#ormseries4

Orm Marius was many things. He was a disgraced king, a mighty warrior, a proud Atlantean, but a good surface dweller he was not. He couldn't figure out why they did so many stupid things. Why did they throw out perfectly good food? Why didn't more of them know how to grow things, how to make things? He had grown up with servants yet he knew how to grow his own food, mend his own armor and clothes, make sure there was not unnecessary waste. He couldn't understand why surface dwellers weren't taught these simple things. He wandered the land, learning more about the corruption and hatred they held also. Arthur liked this place? His own mother loved someone from this hell hole? How? Then he started noticing something else. He noticed community gardens that were flourishing, with volunteers helping to harvest and give the food to those in need. Atlantis could learn from that. For all their merits about being environmentally conscious and able to take care of themselves they didn't do as well taking care of each other. He saw a news story on one of those TV's about a house fire and neighbors coming together to raise money to make sure the family affected could build a new house quickly, offering their own homes to stay in while they waited. And finally, he found a person who did something he could not even imagine. This person saved animals. Marine life seemed never ending to Atlanteans. They would eat every part of the creature but they weren't pets. When his first animal companion, a sea turtle, had died, his father had found him mourning and had made sure he understood that animals were nothing to mourn. The scars on his back were enough that he never mourned another creature again. This woman fascinated him.

He entered her shelter, a small compound by a lake he had been camping around, just to watch her and how she interacted with the small creatures. She smiled happily at him, introducing herself.

"I'm Y/N, can I have your name and reason for your visit? Are you just looking or adopting?" she asked, bringing up a clipboard. Orm frowned a moment.

"I'm Orm," he said finally, knowing this surface dweller wouldn't know who he was from anyone else coming in. "I was just looking, never had a pet before, wondering what all the fuss is about." Y/N nodded, writing his name down and pulling a sticker off the clipboard. She put the nametag on his chest. "What is that for?"

"In case you need help, I just met you, I'm not going to remember your name after one meeting," she said. That was a lie. She had seen Orm's blue eyes and knew she wasn't going to forget him, but she still needed to be professional. Orm nodded slowly and she blushed a little, making him smile. She was pretty and by the blush he figured she might find him pretty as well.

"What is the purpose of this place?" he asked. She smiled a friendly smile now, it lit up her face. She waved him through to a door towards barking.

"I started this shelter slash adoption center around five years ago. I've always wanted to help animals but wasn't really smart enough to be a vet, not steady-handed enough to be a groomer, so here I am, trying to save strays and get them into forever-homes," she said, walking them through a hallway with what looked like dog apartments in it. "This is the inside sleeping area, it links to the outside through that little door. In the summer we keep it open all the time, the outside area is contained and they can sleep or just sit out there as long as they want." Orm stooped down by a few of the dogs, looking into their eyes. They looked well fed, even happy. They had some toys, blankets, beds, everything you needed to be comfortable. Just no home. Orm understood that right now. He followed Y/N as she moved to the next area. She finished the tour of the dog wing before standing by another door. "Would you like to see the lakeside play area? I'm really proud of that."

"Ya, let's take a look," he said. He didn't know why he was so pulled to this place, to this person, but it felt like home here, among these other strays. He felt welcomed and like he could be happy here. They stepped outside and he stared. The lake was shimmering in the early sunset, glittering. It was clean, not like other lakes he had seen, and there was a large fenced in area that had dog play equipment and even went so far that the dogs could run into the shallow water if they wanted. "This is nice."

"Ya, I love animals, but I love the water too. There's something so freeing about floating, letting the waves carry all your worries away with them," Y/N said. She frowned, squinting her eyes as she looked over the water. "Is someone swimming?" she muttered. Orm frowned, looking closer. Atlanteans. Three of them. Soldiers if the gear they were wearing was any indication.

"Go inside, lock the doors," he said. If his tone wasn't so commanding she might have argued but Y/N did as told, going inside and locking the doors. She started even getting the dogs inside and locking the doggy doors to that side of the compound. She then sat in a corner and waited, listening to the sounds of a fight, something beyond a human brawl, going on outside.

Arthur hadn’t heard from Orm in almost six months now, but he was hearing rumblings from some in Atlantis that Orm had been seen. Not only seen but that soldiers had gone to apprehend him and they never returned. This was concerning, both the fact that soldiers were sent without Arthur’s approval, and that Orm hadn’t checked in at all for months. Orm wanted this to work just as much as Arthur did and he never missed a check in, and now he had missed so many that Arthur was considering sending Mera and his mother to look for him. But now, after hearing the rumors, he knew he was going to have to do something, to say something, or else it would spread and rumors like that, the return of the tyrant king, would send people into a tailspin and he couldn’t have that kind of chaos.

“Tell me exactly what you saw,” Arthur said, sitting on the throne. In front of him was a woman, a tourist who had visited a small town on the surface a few months ago. She was who it was assumed was the originator of the ‘Orm is alive’ rumor. He had asked for information, and this was the first person to step forward. She seemed pleased to be there, like she was enjoying the attention. It irked him and he hoped this wasn’t a waste of time.

“Well, I was in this small town, enjoying a drink at their…they call them bars?” she said. Arthur noted some of the confusion on the faces of the guards. He nodded.

“Yes, bars, I know of them,” he said. He waved a hand for her to continue.

“And I noticed a blond man sitting at the counter, drinking. He was alone and I thought he looked familiar, so I approached and greeted him in Atlantian, he stared at me and just left. It wasn’t until I returned home and saw an old article about the former king that I realized who it was,” she explained. She smiled at Arthur. “Was that helpful?” Arthur took a deep breath. It wasn’t much of a sighting, bars had bad lighting, and this guy had clearly run off right away, probably thinking that she was out of her mind.

“Thank you for you information, could you tell me the name of the town?” he asked. She provided the name, and he sent her away before bringing forward the next witness.

“Your highness, we must send out a team to find him, at least see if the rumors are true,” one of his advisors said. He sighed and looked to Mera. She looked helpless. There were enough witness reports to warrant an investigation. He couldn’t ignore this. He nodded.

“Send out a small team, tell them to be discreet, and tell them if they spot him to send word back, do not engage him. We don’t know what he’s thinking, he could attack them or innocent surface dwellers,” Arthur said. Once the advisor left, he put his head in his hands and just preyed Orm had moved on from that place now and was somewhere safe.

At the moment Orm felt very safe. In fact he felt many things. He felt YN’s skin under his fingers, felt her hands running through his hair, felt her lips against his, their bodies pressed together in her bed as they moved together. He groaned as she bit his lip, his hips moving faster to hers as he tried to drive her to say his name, his new favorite sound. She broke the kiss to let out a noise and he could tell she was close. He had found an angle she liked so he moved her leg up higher and pushed deeper inside of her. Her head fell back and he watched her in the moonlight, her face looking so beautiful as she chased that high. She finally called his name and he felt her seize around him, fingers pulling his hair as she climaxed. He groaned and after a few more thrusts he finished as well, gripping her close as he panted.

“You know, doing that every night is starting to make me tired in the morning,” YN said as she headed to the bathroom. Orm chuckled, getting up and putting his underwear. He laid back down, draping an arm over his eyes. He groaned a little as an image came to mind. A red-haired woman, a man with tattoos and long hair, they were holding a baby at the lighthouse. By the time he pulled himself out of the random memory YN was next to him, gently tracing patterns on his chest with her fingers.

“Another memory,” he said, looking at her. “A woman and man, they had a baby at a lighthouse.”

“Was the man you?” she asked. He shook his head but noticed she looked a bit stricken.

“What is it?” he asked, turning more to face her, fingers brushing some hair from her face. She pulled back a little and he frowned.

“What if you have someone?” she asked. “What if you’re married? Or have a family?”

“I don’t,” Orm said. She wasn’t looking at him, eyes focusing on the bed, like she didn’t know exactly how she got there. “That is something I think I would feel, like I was missing something as important as a partner or children." He gently took her face in his hand. “You are the only person I think I’ve ever felt like this for. I love you, and it’s such a new feeling I couldn’t possibly have had it before.”

“Are you sure? I love you too Orm and I don’t want…how do you know that you haven’t had this feeling before?” she asked. He thought about how to explain it.

A year seems like a long time when you’re waiting for someone. Orm didn’t sleep a lot, he kept waking up from dreaming. Sometimes they were amazing, he was back with YN, helping with the animals, on the couch with her watching TV and laughing, or in bed feeling her pressed against him, and his heart would hurt so much he’d wake up and just stay awake, not wanting to feel that ache anymore. Other times he had nightmares. Someone had hurt her while he was gone, someone had taken her from him and now she loved them instead, or worst of all, she had just forgotten about him, her eyes blank when she saw him. Those dreams he would sit up for hours just trying to convince himself that wouldn’t happen. That year in Atlantis was his worst and yet his best also.

“I’m shocked you survived here all year without at least trying to sneak back to YN,” Arthur said on Orm’s final dinner with them. Orm shrugged.

“Was better than getting caught and having to go back to the desert,” he said. He was pushing food around his plate, unable to eat honestly. He was worried about tomorrow. Technically he could go anywhere as soon as midnight passed, but what if she didn’t want to see him? What if everything had changed?

“Orm, you don’t have to worry, YN Is just as excited and nervous about tomorrow,” Mera said. Orm knew they spoke sometimes, but he didn’t want to get his hopes up. He was so used to having everything fall apart around him that he didn’t thing he could survive if YN changed her mind.

“When did you last speak to her?” he asked softly. Mera smiled.

“We talked yesterday, I went to visit her,” she said. “Brought over Junior and everything.” Orm smiled a little. YN loved kids, always got so excited when they came in to adopt a pet. She would listen to a toddler babble about their kitten, and she never got bored. At least not while they were there, after the family left, she might talk about how annoying the kid was, but still cute.

“Did she mention…”

“She only talked about how happy she was to see you, kept asking if you were coming back or if you had changed your mind,” Mera said. “She’s just as scared about you abandoning her as you are.” Orm frowned, how could she think he wouldn’t come back to her? Then again, he thought the same thing about her. Love was terrifying when the other person wasn’t around. He sighed and stood up.

“I’m going to bed, I’ll be in your office in the morning to get this thing off Arthur,” he said, waving his house arrest bracelet around. Arthur nodded and Orm went back to his room. He laid down and tried desperately to sleep just to make the time pass faster.

YN paced the shelter hallway, running her fingers along the chain link separating her from the dogs. They were sniffing, licking her fingers, some were barking, but she was barely paying attention. It was nearly 2AM and she just couldn’t sleep. In a few short hours Orm should be back and she didn’t know what to expect. What if he came back to tell her he had decided to stay in Atlantis? That she wasn’t worth coming back for? Worse still, what if he just didn’t come back? She might never know what happened. Mera had said he was coming back, that he wanted to be with her, but what if Mera was wrong?

She stopped by the window, looking out towards the lake. She might as well wait out there, it was a warm summer night, she would be fine on the beach for a few minutes. She sat down on the rocky shore, watching the waves. Before she knew it, she was asleep.

Orm took a deep breath as he waited in the lake. H should have brought her something. He had been in such a rush to see her after Arthur removed his bracelet and declared him free that he stopped to think. He had just needed to get back to her. Now though, he was wondering if he should have brought her something, maybe prepared what to say. How did you reintroduce yourself after a year? He took a deep breath. If he wasted more time, she might think he wasn’t coming, it was time. He emerged from the lake and smiled a little, seeing her asleep on the beach. He walked over, gently lifting her and carrying her back to her home. It felt amazing to have her against him, feel her in his arms. He set her in bed and covered her before seeing if she kept his things. He opened a drawer, and everything was still there. He got changed into something more surface friendly and slid in bed next to her. She must have noticed his movements. Her eyes opened and she smiled, breathing out a relieved breath.

“You’re home,” she said, reaching out and touching his face, making sure he was real. He kissed her palm and touched her hand.

“I’m back YN,” he said. “I’m free to be with you.” She moved closer, hugging him close. He kissed her deeply, having missed this feeling. When they parted, she sighed.

“I haven’t been sleeping well,” she said. Orm nodded.

“Neither have I, how about we sleep now and later we can go get lunch at that place you like on in town?” he asked. It was like falling back into a comfortable routine. Everything seemed to be back in place.

“Sounds great. I love you,” she said, turning so her back with pressed to his chest. His arm went around her, and he kissed her cheek before closing his eyes.

Orm frowned at the restraints YN had put him in, she seemed to be enjoying seeing him tied down. She kept giggling and smirking as she finished with the final snow chain. She normally used these on her tires in winter to make sure her car got around but now she was finding she could use them for all kinds of things.

“Are you enjoying this?” Orm asked. “Me being tied up?” She blushed and nodded.

“I am enjoying it a lot,” she said. She stood back. Orm was in a chair, hands zip-tied together, chains wrapped around him and padlocked to keep him there. His feet were connected to the floor using leash ties and old dog collars. Orm could have been out of this in seconds, but the Atlanteans didn’t need to know that. He pretended to struggle, and YN put a hand on his shoulder. “Stop, wait for the others to arrive, I don’t want you breaking them while they’re here.” He froze and stayed still. “I’m going to wait outside, any longer in here and I’m going to enjoy this too much.”

“Is this going to happen again later?” he asked. She nodded.

“When I get you back in bed, I’m going to have so much fun,” she said before closing the door behind her. Orm shifted uncomfortably excited by the idea.

YN stood by the lake, waiting for the arrival of the council. Mera was with her already, watching the water. She didn’t know what to say to the woman. She knew who she was, that she and Orm were once engaged but she had married his brother. That Orm had not been the best person to her, sending people out to kill her because he felt betrayed. What do you say to someone with that kind of history with the man you loved?

“What do you possibly see in him?” Mera asked, finally breaking the silence. YN looked at her. “I don’t know what he’s been like since being here but, he was such a terrible partner when we were together, I can’t imagine him being anything else.”

“I’m not sure what he was like with you but here, he’s been wonderful. A little too arrogant sometimes, but he helps around the shelter, loves the animals, is kind, for my birthday he took me to this little seaside restaurant, and we sat on the beach and just watched the waves. He told me stories and said that they were boring compared to the life he was living. He finds everything so fascinating here…” she could go on and on. Mera was staring.

“That hit to the head must have knocked something loose in him, maybe forgetting the hatred helped remove it altogether,” she said. “I’m glad. When we were kids, he was a sweet boy, always wanting to make everyone around his happy. Wasn’t until Atlanna was banished that he turned bitter.” They stood in silence then, watching the water until it started to ripple. YN turned and called to Clark, who arrived there within seconds.

“They’re not going to challenge me to prove my strength, right?” Clark asked. YN shrugged. Mera said hello to him and then faced the water as Arthur emerged first, followed by the council. They looked around, unimpressed by the shelter and house by the lake.

“Where are we?” one of the ladies asked. YN stepped forward.

“Greetings, you are near the coast of Rhode Island, my lake here feeds directly into the ocean via a short river,” she explained. “I’m YN and I own this house and the animal shelter where your wild animal, Orm Marius, is being held on the surface.” They looked her up and down, unimpressed by her also.

“She doesn’t look like she could control him,” another council member said. Arthur shot them a look and they stopped talking. YN just kept smiling. She was used to dealing with annoying people who thought they knew better than her. Most of the time it was about why they couldn’t keep a pet and were abandoning it, but wasn’t that what these Atlanteans wanted to do with Orm? She just motioned to Clark.

“This is Superman, I am sure you have heard of him, even in Atlantis,” she said. They looked at him and she could tell they were awed. Wasn’t hard, Clark was tall, muscular, good looking, classic trustworthy man type. Mera rolled her eyes a little with YN.

“Hello, I have been called upon by YN and your king to help keep this prisoner in place. I have thoroughly checked the cell and restraints he is being held in, he will not escape,” he said. The council took his word for it and approached the shelter. YN showed them into the ‘problem dogs’ area and there was Orm, pretending to struggle against the restraints. He looked livid.

“Orm Marius, so nice to see you,” a councilwoman said. Orm eyed her suspiciously. “We hope you are well, that this will suitably hold you until we come to a decision about your punishment.” Now he was confused. Arthur stepped forward.

“I forgot to tell you; I may have done a little confessing to the council. I explained what actually happened with Manta, about breaking you out of the deserter prison, and how you actually helped us and resisted the pull of Black Trident. How you kind of aren’t such a dick anymore. The council is reconsidering what to do with you,” Arthur said.

“O really? Show is this all for a laugh then? Locking me up here?” he asked. Arthur chuckled and shook his head.

“O no, this is real, punishment is still being discussed, but I thought perhaps the council would question you here about what your plans and ideas are for your future, while you are restraint and under the eye of Superman here,” the king said. Orm looked around at the council members. Could this really be it? He might get a lesser punishment? Be able to not hide anymore? Could he see Atlantis again?

“Thank you your majesty, I will speak with them,” Orm said, bowing his head to Arthur. Arthur chuckled and turned with YN and Mera to leave.

“I’ll never get used to that,” he said as they stood in the grass outside the shelter. Mera and Arthur started to discuss next steps if Orm’s punishment was reduced before they noticed that YN had walked away, sitting on the shore. They walked over and sat next to her. She was in tears.

“What is wrong?” Mera asked. YN wiped her eyes.

“It’s selfish and silly,” she said.

“What?”

“What if wants to leave?” YN asked. Arthur looked at Mera and then back at YN. Neither of them considered really that YN wasn’t Atlantean, she was human and wouldn’t be able to come back to Atlantis with Orm. He would have to choose, life on the surface, or under the water. “I know that I can’t make that choice for him, I won’t force him to stay here but if he leaves, a big piece of my heart will be broken.”

“I think he’d go back to Atlantis, at least for a little while, but he would come back,” Arthur said. “He loves you and if there is anything he knows about its loving someone who is far away. It doesn’t go away.” She nodded and they waited in silence for the council to emerge.

“We have decided,” the councilwoman said. Arthur nodded for her to continue. “Orm Marius will be put on house arrest in Atlantis for one year, starting tomorrow. He will attend therapy meetings to speak of his crimes to a professional chosen by the king weekly to work within the new mental health system that has been implanted…”

“One of my better ideas,” Arthur said with a smile.

“…upon completion he will be released to come to travel to the surface whenever he wants, while doing mandatory community service for the surface world. We will send the king to retrieve Orm in the morning,” she finished. Arthur nodded his head in agreement and the council went back to the water. YN stood there, frozen. One year. Would he want her still? Would he still remember his feelings after a year away from her?

“It will not seem so long,” Mera said, putting her hands on YN’s shoulders. “He will not forget you.” YN nodded, but wasn’t so sure.

Once they were sure that the council was gone Orm was released from his fake cell and said his thank you’s and goodbyes to Arthur and Mera before joining YN in the house. “A year?” she asked. He sighed.

“It was agree to that or go back to the deserter prison for five years to take the punishment of escaping,” he said. “I couldn’t do five more years there; I couldn’t do five years away from you. One year is going to seem like torture.”

“You’ll come back, right?” she asked. Orm looked at her, pulling her close and kissing her softly.

“I will always come back to you,” he said.

YN was starting to worry about Orm under the water. He had been done there for hours and she knew he was able to breathe and live, but he’d never spent this much time there. She had already finished the afternoon chores at the shelter and was now sweating by the lake again as the heat from the day still hadn’t dissipated in the evening. The sun was setting when Orm finally emerged. He walked to where YN was sitting and sat down next to her. She saw that he was different, he was sitting straighter, almost regally.

“Orm?” she asked, voice shaking a little. He looked at her, head cocking to the side as if he was considering something. She bit her lip, trying to figure out the difference. Then it dawned on her. “Your memory?”

“Its all back,” he said. Even the candor in his voice had changed. It wasn’t the laid-back tone he used to have, it was sharper now, harder than before. “I remember everything.” She nodded slowly and looked over the lake again. Tears had sprung to her eyes, and she knew it was selfish. He remembered who he was, and he probably wanted to go home. She should have thought of what would happen when he got his memories back, but she had been wrapped up in helping him, then in loving him, that she didn’t really consider it.

“What will you do now?” she asked, trying to control her voice. She felt his arm go around her shoulders and he pulled her to him. Her head automatically fell to where his shoulder met his neck, and he kissed her head.

“I’m staying here with you,” he said. “Although I want to tell you who I am and why I think I was attacked. Then you can decide whether you want me to leave or not.” She nodded. Orm spent the next hour as twilight turned to night explaining his past to her. YN listened quietly, asking no questions, letting him get everything out. “I suspect that I’m being attacked because some faction from Atlantis found out I’m alive and are hunting me. I’m not sure why. I don’t really know how the kingdom views me anymore. Probably as a tyrant, I wasn’t exactly a great king, and I did arrange attacks on my own people to further my war agenda, I’m sure that doesn’t make me look very popular.”

“Do you think your brother knows you’re here?” she asked. “Maybe he has information on that. Can you contact him?” Orm nodded.

“I am going to contact him in the morning. I want to let him know I’m not dead and let him meet you. I’m never going to hear the end of it though, Ocean Master, hater of the surface, falls in love with a surface dweller. He’s going to laugh at me,” he said with a chuckle. YN smile.

“You still love me?” she asked. Orm looked at her surprised.

“Did you think my memories would erase my feelings for you? If anything, I love you more. You really didn’t know anything about me, you took me in, helped me to be functional again. You didn’t have to do anything for me and yet, you’ve done everything, including being the most amazing partner I could ask for,” he said. “You are an angel I don’t really deserve, and I’m thankful to Poseidon for you.” She smiled and kissed him softly. “Can we go to the house? I’m exhausted honestly.”

“Well, getting 30 odd years of memories back in an afternoon probably is tiring,” she said. She stood, taking his hand, and helping him up. They headed back to the house.

Arthur got Orms message from Atlanna the next afternoon and finally felt himself relax a little. He knew where his brother was, knew he was alive and well, and hopefully had time to warn him about Artrax and his men. He made sure that Mera would be able to handle his appointments that day and headed off to meet his brother. He made sure he wasn’t followed and found the animal shelter and small cabin. Orm was waiting at lake’s edge for him. He saw YN, the woman who Orm said took care of him, guiding some dogs in and out of a play area. He ran up and hugged his brother, much to Orm’s annoyance, spinning him around a couple times.

“What the hell baby brother?” Arthur said. Orm winced.

“Do not call me baby brother,” Orm said, sighing. “And I was attack, 3 Atlanteans, their bodies are in the lake, but they hit me with a pulsar blast, and I hit my head on the house…”

“Surprised the house is still standing,” Arthur said, drawing another annoyed look from Orm.

“I hit my head on the house,” Orm continued, “and woke up with no memories and with YN taking care of me. I’ve been about 7 months now.”

“Well, I hate to ruin the fun, but you have to go,” Arthur said. YN was coming down to the shore and heard him.

“Go? Why does he have to go?” she asked. When she was close enough Orm wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. Arthur nodded, looking sad in his understanding.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Orm said. “Whoever was after me hasn’t returned, I’m betting they don’t know I’m here.”

“Not so fast, he knows you’re in the town, and he wants to find you. He has gathered a small following around the idea that you were a tyrant, his son died in that attack you stage from Manta,” Arthur said. “And when you were assumed dead, he started a pretty heavy smear campaign against you, more and more are following him.”

“I’ll keep him hidden,” YN offered. She knew that she couldn’t do much, but she would do anything for Orm. Arthur looked at her and smiled sadly.

“I’m really happy that you guys found each other, but we need to do something about Artrax if you expect to stay safe,” Arthur said. “I’m not sure what is going to deter him though, he is one stubborn prick.”

“Give me a week, I will figure something out,” Orm said. Arthur considered this, weighing his options. He could do a week, give him time to figure out a safe place for Orm to go once he realized this was hopeless. He nodded.

“I’ll be back next week, be ready with a plan or with a packed bag,” he said. Orm nodded and they shook before Arthur left. Orm looked at YN and sighed. He had said he would think of something but right now he had nothing.

“Let’s go have dinner, we can figure it out over pasta,” she said, trying to sound cheerful despite everything that was happening. Orm nodded and put his arm around her, heading to the house.

Arthur was halfway to Atlantis when Artrax cut him off. He immediately went into defense mode, seeing that the noble had brought several soldiers with him. This was bad, very bad.

Arthur finally found a decent clue. One of the witnesses led him to a small group of soldiers, led by a noble named Artrax. Artrax had heard stirrings from one of the witnesses about seeing Orm and had gone to investigate himself.

“I was worried that your family ties would blind you to what needed done,” Artrax explained, sitting in Arthur’s office. “I know that your mother loves both her sons very much, and you were no fan of seeing him rotting in prison.”

“No one wants to see their brother in a cell, but I knew what he did. He almost killed my father and then my son. Honestly, I don’t see Orm as a brother, or even as a true Atlantean,” he said. “I understand your caution though.” Arthur was scrambling. “Now that I know what you are doing, perhaps we can speak further and work together to investigate these sightings…”

“No, I already sent men out to investigate, they didn’t come back. The tyrant king is out there, and he has not stopped his murderous ways. We must be vigilant. I am not sure where they found him, but I have sent out more soldiers, I will see what they bring back and if I feel it is of concern to the crown I will tell you,” Artrax said. Arthur frowned. This noble seemed to be on a mission, not just wanting to bring Orm in, but perhaps kill him.

“Why so intent on finding the former king?” Arthur asked. “What are your plans if you find him?”

“I think we can all see that Orm is a danger to us all. His father was a dictator, and his son was the same. This city needs that line to end. I will see to it that it does end. In honor of all those lost to Orm’s foolish warmongering,” he said. “The day that Orm set up that attack from the surface, with that Manta fellow, my son was there, one of the guards. He died trying to protect that maniac. I expect blood for blood.” Artrax bowed his head and left, leaving Arthur back to square one. He needed to find Orm, fast.

YN could not believe how hot it was so early in the summer. She had woken early, leaving Orm in bed asleep still, and went to do the chores and get the dogs playing before the heat got to an unsafe level. She had just finished getting them back inside when she heard Orm come in the front of the shelter, calling for her. She popped out, tying her hair up again and wiping her face.

“I could have helped,” he said, leaning to the counter. She was glad that they were closed that day considering he hadn’t put on a shirt. She wasn’t sure anyone coming in would want a puppy, they were going to try to adopt the Atlantean when he looked like that. He noticed the staring and smirked. In one swift movement he pulled her close, put her on the counter and pushed himself gently between her legs, kissing her deeply. She moaned into the kiss, caught by surprise at first, but soon she put her arms around him. She forgot how hot it was outside and could only focus on his mouth, kissing at her lips, then her neck, then her collarbone. She felt his hands sliding up her skirt, hooking the hem of her underwear, and working them down her legs. She leaned back, having to steady herself with a hand as Orm rolled up her skirt, kissing at her inner thigh before looking up at her with another smirk.

“You…are…not…fair,” she panted as she felt one of his fingers probing her entrance, teasing around it slowly, wetting it with her arousal.

“Do you want me to stop?” he whispered, finger pushing inside her. She inhaled sharply as she felt his tongue swirling over her also. She couldn’t form words as he worked in another finger, pumping her slowly at first. Soon her hips started moving to his hand and he increased his speed, curling his fingers so she would feel it more. He moved to lean on her leg, still kissing at her thigh while he watched her. He loved how she looked when he did this to her. When she arched back, calling him name and he felt her hit her climax he smiled. He gently fixed her skirt, kissing back to her lips.

“I love you,” she said, still in a haze. She realized what she said after a moment, and she blushed but didn’t take it back. Orm stared at her before kissing her again.

“I love you too YN,” he whispered. “Come on, it is sweltering, lets go swimming.” She got up and grabbed her underwear from the floor, trying to find her footing. They went and changed, well she changed, Orm didn’t seem to care if the shorts he wore got wet. She met him down at the shore of the lake. He was standing on the edge, feeling the water in his system. It made him feel invincible. She watched him as he inhaled.

“Do you remember anything about the water?” she asked. He tried to think.

“I remember swimming, a lot, obviously. I remember fighting, something, some kind of battle, I’m not sure about what or what I was doing there,” he answered. YN frowned, taking his hand. He pulled himself out of the memories and smiled at her. “Let’s swim.” They headed into the water and let the cool water refresh them.

YN was floating on her back when she heard Orm. He was groaning, like one of his nightmares was happening. She looked around, seeing him floating for a moment before sinking further into the water. She wasn’t worried, once they realized he might be Atlantean they had come out here to see about how water affected him and she knew he was fine, maybe he fell asleep. She swam under, seeing where he was, curled up on the floor of the lake and she let him nap.

Orm woke up with a groan. He sat up looking around the small bedroom confused. Where was he? Why was he here? Did he live here? Why was he bandaged? What was his name? He sat up as the door to the room opened and a woman came in carrying a tray. She quickly set it down on a dresser before going over to him, gently pushing on his shoulder to stay in bed.

"Don't move, you might start bleeding again," YN said. She looked at the bindings and gently moved them, frowning, and removing the one around his shoulder. "That's impossible...how did you heal so quickly?" Orm shook his head, more confused. Had he been injured? She took off the bandage around his abs and the one around his shin. Finally the one around his head. "All healed, you must be a metahuman."

"Do you know me?" he asked. YN stopped to look at him for a moment, really stare into his eyes. They were a bit glassy, very confused, not at all with the confidence and surety he had shown when he entered her shelter. He must have hit his head hard on the wall, perhaps he was having some short term amnesia? She let out a breath.

"We just met yesterday, you came into my animal shelter. You said your name was Orm," she said softly, trying to be gentle and not freak him out. If she were in his position she would be losing it right now, but Orm took in the information and swirled it in his mind, trying to pull out anything from his memory. Orm floated there and he felt pain, sadness, loneliness, but it was like it was someone else's, not his own feelings. He pushed them aside easily and shrugged.

"I can't remember anything," he said finally. YN nodded and smiled. "Do you know where I'm from? Do I have family?"

"I don't, I didn't find any ID on you either, maybe the attackers took your wallet with them, but I don't know, I didn't see. You were very brave, going out there against those metas, I'm guessing by the fact that you healed so quickly that you're metahuman too," she said. "Do you think you could stand? I was going to have you eat some breakfast in bed but you might want to move, stretch your legs a little. Orm nodded and she helped him stand but after a few moments it was clear that his body was fine, it was only his brain that was having trouble. They headed into the rest of the house, Orm looking around, trying to orient himself. He saw things that must have been deep memories, he knew where the bathroom, living room, and kitchen were based on what they looked like, he just couldn't remember anything about himself. Was this normal? He shook his head again, taking the offered seat at the table.

"Thank you," he said as YN set out eggs, biscuits, some kind of gravy.

"I'll go to the police today, see if they had anyone reported missing," she said. For some reason alarm bells went off in Orm's mind at that. Why would he not want her to find help with him? What had he done. He looked at his hands, trying to figure out if they knew how to hold weapons, knew bloodshed, maybe had even caused some. Either way, he couldn't be found.

"I don't think you should do that..." he said, trying to recall her name. She looked at him brow furrowed.

"I'm YN, and why not? Someone attacked you, maybe you are a protected person, or maybe you're part of the Justice League or something," she said. Then another thought struck her, what if he was the bad guy? A villain who had just stumbled into her shelter looking for pets to do experiments or something on? She shook the thought, she couldn't imagine it, not with the man who yesterday was so attentive and looked at those dogs with such love and care. Orm wasn't a villain, not really. Or maybe she was being foolish and naive. Didn't matter, if he didn't want help she would leave him be, perhaps he did know something, but he just couldn't bring it out yet.

"I think whatever attacked was after me, and maybe its because I've hurt people," he said softly. He hadn't touched his food, still not coming to terms with the idea that maybe he was a terrible person, a tyrant, a dictator...why had he thought so highly of himself? Tyrant? Dictator? Those words were for evil leaders weren't they? He couldn't have been a leader, he didn't feel very much like one at all. He didn't notice that YN was talking to him until she touched his hand. Instantly his thoughts still, calming enough that he looked at her clearly. How did she do that? Make him safe and warm? He didn't think he'd felt that before.

"Orm, don't worry, you can stay here, I have the extra room and as long as you're willing to help with the animals you can get free food and have a bed as long as you need it," she said. He stared at her. What kindness she had in her that she would take in a stranger, and yet a stranger who knew nothing about himself, that she knew nothing about, and invite him to stay, give him a place to sleep and a purpose. It was a lot to take and Orm felt something on his face.

"What is happening?" he asked, wiping at the wetness that appeared on his cheeks. YN got up from her seat and walked over, hugging his face to her body, stroking his hair. He felt something stirring, almost a memory, just a feeling of safety.

"You're crying," she said. "Its alright, you've just been through a trauma, it must all be overwhelming, not having any memory. You must be scared." They stood in silence for a time, letting him get whatever emotions he needed to work through out of his system. She didn't move, just stayed there, holding him and stroking his hair. He leaned into her, trying to suck in the feeling of safety she gave him, wanting to find a way to capture it so he didn't have to depend on her for it anymore. After he seemed to calm down she left his side, sitting down again and he felt a little empty at the loss of contact.

The first day with YN at her shelter was fascinating for Orm. After breakfast she took him to see the cats where they started fixing up their area. There were around 6 cats and 3 kittens right now and they all needed litter changed, water, and food refills. She was patient as Orm couldn’t remember ever seeing a cat before. She taught him how to measure the right amount of food per cat, how to figure out if any were on a special diet, and how to clean litter, which was the worst thing he’d ever experienced. She laughed at his face when the smell hit his nose.

“Sorry, sometimes Goose has tummy trouble,” YN said as she cuddled the black and white kitten while he worked. “I’ll get the next one and then we can move on to the dogs. I have a couple volunteers coming in to walk some today, maybe we can ask them if any of them know you from town.” Orm nodded but had a feeling no one knew who he was. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he wasn’t a metahuman, that he was human at all.

The dogs were not much better smelling than the cats. They cleaned kennels, fed, and watered them and took a few into the play yard to run around. As volunteers arrived YN led them to meet Orm, explaining about him having an accident on a hike, the cover story they had come up with, and asking if they knew who he was or had seen him before. Just as he suspected no one had, but YN was undeterred.

“That’s fine,” she said as they were bathing a large German Shepard after most of the day was over. “We will go into town tonight, walk around, see if anyone put up missing posters or possibly just knows you on sight. How about we go to the mall? Its big and there’s a lot of people, do you think you could handle that? I don’t want to overwhelm you.” Orm thought about it as he caressed the animals head, keeping the boy calm as he was rinsed. The mall didn’t seem like a place he wanted to go, but it might help find someone who knows him. He should probably get it over with.

“Should be fine,” he said. YN noticed he was less than enthused and flicked some water at him. He jumped at the surprise and his mouth fell open before he started laughing. There was a sink near him for smaller animals, so he turned on the tap, got his hand wet and flicked water at her too. When he put his hand back under for more, he noticed the instant boost he got at the feeling off the water. It was invigorating, making him feel stronger than he had ever felt. It was heavenly. YN watched him closely.

“You must love the water,” she said. He looked over, not noticing that he had been entranced by it for longer than normal. He nodded. “Good, you won’t mind this then.” She turned the hose on him and sprayed his face. He sputtered from the sudden wet and then laughed and it felt good. He knew he didn’t have memories, but he felt like he hadn’t laughed like that in a long, long time. Maybe he never laughed, maybe he was miserable or angry, but right now, he wasn’t that. It felt good to laugh.

After finishing with the animals and closing up for the evening YN drove Orm to the mall. He hated it instantly. So many people, so much noise, so much excess. He didn’t know why he was bothered by how much stuff was around but he was. YN seemed to notice his annoyance and led him towards a cart that was selling food.

“I am starving,” she said. “What about you? You think you’re more salty or sweet?” Orm furrowed his brow, looking at the baked treats. Pretzels, his mind remembered that word without prompting. He was trying to figure out what he could remember, how to do basic things, how to read the language here, how to talk, and what he couldn’t remember, his name, past, family. He was trying desperately to pull anything out of his brain to help but nothing was coming. He sighed. “Don’t like pretzels?”

“No, I was lost in my mind,” he said. She looked at him with sympathy, but not pity, it was nice, he hated pity. Well, there was something he remembered. She reached out and took his hand. He felt a small spark in her touch and looked at her. She smiled back at him, and he almost moved closer but the guy at the counter asked for their order.

“2 regular pretzel sticks and 2 cinnamon sugar sticks,” YN said. She pulled her hand away to pay and Orm noticed the gap it left in his hand. Her hand should fill his, that’s all there was to it. She was here with him because she was made for him. And he was for her. Where was all this coming from? Why did he feel this way? She finished paying and he took the offered snacks. They walked towards the stores, and he watched her bite one before taking a bite of his small one. Butter, salt, bread, all tasted amazing on his tongue.

“These are good,” he said, taking a bite out of the sugar one. She nodded. “These are pretzels…”

“Yup, and maybe when we finish walking around we can get you more and try cheese sauce, will change your life,” she said. Orm chuckled. “While we’re here let’s stop and get you some more clothes, you look a little rumpled in those.” Orm looked at what he had been wearing for at least 2 days now. Ya, he could use a change. She led him into what she called a relatively cheap department store. She was asking people as they walked by if they might know him and checking any pieces of paper or notices on walls as they went. She cared so deeply that he be found, that if he had a family that they know he was ok. He was almost hoping he didn’t have anyone; he didn’t want to leave her side. He knew that his emotions couldn’t be trusted right now, anything could easily influence him, but he still had these feelings for her, and he didn’t want to leave her.

“So, clothes, anything?” he asked, motioning to the hundreds of items available. She looked at him, surveying his figure and honestly, enjoying her view, before walking with him and selecting some things. Once she had a few days’ worth of outfits she left him to try things on and find out right sizing. He wasn’t sure what else she did but when he came back out, she had some packets of other basics for him. “Are you sure you want to spend all this money on me?”