”
Chuckling at the expression and the slurring of Lorne’s words, David waved his hand and said; “Why not? Put it here,” David jabbed a finger on Lorne’s ass, at the same spot where his own mark was located.
With another sloppy grin, Lorne wriggled out of his trousers and dropped back onto the bench. The marker worked quickly, changing needles as he needed to make the Bardero’s mark.
At one point Lorne tilted his head to one side and looked up at David. “How does he know what the mark should look like?” The telpa’s eyes were shining; he really was on a marking high.
David pointed up at the wall, which was lined with the emblems of every major Bardero in, around and doing business with The Springs. “Third row down, four from the wall.”
Lorne turned his head and looked and sighed, “Oh.” Then he passed out.
The marker offered to rouse him with smelling salts but David waved them off, letting Lorne sleep off the high as the marker finished doing the ink.
When it was done, David nodded his approval and paid the man for his work. Lorne woke as David was counting out the coins into the marker’s hand. “Just in time to go home.”
“I’m sorry, Wrin Parr’ish,” Lorne blushed as he scrambled awkwardly off the bench and tied up his trousers. He winced slightly as he took a step.
When they got outside, David eyed first the carriage and then Lorne. “I think we’ll walk home,” he said, dismissing the driver. The bumps and jostling would be torture on the telpa’s posterior.
“Wrin?”
“I need the fresh air, and the walk will clear your head, and the ride would be bumpy.”
Lorne smiled at him in gratitude, catching on quickly to what David was doing for him.
David gestured at Lorne’s newly inked rear end. “Besides, you’re properly marked now. No one is taking you from me.”
The End.
Fandom: SGA
Series: AU - Telpa ‘verse Sequence 1.5
Characters/Pairing: Parrish/Lorne
Orientation: Slash
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 5,249
Notes: I present a missing scene from the Telpa ‘verse. It would fall Between Choice and Mine to Keep in sequence/chronology. Written for
clwilson2006 as a giftie for the scifiland gift giving - because I’m warped and kinky and twisted and have a dirty mind, and I think she actually *LIKES* that about me.Prompt: HC Bingo fill: “Dungeons”
Wrin Parr’ish was annoyed with himself. In a temper, he strode into the main audience chamber of Bardero Parr’ish. He seemed to have no control or restraint when it came to his new body telpa, Lorne. In the two days following his acquisition of the telpa, he had found the only way to keep his mind from drifting to thoughts of Lorne was to keep Lorne close at hand, where David could see him.
He hadn’t even been able to assuage his temper on the object of his annoyance, since Lorne had proven thus far to be a perfectly well behaved telpa. He didn’t need punishment. His form was perfect. He was always where he needed to be, when he needed to be there. And he smelled good. David couldn’t even discipline him for his hygiene habits.
“David! What is that doing here?” The DranWrin bellowed, and pointed behind David.
He stopped in his tracks, and though he knew precisely what his father was talking about he affected an innocent look and said airily, “My apologies, DranWrin, what is what doing here?”
“Don’t start playing games with me. I am in no mood for you today, David. The telpa, what is that telpa doing here?” His father’s cheeks began to pink up a bit as he grew more and more irritated with David’s attitude.
David glanced over his shoulder at Lorne, following in his wake at a respectable distance. “Oh. That’s Lorne,” he deliberately didn’t answer the question put to him, in an attempt to gage just how much nonsense his father would actually tolerate before the threats became serious.
“I did not ask for its name. I asked what it is doing here. This is a business meeting, David!” The DranWrin was now fully red in the face. When he started huffing for breath and grunting, David would back off.
“I bought a body guard.” He hadn’t actually thought of it until that moment, but Lorne was rather well suited to the task, being former military.
“You don’t need a body guard in attendance on the grounds of your own Bardero, David!” this exclamation came from his brother Phil, glaring daggers at him from his seat beside their father. The representatives from the other Barderos expected at the meeting had yet to arrive, and so The DranWrin and Sran didn’t have to be polite yet.
“He’s in training. He goes where I go,” David replied, and moved to take his seat. He gathered his robes under him and settled himself comfortably for what promised to be a long and boring meeting.
Once he was settled, he glanced back at Lorne. “Rer.” Lorne hesitated for the barest fraction of a moment, glanced over at the scowling and highly agitated DranWrin then obeyed the order of his Wrin. As he reached David’s side, he bent down when David crooked his finger at him. “You will wait there, by the wall. You may stay standing at attention or you may go into Pol if you tire. If you need to use the necessary before the meeting breaks to do so, change your position to catch my attention and point to the door. Do you understand?”
“Yes Wrin,” Lorne replied, and went to take up a position behind David, but within the range of his peripheral vision.
As expected, the meeting was tedious. The DranWrin got into a heated argument with DranWrin Mac’Kay which resulted in DranWrin Mac’Kay, Wrina Jean and Wrin Rodney storming out of the meeting. Sasso Cal’dwell almost left along with the representatives of Bardero Mac’Kay, but was calmed down by the always level headed Wrin Wools’ey. David was mildly disappointed that it all ended so quickly; the dispute was the only remotely interesting thing to come of the meeting.
The DranWrin called David over as the proceedings ended and people began to leave. “David, you will go to Sasso O’Neill’s place and collect the telpa he is sending for training.”
“Surely Max and Anjenne can be trusted with this errand, DranWrin?” David hated the trip to O’Neill’s; it was remote and hard to reach and he had to leave the carriage and walk through a more disreputable part of the city to get there.
“Are you questioning my order, David?” The look on his father’s face promised painful retribution, should the answer to the question be anything but, ‘No, DranWrin.’ Having no desire to spend the night bound to the cross or chained and hung from the ceiling and whipped by Phil eagerly carrying out their father’s orders, David wisely made the proper response.
He knew where the line was and he had no intention of crossing it. His mother might have raised a troublesome pest, but he was a smart troublesome pest.
~*~
Walking through the poorly lit streets, David was very much on edge. He hated this part of the city.
A hand fell on David’s shoulder and he jumped, startled at the unexpected touch. “Someone is following us, Wrin Parr’ish.” Lorne had moved up very close to David’s back.
“Are you certain?”
Leaning close, Lorne spoke quickly and quietly. “Yes, Wrin Parr’ish. I count three shadows; they have been on our trail since we left the carriage. They are using the alleyways to duck into. One has a sword; I saw a glint of metal in the streetlamp.” It was the longest string of words Lorne had spoken together at one time since David had purchased him.
With a heavy sigh, David mentally calculated how much further they had to go to reach O’Neill’s Tavern. The longest unlit stretch still lay before them. Their pursuers probably intended to make their move there.
“Stay close, they’ll probably move on us when we reach the end of this row of buildings,” Lorne nodded at David’s low order and fell just a step behind him.
The attackers were sneaky, they didn’t wait. And there were six of them. Three more emerged from an alleyway in front of them, trapping David and Lorne between the two groups.
Armed only with David’s dagger, hastily drawn and poorly wielded, it was a very quick fight. He didn’t even get one good hit in. David was knocked unconscious by a blow from behind.
~*~
“Wrin Parr’ish? Can you hear me?”
David roused slowly. The first thing he noticed was that his arms hurt. The second thing he noticed was that he was cold. He was cold because his feet were bare and he was standing in a thick puddle of slimy ooze. His arms hurt because his wrists were manacled together and his arms were pulled up over his head, attached to chains going up to the ceiling.
Wonderful; he had ended the day in chains, despite doing his father’s bidding.
“Wrin Parr’ish?”
“I heard you, Lorne, now be quiet.” He could barely make out Lorne’s figure in the light being cast by the torches in the wall sconces. “Are you chained too?”
“Yes.”
“Have they questioned you?”
“No.”
“Do not use my title again. They might not know who I am.”
“They were looking for a mark on your neck and feet, I don’t think they found one,” Lorne offered, his voice echoing slightly off the stone walls of the dungeon.
“No, they wouldn’t have, that isn’t where I’m marked.” They hadn’t checked the discreet areas where a Wrin or Sran would be marked, so it stood to reason that they didn’t know David was a Wrin, which led him to believe they had fallen in with brigands.
Lorne replied, “They checked me too. They were excited to see Wrina Emma’gen’s mark. They said I was fair game.”
Damn. David had meant to have Lorne properly inked with Bardero Parr’ish’s mark, but had not gotten to doing so. David was safe from sale in the pens no matter what happened, due to the red mark of a powerful Bardero on his person. But Lorne’s mark was a dead Bardero, a house in disgrace. He was, as he had quoted the brigands as saying, “fair game.”
Approaching footsteps echoed through the dungeon. “Well, I see you’re awake,” a deep voice said.
“Yes. Now undo these bindings and let me loose.” David met the dark eyes of the unpleasant looking man now standing before him.
The man laughed, “Now, why would I do that when I went to all the trouble of trussing you up properly?”
“Because if you do not, I will make sure that you are hunted down and destroyed.”
“Big threat, little man, you don’t even know who I am.”
Lorne cleared his throat and called out helpfully, “Koyla. I heard them talking when they brought us in. His name is Koyla.”
Koyla scowled in Lorne’s direction, and if looks could kill, the telpa would be dead.
“Yeah, he fits the description. Ugly as a whorehog,” Lorne said in a mocking voice, drawing Koyla’s full attention. The man strode over and backhanded Lorne. David winced as he heard the impact. Lorne’s head snapped back and hit the wall behind him and he slumped forward, unconscious, dangling limply from the chains that held him to the wall.
“If you have permanently damaged my property you will answer to the Magistrar!” David shouted, truly concerned for Lorne.
“I do not answer to the Magistrar,” Koyla growled.
“No one is above the law.”
“I do not fear the law.”
“Then fear the wrath of my father. When he finds out about this, he will have you tracked down and killed.” It was David’s hope that his father’s name still held sway in the more nefarious circles that dwelt and did business in The Springs.”
“And who might your father be, little rich boy?”
“DranWrin Oscar Parr’ish,”
“You’re lying,” Koyla snapped, but lost some of his former bravado as he eyed David.
David jangled the chains and glared at the brigand leader. “Am I? Is that a chance you’re willing to take? Release me and my telpa now and I am willing to forget this abduction.”
Koyla moved across the gap separating them. “Where’s your mark?”
Sighing heavily, David replied, “Left hip.”
Rough fingers undid the ties of David’s plain gray trousers. He regretted not wearing his robes; the ornate Bardero robes might have prevented this abduction. But the garb was a two-edged sword; the robes might have marked him as bait ripe for a ransom. Dragging the waistband down, Koyla shifted over to allow the torchlight to fall on David’s skin.
Angrily, Koyla dragged the trousers up again. “Ladon! Get your ass in here and undo these chains!” He paced in circles as his henchman appeared and started undoing the bindings holding David.
“If I release you?” Koyla asked.
“Amnesty. This time. If our paths cross again, I shall not be so forgiving.”
Koyla stroked his chin. “I could ransom you.”
“My father wouldn’t pay. And when you sent my body back to him, he would hunt you down and see that you regretted it for the rest of your life. He does not lack the resources to do it.”
When the chains fell free, David rubbed at his abused wrists and tossed his head towards Lorne, “My telpa too.”
“Ladon! Wake the telpa and let him loose.”
Wincing in sympathy as Lorne was splashed in the face with a bucketful of cold water, David waited for Ladon to free him. He moved to Lorne’s side and caught him when he would have fallen to the stone floor of the dungeon.
“I cannot just let you walk out of here,” Koyla said.
“Mask us and leave us at O’Neill’s, neutral ground. I have neither the means nor desire to have your men followed from there,” David tried to infuse disdain into his voice to convince the brigand to let them go. Koyla could still decide to kill them and dump the bodies. Parr’ish hoped that alternative did not occur to Koyla or his man Ladon.
It seemed it did not. He and Lorne were blindfolded and led up narrow stone stairs. David almost fell when his foot touched upon open air as he climbed. He immediately pressed against the wall for the rest of the climb. “Lorne, stay close to the wall.”
“I am.” Smart Lorne. He had been unconscious when David revealed his identity, and so did not know that the brigands knew David was a Wrin. He was still following David’s command not to address him by title.
They were taken to a carriage, shoved inside and driven quite a distance, likely in circles so that they could not find their way back, which was a wasted effort, since David didn’t pay any attention to the details of the trip. He had no intention of reneging on his part of the deal. He would not seek Koyla out for this affront, so long as Koyla kept his part of the bargain.
When the blindfold was removed, David blinked at the gaslight he stood beneath. Behind him, when he turned was O’Neill’s Tavern. Lorne was rubbing his head and blinking at the light as he stood beside him. A dark, non-descript carriage drove off into the night, leaving them there.
David turned to Lorne. “Are you bleeding? How bad is that head wound?”
“I don’t think so.” Lorne held the hand he had been rubbing his head with up in the light. There was no blood on it. “It hurts, but my vision is clear, I don’t think it is too serious.”
“Are you nauseous?”
“No. I’m hungry, actually.”
“That is a good sign. O’Neill will feed us. Let’s go in, eat, collect the troublesome telpa that my father is so eager to get his hands on, and arrange for an escort back to the carriage.”
~*~
Arriving back at Bardero Parr’ish, David decided not to mention their little escapade. The less his father knew, the better, was David’s belief. He left the new telpa from O’Neill’s with Anjenne and retired to his chambers with Lorne at his heel.
He waited until Lorne was inside and then he slammed the door, venting some of his pent up anger over the day’s events. Lorne jumped at the sound of the door slamming and stopped in his tracks. David saw his shoulders curl in, ever so slightly, as if bracing for a strike.
“I’m not angry at you Lorne. Go run the bath.” He waved his crop in the direction of the bathing chamber.
“Little Priestess!”
“Yes, Wrin?” She ran forward, having come out of the antechamber at the sound of the door slamming. Only David ever slammed the door to his chamber, he was the only one permitted to do so. The DranWrin could, if he ever came to these rooms, but he never did.
David glanced at Laura, who was looking at the crop in his hand apprehensively. He needed to get rid of this excess anger, but he knew in that moment that he would hurt the girl if he touched her. His training asserted itself. He should never raise a tool in anger. He tossed the crop aside and threw himself into his favorite chair to sulk.
He was in a mood tonight for certain. Even the thought of Laura’s mouth on him didn’t perk his interest.
“Go find Mual; I need some lotion for chafing.” David held his reddened wrist up for her to see. She nodded and ran from the chamber. Smart girl.
Lorne appeared in the doorway of the bath chamber. “The water is ready, Wrin Parr’ish.”
“Then get in it. Soak yourself for a while,” David snapped and Lorne looked surprised at the order. David was surprised at himself for giving it. He wasn’t usually so solicitous of his telpa. Another symptom of this odd fascination he had for this particular telpa. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
Soft hands on his wrists made him snap his head up. Laura knelt beside the chair, a jar of Mual’s lotion in her hand. “I’ll put it on, if you like, Wrin.”
He sat back again and held his wrist out to her and closed his eyes. Her touch was gentle and the lotion soothed. When she had done both wrists, he kept his eyes closed and head tilted back as he told her, “Go and check on Lorne. He might need some of that as well. Look at his head too, he took a nasty hit.” He heard the flip-flap of her sandals on the tile as she went to do so.
Another gentle touch on his shoulder roused him from a light sleep. Lorne stood beside the chair, his hair wet from the bath and slicked back, a towel wrapped around his waist. “I’ve refilled the bathing tub, Wrin.”
David nodded and pushed up out of the chair. “Go wait for me in my chamber. Don’t bother getting dressed. You can lie down, but don’t go to sleep, or I’ll wake you and I won’t be happy about needing to do so.”
He hadn’t touched either of his new telpa in a sexual manner since that first day when he brought them home. But he needed to work this mood off, sex might do it.
He bathed quickly and toweled off, padding towards his chamber, unconcerned with his nudity. The curtains of the antechamber fluttered and Laura stepped out. “Go to bed, Little Priestess, I’ve no further need of you tonight.”
As expected, Lorne had done exactly as David had ordered. He was on the bed, wide awake. He was obviously acutely uncomfortable being there. His cock was limp against his thigh. Seeing his discomfort, David remembered again that Lorne was unaccustomed to sex with men. He shivered at the realization that he would be the first.
“Relax,” David climbed up onto the bed and trailed his fingers across Lorne’s abdomen. He lightly stroked Lorne’s cock, though he didn’t respond in the way David had hoped. Giving a sigh, he waved to the table beside the bed. “Get the lotion.”
Lorne rolled and retrieved the jar. David dipped two fingers in and scooped up a glob of slick greasy ointment. “Tes.” Lorne blinked at the unfamiliar command. Making a rolling motion with his hand, David ordered, “Tes, means roll over. I want you on your belly - right now.”
Chewing his lip nervously, Lorne flopped over.
“Ven.” He slapped at Lorne’s thigh. Lorne obeyed, spreading his legs apart, though he did so slowly. “Are you afraid of me, Lorne?”
“Noooo,” his answer was hesitant.
“I wouldn’t hurt you here. I’m not the sort that likes pain in the bedroom. Elsewhere, but not in my bed,” David wondered if the words were as reassuring as he intended them to be. When Lorne relaxed slightly, David thought something must have gotten through, either the words or the tone. “Have you been hurt before, by sex games?” David needed to know, he didn’t want to repeat something that would shut his telpa down. He had seen the scars on his telpa’s body, in places a lash should never be used.
Lorne just nodded, again, hesitantly. David thought that Wrina Emma’gen must have been quite cruel, to have carried her Training Room aberrations to the bedroom.
“I don’t use sex to punish, you are permitted to enjoy yourself here, and that is the last I will say on this matter.” At those words, Lorne sagged slightly against the mattress, relaxing even more.
David slipped his fingers into the crack of Lorne’s bum, slowly sliding down and spreading the lotion. “Don’t tense up. It will always be worse if you tense up.” He dipped his finger back into the jar and then reached down and pushed the tip of one finger into Lorne’s hole. “Easy Lorne, you’re clenching. Bear down a little, it might help.” He rubbed small circles on Lorne’s lower back with his other hand until Lorne relaxed and his finger slid in and out with ease.
He applied more lotion and pushed a second finger in. He wriggled his fingers and found Lorne’s hot spot, lightly poking at him until Lorne let out a low moan of pleasure. “Does that feel good?”
“Yeah. More like that, do that again,” Pleasure was loosening Lorne’s tongue; he was forgetting his manners and giving his Wrin orders. David smiled at the lapse and added a third finger, stroking in and out, loosening Lorne’s hole and getting him ready to accept David’s cock.
When he was able to get a forth finger in, he figured Lorne was as ready as he ever would be. “Go up on your knees.” Lorne slowly obeyed, but now because he was a little drunk on pleasure. “You may Bir, if you like,” David told him.
He pushed Lorne’s shoulder down when he came up onto his hands and knees. “Down, just your ass up for now.” He liked the line Lorne made, and took a moment to admire just how pretty his telpa was. He stroked Lorne’s flanks as he moved up behind him.
Unable to wait any longer, he grasped his throbbing cock and rubbed against Lorne, shifting until he was where he wanted to be. He pressed forward, slowly breaching the hole he’d so meticulously prepared. He had obviously done a good job; Lorne remained relaxed and just groaned as David pushed in. When he was in to the hilt, he paused, waiting for Lorne to adjust.
“More?” Lorne glanced back over his shoulder and asked. His eyes were glazed over and David smiled triumphantly, he’d known Lorne was a keeper the moment he’d set eyes on him in the pens.
He wanted more, so David gave him more. He pulled almost all the way out and sank back in. Lorne grunted and then sighed as David did it again.
“Goddess,” Lorne swore. He suddenly started to shove backwards, meeting each thrust. Letting out a joyful laugh at his telpa’s eagerness, David obliged him, grasping his hips and yanking him back to meet him as he moved forward. Lorne started murmuring, “Yes, more. Goddess. More.”
The vocal encouragement nearly sent David over the edge he was precariously holding onto. Lorne had not obeyed his command to Bir. David contemplated ordering again, but then decided not to throw Lorne off balance with a command when he was lost in the heat of the moment. He reached around and grasped Lorne’s cock and started to stroke him. At the same time, he changed his angle to make sure to hit the spot that had brought Lorne such pleasure earlier.
Lorne gave a shudder and gasped, hitting his climax and spraying the bed beneath him with his essence. David came soon afterwards. He pulled out and let Lorne collapse down onto the bed.
He dropped down beside him, watching his telpa. Lorne had a slight smile on his face as he dozed. When David caught himself about to caress Lorne’s cheek, he jerked his hand back and chastised himself for the momentary weakness.
When he shifted to get comfortable on his back, Lorne’s eyes suddenly sprang open and he looked slightly panicked. “I’m sorry Wrin, I’ll move.”
“Stay there. Or get under the covers if you’re cold. You’re allowed to sleep here. Or go back to the antechamber if you prefer your own couch.”
He waited to see what Lorne would do. Lorne got up and shuffled to the door. Sliding beneath the sheet, The Wrin felt a slight unease come over him. It lightened a bit when Lorne came back into the bedchamber with a damp rag in his hand.
He approached the side of the bed. “Shall I Cre?”
“Yes, thank you.” Pulling the covers back, David smiled as Lorne gently washed him off. When he was done, Lorne tucked the blanket back around David and then left the room.
David didn’t realize how much he wanted the telpa to stay until Lorne came back and slid beneath the covers beside him and wriggled around before settling against the pillows.
Smiling, David reached over and doused the lamp beside the bed and settled in to sleep.
~*~
It was the best night of sleep The Wrin had in a very long time. When he woke, he was embarrassed to find himself wrapped around Lorne. He untangled himself and got up. He stood beside the bed, staring down at the sleeping telpa. He looked so young, with his face unguarded in sleep.
Quietly, David went to the bathing chamber for his morning ablutions. When he returned, Lorne was just waking.
“Time to get up. We’ve errands to run, the things we didn’t do yesterday thanks to Koyla’s interference.”
Lorne quickly rolled out of the bed and turned to make it up.
“Leave it. Someone will see to it. Go dress, we’re going into the city, wear Bardero colors this time.”
The telpa was waiting by the chamber door, clad in green and gray when David finished dressing. Silently, David opened the door and strode down the corridor, knowing Lorne would be at his heel.
Before going to the dining hall, David stopped at the major domo’s chamber and told him he needed the small carriage.
David wanted to be done and about his business, so he handed Lorne a plate and told him to serve himself from the food set out on the table. He gestured to the small alcove beside the dining hall where there was a simple table and chairs set up for telpa to use while serving in the main dining hall. “Go there and eat. Come to me when you’ve finished.”
Rushing through his meal, David was finished before Lorne came to him. He pushed away from the table and led the way to the front doors. The carriage and driver waited.
As Lorne settled onto the bench beside him, David reached over and cupped a hand behind Lorne’s neck, drawing the telpa across the bench seat to him. He bent his head and put his mouth to Lorne’s neck, halfway between his jaw and the collar of his tunic. He held Lorne there, sucking on the same spot. When he pulled back, he nodded in satisfaction at the purpling bruise he had made.
Lorne’s eyes held confusion as he looked at The Wrin.
“Mine,” David said simply, his last word on the matter.
By the time they got to their last stop David was hot and tired and very cranky. Bardero Mac’Kay was being a nuisance and would not cooperate with the guild’s edicts. Ordinarily, David would have stopped by Sassa Zoe’s to burn off the aggravation from the failed meeting, but he had no desire to do that today. He made the driver stop in front of a marking shop and climbed down to the walk in front of it.
“Rer, Lorne.”
Lorne eyed the sign over the door and followed.
“How may I assist?” the shopkeeper asked.
David grabbed Lorne’s sleeve and pulled him forward. He put a hand atop Lorne’s head and forced it down, exposing the back of his neck as his brown hair fell forward. “I want THAT obscured.”
The marker eyed Wrina Emmagen’s mark on Lorne’s neck. “I don’t know, a breeding mark is not supposed to be…”
“I don’t give a shit about the marking traditions. They aren’t the law. I want Wrina Emma’gen’s mark off my telpa!” he was being unreasonable, he knew it as soon as the words came out of his mouth. He didn’t care.
“Oh, Bardero Emma’gen, I didn’t realize, it has been a number of years since that mark was stricken. Of course, of course, this is a different situation entirely. Which Bardero are you from?”
David sighed and rolled his eyes. He could have waited until the private marker the Barderos used came around to them again in the autumn, but he was impatient. “I’m Wrin Parr’ish.”
“Your pardon, Wrin. I don’t often get a Wrin visiting my shop.” The marker eyed the ink on Lorne’s neck. “I won’t be able to cover this with your mark, you understand.”
“I know. Just obscure that one. Put mine somewhere else.”
“I can do that.”
Lorne straightened up when David pushed at him to do so. He looked confused. “Wrin?”
“I will not have what happened yesterday happen again. You are mine. My mark will be on you, not that she-demon’s.”
The telpa’s eyes went wide at the vehemence in David’s tone. He nodded and followed the marker to the chair-bench combination at the back of the shop. Lorne straddled it and set his chin in the indentation made for the purpose.
It did not take much time for the marker to fill in the ink and make a small colored square on the back of Lorne’s neck where Bardero Emma’gen’s infertility mark used to be.
“Where do you want your mark placed, Wrin Parr’ish?”
Feeling magnanimous, David said, “Lorne, choose.”
Lorne raised his head and smiled dopily at David. He was obviously on a marking high. “Can I have it where you have yours?”
Chuckling at the expression and the slurring of Lorne’s words, David waved his hand and said; “Why not? Put it here,” David jabbed a finger on Lorne’s ass, at the same spot where his own mark was located.
With another sloppy grin, Lorne wriggled out of his trousers and dropped back onto the bench. The marker worked quickly, changing needles as he needed to make the Bardero’s mark.
At one point Lorne tilted his head to one side and looked up at David. “How does he know what the mark should look like?” The telpa’s eyes were shining; he really was on a marking high.
David pointed up at the wall, which was lined with the emblems of every major Bardero in, around and doing business with The Springs. “Third row down, four from the wall.”
Lorne turned his head and looked and sighed, “Oh.” Then he passed out.
The marker offered to rouse him with smelling salts but David waved them off, letting Lorne sleep off the high as the marker finished doing the ink.
When it was done, David nodded his approval and paid the man for his work. Lorne woke as David was counting out the coins into the marker’s hand. “Just in time to go home.”
“I’m sorry, Wrin Parr’ish,” Lorne blushed as he scrambled awkwardly off the bench and tied up his trousers. He winced slightly as he took a step.
When they got outside, David eyed first the carriage and then Lorne. “I think we’ll walk home,” he said, dismissing the driver. The bumps and jostling would be torture on the telpa’s posterior.
“Wrin?”
“I need the fresh air, and the walk will clear your head, and the ride would be bumpy.”
Lorne smiled at him in gratitude, catching on quickly to what David was doing for him.
David gestured at Lorne’s newly inked rear end. “Besides, you’re properly marked now. No one is taking you from me.”
The End.