Love,
Mummy
Under this was another writing, messier, and clearly written in a rush.
Risa,
My sweet baby, I don’t have long, and writing is hard. But, I wanted to tell you I love you. I am so proud of the girl you are—your strength and your love. I am proud to call you my daughter and hope one day you will raise children and be as proud of them as I am of you, my baby girl. Be strong and stay true to who you are; keep your eyes and ears open and get your ass back to Dragon Valley—get back to your brother’s side and stay there, where it is safe. Do not try and take on The Eye. Do not do anything with them—leave it to the council. I mean it, young lady; this is over your head. I love you and your brother; be strong and don’t grieve too long. We may have left this world, but we will always be with you. We will always be in your heart, and if you need us, you can also call on us by way of our ancestors. That brat who used to follow you around like a puppy, Hellion can help you; his people are the watchers of the pathways. He can help you call us, so once you are both grown, come and see us.
I say again
DO NOT DO ANYTHING WITH THE EYE OF TUMON, LEAVE IT TO THE COUNCIL DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME, YOUNG LADY? YOUNG MAN, I AM YOUR FATHER, AND YOU WILL LISTEN TO ME
Love,
Your Father
P.S. I am so very proud of you both. May the fates be on your side, and may love fill your heart. May light guide your way, and may your life be filled with joy.
Risa could not handle it; she burst into tears, and soon, Zuko joined her. It was too much, this letter written by their parents only minutes before they killed themselves. They used that time to write to Risa to make their passing easier. Risa did not know what to do; she hugged the letter and just cried as Zuko held her close. When at last they were able to pull themselves together, they got up, and Zuko did a spell to teleport everything back to the cave. When Risa blinked in surprise, he grinned. “Sadly, I can only teleport items, nothing living; that would be way cool.”
Risa nodded; she was tired and just wanted to cuddle with Zuko and all her men. They left, and Onyx took them back to the cave. She walked without seeing anything until she reached her room. She found all her guys there waiting. Apollo was holding an old teddy bear. Her eyes went wide. It was the first toy she had ever made. She had given it to Apollo, so he had something to hold when he went away. Ben was sitting watching her.
Isaac came to her side and pulled her to the bed. “Zuko told us what was going on, not fully, but he said you would need us all,” he whispered. Forrester pulled the covers back, and just like that, Risa started to cry again, which set Zuko off. Ash came into the room and pushed Zuko to the bed. Everyone in the room could feel their pain. Between Ash, who undressed Zuko and put him into some sleep pants, and Isaac who dressed Risa in one of his tops and Ben’s pants, they got the twins in the middle of the bed, both still crying and holding each other, and the men got in around them—giving them warmth and support, Onyx came into the room next, and in a tiny dragon form, he went to lay between Zuko and Risa. Sky also joined them in wolf form. It took a long time before Risa and Zuko cried themselves to sleep. Everyone watched them; the pain coming off the two was so great. No one moved or said anything, and soon one by one, they all fell asleep in one big puppy pile.
Chapter Eighteen
Risa woke before the others; she turned to Zuko, who looked so young and small right now. She sighed and kissed his head softly; she almost jumped when his eyes snapped open. He smiled at her and kissed her nose gently. “Morning,” he said, snuggling closer to her side. Risa smiled, shaking her head. She should have known he would wake when she did. He had always been like that, no matter how long she waited or how quietly she moved, he had always woken when she tried to leave him behind.
She sighed. “I need to pee, but I am stuck,” she said.
Zuko looked over her and blinked, smirking. “Seems Apollo doesn't want to let you go,” he said
She then pointed to her feet, where Sky lay over her and Zuko’s legs. “Hmm,” was all Zuko said, before he laid back down and cuddled into Ash’s chest. Ash pulled him close and smiled in his sleep.
Risa watched them. “Why don’t you take him for yourself?” she asked. “
Not time yet.” was all Zuko would say and winked at her, then fell back to sleep.
It took some work, but Risa, at last, was free from the pile of bodies. She looked back over the bed and smiled. Ben lay in Forrester’s arms. He looked very happy where he was. She turned and headed into the bathroom. She took care of her needs, then washed her face. She did not feel like taking a shower. She walked out of the bathroom and headed out of the room, but she stopped and walked back, frowning.
Where is Isaac?
She covered her mouth to stop from laughing. She had overlooked him as he laid under Apollo. Clearly, Apollo had not liked Isaac being so close to her, so he had laid over The Dragon to be by her side. She looked them over and smiled. Oh, how she could not wait to see who would come out on top when it came time for them to have sex. She turned and headed on. She went to the kitchen, grabbed an apple and took a bite. Deciding to go for a walk, she wandered out of the house. After half an hour, she found herself outside in a huge glade. Her eyes widened as she gazed around, taking in the view. She walked on and sat in a patch of flowers. Lost in thought, she did not see the beast behind her. But, all at once, she felt it, jumping to her feet, she spun and backed away.
It was huge—bigger than a horse; flames licked over its body—its eyes a burning fire. It had black around his pupils where normally there was white. The fire danced as he watched Risa, for he was a hellcat, and the fires of hell showed in their eyes. Risa did not move, unsure of what to do; hellcats were powerful beings. They could burn anything in their path. Why one was here. She did not know. After all, hellcats normally stayed in their own land. It was not wise to let one out by itself, more so, in its animal form. Unlike most shifters, a hellcat’s beast form was more animal. The human mind took a back seat, and the beast was in control, so they were unpredictable at best. It moved so fast, Risa did not see it until it jumped on her. She screamed, ready to be burned, but nothing happened. Blinking, she looked up into its eyes; they held so much emotion. She could not read them. The cat’s ears flicked up, and it purred happily, nuzzling his face into Risa’s neck, taking in her scent. It laid over her, and Risa did not dare move, not until the cat leaned close and chuffed right into her face, blasting it with a heat of green fire. Coughing, Risa snapped without thinking. “Damn it, Hellion, that smells so bad,” she said, then her eyes went wide when the hellcat purred happily nuzzling her again. “Hellion?” she gasped, and when the cat nodded, she hugged him. To think, the once shy boy who had followed her around, classed as a runt in his family as he was the smallest in his litter, had turned out like this. He was also sweet, kind and nice, Risa had just wanted to hug him at all times. “Why don’t you shift back?” she asked, but the cat growled and snapped his teeth at her face. Risa hit him on the nose. “Don’t you dare snap those teeth at me,” she growled back. Knowing now this was her old friend, and not an unknown hellcat, made it easier for Risa to be herself. She knew Hellion would not attack her; his cat had always loved her. “Hellion get off,” she said, pushing, but the cat did not move, just went back to nuzzling her neck purring again.
“Zuko help! Hellion is here; he will not shift and is just laying on top of me, and he is heavy,” she sent to her brother in her mind. She could feel Zuko laughing in her head, but he did not reply.
She waited, laying there, petting Hellion’s head. She heard many footsteps and turned to face them. She watched as not only Zuko came into the glade but also Isaac, Apollo, Ben, Forrester and Ash. She frowned, as she lay there, Zuko and Forrester fell over laughing.
“Oh my goddess, this is amazing,” Zuko said, chuckling.
“Help me, you jackass! He is heavy and far too big to be laying on top of me like this,” Risa huffed. She
saw Ben, Apollo and Isaac looking worried. “This is Hellion, an old friend; he—” Hellion hissed in her face and snapped again at her. “Hey, what did I say about that?” Risa growled back, and hit his nose again, making him whimper.
“Risa, he doesn't like being called a ‘friend;’ after all, he is your mate,” Zuko said, walking over. “He went into mourning when you were thought to be dead and has not shifted into his human form in well over ten years.”
Risa looked to Hellion, sighing. “Hell, I am alive and well, and I can not mate with a cat,” she pointed out. She smiled when his head went to the side, and his paw hid his eyes. Still so shy. “You need to shift now,” she said in a stronger voice.
When nothing happened, apart from Hellion getting up and sitting down, she sighed. “Well, this may take longer than I thought,” she said, standing up. She hit Zuko’s head.
“Hey!” he said, pouting.
“I can hear you laughing in your head,” she said and looked at Hellion. “What do we do? He cannot stay in his cat form all the time.”
Zuko shrugged. “He will shift when he is ready,” he said.
Risa sighed, rubbing her head. She felt arms come around her and heard Hellion hiss. She looked over her shoulder to see Apollo eyeing Hellion, “She is my mate too, so stop your hissing, boy, before I put you in your place,” he growled. To everyone’s shock, well except for Risa and Zuko, Hellion turned around and stuck his butt in the air and wiggled it right at Apollo.
She giggled. “You may want to watch what you say; hellcats are very open about sex and have high sex drives. Hellion is for sure, or he used to be, more sub than anything. So, he will happily let you fuck him,” she explained. Frowning, she then added, “But, he has to shift first!” Hellion’s ass hit the floor, and it was clear he was pouting. “Stop pouting.” He just gave her puppy dog eyes. “No sex until you are human,” she said, but still, he did not shift.
Risa rubbed her head. She had too much on her mind. Not only did she need to find out more about the Eye of Tumon, what being Ben really was, what her parents meant with her ‘first form,’ but now, she had to deal with a hellcat who was being an ass. She turned and looked over them all. “Okay, we have work to do,” she said, hands on her hips.
Zuko lost his smile and looked down. “Maybe we should leave it,” he said, but Risa knew he did not plan to drop it; he just wanted her to.
“No!” His head jerked up at her tone. “We are one and the same. Don’t even think of doing anything without me, Zuko, or I will be mad,” she said, eyeing him hard.
Zuko nodded, holding his hands up. “Sorry, sorry,” he said, quickly rushing to her side and hugging her. “Together as one yes, sorry, sorry, don’t be mad. I just wanted you safe,” he said shaking.
Risa shifted and hugged him. “I know, Z, I know,” she answered, kissing his head softly.
“But, we need to be careful,” this voice came from Isaac. “The Eye of Tumon is powerful and has hands everywhere. We have been trying to find them for years, long before your family came here, but as of now, we still have no clue where to look,” he said.
“I know where to look,” Risa said, making Isaac’s and Ash’s mouths drop, this made her giggle. “Father Angus,” she said, and she watched as Isaac slapped a hand over his face.
“Why did I not think of that? He is so powerful, and well-liked in the village, that he has to be a part of it,” he said sighing. “You are so smart, mate.” Isaac walked over to Risa, pulling her close and away from Zuko. He kissed her deeply, making Risa moan and whimper. She felt something cold touch her arm.
She pulled back and looked down to see Hellion touching her arm with his cold nose. “I told you, human form.” Isaac looked to the hellcat; he had met many in his long life but had never met one like this. Most would have eaten Risa the first time she hit it. But this beast had so much love for her; it was shocking. He looked forward to seeing the human side of the beast.
Risa looked to her men; she then frowned. “What is it?” Ben asked, coming to her side, now.
“Just trying to work out who would top who,” she said, without thinking.
Ben blinked and turned, looking at the others. “Hmmm, I would say I would be bottom for sure. I think Forrester will be above me, but below the others; but, out of Apollo and Isaac, hmmm,” he said, rubbing his chin.
Apollo and Isaac looked at each other. “I would be top, of course,” they said at the same time. A hiss behind them made Ben look. “Hey, I don’t know you, yet, or your human self. So, I cannot place you in the ranking,” he said, then he was quiet, thinking. “You are right; clearly, Isaac has the power—dragon beats wolf, but Apollo has the cockiness that may win—good eye,” he said, then blinked when everyone was looking at him oddly. “What?” he asked.
“Who were you just talking to?” Zuko asked, but his eyes said he knew.
“Him,” Ben said, pointing at Hellion. “Can you not hear him?” he asked when everyone just stared at him and shook their heads. He gulped and looked worried.
“Don’t panic; we have much to talk about, Ben, but for now, leave it,” Risa said, touching his arm.
Ben, getting mad at being left in the dark, pulled his arm away. “Don’t worry, you say? Well, sorry, I care about my life; clearly, I mean nothing to you,” he snapped at Risa, making her back away. Around him, everyone's eyes went cold. Ben blinked as he looked at Risa, shocked at his own words. “Risa, I am sorry...I-I don’t know what came over me,” he said, looking down and shrinking in on himself.
Zuko watched him. “I do,” he said. “Ben, you are not human. You are some kind of magic being which we don’t know yet,” he added, watching as Ben turned pale. “Your anger is what happens when magic is trapped for too long. Magic has a mind of its own when left alone too long. You clearly hate being left out and trapped, so it lashes out at anyone it can, Risa being the main mark,” he continued. “I will forgive you, this time, for how you spoke to Risa but only because you did not know. But, speak to her like that again, and I will punch you,” he said, focusing on him.
Ben blinked and strode away, as he went, Risa heard him say softly to himself. “I will never have her; I am nothing but a freak.” She started to go after him, but he was gone. She was unsure of what to do.
“Leave him to me,” Apollo said and took off after Ben. Risa nodded and sat down again on the floor. She felt Hellion resting his head on her knee; she petted him. “He will hate me,” she said, and Zuko stroked her head.
“No, he will love you; just give him time. It is hard to be told you are not what you think,” he said, then pulled Ash away. “Come, Ash, we need to go through the boxes,” he said, leaving Risa with Isaac, Forrester and Hellion.
Chapter Nineteen
Risa looked at the three men around her. “Why don’t you two go get some food?” she said to Isaac and Forrester. “We could have a picnic here.” She smiled, petting Hellion’s head.
Isaac nodded. “Of course,” he said; then, with a wicked grin, “If Forrester is good, maybe we can see how good the elf is in bed.” He left before Forrester could reply.
Forrester blushed. “Who would do the fucking?” he asked Risa.
“Me!” Isaac yelled over his shoulder, making Forrester blush even more. Risa smiled and winked at him as Forrester followed after Isaac, clearly not too sure what to think.
Once they were gone, Risa looked down at Hellion. “Okay, shift,” she said, poking him on the forehead. “We are alone.” She watched as Hellion concentrated on her, and his form started to blaze up. Fire surrounded the cat, and then, it shrank. When it was gone, there was a man. He sat with his legs bent behind him. His head to the side as he watched Risa looking at him, with his cocky smile, you would think of a bad boy. But when he spoke, it broke the image. “Risa,” His voice was soft and shy as he hugged Risa, and then, he started to cry. “I missed you so much; it hurt when we thought you were dead. Don’t leave us again; don’t leave me behind again, please,” he b
egged, hugging her and nuzzling his head into her.
Risa shook her head and petted his hair, running her hands through the bright red locks; the black undertones made it seem as though it was burning. His eyes were still black with a flame for his pupil. He was tall, lean, and strong. He was also nude, and Risa blushed as she ran her eyes down his body. He was hard as a rock and bigger than the others, or at least Isaac and Apollo; she had not seen Ben or Forrester yet. She kissed his head. “I will not leave you again,” she said, looking down at him. He was just so cute as he purred and nuzzled close to her. He laid with his head in her lap for a long time. An hour passed, neither of them speaking but just being together. Suddenly, he sat up, and flames danced around him; once again, he lay in his cat form and curled around her. Risa heard Isaac and Forrester coming back.
“Oh, he is still a cat,” Forrester said, sadly.
“No, he did shift; it seems his shyness is worse than before,” Risa said, petting Hellion’s head.
“Well, he just needs to know, we mean him no harm,” Isaac said, laying down a box filled with food. Risa’s mouth watered as the smells hit her nose. Hellion sniffed the air and purred happily. Isaac shook his head as he took the blanket that Forrester was holding. He laid it down. Winking at Risa, he picked her up and laid her out. “You know, I believe I want a treat for being so good,” he growled, making Risa blush. She laid back, laughing as Isaac kissed her neck and worked at her clothes.
She felt Forrester sit on her right and glanced at Hellion. “Human form or you don’t get anything,” Risa said. He was still for a long time as he thought. It took Isaac pulling Risa’s top and bra off before Hellion made up his mind.
Risa's Destiny Page 11