Bellicose, p.1
Bellicose, page 1
Bellicose
Published by Jan Stryvant
Copyright 2023 Jan Stryvant
Copyright Jan Stryvant 2023
Cover Credits: eBook Launch (http://ebooklaunch.com/)
No part of this eBook may be reproduced in any form without expressed, written consent from the author. The material in this story may feature graphic depictions of a sexual or adult nature and is intended for a mature audience only. All characters in this story are fictional and of the legal age of consent for any activities they engage in. Any resemblance between characters, places, or things in this story, and people living or dead, actual places, or events, is purely coincidental. It's fiction; I made it up.
License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be copied and given away, or copied and sold, to other people. Got that? No copying, please! If you would like to share this book with another person, it would be really nice if you purchased an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use, please consider purchasing your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
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Table of Contents
Two Steps Back
Learning to Walk Again
Repeat and Rinse
Another Lost Weekend
Somewhere, Out There
Corrective Action
Because It's What I Want To Do
It's All In The Execution
Continuing Onward
Surprise, Surprise!
Let's Not Do That Again
Bartertown
King Log
Business Unusual
Opening Day
The Old Fashioned Way
Crossed Lines
Backroom Talk
Inauguration Day
Afterword
Appendix - Djevels! (Levels and Types)
Appendix - Family Tree (Children)
Appendix - Husbands & Wives
Two Steps Back
Louise watched as Mihalis paced back and forth in the small room, padding to one wall, then back to the other, only taking a couple of steps each time before he turned his entire body, his paw pads landing in the exact same spots as he went back and forth.
"Do you have to do that?" Louise asked with a sigh.
"Sorry, Grandma," Mihalis' beast said, and then just plopped down onto the floor with a loud exhalation.
"Are you two talking?"
"No. He's trying to figure out how to deal with this better, and I'm fretting because I'd rather be pacing; it's calming."
"It is?"
"It keeps me from getting tense."
"Would it help if you took a nap?"
"I don't know, Grandma, he's pretty tense right now."
"But you're in control of the body, so if you go to sleep, he goes to sleep. Isn't that right?"
"Might as well," Mihalis told his lion.
"You weren't as angry when you woke up. It might help," his lion agreed.
Giving a shrug of his massive shoulders, he closed his eyes, blew out his breath, and in the way of cats everywhere, was asleep in moments.
"Is he okay?" Shaylee asked softly, coming in a few minutes later.
"Not really," Louise replied in an equally soft voice as Shaylee took the other seat in the room.
"Sampson said he 'split'? What does that mean?"
"Lycans have dual personalities. Their beast and their human—or in Mihalis' case, his dark elf. When they shift their bodies, their minds also shift. Those personalities start off as fairly distinct, because each body has unique abilities and requirements. One personality is in charge; the other sits in the background and sort of 'advises' the other, depending on which form they're in. I don't quite get that part. But over time, they integrate into one whole, or mostly whole. There's still things one side can turn over to the other if they don't want to deal with it or experience it."
"What kinds of things?"
"Chores, schoolwork, those kinds of things, the beast just checks right out and lets the other half deal with it," Louise said with a smile.
"And the other side?"
"Sometimes if you have to do something nasty or bad, or just typical animal things, they let their beast deal with it. Take Natalie. She can't kill. She just can't do it. But her lioness can. So if they go hunting, or if they ever got into a fight, she'd let her lioness do that for her."
Shaylee nodded slowly. "Okay, I think I understand that. So what makes this a big deal?
"Mihalis can't manifest his hybrid form if his two sides are split."
"Does this kind of thing happen often?"
Louise shook her head. "I have no idea. You'd have to ask Sam when he gets back. I only know as much about it as I do because half my grandkids are lycans, and it was a big deal for each of them when they got their hybrid form."
"So now the big one. Why'd he walk in here with such a full head of steam?"
"That oath he took. It tied him into the djevel's power, and from the sounds of it, they're always angry, and they're passing that anger on to him."
"Well, they are beings of the negative plane, so I'm not at all surprised to hear that."
"He's just always been such a sweet kid," Louise said with a heavy sigh. "I hate to see him go through something like this."
"He's hardly a kid anymore, Lou."
"Maybe not, but he's not quite an adult yet, either. He's far too willing to take on things that he's not ready for. Or at least that's what I think."
Shaylee gave a soft laugh and smiled. "Oh, I don't know about that, either. So far he's done a pretty impressive job here and seems to have been more than ready."
"He's never had to deal with anger, with real anger, until he fought and killed that lioness. How many times have you seen him angry? Really angry?"
Shaylee looked thoughtful for a moment. "Now that you mention it, I can't say that I have. Oh, I've seen him unhappy about a few things, but never really mad."
"Exactly. He's now being forced to deal with the one thing he doesn't understand, the one thing that the last time he found himself in the grips of, he ripped off a lioness' head and punted it across the compound."
"He really did that?"
"Yes, he did." Louise smiled suddenly. "Suddenly every woman in town got the surprise of their lives. Nice, polite, kind, sweet Mihalis beat up a lioness thousands of years older and more experienced than him and tore her head off. After throwing her into a building and telling her to leave him alone, mind you."
"So… they all thought he was a coward?"
"And a wimp." Louise snorted. "Nobody believed the reports from the team he was on about how tough and fearless a fighter he was."
"So how do we help him?"
"I only wish I knew. If those djevels are pumping their anger and their hate into him… how do you handle something like that?"
"His lion seems to be doing okay, though, isn't it?"
"I think so, but he's definitely worried about his other side. I can't imagine what it must be like to have your personality split like this."
§
Mihalis opened his eyes, and he was lying on his back, his paws akimbo, on the lions' mountain. He thought about shifting, but was afraid to find out that if he couldn't do it back home, he probably couldn't do it here, either.
"Want to talk about it?"
Turning his head, he saw Ceithir standing there.
"I don't know what to say," he grumbled.
"No, you know what to say. You're just afraid to."
"And why would I be afraid?" he said a little hotly.
"Because like every other lion descended from my brother, you're stubborn and hate admitting when something you're doing for all the right reasons has backfired spectacularly, and now you're feeling stupid. Which is making you angry. Which is making you even more embarrassed."
"And I take it your kids are better?"
Ceithir laughed. "No. If you were one of mine, this conversation would've started off with me beating you with a four-by-four until you agreed to confess all."
Mihalis snorted. "Might still be a good idea."
"Well, I'll pull it out if I need it. Now," she said and dropped down to sit beside him, "tell your greatest aunt all."
"I'm angry."
"I noticed."
"Like, really, incredibly angry," Mihalis growled.
"Why?"
"I took that lord's oath, and it connected me to their power-pool. But with them, it's not a pool, it's a pipeline I can't shut off completely, and it turns out djevels are angry, they're always angry, it never stops, and I can't shut it off!"
"What about your lion?"
"We split."
"Why'd you do a thing like that?"
"Because it's not really affecting him as much, I'm worried I'll pass my anger onto him, I don't think that'd be a good idea, and he agreed."
"Hmm," Ceithir said looking thoughtful. "You being descended from one of the demons from the djevel home world probably isn't helping, either."
"But lions are descended from djevels as well, so why isn't my lion…?"
Mihalis noticed the look she was giving him.
"Grandpa told me when I told them I was going to take Lord Ennakoida's oath," he explained.
"Because when Makovich's friend sacrificed himself, he did something to keep us from becoming like them, for all that we can eat them. Your dark elf heritage, however, doesn't seem to be protected."
"I figured it'd be something like that." Mihalis sighed. "So what do I do?"
"Other than learn how to live with it?" Ceithir said with a shake of her head. "I don't know."
"How can you not know? You're one of the oldest people on the planet! How do I get rid of all this anger? This rage?"
She gave him a look. "Other than killing Lord Ennakoida and breaking his oath? You don't."
"What do you mean, I don't?" he asked, rolling over onto his paws, hunkering down, and all but begging.
"Mihalis, everything I know about dealing with anger is for anger that comes from you, from inside you. I don't think any of those techniques are going to work when you've got a pipeline pushing it into you constantly."
"Fuck!" Mihalis growled.
"Well, before you go totally off the rails, and I have to break out the four-by-four and beat some sense into you, there's one thing I'd like to point out."
"And that would be?"
"Back when the demons you're descended from were an issue, and all us lions went out and 'hooked' up with them, I met this really hot hunk of incubus," Ceithir said, giving a wistful smile. "Oh, he was a lot of fun!"
"And that helps me how?" he all but growled.
"It shows that you can get yourself under control. That's how it helps. Like it or not, Mihalis, I'm pretty sure this one is going to be all on you. Well, you and your lion. Don't be afraid to let that side of you run your life for a while. Whenever you're feeling too angry, too upset, check out and put him in charge."
"You mean shift into my lion?"
"No, I mean let him run your dark elf side."
"But…"
"How many times have you run your lion body?"
"Umm, uhh… not that many."
"Well, once you've reintegrated, I suggest you let him handle the things that are upsetting you, or whenever your anger gets too strong, so you don't go doing things you'll regret later."
"That doesn't sound like a great solution," Mihalis said with a heavy sigh.
"No, but it's a solution while you try to figure out how to cope. Now wake up and talk with your lion. You two have a lot to learn. At least you already know to trust yourself."
"Thanks for the advice. I'll let you know how it works."
§
Mihalis woke up, but told his lion to keep his eyes closed and his breathing steady. He could both hear and smell his grandmother in the room; he probably hadn't been asleep that long.
'So, what do you think?'
'I think Ceithir might be right. It is affecting you more than it is me. How do you feel now, after our nap?'
Mihalis thought about it; he did feel better. He was still angry, and he could feel it slowly growing, but he was a lot less angry than he'd been just a while ago.
'I wonder if I check out and sleep and leave you in charge, if I'd get the same result?' he asked his lion.
'I can't navigate on two legs if you fall asleep.'
'Maybe you need to learn,' Mihalis teased.
'Oh? Like you've learned how to walk on four?'
Mihalis laughed at his lion as he remembered trying that once. It'd been pretty pathetic.
'I don't think we should try to integrate again just yet,' his lion continued.
'Why?'
'Because you're not going to be able to get a handle on any of this if we do? Assuming we even can right now.'
'Yeah, trying and failing right now would suck.'
"Where is… oh, there he is. You awake, Mike?" Natalie said, walking into the room, with Sampson following her.
"Yeah, I'm awake," Mihalis' lion said, standing up slowly and stretching.
"Ah, good. Grandma, Grandpa, you can go now."
"You sure?" Sampson asked as Louise got up out of the chair and took Sampson by the hand.
"He's my brother; of course I'm sure!" Natalie said with a smile and pointed at the door. "Out."
"Come on, dear, we've been dismissed," Louise said and pulled Sampson out of the room. Natalie closed the door behind them.
"So you punched grandpa in the mouth?" she asked with a grin as she turned to face him.
"He told you about that?"
"He also told me he grabbed you from behind, which was why you punched him. So, how are you two feeling?"
"Confused," Mihalis' lion said.
"Did the nap help?"
"A little. We talked to Ceithir."
"Oh? What did she tell you?"
Mihalis' lion related the conversation slowly.
"Can you let your other side talk?"
"Umm…"
"Michael?"
Mihalis 'stepped' forward and took over a little bit of control.
"Yes, Nat."
"I want to do a little magic. After that's done, would you be willing to come out long enough to walk home? We'll go in through Biggs' shop. Once you're out of sight, I'll want you to shift back so I can check you again."
"What are you checking for?"
"How angry you are, of course. This isn't something I've run into before, obviously, and I'm gonna want to compare notes with my mom. Also, I'm gonna have Rika check you out, as well as Azure and Taeria."
"I can understand Rika, she's studying tantric magic like yours, but why Azure and Taeria?"
"Because I seem to recall there's a spell you 'cubi can do called 'Sway moods'?"
Mihalis and his lion both frowned at that.
"That's an expensive spell."
"Is it? Well, how expensive is it when the target, namely you, isn't resisting?"
"Umm…" He thought about it a moment.
"Plus, Azure can tap into the power-pool, if only barely, and all three of them can most certainly tap into you!" Natalie said with a smile.
Mihalis thought some more. It was definitely worth trying, because there was no way he'd resist. Especially not Taeria, who was pregnant with his son.
"He's up for it," his lion said.
"Great! Now, sit down a moment, and let me try this. You're probably gonna feel it; it'll be like when Rika practices on you."
He sat his furry butt down and watched as she put her hands to either side of his head. It took a moment, but he felt her then as she eased into his head.
Natalie went in slowly. She'd done this before—more than once, of course—but never with any of her siblings. She didn't want to do anything that might upset him. She slipped into his leonine mind first and took a careful look, her own lioness watching carefully as well to make sure nothing was out of order.
She could see that his lion was now tied, however loosely, into the lion power pool, just as she was. It was a connection that she'd noticed in the other lions was always there, even if they weren't drawing power from it. Other than the fretting lion-Mihalis was doing over being split from dark elf-Mihalis, things appeared to be what passed for normal.
'Relax, both of you.' She pushed out into Mihalis' head, and then eased her way into his other side's thoughts.
Where lion-Mihalis had been calm and mostly organized, his other side was anything but. She could see the anger that was slowly growing in him, though she couldn't see its source. She could also see that it was affecting his aura, his chi; it was disrupting his thoughts as well as his spirit. She could also see that, buried beneath the anger was a fainter influence, one that appeared to come from the more negative and corrupt aspects of the djevels.
That influence worried her. It worried her a lot more than the anger. Anger was a natural emotion. It might cause trouble, and it could be difficult to deal with, but in and of itself, it could be dealt with. That other influence, that other energy—she wondered if perhaps that was the real source of the problem?
Pulling out of his head, she opened her eyes and sat back on her heels as she thought about what she'd seen.
"Well?" Mihalis' lion asked.
"I want to do some experiments, but not until we're back at your place, and Rika and the others are helping."
"Did you find something?"
"I found something I don't understand, but then, I'm not surprised. I've probably got the least amount of experience with djevels and their power of any of us."
"Do you think I could spend some time with the girls before we head back?"
'Shit, I forgot about them!' Mihalis thought at his lion.
'Me, too. Plus, I'd rather not go back home until the auction has shut down for the day.'
"They're pregnant now, right?" Natalie asked.
