### Sex God Saga 2
### Magic Awakening & Boys To Drool Over
Still THURSDAY:
Keith was back at the chapel, sans baseball cap but with a biker jacket in white with black accents.
He let his fingers run through his hair as he walked up to Theo. The smooth black strands fell too perfectly -- just out of place enough to look casual but with not a single hair standing oddly.
"Is your hair enchanted?" Theo asked.
Keith paused. "Mel, did you... Yeah, Melisandre fixes it for me. Instinct, I guess." He grinned.
"Is your smile enchanted, too?"
"Nope," Keith said. "At least not right now. Try not to crush too hard or this'll get awkward."
"I w-wasn't. So, what's the plan? The council decided my fate?"
Keith shrugged. "You're still interesting to the Watcher, it seems, so we can't just put you back into Baseliner life. The good news, we got practically everything from your old apartment. Juniper is putting it into storage. The bad news, you really can't go back. We'll make you Knowing. Come on."
"Where are we going?"
"Ivory Haven, initiating you to the Mysterium."
"Magic school?"
Keith's smile put butterflies in Theo's stomach. "Close enough."
Godrick was outside, raking leaves in an area around the Refugium's only birch tree. Gardening didn't match his leatherjacket aesthetics. He nodded as the duo passed.
The Porsche was gone, replaced by a white Yamaha motorbike. Keith put on a white helmed and handed Theo a matching black one.
"Ever rode one, Theo?"
"No."
Keith sat on the cycle. "Hop on, hands around me, don't let go. Don't worry, I'm an excellent driver."
The biker put a key - from the jumble containing Biscuit the sprite - in the ignition. He grabbed Theo's hands and put them around his frame.
Theo's heart beat faster. Keith was boyishly lean with his muscles hard and all around beautiful to touch. The jacket was open, which somewhat defeated the point of biker clothing but Theo wasn't going to suggest otherwise -- he got to feel the ripple of Keith's abs as the driver took off.
### ### ###
Theo had expected another hidden location at the edge of the city but they drove to Harpersfield downtown's Elmwood Square, a pedestrian block, half park, half mid-rise commercial, bordering the high rises of central downtown. The usual throng of locals and tourists was enjoying the midday warmth under yellowing fall foliage.
"Let me check," Keith said, his helmet stored on the bike, his hair immaculate. "Entrance is... over there now."
Theo let himself get led to a public library, an abstract shape of glass and concrete.
"Is this Ivory Haven?" Theo asked.
"Just the way in." Keith reached out. Theo took the offered hand. A thin 'blanket' brushed over Theo's face.
The Asian with dangly earrings stepped to a blank wall area and grabbed at nothing. A door opened, swinging inward. A white antechamber lay beyond. Marble floor, paneled walls, the lighting bright but well adapted to the pure white surroundings so it wasn't blinding.
Keith let go once they had both stepped inside. Theo looked back. Even though pedestrians were close, nobody was looking at the impossible door.
Theo turned a corner and stopped in his tracks.
"Welcome to the demiplane we call Ivory Haven," Keith said. "Also known as the Mage Tower if you're feeling quirky."
The white hall could have comfortably fit a basketball court. Art lined the walls, mostly oil paintings and aquarelles in various styles, more moderns than traditional. Below the paintings were... Shrines? Altars? Candles and incense burned next to jars and trinkets on low tables.
The hall's back half was open to above, stairs spiraling up the sides. At the center of that open space stood a picturesque lilac tree.
And below that tree stood a deer, not just white but *radiant*. It had a unicorn horn and was a bit bigger than Theo thought deer should be.
It came for the new arrivals, passing the few people lingering in the room.
"A god?" Theo asked.
"Ascelin," Keith said. "Starts with A-S-C, pronounced 'ash'. Powerful enough to keep this place going so don't, like, be an idiot in front of her."
They met Ascelin halfway. The deer bowed lightly. Keith prodded Theo into giving the deer a pet on the head, near the unicorn horn.
"H-hello, Ascelin?" the blond said, gently feeling the fur.
A woman approached. Dark hair down to her hips, a crown of flowers, a flowing dress. She was barefoot. "Hello hello there. I like your hair, young man."
Theo didn't see much to like about his towel-dried, helmet-crammed mop and wasn't sure how to react. "Thanks. I'm Theo."
"I'm Avena. Muse of spring." She sounded kind, almost saccharine." If you feel like learning about herbology, I charge the usual rates. Oh-" Her gaze snapped to Ascelin. "He's new huh? Theo, the goddess would like to bid you welcome to the community. Adapting can be a process but you're safe here."
Theo looked between Avena, Keith and the deer goddess. "Thanks. Really."
"Gotta go now." The woman ascended a small altar like a stair and... stepped into a portrait of herself. She merged into the canvas.
Keith slapped Theo's back. "Maybe I should introduce you to some of the *human* folk around. Here come the shamans."
Three people assembled as a welcoming committee.
At the center was a middle aged woman with brown skin, her frizzy hair close cut. She wore pure white, matching the surroundings, a crisp and simple robe.
"Kenya Linwood," Keith said. "Plus 'Aura', the muse of asceticism, who she's bound to even if you can't see her." He made it into earshot of the group. "Kenya, did you clean up the demon burns on that car?"
Kenya smiled. "I did. Nothing too troublesome. So you're the one the Watcher finds so interesting."
"Guess so," Theo said.
His mind was elsewhere as Keith and a girl practically fell into each other's arms. She had to be his girlfriend, with the way they kept touching as the hug broke.
She was pretty enough, white, with shoulder long hair, perfect makeup and a formfitting, violet dress. A stalk of lavender was tucked into her hair above the ear.
"This is Coralline," Keith said. "Outside the Ivory Haven, conjurer society is somewhat sex segregated. Old system and kind of whatever. Haven't seen you forever, Cor."
Not girlfriend then. It was embarrassing how much that meant to Theo. He blamed that fact he'd lost his old life a few hours ago. He exchanged hellos with Coralline.
Last was a Latino in dark clothes, hip-hop style with baggy pants and a much too-long print shirt. Red earphones rested on his neck.
"Cristiano White," the young man said and handed Theo a business card. "If my old man is too busy to hear you out, talk to me."
"Son of our convent's leader," Keith explained, "the Hierarch Greyson White. But don't hold that against Cristiano. He's usually at Pinerise Manor." Keith paused, looked ahead and beamed. "I see the kids are in."
Coralline followed his gaze to pairs of small boots by the lilac tree. "Mrs Lee wanted them stowed here with what's going on."
"Hey Theo," Keith said, "I promised to introduce you to humans, but you should meet those guys, too."
Kenya, the brown woman in white, huffed. "They're not *inhuman*, Keith."
Keith waved her off. "Bad phrasing. Not trying to reheat that debate. Deepest apologies et cetera. Come on."
Only Coralline followed as Theo and Keith walked past the blooming tree and up to the second floor of what appeared to be four total. It was less open here, more areas sectioned off.
They entered a play area. Three Asian kids, which was enough to make the room bustling. They were being wrangled by two adult Asians - a woman and a *stupidly* hot muscleboy.
Theo had trouble focusing on anyone else even though the hunk was only visible from the back right now.
He was a bit shorter than Theo, maybe 5'6''. His muscles were *popping*. He had a broad frame holding a classic bodybuilder physique, sculpted to perfection.
He wore an olive muscle-tee that let his back muscles play, his thick arms bulging with every motion. Dark shorts hung over calves that most bodybuilders could only dream of, ending in sock-less sneakers. His hair was shaved down to a millimeter, only a gray shadow on his round head.
He was one of those guys who could have walked past Theo once and would have stuck in his memory forever, along maybe a dozen other men who felt 'made for Theo' as stupid as that sounded out loud.
"Gracelynn, no drawing on the walls for fu-iddlestick's sake."
Even mildly angry, his voice was much too gentle for the body.
He turned around, at last. The face was puppy-like -- round with a flat nose, puffy cheeks and strongly slanted eyes. He had a small, almost subtle septum piercing.
His muscle-shirt covered so little of his pecs, he flashed his nipples when he leaned down.
Theo jolted as someone touched him. Keith was pushing him at the Asian woman.
"Everybody, this is Theo."
"Luna Huang," the woman said. "Just Luna will do. Sorry, I'm busy this second. Jerico Lee, if these pens aren't back in the box by ten, there will be no ice cream. One, two, three- That's right."
Keith leaned in and whispered. "Jaw on the floor?"
"What?"
"You're staring at our resident puppy-dog, Tank. Yes, his name is really Tank."
Theo wanted to defend himself but the broad, beautiful puppy-hunk finally approached them. He reached out with a hand that was appropriately mid-sized for his body but wide and thick. A tattoo was on the back of each hand - Yin on one, Yang on the other. His grasp was firm, of course.
"Fulin Wang," he said. "Call me Tank."
"Oh," Keith said. "Your name isn't *actually* Tank. I feel silly now."
"It's 'Tank' to my friends, and we're all friends here. I'm the Alpha and Broodguard of the Green Dawn."
Fulin 'Tank' Wang flexed his biceps casually and Theo wanted to worship, cry, or both.
"Theo's newly Knowing," Coralline said. "Those terms won't mean much."
"He's the top dog," Keith said. "He likes to flex his status. Let's everyone know he's a very good boy. Aw, why are you making those puppy eyes? Ruff day?"
Fulin/Tank gave Keith a light shove. "Heard every one of those too many times."
Theo willed himself not to stutter or otherwise mess up. "So do I call you Fulin or Tank?"