#most proud of the mottled colors on his fur I think it looks great

[autumnpawtribe]

Loa Bound - What is in my head?

Vol sat in the kitchen of Venya and Naddja’s house, the one that Pahre kept.  Venya was dealing with personnel problems, namely a thief in the barn.  When it came to running the day to day, that was Venya’s job.  Jung, the pandaren he had hired prior to his daughter’s birth, took care of payment and settling bills, knew that someone was stealing from the barn and the farmhands, and that would not fly.  So while he was off taking care of that, Vol sat in his kitchen, waiting on Venya’s female mate to settle in.  All he told her was that they needed to talk and he was needing a favor.  She’d sent Zakin to nap and Vol put Tarja in with him, the ‘cousins’ used to sleeping in the same room at this point.  

“Teach me”  A simple request, but the weight of it was heavy as he looked up from a cup of tea. 

“Teach you what?”

“To control myself when someone comes near Xiao like Jura did.”

Naddja gave him a look.  “Jura is not that stupid to try again.”

Vol sighed.  “Does it matter if he is.  I love my Xiao, and I will kill to protect him.  You know it.  If I murder someone, that takes me away from him and my family.  I’d rather learn to control myself.  Jura says if I tried I could have learned to be a druid, but I don't have that patience.  Meditating like Xiao taught me, doesn’t kill this thing in my head.”

That brought Naddja to stand, moving to sit next to Vol and stare at him deeply.  “Why do you tend raptors…”  

Vol looked away, a very uncharacteristic movement but he was thinking.  “Felt close to them since I was little, my whole life.  Our father encouraged it.  Our mother did too, but she didn’t like me too much.  So it was not really like her.”  

“You were called Raptorblood, Venya said.  Yes?  He told me once his name was associated with birds.  Hawk.. Eagle maybe”  Vol nodded.  “I know we don’t get along great, but you don’t trust me much either.  Can you trust me right now?  No harm will come to you.  Just, don’t tell anyone because only you, Ven and Xiao know I can do this.”  

Vol gave her a look, nodded and was yanked him up the stairs to the room that she shared with Venyabi when she was at the house.  She locked the door and pointed to the quilt covered bed.  

“What in the fuck are we doing up here…”  

Naddja put her forehead to his, the same as she had done to Xiao months ago.  Instead of soft words of sorrow, her mind bellowed into Vol’s, her hand holding their heads together.  She saw the green pastures and fields of their home, surrounded by the raptors she tended to run around with, including Honor and Valor.  Her voice, all Zandalari troll, called out to the flock loud and demanding.  

“Raptorblood, namesake of this Troll.  I have heard of you and yours! Show yourself! ”

The animal spirit, a minor loa was the closest thing Naddja could relate it to, stood, tall and proud.  It shared coloring and markings with its host.  Blue scales, green and gold feathers, amber slitted eyes and yellow stripes graced his shoulder.  There was a mottled pattern on his chest, a scaly version of Vol’s tattoo.  There were even long, sharp tusks on the huge beast as it dwarfed both of the sizable males that were curled up at its feet.

“I know you, Naddja Raptari.  You serve the one who bore my sire.  The one who gave the blood to this one.”  

“Son of the Master of the Hunt…”  She shifted to her own raptor form.  “That gift of blood should not work like this.  You are a loa?”

“I am part of him, cousin.  Are you here to try to be rid of me?”  Raptorblood stared down at the raptari.  “What wrong have I caused him?”

“He nearly killed his brother.”  Naddja looked down, seeing a small red panda, not pandaren, a sunfire panda, wandering around the massive spirit’s feet.  “To protect Xiao.  That was your doing”

“He is ours, why should he not protect him.”  Raptorblood sat on his haunches.  “His mind is as it is because of me.  I will listen to the one known as Vol’raka, so long as I know that what is ours is taken care of.  The taking of Thornhoof was not acceptable.  He should know better.”  He looked down at the little golden direhorn, a pterrodax with red feathers and a tiny, barely hatched raptor ran under him.  The little mental manifestations of Vol’s family snuggled up to the blue raptor as he touched his nose to each in turn.  “You will help him let me out, and I will convince him to give you what you want.”

************************

The conversation was no more than a second as Vol pulled away, growling and moving to step away.  “What the fuck JUST happened in my head.”  

“Raptorblood, Jura wasn’t wrong.  This is … Blood magic.  Druidic…  Not Raptari.. Thing.  It’s not going to make sense.”

“I don’t have a raptor like that.”  

She could tell he’d seen the beast as she’d invaded his mind.  “That is because it was you.  Part of you.  I THINK we can get control of him back.  I’ll help.”  

Vol stiffened, but he was not paying attention to her.  It was like something was talking to him.  She knew somehow it was not one of his mates or Tarja.  “What is the thing you wanted, Naddja…”

Here came the fight.  “I will help you, but I want to be able to call Tarja my daughter.”

Now he flopped back on the bed his brother-mate shared with him.  Now she could tell he was lost talking to someone else.  She put her hand on his head and broke in to their link.  “I’ll unlock the door, don’t let Ma’da hear you.”

*********************************

Xiao felt the link being broken into and actually had to hold back a growl. It was clear he was unhappy, but he didn't say why. Quite quickly he was at the door, knocking or looking to enter. This wasn't going to be a mental talk.

Naddja unlocked the door and waited, The troll on her bed handing his head between his knees, looking nearly ill.  “Hello Xiao, welcome to my home, thank you both for paying for it.  I’ll take the pissed off look…”

“Knock it off Naddja.  He’s going to be most affected by this.”  Vol’s deep voice had a tone of confusion.  

“Don’t forget, You have two other mates.  Two others to consider.”  

Xiao gave a rather unhappy look at Naddja, not even regarding her otherwise as he rushed over to Vol and knelt beside him. “Are you alright? What did she do to you?” He whispered, gently lifting Vol’s face and cupping his cheeks, concern so clear on his features.

“I am thirty seconds from losing my breakfast…”  Vol grabbed his mate and pulled him closer, inhaling and somehow just calming down and feeling far less nauseous.  “I don’t want more things in my head.  I remember the skittering..  The thing in my head before, Xiao.  With the Nightmares.”  He laid his tusks on the other side of Xiao’s shoulder sighing.  “I can’t deal with this…”  Xiao would feel his mate swallowing repeatedly, feeling ill out of hidden fear.

Xiao held Vol for several moments before something rather shocking happened. He turned on Naddja. In a flash, he closed the distance between them, grabbing her firmly by the shoulder and pulling her down so that she was eye to eye, since she was taller than him. In a tone that would likely frighten anyone who knew Xiao’s normal voice, his words came out quiet and threatening.

“What. Did. You. Do. To. My. Mate.” 

He growled quietly, his fur bristling as he didn’t even so much as blink as he stared Naddja down.

“His head is cloudy, he is confused, I could feel it through the link. I swear if you drugged him again you will meet a fate that Jansevet would find horrifying.”

“I did not a damn thing but invaded his mind.  You blame his parents.  They were the ones who listened to his grandmother.  I knew they did the same to Venya…”  Naddja stared at Vol who started coughing, almost retching and holding himself around the middle.  “Grab him before he falls.”  She actually pushed Xiao away to grab a basket and put it in front of Vol as he began hacking up.  “Call Venya.  I know you can.”  She did as much as she could with kindness even if Xiao was that angry with her.  Her hand went down his shirt as he tucked his braid under the fabric and got up to get the water she kept in the room.  

Xiao still looked rather unhappy with her, but he huffed quietly and opted to help his Lok’dim first and deal with Naddja later. He moved over to sit on the bed beside Vol and try to gently guide him into laying sideways on his lap with the basket positioned below him. He shhh’d him quietly as he caressed the side of his head, his expression flitting back and forth between anger, worry, and confusion.

“Venya, something is wrong with Vol. I… do not know what. Right now I am with Naddja and I may have threatened her but… that is something we can talk about later. She said to call you and that something is happening to Vol that also happened to you because of his parents listening to Mama Azu? She isn’t making sense yet, but I am not done interrogating her. Just get here, please.”