August Intruder- Chapter 209- Birds And The Bees (Patreon)

The trees flashed past as Aurora drove home. Ninra had returned home from the incident of the portal appearances. Her school had decided to give the children a quick holiday. All the non-Gifted schools had given their students a quick holiday.

Why wouldn’t they?

A lot of parents had lost their children to the chaos. As sad as that was, the government had a lot on their hands to deal with. There was now a sudden spike in orphans. A lot of children had lost their parents, siblings, friends. Adults had lost spouses, leaving them as sudden single parents.

It was chaotic. Everyone needed a break, everyone that was not Gifted as well as some that were.

But there was a lot to deal with.

Ninra was always on the phone with her friend, Abigail. With Dorthna, Aurora had not been worried about Ninra in the slightest. Her worry had been for Madness. All the Oaths had gone missing during the duration of the portal appearances. Only when the portals were done did they come back.

From what Inevitability had told her on the phone, they had all been transported to portals so difficult that they had almost lost their lives. Well, almost was a stretch. The Oath of Languages had been found dead in her room.

It was a sad news. Sad as it was, Aurora hadn’t shed any tears for her. She had her own problems to deal with. She still couldn’t find her husband. The only reason she wasn’t still frantically searching was because Dorthna had assured her that David was alive and growing stronger in his own way.

There was also the part were the Oaths had grown stronger. Inevitability said all the Oaths—except shield—reported that those who finished their quests before being pulled back to Earth gained plus ten points to all their active stats.

It made her wish she was still an Oath. There was no doubt in her mind that she would’ve been one of them.

As for Ninra, she’d said something that still bothered Aurora because Dorthna had refused to explain.

[The Love of God], Aurora thought. There was no recorded skill that had God in it. At least not so explicitly. It made it worrying, even more so was the temporary class she’d gained and the luck stat. There was no recorded luck stat, and that made perfect sense. Luck was not something you could quantify.

How, in the name of all that was holy, was [Human] a class?

It brought up too many questions. From Dorthna, she and her family had learnt the concept of Sapient beings and Sentient beings. As if it was not worrying enough to learn that reality did not consider her and almost everything alive sapient, now it worried her that she was not considered human.

But we are humans, she thought as she turned her steering wheel, turning the car onto another street, her mind awash with confusion.

The [Baker] class was certainly different from someone who was a baker by profession. The belief was that the baker by profession was not a true baker, merely an imitation of a [Baker]. If the same rule still applied, did it mean that humans were not truly humans but nothing more than an imitation of the [Human] class.

Aurora frowned as she slowed her car down and parked by the side of the road.

This was not what she had expected from life, at least not so soon.

She needed to think. Melmarc was still unconscious. For all of Fallen High’s medical facilities—and they had one of the best in the country—he wasn’t responding to treatment. At least he was healing even if by himself.

Ark was… well, Ark was fine. She had gotten an update from the school when Ark had woken up. But he did not want her to visit. He did not want anyone to visit. For some reason, he kept on insisting that he was fine and would let them know when Melmarc woke up.

“If you want to visit,” he had said, “you can do that when Mel’s awake. He’s the one that enjoys all the doting.”

As a mother she had been torn between going to her son to be sure he was alright and taking his word for it and respecting his wishes.

She’d always known that a day like this would come, a day when her children would be adults and she would have to learn to respect their wishes and treat them like adults, but this was completely new to her. For one, they were not even adults, everything had come too soon. However, she had to start treating them like adults now if they were going to be able to navigate the life that Dorthna was more than certain they were doomed for. ‘Destined for’ was the term he had actually used, but she could not see the life ahead as anything but a type of doom.

Her dashboard lit up as her phone rang. She read the name on it.

Tar’arkna.

Still parked on the side of the road, she picked up without hesitation.

“Mother mine,” Ark’s voice came through with a touch of excitement. “Miss me?”

Aurora couldn’t help but smile. “I spoke with you just this morning.”

“Doesn’t answer my question, though,” Ark teased.

Aurora rolled her eyes. “Yes. I miss my baby boy.”

“I know you miss, Mel,” Ark corrected. “Mel’s the baby boy, not me.”

“Then what are you?”

“The pillar that holds the family together.”

“Nope,” she answered without missing a beat. “That’s your sister. Try again.”

Ark laughed. It sounded full and healthy. Aurora kept her ears primed to hear anything out of place, a concealed cough maybe. Anything at all to imply that he was not completely healthy.

She heard nothing.

“Anyway,” Ark said after a while. “Just calling to let you know I’m doing fine and your baby boy is not yet awake. His breathing’s been steady so far and I’m keeping an eye on him. I’m still playing at being wounded so that they’ll let me remain in the infirmary.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to—”

“I’m not leaving Mel’s side, mom,” Ark cut her off, his voice almost harsh. “I’ll give myself another injury to extend my stay if I have to.”

Aurora pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. Ark had always been protective of Melmarc. It was not new. And, for reasons best known to her, she had not fought it. After all, it was every parent’s dream that their children be as close as possible and protective of each other.

In the end, she let out a sigh. “I know, Ark. I know.”

“Anyway,” Ark continued, his voice completely cheery again. “I’ve been through a lot and require consolation.”

Aurora paused. “Consolation?”

“Yes.”

“And what exactly entails consolation.”

“Oh, mother dearest.” She could hear the grin in Ark’s voice. “Send funds.”

She shook her head. “No.”

“Uhuh.” Ark sounded like he did not believe her. “That said, you have my account number. Send just mine. We’ll discuss Mel’s when he wakes up. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Aurora lowered her head when the call dropped. Ark was insufferable, but by God did he know how to put a smile on her face with his ability to be insufferable.

Love you, too, Ark, she thought as she turned the car back onto the road. Love you too.

…

Ark tossed his phone high and caught it with one hand when it landed. He was sitting on a chair he had drawn from one of the other beds. His legs were high, crossed on his bed. Thoughts crossing his mind, he tapped his phone against his cheek and stared at the wall.

If his interface had not informed him that he would not be able to return to his world if he did not return when it requested, would he have returned?

Spitfire would’ve definitely been against returning, but the demon was all about growing his strength so that they could eventually leave Earth and conquer the seven hells.

The thought of Spitfire sobered him a little. With his free hand, he pulled down the neck of his shirt and looked at the marking on his chest. It looked like a burn mark, a brand. It was a simple circle with an X at the center.

From what he knew, when Spitfire was left with his thoughts, it tended to think of a version of itself that was as large as a duplex. The problem was that this version of itself was black where he was orange. It also did not look like something that went anywhere in peace.

When he’d asked who it was, Spitfire had told him that it was his parent. Not mother or father, just parent.

Did Spitfire miss them? Yes.

Did he need Ark’s help going back home? No.

There was a part of Ark that could understand. Sometimes, you reached a certain age when you had to strike out on your own and become your own person. Despite knowing that it had to be done, you would still miss your family, your parents and your siblings.

Inside the portal, when his interface had informed him of his need to return, he had contemplated just that. Had it been his moment to strike out on his own, to make something of himself?

The answer had been no.

Melmarc still needed him. And he had more than enough will and commitment to strike out on his own whenever he wanted to. Melmarc, however, always held himself back. Mel was always patient, always planning. Unlike Ark who could make a decision in the blink of an eye, Melmarc always took his time.

He would help Mel strike out on his own first, then he would do the same.

Ark smiled, his eyes settling on Melmarc.

“[Demon Lord] and [August Intruder],” he said with a chuckle. “We’d be an unstoppable duo. Me with my seven hells and you with your calculated destruction.”

He could just picture it.

Side by side they would be unstoppable. They would be far worse if Spitfire grew to be as powerful as his parent. It was almost laughable. Unstoppable did not even come close to describing what he and Melmarc would be able to do.

He sighed.

Leaning his head back over the backrest, he stared up at the ceiling.

“Pelumi caught me when I was entering a portal,” he said out of nowhere. “I can see it in her eyes that she has questions, but she didn’t ask anything the two times she came here. Maybe it was because she came with Patience and some other girl.” He shrugged. “She probably doesn’t want to spill anything that might be a secret in front of them. She’s a good girl, that one.”

He smiled, thinking about all the times he’d spent with Melmarc and Pelumi. She was fun, and innocent. He doubted if Melmarc had ever noticed it, but he smiled more around her than he did around any other person that was not a Lockwood.

He was comfortable around her, and he was always paying attention to her. Ark liked that. According to Mel, there was a connection between him and those with the [Invoker] class, he just didn’t know what it was. Apparently, he could just feel it. It made him aware of them.

It worried him sometimes. Ark knew his real worry was if it had something to do with how he reacted to Pelumi.

Personally, Ark didn’t think so.

Why?

Because he had seen the way Mel was around the girl, then he had seen the way he was around other [Invoker]s. With the others, he was aware of them but not interested. With Pelumi, he was aware and interested. He treated the others as if he was paying attention to them because it was his job. With Pelumi, it was a choice, and it was one he was happy to make.

“You know,” he said, voice low. “It is very possible that I might just be the first witness to you falling in love, baby brother.” He reached his hand out and tapped Mel’s bed gently. “Best believe that if this actually becomes a thing, I’m certainly going to have fun with it.”

He paused, thought about Mel and Pelumi in a relationship. He shivered visibly.

“Just don’t go making googly eyes at each other. That’ll be creepy. And please be a silent lover.” He paused. “Then again, she strikes me as the kind of person that’ll probably save herself for marriage.” He chuckled a little. “You’re in for a treat.”

But he didn’t think the whole thing would be a problem. Melmarc had never struck him as one of the boys who allowed their horniness think for them. Mel probably never really thought about it, but if he really wanted to get a girl, he could do it very easily. So, he doubted sex would be that important to him.

Well… he stretched the word in his mind as he looked at Mel, lying unconscious. “You are a hot-blooded male. Maybe it’s more of a like thing.” He rubbed his jaw in thought. “Who knows, maybe it’s time to have the talk. You know, the birds and the bees. How to use protection. Losing your virginity.”

This time he laughed. He could just picture the look on Mel’s face if he started talking about things like that. It would be so much fun.

Laughing relaxed him. It helped him believe very strongly that Melmarc would wake up soon. There was also the breathing, so he could hope.

His eyes moved to the injury on Melmarc’s shoulder. He watched the black wisps of mana particles that rose from it only to disappear into the air, losing their color. That worried him. Was Mel’s injury even healing at all?

It annoyed him that he did not know.

“All this thinking is not for me,” he groaned. “I’m better at just hitting the problem.”

And Uncle Dorthna wasn’t even picking up his calls. It was as if their uncle had gone on some kind of vacation from him.

“Maybe I should ask Nin to give him a good scolding,” he mused. “That would probably work.” He stared up at the ceiling and sighed. “What do you think, Mel?”

“I think we should be nicer to our uncle.”

Ark froze. He blinked, undaring to look for fear that he was just hearing voices.

He held his breath, then moved his head to face his fears.

“Mel?”

Melmarc was sitting up, looking at him. “Cut Uncle Dorthna some slack.”

Ark swallowed, rising very slowly from his chair, very cautiously. “Mel,” he said carefully. “Are you good?”

Melmarc’s eyes did not leave him. Melmarc did not answer.

It made Ark worry more.

“Mel,” he repeated, “say something.”

Melmarc said nothing. All he did was watch and take Ark in. But there was a greater worry than his silence.

His eyes were completely black.