Pandora is grateful that Alise and the kids are here; now that they know Ron is in trouble the men are going to be scouring the alleys in search of him and she is glad for the company. Alise understands only too well the final slow cumbersome  weeks before a baby's birth.

While Alise struggles to find a clue as to Ron's plight... Pandora sits quietly; the children are playing, and she feels her son struggling to touch her mind..."mama"... the gentlest brush against her cheek... she opens her eyes expecting to see Chloe; but there is no one there... again the soft brush, and she realizes her son has broken through.... he is communicating with her.

Pandora looks up and glances round for Ob; finding him across the room with the boys.... but he is staring at her... grinning in a way that tells her he heard their son. She smiles back and slides her hand gently over her stomach, feeling her son move and she says to him... "soon my son, I feel you are coming soon, we love you and wait for you."

Chloe runs excitedly to her side... "mama; we were in Tomas' tent; and my baby brother touched us "... she grins and turns, doll in hand and rushes back to the other children.

The water drips from his body in slow rivulets as Keon walks across his bedroom to his closet. Pale arms encircle his waist as he pulls clothes from the hanging bar. A hand slips lower, wrapping around his half-mast cock. A warm deep voice murmurs in his ear.

"If you take the Path from Sheriwellyn Way, you will be back at your Human Realm headquarters in no time. Five minutes more is all I ask."

Keon's head falls back as the hand tightens, stroking him harder. His cock rises, firming under the talented touch. He moans as warm flesh presses against the curve of his ass.

"I can't get back up, but I can make sure you leave satisfied..." Kisses trail softly along the width of a well-muscled shoulder. Teeth sink in, just hard enough to hurt, not break skin, and Keon jerks hard. "You are already so close to the edge. It won't take long."

Long fingers caress slowly, nails dragging across midnight black abs. "Sit. The armless chair. Tell me what you want. Mouth or ass... or both."

Keon lets himself be drawn to the chair. Lowering onto the seat, he spreads his legs. A tall thin Sidhe kneels between the open thighs, seagreen hair gliding over Keon's lap as he lowers his face to kiss the tip of the Dark Lord's turgid shaft. The hair slides through Keon's fingers, a silken wave. His hands wrap in the strands, gripping tight.

"Open your mouth Gil. Suck my cock. I want to feel your teeth glide as you swallow me." Keon moans as Gil obliges. The other Fae's palm cups Keon's balls and long fingers push their way up his ass. Keon bucks, forcing himself deeper into Gil's throat. The pale skinned fae moans, making Keon buck again.

Bobbing his head, Gil begins to suck hard, drawing Keon nearly out, until the Dark Lord forces the hot mouth back down his black cock. It isn't long before Keon is fighting to keep control.

"Up..." Keon yanks the green hair, getting a moan of pleasured pain." Get that tight ass up here."

Reluctantly the Sidhe rises. Keon holds his cock steady as the other man lowers himself over his lap. He stills when the cock head slides along the sensitive area behind his balls. Keon uses a finger to find the tight pucker of Gil's ass and teases. The green-maned Sidhe arches, trembling as a finger pries him open. Keon raises his hips, pressing the head of his cock against the tight opening. Gil moans and follows as Keon lowers his hips. Cockhead embedded, keon grips Gil's hips, holding him still until the Fae writhes, trying for more.

"You are such a slut Gil..."

Gil stares down at Keon. "We both needed this... Stop teasing... let me fuck myself on your cock." Keon grins and shoves hard, forcing Gil down. The Fae throws back his head and screams as his feet slip and Keon's hard shaft spears deep. Feet finding purchase, the pale Sidhe rocks, leaning forward to change angle and thrust himself back and forth, reaming himself on Keon's hard length. His now hard cock slides along Keon's pelvis and the Dark Lord grips it hard.

The man jerks hard, muscles contracting around Keon's hardness. Keon tugs hard and Gil's muscles clamp down again. His moan causes Keon to squirm, screwing his cock deeper into Gil's ass. Keon scrapes his nails along the sensitive flesh of Gil's balls. The Sidhe shudders, muscles milking the cock in his ass. Keon shudders and growls, ramming upward, impaling Gil deeply. With a howl, Keon cums, spurting deeply up Gil's bowels. The pale Sidhe shudders at each jet and clamps hard, Keon feels the ball in his hand pull up tight. He rolls his hips, grinding deeper and Gil explodes, cumming again. His hot seed sprays over Keon's abs. Both men lean back, Ke against the chair, Gil propped up by his hands on Keon's knees.

"You need to go find your human. I need to get back to work." he rises slowly, moaning as he feels Keon's now deflated cock slide from his sore ass. He leans forward, kissing Keon gently. "Look me up when you get back. If you need an orgy, you know I can arrange it, Go shower, mate. I'll grab you some clothes."

Keon takes a quick rinse. By the time he returns to the bedroom, Gil is gone. His gear is laid out, as if Gil had never left his side. Sliding his sword belt in place, Keon mounts his stallion. He knew the Path Gil had mentioned would bring him out close to the Tavern. When the Path finally ended at the Crossing, Keon made a wish to find Ron well... The Veil opened, and Keon rode through to the back lot of the Tavern.

Ob closes the cell phone, tapping it against his palm. Either Keon was out of range, or his phone was off. Neither Twillon nor Guunnar knew of any missions the Dark Lord would be on. Miko hovers at his shoulder, deep in thought.

"*Hermano... Blood and Blade. Old spell... if he is our home realm, we reach him by that. You got a silver blade? Si?"

Ob stares at the small warrior as he hangs in the air. His mind flies through the regulars and those who stay at the Tavern when not out on missions. There was a steady business with Other realmers, now. His gaze settles on Twillon, where the Seelie Dark Lord sips a cup of black coffee.

Twillon looks up as the pair approaches his table. Ob drops into a chair next to him as Miko perches on the ever-present plants used as table decorations since the demifae took up residence. The broad leaf dips under the small warrior's weight. The Sidhe nods as Ob asks about the spell of Blood and Blade. He stands and heads toward the bar for his blade, agreeing to meet the two men in the private dining room.

Ob closes the door behind them as Twillon lays his longblade on the table. Weebit has joined them, perching on the back of a chair. Her patchwork wings fan slowly, keeping her steady. Miko watches her from the corner of his eye. He can see the effort it takes, and her determination to ignore the pain.

Twillon holds out a hand to her and she slits forward, landing gratefully in his palm.

"Will thou heal mine hurt, My Lady, an I make the call to our Kith?"

Weebit bows, kissing his palm. "Needs must be done, do as ye needs. I offer healing freely."

Ob raises a brow at Miko who flits to the Gar's shoulder to whisper an explanation. "He will cut on his sword hand. The stronger the blood flow, the stronger the call. But he may need to wield the sword, so will need to be whole before patrol. He does not take demifae gifts for granted." He stares at the patchwork woman. "She must love him greatly to give of herself so freely. She will be depleted..."

A hiss of pain draws their eyes. Twillon has slid the ball of his index finger along the razor's edge of his blade. Three drops of blood run along the shining surface. Twillon leans close and breathes on the blade.

"Keon, Lord Blackthorn. Lord of the Night. Lord of Hounds. Heed my call..."

Twillon squeezes out another drop of blood. As it hits the blade's surface there is a chime, the ring of steel on steel. Moments later Keon's eyes peer back, blurred by the small warps in the finely made blade.

"Twill? What the hell..."

"Where the fuck are you Ke? Ron's missing and we think he ran into ghouls. His pals are ready to go hunting NOW."

There is a splash and drops of wetness obscure the blade. "He was at the houseboat two nights ago. Came right after patrol. I'll hop a path and be there soon. He was going to drink himself into oblivion, to forget. I told him that won't work, but... Clean your blade Twill, I'll be there as soon as I get some clothes."

Twillon wipes the blade, breaking the spell. "Well he is in the Fae Realms. Those were his personal baths, and he wasn't alone."

Weebit lands on Twillon's offered hand and presses kisses to his bleeding fingertip. He cradles her gently, as the wound begins to close. Miko bows to the room and takes to the air.

"I will let the others know that the Dark Lord is on his way."

Ob laughs when they hear Stoney telling one of Ron's to be patient. They couldn't hunt Ron in were shape before night hit, and shouldn't do it on an empty stomach. Monty knocks on the door, letting them know that dinner was ready and Tori called. Ike was rousing, so if they wanted something to eat, they better get something before the sisters and Guunnar got to it.

"I think they already know..."

As he passes Miko, Ob hears the demifae mutter something about gargoyles and their damded telepathy.

Bad enough hiding under dumpsters to escape the feral dogs in town, but to fall IN had been even worse. Wet, sticky, and stinking of something extremely foul, Ron had managed to clamber his way out of the garbage and jump to the ground.

A sound startles him and he darts under the dumpster. He watches two strays pace down the alley, sniffing out hiding places. He presses back as far as possible, keeping himself out of their reach. Ron wraps his tail tight around himself, curling into a small ball. One of the dogs catches his scent and tries to follow the trail. Scrambling up over stacked crates and boxes, its greater weight brings the pile tumbling down. The loud crash startles the other dog and it leaps out of the way. A rat races out of the mess and the strays tear off after it.

Uncurling, Ron edges toward the now empty alleyway. The scrape of a shoe freezes him a whisker's length from freedom. His ears perk forward, swiveling to catch the slightest sound. Wrinkling his nose, Ron tries to pull the person's scent from the surrounding odors. He stifles a sneeze as the unmistakable aroma of sulfur and brimstone cuts through the stench of his fur.

Slowly easing back, Ron tucks his tail under his belly, hiding the brilliant white. He hunkers down, tucking his chin onto his black paws to hide any remaining white. His eyes and ears flick around the openings of his hiding place, freezing again when a dark snout forces its way under the dumpster. The nose wrinkles, suddenly snorting, spraying wetness. Biting back a yip, Ron buries his face under his black paws. The harsh smell disappears and Ron peeks from under a paw. The snout is gone as if it were never there.

Marc looks to his companions, “Thats Ron's necklace. It has to be. There isn't another like it. He had it custom made."

Ty and Toby exchange looks.  Ty's knuckles slowly turn white as he grips the edge of the table. “Something must have happened. He wouldn't leave that anywhere and he never takes it off...”

Toby swallows hard, “And Alise is crying, it must be bad news..”

Twillon watches as the trio still. One rises and makes his way across the floor. There is no mistaking the Tiger as the young man stalks to the family table. His almond shaped eyes narrow as he stares at the charm around Alise's neck. His words come out tight, strained.

"Ron wouldn't have given that to anyone."

Alise looks up at Ty's tight features. She sees the anger in his dark eyes.

"He didn't. I am trying to see if he is among the shades." She watches the Tigers lips thin, the flesh whitening around the grim line. She shakes her head, placing her small hand over his larger one. "Ty, I don't see him... he would come if he were not still among the living."

Marc clears his throat, breaking the tension between Ty and Alise.  He stays behind Ty, keeping distance between himself and Alise. He remembers how she fears wolves, and wants nothing to interfere with her gift.

"Ron took off a few days ago. Said he needed time to clear his head." He sighs, laying a hand on Ty's shoulder, drawing his friend's anger away with just a touch. "He's been depressed, feeling his mate's loss more and more." He looks at Twillon. "Even the time at the houseboat isn't helping anymore. He's been talking about... he's been thinking about ending things."

Alise looks at the young wolf. "Ending things?"

Toby hooks out a chair, straddling the seat as he leans his arms on the back. He pokes at the pieces of cell phone. "That's Ron's. We've been trying to call him. He went out on a patrol and never came back to the college. We - " He waves at his friends. "We thought he went home for a bit, but his mom said nope. She figured he was out with more patrols, keeping himself busy since its the anniversary of..." He gets quiet, picking up the shirt to look at the claw marks. He brings it to his nose and sniffs. "This is Ron... and a ghoul, maybe two, can't quite tell."

His eyes flick around the table. "Where did you say this was found?" Twillon tells him where Patra's people last saw Ron. The Cougar nods slowly. "Think we can take a patrol down there? It's two days, but there aren't that many werefox in this town."

Alise smiles as she watches the children play. She and Pandora had done some shopping for the baby, Pandora wanting to get some things in colors for a boy. When they passed a shop with wooden toys Alise caught sight of a small highchair, just the right size for the dolls that Tannr had given the girls. Luckily, they had four and were willing to deliver them to the tavern. A small nylon pop-up tent for Tomas was found and the women called it a day.

As Alise and Pandora watched Tomas was in his tent and Gracie walked over and called his name to get his attention. Tomas response was to stick Godzillas head out the flap and growl loudly. Startling Gracie so she lost her balance and landed with a thump on her bottom.

“Not nice, Tomi!”

More growls from Godzilla followed and Alise and Pandora tried hard to stifle their giggles.

Standing slowly, holding the chair next to her for balance, Pandora says, “I better check and see how Monty is doing in the kitchen. If we need to place any orders with vendors we should do it now, before the baby comes... one less thing to worry about.”

Alise nods, understanding exactly how she feels. Her head snaps up as she hears the girls squeal, seeing Stoney come downstairs. He lifts the three of them easily and they excitedly tell him of the highchairs for their dolls. As he sets them down, Gracie turns and says “Tomi, bad boy” and points to the tent. Alise sends to Stoney letting him know what happened. Stoney approaches the tent and squats near the flap, his greeting is met with Godzilla growling. Trying not to laugh he tells his son that he and Godzilla need to be nice to his sisters and he especially shouldnt startle the littlest one.

Silence from the tent and Stoney joins Alise at the table. She smiles and Stoney kisses her in greeting.

A few moments later Tomas sticks his head out of the tent. He waves to Gracie and she smiles and starts to head for the tent. Suddenly stopping, she turns and gets her doll, then hurries to the tent where Tomas is holding the flap open for her.

Stoney grins, “See? He can be a gentleman when he wants to be...”

“Hmph, it is a plot so that Godzilla can eat the doll. I have no doubt we will be hearing screams shortly.”

As Alise and Stoney laugh and watch their children and Chloe, Twillon enters the Tavern, a somber look on his face. Stoney waves him over and Patti brings a pitcher of ice water and glasses to the table.

Twillon takes a seat and takes a deep breath. “I have some something to show you. I got this as a tip today and I am hoping someone here recognizes it....”

Alise and Stoney watch as Twillon removes a small bag from his pocket. A noise at the front makes Alise glance away for a second, a group of college boys entering the tavern giving Jeb a hard time about the new girl he was seen flirting with. The smile on Alises face fades and her face pales as she sees what Twillon has in his hand.

“Where... where did you get that necklace?”

“So you recognize it? There are parts of a cell phone too, but they look as if they were run over...”

Alise exchanges a worried look with her husband and chokes back tears. “The necklace, it belongs to Ron. He is never without it, never. Where did you find it?”

As Twillon explains Alise takes the necklace and closes her hand around it. Her eyes close and she stills her mind. There are spirits in the tavern, but not Rons. I would know if he had passed. He would come to me, with his love, they would be together, I know they would...

The college boys move to take a table and see Alise, tears slipping down her cheeks. Not sure what to do they hesitate a moment and Marc watches as Stoney fastens the chain, Alises hand coming up to rest on the silver dolphin charm.

Jeb decided now that he'd broken the ice with Roxi it was time to get used to each other on a daily basis and he decided since he usually ate breakfast alone mornings... and Roxi came for meals; it would be nice if they dined together. Nights he was on the door and couldn't have dinner with her, so this seemed a great quiet time for them.

"Monty, think you can whip up breakfast for two?... you know,melon and strawberries and all the frillies gals like with breakfast." Monty grinned... "Oh,you mean with the side of ham Roxi favors, and cappucino?" He grinned wickedly and said... "Coming right up, Jeb, why don't you take the table near the front window... Roxi likes to watch the activities outside."

Jeb sat with a cup of strong coffee and waited for Roxi; she was pretty punctual... there around 8 am, ready to work at Traegers by 9 am.

Roxi approached the tavern with a light step... still musing about last night's encounter with Jeb. She had been attracted to him, now she knew it could be something more for both of them.

Stepping in the door she turned to her favorite table; and found Jeb smiling at her... "Hello pretty lady, how about joining me for breakfast?" Roxi smiled and blushed a little as she sat opposite him. Monty appeared almost instantly with her cappucino and a vase with a pink rosebud... "Compliments of the gentleman". Roxi gave Jeb a soft thank you... and over her shoulder Jeb could see Monty wink, he'd used his magical powers to win Jeb points... he'd thank him later.

Breakfast was delicious; and they talked about how they came to be in Exton. Jeb opened up about his past... how he'd been hunting when he'd been attacked and became a werewolf... it was in early 1962, and he'd remained the same since then... no older, but much wiser as the years rolled by... using sheer will to train himself to hold back the wolf inside until he could safely release it... or use it at will when threats ensued. He told her he thought that explained his fondness for his 57 Chevy,and all things rock & roll.

Roxi laughed as he talked, enjoying his company... stopping briefly to greet Pandora and Chloe as they came down to eat, Chloe racing her dragon to the family table after a brief hello.

Pandora greeted them saying... "You must excuse us, nothing stands between Chloe and food when she's hungry"... and she walked slowly after her daughter, the weight of her pregnancy telling in her slower steps.

The couple watched after them; both musing a little about a time when they would be settled and have a family life. Roxi broke the brief silence... "Oh,gosh... its later than I thought, you'll have to hear my tale another time." Josh took her hand and squeezed it; "How about same time tomorrow?" Roxi realized he meant to join her every day, and it pleased her. "Okay, breakfast around 8 am?" She blushed as she picked up her rose vase and started to the door... "See you tonight, princess"... Jeb said softly as she reached the door... and on impulse he rose and quickly crossed the space between them... turning her and kissing her softly but intimately; before opening the door for her....