Chapter Text
Harry would like to say there was an unnatural stillness to the area deep in the night as it was. However that wouldn’t be accurate as the world around him wasn’t still at all. The shadows that seemed alive during the day, shifting as if imprisoned by the sunlight, almost seem subdued now that they had taken over the area with night fall, but still, they were alive and one could feel it in the air.
It was a much different experience than the Dursley’s where even at the dead of night the Little Whinging subdivision had the rustle of plant life, the soft sounds of animals and the occasional vehicle of a late night driver coming through. Harry hadn’t been able to figure out if he appreciated the shadows or not in the few weeks he had been a part of them and it seemed that he wouldn’t have time to decide if what he heard earlier was true.
He tucked himself a little tighter into himself, his pajamas brushing the top of his feet as if to warm the chilled toes as he tucked his hands a little further under his arms. It’s not like he was forced to be outside in the chill (though he sometimes wondered if it was only a matter of time) but it was a little bit familiar and it helped him think instead of laying in the overly large and soft bed with his mind racing a hundred miles.
“Harry? What are you doing out here? Awake at this hour?”
Turning his head towards the patio door brought into view Brayden, the submissive of the circle. His submissive of his circle. It was still a novel concept - Dragels and Circles and new realms and soulscreams. Learning he himself was supposed to inherit as one and be forever welcomed as part of a family - be loved - was too fantastical for the newly thirteen year old to truly comprehend.
“I couldn’t sleep.” The words came out slightly mumbled, soft as if not to disturb the quiet.
“Well I can see that. You could ‘not sleep’ in the living room though and it’d be much warmer than out here,” the red head stepped further out onto the patio, near enough that Harry had to tilt his head back to meet the other’s eyes. “Or you could have joined us in the resting room. Perhaps that would have helped you get some rest.”
The black nest of curls shook with a quick denial before burrowing back in his folded arms, able to peek at the other’s toes from under his arms. Harry may have slept in a dorm room most of the last two years, but that didn’t mean he was comfortable with curling up in the midst of so many strangers.
“Nope. None of that. Come here. We’re going inside, at least.” Harry peaked up just in time to catch arms reaching for him. He flinched automatically before pursing his lips tightly, daring himself to make another move and invoke the other’s ire.
The arms froze before moving a little slower, tucking under Harry’s arms and lifting with the strength Harry had seen all the dragels use - they certainly seemed to enjoy carting around Brayden and Harry enough that Harry had almost gotten used to it. The inherent warmth the other exuded caused Harry to melt into the hold. Fire element he had heard but not truly understood.
His head rested on the submissive’s shoulder, green eyes on the marks that decorated the tan neck. Brayden seemed to pause in their travels indoors, head nodding to the shadows as if recognizing someone was there but when Harry looked he couldn’t tell any difference. Though he wouldn’t be surprised if there was someone there; the armored others - Gheyo his mind supplied - had already startled him a couple of times with their light feet and shadow walking. Perhaps there was one out there, one that had been watching over him.
Thankfully the submissive did not head towards the resting room, instead making his way to the living room which was indeed warmer than it had been outside. A small squeak left him as he was unceremoniously dropped on the couch, a small smile making its way to his lips evolving to a light giggle as a blanket followed over his head and was ruffled. Brayden was rather efficient in wrapping him up tight in possibly one of the softest blankets he’d ever felt.
There was a small click and the light of a soft lamp entered his vision as he pushed the blanket from around his face, straightening his glasses that had gone crooked. Dark brown eyes met his as this time Brayden was the one looking up at him as he knelt on the ground in front of him.
“Want to tell me what prompted your late night journey?”
Lips pursed in denial but instinct sang louder. Such an easy request to give into, to make his submissive happy. Uninherited as he may be - along with what he was told was a horrid list of seals on him - he could still feel it deep in his chest to please Brayden. When Brayden was happy it was like the world was a little brighter.
“I heard you and Darius talking earlier.” He gulped as his mouth went dry. “You’re going to send me away.”
And there it was. What had his mind racing and left him wandering in the dark hours. He’d been promised a family, a group that would love him, and those same people were going to send him away. His eyes burned but took a deep breath to hold any tears at bay - he hadn’t cried about it yet, he wasn’t going to now.
Brayden’s face looked a bit stricken by the words, guilty as if he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Oh dear one. We’re not sending you away-” “You are! I heard you! You were talking about sending me to a par-pareyic coven until my family seals could be resolved.” He stumbled over the unfamiliar word, green eyes glaring at the other for being called a liar over what he heard and jerking back when hands reached for him.
There was a deep sigh before the hands came again, disregarding Harry’s attempt to squirm away as they rested on his arms and moved down to where his hands gripped the blanket around him. “You’re right. Darius and I did talk about that. AND we were going to talk with you about it before doing anything. We are not abandoning you.” Harry’s breath hitched as Brayden held his gaze. “I swear to you Harry. You are a part of this circle and you are cared for deeply. No one is leaving you or forcing you to leave.” “Then why?”
Instead of answering, Brayden shifted up to his feet and fell heavily on the couch beside Harry. His hands moving from Harry’s hands to wrap around his shoulders and tug him close into his side. “Darius was meant to be a part of this conversation, but you are thirteen Harry. You are still a few years from your inheritance and should be surrounded by family, not your bonded. Yes we want you, but we want you as who you are meant to be, not who you think we want you to be and the best way to achieve that is to let a pareyic coven take over raising you.”
The hand around his shoulders drifted up to gently tug at the end of soft curls. “You also have family seals on you. That means you may have dragel relations out there that may want to claim you. We should give them the chance to, you deserve to have family Harry. Family that loves you and wants you and will provide for you. More than just us.”
A small bit of silence sat between them. “What if I don’t want that? What if I just want you?” After all, blood relations had never been anything but unkind to him. Why should he want to risk it? Brayden blew a gust of air between his lips, not a sigh, more like a release of pressure as he looked forward and paused in thought. “If you don’t… Then you don’t have to. I would pressure you to, I’m not going to lie and say I won’t because I believe it’s important, but it’s your choice. I would still encourage the pareyic coven. We would be thrilled if you went to a healing coven in fact. Either way it will take time for us to find your family and in the mean time it would be very beneficial for you to stay with them.”
“I don’t want to be away from you.” The words were almost petulant. That of a stubborn child losing their favored toy.
Breathy laughter escaped Brayden, it was a relief to hear Harry sound his age. “Harry! We wouldn’t leave you there all alone! Someone would visit everyday. I can’t promise it will be me but we’re not abandoning you. This is not punishment or us kicking you out of the circle. But Harry, you are an extremely traumatized kid.” “I am not.” “You are, don’t argue with me on this one. Even the little I know about what your life was like before us qualifies as traumatic. You tell us messed up facts about your life like they’re nothing,” “Because they are nothing! They just happened.” “And! You came into our lives severely beaten. A full grown gheyo showing up like that I could understand, not a child.”
Harry grumbled something intelligible only to be hummed at in response. “A pareyic coven, specifically a healing pareyic coven, can help you face that. Not to mention any other issues that come up from being raised by those relatives of yours.” His crossed arms and scowl meant nothing to the submissive as Brayden swooped down to plant a kiss to the lightning scar upon Harry’s brow. A loud ‘mwah!’ following it as Brayden watched his companion continue to scowl at him though it seemed to take more effort, a smile stealing across his face.
“Darius and I do not mean to make a decision right away. Yes, the sooner the better we think, but I would like you to seriously think about it over the next couple days. I’ll let Darius know we talked and we’ll all get together again in a few days to discuss some more, okay?” At Harry’s reluctant nod the smile widened. “Great! Now, do you think we might get some sleep? I think there’s a couple more hours before we should be up.”
Another reluctant nod led to a struggle between the two as Harry was determined to not be carried this time and fought the blankets he was still wrapped in. He did allow his hand to be taken as a concession. Submissive and companion made their way down the hall to the bedrooms when Harry stopped and tugged on the hand with a wary look. Brayden looked down, that same smile there, “Don’t worry, we’re not going to the resting room. I think you and I can take one of the other bedrooms.”
With relief, Harry continued to walk with Brayden. They may not have gone to the resting room, but Brayden still chose a room nearby with the usual large bed. Harry wondered if they even made small beds in Nevarah, maybe not since everyone seemed to want to sleep together. Brayden was quick to snuggle close once they’d settled on the bed, not quite cuddling Harry as to leave him his space. He was almost close enough that Harry could see him without being a little blurry.
It seemed like Harry had just closed his eyes, possibly just having fallen asleep, when a weight on the bed disturbed him. He kept his eyes closed as he heard murmurs, “...you go..” “..talk in the morning..” “...sleep here..” He jumped a little when a hand landed on his shoulder, eyes blinking rapidly to try and get sleep out of them as well as focus on what little he could. There was a blob of black and tan over Brayden’s shoulder and almost immediately Harry felt himself start to relax back into sleep. Both Alpha and Submissive were there, they weren’t abandoning him, anything else could be tomorrow’s problem.