Drac Ch12
#13 of Drac
Dienza woke up with a quick movement, stifling his alarm clock before it could wake up Spiika beside him. He rolled out of bed and stretched slowly with a yawn and a quick glance to his... girlfriend? It occurred to him that they hadn't actually decided yet. He smiled at the irony as he went about preparing for work. They'd been having sex more often in this undefined state than they did when they were officially together. Dienza made his way to the kitchen with the intent of making himself a coffee before he headed out. He was greeted by the sight of Nate on the counter, propped against the toaster on an old sponge. The micen was wearing a sad expression and had several toothpicks snapped to length tied to his leg by string. 'Oh? Did you get kicked out here?' The leona asked, filling the kettle and setting it down to boil. 'Yea.' Nate replied with a pouty face. 'She said I was too annoying.' He curled up his good leg and buried his face in his arms. Even so, Dienza could tell that the kid had started crying. 'You're young and hyperactive.' Dienza replied bluntly. 'She's not. She's... well she's getting older and doesn't have the energy she used to.' He poured roughly a spoon's worth of coffee granules into a cup from the jar and set it down, turning back to the kettle impatiently. 'But I was trying to be good!' Nate protested. 'Obviously you didn't try hard enough.' Dienza retorted. 'Just go to sleep. The others won't be awake for a while yet and there's no need for you to be either.' 'My leg hurts too much for me to sleep...' Nate said sadly, still hiding his face to conceal the tears. The leona sighed as he poured his coffee. He still had ten minutes before he needed to leave. This was normally when he'd enjoy his coffee in peace, but the sight of the micen boy in such distress seemed to tweak some odd pang of empathy. 'Where are your parents?' Dienza asked suddenly. 'You mentioned a rattis brought you towards this house, but where were you living before that?' 'In the colony, near one of the farms.' Nate replied. 'My mother went to visit one of the other colonies one day and didn't come back. My dad went to find her, and he didn't come back either. So then I went looking and I found him. The rattis.' 'You realize that rattis probably ate your parents, right?' Dienza half shrugged before the kettle clicked off and he poured the boiling water into his cup. As he opened the fridge to retrieve the milk, he watched the micen's face for a reaction. Surprisingly there wasn't one. 'Dad just... spent all day with his friends anyway.' Nate replied sadly. 'And Mama was always working. At least the rattis wanted to be my friend. For a while. Then he disappeared too.' 'So you ended up here.' Dienza nodded, taking his first sip and sighing happily. 'Where are you gonna go next?' 'I wanna stay here!' Nate said as if protesting the idea that he'd have to leave. 'I like the leona lady. And she's nice to me. Mostly...' 'Mostly.' Dienza repeated with a grin. 'I don't often see my mother in a bad mood but you managed to push her patience huh?' He took his coffee in both hands and took another slow sip. The micen watched him with a blank expression as he seemed to wonder whether the leona was insulting him or not. 'Do you... eat micen?' Nate asked. 'Like, for real eating them?' 'Yes.' Dienza nodded. 'Little micen like you are absolutely delicious. For some reason we tend not to eat the little ones like you. But when you're old enough to be an adult, then maybe one of us will make a snack out of you yet.' 'Not you!' Nate shot back. 'You've been being a jerk to me this whole time. It's gonna be one of the girls because they're nicer to me. I won't let you do it.' 'Huh.' Dienza stifled a laugh and leaned in closer to the boy. 'It may not be your call when the time comes.' He clicked his teeth in a fake bite just before the boy's face before standing back up and drinking the more of his coffee. The two were silent over the next few minutes as he slowly drank the rest. He spared Nate one more glance before he placed his cup on the sink and headed out the front door.
Nereen was up a short while later, much earlier than usual since Dienza had all but forced a healthier diet upon her. Too used to being by herself she decided to forgo clothes for the time being until she needed to leave the house. She found Nate where she had left him on the counter. He was asleep and curled up with his splinted leg stretched out. She clicked the kettle on. The sound caused Nate to stir and he sat himself up and yawned. 'Well hello little fella. How did you sleep?' She asked him. 'It was cold out here.' He replied. 'I wanted to sleep in there with you like before.' 'Then next time you know better than to keep poking me.' Nereen said sternly. 'When I say it's time to sleep, you lie down quietly and you go to sleep.' '...Sorry.' Nate put his head down and remained silent as Nereen made herself a coffee and started to drink it. 'What is that stuff?' 'A drink for grown-ups.' The leona replied. 'It helps us wake up, because we don't have the boundless energy that little children have.' She leaned down and gave a soft kiss to the top of his head. 'Eww, it makes your breath all stinky!' Nate said, giggling and crawling from the sponge across the counter as Nereen stood back up with a slight blush. 'Shush.' Nereen replied, looking around the kitchen as she wondered what to make for breakfast. Nate giggled at the woman's indignation, then both of their ears perked as Spiika stumbled sleepily into the kitchen wearing a loose shirt and a pair of Dienza's pants. 'Good... morning.' She paused mid phrase as she noticed Nereen had not dressed herself in clothes despite having a houseguest. 'Good... oh.' Nereen realized her mistake, having almost forgotten that Spiika had been staying with them. 'Oh dear, now I feel silly.' 'You have a great body for someone your age.' Spiika responded without missing another beat. 'I agree, it doesn't feel like a clothes day.' She dropped her pants and pulled the shirt off before shambling around the kitchen island to stand beside Nereen and the kettle. Nereen could not help but to smile, after all the pair knew each other well since Nereen was small. This level of familiarity was no reason for embarrassment. 'So do you.' Nereen replied. 'Be sure to look after it.' 'You don't have to tell me twice.' Spiika said. She switched the kettle back on and began getting her own coffee ready. Nereen moved a few steps down to be out of her way and placed her hand on the counter as she took another sip of her own. 'Did I wake you up?' Nereen asked suddenly. 'No.' Spiika shook her head. 'I think I got used to sleeping beside Dienza this last week. The bed got a bit colder after he left for work.' 'That's so cute.' Nereen giggled. She looked down as Nate crawled onto her hand, attempting to climb up her arm without success. 'Nate, what did I tell you about being reckless? If you need help, ask nicely.' 'Can I... get up on your head please?' He asked, looking up at her sheepishly. 'What did you do to him?' Spiika asked as she poured her coffee and started to stir. 'He's all respectful and polite.' 'They all learn who's in charge if you show them early enough.' Nereen responded, lifting Nate to the top of her head where he burrowed into her hair and entangled himself to keep from falling. 'It takes a pretty strong or stubborn micen to keep being rude to a leona. And we know how they usually end up.' 'How many strikes does little guy here have?' Spiika asked in amusement. 'Oh... I'll give him one more I guess.' Nereen shrugged. 'I wasn't really keeping count but I'm sure he's gone past three by now.' 'So...' Spiika sighed happily as she took another long sip of her coffee before continuing. 'Dienza tells me you don't eat the micen in this place anymore. Do you mind if I ask why?' 'Well...' Nereen paused thoughtfully. 'Back in high school we used micen in science classes. We were learning about psychology. We studied micen to see it in action. And I kind of got attached to mine. At the end we had to trade partners and then... Well, he didn't survive.' 'Oh, I'm sorry to hear.' Spiika looked apologetically at the older leona as they both focused on the increasingly frustrated micen trying to get comfortable among the silver strands of Nereen's hair. Nate seemed utterly oblivious or uncaring to the topic of their discussion. 'It's alright.' Nereen answered. 'I learned as a little girl that they don't really make reliable pets. They have these fickle little minds that always tend towards selfish, and there are so many ways they can easily get themselves killed.' 'Like pissing off other leonas.' Spiika grinned. 'Your son seems to have a little tendency towards that end.' 'Dienza just grew up seeing them as food.' Nereen shrugged. 'I never stopped him, all the other kids were the same. I've seen it a few times over now. Kids will either go through a god complex phase, abusing their position over micen for their own amusement. Or they'll get super protective and try to be some kind of crusader for micen rights. Some go through a little of both.' 'Share more of this wisdom with me.' Spiika scoffed, half joking. 'Oh shut up.' Nereen rolled her eyes. 'Eventually everyone grows up and just leaves them to their own devices. They have their little worlds, we have ours. They can be useful, but they're rarely that big of a problem.' The pair were silent for a few moments after this, noticing that Nate had stopped moving. 'Can we watch cartoons?' He asked suddenly. 'Sure.' Nereen replied. 'Do they still have on that crap show with the transforming robots that fight monsters in space?' 'That got canned a few years back.' Spiika shook her head. 'Drac was so heartbroken.' 'Oh thank heavens. That show was terrible.' Nereen sighed. The pair headed into the living room and Nereen sat on the couch and lifted the TV remote. Spiika sat at her drum set and began to mimic playing without her sticks. As the screen lit up they were greeted with a news program. An image of a burned out building surrounded by police and fire services came onto the screen. 'As of right now Police have no leads, however the leading detective of the case has informed us that the most likely cause of the blaze is arson.' A newscaster's voice off screen narrated. 'Police are asking that anyone with information please come forward.' 'Wait.' Spiika raised her hand as Nereen prepared to change the channel. Reports of this nature were not uncommon. 'What is it?' Nereen asked. 'That was Aryan's house.' Spiika shook her head, distraught. 'Why would anyone...?' 'Drug war.' Nereen shrugged. 'I guess they weren't just going after him, they wanted to get rid of the opposition completely. The mutt who lived with him was part of it right?' 'Yea...' Spiika focused back on the screen, ignoring the newscaster's drone and instead focusing on a piece of text that scrolled across the bottom of the screen. Local Arson. One confirmed dead. 'Did someone else you know live there too?' Nereen asked, noticing the text as well and giving the younger leona a concerned look. 'Not someone I would call a friend.' Spiika shook her head. She turned away from the screen and nodded, prompting Nereen to scan the channels until she found one that had a cartoon playing and tried to keep herself still to keep Nate focused on the show. 'Are you going to be okay?' Nereen asked. 'I should be fine.' Spiika nodded, slipping out from behind the drum set and taking a seat beside the older woman. 'I just miss him I guess. It was all so unexpected.' Her voice cracked on the last word and she took a deep breath to fight back tears. 'Here.' Nereen pulled her close and Spiika accepted the hug gratefully, resting herself against Nereen's embrace and allowing herself to relax. It was blissful. Spiika had grown up without a mother and had rarely received this kind of affection. 'I hope Dienza is doing okay.' She murmured.