#didn't dice like... smack him... at one point...

Robby's voice drifts to you from the bedroom. "Honey, mind coming here for me?"

"On sec," you call back, pausing the TV and setting your snack bowl on the coffee table. Standing up, you slide on your slippers and pad across the spacious apartment into the bedroom, where your husband's standing at the foot of the bed. "Need something?"

From behind his back, he presents a glittery pink box that had been discarded deep in the back of the walk-in closet. Your cheeks immediately warm. He raises one accusatory eyebrow and sets the box down on the bed, tipping its contents out. "Mind explaining what all this is?"

"Gifts from my bachelorette party," you snicker, taking in the spread you've never had a good look at in the light of day. Dick-shaped candies, novelty sex toys, and gag gifts adorn the high thread count sheets. You explain further, "Trinity convinced all the girls that making me as uncomfortable as humanly possible in a public place would be hilarious. Made me open every single one of these in front of everyone."

Robby laughs as he picks up a small tub with lewd drawings around the label. "Chocolate body paint. Sounds like a recipe for an allergic reaction."

"That's not even the worst of it." You present him with a glow-in-the-dark dildo that flops dramatically back and forth. "This stretches. Dana wanted me to show everyone how big yours is."

"Dana?!" He covers his face for a moment as he imagines the display. While he was playing poker and puffing cigars with his friends, you were at the most ridiculous, horny, sorority-esque bachelorette party in history. Tears sting at his eyes from laughing when he holds up a candy jock strap. "This is- this is gold, baby. Solid gold. You want to nibble this off me?"

You smack him on the chest. "Stop laughing! You're such a child."

"Come on, sweetheart, this is-" he squints at the packaging of a black and pink bottle "-bubble gum flavored lube. I can't believe you've been keeping this from me; it's objectively hilarious."

"It's a yeast infection waiting to happen," you correct, giggling along with him yourself. As you inspect the litany of gag gifts and sex toys, you tell him, "I wasn't keeping it from you, just didn't think about it. We had the party, then the wedding, then the honeymoon. It's only been, like, four weeks. When the two of us have free time overlapping, my first thought isn't 'want to go through the box of novelty sex supplies my friends got to torture me?'" You give his shoulder a playful kiss and tease, "I'm usually more interested in having non-joke sex with my husband."

"Mmm." Robby turns enough to pull you into a sweet, warm kiss. He smiles, presses his lips to your forehead, and sighs happily, "I still can't get over you calling me that."

"I think it suits you." With a stupidly wide smile, you pick up a handful of neon-colored dice and roll them each on the comforter, offering as you read off them, "Wanna have…two minutes of…blowing…my thighs?"

Robby snorts and double-checks the dice. "That's brutal."

Then he blindly grabs something else, mostly wrapped up in watching you laugh, and goes stiff. His cheeks go red at their high points and he swallows hard. Sweeping things back into the box, you point out, "You finally stopped laughing.

He's holding a pink silicone butt plug with a long, fluffy white tail coming from it.

It's your turn to raise your eyebrows. You straighten up and commit his surprised, embarrassed expression to memory. Robby definitely isn't shy when it comes to sex, but in terms of toys, he's always kept it to your trusty favorite vibrator and the occasional something spicy for a change. Never in his wildest dreams had he ever imagined you with something like this, but suddenly he can't think of anything else.

Lowering your voice, you touch his chest and ask innocently, "Find something you like?"

"Uh, I'm- This is-" He clears his throat, slides his hand over the back of his neck, and averts his eyes. "No, it's just, I haven't, ah, haven't seen anything like this before."

"And you're not putting it down," you press further. The lust in his eyes is completely obvious. He's trying hard not to look at you, but you keep catching him ogling your nipples through your thin sleep shirt, your thighs beneath your tiny pajama shorts. He wants you -- and he wants you with that cute little tail on display for him. You're more than happy to oblige and you know he would never ask out of fear of judgment or making you uncomfortable. So you reach foward, tilt his chin up so he'll look at you, and suggest, "How about you run into the bathroom and clean that for me and I'll grab some lube?"

Robby's mouth goes dry. His brown eyes widen. "You're serious? You're not making fun of me?"

"Baby, I can see your hard-on through your sweats." You stand on your toes and give him a quick peck. "I'm never gonna make fun of you for wanting me."

"You don't think this is…weird?"

You give him a conspiratorial, adorable gaze. "I think it's cute. And fun. And you know I like a little anal play every once in a while."

"I'm very blessed with that knowledge, yes." He rolls his shoulders and takes a deep breath. "Okay. Okay, yeah. Fuck yeah."

Two minutes later, Michael's finished properly cleaning and drying the new toy and he emerges from the bathroom about to say something -- when he sees you already presented for him on the bed. On your elbows and knees, back arches, ass perfectly and pretty in the air as you look over at him with mischief in your eyes. Next to you on the bed is one of your small bottles of lube, clearly an invitation. He loses all ability to form speech in any of the languages he's studied.

Robby shakes his head as he places the plug next to you, dragging his hands affectionately over your ass. His touch is soft at first, but then he looks at your eager expression, realizes you're as into this as he is, and his fingers grip hard. Nails dig into your flesh. When you give him a breathy moan, he seems to remember how to speak: "God, I can't believe you're mine. You're gorgeous like this."

You give him a playful wiggle off your butt that makes him laugh as his cock twitches in his sweats. "All yours, doc. Come on and play with your kitten."

Robby nearly passes out. He curses under his breath and strips his shirt off, tossing it to the side. He keeps his sweats on for now, stepping forward and dragging two longer fingers down your slit. "Fuck, you're soaked. You like the idea of being my pet, don't you?" A gasp flies from your throat when he circles your clit. Your stance widens slightly to give him better access and he praises, "That's right. So pretty for me."

Robby plays with your clit for a minute or two, long enough to have you relaxed and whining beneath his touch. He's always loved listening to your soft, breathy sounds of pleasure as he warms you up for more, gradually becoming higher and louder and needier when you fall into that beautiful submissive headspace he creates for you.

When he's satisfied with how pliant and eager you are, Robby grabs the bottle of lube and spreads a dollop over the toy. He adds a few drops to his middle finger, too, and quietly murmurs, "Ready for it?"

You nod with an earnest, enthusiastic, dizzy smile, toes curling with anticipation. "Please, Michael."

"That's my good girl," he coos, gently pressing his soft fingertip to your asshole to spread the lube just inside the taut ring of muscle. He watches, rapt and in love, as you relax into his touch. "There you go. Always so ready to be my little slut."

As you give him a gentle, affirming moan, he smirks and replaces his finger with the rounded tip of the toy, smooth and familiar. The plug is small, definitely intended for beginners (which you aren't -- you've taken Robby's very well-endowed cock in your ass before -- but your girlfriends don't need to know that), and it slides in without much resistance. The stretch is comfortable and easy, just enough to make you keen out in pleasure.

Even though he knows the answer, he still checks like always, "That comfortable? Not too much?'

With a voice that's starting to sound drunk with desire, you correct him, "Need more, Mikey. Need your cock."

"Gotta get you good and ready first; you know that. Let me look at you for a minute and then I'll take care of your pussy, okay? I'll make you feel so good."

You give him an impatient whine but still nod. You want to make him happy, to look pretty for him, to be his perfect pet.

The moment Robby sees you with that tail hanging down your perfect curves, the bright white contrasting your skin, his knees feel weak. He places one hand on each cheek and spreads them to properly admire the view. "Oh, baby. Fuck."

You tease over your shoulder, "Take a picture; it'll last longer."

He groans and breathes, "Great idea."

He fumbles for his phone in his pocket. You arch your back to make your ass perkier and smile to yourself as he snaps a few pictures that will definitely keep him company when your shifts don't overlap and he has to sleep alone. He tosses his phone aside and ducks quickly to the bathroom to wash his hands. Then, only a moment later, he's back by your side with two fingers sliding into your greedy cunt. Now that stretch is exactly what you need.

Pumping his fingers in and out of you, Robby ascends as he listens to your litany of moans. You get all squirmy, rolling your hips back, meeting each movement of his hand. He knows that you're begging him to fuck you without words, so he adds a third finger. He loves the days when he takes so long to tease you and edge you and take you apart, but this is needy. This is fast and connected and eager.

Satisfied with the way you're gripping him, needing him, craving him, Robby removes his fingers, spreads your juices over his cock, and lines himself up. He lifts the tail out of the way and the movement makes you whimper. You buck back to try to rush him and he puts a firm hand on your hip to steady you. "C'mon, kitten, don't be a brat. I'm gonna give you what you need."

"Please, Robby. Don't tease me. Need you so bad."

"I know, sweetheart," he soothes, notching the head of his swollen cock into your entrance. No matter how long you've been together, he'll never get over the way that first thrust in your pussy feels, so warm and wet, like you were made to take him and hold him. "There, that's better." When he looks down and sees his cock disappearing beneath the tail, feeling the added pressure of the plug inside of you against his shaft, it's almost enough to make him cum then and there. "Fuck. You've got no idea how good you look right now."

"I know how good you feel," you moan back. You meet his thrust when he pulls out slightly and order, "Fuck me, Robby. Hard. You know what I need."

He chuckles at your greed but has no problem obliging the request. With a playful smack, he agrees, "Yes, ma'am."

Then the jokes are over. Robby's hips slam into yours, his cock punching deep enough to steal your breath away. He sets an unforgiving, unrelenting rhythm, speeding up until he gets your eyes rolling back from thoughtless pleasure. When the force of his fucking stops you from being able to keep your balance, he yanks you back by your hips. One arm loops around you, hand snaking between your legs so that he can play with your clit. God bless those long arms of his. The moment his fingers make contact with your most sensitive spot, you're wailing, unable to think enough to quiet yourself for the sake of the neighbors. Robby's definitely not going to be the one to tell you to quiet down, not when your moans invade his ears so perfectly.

Robby gives the tail a gentle tug and the pressure against your hole adds a thrill to his fucking that you hadn't anticipated. When your cunt clenches up in response, hitching even closer to your orgasm, he growls, "Yeah? That's good? Wanna feel like a bitch in heat?" He hikes one leg up on the bed so he can mount you deeper, more animalistic, and his fingers get firmer and faster on your clit. "Go on, kitten, cum for me. Show me how good you can be."

With tears biting your waterline, you whimper out, "And you'll- and you'll cum inside of me, Mikey? Please?"

"Of course, baby. Always." He bites down on your shoulder and praises, "Thank you for asking so nicely. Such a good girl for me."

"Need your cum," you cry as your pussy starts to tighten up. "Need you to fill me. Make me yours. Wanna feel you inside me all day."

"You're all mine," he grunts, getting close alongside you. "My wife. My girl. My pet." That word sends you to the plateau of pleasure, flame eating up the end of the detonation cord. "Come on, baby. Now. Cum. Cum with me."

You explode. The scaffolding of your body tumbles apart into rubble; Robby is the only thing keeping you upright enough to take his cock through the shockwaves. Heat floods you and your vision swims and your mind goes blessedly, deliciously quiet. Nothing exists but what Robby can give you and make you.

You're vaguely aware of his cum coating your walls, his cock softening, and him gingerly removing the plug from your body. But you aren't fully back to your senses until he's in bed next to you, wiping your sex down with a warm cloth, kissing your shoulder, murmuring love into your skin.

Robby places a warm kiss on your hot burning cheek. "Doing okay?"

"Mmm," you respond lazily. Flopping onto your stomach, you gaze at him lovingly. He's so beautiful with sweat on his brow and blush in his cheeks. "Very okay."

"Good." He rubs your back lightly and then chuckles, "Remind me to add a personal note to Trinity's thank you card for the gift."

Leaving you with him was probably a bad idea, but his options were extremely limited. Sure, you liked your uncle, but he wasn't someone Konrad thought he'd ever be forced to let babysit.

"That's all you brought for her?" Leman asks, tilting his head to the side at the lack of anything. No bag for clothes, no snacks, no toys. It was just you, and a handmade doll that looked a little too much like your father.

"It's just a few hours. What, do you not have your own food or money to buy her something?" He asks, tilting his head in return- mocking him.

"Fine, but you're payin' me back if it comes to it."

"No, I'm not."

"Uh- yeah, you are-"

"Can I play with the dogs?" You interrupt the argument perfectly, looking up at him with big, sweet, pleading eyes.

"Awh, 'course you can, pup. C'mon, let's get you inside," He steps aside so you can bounce into the house, waving at Konrad with a big grin, and disappearing.

Leman looks back at his brother, who was already retreating to his car.

"Oi! I mean it! You better pay me for this- fuck, he's gone."

He huffs out a sigh and closes the door, turning to go and locate his new little houseguest before you get yourself into trouble. He can hear you squealing and giggling in the other room, no doubt already wrestling with the dogs who are more than likely happier to see you than they are to see him when he comes home from work.

And sure enough, you've got one of them pinned and is kissing his nose while the other lies on his back, mouth open, tongue out, tail smacking the floor happily.

"Alright you," He says, planting his hands on his hips. "I've got game night with three of your other uncles here soon, so-"

"Can I play with you?" You've released the dog, and are sitting with your legs crossed under you.

"We're playin' grown up games. You wont like it."

You pout.

"Can I watch?"

Damn it. This was the curse of being the cool uncle. You weren't used to him telling you no when you asked for something. But he hadn't exactly planned for you to be here tonight, and couldn't change what he already had prepared for the others that would be here any minute.

"I just don't want'cha getting bored, pup. It won't be that bad. I'll put on whatever movie you want on the big TV up here an' you can hang out with the dogs," Maybe not the best compromise, but he'd also throw in snacks and let you have a little party all on your own.

"I won't get bored!" You get up and shuffle closer, wrapping your arms around him. "Pleeeaasssee? I promise I'll be extra good!"

He pets your head, and heaves a big sigh.

"Alright. But if you start acting up, you gotta go back in here with the dogs and watch the movie."

"Okay!"

"Atta girl. Now, if you're really stayin', you've gotta help me set up. Fair?"

You nod, grinning ear to ear up at him. He ruffles your hair, then scoops you into his arms and carries you downstairs into the basement where he'd already started getting things together before Konrad showed up with you without warning.

Helping him set up mostly involves you handing him things from the big plastic bin he has set next to his long table. Dice, miniatures, a few reference books just in case. He didn't usually use them, but sometimes Roboute liked to be a pain about certain rules, so he'd have to check the source to make him shut up.

He sits you up on one of the chairs so you can help (see: watch without touching) him put everything on the board where it's supposed to go.

Normally, none of this got put away like this, but he'd had a party last weekend instead of running the game, and had needed the table space. Thankfully, Leman is anything but stupid, and had taken a picture to cross reference before throwing it all in the bin and shoving it in a closet. And if anything was out of place, he could just shrug it off. It made Lion paranoid, which made the game a bit more fun.

"Uncle Magnus plays this too," You say suddenly.

"Does he, now?" He's not shocked in the slightest.

"Mmhm! Sometimes papa lets me stay at his house, and the last time I was there he had Fulgrim and Mortarion and Perturabo and Horus over and they played this game. I got to sit on Horus' lap and roll his dice!"

Definitely not the group he was expecting. How did any of them get anything done? They could barely agree with each other in normal circumstances, he doubted they were very effective D&D players.

"But then I knocked something over on accident," You continue, getting a little quieter. "I said sorry, but uncle Magnus made me sit in the other room all by myself for the rest of the time. I don't like being alone, I get scared."

"I know, pup. 's why I said you could take the dogs with ya if you wanted to go back upstairs," He reaches to pat you again, earning himself a big smile.

Magnus knew that too. Everyone knew you had a thing about being left on your own, Konrad had made sure of it. Sure, maybe he hadn't thought about it in the moment, but Leman is positive you tried telling him and got ignored. He'd probably told you it was just for a few minutes, then promptly forgot in favor of whatever bullshit strict no-fun-allowed campaign he was running. Then he probably got all huffy when the others said something about it, because Leman knows at the very least Horus would have spoken up. He adored you.

"Did you tell your dad?" He asks, pulling his hand away and trying not to laugh at the bird's nest he'd accidentally made of your hair.

"Sev picked me up and saw me and he yelled at uncle Magus for a really long time. Then I think he told papa, cause I heard papa yelling at him on the phone, too."

"Well, at least those two are good for something," He teases. It makes you giggle, though he's not sure you really understand why it's so funny.

"I won't get in the way or knock anything over, I promise," You reiterate your previous words, but they hold a new weight to them.

"I'm not worried about it, pup. We actually like when things go a bit wrong around here, it makes it more fun for everyone. In fact…" He trails off, a terrible, wonderful thought forming in his brain.

His doorbell ringing has you scrambling out of the chair and running up the stairs. He lets you open the door so he can finish what he was doing and make a few extra special notes, and hears you squealing in delight. Half a minute later, heavy footsteps come down the stairs and he looks up in time to see you hanging under Lion's arm, giggling like a little madwoman.

"Lose something?" His brother grunts, pretending to be far less pleased with your presence than he actually was. Leman laughs.

"Ohh, don't make that joke, I don't need Curze between my asscheeks about it."

"That's a bad word!"

"Aye, pup, you're right."

Lion plops you down on the floor.

"What's she here for?"

"Dunno, Curze didn't say, just that he needed someone to mind her an' he couldn't leave her with Magnus and oooohhhh-" He understands now.

Don't laugh Leman. Don't laugh. Even though it's really fucking funny to know that Magnus has lost priviledges because of his own asshole-ery.

He snorts. Lion tilts his head.

"I'll tell ya later."

Another ring of the bell. This time you ask before racing up the stairs.

"Can I go get it?"

You were a smart girl, you knew Lion liked to answer the door before anyone else. But he nods at you, and follows close behind, leaving Leman to once again go back to his game preparation.

More voices, more happy giggles, and the next time you come downstairs with his brother, both Roboute and Corvus are with you as well.

"Is it just us today?" Roboute asks. Leman nods.

"Sanguinius texted me last night and said something came up and he can't come. Apparently dad strong-armed him into going to some fundraiser or something for him."

"Do you need help with anything?" Corvus asks, pulling you off his shoulders to set you back on the floor. You whine at being put down yet again, far far too used to being carried around all the time.

"Eh, me 'n pup got all this handled already. If you wanna get food and beer, you know where it's at."

Corvus calls your name quietly.

"Do you want to come back upstairs with me and be an extra pair of hands?"

"Okay!"

He takes your little hand in his and the two of you head right back up into the kitchen.

"I'm surprised to see her here. Curze doesn't ever let her stay with you without extra supervision," Roboute says, taking his proper seat at the table.

"Yeah, well, Magnus got himself in trouble it sounds like. I'll tell ya what she told me about it later. Just know we gotta make sure she gets to do something at the table so I can take a picture and piss him off about it."

Roboute and Lion both frown at him, but are forced to accept his answer for now when you come back down the stairs carefully holding a very full bowl of chips. Your face is all scrunched up as you focus on not dropping a single snack. Once you reach the bottom, you scurry to the table and set the bowl on the edge of it. Lion reaches and pushes it further in so it doesn't fall when you let it go.

"Um…" You scoot next to Leman, pressing your hands into his leg and looking up at him. You lower your voice to a whisper. "Uncle Corvus wants to know if I'm allowed to have a soda."

"Your dad didn't say you couldn't, so go for it."

You squeak happily and dash back up the stairs on all fours, looking every bit like an excited puppy.

"You shouldn't let her have too much, regardless of what Curze did or didn't say. It's not good for her, and if you send her home with a stomachache you'll just make him upset," Roboute says.

"He's always upset about something."

"This is true."

You descend the stairs a final time, your treasured carbonated treat in hand, Corvus behind you with a six pack of beer from the fridge and a bag of white cheddar popcorn. You scurry to hide under the table- a habit you've always had- leaning against Leman's shins and sipping on your drink as the other two finally also settle in.

"Alright then, where'd we end, again?"

-

"Come on, pup, you got this."

You throw the d20 into the tray.

"Umm…does aaaaaa…." You look at the phone screen sitting on the table in front of you, counting on your fingers. "Thirty six hit you, uncle Roboute?"

The man lets out a defeated noise.

"It does. By quite a lot."

Corvus has pressed his face into the table, hands drooped at his sides, feigning dead just like his character that you brutally killed just last round.

Leman starts piling more dice into your little hands for you to roll the damage.

"How did this happen?" Lion mutters to himself. "Where did we go wrong?"

"We let Konrad's child pick the monster," Corvus mumbles. "Of course she was going to choose the biggest, meanest one on the list."

The clattering of dice seems to echo through the room.

"Fuuck- Roboute, what's your health at again?"

"…seventeen-"

"Ohh you're dead. The tarrasque ends Titus where he valiantly stands, the last of you to fall-"

Lion slams his fist against the table.

"Wait! What about Dante?! Sanguinius may not be here, but his character has still been with us this whole time!"

Silence. Then Corvus straightens up and Roboute whips out his phone.

"I'm calling him-"

"He's at some event with dad, he's not gonna answer! Dante is in the back of the group, frozen in fear-"

"Hello?"

"Does Dante have healing items?"

"I- what?"

"Healing, Sanguinius!" Lion yells.

"Uh…yes, I think so? I don't have very good wifi here I can't pull up my character sheet to help- oh, I'm sorry dear, give me one moment I will be right with you-"

"Who has access?"

"Guilliman!"

"I'm pulling it up now."

You sit on Leman's lap as the table erupts into chaos, giggling manically as every good mini DM should. There is a pride resting in Leman's chest that he's never felt before…maybe he should think about having kids soon, this was fun.

"Ah! Dante has a scroll of revivify!"

"Can we use it?"

"What on Earth have I missed-"

"Sanguinius!"

"Yes! Yes! Please do!"

"Fine, fine, Dante pulls out his scroll and revives-"

"Me. I'm the paladin, I have more healing," Lion cuts in.

Leman gestures for him to continue.

"Revivify doesn't give you full health back, though, it just puts you at 1 HP. And you don't have any actions this round, so pup gets another turn."

"Is the little one over there?!"

"Yes," Corvus says. "And she's killing us all."

"Oh, stars- I have to go, but keep me updated. I'll come over after this fundraiser."

Everyone calls their goodbyes, you included, and Roboute puts his phone back in his pocket.

Lion stares at you. You stare back. Then you reach for the dice. Everyone waits with baited breath as you roll. The d20 bounces, then lands firmly on-

"Agh!"

You jump a bit, looking up at Leman in surprise.

"She rolled a nat 1. The thing misses real bad."

"Yes!"

"Go, Lion!"

"I use the healing potion I've been saving, and then I-"

The battle is long and intense, Roboute taking temporary control of Sanguinius's Dante since he had the information for it and was granted Leman's permission. They manage to revive Corvus's character as well, the three of them refusing to go down again against your vicious monster. They all cheer when it finally dies.

"That's how it's done!" Leman laughs, wrapping his arms around you and squeezing while you giggle happily. "I'm getting more beer!"

He carries you along with him, letting the three men downstairs talk amongst themselves. You stand next to him while he pulls more beer cans from their home in the door of the fridge, setting them on the counter.

"Uncle Leman?"

"Hm?"

"You lied."

He pauses, looking at you.

"Eh?"

"When I tried to hit Lion- the dice said fifteen, not one. I got him."

He closes the fridge and grabs you under your arms, lifting you and plopping you next to his pile of beer.

"You did get him, technically, yeah. But it was way more interesting to see them crawl back from the brink and eventually overcome your monster, wasn't it?"

You think about his words for a moment, then nod.

"This isn't one of those games where you have to play by the rules one hundred percent of the time, sometimes you gotta let some things slide to make sure everyone is having fun."

"So, I did good?"

He laughs and picks you back up, tossing you in the air and catching you in his arms again.

"You did great! You earned yourself a popcicle!" He opens the freezer and lets you pick from his stash of frozen treats.

He's opening your reward for you when the doorbell rings, then the door swings open without waiting for anyone to answer it.

"I'm here!" Sanguinius sweeps into the room, still in his nice clothes, and looking somehow perfect and bewildered all at once.

" 'guini!"

"Little bat!"

He scoops you up, pressing a kiss to your cheek while you giggle. He snuggles you against him, and looks at Leman holding the slowly melting popcicle. He takes it and hands it to you, not caring in the slightest if you make a mess on his jacket while you eat.

"Roboute texted me. A tarrasque?"

Leman opens one of the beers, chugging half of it, then he points at you.

"She wanted to play, so I let her pick the monster. I didn't even have to help her that much, she figured out how to maul the fuck out of them all on her own."

You giggle, burying your face in Sanguinius' hair as best you can without getting your treat caught in it.

"Oh dear," Sanguinius lets out an amused, and somewhat concerned, chuckle. "I feel bad I missed it all."

"Oh, we're not done. We missed last week, and I know none of you assholes work tomorrow."

Sanguinius laughs properly and puts you down. He gives you a soft pat on the head and makes for the stairs, descending them quickly and calling for the others. Their voices explode as they all talk at once about the battle.

Leman leans against the counter while you finish your treat, drinking the rest of his beer and opening another.

"Papa will come get me soon," You say. "I go to bed at nine."

"What if I call him and tell him to let you stay?"

You look up at him with those big eyes.

"Can I?"

"Of course you can. Those knuckleheads are gonna revive Titus and move on to the rest of the story, you may as well see where they end up."

"Can I play the next monster, too?"

He crouches to be eye level with you, grinning ear to ear.

"There's no one else I'd rather have on my side of the DM screen. Let's fuck 'em up."

"Yeah!"

-

"Papa…papa!"

He grumbles, pushing you away from him in his state of half-sleep. It was too early for you to be trying to wake him up, and he knew from your voice that you were more happy about something than you were scared, so there was no real reason for him to worry.

"Paaapppaaaa!"

"What, Creature?"

"Uncle Leman is here!"

That has him awake. He sits up a little too fast, his vision tilting somewhat.

"He's what-"

"He says that I can come play with them today, but we gotta go now so we can get to his house before Lion does!"

"Hold on-"

"Can I bring my bat and my papa doll?"

"Who said you could-"

"Pleeeeaaasssseeeee!"

He looks at you, staring up at him with a gaze filled with hope. He groans and rubs his face.

"Fine."

You squeal happily and scramble from his room. He nearly lays back down, but hears someone rifling through his kitchen.

Fuck. Of course you'd let him in. Konrad really needed to talk to you about opening the door and giving access to people that aren't Sevatar. Even if Leman was his brother and your uncle, that didn't give him the right to enter his home on the whims of a child.

He gets out of bed and skulks down the stairs.

"Look who's finally up and movin'," Leman grins at him, eating one of his apples.

"What the fuck are you doing."

"Picking up pup for game day."

"When did I agree to this?"

Leman shrugs, taking another bite before tossing the fruit into the trashcan.

"You're a single dad who refuses to let us help you ninety nine percent of the time, enjoy the free time to nap," Leman looks at him, strangely sincere. "We're your brothers, and we all love the kid. Plus, she absolutely mauled the fuck out of Lion like three times during the campaign last week and I know you think that's funny."

Konrad huffs out an annoyed sigh.

"She needs to be home and in bed by nine."

"I'll drop her off after breakfast in the morning."

"Russ-"

"Let the kid live, freak."

He starts to say something, but you come barreling down the stairs with a little backpack filled with who knows what.

"I'm ready!"

"Alright! Let's get going!"

Leman has you up and in his arms before Konrad can argue further, marching you right out of the house and tucking you safely into his car.

He'd smacked his heavy paw against his ward's back a few times and said cheerfully: "Well done, my boy." Hans had studied his face and searched his own emotions. "But Uncle, how can I know it was the right choice?" he'd murmured. "How?" Sir Hanush had cried, and started towards the bridge to the Old Town. "He was a poacher! That's how." "But Uncle– " Sir Hans then stumbled after him. "And he was a scoundrel at that!" "Yes, Sir, however," Hans had persisted. Pleaded, even. "Was it right of me to order his death over it? He's– or, he was my subject. Is it not my duty to protect my subjects?" "It's your duty to govern," Uncle had insisted. "And sometimes governing means disciplining." He'd shot his ward a pointed look. "You of all people ought to know that." The younger noble's ears had burned and his words come out stilted: "Right. Of course, Uncle." "And don't you worry," the older one had cheered. "I've already sent word to Hermann that I want that bastard strung up next to the one your little friend dragged in with him." He'd rubbed his gleeful hands together and grinned. "It'll be a splendid day, splendid!"

Sir Hans shuddered as he recounted the morning's talk to Hal. They had met when Henry was having some of his armour repaired and walked to the wagoners' inn together where Hans had bought them some food and drink to enjoy in the open air. "You don't think we did the right thing?" Henry asked as he sat down and leaned against the trunk of a linden tree. Hans seemed to melt down beside him with a sigh and stared at the ground between them. "I'm not sure." Rather than speak further, his companion simply bent his neck to look at him with concern. When Hans didn't meet his eyes, he shuffled over to close the gap between them. This, finally, caused the lord to look up. "How come?" asked Henry, now that his friend was more present. "I just..." Hans trailed off and raised his hands to express what he could not utter. "I don't know, Hal. I don't like it." "But they were bad." Henry wore a little furrow between his brows and his lips formed a small, round, questioning pout. Hans' eyes snapped back from the mouth to the big, blue eyes. "But does that mean they deserved to die? At our behest?" When Henry didn't have an answer, he continued: "That man had a family. Hell, I spoke to them! and I told them, to their faces, that I wanted their son hanged." His face was buried in his hands by now. Hans felt the weight beside him shift, like Henry raised his hands, fiddled with something — struggled with it, by the feel of that arm muscle — and soon after, he felt a soft tap on his elbow. Henry held a wineskin in offering to his lips. "And did you?" Hans watched him in confusion and despair. He couldn't speak, so he let out a distressed grunt. "Their son." Henry took Hans' hand and delicately lowered it from its place on the noble's cheek, placing the wineskin in it. "What did he do?" He wrapped his broad hand around Hans' and secured the long, slender fingers' grip on the ruby drink. Sir Hans' heart was pounding uncomfortably; his breath came in shallow, desperate bursts. He shook his head, almost imperceptibly as he whispered: "Nothing." His wide eyes darted away and he lifted the wine to his mouth in a sharp movement. He drank. Swallowed. Cleared his throat and, with it, his voice. "Nothing to me, anyway. He was a poacher and a rascal and a cheat at dice, but I've never even seen him." They went quiet. Hans passed the wine to his companion who gingerly had a small sip. Then he put the cork back in the wineskin and set it in the grass, and spoke carefully: "Everyone knows the punishment for poaching, Sir. You did right by the law." Sir Hans nodded slowly. "Aye, Henry. By the law." They sank closer together until Hans' cheek rested against the top of Hal's head. "But who is right? The law? or the one who upholds it?" Henry hummed sleepily. "What about your man?" asked Hans. "You said you knew him." He felt Henry's little nod against his shoulder. "Zbyshek," he mumbled. "'S a right cunt. Always has been." He sighed. "Little snake sold Skalitz– " He stopped to yawn then. "For silver." Hans wondered what on earth would possess a man to betray his own so ignobly. "Fucking Judas," Henry mumbled as he leaned more heavily against the young lord.

He has had it up to here with this little neon sign of a human being. Egg was a walking miracle, given the amount of potentially deadly shit they got themselves in on a daily basis. Get offered a ride to someplace for free by a stranger? They hop on in without question! Given a random drink or snack? They just say an innocent "thanks!" and dig right in! The beast that's been watching over Egg is overworked and underpaid. Granted, it wasn't a job be had to do, but he'd feel bad if something happened the moment he looked away. So, therefore, he's had his keen eyes on the absent-minded fellow.

"Could you not?" The dragon frowned deeply as the human hung ornaments and tassels from his horns. It wasn't even holiday season—it was the smack middle of summer. He's almost impressed that they had things like that on hand. It would've been almost impossible to just buy at this time of year, though he supposed they could've just dug it all up from storage. "Oh, you can speak?" Egg looked up at the dragon curiously as they paused their decorating.

"No." He bluntly responded, and while Egg looked befuddled, they didn't question it. Then, they continued decorating. "Hey. I said stop it." The dragon frowned deeply, but the yellow-haired fellow ignored him this time. "I'll bite you." Right as he moved to fulfill his promise, Egg stuck their tongue out at him, tugging his head back down to wrap more around his horns. "You told me you couldn't speak. So why would I listen to you? Clearly I'm just going crazy." They huffed back at him, and he wisely shut up for the rest of the horn-decorating.

When Egg was done, they let out a happy sound and stood up. "Come on! Let's go!" They urged him onto his feet, and he did with all the effort and grumbling of a grumpy old man with a bad back. "Go where?" He dared to ask, following after the human as they lead him through their house. It was a nice spacious place out near the farmlands, supposedly passed down to them by a deceased family member.

Egg didn't answer him as he was brought through the back door, past the yard, over the fence, and deep into the moor. With each step, he had a little less faith in the human's sense of direction. At one point, he was even sure they were in the bog, or beyond the town's half-assed borders, but their journey together ended at a big rock. Just... a big fuckin' rock in the middle of the moor. "Ta-da!" Egg smiled victoriously, as if they really did something. It was an impressive rock, honestly, but it was still just a rock. It wasn't even a sculpture or something. A completely earth-made, natural rock.

"I need you to stand on it and spread your wings out." They pointed up to the top of it, and the dragon stared at them blankly. "I refuse." He said that, but the innocent, expecting expression they had made him start climbing up the rock anyways. He teetered at the top of it and spread out his wings, looking down at the human curiously.

"So, what am I doing up here like this?" He asked. Egg looked up at him without answering and he sighed. "I can talk." "Woah! The dragon can talk! A talking dragon!" Egg laughed up at him, and he frowned deeply. Then, a giant shadow passed over the both of them. The human seemed unfazed, but he began to sweat.

"Don't tell me-" "I wanted to see the big bird-dragon that's been flying around for a few years now. I heard it liked shiny things!" Egg sounded very amused, though the dragon didn't appreciate being used as bait. A loud screech sounded from far above and he folded his wings in an instant, looking up at the foreboding shape in the sky. "I'm getting you back for this." He sighed as the figure dove down and grabbed him. He mentally cursed the human out as he got carried off into the moor.