School of Hard Noc-Ups

"So, you just left without even texting him?" Bracken asks her friend Teilun from across the table, the two sitting at their usual café the next morning after Bracken texted her on Teilun's MTC, also known as a Multi-Tool Communicator. A brow raised, Bracken continues her line of thinking, seemingly uncaring of the embarrassed blush on Teilun's face, "You did all that with him last night, and you didn't even wait to say good morning to him? Dear, why would you do that? The poor boy is going to be so confused now."

"I-I know, I just didn't know what to say to him, and I figured I should get some air before we talked again," Teilun explains with a nervous glance to the side, sipping at her Fury Brew, this time in an even bigger glass than their prior meeting, earning a confused glance from Bracken when she first arrived, "I wound up overthinking things, and then I get a text from you to meet up and share the details. I mean, what if it's just me being lustful and shallow? I don't want to hurt him, Bracken!"

Sipping from her tea, Bracken remains quiet for a moment before she responds, her cup clinking softly against the saucer she places it on, "Well, he may just think that once he finds himself alone in bed. Especially with no message, and at the mercy of your family."

"Hey, I left a note! I told him I would...be back in an hour..." Teilun groans as she trails off, realizing that her note has not helped the situation any, and may only have made him worried now, "That was three hours ago, damn...I should text him, yeah."

"A good idea, I would say," Bracken comments with a soft huff, eyes narrowed in disappointment at her friend, "At least you had the courtesy of warning your family that he would be staying the night with you."

Teilun stiffens, eyes widening in panic before she practically rips her MTC open and begins to frantically paw at the screen, her silence deafening in the nearly empty coffee shop.

"...you...did warn them, correct? Oh, my dear...you're fucked."

"I know! Oh, I just hope they haven't killed him! Okay, so...shit! Dad found him!" Teilun cries out with alarm, her eyes wide as saucers and her hands shaking softly, "I have to text Heisuke, now!"

"Don't text him, call your father!" Bracken declares with an admonishing glare, clearly unimpressed with her friend's lack of proper decorum, "You have no idea if Heisuke can even answer! Your father will pick up if you call him!"

Her scroll lights up with a red light, an image of her father's face appearing in the center of the holographic screen, making Teilun yelp softly in surprise, "H-he's calling me first!"

"Then answer the call," Bracken stresses, groaning and rubbing the bridge of her muzzle before grumbling out a barely heard, "Dumbass..."

"O-okay, damn!" Teilun complains with a soft pout, accepting the call a moment later and putting on a clearly forced smile as she regards the moving video of her father, "Hey, daaaad! How's your morning been so far?"

"Oh, my morning has been great, my dear," Lucian Bloodfang says through the device, his voice mildly distorted from the magical device and his face displayed across the screen.

Teilun's father, and the head of the Bloodfang household, is smiling. This is unusual, as the Nightvar doesn't usually smile this brightly, and only reserves this smile for auspicious occasions, "I had a lovely breakfast, enjoyed a fresh cup of tea, and then found a naked male in your bed!" he practically shouts, his smile gone, and a stern frown etched into his features.

"Please tell me you didn't kill him!" Teilun pleads, dropping all pretenses and internally hoping that her friend is fine, "He's not a bad guy, I'm sorry I didn't warn you! I wasn't originally intending to bring anyone home, but I lost! He's my old friend from when I was young, remember? He's a good guy!"

"Young lady, what kind of savage barbarian do you take me for? Your grandfather?" Lucian interrupts with a growl, his teeth bared along with an angry glare, "He is perfectly fine. In fact, he's been listening to this entire conversation. It certainly seems like he appreciates your words, if his expression is any indication."

Sighing in relief, Teilun allows herself to relax in her seat and lean against the backrest, her eyes drifting shut, "Oh, thank Starlark... Wait, he heard all of that?" she asks, eyes snapping open and looking directly at the screen of her MTC, a bound and blushing Heisuke seen seated in a chair, "Heisuke! I-I...you're okay! You're not hurt, right?"

"Y-yeah," Heisuke says, glancing to the side and frowning softly a moment later, his gaze turning contemplative, "I'm okay. They didn't hurt me. Scared me, but they didn't hurt me."

"It's a good thing I did not assume the worst, young lady," Teilun's father continues, making Teilun groan softly in annoyance at the chastisement, "I'm serious! I had feared that you had been taken like your sister had been years ago! Your friend would be dead if I had acted on that assumption!"

Sobering up at the realization that the situation could indeed be seen that way at first glance, Teilun sighs and looks down at the table in shame, her eyes refusing to meet Lucian's, "Sorry, dad. I didn't mean to scare you, I just wanted to take a walk, and Bracken texted me to meet up. I got sidetracked, I'm so sorry."

Sighing in annoyance, Lucian takes a deep breath before rubbing the bridge of his muzzle again, eyes closed from frustration, "Just...get home when you're done there, okay? No one is going to be hurt, we just need to talk about this. You're not going to be punished."

"Y-yeah, I'll head back when we're done. Can you please untie Heisuke?" Teilun requests with a sheepish smile, Bracken snickering in amusement from the other side of the table, "I kinda need him to be in one piece and not have rope burn. It's important, and I'll explain more when I'm home."

"Since he isn't a trespasser, I'll untie him," her father says, making Teilun sigh again in relief, "But you will explain this when you return home. No excuses."

"I know, dad. I love you, and I'll see you when I'm home," Teilun says in farewell, grimacing and closing her MTC as the call ends, "I'm not looking forwards to this, Bracken."

"Then you should not have left your father, and your new mate uninformed," Bracken scolds softly, sounding more like she is stating a simple matter-of-fact, "I doubt he would have been upset if you had informed him the night of Heisuke's arrival. Good Gods, woman...you really were thinking with your lower lips, hm?"

"Oh, shut up! Like you haven't thought about doing the same with Riktor! I've seen how you stare at him!" Teilun accuses with a roll of her eyes, placing her MTC on the table and crossing her arms, "You're no better than me, you closet pervert."

Bracken simply takes another sip of her tea, rolling her eyes and holding her cup in her hand, the liquid within now cooled enough to keep her from scalding herself, "On the contrary. I informed my father months in advance...so far."

"Meaning you told him that you're gonna bring him home 'one day,'" Teilun retorts with a frown, narrowing her eyes in annoyance, "You don't fool me. You're just as thirsty as I am. At least I got with a man, you just keep chasing after my married brother."

"It's only been a day since you told me about them being in an open relationship, and we had a bit of fun last week," Bracken boldly claims, raising a brow and taking another sip of her drink, meeting Teilun's gaze, "You were the one who wished to do so first, may I add. What were your words? Oh yes, they were 'Deeper, Bracken. Keep licki-'"

"Okay! Okay...I get it, you don't have to rub it in my face. Maybe I won't ask you to do that again, if you're just going to tease me about it," Teilun says with a huff, her cheeks flushed as she looks to the side and turns her nose up, "You were just as eager as I was, too. My sheets still smell like your cum."

Snorting on her tea, Bracken accidentally inhales some, sputtering and choking on the steeped fluid, "T-Teilun! At least my words had a possibly innocent second meaning! You can't j-just blurt that out! You're lucky no one else is here..."

"Except for the café clerk," Teilun replies with a chuckle, gesturing to the counter with a thumb, the blushing Nightvar behind the counter clearly overhearing them despite his best efforts not to eavesdrop, "I know he's gonna be excited for the next few hours thanks to what you started, you bush."

"Bracken is a fern, thank you," she corrects, wiping at her muzzle with a hand, "If we have to find a new café to go to because of this..."

"Don't worry, it's fine. I've done worse here before, I wasn't even asked to leave," Teilun replies with a shrug, then downs some more of her Fury Brew, "Oh, yes...I keep forgetting just how good this stuff is until it hits my tongue," she says with a soft, happy sigh.

"That's more likely to be because of how often we talk about you winning combat tournaments, Teilun," Bracken says with a sigh of her own, though this one carries little enjoyment, "How would he know if you would be an angry, violent drunk if he asked you to leave?"

"Oh, come on! I don't hit anyone who doesn't deserve it, and the list of people who deserve it is slim!" Teilun defends herself with a soft frown, chugging the rest of her drink before standing, "Well, I should get going. I-"

The soft ringing that echoes in the room draws the two women's eyes towards Teilun's MTC, the device vibrating softly, and the red gems on the sides strobing on and off, "Or...I'll get called by work. Yeah, I have to go. You have this bill covered, right Bracken?"

"Of course, dear. I have the money with me, I had assumed that I would need to cover the bill for today," Bracken reassures her friend, smiling softly and waving her off with a hand, "You take care of whatever your corps needs, I can wait until this weekend to meet again. And text your father!"

"What are you, my mother!?" Teilun calls back with a smirk, taking her MTC out again and sending a quick update to her father as she heads out of the door, "You aren't as scary as she is, though!"

Jumping a bit in surprise as she steps out of the café, the roar of a vehicle barreling down the street and towards her is heard in the near distance. Teilun sighs a moment later as she shakes her head in mild annoyance, stepping closer to the curb, "Why the hell can't these guys just drive like normal Var...?"

Screeching to a halt next to her, Teolun looks through the transparent window on the armored truck to see the grinning Bat-folk, or Chiropt, as they call themselves, along with her commanding officer in the passenger seat, a white-furred Var glaring daggers at the Chiropt. Chuckling to herself, Teilun opens the back door and hops in, finding herself seated with four other passengers, each of which is currently goofing off.

"Good to see you assholes again. Good morning, Coordination Officer Whitefang," Teilun greets her teammates and her commanding officer, giving a sitting salute and jerking back in her seat as the vehicle begins to speed off again, the door slamming shut from the movement, "For fuck's sake, Fura! Can you stop driving like a blind Burrower!?"

"Calm down, Tei! I know what I'm doing," the Chiropt driver replies, a smirk still firmly plastered on her face, somehow managing to avoid striking anyone or anything in her path as she turns her head to look at Teilun, "Besides, you know that our missions take priority! Can't dilly-dally on the way to save the day!"

"Speaking of which..." the officer says as she grabs the steering wheel, jerking it to the side and narrowly avoiding a collision with a merchant's cart filled with cauliflower, "Keep your eyes on the damn road! Do I need to find someone else to drive for the next three months of work, Whistlewind!?"

"Shit! Sorry, Hun!" she says as she turns her head back to watch the road, the Nightvar commander sighing in response and crossing her arms, "Sorry, sorry. I forgot, not at work."

"Why do you say that like we're a couple? Did I say that at some point?" Whitefang asks with widened eyes, genuinely confused about what's happening, "I don't think I asked you ye-"

"Ahem! Remember, ma'am? The mission," the Orc sitting in the back of the vehicle interrupts by clearing his throat, his expression indicating that this is not the first time he has had to get these people back on track, "You can discuss your relationship together once our mission is complete. Speaking of, do we have an update on this urgent mission?"

"O-oh, yes! You're right, Grum. Erm...we learned that the Purple Cap slavering has a headquarters within the city, and we have been dispatched to neutralize any hostile forces while securing the enslaved civilians. Lethal force is authorized, but try to keep it as quiet as you can," their commanding officer states, relying on her training to get back on track and take on a professional tone, "Make sure you don't shoot any terminals or data storage devices, we might be able to pull the information off of it and find more of their hideouts."

"How did they even hide this base for this long?" the fox-like male seated in the back alongside Grum asks with a raised hand, brows furrowed in confusion, "Wouldn't a slavering like that be discovered quickly? It's not easy to traffic over a hundred people...and that's my best guess, given how big the building we're headed to is."

"Good question, Specialist Bleakvine. That's why we're being sent in. The Empresses are not happy about this, and we need to figure out how these guys stayed under the radar for so long," Whitefang replies, sighing in irritation and sending a glance back at the others, "I won't lie to any of you about this, this could end with casualties on our side if we aren't careful. These guys have to be pretty good at their jobs to make this big of a foothold under our noses. That's why we're going to at least bloody their noses."

"I guess, but I still say we just shoot them all and be done with it," the sole Human squadmate grumbles in anger, "Slavers are all scum, no questions. If I weren't under orders, I'd make sure every one of them dies."

"Just because we need a few alive for information doesn't mean we can't kill a few," Teilun remarks with a grin, popping her knuckles and narrowing her eyes with a vicious gleam in them, "Let's crack a few skulls, shall we?"

=====

"Okay, boy...tell me one more time. What are your intentions with my daughter?" Lucian asks the intimidated pup before him, his gaze steely and unreadable, "If you aren't willing to take responsibility, I trust you understand what might happen to you."

Glancing down at the odachi resting on the elder Var's desk, Heisuke gulps softly and fidgets a bit in his seat across the desk from Lucian, the office around him filled with trophies, decorations, and containers of medicine.

"I w-will, sir. My intentions a-are...to marry Teilun if she will have me," he explains with a soft stutter, blushing and averting his gaze from Lucian, "I've cared about her for a long time. I know I'm common-born, but I thought that proving myself to her would be enough. I apologize for not considering your opinion on the subject, sir."

"Drop that 'common-born' bullshit, boy. That doesn't matter in the slightest to me. I saw the recording of your fight with my daughter, and I was very impressed," the family head declares with absolute confidence, earning a confused glance from Heisuke, "It's a no-brainer to seek out a mate for my children that will be there for them, and can protect them. You are part of the Tiger's Eye Corps and are a ranking member. You defeated the second strongest of my children in a fair fight, and are now concerned with nothing but getting my approval."

"Does...t-that mean you do approve?" Heisuke asks with a sheepish grin, earning a chuckle and a nod of Lucian's head in return, "Really!? I-I mean, thank you, sir. I'll treasure her."

"I know you will," the older Var replies with a chuckle, waving a hand in dismissal, "I just had to be sure of your intentions. If you wanted to run away, we would be having a very different conversation right now."

"S-such as?" Heisuke asks with nervousness, gulping softly and fidgeting in his seat, his hands firmly grasping the arm-rests of his chair.

Leaning forwards and resting his elbows on his desk, Lucian narrows his eyes and gives a dangerous smile, laying his muzzle atop his folded hands, "That's not something you need to worry about, right? You're marrying my daughter, after all. All you need to know is that I have more than enough resources at my disposal to hide a body.

"Besides," Lucian continues with a chuckle, his expression softening as he leans back in his chair, "It's not me you should be afraid of. You displease her mother, and even I can not save you. I don't believe I could physically stop her from killing you."

Gulping again, Heisuke nods his head in understanding, scratching the back of his head with a hand, "I've seen her file, sir...I know that all too well. Did she really kill fifteen Var in a single night?"

"...so you know about my wife, but knew next to nothing about me? I should feel offended," the older Var comments, grinning a moment later and flashing his sharp, rep-tipped canines, "Especially given my family's history before my leadership."

"I know that you like to go hunting in the woods every weekend and that you specifically hunt down bandits before tracking down a single prey animal and killing them slowly," Heisuke replies with a soft shrug, "It's not exactly illegal, so I didn't read any further. Miss Orchid was scary enough to look deeper into, and I stopped once I realized she was Teilun's mother."

"How the-? Not even my wives know that..." Lucian says with mild shock, leaning back with widened eyes, "Well, my point still stands. You are capable and have accomplished more than enough, in my own opinion. You have my approval, Heisuke."

"Thank y-you, sir," he replies, smiling bashfully and rubbing the back of his head again, "I hope to be a son-in-law that you can be proud of."

"Stop with the 'sir' nonsense, this isn't a meeting between nobles. This is a talk between a father and his daughter's future husband. Call me Lucian," the older Var orders with a soft chuckle, leaning over his desk and patting Heisuke on the head, "Besides, formality isn't really my strong suit. I much prefer to not beat around the bush."

"Then...thank you, Lucian. I'll make Teilun the happiest woman I can," Heisuke says with sincere honesty, thinking of all the things he can do for her to make her time with him enjoyable, "I'm so relieved. This was a lot scarier than I expected it to be."

"First rule of being a father; always interrogate the boyfriend," Lucian jokes with another chuckle, standing from his desk and heading towards his office door, "Let's get you something to eat now, hm? You must be famished."

Smiling and standing as well, Heisuke nods his head and approaches the door as well, stepping out after Lucian opens it for him, "Please. I haven't eaten since lunch, yesterday."

=====

Sighing in relief as she finished putting on her combat gear, Teilun looks around at her assembled teammates, grinning and double-checking to make sure that she equipped her entire loadout, "Bullet-proof vest, check. Shock gauntlets, check. Two flavors of explosives, check. Shotgun?"

Picking up the combat shotgun from her locker, Teilun pumps the barrel and loads her homemade shells into it, sliding it onto her back once it's fully loaded, and making sure the magnetic clamps on her armor have secured it, "Double check. Handgun, check. Everyone else ready to go?"

"We've been waiting on you, Specialist Operator Bloodfang," Whitefang remarks with a soft scowl, rolling her eyes and gesturing for everyone to follow her towards the transport vehicle, "Let's move out! We can't let these slavers escape! Or worse, get their product somewhere out of our reach!"