NT Rangers - Lad 21 - Let Her Stay (Patreon)

Lad reached out to pet Drianna on the head. Her eyes narrowed at him, but she did not move. Instead she leaned closer.
“You can stay.”

She scoffed. “I wouldn't have listened, even if you told me to leave. You aren't the boss.”

“Who's the boss? The Hero?”

She adopted a disdainful expression. “Ugh, no.”

“Your 'Mother?'”

“Definitely not.” Lad withdrew his hand from her head. Her hair was smooth, despite belonging to a beast.

“So... Who's the boss?” He asked. Drianna seemed to know the answer, but she was not intent on saying it. It was obvious, like a child keeping a secret. She squated down with her hands on the side of the bed so that just her head is poking over.
“Don't want to say?”

“No.” She stated with a short tone.
“Do it again.”

“What?”

“Touching my head.” Lad smirked, an expression that seemed to make Drianna angry.
“What?”

“If you tell me who's 'Boss' I'll do that again.”

“Fine.” She relented.
“It's that damn 'Red.' When she snaps her fingers at me my body stops moving the way I want it to and I fall down. As if this collar wasn't enough.” She pulled at it in what must be a common, futile gesture.
“She does it whenever she wants if I do even one thing wrong. She's 'Boss' because I don't think I can eat her if they take this thing off me.”

“Is that why your Mother was 'Boss' before?” She nodded.
“Sounds like you're getting bullied. I'll talk to her about that.” Lad moved his hand off the bed and rested it on her head. She stared at him with an unimpressed look, despite being the one to ask for it. Lad closed his eyes and sighed.
“Look... You may not understand but whatever you're feeling, it's because of my 'Trait.' I can't help it. You're feeling things that aren't natural, so if that bothers you, you shouldn't get too close.”

“It isn't natural for me to feel warm inside, but it feels good... Besides, idiot, I already said I wouldn't go away if you asked me to.”

“Fine, fine.” Lad inhaled softly.

'It might be time to spill the beans. I was worried that I would get forsaken if they found out, but now they know. These people are too nice to do that and I want to help them. Denying any kind of info is doing the opposite.' He shut is eyes tightly and tried to think on all of the details he could remember.
'There are gaps. Rather than bring me back, it's more likely that they were trying to wipe out my psyche on the way out... If I had given in, or if Kara wasn't there would I be a vegetable?' He cringed at the thought.

'It is getting late. I should try to sleep.' He cleared his mind and attempted to rest, but still ended up stirring over the the next hour due to Drianna's odd presence.

-

Kara sipped tea from a shallow cup across from him. Lad stared at her nervously. He was not sure where to begin, or if it would be polite to start by answering a question. After letting him stew for a minute Kara let out a short laugh and advised.

“Just say whatever you need to say. I wont bite unless you want me to.” She winked and made a cat-scratching motion at him. He shivered and straightened out his posture. She noticed what she was doing and stopped.
“Oops. Sorry. I still can't help myself around pretty young men, even after centuries of meditation.”

“About that. Do you still have any ties to the Hero? Any at all that you could think of.” He clenched his fists. One of the things he remembered was the goal of Echo.
“They want you, because they think that you might be the thing tying him here, still.”

The Fox shifted the way she was sitting and looked to be in thought. Her cheeks reddened. “That... Would be up to him, honestly.”

“What do you mean?”

“When I cut all ties and left to join my Lover's Sect I left him behind. Not in a bad way... I really don't harbor any ill will. In fact, if I saw him again I'd like to say sorry, more than anything else.”

Lad leaned forward. “Why? Do you think he has ill will or some connection on his side?”

Kara shrugged. “He was the one that broke it off with me. I was the one who made him and he could be bitter about that, but if he hated what he was I doubt all these kids would exist?”

“Kids?”

“The Fox Species as a whole. He's a father of all of them that exist today. Well... Most of them.” She laughed heartily.
“I was actually so surprised when they started appearing in the east after a few hundred years! I thought someone was coming to find me from the Cult, but I guess it was really just him spreading his seed around.”

“What do you mean you made him?”

“Do you really want to know that much?” She grumbled.

“This is so that we can brainstorm the actual target of Echo. If it's you, we're fine, but we probably need to sift through his life and figure out what is keeping him here.”

“Yeah... Yeah, you're probably right.” She frowned.
“Foxes, the originals, not his Children, are closer to Beasts.”

“Huh?”

“It's something I only actually thought of recently, because Coda never said it. Coda was the original. Later on me and my Sister were 'Born' but it's more accurate to say that we were conceived by having her split off her Core into two pieces and forming them into two children. But, there were lots of Foxes before us and Coda would've been completely depleted if she created all of them the same way. When I was older I found out the method but didn't put it together.”

“What's the method?”

“My kind is innately parasitic. We use Aura from the land or from others in exchange for not having one ourselves. How Coda created the Coven, though, is by converting Loyal Ciar Elves into Foxes.”

“What does this have to do with the Hero?”

“Well, the Hero was transformed into a Fox by me. Usually the process is enacted over a really long period of time. The subject and the Fox form a partnership and then slowly through closeness, influence and conscious effort a new Fox is made. The Hero was naturally a fast learner so He transformed quickly, and then Coda...” She stopped herself.
“In any case, we're basically just guessing. I don't feel any ties to him that would be enough to block him from the afterlife/ He should have passed on, based on what my Grandchild said.”

“How can you say there's an afterlife so casually?” Lad asked.

“It's not actually that special... It's the common cycle that everyone in Murim and in magical circles knows about. All things eventually return to their maker. When things born on this planet die they will naturally return what they were given, and more, to the planet to help her grow.”

“Just the planet?”

“If it's something else, it will eventually return as well, it's just a matter of time.”

“But you guys told me he was very special so what if something caught him on the way and isn't planning on letting him go?”

Kara crossed her arms and stared up ponderously. “You've given me something to think about.” She set whatever that thought was aside.
“Do you remember how to get to Echo, or what it was like on the inside?”

“I feel like that's the first info they must've yanked from my head. I just remember the inside being incomprehensible, so that's not super useful.” Lad laments.

Kara nodded and leaned back, crossing one of her long legs over the other. “Well, is there anything else then?”

“Oh... The Jackal we have in custody is actually named Merit. The one that was disguised within was named Esther and escaped the moment things went south.”

Kara's eyes widened. “But if that's the case they're basically 100% similar. Even for twins there should be a limit.”

“That's just what I know... In terms of the people I met that seem to be directly under the Hero... There's a Seraph with emerald eyes, The Jackal sisters, the Dryder we already fought and...”

“What?” Kara looked at him curiously.

“Raithe.” She did not seem surprised.
“We understand she was captured.”

“No, there was another one. She had pure silver hair with red tips to her ears and tail.”

Kara rested her face in her palm wearily. “That's 'great.'”

-

Lad left the office and found Kai and Yeong waiting for him patiently. They both tried to greet him, but Drianna burst through the middle of them and came walking quickly towards Lad first. Without warning Yeong snapped her fingers in Drianna's direction. The girl's eyes crossed and her expression became incredibly dizzy and sick as she fell forward. Lad caught her limp body under the arms. She tried a few times to look up at Lad.
“W-why'z up downnn...” She grumbled out loud, slurring as if even her tongue didn't obey her.

Lad stared at Yeong sternly. “Why'd you do that? Also 'what' are you doing?”

“She's sensitive to sound and other vibrations. I learned that during my first run through life.” Yeong offered uncomfortably.

“Okay... Now 'why?'”

“Because she's dangerous.” Yeong claimed.
“we should talk about it now that you're better... Alone.”

Lad looked down at the pitiful, limp body of Drianna and sighed. “I think we'll have to talk here since I now have someone that's going to fall over without support.”

Yeong seemed embarrassed and a little frustrated. He smiled, since he had never seen her with such a cute expression, but she also seemed serious so he looked at her seriously.
“Just say it.”

“Back in the other time that girl ruined your life.”

“What?”

Kai nodded. “She talked about this before, so she isn't making it up. We've often talked about the version of you that existed in the other time out of curiosity, since... Well... Since we like you.”

“Okay.” Lad felt conflicted.
“What did she do to ruin my left?”

“As far as I know, at some point the you in that time was a part of a team that got decimated in the Club that owned her. But... Not just that. She killed your sister and wore her skin to r-” Lad gritted his teeth. He held up a hand to stop her. It was so awful he could not even let her finish.
“But... Not just you.” She looked to be getting choked up.
“There was a point where I almost 'died.' I got caught by her and had to spend a month not in control of any part.” She held her head and started tearing up.
“I still remember every part of it. Over and over I-”

“Come here...” Lad opened his arm while still holding Drianna in the other.

“B-but-” She was still on the way to becoming inconsolable. He motioned her over.
“She's-”

“Come on.” Lad asked again. Reluctantly Yeong moved into his arm. He hugged her. She was not sure how to feel being shoulder to should with the beast, but the fact that she was dizzy, drooling into his chest like an invalid due to her ability diminished the feat somewhat.
“If I was a weaker version of myself-” He began, speaking gently but with a distinct certainty.
“I would probably feel like I had to do something about that. But, Yeong.” He stared down at her.
“You keep comparing people to the versions of themselves that they are not... She isn't the one that hurt you. I'm not the one that was hurt by you. You're living in this time, not that one. If you need me to support you because you still have bad feelings from that time, I'll support you, but it doesn't make sense to hurt other people over it.”

Yeong almost seemed to relent. She only offered one last protest weakly into his shoulder. “She's a Beast, though.”

He thought about that. He closed his eyes and remembered the girl waiting beside his bed, promising in no uncertain terms that she was going to kill and eat him while in the same span of a couple minutes begged for him to pat her head. He couldn't help but laugh a little.
“It'll be fine.” He opened his eyes and saw Kai standing by somewhat jealously.
“You, too. You're obviously invited.”

Kai smiled widely and pranced forward to Hug around Lad and Drianna. Drianna struggled weakly as she began to come to.
“Let- Let go, bastards!”

The door behind them opened and Kara stood in it, scratching her head. “What's going on right outside my office, exactly?”

“Uhm!” Lad looked back and saw Kara smile incredibly wide. She wrapped her arms around the lot of them. He blushed, thinking she wanted to join in but rapidly felt his feet being lifted off the ground. When he looked again he saw a vein in Kara's forehead and her ears twitching like crazy.

“So loud!” She spun the whole group around like she was in discus and tossed the lot of them down the hallways.

Yeong caught herself. “Halmeoni!?”

Kara bared fangs and stared back at the girl intensely, causing her to back down and bow her head respectfully. “Sincerely Sorry.”

Kai landed on top of Yeong, by chance. She stared down at him. “Are you okay?”

“I'm fine... Surprisingly.” Lad chuckled through his nose.

Drianna was still twitching beside them. Kai leaned down and whispered in his ear. “Are we adding one more?” After she asked, as if that question wasn't enough she licked over his ear and then nipped it lightly with a quiet 'nom' sound, sending a full shudder down his spine to his dick. He covered his tent awkwardly with both hands.
“You were all I could think about... Pappa says you're a distraction but I think it's the exact opposite. I really can't do anything when you aren't around.”

Lad felt his spirit leaving his body almost, death by happiness it would be. 'That seems like the definition of a distraction.' He thought.