"Erik…do you ever wonder what it's like?"

Erik looked up from his book. "What what's like?"

Loki blushed. "Well…you know. What the Monsieur and Michael do."

Erik's blush spread faster than Loki's even. "It's not proper," he answered quickly.

Loki sighed. "So?"

"Not proper is not proper, Loki. And if it's not proper we don't do it."

"You don't do it you mean."

"I don't. And neither should you."

Loki crept closer to the other cat boy. "It's nature, Erik. Shouldn't we understand it? I'm curious."

"It's not proper."

"Would you…" Loki stopped, searching for the word, slightly annoyed with his upbringing. "Kiss me?"

Erik started, surprised. "What?"

"I wanted…" Loki hesitated. "Well, you do seem to know more than me and I thought maybe…"

"But…"

"Please?" Loki had scooted so that his face was right in front of Erik's. Brown eyes gazing pleadingly into yellow, almost close enough to make the twin eyes look like one. Erik squinshed his eyes shut and leaned forward to peck the offered lips and then sat back. Shaking himself mentally, it had been sweet, soft, not at all dirty.

Loki however was disappointed. It had been nice he supposed, but…just that? Erik noticed his pout and made up his mind.

"Loki…if you'd like…"

"Huh?" Brown eyes refocused on him.

"If you want we could…I don't know…" The silence was not so much uncomfortable as waiting. "Try?"

"You mean…cool. Really?"

Erik nodded slowly. The two looked at each other for a log while, each debating silently what to do.

A minute later curled up together, napping sweetly in front of the fire.


The days after that passed quickly, no surprises. Meals, sleeping, soft, experimental kisses. Loki felt something was missing, but he liked it all the same…warm, safe, fuzzy safe, cuddly. He got the feeling that that was just why Eric liked it; it was safe, innocent. Loki felt a little stumped. He needed something stronger. A blaze.


Once, when Loki had been barely a kitten the Kellings had taken him and his parents through a market place, just a matter of course, mostly to see the colors the people. They had passed an alley where a dark figure lurked, almost covered in a black trench coat. Loki had turned to look at him; the man had glowed with…something amazing to the amplifier, something new, untold. But the minute the Kellings realized what he was entranced by they dragged him off. He had turned his face up to Sasha and asked:

"Why?"

Her voice was quiet, rehearsed. "He was a Byirin, Loki, a Controller. Don't ever go near one. Never."

"But…what…"

"Don't bother, Loki."

Loki was a bit taken aback, but he simply kept walking to a sparkly glass ball caught his eyes, and so quickly the man was forgotten.


"Loki! Erik! Come on boys!"

Loki, being pulled along by his grasp on Erik's hand, scampered after Mme. Leia.

"Where are we going?"

"Market. Mme. needs someone to help her carry things, so we take turns. But she doesn't usually do it herself, so it takes a long time before turns come around again."

"Only when there's to be a to do," the woman added, smiling at the cat-boys. The streets were getting wider and vendors had collected on the sides. Only a few here and there as of yet, but Loki could see down to where they collected en mass. Huge amounts of them straight along the lines of road where the streets filled with people- no two ever alike, all selling different items, some trifling, some exquisite. Loki was entranced, there was so much all at once. He only had vague recollections of his only other trip to the market; this was all new to him again, new, thrilling.

Leia stopped at a stall selling something…fruits that Loki had never seen before in his life. Quickly his attention started to wander. His eyes drifted from stall to stall, still to frightened from that encounter- now months ago- to let his body do the drifting. He stayed close to Erik; the familiar warmth from the other boy's body was nice, reassuring, family…that's what it was. So close to family. That would explain how it was still a bit…not all there.

"C'mon Loki, next stall." Erik pulled him along; Loki smiled along with the other boy…he was going to have to stop…experimenting. But that shouldn't be too hard, right? Erik was reasonable…oh…

It caught his eye, a glitter if something unseeable in an alleyway and he turned. There was a man standing in the alley. Tall, dark, trench coat down to his ankles. Loki could barely see eyes looking at him from the shadows.

"Loki!"

Loki scampered after Erik and Leia, but this time the man…the Byirin, lingered in his mind.


"Erik…do you know exactly what the Controllers do?"

"Loki!" Erik jumped nearly a foot. "Don't!"

"Don't…what?"

"Talk about them. Really!"

"But I don't know…I…"

"We're not supposed to talk about them, Loki."

"But what do they do?"

"Bad but necessary things," Leia snapped in from the kitchen. "Come help me."


"Loki…"

M. Cadwell's commanding tone broke Loki's afternoon nap, he looked up, his attention utterly on the far older man.

"Yes, sir?"

"Leia says you were asking about the Byirin."

Loki bowed his head, terrified. He would be in trouble, thrown out even. What would he do if he were back on the streets, what…

"If you'll sit for awhile I'll tell you about them."

Loki stopped his internal monologue, staring guilelessly up into his benefactor's smiling eyes.

"Please."


Note:sorry it was so short, but I do want the next chapter to be the story of the Byirin.

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