Safatore's question hung in the air like the key to an embarrassing door, the door held closed by April, her grin mischievous and wide.
"What did you say?" He asked again, his green eyes wide, setting the teacup down with a soft clink.
April's grin turned downright menacing. She leaned forward and asked:
"Would you like me to recount the night?"
"Oh yes!" Semacoar giggled against her back, his hands curling around her waist with such comfort.
[Oh no.] Saka groaned telepathically as he dipped his head lower.
"What did he do to you?" Safatore asked, concern and something else akin to worry—maybe the green-eyed monster—showing on his face.
In situations like these, it would be advisable to stop matters from spiraling out of control, but April being April... Well, you couldn't expect her to act according to societal norms, considering she wasn't in the typical society. She seized the moment.
"So! I am asleep, I have this nightmare, right? I scream, squirm around, and hey presto! Saka's in my room and he pins me down to the bed with this look in his eyes." She babbled quickly, her arms flailing as she retold her story. "I thought I was in for it!"
Saka sat there, melting silently, probably regretting his life choices with a straight face, and Semacoar was handsy, holding April in the most intimate cwtch you'd ever see. Safatore's gaze shifted from surprise, to shock, to disbelief, to straight up horror, his eye twitching. He was hearing the complete absurdity of April's narration.
"You didn't spend the night in her room, did you?" He narrowed his eyes at the youngest brother.
Heads turned.
"I only came to shut her up because I could hear her screaming in my head in the middle of the night." Saka retorted, speaking up for the first time.
"Well, were you clothed?" Safatore asked bluntly.
Semacoar let out a boisterous guffaw while Saka shot to his feet.
"He was half-naked," April interrupted with a raised hand, beaming.
The awkward sutiation took a left turn. Safatore gasped dramatically. Saka exploded.
"You little rat!" He stomped over.
But before he could make it to his destination, Safatore grabbed the young man's wrist, jerking him down to the settee he was sitting on. Saka landed with a soft thud and an oof, his eyes wide with surprise. Safatore then draped his muscular arm over the pale elf's shoulders, effectively caging him under his arm and against his side. Saka looked like he was about to get squished.
Safatore leaned closer to him and posed the question:
"Are you in heat?"
You could hear a pin drop. The amusement abruptly phased out of April's mind and Semacoar's laugh cut off at once, his face reddening from an obnoxious laugh being heavily restrained. April blinked. Well, that was a question she definitely did not see coming.
"Wait, he's in heat?" She whispered.
"No! THE HELL I AM! I'M NOT IN HEAT! GOD DAMMIT, SAFATORE!" Saka's voice reverberated through the walls, the cushions and the air, his pale face now coated in a full, deep, crimson blush. You could hear the sheer rage in his voice, overpowering the embarrassment.
"Good, because you promised to tell me when you are," Safatore replied with a mockingly calm and soft tone, rubbing Saka's tense back with such condescension.
April's face turned smug. No matter how scary and concerning the fact of someone in heat pinning her down, her attempt at revenge was successful as far as she was concerned, and the sheer embarrassment on Saka's face was pure gold, deliciously dished out. Who would have even thought the elegant and aristocratic Safatore would ask such a question? From beating him up, to embarrassing him.
"I'm not in heat!" Saka barked. "And don't touch me! I wouldn't tell you even if I was."
"I was wondering why you were so quiet this week. Who would'a thought you were on some serious demon time?" She directed the thought to Saka's mind who turned to her with murder in his eyes.
[…You.]
"Alright! Enough of that. Morning amusement is through." Safatore suddenly announced, giving Saka's back a firm pat that even April felt. "Thank you for the entertainment, April."
"The truth is my man." She grinned, noticing a faint smile on his tanned face. She hadn't seen him smile ever since he apologized for his uncle's words four days prior to Hiroko's arrival.
"I have a guest coming." He removed his arm from Saka's back and sat straight. "That is the reason I called you two here." He pointed at the brothers. "But April, you might want to find refuge."
April perked up at her name, eyes shining with confusion. The teasing contest was finally over, and the atmosphere was better than it had been in days.
"Did you call us here to meet that purple-eyed tatterdemallion with the golem slave?" Saka crowed.
"Don't insult people, Saka. He's her brother." Safatore frowned.
"Oh, yeah? Then I'm his pet salamander."
"You look like a salamander," Semacoar commented at his own settee, April still on his lap.
Saka bore his fangs.
"Go stare at your reflection, afternoon farmer pretty boy!"
"I will, grumbletonian." Semacoar pouted immodestly.
A low dog-like growl rumbled from Saka's chest.
"Alright, enough," the blonde in blue huffed, April's stifled chuckles audible through the nose. "He'll be here any moment. You must behave because it seems he doesn't like us."
"Who would like you cow-handed minikins?" Saka muttered under his breath, his teeth grinding.
April felt that. And what was with all those medieval insults flying around the room?
"Speak for yourself," Semacoar said. "He hasn't met me."
"Shut up, Semacoar." Saka and Safatore jumped him verbally, simultaneously.
The blonde man in green pouted and buried his face in the crook of April's neck, holding onto her for dear life with a pathetic whine.
"Hold me, Little Monkey."
She gave his head a soft pat.
A moment of silence went by. Then the doors fluttered open, the sound of boots filling the room before he even stepped in. A purple flame-engulfed sword was on his back, black short-sleeved blazer on, hair covering his eyebrows and eyes glowing purple. Hiroko stepped in like he was about to make a business transaction, his eyes steady and back straight.
…That is …until he saw April sitting on Semacoar's lap with the man's face buried in her neck. His eyes went wide. And he paused at the door.
"Is there a problem?" Safatore asked, his thick brows rising in inquiry.
Hiroko took a knee, addressing Safatore from far-off. "My Lord... You didn't mention she'd be here."
April blinked. She wasn't aware there was a place she wasn't welcome in that castle.
"Should I leave?" She mumbled.
"Yes," Saka declared, not missing a beat.
But Hiroko was already up and walking towards the group, his black and long blazer flowing around his legs.
Safatore nodded, his usual affable demeanor radiating from him in sudden volumes.
"Thank you for agreeing to meet with us."
Hiroko huffed out a breath, casting one heavy glance at April.
"I didn't have a choice." He said.
"Is he going to scold me again?" April wondered as the men sat down around the small ornate table.
Safatore poured more tea, Saka sat by himself on a cushioned stool, and Hiroko reluctantly settled next to a staring Semacoar with April on his lap.
"You make it sound like I coerced you," Safatore said, glowing brighter than the sconces lighting up the room.
The room remained silent while April stood up from Semacoar's lap, walked and sat skin-touch close to Saka on the same seat, her movements deliberate. He assertively pushed her aside, his face expressionless.
"I wish you would state your business, My Lord. It's off-putting being here." Hiroko said.
April blinked hard, scooting back to Saka who pushed her away again.
Despite the slight hostility in Hiroko's tone, Safatore let out a small chuckle that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Very well. I assume you know, again, why I've called for your presence," the impromptu meeting quickly began. "I would like you to bestow your official blessing upon April and Sakature's upcoming engagement. As the only one closest to her here, the right to give her away belongs to you alone despite the circumstances of your recent arrival fresh on our minds."
All gazes turned to Hiroko. He was listening with a deadpan look on his face, ignoring the steaming chamomile tea in front of him. He didn't blink.
"No."
Safatore and everyone paused as he responded flatly, his expression unchanging.
"No?" Safatore repeated, smiling in confusion. "May I inquire..."
"Don't take this the wrong way, any of you Sires," Hiroko interrupted the man in blue, his hands placed methodically on his lap. "But I am not a part of this... gang. My position the moment I was established the moment I was handed to the Shinonomes."
April gawked at this stiff and business-like Hiroko. That was certainly new. She watched him continue... rigidly:
"As for matters regarding my... sister... It wasn't you who helped me attain position in this Mountain Brigade... thing; it was her work. I can't give this marriage my blessing without breaking that bond. I won't."
The room fell silent.
April blinked rapidly, Safatore's lips were parted in mild surprise, Semacoar was now stuffing his face with cashews, watching the events unfold, and Saka was just there. For some reason, April felt quite happy with Hiroko's response.
"Is that all your reasons?" Safatore asked.
"No. She's too young to be married. Push the marriage forward to three years."
April almost choked on her own breath, shooting to her feet, her blue garment brushing against Saka's grey, metallic left arm with a soft ringing sound.
"Wait! Push the marriage forward to three years?! I thought you were gonna cancel the whole damn thing!" She whined.
Safatore turned his face away for a moment while Semacoar enthusiastically munched on his nuts, brown eyes twinkling with amusement.
"I didn't say I was against the idea." Hiroko crowed, glancing away from the approaching girl.
She sat next to him between him and Semacoar, taking a hold of his bicep that was cool to the touch.
"You can't be serious. But you called me sister."
"You're seventeen. I just bought you three more years of freedom." Hiroko told her flatly, keenly aware of her touch on his arm.
*She's so close.* A soft whisper brushed against his left ear. *Tempting, isn't it?*
His right eye twitched, not going unnoticed by the girl at his side.
"Are you still angry at me?" She asked.
"Is that a joke?" He asked flatly.
*She's right there, she's right there...!*
"But onii-chan!" April whined.
Hiroko's black pupils shrunk to the size of needle points, the color evaporating from his face. He tried to peel her away.
"The hell d'you just call me?"
Saka, who was out of the conversation from the beginning, turned his face to the scene; Safatore pondering by himself, Semacoar eating, and April bickering with Hiroko. He set his gray eyes on April. Under her clothes, in her chest, he saw a golden glowing orb of light. And when he turned to look at Hiroko...
He practically leapt off the cushioned stool.
April was still whining, "But onii-chan!" when she was wrenched from Hiroko's side like a mannequin, staggering to her feet.
Everyone turned to Saka as he practically squished April to his side, hissing like a mongoose.
"What's gotten into you?" Safatore asked, looking up at the pale elf.
If Saka was any whiter, one wouldn't see just how wide his eyes were, his right arm caging April against his chest like she were a toy he had snatched back. He didn't acknowledge Safatore but stared pointedly at Hiroko.
"Thank you for your viewpoints and suggestions. We'll think about it."
Hiroko turned to face the person talking to him. But his eyes at once widened when he met with nothing but the sight of a pale and faceless figure radiating... cold shadows? Clutched to his chest was a smaller figure radiating a warm, golden light.
*Oh.* The voice inside Hiroko's ear said with what sounded like dry realization. *You can see each other's true form.*
Hiroko raised his brows. What trickery was that?
Saka took several steps back, still holding April possessively.
"How did you get into this dimension?" He asked, but he wasn't seeking answers.
Hiroko narrowed his eyes slightly.
Saka eyed him from the foot upwards. His figure was a translucent form encasing a mass of black and purple goo writhing in his chest.
"I suggest you get back where you came from immediately."
But the rest of the elves in the room weren't privy to the context of the conversation. Including April.
"Dude... you're like, smothering me."
"Let go of her," Hiroko narrowed his eyes. His voice was a low timbre, quiet and deep with passion.
"Or what?" Saka challenged.
Saka's hold on April tightened and she writhed in his arm for a bit, her tails jerking and shooting out as she struggled.
"What's gotten into the both of you?" She asked, groaning against Saka solid chest, trapped.
"I accept your terms."
Everyone except April turned to face Safatore who spoke up.
"I shall confer to the High Council of Elders on your terms. No need for a fight."
The tension in the room seemed to recede. Slightly.
...But April was still squished against that solid block of a chest.