#oc: eciton formicas

[egrets-not-regrets]

Museum

Warsmith Eciton Formicas takes the time to visit his bonded human, an educator who works at the local museum’s natural history exhibit. He’s not the only one at the museum that day and gets to meet his bonded’s favorite teacher.

Author’s Note: Another meetcute. 🥰 I can’t have Mara meeting Eciton in Of Fin and Feathers AU and not have them meet in Space Marine Husbandry Sentience AU. Takes place after Ben reunites with Amelia.

Tagged: @shadowfirecat , @kit-williams , @bleedingichorhearts , @barn-anon , @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan

@sleepyfan-blog , @bispecsual , @c-u-c-koo-4-40k , @ms--lobotomy , @whorety-k

@gra93fruit-blog , @i-am-a-dragon34 , @felinisnoctis

Eciton stands at the back, watching the young man talking about biodiversity of the forest undergrowth in front of a rapt audience. His lips curl into a small smile as the children excitedly wave their hands to be picked to handle the large millipede the young man held. He was glad to have scheduled some time off to visit his bonded at the museum amd watch him work. It’s not often enough that he’s able to do such a thing nor be able to keep a close eye on his human. Luckily he’s able to assign some of the Astartes at his base to keep his bonded safe in his stead.

The presentation soon finished and the audience dispersed to wander among the rest of the exhibits. Eciton walks over to where his bonded human was packing up the animals and displays he had. He gently takes the small ant farm and wolf spider display then puts them on the cart.

His human grins and thanks him.

“Was that the presentation you had been working on the past few weeks, Daniel?” The warsmith asks.

“Yes. How was it?” Daniel replies as he continues to pack up.

Eciton hums with approval, “Rather engaging, though I thought you would put some more focus on the ants.”

“You like ants, I get it.” the young man laughs, “I have to be fair about giving all creatures equal amount of time in my presentation, you know.”

Setting on the last display, Daniel is about to push his cart back in the lab behind him when he spots someone familiar. He happily waves them over, “Ms. Plover! Ms. Plover! Hi!”

Mara had watched Daniel’s presentation, impressed by his performance and growth over the years. She lags behind, reading the displays as Amelia and Ben, along with their space marines, go to check out the rest of the exhibit. Suddenly, Daniel’s familiar voice calls out to her.

“Ms. Plover! Hi!”

Daniel had been one of the students she taught many years ago when she had been teaching full-time. Mara is surprised that he still recognized her. Her eyes crinkle as she walks towards the educator and greets him with a warm hug and a smile.

“Your presentation was very well done!

Eciton watches as Daniel rushes over to an older woman to enthusiastically greet her with a hug. Daniel leads her over to where he was standing and introduces them.

“This is Ms. Plover, my favourite teacher! She’s the one who inspired me to continue insect keeping and research, and become the educator I am today.” Gesturing to the bonded space marine, Daniel continues proudly, “This is Eciton Formicas, my bonded space marine! He’s the warsmith at Steelix Fortress Base.”

Eciton straightens his posture and gives her a nod. She looks and smells familiar. He quickly realizes that she was related to Alcyon’s and Malaran’s humans, who were involved in the incident with that Black Templar. Internally, he debates if he should mention that or not to her.

“Don’t let your other teachers hear that.” Mara joked before smiling warmly and holding out a hand to the warsmith, making sure to address him by his proper title, “Nice to meet you Warsmith Formicas. You can call me ‘Mara’ instead, Ms. Plover is far too formal and I’ve retired from teaching.”

Eciton’s hand engulfs hers as he gently shakes her hand, “My pleasure. It is good to meet someone who’s inspired my bonded so deeply.”

Daniel grins, “You’re the only one who let me keep bugs in the classroom. Even after the whole ‘mantid babies’ incident.”

Mara chuckled, remembering the time when baby mantises hatched from the egg case that Daniel brought in. They were still finding tiny mantises a month later in the classroom. “I don't think we’ve ever found them all.”

“Good! I’ve left my legacy in that school.” Daniel thumps his chest proudly to Eciton’s amusement. He looks at the cart and excuses himself, “I need to put these guys back in the lab, I’ll be right back out soon. You guys have a good chat!”

With that, he wheels the cart away and disappears into the lab.

An awkward silence hung between the pair for a short moment until Mara spoke up again,“Thank you for letting my daughter keep Ben. I’m sure that incident caused you no shortage of headaches. I apologize for the inconvenience.”

Eciton blinks, not expecting Mara to say such a thing. He quickly collects himself, “It’s fine. That issue has been resolved and it is only a matter to settle in the human legal system now between your daughter and her in-laws.”

“Regardless, thank you.” She replies, grateful to have her family reunited.

The Iron Warrior could feel heat at edge of his ears and he nods slightly, “You’re welcome.”

Mara smiles a little then asks, “How long have you been bonded with Daniel? I don’t remember him mentioning anything about a space marine when I was teaching him at Gannet Point. Knowing Daniel when he’s excited, he definitely would be announcing that to the world.”

Eciton chuckled, “I met him while he was here in Steelix River several years ago. Sometimes that boy needs to learn timing and volume, but it suits him well for the work he does here.”

“Grandma’s looking like she’s having a nice chat with that space marine guy.” Ben points out. Amelia had thought her mother had lagged behind for a susiciously long time when they decide to turn back to search for her.

“Your mother is chatting up the Warsmith.” Alcyon murmured incredulously, one arm wrapped around Amelia’s shoulder.

Mara is indeed talking to Warsmith Formicas who is soon joined by the presenter, one of her former students. Amelia lets out a quiet exasperated laugh and leans affectionately into Alcyon’s side, feeling him tighten his hold, “Of course she is. My mom has a talent for holding a conversation with nearly anyone. It probably helps that the warsmith’s bonded is my mom’s former student.” She knew that her mom isn’t bonded to an Astartes, but the way the warsmith stands protectively by the educator, it is obvious that the educator is his bonded human.

Mara nearly forgets the time while she was chatting until Ben wraps his arms around her and she sees Orca close behind.

“Grandma! We’ve found you!”

Mara chuckles and hugs him back, “Hello Ben, Orca. This is Daniel, one of my students and this is Warsmith Formicas. Be polite.”

Ben looks up and greets them both, “Hi Daniel. Hi Warsmith Formicas.”

“Grandma?” Daniel asks, “Did you get married?”

“No,” Mara explains, “I adopted my niece as my own and her son, Ben, is my grandson.”

Eciton looked down at the scrappy young boy who was the cause of all this drama; who, against all odds, managed to escape a Black Templar and reunite with his mother, with the help of his bonded chaos marine and one of his men. Ben stared back evenly, not cowed by the warsmith’s presence. Eciton can see the family resemblance.

“Formicas.” Malaran says as he holds onto Ben again, his red eyes daring the warsmith to make a comment about his charge. Daniel shifts uncomfortably.

“Where’s your mom and Alcyon?” Mara asks Ben, cutting through the tension like a hot knife through butter.

“They’re coming.” The boy replies.

They look over to see Alcyon and Amelia making their way towards them. The chaos Iron Warrior nods at them, “Warsmith.”

Amelia greets them, smiling, “Warsmith Formicas, Daniel.” She addresses the educator, “That was a wonderful presentation.”

“Yeah!” Ben pipes up, “That was so cool! I really liked when you talked about the fishing spider.”

Daniel’s grin is large and bright when he replies, “I’m glad you guys like it! Unfortunately time’s a bit tight, but next time when you come by again, send me an email and i can set you up with a behind the scenes tour of the lab.” Giving Ben his business card.

Ben cheers, “That is awesome! Thanks!”

The educator laughs, “You’re welcome!”

Eciton and Daniel look on as the family wave their goodbyes and disappears to look at the other exhibits in the museum.

“Cute kid. That’s the one who made the shouty guys shoutier?” Daniel asks.

Eciton snorts at Daniel’s description of the Black Templars, “Yes.”

“I like him, he seems bright and scrappy.”

“The boy and his Astartes are trouble.” the Warsmith grumbles.

“They can’t be all that bad. You seemed to have a nice chat with Ms. Plover. She makes some really good pastries too.” Daniel adds.

“She was a good conversationalist.” Eciton grudgingly admits that much, then smirks at his bonded, “She also shared some of your hijinks of when you were in her class. Bringing in a container full of cockroaches without secure containment? Really, Daniel?”

The young man groans, “I was a kid. Secure containment wasn’t exactly my priority at the time.”

[egrets-not-regrets]

After Stormbreaker: Catching Shadows and Propositions

Of Fin and Feathers AU: Mara and Warsmith Formicas discuss what had happened since the whole incident with Stormbreaker.

Author’s Notes: If the opportunity presents itself, Warsmith Eciton Formicas figures he might as well take advantage of it. He is totally not trying to rizz up the gannet harpy elder.

Tagged: @shadowfirecat , @kit-williams , @bleedingichorhearts , @barn-anon , @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan

@sleepyfan-blog , @bispecsual , @c-u-c-koo-4-40k , @ms--lobotomy , @whorety-k

@gra93fruit-blog , @i-am-a-dragon34 , @felinisnoctis

She spotted a shadow creeping along the edges of the area sectioned off for the healing ward, slowly creeping towards the colony nests. Mara heaved a sigh, walked closer, and called out to the shadow, “Ghilus, what are you doing? This is the third time I found you out of your bed.”

The shadow didn’t move.

“Ghilus…” the harpy’s voice dropped to a stern warning tone, “I see you, so show yourself. Are you sneaking out to find Kiri again?”

A large dark hand roughly scruffed the young Night Lord and hauled him out of his hiding spot, “Get back to your bed unless you want to test if Osteron can lecture you back to full health.”

Mara turned to the large venomfin mer, “Thank you, Warsmith Formicas.”

Eciton Formicas let go of the younger merAstartes. Ghilus scowled at the warsmith and the elder harpy, unhappy with being found before he could reach Kiri’s nest. The warsmith glared back, looking expectant, “So? Are you going to return to your bed or do you want to test Osteron’s lecture theory”

A shudder ran through Ghilus. Ugh. As if he hadn’t heard enough lecturing. Rest and let your wounds heal this, stop moving about blah blah that, stop being so impatient, don’t creep around the colony and scare the other harpies… Between Osteron and Zariel, he’s already heard enough of their blathering to induce another headache.

Getting exasperated by the besotted mer’s antics, Mara shooed him along with her wings, “Kiri is scheduled to come around soon. It is better that you head back now.”

Under the elders’ watchful eyes, Ghilus sulkily slunk back to the healing ward.

“Are the others giving you any trouble?” The warsmith asked with a frown.

Mara chuckled, “They were fine, if a bit restless. Thankfully, other merAstartes are there to keep an eye on their brethren.”

“My men reported that some of them have found their bonded counterparts among your harpies?”

Her smile turned slightly sheepish, “I’m afraid we may be stealing a few more warriors from you. To my knowledge, Ghilus has bonded to Kiri and Kalium bonded to her daughter, Kona. And the World Eater, Addax, is bonded to Rhitta. Addax has mentioned that Rhitta’s presence calms his nails.”

“That is a problem. Have you tested how far they can be separated before Addax goes under the influence of the nails again?” The warsmith’s thick tail swished in thought.

“At best, 500m, depending on the day. Beyond that will be how Addax normally operates with the nails’ influence.”

Eciton’s next question came as a surprise, “Have you thought about settling here permanently?”

Mara went quiet for a moment before asking, “Is that a proposition, Warsmith?”

“Yes, if you are willing to consider it.” the warsmith confirmed.

“The waters in this territory are productive and your colony will be well-protected, Your colony also already patrols with my warriors, and the bonded merAstartes can stay with their bonded harpies in the colonies if they choose to, which I suspect they will.” he added.

Mara scratched her chin with a claw, “It certainly will make things more convenient considering our current situation... However, this is a big decision that will need to be discussed among my colony first.”

“On the second matter,” Eciton started.

Mara’s voice turned serious, “I suppose you want to discuss the Grey Knight?”

“Yes.” he replied, “As I understand, young Claude was kidnapped by the Grey Knight and Erriox rallied a number of warriors to rescue him. And now one of your harpies is intensely bonded to the Grey Knight.”

“Yes, the same one that is bonded to the Alpha Legion brothers, which complicates this matter.” the harpy elder frowned.

Eciton knew the Grey Knight would make for an extremely powerful ally, and would be useful when it came to territorial disputes with other mer warbands. However, the Grey Knight, whose mood however mercurial, likely would be too proud to let himself be turned into a pawn for such matters. One thing was for certain, the Grey Knight proclaimed that this gannet harpy colony was under his protection, because of his bonded harpy. In that case, it would make sense to fully align with the colony one way or another so he can at least keep the powerful mer under his thumb.

Eciton made sure to choose his next words carefully, knowing how much the harpies value honesty and being upfront, “I want to fully align my warband with your colony. With my warriors being bonded with your harpies as well as your close compatriots, as well as the Grey Knight being part of your colony now, I would be a fool not to. However, regardless of whether you wish to do the same, the Grey Knight cannot go without consequences for his actions. Whether chaos or not, those are still my warriors that he injured.”

Mara agreed, but she had one of her own to protect, “While I agree that he must be punished or at least make reparations for what he has done, what is it you wish to do with the Grey Knight? I cannot allow you to kill or maim him, as it will kill and injure Lana as well. She is one of mine and I will not allow her to be threatened because of Stormbreaker’s actions. She had no control over the situation.” She said sternly.

“Then consider him owing a labor debt to the Steelix warband to make amends for his actions.”

“For how long and to do what?” The harpy elder looked at him, suspicious of his intentions. Mara was under no illusions that the Stormbreaker is absurdly powerful and having an ally like him is a boon to any merAstartes warband. She also doubted that Stormbreaker would allow himself to play as a pawn for long, nor did she wish that fate for him. The thought of the Grey Knight, even though he hadn’t exactly endeared himself to her, being forever shackled to any warband made her feel uneasy. He is technically one of hers now, much like the Alpha Legion brothers.

“For the total amount of time it takes for each of my injured warriors to fully recover. And if Erriox wishes, the additional recovery time for his injured scoutlings. Give or take, the estimated total recovery time if the Primaris scoutlings are included would be 15 months. Stormbreaker is lucky that the healing potions from harpy and mers are so effective and that merAstartes heal quickly. As for the labor, it will be the normal patrols plus grunt work and any assistance that we require for psyker-type issues.”

Mara relaxed at his answer. That was reasonable enough, “I have a few conditions to add if I may.”

“Go ahead.”

“Stormbreaker must be allowed to return to the colony to spend time with Lana once every ten days. Since they share an intense bond, I worry about the effects on both of them if they are kept from the other for too long. And since Lana is recovering from the wounds caused by her initial rejection of the intense bond, Stormbreaker needs to be by her side for her to recover. So his labor debt will have to start after she is fully recovered. It is possible that Lana and her bonded Hydras may have their own conditions to add. This, along with our residency issue need to be discussed among my colony before any decisions could be made. Once decisions are made I ask that a written contract bound by both harpy and mer magic be signed so both parties would stay true to the agreement. Would a reply in two weeks suffice?” she added.

Eciton hummed, but agreed to her requests, seeing little fault in her logic. Besides, if Mara saw him as reasonably agreeable, the chances of her allying her colony with his warband would increase. The warsmith gave the harpy a wry grin, “You are shrewd, Lady Mara.”

Mara tilted her head coquettishly and returned a small smile, “I do have my colony to protect after all and Stormbreaker, like the Hydra brothers, is part of it.”

[egrets-not-regrets]

Of Fin and Feathers AU: Negotiations

Mara of the gannet harpies meets with Iron Warrior Warsmith Eciton Formicas to discuss the terms of being allowed to set to temporarily reside in an area of Steelix Cliffs deep in the heart of his territory to avoid the Black Templar shoal. Kalium and Erriox have a bet going on.

Author’s Notes: will be naming the MerErriox AU series “Of Fin and Feathers”. This takes place before the whole Gray Knight bonding with Lana in incident. Thanks for @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan for letting me use Keed and Orlys (Alpha Legion Mer) for this one.

Tagged: @shadowfirecat , @kit-williams , @bleedingichorhearts , @barn-anon , @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan

@sleepyfan-blog, @c-u-c-koo-4-40k, @bispecsual , @ms--lobotomy , @whorety-k

They are coming. The templar shoal is coming!

The sirens’ songs carried in the winds to all who heard them. All manner of magical non-human sentient creatures prepared to hide or leave for safer areas knowing the Black Templar shoal will be migrating through. Those who were either unwary and caught at the wrong place and time or foolish enough to confront this shoal had been cut down mercilessly.

The feathers by Mara's ear holes fluttered in the breeze, carrying the siren’s message with it. After which, the sirens fell silent. The gannet harpy frowned, this matched up with the bits of information that came they received over the past few days. Word from the passing gull harpies was that the shoal was making their way to these waters, still maybe three or four days away judging by their speed of travel.

“The siren sisters are silent now. They must be starting to move.” Another gannet elder, Nerian, commented, “You heard their song too?”

“Yes.” Mara replied, “This is a new change in the black templar shoal movement.”

Nerian hummed thoughtfully, “They don’t usually come through these waters this time of year. Wonder what changed.”

The old gannet muttered, “I don’t care that much to find out. Any word about the state of our secondary rock?”

“Unfortunately it’s fully occupied. Other sea harpies had been evacuating their roosts since the Black Templar shoal changed their pattern.” Nerian grumbled. He couldn’t help but find this situation frustrating. Not that it was their kittiwake and murre cousins’ fault, they are equally vulnerable to the mercurial shoal’s blades. However, this means they don’t have much time to find a whole new safe sanctuary.

“Please send out a message to the scouting parties and ask everyone to look out for possible places that can be a suitable temporary safe haven.” Mara requested.

“Will be done.” Nerian gave an affirmative before taking off. Mara nodded then turned around to make her way back to the colony.

Keed and Orlys, two Alpha Legion mers, had been helping their bonded Lana help others in the colony figure out logistics of moving the fledglings and others that cannot fly as well as their older brethren could, when they overheard Mara’s conversation with Nerian.

“Mara, we couldn’t help but hear your chat with Nerian.” Keed addressed the gannet harpy, “Are you still looking for a temporary place to settle?

Mara sighed, she forgot how keen mer-Astartes hearing was, “Yes. Unfortunately where we would normally go to take shelter is fully occupied. Everyone is spooked by the change in the Black Templar shoal behavior.”

Orlys remembered a conversation he had with the Blood Angel Scoutling, “Jophiel said Lenora was moving closer to the Iron Warrior base. There is the Steelix Cliffs, parts of which are deep in Iron Warrior shoal territory which would be out of the Black Templar’s path; it may be worth asking Erriox about it.”

The elder gannet harpy hummed thoughtfully, “You do have a point. Would you or your brother take a few others for a flight to scout it out please? The harpies will know what we need in a location. Once there's one or a few suitable places, please contact Erriox to request a temporary stay and report back to me. If there is nothing suitable, report back to me regardless.”

“Will do.” Keed replied.

“Thank you.”

She watched the two mers make their way back to Lana, making some sort of hand gestures to determine, Mara guessed, who stays and who goes. The gannet harpy’s dark eyes crinkled with amusement before she went back to her nest.

A few hours later, the scouting group returned with good news of having found a location well-suited to be their safe haven. Mara thanked them for their work before dismissing them.

Keed stayed behind, having a message to pass on to the elder harpy.

Mara then turned her attention to him, “Have you contacted Erriox about this yet?” She asked.

“Yes.” The Alpha Legionary replied, “Erriox said he notified his warsmith about our request and will let us know his answer.”

Coincidentally, his vox crackled to life as Erriox’s voice came over the channel.

“Warsmith Formicas requests a meeting with Mara. When can she meet him?”

Keed relayed the message to the harpy. Mara tapped her claw to her chin in thought before answering, “I can meet him right away. Where is the meeting location?”

There was a pause as Keed communicated Mara’s answer to the Iron Warrior in addition to discussing whatever else between the two mer-Astartes.

“On the beach in the Trail of Stars Cove. It’s halfway between here and the base.”

Mara laughed, familiar with the meeting location being where many of her colony staged part of their courtship, “Sounds rather romantic.” She joked, “Tell Warsmith Formicas that we’ll be there in 30 minutes.”

“Want me to accompany you?” Keed asked the gannet harpy.

“Yes, that would be much appreciated.” Mara smiled, not that she felt there would be any malicious intent from the warsmith, but it was comforting to know she has a mer-Astartes on her side.

The two arrived at the cove just ahead of their meeting time, allowing for some exploration of the beach.

Mara looked around, a sense of pleasant nostalgia clung to her senses. “This is a place where bonding pairs would go as part of their courtship. It is beautiful to visit at night as the name suggests. You should bring Lana here sometime.” She suggested to Keed.

Lana would probably like that. Keed smiled at the idea, though unseen due to his helmet, “I will remember that.”

The warsmith soon arrived, swimming out of the water to meet them, accompanied by Erriox and one other Iron Warrior mer. The large armored-tail venomfin mer dismissed the other two as he swam closer to them.

Keed tilted his head slightly in question, “Do you need me to stay?” He whispered.

Mara waved her claw, “No, I think I’ll be alright.”

“I’ll stay close.” He answered.

Mara thanked him. Keed gave a curt nod before swimming off after the other two Iron Warriors.

“Lady Mara.”

“Warsmith Formicas.” Mara nodded slightly in greeting.

The warsmith eyed the leaving Alpha Legionaire coolly, “Your reputation precedes you, Lady Mara. Uncovering a squad of five Alpha Legionaries. Not many can boast about that.”

Smiling disarmingly at the warsmith, she explained to him, “It was only a matter of chance that it happened that way, Warsmith Formicas. The brothers had bonded to one of my own. Though it is not without its own challenges, they have been good to their bonded and to the rest of my colony.”

“Indeed.” The warsmith acknowledged before getting back to business, inquiring, “You were requesting a temporary safe haven up on Steelix Cliffs?”

Mara nodded, “Yes, we scouted a suitable place about 15 kms north of here along these cliffs.”

She added, “I recognize this location is deep within your territory, but I am hoping to have your permission for my colony to relocate there temporarily, at least until the Black Templar shoal has left these waters.”

“I heard about the changes in the Black Templar shoal movement. The way that most non-human sentients are clearing out of the area or going into hiding is hard to ignore.” The warsmith narrowed his eyes as his armored tail swayed back and forth in thought, “You have my permission for your colony to stay as long as you need, however in return, I ask that you provide aerial surveillance and support, and the use of your Alpha Legion squad.”

Mara knew what the warsmith was thinking and had been prepared for it, “I have a roster of harpies who can start whenever it is required, though we will need further details as patrol areas and what you are looking for. As for the Alpha Legion squad…”

Keed paused and added without prompting, “my brothers and I will work alongside your shoal for the time being.” They can work under warsmith Formicas in exchange for Lana and her colony being better protected. Besides, it would be a good opportunity to gain more information of the shoals and current state of these waters.

“Thank you.” Mara gave the Alpha Legionary a grateful look before he continued to leave.

She asked, turning to the warsmith, “Is that suitable?”

Eciton Formicas recognized the quiet power and experienced leadership the old gannet harpy had, “Yes, it is. You are well prepared, Lady Mara.” He commented shrewdly.

“I have been around long enough to know requests like this are not without some sort of equivalent exchange.” Mara stated, her dark eyes crinkled with amusement.

She shared a wry grin, “It helps to keep good neighbors and allies.”

The warsmith chuckled, “Certainly. I can see why you have so many mer-Astartes under your wing.”

“It only seems that way. They’re not beholden to me or my colony.” Mara insisted, bringing up her claw to hide her smile, knowing that Formicas was talking about the Primaris boys and the Alpha Legion brothers, “They’re good boys.” She said fondly, “though sometimes they need a good talking to… or a few.”

Eciton laughed at the way she addressed the mers as if they were mere whelps, “If that is all you need to do to have them do what you say, I can use your talks on my warriors if it means they would be more disciplined.”

“You flatter me, Warsmith. You greatly overestimate my ability to make them listen. I’m sure you’re doing a fine job taking care of your warriors.” Mara smiled at him graciously, “Regardless, thank you for permitting my colony to stay in your territory.”

“You’re welcome. Should you require it, I can send a few of my Astartes to assist your move. Once you are settled, your harpies will be included in the patrol schedule and we will discuss details then. I will also increase patrols in your area while the Black Templars are present.” Eciton replied.

Mara bowed her head slightly with respect, “That is much appreciated. We should be fine with regards to moving as it is only a temporary stay and we have enough bodies for that.”

She looked out at the water and spotted the teal form of Keed waiting in the distance, then turned back to face the warsmith, “I am grateful for your assistance in this matter, and it eases my worries. Once everything is settled, I will have someone notify you to discuss further details. It was a pleasure meeting you, Warsmith Formicas.” Mara spoke warmly, reaching out her winged claw for a handshake.

His gauntlet engulfed her clawed digits as he gently grasped it, “Same to you, Lady Mara.”

The gannet harpy gave him a smile before she took off. Eciton watched her form rise above the cliffs before he returned to the water to rejoin his warriors.

“Mara agreed to your request?” Erriox asked.

“Yes. Once she sends word, we will discuss the finer details for their aerial patrols.” Eciton confirmed.

“She was rather charming.” He added offhandedly as they were swimming back to the base.

“You sure she isn’t your bonded? You seem awfully amicable with each other.” The younger of his subordinates, Kalium, asked.

Eciton smacked his helmet with his tail, “No, she isn’t. Quit with that nonsense.” He growled.

Erriox held back slightly as their warsmith swam ahead of them, “I told you so. Fair is fair, you are taking my extra shift.” He snickered at his grumbling battle brother.

[egrets-not-regrets]

This is a masterlist of all my written works, because my blog has so many ridiculously random posts. Any smut/NSFW fic will be in blue font. You are duly warned.

Darksiders

Language of Flowers (Dead Lords/OC): Chapter 1/Chapter 2

Visits (Judicator/OC)

Prompt: your icon showing up at 3am (Draven, Death, Y/N)

Tangles (War, Fury) - Definitely out of character for Fury, since this was written prior to Fury's game coming out.

Warhammer 40K/ Space Marine Husbandry Sentience

This list should be in some kind of chronological order in Lenora and Erriox's story.

Erriox (Iron Warrior OC)/ Lenora

A Chance (Meeting)

You Survived. (Finally Found You.)

Finally Found You. (You Survived.)

Exchanges

Birds: Juncos

Two Months

Touch-starved (1), (2)

Endearingly Marked

Smug Cat

Show-off

Soap

Snow Sculptures

Brownies

Kiss the Cook

Guesthouse of the (Lost) Astartes: To Render Aid (1), (2), (3), (4)

Translation: Mine, Yours (SMUT/NSFW)

Unintended Thoughts (SMUT/NSFW) (Written by the wonderful @kit-williams)

To Be Thanked

Perfume: "Infatuation" for Big Cats (SMUT/NSFW) (1), (2)

Not meant to be (Chaos Erriox AU)

Korio (Space Shark OC)/Runa Vespertine

Blue Planet

Of Fin and Feathers AU (MerErriox/HarpyLenora AU)

Mermay: Stay

Erriox: Bloody Scales of My Brother

Not For Hunting

Adopt-A-Jophiel (1), (2), (3) (Co-written with the awesome @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan)

Negotiations

After Stormbreaker: Little Bird, Problem Children

After Stormbreaker: Fluffy Charm

After Stormbreaker: One Good Thing

Sneaking into the Nest

Sharing is (not) Caring (Co-written with the awesome @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan)

After Stormbreaker: Catching Shadows and Propositions

Stargazing (Co-written with the awesome @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan)

Chef’s Kisses (Co-written with the awesome @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan)

Catius: In Memory of My Brother (Co-written with the awesome @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan)

Claude: A Difference of Identity (Co-written with the awesome @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan)

Cedric: From One Healer to Another

Ramiel and Cedric: Atonement & Final Blessings (Co-written with the awesome @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan and @sleepyfan-blog)

Hagfish Slime Shenanigans (Co-written with the awesome @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan)

Alcyon (Chaos Iron Warrior OC)/Amelia Plover:

Halcyon Nights, Halcyon Days

Dandelions and Yarrow (1) (SMUT/NSFW), (2), (3),

Museum (Mara/Eciton Formicas meetcute)

Other people’s OCs:

Cedric the cooking apothecary (Cedric from Husbandry AU @sleepyfan-blog)

Other Writing

No fandom attached

Piano Spirit - Picture of ghostly piano hands holding a pianist's hands prompted me to write this.

WIP and Ideas

WIP Game

My silly thoughts on the Rendering Aid story in the Guesthouse of the (Lost) Astartes series.

[bleedingichorhearts]

Why is always the grandmas/mothers having the most embarrassing stories to tell?😭 Daniel is not going to be living it down.

Museum

Warsmith Eciton Formicas takes the time to visit his bonded human, an educator who works at the local museum’s natural history exhibit. He’s not the only one at the museum that day and gets to meet his bonded’s favorite teacher.

Author’s Note: Another meetcute. 🥰 I can’t have Mara meeting Eciton in Of Fin and Feathers AU and not have them meet in Space Marine Husbandry Sentience AU. Takes place after Ben reunites with Amelia.

Tagged: @shadowfirecat , @kit-williams , @bleedingichorhearts , @barn-anon , @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan

@sleepyfan-blog , @bispecsual , @c-u-c-koo-4-40k , @ms--lobotomy , @whorety-k

@gra93fruit-blog , @i-am-a-dragon34 , @felinisnoctis

Eciton stands at the back, watching the young man talking about biodiversity of the forest undergrowth in front of a rapt audience. His lips curl into a small smile as the children excitedly wave their hands to be picked to handle the large millipede the young man held. He was glad to have scheduled some time off to visit his bonded at the museum amd watch him work. It’s not often enough that he’s able to do such a thing nor be able to keep a close eye on his human. Luckily he’s able to assign some of the Astartes at his base to keep his bonded safe in his stead.

The presentation soon finished and the audience dispersed to wander among the rest of the exhibits. Eciton walks over to where his bonded human was packing up the animals and displays he had. He gently takes the small ant farm and wolf spider display then puts them on the cart.

His human grins and thanks him.

“Was that the presentation you had been working on the past few weeks, Daniel?” The warsmith asks.

“Yes. How was it?” Daniel replies as he continues to pack up.

Eciton hums with approval, “Rather engaging, though I thought you would put some more focus on the ants.”

“You like ants, I get it.” the young man laughs, “I have to be fair about giving all creatures equal amount of time in my presentation, you know.”

Setting on the last display, Daniel is about to push his cart back in the lab behind him when he spots someone familiar. He happily waves them over, “Ms. Plover! Ms. Plover! Hi!”

Mara had watched Daniel’s presentation, impressed by his performance and growth over the years. She lags behind, reading the displays as Amelia and Ben, along with their space marines, go to check out the rest of the exhibit. Suddenly, Daniel’s familiar voice calls out to her.

“Ms. Plover! Hi!”

Daniel had been one of the students she taught many years ago when she had been teaching full-time. Mara is surprised that he still recognized her. Her eyes crinkle as she walks towards the educator and greets him with a warm hug and a smile.

“Your presentation was very well done!

Eciton watches as Daniel rushes over to an older woman to enthusiastically greet her with a hug. Daniel leads her over to where he was standing and introduces them.

“This is Ms. Plover, my favourite teacher! She’s the one who inspired me to continue insect keeping and research, and become the educator I am today.” Gesturing to the bonded space marine, Daniel continues proudly, “This is Eciton Formicas, my bonded space marine! He’s the warsmith at Steelix Fortress Base.”

Eciton straightens his posture and gives her a nod. She looks and smells familiar. He quickly realizes that she was related to Alcyon’s and Malaran’s humans, who were involved in the incident with that Black Templar. Internally, he debates if he should mention that or not to her.

“Don’t let your other teachers hear that.” Mara joked before smiling warmly and holding out a hand to the warsmith, making sure to address him by his proper title, “Nice to meet you Warsmith Formicas. You can call me ‘Mara’ instead, Ms. Plover is far too formal and I’ve retired from teaching.”

Eciton’s hand engulfs hers as he gently shakes her hand, “My pleasure. It is good to meet someone who’s inspired my bonded so deeply.”

Daniel grins, “You’re the only one who let me keep bugs in the classroom. Even after the whole ‘mantid babies’ incident.”

Mara chuckled, remembering the time when baby mantises hatched from the egg case that Daniel brought in. They were still finding tiny mantises a month later in the classroom. “I don't think we’ve ever found them all.”

“Good! I’ve left my legacy in that school.” Daniel thumps his chest proudly to Eciton’s amusement. He looks at the cart and excuses himself, “I need to put these guys back in the lab, I’ll be right back out soon. You guys have a good chat!”

With that, he wheels the cart away and disappears into the lab.

An awkward silence hung between the pair for a short moment until Mara spoke up again,“Thank you for letting my daughter keep Ben. I’m sure that incident caused you no shortage of headaches. I apologize for the inconvenience.”

Eciton blinks, not expecting Mara to say such a thing. He quickly collects himself, “It’s fine. That issue has been resolved and it is only a matter to settle in the human legal system now between your daughter and her in-laws.”

“Regardless, thank you.” She replies, grateful to have her family reunited.

The Iron Warrior could feel heat at edge of his ears and he nods slightly, “You’re welcome.”

Mara smiles a little then asks, “How long have you been bonded with Daniel? I don’t remember him mentioning anything about a space marine when I was teaching him at Gannet Point. Knowing Daniel when he’s excited, he definitely would be announcing that to the world.”

Eciton chuckled, “I met him while he was here in Steelix River several years ago. Sometimes that boy needs to learn timing and volume, but it suits him well for the work he does here.”

“Grandma’s looking like she’s having a nice chat with that space marine guy.” Ben points out. Amelia had thought her mother had lagged behind for a susiciously long time when they decide to turn back to search for her.

“Your mother is chatting up the Warsmith.” Alcyon murmured incredulously, one arm wrapped around Amelia’s shoulder.

Mara is indeed talking to Warsmith Formicas who is soon joined by the presenter, one of her former students. Amelia lets out a quiet exasperated laugh and leans affectionately into Alcyon’s side, feeling him tighten his hold, “Of course she is. My mom has a talent for holding a conversation with nearly anyone. It probably helps that the warsmith’s bonded is my mom’s former student.” She knew that her mom isn’t bonded to an Astartes, but the way the warsmith stands protectively by the educator, it is obvious that the educator is his bonded human.

Mara nearly forgets the time while she was chatting until Ben wraps his arms around her and she sees Orca close behind.

“Grandma! We’ve found you!”

Mara chuckles and hugs him back, “Hello Ben, Orca. This is Daniel, one of my students and this is Warsmith Formicas. Be polite.”

Ben looks up and greets them both, “Hi Daniel. Hi Warsmith Formicas.”

“Grandma?” Daniel asks, “Did you get married?”

“No,” Mara explains, “I adopted my niece as my own and her son, Ben, is my grandson.”

Eciton looked down at the scrappy young boy who was the cause of all this drama; who, against all odds, managed to escape a Black Templar and reunite with his mother, with the help of his bonded chaos marine and one of his men. Ben stared back evenly, not cowed by the warsmith’s presence. Eciton can see the family resemblance.

“Formicas.” Malaran says as he holds onto Ben again, his red eyes daring the warsmith to make a comment about his charge. Daniel shifts uncomfortably.

“Where’s your mom and Alcyon?” Mara asks Ben, cutting through the tension like a hot knife through butter.

“They’re coming.” The boy replies.

They look over to see Alcyon and Amelia making their way towards them. The chaos Iron Warrior nods at them, “Warsmith.”

Amelia greets them, smiling, “Warsmith Formicas, Daniel.” She addresses the educator, “That was a wonderful presentation.”

“Yeah!” Ben pipes up, “That was so cool! I really liked when you talked about the fishing spider.”

Daniel’s grin is large and bright when he replies, “I’m glad you guys like it! Unfortunately time’s a bit tight, but next time when you come by again, send me an email and i can set you up with a behind the scenes tour of the lab.” Giving Ben his business card.

Ben cheers, “That is awesome! Thanks!”

The educator laughs, “You’re welcome!”

Eciton and Daniel look on as the family wave their goodbyes and disappears to look at the other exhibits in the museum.

“Cute kid. That’s the one who made the shouty guys shoutier?” Daniel asks.

Eciton snorts at Daniel’s description of the Black Templars, “Yes.”

“I like him, he seems bright and scrappy.”

“The boy and his Astartes are trouble.” the Warsmith grumbles.

“They can’t be all that bad. You seemed to have a nice chat with Ms. Plover. She makes some really good pastries too.” Daniel adds.

“She was a good conversationalist.” Eciton grudgingly admits that much, then smirks at his bonded, “She also shared some of your hijinks of when you were in her class. Bringing in a container full of cockroaches without secure containment? Really, Daniel?”

The young man groans, “I was a kid. Secure containment wasn’t exactly my priority at the time.”

[bleedingichorhearts]

They have made a bet? Even the most seasoned warriors are not above such things it look like!😭

Get the elderly get some lovin’ too, lol.

Of Fin and Feathers AU: Negotiations

Mara of the gannet harpies meets with Iron Warrior Warsmith Eciton Formicas to discuss the terms of being allowed to set to temporarily reside in an area of Steelix Cliffs deep in the heart of his territory to avoid the Black Templar shoal. Kalium and Erriox have a bet going on.

Author’s Notes: will be naming the MerErriox AU series “Of Fin and Feathers”. This takes place before the whole Gray Knight bonding with Lana in incident. Thanks for @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan for letting me use Keed and Orlys (Alpha Legion Mer) for this one.

Tagged: @shadowfirecat , @kit-williams , @bleedingichorhearts , @barn-anon , @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan

@sleepyfan-blog, @c-u-c-koo-4-40k, @bispecsual , @ms--lobotomy , @whorety-k

They are coming. The templar shoal is coming!

The sirens’ songs carried in the winds to all who heard them. All manner of magical non-human sentient creatures prepared to hide or leave for safer areas knowing the Black Templar shoal will be migrating through. Those who were either unwary and caught at the wrong place and time or foolish enough to confront this shoal had been cut down mercilessly.

The feathers by Mara's ear holes fluttered in the breeze, carrying the siren’s message with it. After which, the sirens fell silent. The gannet harpy frowned, this matched up with the bits of information that came they received over the past few days. Word from the passing gull harpies was that the shoal was making their way to these waters, still maybe three or four days away judging by their speed of travel.

“The siren sisters are silent now. They must be starting to move.” Another gannet elder, Nerian, commented, “You heard their song too?”

“Yes.” Mara replied, “This is a new change in the black templar shoal movement.”

Nerian hummed thoughtfully, “They don’t usually come through these waters this time of year. Wonder what changed.”

The old gannet muttered, “I don’t care that much to find out. Any word about the state of our secondary rock?”

“Unfortunately it’s fully occupied. Other sea harpies had been evacuating their roosts since the Black Templar shoal changed their pattern.” Nerian grumbled. He couldn’t help but find this situation frustrating. Not that it was their kittiwake and murre cousins’ fault, they are equally vulnerable to the mercurial shoal’s blades. However, this means they don’t have much time to find a whole new safe sanctuary.

“Please send out a message to the scouting parties and ask everyone to look out for possible places that can be a suitable temporary safe haven.” Mara requested.

“Will be done.” Nerian gave an affirmative before taking off. Mara nodded then turned around to make her way back to the colony.

Keed and Orlys, two Alpha Legion mers, had been helping their bonded Lana help others in the colony figure out logistics of moving the fledglings and others that cannot fly as well as their older brethren could, when they overheard Mara’s conversation with Nerian.

“Mara, we couldn’t help but hear your chat with Nerian.” Keed addressed the gannet harpy, “Are you still looking for a temporary place to settle?

Mara sighed, she forgot how keen mer-Astartes hearing was, “Yes. Unfortunately where we would normally go to take shelter is fully occupied. Everyone is spooked by the change in the Black Templar shoal behavior.”

Orlys remembered a conversation he had with the Blood Angel Scoutling, “Jophiel said Lenora was moving closer to the Iron Warrior base. There is the Steelix Cliffs, parts of which are deep in Iron Warrior shoal territory which would be out of the Black Templar’s path; it may be worth asking Erriox about it.”

The elder gannet harpy hummed thoughtfully, “You do have a point. Would you or your brother take a few others for a flight to scout it out please? The harpies will know what we need in a location. Once there's one or a few suitable places, please contact Erriox to request a temporary stay and report back to me. If there is nothing suitable, report back to me regardless.”

“Will do.” Keed replied.

“Thank you.”

She watched the two mers make their way back to Lana, making some sort of hand gestures to determine, Mara guessed, who stays and who goes. The gannet harpy’s dark eyes crinkled with amusement before she went back to her nest.

A few hours later, the scouting group returned with good news of having found a location well-suited to be their safe haven. Mara thanked them for their work before dismissing them.

Keed stayed behind, having a message to pass on to the elder harpy.

Mara then turned her attention to him, “Have you contacted Erriox about this yet?” She asked.

“Yes.” The Alpha Legionary replied, “Erriox said he notified his warsmith about our request and will let us know his answer.”

Coincidentally, his vox crackled to life as Erriox’s voice came over the channel.

“Warsmith Formicas requests a meeting with Mara. When can she meet him?”

Keed relayed the message to the harpy. Mara tapped her claw to her chin in thought before answering, “I can meet him right away. Where is the meeting location?”

There was a pause as Keed communicated Mara’s answer to the Iron Warrior in addition to discussing whatever else between the two mer-Astartes.

“On the beach in the Trail of Stars Cove. It’s halfway between here and the base.”

Mara laughed, familiar with the meeting location being where many of her colony staged part of their courtship, “Sounds rather romantic.” She joked, “Tell Warsmith Formicas that we’ll be there in 30 minutes.”

“Want me to accompany you?” Keed asked the gannet harpy.

“Yes, that would be much appreciated.” Mara smiled, not that she felt there would be any malicious intent from the warsmith, but it was comforting to know she has a mer-Astartes on her side.

The two arrived at the cove just ahead of their meeting time, allowing for some exploration of the beach.

Mara looked around, a sense of pleasant nostalgia clung to her senses. “This is a place where bonding pairs would go as part of their courtship. It is beautiful to visit at night as the name suggests. You should bring Lana here sometime.” She suggested to Keed.

Lana would probably like that. Keed smiled at the idea, though unseen due to his helmet, “I will remember that.”

The warsmith soon arrived, swimming out of the water to meet them, accompanied by Erriox and one other Iron Warrior mer. The large armored-tail venomfin mer dismissed the other two as he swam closer to them.

Keed tilted his head slightly in question, “Do you need me to stay?” He whispered.

Mara waved her claw, “No, I think I’ll be alright.”

“I’ll stay close.” He answered.

Mara thanked him. Keed gave a curt nod before swimming off after the other two Iron Warriors.

“Lady Mara.”

“Warsmith Formicas.” Mara nodded slightly in greeting.

The warsmith eyed the leaving Alpha Legionaire coolly, “Your reputation precedes you, Lady Mara. Uncovering a squad of five Alpha Legionaries. Not many can boast about that.”

Smiling disarmingly at the warsmith, she explained to him, “It was only a matter of chance that it happened that way, Warsmith Formicas. The brothers had bonded to one of my own. Though it is not without its own challenges, they have been good to their bonded and to the rest of my colony.”

“Indeed.” The warsmith acknowledged before getting back to business, inquiring, “You were requesting a temporary safe haven up on Steelix Cliffs?”

Mara nodded, “Yes, we scouted a suitable place about 15 kms north of here along these cliffs.”

She added, “I recognize this location is deep within your territory, but I am hoping to have your permission for my colony to relocate there temporarily, at least until the Black Templar shoal has left these waters.”

“I heard about the changes in the Black Templar shoal movement. The way that most non-human sentients are clearing out of the area or going into hiding is hard to ignore.” The warsmith narrowed his eyes as his armored tail swayed back and forth in thought, “You have my permission for your colony to stay as long as you need, however in return, I ask that you provide aerial surveillance and support, and the use of your Alpha Legion squad.”

Mara knew what the warsmith was thinking and had been prepared for it, “I have a roster of harpies who can start whenever it is required, though we will need further details as patrol areas and what you are looking for. As for the Alpha Legion squad…”

Keed paused and added without prompting, “my brothers and I will work alongside your shoal for the time being.” They can work under warsmith Formicas in exchange for Lana and her colony being better protected. Besides, it would be a good opportunity to gain more information of the shoals and current state of these waters.

“Thank you.” Mara gave the Alpha Legionary a grateful look before he continued to leave.

She asked, turning to the warsmith, “Is that suitable?”

Eciton Formicas recognized the quiet power and experienced leadership the old gannet harpy had, “Yes, it is. You are well prepared, Lady Mara.” He commented shrewdly.

“I have been around long enough to know requests like this are not without some sort of equivalent exchange.” Mara stated, her dark eyes crinkled with amusement.

She shared a wry grin, “It helps to keep good neighbors and allies.”

The warsmith chuckled, “Certainly. I can see why you have so many mer-Astartes under your wing.”

“It only seems that way. They’re not beholden to me or my colony.” Mara insisted, bringing up her claw to hide her smile, knowing that Formicas was talking about the Primaris boys and the Alpha Legion brothers, “They’re good boys.” She said fondly, “though sometimes they need a good talking to… or a few.”

Eciton laughed at the way she addressed the mers as if they were mere whelps, “If that is all you need to do to have them do what you say, I can use your talks on my warriors if it means they would be more disciplined.”

“You flatter me, Warsmith. You greatly overestimate my ability to make them listen. I’m sure you’re doing a fine job taking care of your warriors.” Mara smiled at him graciously, “Regardless, thank you for permitting my colony to stay in your territory.”

“You’re welcome. Should you require it, I can send a few of my Astartes to assist your move. Once you are settled, your harpies will be included in the patrol schedule and we will discuss details then. I will also increase patrols in your area while the Black Templars are present.” Eciton replied.

Mara bowed her head slightly with respect, “That is much appreciated. We should be fine with regards to moving as it is only a temporary stay and we have enough bodies for that.”

She looked out at the water and spotted the teal form of Keed waiting in the distance, then turned back to face the warsmith, “I am grateful for your assistance in this matter, and it eases my worries. Once everything is settled, I will have someone notify you to discuss further details. It was a pleasure meeting you, Warsmith Formicas.” Mara spoke warmly, reaching out her winged claw for a handshake.

His gauntlet engulfed her clawed digits as he gently grasped it, “Same to you, Lady Mara.”

The gannet harpy gave him a smile before she took off. Eciton watched her form rise above the cliffs before he returned to the water to rejoin his warriors.

“Mara agreed to your request?” Erriox asked.

“Yes. Once she sends word, we will discuss the finer details for their aerial patrols.” Eciton confirmed.

“She was rather charming.” He added offhandedly as they were swimming back to the base.

“You sure she isn’t your bonded? You seem awfully amicable with each other.” The younger of his subordinates, Kalium, asked.

Eciton smacked his helmet with his tail, “No, she isn’t. Quit with that nonsense.” He growled.

Erriox held back slightly as their warsmith swam ahead of them, “I told you so. Fair is fair, you are taking my extra shift.” He snickered at his grumbling battle brother.

[c-u-c-koo-4-40k]

Gotta say given the situation making Stormbreaker do menial tasks as punishment for his bs is 'chefs kiss' Beautiful!

And Ghilus...friend, please stop skulking around while your should be Healing.

Ghilus confirmed adorable, keen and probably cut throat...but he is also Le Dumb.

Which is perfect. And my my my Eciton and Mara having some back and forth. Yes very enjoyable.

👍

After Stormbreaker: Catching Shadows and Propositions

Of Fin and Feathers AU: Mara and Warsmith Formicas discuss what had happened since the whole incident with Stormbreaker.

Author’s Notes: If the opportunity presents itself, Warsmith Eciton Formicas figures he might as well take advantage of it. He is totally not trying to rizz up the gannet harpy elder.

Tagged: @shadowfirecat , @kit-williams , @bleedingichorhearts , @barn-anon , @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan

@sleepyfan-blog , @bispecsual , @c-u-c-koo-4-40k , @ms--lobotomy , @whorety-k

@gra93fruit-blog , @i-am-a-dragon34 , @felinisnoctis

She spotted a shadow creeping along the edges of the area sectioned off for the healing ward, slowly creeping towards the colony nests. Mara heaved a sigh, walked closer, and called out to the shadow, “Ghilus, what are you doing? This is the third time I found you out of your bed.”

The shadow didn’t move.

“Ghilus…” the harpy’s voice dropped to a stern warning tone, “I see you, so show yourself. Are you sneaking out to find Kiri again?”

A large dark hand roughly scruffed the young Night Lord and hauled him out of his hiding spot, “Get back to your bed unless you want to test if Osteron can lecture you back to full health.”

Mara turned to the large venomfin mer, “Thank you, Warsmith Formicas.”

Eciton Formicas let go of the younger merAstartes. Ghilus scowled at the warsmith and the elder harpy, unhappy with being found before he could reach Kiri’s nest. The warsmith glared back, looking expectant, “So? Are you going to return to your bed or do you want to test Osteron’s lecture theory”

A shudder ran through Ghilus. Ugh. As if he hadn’t heard enough lecturing. Rest and let your wounds heal this, stop moving about blah blah that, stop being so impatient, don’t creep around the colony and scare the other harpies… Between Osteron and Zariel, he’s already heard enough of their blathering to induce another headache.

Getting exasperated by the besotted mer’s antics, Mara shooed him along with her wings, “Kiri is scheduled to come around soon. It is better that you head back now.”

Under the elders’ watchful eyes, Ghilus sulkily slunk back to the healing ward.

“Are the others giving you any trouble?” The warsmith asked with a frown.

Mara chuckled, “They were fine, if a bit restless. Thankfully, other merAstartes are there to keep an eye on their brethren.”

“My men reported that some of them have found their bonded counterparts among your harpies?”

Her smile turned slightly sheepish, “I’m afraid we may be stealing a few more warriors from you. To my knowledge, Ghilus has bonded to Kiri and Kalium bonded to her daughter, Kona. And the World Eater, Addax, is bonded to Rhitta. Addax has mentioned that Rhitta’s presence calms his nails.”

“That is a problem. Have you tested how far they can be separated before Addax goes under the influence of the nails again?” The warsmith’s thick tail swished in thought.

“At best, 500m, depending on the day. Beyond that will be how Addax normally operates with the nails’ influence.”

Eciton’s next question came as a surprise, “Have you thought about settling here permanently?”

Mara went quiet for a moment before asking, “Is that a proposition, Warsmith?”

“Yes, if you are willing to consider it.” the warsmith confirmed.

“The waters in this territory are productive and your colony will be well-protected, Your colony also already patrols with my warriors, and the bonded merAstartes can stay with their bonded harpies in the colonies if they choose to, which I suspect they will.” he added.

Mara scratched her chin with a claw, “It certainly will make things more convenient considering our current situation... However, this is a big decision that will need to be discussed among my colony first.”

“On the second matter,” Eciton started.

Mara’s voice turned serious, “I suppose you want to discuss the Grey Knight?”

“Yes.” he replied, “As I understand, young Claude was kidnapped by the Grey Knight and Erriox rallied a number of warriors to rescue him. And now one of your harpies is intensely bonded to the Grey Knight.”

“Yes, the same one that is bonded to the Alpha Legion brothers, which complicates this matter.” the harpy elder frowned.

Eciton knew the Grey Knight would make for an extremely powerful ally, and would be useful when it came to territorial disputes with other mer warbands. However, the Grey Knight, whose mood however mercurial, likely would be too proud to let himself be turned into a pawn for such matters. One thing was for certain, the Grey Knight proclaimed that this gannet harpy colony was under his protection, because of his bonded harpy. In that case, it would make sense to fully align with the colony one way or another so he can at least keep the powerful mer under his thumb.

Eciton made sure to choose his next words carefully, knowing how much the harpies value honesty and being upfront, “I want to fully align my warband with your colony. With my warriors being bonded with your harpies as well as your close compatriots, as well as the Grey Knight being part of your colony now, I would be a fool not to. However, regardless of whether you wish to do the same, the Grey Knight cannot go without consequences for his actions. Whether chaos or not, those are still my warriors that he injured.”

Mara agreed, but she had one of her own to protect, “While I agree that he must be punished or at least make reparations for what he has done, what is it you wish to do with the Grey Knight? I cannot allow you to kill or maim him, as it will kill and injure Lana as well. She is one of mine and I will not allow her to be threatened because of Stormbreaker’s actions. She had no control over the situation.” She said sternly.

“Then consider him owing a labor debt to the Steelix warband to make amends for his actions.”

“For how long and to do what?” The harpy elder looked at him, suspicious of his intentions. Mara was under no illusions that the Stormbreaker is absurdly powerful and having an ally like him is a boon to any merAstartes warband. She also doubted that Stormbreaker would allow himself to play as a pawn for long, nor did she wish that fate for him. The thought of the Grey Knight, even though he hadn’t exactly endeared himself to her, being forever shackled to any warband made her feel uneasy. He is technically one of hers now, much like the Alpha Legion brothers.

“For the total amount of time it takes for each of my injured warriors to fully recover. And if Erriox wishes, the additional recovery time for his injured scoutlings. Give or take, the estimated total recovery time if the Primaris scoutlings are included would be 15 months. Stormbreaker is lucky that the healing potions from harpy and mers are so effective and that merAstartes heal quickly. As for the labor, it will be the normal patrols plus grunt work and any assistance that we require for psyker-type issues.”

Mara relaxed at his answer. That was reasonable enough, “I have a few conditions to add if I may.”

“Go ahead.”

“Stormbreaker must be allowed to return to the colony to spend time with Lana once every ten days. Since they share an intense bond, I worry about the effects on both of them if they are kept from the other for too long. And since Lana is recovering from the wounds caused by her initial rejection of the intense bond, Stormbreaker needs to be by her side for her to recover. So his labor debt will have to start after she is fully recovered. It is possible that Lana and her bonded Hydras may have their own conditions to add. This, along with our residency issue need to be discussed among my colony before any decisions could be made. Once decisions are made I ask that a written contract bound by both harpy and mer magic be signed so both parties would stay true to the agreement. Would a reply in two weeks suffice?” she added.

Eciton hummed, but agreed to her requests, seeing little fault in her logic. Besides, if Mara saw him as reasonably agreeable, the chances of her allying her colony with his warband would increase. The warsmith gave the harpy a wry grin, “You are shrewd, Lady Mara.”

Mara tilted her head coquettishly and returned a small smile, “I do have my colony to protect after all and Stormbreaker, like the Hydra brothers, is part of it.”

[kit-williams]

Listen Mara and Eciton can leadership flirt as long as they want to if it means good relationship

But if he keeps asking her to the courtship beach then I'd be like "my good man are you just doing the long con rizz?"

But lovely tie in to the main husbandry au with the name of the cliffs

Of Fin and Feathers AU: Negotiations

Mara of the gannet harpies meets with Iron Warrior Warsmith Eciton Formicas to discuss the terms of being allowed to set to temporarily reside in an area of Steelix Cliffs deep in the heart of his territory to avoid the Black Templar shoal. Kalium and Erriox have a bet going on.

Author’s Notes: will be naming the MerErriox AU series “Of Fin and Feathers”. This takes place before the whole Gray Knight bonding with Lana in incident. Thanks for @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan for letting me use Keed and Orlys (Alpha Legion Mer) for this one.

Tagged: @shadowfirecat , @kit-williams , @bleedingichorhearts , @barn-anon , @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan

@sleepyfan-blog, @c-u-c-koo-4-40k, @bispecsual , @ms--lobotomy , @whorety-k

They are coming. The templar shoal is coming!

The sirens’ songs carried in the winds to all who heard them. All manner of magical non-human sentient creatures prepared to hide or leave for safer areas knowing the Black Templar shoal will be migrating through. Those who were either unwary and caught at the wrong place and time or foolish enough to confront this shoal had been cut down mercilessly.

The feathers by Mara's ear holes fluttered in the breeze, carrying the siren’s message with it. After which, the sirens fell silent. The gannet harpy frowned, this matched up with the bits of information that came they received over the past few days. Word from the passing gull harpies was that the shoal was making their way to these waters, still maybe three or four days away judging by their speed of travel.

“The siren sisters are silent now. They must be starting to move.” Another gannet elder, Nerian, commented, “You heard their song too?”

“Yes.” Mara replied, “This is a new change in the black templar shoal movement.”

Nerian hummed thoughtfully, “They don’t usually come through these waters this time of year. Wonder what changed.”

The old gannet muttered, “I don’t care that much to find out. Any word about the state of our secondary rock?”

“Unfortunately it’s fully occupied. Other sea harpies had been evacuating their roosts since the Black Templar shoal changed their pattern.” Nerian grumbled. He couldn’t help but find this situation frustrating. Not that it was their kittiwake and murre cousins’ fault, they are equally vulnerable to the mercurial shoal’s blades. However, this means they don’t have much time to find a whole new safe sanctuary.

“Please send out a message to the scouting parties and ask everyone to look out for possible places that can be a suitable temporary safe haven.” Mara requested.

“Will be done.” Nerian gave an affirmative before taking off. Mara nodded then turned around to make her way back to the colony.

Keed and Orlys, two Alpha Legion mers, had been helping their bonded Lana help others in the colony figure out logistics of moving the fledglings and others that cannot fly as well as their older brethren could, when they overheard Mara’s conversation with Nerian.

“Mara, we couldn’t help but hear your chat with Nerian.” Keed addressed the gannet harpy, “Are you still looking for a temporary place to settle?

Mara sighed, she forgot how keen mer-Astartes hearing was, “Yes. Unfortunately where we would normally go to take shelter is fully occupied. Everyone is spooked by the change in the Black Templar shoal behavior.”

Orlys remembered a conversation he had with the Blood Angel Scoutling, “Jophiel said Lenora was moving closer to the Iron Warrior base. There is the Steelix Cliffs, parts of which are deep in Iron Warrior shoal territory which would be out of the Black Templar’s path; it may be worth asking Erriox about it.”

The elder gannet harpy hummed thoughtfully, “You do have a point. Would you or your brother take a few others for a flight to scout it out please? The harpies will know what we need in a location. Once there's one or a few suitable places, please contact Erriox to request a temporary stay and report back to me. If there is nothing suitable, report back to me regardless.”

“Will do.” Keed replied.

“Thank you.”

She watched the two mers make their way back to Lana, making some sort of hand gestures to determine, Mara guessed, who stays and who goes. The gannet harpy’s dark eyes crinkled with amusement before she went back to her nest.

A few hours later, the scouting group returned with good news of having found a location well-suited to be their safe haven. Mara thanked them for their work before dismissing them.

Keed stayed behind, having a message to pass on to the elder harpy.

Mara then turned her attention to him, “Have you contacted Erriox about this yet?” She asked.

“Yes.” The Alpha Legionary replied, “Erriox said he notified his warsmith about our request and will let us know his answer.”

Coincidentally, his vox crackled to life as Erriox’s voice came over the channel.

“Warsmith Formicas requests a meeting with Mara. When can she meet him?”

Keed relayed the message to the harpy. Mara tapped her claw to her chin in thought before answering, “I can meet him right away. Where is the meeting location?”

There was a pause as Keed communicated Mara’s answer to the Iron Warrior in addition to discussing whatever else between the two mer-Astartes.

“On the beach in the Trail of Stars Cove. It’s halfway between here and the base.”

Mara laughed, familiar with the meeting location being where many of her colony staged part of their courtship, “Sounds rather romantic.” She joked, “Tell Warsmith Formicas that we’ll be there in 30 minutes.”

“Want me to accompany you?” Keed asked the gannet harpy.

“Yes, that would be much appreciated.” Mara smiled, not that she felt there would be any malicious intent from the warsmith, but it was comforting to know she has a mer-Astartes on her side.

The two arrived at the cove just ahead of their meeting time, allowing for some exploration of the beach.

Mara looked around, a sense of pleasant nostalgia clung to her senses. “This is a place where bonding pairs would go as part of their courtship. It is beautiful to visit at night as the name suggests. You should bring Lana here sometime.” She suggested to Keed.

Lana would probably like that. Keed smiled at the idea, though unseen due to his helmet, “I will remember that.”

The warsmith soon arrived, swimming out of the water to meet them, accompanied by Erriox and one other Iron Warrior mer. The large armored-tail venomfin mer dismissed the other two as he swam closer to them.

Keed tilted his head slightly in question, “Do you need me to stay?” He whispered.

Mara waved her claw, “No, I think I’ll be alright.”

“I’ll stay close.” He answered.

Mara thanked him. Keed gave a curt nod before swimming off after the other two Iron Warriors.

“Lady Mara.”

“Warsmith Formicas.” Mara nodded slightly in greeting.

The warsmith eyed the leaving Alpha Legionaire coolly, “Your reputation precedes you, Lady Mara. Uncovering a squad of five Alpha Legionaries. Not many can boast about that.”

Smiling disarmingly at the warsmith, she explained to him, “It was only a matter of chance that it happened that way, Warsmith Formicas. The brothers had bonded to one of my own. Though it is not without its own challenges, they have been good to their bonded and to the rest of my colony.”

“Indeed.” The warsmith acknowledged before getting back to business, inquiring, “You were requesting a temporary safe haven up on Steelix Cliffs?”

Mara nodded, “Yes, we scouted a suitable place about 15 kms north of here along these cliffs.”

She added, “I recognize this location is deep within your territory, but I am hoping to have your permission for my colony to relocate there temporarily, at least until the Black Templar shoal has left these waters.”

“I heard about the changes in the Black Templar shoal movement. The way that most non-human sentients are clearing out of the area or going into hiding is hard to ignore.” The warsmith narrowed his eyes as his armored tail swayed back and forth in thought, “You have my permission for your colony to stay as long as you need, however in return, I ask that you provide aerial surveillance and support, and the use of your Alpha Legion squad.”

Mara knew what the warsmith was thinking and had been prepared for it, “I have a roster of harpies who can start whenever it is required, though we will need further details as patrol areas and what you are looking for. As for the Alpha Legion squad…”

Keed paused and added without prompting, “my brothers and I will work alongside your shoal for the time being.” They can work under warsmith Formicas in exchange for Lana and her colony being better protected. Besides, it would be a good opportunity to gain more information of the shoals and current state of these waters.

“Thank you.” Mara gave the Alpha Legionary a grateful look before he continued to leave.

She asked, turning to the warsmith, “Is that suitable?”

Eciton Formicas recognized the quiet power and experienced leadership the old gannet harpy had, “Yes, it is. You are well prepared, Lady Mara.” He commented shrewdly.

“I have been around long enough to know requests like this are not without some sort of equivalent exchange.” Mara stated, her dark eyes crinkled with amusement.

She shared a wry grin, “It helps to keep good neighbors and allies.”

The warsmith chuckled, “Certainly. I can see why you have so many mer-Astartes under your wing.”

“It only seems that way. They’re not beholden to me or my colony.” Mara insisted, bringing up her claw to hide her smile, knowing that Formicas was talking about the Primaris boys and the Alpha Legion brothers, “They’re good boys.” She said fondly, “though sometimes they need a good talking to… or a few.”

Eciton laughed at the way she addressed the mers as if they were mere whelps, “If that is all you need to do to have them do what you say, I can use your talks on my warriors if it means they would be more disciplined.”

“You flatter me, Warsmith. You greatly overestimate my ability to make them listen. I’m sure you’re doing a fine job taking care of your warriors.” Mara smiled at him graciously, “Regardless, thank you for permitting my colony to stay in your territory.”

“You’re welcome. Should you require it, I can send a few of my Astartes to assist your move. Once you are settled, your harpies will be included in the patrol schedule and we will discuss details then. I will also increase patrols in your area while the Black Templars are present.” Eciton replied.

Mara bowed her head slightly with respect, “That is much appreciated. We should be fine with regards to moving as it is only a temporary stay and we have enough bodies for that.”

She looked out at the water and spotted the teal form of Keed waiting in the distance, then turned back to face the warsmith, “I am grateful for your assistance in this matter, and it eases my worries. Once everything is settled, I will have someone notify you to discuss further details. It was a pleasure meeting you, Warsmith Formicas.” Mara spoke warmly, reaching out her winged claw for a handshake.

His gauntlet engulfed her clawed digits as he gently grasped it, “Same to you, Lady Mara.”

The gannet harpy gave him a smile before she took off. Eciton watched her form rise above the cliffs before he returned to the water to rejoin his warriors.

“Mara agreed to your request?” Erriox asked.

“Yes. Once she sends word, we will discuss the finer details for their aerial patrols.” Eciton confirmed.

“She was rather charming.” He added offhandedly as they were swimming back to the base.

“You sure she isn’t your bonded? You seem awfully amicable with each other.” The younger of his subordinates, Kalium, asked.

Eciton smacked his helmet with his tail, “No, she isn’t. Quit with that nonsense.” He growled.

Erriox held back slightly as their warsmith swam ahead of them, “I told you so. Fair is fair, you are taking my extra shift.” He snickered at his grumbling battle brother.

[kit-williams]

Ahh yes the Mara meetcute

So happy to read this as everyone was cute

And yes Astartes staring at each other as socializing

Museum

Warsmith Eciton Formicas takes the time to visit his bonded human, an educator who works at the local museum’s natural history exhibit. He’s not the only one at the museum that day and gets to meet his bonded’s favorite teacher.

Author’s Note: Another meetcute. 🥰 I can’t have Mara meeting Eciton in Of Fin and Feathers AU and not have them meet in Space Marine Husbandry Sentience AU. Takes place after Ben reunites with Amelia.

Tagged: @shadowfirecat , @kit-williams , @bleedingichorhearts , @barn-anon , @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan

@sleepyfan-blog , @bispecsual , @c-u-c-koo-4-40k , @ms--lobotomy , @whorety-k

@gra93fruit-blog , @i-am-a-dragon34 , @felinisnoctis

Eciton stands at the back, watching the young man talking about biodiversity of the forest undergrowth in front of a rapt audience. His lips curl into a small smile as the children excitedly wave their hands to be picked to handle the large millipede the young man held. He was glad to have scheduled some time off to visit his bonded at the museum amd watch him work. It’s not often enough that he’s able to do such a thing nor be able to keep a close eye on his human. Luckily he’s able to assign some of the Astartes at his base to keep his bonded safe in his stead.

The presentation soon finished and the audience dispersed to wander among the rest of the exhibits. Eciton walks over to where his bonded human was packing up the animals and displays he had. He gently takes the small ant farm and wolf spider display then puts them on the cart.

His human grins and thanks him.

“Was that the presentation you had been working on the past few weeks, Daniel?” The warsmith asks.

“Yes. How was it?” Daniel replies as he continues to pack up.

Eciton hums with approval, “Rather engaging, though I thought you would put some more focus on the ants.”

“You like ants, I get it.” the young man laughs, “I have to be fair about giving all creatures equal amount of time in my presentation, you know.”

Setting on the last display, Daniel is about to push his cart back in the lab behind him when he spots someone familiar. He happily waves them over, “Ms. Plover! Ms. Plover! Hi!”

Mara had watched Daniel’s presentation, impressed by his performance and growth over the years. She lags behind, reading the displays as Amelia and Ben, along with their space marines, go to check out the rest of the exhibit. Suddenly, Daniel’s familiar voice calls out to her.

“Ms. Plover! Hi!”

Daniel had been one of the students she taught many years ago when she had been teaching full-time. Mara is surprised that he still recognized her. Her eyes crinkle as she walks towards the educator and greets him with a warm hug and a smile.

“Your presentation was very well done!

Eciton watches as Daniel rushes over to an older woman to enthusiastically greet her with a hug. Daniel leads her over to where he was standing and introduces them.

“This is Ms. Plover, my favourite teacher! She’s the one who inspired me to continue insect keeping and research, and become the educator I am today.” Gesturing to the bonded space marine, Daniel continues proudly, “This is Eciton Formicas, my bonded space marine! He’s the warsmith at Steelix Fortress Base.”

Eciton straightens his posture and gives her a nod. She looks and smells familiar. He quickly realizes that she was related to Alcyon’s and Malaran’s humans, who were involved in the incident with that Black Templar. Internally, he debates if he should mention that or not to her.

“Don’t let your other teachers hear that.” Mara joked before smiling warmly and holding out a hand to the warsmith, making sure to address him by his proper title, “Nice to meet you Warsmith Formicas. You can call me ‘Mara’ instead, Ms. Plover is far too formal and I’ve retired from teaching.”

Eciton’s hand engulfs hers as he gently shakes her hand, “My pleasure. It is good to meet someone who’s inspired my bonded so deeply.”

Daniel grins, “You’re the only one who let me keep bugs in the classroom. Even after the whole ‘mantid babies’ incident.”

Mara chuckled, remembering the time when baby mantises hatched from the egg case that Daniel brought in. They were still finding tiny mantises a month later in the classroom. “I don't think we’ve ever found them all.”

“Good! I’ve left my legacy in that school.” Daniel thumps his chest proudly to Eciton’s amusement. He looks at the cart and excuses himself, “I need to put these guys back in the lab, I’ll be right back out soon. You guys have a good chat!”

With that, he wheels the cart away and disappears into the lab.

An awkward silence hung between the pair for a short moment until Mara spoke up again,“Thank you for letting my daughter keep Ben. I’m sure that incident caused you no shortage of headaches. I apologize for the inconvenience.”

Eciton blinks, not expecting Mara to say such a thing. He quickly collects himself, “It’s fine. That issue has been resolved and it is only a matter to settle in the human legal system now between your daughter and her in-laws.”

“Regardless, thank you.” She replies, grateful to have her family reunited.

The Iron Warrior could feel heat at edge of his ears and he nods slightly, “You’re welcome.”

Mara smiles a little then asks, “How long have you been bonded with Daniel? I don’t remember him mentioning anything about a space marine when I was teaching him at Gannet Point. Knowing Daniel when he’s excited, he definitely would be announcing that to the world.”

Eciton chuckled, “I met him while he was here in Steelix River several years ago. Sometimes that boy needs to learn timing and volume, but it suits him well for the work he does here.”

“Grandma’s looking like she’s having a nice chat with that space marine guy.” Ben points out. Amelia had thought her mother had lagged behind for a susiciously long time when they decide to turn back to search for her.

“Your mother is chatting up the Warsmith.” Alcyon murmured incredulously, one arm wrapped around Amelia’s shoulder.

Mara is indeed talking to Warsmith Formicas who is soon joined by the presenter, one of her former students. Amelia lets out a quiet exasperated laugh and leans affectionately into Alcyon’s side, feeling him tighten his hold, “Of course she is. My mom has a talent for holding a conversation with nearly anyone. It probably helps that the warsmith’s bonded is my mom’s former student.” She knew that her mom isn’t bonded to an Astartes, but the way the warsmith stands protectively by the educator, it is obvious that the educator is his bonded human.

Mara nearly forgets the time while she was chatting until Ben wraps his arms around her and she sees Orca close behind.

“Grandma! We’ve found you!”

Mara chuckles and hugs him back, “Hello Ben, Orca. This is Daniel, one of my students and this is Warsmith Formicas. Be polite.”

Ben looks up and greets them both, “Hi Daniel. Hi Warsmith Formicas.”

“Grandma?” Daniel asks, “Did you get married?”

“No,” Mara explains, “I adopted my niece as my own and her son, Ben, is my grandson.”

Eciton looked down at the scrappy young boy who was the cause of all this drama; who, against all odds, managed to escape a Black Templar and reunite with his mother, with the help of his bonded chaos marine and one of his men. Ben stared back evenly, not cowed by the warsmith’s presence. Eciton can see the family resemblance.

“Formicas.” Malaran says as he holds onto Ben again, his red eyes daring the warsmith to make a comment about his charge. Daniel shifts uncomfortably.

“Where’s your mom and Alcyon?” Mara asks Ben, cutting through the tension like a hot knife through butter.

“They’re coming.” The boy replies.

They look over to see Alcyon and Amelia making their way towards them. The chaos Iron Warrior nods at them, “Warsmith.”

Amelia greets them, smiling, “Warsmith Formicas, Daniel.” She addresses the educator, “That was a wonderful presentation.”

“Yeah!” Ben pipes up, “That was so cool! I really liked when you talked about the fishing spider.”

Daniel’s grin is large and bright when he replies, “I’m glad you guys like it! Unfortunately time’s a bit tight, but next time when you come by again, send me an email and i can set you up with a behind the scenes tour of the lab.” Giving Ben his business card.

Ben cheers, “That is awesome! Thanks!”

The educator laughs, “You’re welcome!”

Eciton and Daniel look on as the family wave their goodbyes and disappears to look at the other exhibits in the museum.

“Cute kid. That’s the one who made the shouty guys shoutier?” Daniel asks.

Eciton snorts at Daniel’s description of the Black Templars, “Yes.”

“I like him, he seems bright and scrappy.”

“The boy and his Astartes are trouble.” the Warsmith grumbles.

“They can’t be all that bad. You seemed to have a nice chat with Ms. Plover. She makes some really good pastries too.” Daniel adds.

“She was a good conversationalist.” Eciton grudgingly admits that much, then smirks at his bonded, “She also shared some of your hijinks of when you were in her class. Bringing in a container full of cockroaches without secure containment? Really, Daniel?”

The young man groans, “I was a kid. Secure containment wasn’t exactly my priority at the time.”

[gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan]

This is so cute!

Museum

Warsmith Eciton Formicas takes the time to visit his bonded human, an educator who works at the local museum’s natural history exhibit. He’s not the only one at the museum that day and gets to meet his bonded’s favorite teacher.

Author’s Note: Another meetcute. 🥰 I can’t have Mara meeting Eciton in Of Fin and Feathers AU and not have them meet in Space Marine Husbandry Sentience AU. Takes place after Ben reunites with Amelia.

Tagged: @shadowfirecat , @kit-williams , @bleedingichorhearts , @barn-anon , @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan

@sleepyfan-blog , @bispecsual , @c-u-c-koo-4-40k , @ms--lobotomy , @whorety-k

@gra93fruit-blog , @i-am-a-dragon34 , @felinisnoctis

Eciton stands at the back, watching the young man talking about biodiversity of the forest undergrowth in front of a rapt audience. His lips curl into a small smile as the children excitedly wave their hands to be picked to handle the large millipede the young man held. He was glad to have scheduled some time off to visit his bonded at the museum amd watch him work. It’s not often enough that he’s able to do such a thing nor be able to keep a close eye on his human. Luckily he’s able to assign some of the Astartes at his base to keep his bonded safe in his stead.

The presentation soon finished and the audience dispersed to wander among the rest of the exhibits. Eciton walks over to where his bonded human was packing up the animals and displays he had. He gently takes the small ant farm and wolf spider display then puts them on the cart.

His human grins and thanks him.

“Was that the presentation you had been working on the past few weeks, Daniel?” The warsmith asks.

“Yes. How was it?” Daniel replies as he continues to pack up.

Eciton hums with approval, “Rather engaging, though I thought you would put some more focus on the ants.”

“You like ants, I get it.” the young man laughs, “I have to be fair about giving all creatures equal amount of time in my presentation, you know.”

Setting on the last display, Daniel is about to push his cart back in the lab behind him when he spots someone familiar. He happily waves them over, “Ms. Plover! Ms. Plover! Hi!”

Mara had watched Daniel’s presentation, impressed by his performance and growth over the years. She lags behind, reading the displays as Amelia and Ben, along with their space marines, go to check out the rest of the exhibit. Suddenly, Daniel’s familiar voice calls out to her.

“Ms. Plover! Hi!”

Daniel had been one of the students she taught many years ago when she had been teaching full-time. Mara is surprised that he still recognized her. Her eyes crinkle as she walks towards the educator and greets him with a warm hug and a smile.

“Your presentation was very well done!

Eciton watches as Daniel rushes over to an older woman to enthusiastically greet her with a hug. Daniel leads her over to where he was standing and introduces them.

“This is Ms. Plover, my favourite teacher! She’s the one who inspired me to continue insect keeping and research, and become the educator I am today.” Gesturing to the bonded space marine, Daniel continues proudly, “This is Eciton Formicas, my bonded space marine! He’s the warsmith at Steelix Fortress Base.”

Eciton straightens his posture and gives her a nod. She looks and smells familiar. He quickly realizes that she was related to Alcyon’s and Malaran’s humans, who were involved in the incident with that Black Templar. Internally, he debates if he should mention that or not to her.

“Don’t let your other teachers hear that.” Mara joked before smiling warmly and holding out a hand to the warsmith, making sure to address him by his proper title, “Nice to meet you Warsmith Formicas. You can call me ‘Mara’ instead, Ms. Plover is far too formal and I’ve retired from teaching.”

Eciton’s hand engulfs hers as he gently shakes her hand, “My pleasure. It is good to meet someone who’s inspired my bonded so deeply.”

Daniel grins, “You’re the only one who let me keep bugs in the classroom. Even after the whole ‘mantid babies’ incident.”

Mara chuckled, remembering the time when baby mantises hatched from the egg case that Daniel brought in. They were still finding tiny mantises a month later in the classroom. “I don't think we’ve ever found them all.”

“Good! I’ve left my legacy in that school.” Daniel thumps his chest proudly to Eciton’s amusement. He looks at the cart and excuses himself, “I need to put these guys back in the lab, I’ll be right back out soon. You guys have a good chat!”

With that, he wheels the cart away and disappears into the lab.

An awkward silence hung between the pair for a short moment until Mara spoke up again,“Thank you for letting my daughter keep Ben. I’m sure that incident caused you no shortage of headaches. I apologize for the inconvenience.”

Eciton blinks, not expecting Mara to say such a thing. He quickly collects himself, “It’s fine. That issue has been resolved and it is only a matter to settle in the human legal system now between your daughter and her in-laws.”

“Regardless, thank you.” She replies, grateful to have her family reunited.

The Iron Warrior could feel heat at edge of his ears and he nods slightly, “You’re welcome.”

Mara smiles a little then asks, “How long have you been bonded with Daniel? I don’t remember him mentioning anything about a space marine when I was teaching him at Gannet Point. Knowing Daniel when he’s excited, he definitely would be announcing that to the world.”

Eciton chuckled, “I met him while he was here in Steelix River several years ago. Sometimes that boy needs to learn timing and volume, but it suits him well for the work he does here.”

“Grandma’s looking like she’s having a nice chat with that space marine guy.” Ben points out. Amelia had thought her mother had lagged behind for a susiciously long time when they decide to turn back to search for her.

“Your mother is chatting up the Warsmith.” Alcyon murmured incredulously, one arm wrapped around Amelia’s shoulder.

Mara is indeed talking to Warsmith Formicas who is soon joined by the presenter, one of her former students. Amelia lets out a quiet exasperated laugh and leans affectionately into Alcyon’s side, feeling him tighten his hold, “Of course she is. My mom has a talent for holding a conversation with nearly anyone. It probably helps that the warsmith’s bonded is my mom’s former student.” She knew that her mom isn’t bonded to an Astartes, but the way the warsmith stands protectively by the educator, it is obvious that the educator is his bonded human.

Mara nearly forgets the time while she was chatting until Ben wraps his arms around her and she sees Orca close behind.

“Grandma! We’ve found you!”

Mara chuckles and hugs him back, “Hello Ben, Orca. This is Daniel, one of my students and this is Warsmith Formicas. Be polite.”

Ben looks up and greets them both, “Hi Daniel. Hi Warsmith Formicas.”

“Grandma?” Daniel asks, “Did you get married?”

“No,” Mara explains, “I adopted my niece as my own and her son, Ben, is my grandson.”

Eciton looked down at the scrappy young boy who was the cause of all this drama; who, against all odds, managed to escape a Black Templar and reunite with his mother, with the help of his bonded chaos marine and one of his men. Ben stared back evenly, not cowed by the warsmith’s presence. Eciton can see the family resemblance.

“Formicas.” Malaran says as he holds onto Ben again, his red eyes daring the warsmith to make a comment about his charge. Daniel shifts uncomfortably.

“Where’s your mom and Alcyon?” Mara asks Ben, cutting through the tension like a hot knife through butter.

“They’re coming.” The boy replies.

They look over to see Alcyon and Amelia making their way towards them. The chaos Iron Warrior nods at them, “Warsmith.”

Amelia greets them, smiling, “Warsmith Formicas, Daniel.” She addresses the educator, “That was a wonderful presentation.”

“Yeah!” Ben pipes up, “That was so cool! I really liked when you talked about the fishing spider.”

Daniel’s grin is large and bright when he replies, “I’m glad you guys like it! Unfortunately time’s a bit tight, but next time when you come by again, send me an email and i can set you up with a behind the scenes tour of the lab.” Giving Ben his business card.

Ben cheers, “That is awesome! Thanks!”

The educator laughs, “You’re welcome!”

Eciton and Daniel look on as the family wave their goodbyes and disappears to look at the other exhibits in the museum.

“Cute kid. That’s the one who made the shouty guys shoutier?” Daniel asks.

Eciton snorts at Daniel’s description of the Black Templars, “Yes.”

“I like him, he seems bright and scrappy.”

“The boy and his Astartes are trouble.” the Warsmith grumbles.

“They can’t be all that bad. You seemed to have a nice chat with Ms. Plover. She makes some really good pastries too.” Daniel adds.

“She was a good conversationalist.” Eciton grudgingly admits that much, then smirks at his bonded, “She also shared some of your hijinks of when you were in her class. Bringing in a container full of cockroaches without secure containment? Really, Daniel?”

The young man groans, “I was a kid. Secure containment wasn’t exactly my priority at the time.”

[gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan]

Oh I love this so much! Stormbreaker is gonna hate doing menial labor type work.

After Stormbreaker: Catching Shadows and Propositions

Of Fin and Feathers AU: Mara and Warsmith Formicas discuss what had happened since the whole incident with Stormbreaker.

Author’s Notes: If the opportunity presents itself, Warsmith Eciton Formicas figures he might as well take advantage of it. He is totally not trying to rizz up the gannet harpy elder.

Tagged: @shadowfirecat , @kit-williams , @bleedingichorhearts , @barn-anon , @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan

@sleepyfan-blog , @bispecsual , @c-u-c-koo-4-40k , @ms--lobotomy , @whorety-k

@gra93fruit-blog , @i-am-a-dragon34 , @felinisnoctis

She spotted a shadow creeping along the edges of the area sectioned off for the healing ward, slowly creeping towards the colony nests. Mara heaved a sigh, walked closer, and called out to the shadow, “Ghilus, what are you doing? This is the third time I found you out of your bed.”

The shadow didn’t move.

“Ghilus…” the harpy’s voice dropped to a stern warning tone, “I see you, so show yourself. Are you sneaking out to find Kiri again?”

A large dark hand roughly scruffed the young Night Lord and hauled him out of his hiding spot, “Get back to your bed unless you want to test if Osteron can lecture you back to full health.”

Mara turned to the large venomfin mer, “Thank you, Warsmith Formicas.”

Eciton Formicas let go of the younger merAstartes. Ghilus scowled at the warsmith and the elder harpy, unhappy with being found before he could reach Kiri’s nest. The warsmith glared back, looking expectant, “So? Are you going to return to your bed or do you want to test Osteron’s lecture theory”

A shudder ran through Ghilus. Ugh. As if he hadn’t heard enough lecturing. Rest and let your wounds heal this, stop moving about blah blah that, stop being so impatient, don’t creep around the colony and scare the other harpies… Between Osteron and Zariel, he’s already heard enough of their blathering to induce another headache.

Getting exasperated by the besotted mer’s antics, Mara shooed him along with her wings, “Kiri is scheduled to come around soon. It is better that you head back now.”

Under the elders’ watchful eyes, Ghilus sulkily slunk back to the healing ward.

“Are the others giving you any trouble?” The warsmith asked with a frown.

Mara chuckled, “They were fine, if a bit restless. Thankfully, other merAstartes are there to keep an eye on their brethren.”

“My men reported that some of them have found their bonded counterparts among your harpies?”

Her smile turned slightly sheepish, “I’m afraid we may be stealing a few more warriors from you. To my knowledge, Ghilus has bonded to Kiri and Kalium bonded to her daughter, Kona. And the World Eater, Addax, is bonded to Rhitta. Addax has mentioned that Rhitta’s presence calms his nails.”

“That is a problem. Have you tested how far they can be separated before Addax goes under the influence of the nails again?” The warsmith’s thick tail swished in thought.

“At best, 500m, depending on the day. Beyond that will be how Addax normally operates with the nails’ influence.”

Eciton’s next question came as a surprise, “Have you thought about settling here permanently?”

Mara went quiet for a moment before asking, “Is that a proposition, Warsmith?”

“Yes, if you are willing to consider it.” the warsmith confirmed.

“The waters in this territory are productive and your colony will be well-protected, Your colony also already patrols with my warriors, and the bonded merAstartes can stay with their bonded harpies in the colonies if they choose to, which I suspect they will.” he added.

Mara scratched her chin with a claw, “It certainly will make things more convenient considering our current situation... However, this is a big decision that will need to be discussed among my colony first.”

“On the second matter,” Eciton started.

Mara’s voice turned serious, “I suppose you want to discuss the Grey Knight?”

“Yes.” he replied, “As I understand, young Claude was kidnapped by the Grey Knight and Erriox rallied a number of warriors to rescue him. And now one of your harpies is intensely bonded to the Grey Knight.”

“Yes, the same one that is bonded to the Alpha Legion brothers, which complicates this matter.” the harpy elder frowned.

Eciton knew the Grey Knight would make for an extremely powerful ally, and would be useful when it came to territorial disputes with other mer warbands. However, the Grey Knight, whose mood however mercurial, likely would be too proud to let himself be turned into a pawn for such matters. One thing was for certain, the Grey Knight proclaimed that this gannet harpy colony was under his protection, because of his bonded harpy. In that case, it would make sense to fully align with the colony one way or another so he can at least keep the powerful mer under his thumb.

Eciton made sure to choose his next words carefully, knowing how much the harpies value honesty and being upfront, “I want to fully align my warband with your colony. With my warriors being bonded with your harpies as well as your close compatriots, as well as the Grey Knight being part of your colony now, I would be a fool not to. However, regardless of whether you wish to do the same, the Grey Knight cannot go without consequences for his actions. Whether chaos or not, those are still my warriors that he injured.”

Mara agreed, but she had one of her own to protect, “While I agree that he must be punished or at least make reparations for what he has done, what is it you wish to do with the Grey Knight? I cannot allow you to kill or maim him, as it will kill and injure Lana as well. She is one of mine and I will not allow her to be threatened because of Stormbreaker’s actions. She had no control over the situation.” She said sternly.

“Then consider him owing a labor debt to the Steelix warband to make amends for his actions.”

“For how long and to do what?” The harpy elder looked at him, suspicious of his intentions. Mara was under no illusions that the Stormbreaker is absurdly powerful and having an ally like him is a boon to any merAstartes warband. She also doubted that Stormbreaker would allow himself to play as a pawn for long, nor did she wish that fate for him. The thought of the Grey Knight, even though he hadn’t exactly endeared himself to her, being forever shackled to any warband made her feel uneasy. He is technically one of hers now, much like the Alpha Legion brothers.

“For the total amount of time it takes for each of my injured warriors to fully recover. And if Erriox wishes, the additional recovery time for his injured scoutlings. Give or take, the estimated total recovery time if the Primaris scoutlings are included would be 15 months. Stormbreaker is lucky that the healing potions from harpy and mers are so effective and that merAstartes heal quickly. As for the labor, it will be the normal patrols plus grunt work and any assistance that we require for psyker-type issues.”

Mara relaxed at his answer. That was reasonable enough, “I have a few conditions to add if I may.”

“Go ahead.”

“Stormbreaker must be allowed to return to the colony to spend time with Lana once every ten days. Since they share an intense bond, I worry about the effects on both of them if they are kept from the other for too long. And since Lana is recovering from the wounds caused by her initial rejection of the intense bond, Stormbreaker needs to be by her side for her to recover. So his labor debt will have to start after she is fully recovered. It is possible that Lana and her bonded Hydras may have their own conditions to add. This, along with our residency issue need to be discussed among my colony before any decisions could be made. Once decisions are made I ask that a written contract bound by both harpy and mer magic be signed so both parties would stay true to the agreement. Would a reply in two weeks suffice?” she added.

Eciton hummed, but agreed to her requests, seeing little fault in her logic. Besides, if Mara saw him as reasonably agreeable, the chances of her allying her colony with his warband would increase. The warsmith gave the harpy a wry grin, “You are shrewd, Lady Mara.”

Mara tilted her head coquettishly and returned a small smile, “I do have my colony to protect after all and Stormbreaker, like the Hydra brothers, is part of it.”

[kit-williams]

Totally not Rizzing up the shrewd old woman in the language of negotiations

After Stormbreaker: Catching Shadows and Propositions

Of Fin and Feathers AU: Mara and Warsmith Formicas discuss what had happened since the whole incident with Stormbreaker.

Author’s Notes: If the opportunity presents itself, Warsmith Eciton Formicas figures he might as well take advantage of it. He is totally not trying to rizz up the gannet harpy elder.

Tagged: @shadowfirecat , @kit-williams , @bleedingichorhearts , @barn-anon , @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan

@sleepyfan-blog , @bispecsual , @c-u-c-koo-4-40k , @ms--lobotomy , @whorety-k

@gra93fruit-blog , @i-am-a-dragon34 , @felinisnoctis

She spotted a shadow creeping along the edges of the area sectioned off for the healing ward, slowly creeping towards the colony nests. Mara heaved a sigh, walked closer, and called out to the shadow, “Ghilus, what are you doing? This is the third time I found you out of your bed.”

The shadow didn’t move.

“Ghilus…” the harpy’s voice dropped to a stern warning tone, “I see you, so show yourself. Are you sneaking out to find Kiri again?”

A large dark hand roughly scruffed the young Night Lord and hauled him out of his hiding spot, “Get back to your bed unless you want to test if Osteron can lecture you back to full health.”

Mara turned to the large venomfin mer, “Thank you, Warsmith Formicas.”

Eciton Formicas let go of the younger merAstartes. Ghilus scowled at the warsmith and the elder harpy, unhappy with being found before he could reach Kiri’s nest. The warsmith glared back, looking expectant, “So? Are you going to return to your bed or do you want to test Osteron’s lecture theory”

A shudder ran through Ghilus. Ugh. As if he hadn’t heard enough lecturing. Rest and let your wounds heal this, stop moving about blah blah that, stop being so impatient, don’t creep around the colony and scare the other harpies… Between Osteron and Zariel, he’s already heard enough of their blathering to induce another headache.

Getting exasperated by the besotted mer’s antics, Mara shooed him along with her wings, “Kiri is scheduled to come around soon. It is better that you head back now.”

Under the elders’ watchful eyes, Ghilus sulkily slunk back to the healing ward.

“Are the others giving you any trouble?” The warsmith asked with a frown.

Mara chuckled, “They were fine, if a bit restless. Thankfully, other merAstartes are there to keep an eye on their brethren.”

“My men reported that some of them have found their bonded counterparts among your harpies?”

Her smile turned slightly sheepish, “I’m afraid we may be stealing a few more warriors from you. To my knowledge, Ghilus has bonded to Kiri and Kalium bonded to her daughter, Kona. And the World Eater, Addax, is bonded to Rhitta. Addax has mentioned that Rhitta’s presence calms his nails.”

“That is a problem. Have you tested how far they can be separated before Addax goes under the influence of the nails again?” The warsmith’s thick tail swished in thought.

“At best, 500m, depending on the day. Beyond that will be how Addax normally operates with the nails’ influence.”

Eciton’s next question came as a surprise, “Have you thought about settling here permanently?”

Mara went quiet for a moment before asking, “Is that a proposition, Warsmith?”

“Yes, if you are willing to consider it.” the warsmith confirmed.

“The waters in this territory are productive and your colony will be well-protected, Your colony also already patrols with my warriors, and the bonded merAstartes can stay with their bonded harpies in the colonies if they choose to, which I suspect they will.” he added.

Mara scratched her chin with a claw, “It certainly will make things more convenient considering our current situation... However, this is a big decision that will need to be discussed among my colony first.”

“On the second matter,” Eciton started.

Mara’s voice turned serious, “I suppose you want to discuss the Grey Knight?”

“Yes.” he replied, “As I understand, young Claude was kidnapped by the Grey Knight and Erriox rallied a number of warriors to rescue him. And now one of your harpies is intensely bonded to the Grey Knight.”

“Yes, the same one that is bonded to the Alpha Legion brothers, which complicates this matter.” the harpy elder frowned.

Eciton knew the Grey Knight would make for an extremely powerful ally, and would be useful when it came to territorial disputes with other mer warbands. However, the Grey Knight, whose mood however mercurial, likely would be too proud to let himself be turned into a pawn for such matters. One thing was for certain, the Grey Knight proclaimed that this gannet harpy colony was under his protection, because of his bonded harpy. In that case, it would make sense to fully align with the colony one way or another so he can at least keep the powerful mer under his thumb.

Eciton made sure to choose his next words carefully, knowing how much the harpies value honesty and being upfront, “I want to fully align my warband with your colony. With my warriors being bonded with your harpies as well as your close compatriots, as well as the Grey Knight being part of your colony now, I would be a fool not to. However, regardless of whether you wish to do the same, the Grey Knight cannot go without consequences for his actions. Whether chaos or not, those are still my warriors that he injured.”

Mara agreed, but she had one of her own to protect, “While I agree that he must be punished or at least make reparations for what he has done, what is it you wish to do with the Grey Knight? I cannot allow you to kill or maim him, as it will kill and injure Lana as well. She is one of mine and I will not allow her to be threatened because of Stormbreaker’s actions. She had no control over the situation.” She said sternly.

“Then consider him owing a labor debt to the Steelix warband to make amends for his actions.”

“For how long and to do what?” The harpy elder looked at him, suspicious of his intentions. Mara was under no illusions that the Stormbreaker is absurdly powerful and having an ally like him is a boon to any merAstartes warband. She also doubted that Stormbreaker would allow himself to play as a pawn for long, nor did she wish that fate for him. The thought of the Grey Knight, even though he hadn’t exactly endeared himself to her, being forever shackled to any warband made her feel uneasy. He is technically one of hers now, much like the Alpha Legion brothers.

“For the total amount of time it takes for each of my injured warriors to fully recover. And if Erriox wishes, the additional recovery time for his injured scoutlings. Give or take, the estimated total recovery time if the Primaris scoutlings are included would be 15 months. Stormbreaker is lucky that the healing potions from harpy and mers are so effective and that merAstartes heal quickly. As for the labor, it will be the normal patrols plus grunt work and any assistance that we require for psyker-type issues.”

Mara relaxed at his answer. That was reasonable enough, “I have a few conditions to add if I may.”

“Go ahead.”

“Stormbreaker must be allowed to return to the colony to spend time with Lana once every ten days. Since they share an intense bond, I worry about the effects on both of them if they are kept from the other for too long. And since Lana is recovering from the wounds caused by her initial rejection of the intense bond, Stormbreaker needs to be by her side for her to recover. So his labor debt will have to start after she is fully recovered. It is possible that Lana and her bonded Hydras may have their own conditions to add. This, along with our residency issue need to be discussed among my colony before any decisions could be made. Once decisions are made I ask that a written contract bound by both harpy and mer magic be signed so both parties would stay true to the agreement. Would a reply in two weeks suffice?” she added.

Eciton hummed, but agreed to her requests, seeing little fault in her logic. Besides, if Mara saw him as reasonably agreeable, the chances of her allying her colony with his warband would increase. The warsmith gave the harpy a wry grin, “You are shrewd, Lady Mara.”

Mara tilted her head coquettishly and returned a small smile, “I do have my colony to protect after all and Stormbreaker, like the Hydra brothers, is part of it.”

[c-u-c-koo-4-40k]

Daniel is a lad who likes bugs. I am also one who likes bugs. I think we'd get along well.

Also a bunch of Space Marines having had drama just Staring at eachother. Like having to make small talk at a work function after two people in said office had a colossal fight.

Museum

Warsmith Eciton Formicas takes the time to visit his bonded human, an educator who works at the local museum’s natural history exhibit. He’s not the only one at the museum that day and gets to meet his bonded’s favorite teacher.

Author’s Note: Another meetcute. 🥰 I can’t have Mara meeting Eciton in Of Fin and Feathers AU and not have them meet in Space Marine Husbandry Sentience AU. Takes place after Ben reunites with Amelia.

Tagged: @shadowfirecat , @kit-williams , @bleedingichorhearts , @barn-anon , @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan

@sleepyfan-blog , @bispecsual , @c-u-c-koo-4-40k , @ms--lobotomy , @whorety-k

@gra93fruit-blog , @i-am-a-dragon34 , @felinisnoctis

Eciton stands at the back, watching the young man talking about biodiversity of the forest undergrowth in front of a rapt audience. His lips curl into a small smile as the children excitedly wave their hands to be picked to handle the large millipede the young man held. He was glad to have scheduled some time off to visit his bonded at the museum amd watch him work. It’s not often enough that he’s able to do such a thing nor be able to keep a close eye on his human. Luckily he’s able to assign some of the Astartes at his base to keep his bonded safe in his stead.

The presentation soon finished and the audience dispersed to wander among the rest of the exhibits. Eciton walks over to where his bonded human was packing up the animals and displays he had. He gently takes the small ant farm and wolf spider display then puts them on the cart.

His human grins and thanks him.

“Was that the presentation you had been working on the past few weeks, Daniel?” The warsmith asks.

“Yes. How was it?” Daniel replies as he continues to pack up.

Eciton hums with approval, “Rather engaging, though I thought you would put some more focus on the ants.”

“You like ants, I get it.” the young man laughs, “I have to be fair about giving all creatures equal amount of time in my presentation, you know.”

Setting on the last display, Daniel is about to push his cart back in the lab behind him when he spots someone familiar. He happily waves them over, “Ms. Plover! Ms. Plover! Hi!”

Mara had watched Daniel’s presentation, impressed by his performance and growth over the years. She lags behind, reading the displays as Amelia and Ben, along with their space marines, go to check out the rest of the exhibit. Suddenly, Daniel’s familiar voice calls out to her.

“Ms. Plover! Hi!”

Daniel had been one of the students she taught many years ago when she had been teaching full-time. Mara is surprised that he still recognized her. Her eyes crinkle as she walks towards the educator and greets him with a warm hug and a smile.

“Your presentation was very well done!

Eciton watches as Daniel rushes over to an older woman to enthusiastically greet her with a hug. Daniel leads her over to where he was standing and introduces them.

“This is Ms. Plover, my favourite teacher! She’s the one who inspired me to continue insect keeping and research, and become the educator I am today.” Gesturing to the bonded space marine, Daniel continues proudly, “This is Eciton Formicas, my bonded space marine! He’s the warsmith at Steelix Fortress Base.”

Eciton straightens his posture and gives her a nod. She looks and smells familiar. He quickly realizes that she was related to Alcyon’s and Malaran’s humans, who were involved in the incident with that Black Templar. Internally, he debates if he should mention that or not to her.

“Don’t let your other teachers hear that.” Mara joked before smiling warmly and holding out a hand to the warsmith, making sure to address him by his proper title, “Nice to meet you Warsmith Formicas. You can call me ‘Mara’ instead, Ms. Plover is far too formal and I’ve retired from teaching.”

Eciton’s hand engulfs hers as he gently shakes her hand, “My pleasure. It is good to meet someone who’s inspired my bonded so deeply.”

Daniel grins, “You’re the only one who let me keep bugs in the classroom. Even after the whole ‘mantid babies’ incident.”

Mara chuckled, remembering the time when baby mantises hatched from the egg case that Daniel brought in. They were still finding tiny mantises a month later in the classroom. “I don't think we’ve ever found them all.”

“Good! I’ve left my legacy in that school.” Daniel thumps his chest proudly to Eciton’s amusement. He looks at the cart and excuses himself, “I need to put these guys back in the lab, I’ll be right back out soon. You guys have a good chat!”

With that, he wheels the cart away and disappears into the lab.

An awkward silence hung between the pair for a short moment until Mara spoke up again,“Thank you for letting my daughter keep Ben. I’m sure that incident caused you no shortage of headaches. I apologize for the inconvenience.”

Eciton blinks, not expecting Mara to say such a thing. He quickly collects himself, “It’s fine. That issue has been resolved and it is only a matter to settle in the human legal system now between your daughter and her in-laws.”

“Regardless, thank you.” She replies, grateful to have her family reunited.

The Iron Warrior could feel heat at edge of his ears and he nods slightly, “You’re welcome.”

Mara smiles a little then asks, “How long have you been bonded with Daniel? I don’t remember him mentioning anything about a space marine when I was teaching him at Gannet Point. Knowing Daniel when he’s excited, he definitely would be announcing that to the world.”

Eciton chuckled, “I met him while he was here in Steelix River several years ago. Sometimes that boy needs to learn timing and volume, but it suits him well for the work he does here.”

“Grandma’s looking like she’s having a nice chat with that space marine guy.” Ben points out. Amelia had thought her mother had lagged behind for a susiciously long time when they decide to turn back to search for her.

“Your mother is chatting up the Warsmith.” Alcyon murmured incredulously, one arm wrapped around Amelia’s shoulder.

Mara is indeed talking to Warsmith Formicas who is soon joined by the presenter, one of her former students. Amelia lets out a quiet exasperated laugh and leans affectionately into Alcyon’s side, feeling him tighten his hold, “Of course she is. My mom has a talent for holding a conversation with nearly anyone. It probably helps that the warsmith’s bonded is my mom’s former student.” She knew that her mom isn’t bonded to an Astartes, but the way the warsmith stands protectively by the educator, it is obvious that the educator is his bonded human.

Mara nearly forgets the time while she was chatting until Ben wraps his arms around her and she sees Orca close behind.

“Grandma! We’ve found you!”

Mara chuckles and hugs him back, “Hello Ben, Orca. This is Daniel, one of my students and this is Warsmith Formicas. Be polite.”

Ben looks up and greets them both, “Hi Daniel. Hi Warsmith Formicas.”

“Grandma?” Daniel asks, “Did you get married?”

“No,” Mara explains, “I adopted my niece as my own and her son, Ben, is my grandson.”

Eciton looked down at the scrappy young boy who was the cause of all this drama; who, against all odds, managed to escape a Black Templar and reunite with his mother, with the help of his bonded chaos marine and one of his men. Ben stared back evenly, not cowed by the warsmith’s presence. Eciton can see the family resemblance.

“Formicas.” Malaran says as he holds onto Ben again, his red eyes daring the warsmith to make a comment about his charge. Daniel shifts uncomfortably.

“Where’s your mom and Alcyon?” Mara asks Ben, cutting through the tension like a hot knife through butter.

“They’re coming.” The boy replies.

They look over to see Alcyon and Amelia making their way towards them. The chaos Iron Warrior nods at them, “Warsmith.”

Amelia greets them, smiling, “Warsmith Formicas, Daniel.” She addresses the educator, “That was a wonderful presentation.”

“Yeah!” Ben pipes up, “That was so cool! I really liked when you talked about the fishing spider.”

Daniel’s grin is large and bright when he replies, “I’m glad you guys like it! Unfortunately time’s a bit tight, but next time when you come by again, send me an email and i can set you up with a behind the scenes tour of the lab.” Giving Ben his business card.

Ben cheers, “That is awesome! Thanks!”

The educator laughs, “You’re welcome!”

Eciton and Daniel look on as the family wave their goodbyes and disappears to look at the other exhibits in the museum.

“Cute kid. That’s the one who made the shouty guys shoutier?” Daniel asks.

Eciton snorts at Daniel’s description of the Black Templars, “Yes.”

“I like him, he seems bright and scrappy.”

“The boy and his Astartes are trouble.” the Warsmith grumbles.

“They can’t be all that bad. You seemed to have a nice chat with Ms. Plover. She makes some really good pastries too.” Daniel adds.

“She was a good conversationalist.” Eciton grudgingly admits that much, then smirks at his bonded, “She also shared some of your hijinks of when you were in her class. Bringing in a container full of cockroaches without secure containment? Really, Daniel?”

The young man groans, “I was a kid. Secure containment wasn’t exactly my priority at the time.”