Mephiles awoke rather early that following morning to take advantage of the day. He eventually had a servant fetch him some herbal tea with honey as a nice pick-me-up to get his day started.
And once he was soothed by his first cup of tea, he decided to have another as he went off to look at all those books, tomes, and scrolls his mother had left behind...
The various forms of literature were in his very personal library, along with treasures and books that he had kept very dear to his heart over the years. He kept the library locked up tight--not even his servants were allowed in. The windows were even barred as an extra precaution.
He slowly poked around the shelf where he specifically kept things that his mother had left him. There wasn't a lot, but there were plenty of books on magic. He grabbed a few randomly and flipped through them, not really sure what to look for.
And deciding to look for passages related to all that he's seen Silver doing, he tried to narrow down his search... He quickly noticed something about curses, so he looked into that further. Upon reading, he felt sick. To lay a curse, the caster needed to be filled with nothing but hate and loathing. Hate the target so much that death was viewed as a mercy. You apparently really needed to know what you were doing to cast such a big curse like Silver had done, apparently....either that or he would've burst to flames and died.
And something else that he learned, the caster had to have a rather powerful energy source to tap into in order to have enough power to initiate such a curse in the first place, let alone having enough energy to end it.
Mephiles frowned deeply in confusion. Just where on earth did Silver get such an immense source of power from? He could've seen him getting his energy from Manic when they'd been together, but what about now? Manic was dead both when he cast the curse and when he'd partially removed it...not to mention all these spells he's been casting for nearly the past week. Even small ones such as those would've drained (and killed) a lowly hanyou by now. The Demon Lord couldn't help but wonder...just what kind of hanyou was Silver? It was obvious that he was a half breed, you could smell his mixed blood from a mile away. But....just what exactly was his blood mixed with??
That sort of power scared him, if only the curse could be broken after the casters' death, he would've taken care of that ages ago. He'd have to look into this further but at a later time; his guests were waking up. And he really was not even considering the idea if letting them in here.
Mephiles locked the door behind him, planning for more researching that night. He greeted Sonic, seeing that was the one who was awake and not his brother as he wandered down the hall from his personal chambers and library. Sonic politely greeted him with a respectful bow, both demon and hanyou having a light conversation on their way to the dining hall for breakfast.
Mephiles found Sonic to be rather appealing as they walked on; the azure held conversations rather well. Even as a hanyou, he kind of wanted Sonic to be more relaxed around him since the uke was still very formal with him.
Shadow woke up soon after, slowly wandering the halls and reliving a fond and cherished memories. He eventually found his brother and his mate engaged rather friendly conversation about just how Sonic had beaten Shadow when they'd first met. It was rather amusing to hear.
But he walked on. His mate and brother would be understanding as to why he wanted to roam alone. As he continued on, he rounded a corner and literally bumped into Silver, before bowing respectfully to his host. "Good morning, Silver~”
"Oh, good morning, Lord Shadow," Silver greeted in return, bowing as well. "And do forgive me, I wasn't watching where I was going..."
Shadow nodded kindly, "I wasn't either, but no harm done." Then he smiled, "Shall we meet with up our mates for breakfast?"
"Of course," he smiled, joining the ebony demon on the calm walk to the dining hall.
Shadow chuckled slightly, saying, "I must say, I'm very surprised Mephiles would keep a hanyou as a mate." He paused and frowned, "No offense or anything, but my brother has not been very loving towards your race for the past few years."
"It's understandable, I suppose, " Silver replied as they walked. "And....I will admit that neither of us were pleased with our... mated status once the symptoms of the mating season wore off. We separated for a short period of time, but once I found out I was pregnant, well..." he faked a soft smile as he became 'lost' in memory, "I couldn't keep such a wonderful secret to myself. Once he found out he was stunned speechless..."
"In a good way, of course," he giggled softly when Shadow raised a brow at him.
"Since then, we've accepted one another as mates and over time..." he gave yet another well displayed fake smile, "I've come to love him..."
Could someone give him a dagger so that he could run himself through; he could hardly take anymore of these pathetic lies that came from his own mouth!!!
Shadow nodded. "There was a time when Mephiles didn't care if someone was hanyou or not..." He sighed, frowning slightly, "But I am happy to see him returning to that state of mind." The dark hedgehog then shook his head, "I'm talking too much, this should be something Mephiles should tell you, not I."
Silver had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. As if Mephiles would ever tell him anything like that. But he once thought of hanyous as equals? Now that was something he needed to know about, he'd probably be in for a good laugh or two. He could probably slip into his subconscious tonight when he was asleep. He'd entered people's dreams more than once, especially Manic's, to have 'fun' with his mate at night when he'd been too pregnant to do much else. He swiftly pushed those thoughts away, hiding his faint blush at the memories.
And with the thought to snoop around Meph's dreams later now safely tucked away in his mind for later, Silver enjoyed the rest of the walk to breakfast with Shadow. He was much more easy to talk to and get along with than Mephiles.
Better looking too, if you asked him...
Once inside, Silver gave his 'mate' a proper bow to greet him good morning right before he sat, Sonic having stood and done the same when Shadow entered--Shadow giving his smiling mate a soft kiss on the cheek before he sat and Sonic followed. Mephiles silently noted the kiss. He then realized Sonic and Shadow have been very intimate with each other in front of them. Kissing, hugging, and cuddling. The most touchy thing him and Silver did was when he touched Silver's shoulder. His brother was very observant, and it wouldn't be long until he started to notice this. Unless he already had...Mephiles cursed and screamed in his head, as he leaned over to kiss his mate gently on the cheek as well.
Silver's eyes grew wide, nearly dropping his chopsticks, and he had to keep himself from recoiling when Mephiles kissed him on the cheek. When Sonic and Shadow weren't looking, he cast a small glare his way--mentally asking him what the hell was that for.
'It'll keep them from suspecting anything! Trust me, I wouldn't do it of my own free will!'
He snapped mentally, Silver seemed to have heard it, he bared his fangs in his direction before turning to their breakfast.
Thankfully, their guests never noticed the interchange between the two. Mephiles quickly forgot the contact with the hanyou, dismissing Silver and the kiss from his thoughts. Instead he focused on the magic he had done research on.
And an unawares Silver simply enjoyed his breakfast and his guests.
The couples began their day together. It started out with the brothers bonding again, and allowing their hanyou mates to talk and get to know each other. And Silver truly enjoyed talking to Sonic. It made him feel as if he wasn't alone in this huge palace when he had another hanyou to talk to. Mephiles only let full bloods work for him, full-blooded demons or full-blooded mortals, as long as they weren't hanyou.
Mephiles now felt much better with just his brother; this was what he'd expected from Shadow's visit in the first place. It's what he's been waiting for since he got there, honestly.
And both 'couples' decided to spend a little time apart--only a few hours or so--just so that the two brothers could catch up with one another, and so that the hanyous could enjoy the company of a 'kin'.
Mephiles decided to take his brother on a hunting trip for the day, and instead of hunting hanyou like he would've done normally, they hunted wild animals.
It was just like old times for the siblings. At the end of their little hunting expedition, they ended up slaughtering a boar, and brought it back for Mephiles' staff to make for their supper. It'd been a good while since Shadow has eaten boar, after all, so tonight would be a treat.
Both then went off to freshen up for the eventual meal, since the hunt was anything but clean. Mephiles supplied his brother with a fresh robe from his own armoire, since his brother's room was basically on the other side of the manor. Besides, he didn't want to lose most of his staff from nosebleeds just because Shadow would've had to get to his room in nothing but a towel. Once they were both presentable, Shadow and Meph went off in search of their 'mates'. They found them playing with the pups in one of the palace foyers, all three infants with their eyes now open.
Shadow went to play with the pups, and Mephiles joined them for the most part. He mostly just stared at them. He'd forgotten the younger twos' names. The eldest was... Rei- -... er, something.
And to him, that was good progress on his part.
No one seemed to mind that he wasn't over enthusiastic about his pups; his brother knew him well enough to know that he was not a playful person.
But that didn't stop Shadow from enjoying his niece and nephews, though.
The day ended quick after that, the boar they had caught was delicious and well complimented on. Mephiles continued to do research on the magic Silver had shown once everyone was off to bed. Some were simple spells, didn't require a lot of energy. But some apparently, required so much concentration, that you had to have a deep understanding on the elements in one's body. It got very complicated as Mephiles continued to study. There was no way this hanyou was normal. Perhaps...he needed to broaden his search. He began to look through something called The Book of Origins. It was a reprint, but hopefully it would shed some light. He knew there was different variations of hanyou, depending on their lineage, but no hanyou as...filthy blooded as Silver could do that much if he was simply a demon/mortal breed which was the most common hanyou breed out there.
He continued to browse through the rather thick book till something caught his eye: Distinctive Characteristics of Demon, Hanyou, and Mortal Beings. Curious, he decided to look further into this as well. Maybe he could get a few clues from here...
The first few pages showed nothing special, he wanted more specific things than what it was telling him.
He then blinked when he turned the next page, seeing an illustration that depicted an image of a being that looked near identical to Silver. Same amber eyes, same near white fur, the turquoise markings... Well, it would seem that those only appeared on the arms and legs, so if Silver had them, Mephiles wouldn't know since the hanyou was always fully clothed. The only difference between this male and Silver were the style of quills and the large wings behind it. But, he creature he was looking at unsettled Mephiles.
What he was looking at was a full blooded cherub, an angel. Scrambling frantically to turn the next page, Meph's gut filled with dread. On the next page over were various images of cherub offspring--all hanyous with either demon or mortal parents.
And the one directly in the middle fit all of Silver's characteristics--a hanyou of angel and demon descent. Well, no wonder he and Silver never got along....
Apparently, this type of hanyou was extremely rare since angels and demons were practically enemies. But any child born of such a union was considered to be highly prized in demon, mortal, and cherub society, for their mixed blood did not weaken them. Instead, it made them stronger than a cherub or demon alone since a child born from two creatures of power became more powerful than the parents; those mixed with mortal blood were considered weak (but not always, as proven in the case with Sonic being powerful but born from a mortal mother). And any mates to such breed of cherub/demon hanyous would be able to harness that immense force of power as well...
To be mated to such a hanyou was one of the highest honors, and beings from all walks of life will come to try and win the hand of such a hanyou once one is found....
Mephiles had realized, from what this book had said, that he could very well be assured Silver had been telling the truth when he said he could promise him the throne as Emperor of Japan. But did he know? He claimed he never knew his parents... That really was the only way that Silver seemed to survive all these years. And he would've had an extended life from his demon and angel blood, so he couldn't be as young as Mephiles had first thought.
And to consider being mated with Silver an honor... He gagged at the thought. Even if he was so valuable, he was still a prick.
But that power, that....power.... He wanted it, he longed for it. He wanted it more than anything he had ever wanted before. And to do so, he'd have to be mated to Silver. Not just claim to be. But he had been, and he'd had that power before. Oh if only he'd known then...
Silver had stated he wanted Mephiles to become a better father and mate before he would ever allow him to be Emperor. And oh, he would, he would do whatever it would take to make that a reality. But for now, while his guests were still here, he'd act as he always would. And suffer through his tolerance of this rare hanyou, continuing to wonder if Silver even knew what power he really possessed. And so, he retired for the night, locking the library.
And as usual, both 'mates' fell asleep apart from one another.
Silver soon stumbled upon Mephiles...who was surrounded by apparitions of naked demons of all kinds. It was like some weird dancing orgy going on in there. It was gross to him, if he was honest, and he quickly left that particular area before he was spotted.
Using everything he learned from memory, he started tweaking the demon's dreams. He focused on the little details Shadow had told him from earlier that morning. He didn't have much to go on, so it would take a very long time to find it.
When he did, the demons had disappeared and Mephiles had reformed into a small child, stumbling over himself as he was chased by his older brother--Shadow being three years older than him--both playfully screaming in their family's territory. They both had sharp sticks in their hands, probably pretending they were swords or something. Mephiles turned around, and swung his 'sword' at random. "I'll get you you evil angel!" He yelled, running at his brother. Shadow, who seemed to just be appealing to his brother's wants, spoke back. "Well I won't let a demon get me!" He said, evading Mephiles as he charged at him swinging with no control. Mephiles twirled around, wobbling to keep his balance and steadily swinging. Silver snorted, how did he ever learn to kill anything when he started out like that? Shadow wasn't much older than him and he basically had it all down.
They then began to sword fight, smashing the sticks together. Shadow got carried away for a moment, and smashed as against his little brother's stick. Breaking it and causing Meph to fall on his rump. Both boys stared at each other. Mephiles sniffled, the pup whimpering and looking like he was about to cry any minute.
"No, no, Mephi, don't cry!! We'll find another one!" He exclaimed, waving his hands to try and soothe him. Putting his stick in his brother's hands, smiling, "Here, you can have mine." Mephiles nodded, sniffling and rubbing the tears away as he accepted the 'sword' and was helped off the ground.
After dusting his little brother off, Shadow started to look around for another stick, Mephi helping. Crawling around in bushes, Mephiles was searching near his brother when his ears perked as his brother spoke. But not to him.
"You smell funny," he'd heard Shadow say to someone, Mephiles crawling closer to investigate, quickly spotting a little blond hanyou, staring wide eyed at the two demon boys.
"We never met anyone our age here before," Shadow said, standing up to walk over to her, plucking twigs and leaves from his quills as he did so. "Do you wanna play with us?" Mephiles asked, excited he may have another person to play with. The girl blinked in confusion, but she didn't argue. "Okay... I'm...I'm Maria..." She murmured, walking over timidly once she was out of the bushes. She was dressed in a tattered dress, which were just sewn-together rags basically, and looked thin and sickly, but she had bright blue eyes and a kind smile. "I'm Mephiles, and he's Shadow." The little demon blurted, before he showed the girl his stick. "We're looking for these so we can battle to the death!"
Maria grimaced, and Shadow could plainly see she didn't like that idea. "Maybe we should play something else, Mephi..." He said, rubbing his brother's quills, earning a pout from the smaller demon. "What games do you know Maria?"
"I played hide and seek with some friends I made a long time ago." She said. Both boys looked at each other then back at her. "How do you play?" They asked, and Maria happily explained the idea.
Soon, she stepped away from them. "I'll go first so you guys can see what it's like," she said, turning around and hiding them from her vision as she faced a tree.
Shadow nodded. "We won't go far so you won't take very long to find us," he said, nudging his brother so he'd agree to what he had said.
"Okay, one, two, three..." And they played the afternoon away, game after game after game. It was unsettling for Silver to see Mephiles as an innocent little pup, happily playing with a hanyou no less. Eventually the boys had to go home, saying goodbye to their new friend.
They returned from the forest and the servants hurriedly cleaned them up for dinner with their parents. They sat down and ate together, mother asking how their adventures outside had went, father distant and uncaring as always. The boys told their mother about the pretty girl they met that day, and how she taught them a new game. Shadow, unknowing to the consequences of his actions, told them she smelled funny, sometimes how their father smelled once he came back from hunting. That caught their dad's attention, no doubt, and, the lord of the manor stood up from the table, and swiftly started to leave. Shadow and Mephiles chased after him, both pups attacking him with curious questions on where he was going.
He simply brushed them off, leaving them in their home as he ventured out into the night. Their mother took them back inside and returned them to the table, so they could finish their meal.
Hours later they got ready for bed as their mother hovered over them, making sure they started to learn to clean up properly, although Mephiles still needed help with some things since he was younger.
Story time came and Mephiles was cradled in his mother's arms, while Shadow rested on a luscious pillow, by her lap. Both listened intently on the story of a brave demon, slaughtering everything in his path for riches and power. A demon classic.
The three swung their heads to the door as their father barged in, holding their friend by her long golden hair as she tried to struggle away, crying and scared. Their mother dropped the book and bared her fangs at the smell of the girl, holding her own pups close as she practically growled at the disgusting creature before them.
Their father glared at them both. "I should've told you about these lowlifes ages ago, and now you're playing with filth!" he growled, throwing her to the floor. Maria cried in pain, but the demon who had attacked her approached her with his sword now drawn. "No sons of mine will play with half breeds!" He bellowed, stabbing the defenseless child through the heart in one swift move. Mephiles watched the entire scene play out right before his wide eyes, not knowing how to react. He was raised to know to respect and learn from what actions his father did, and so did Shadow, but he reacted much differently. He started crying and screaming at the death of his friend, charging at their father, and punching his legs in anger. The demon snarled at him, easily knocking him away. "I am ashamed of you! Allowing yourself to be corrupted by such weak life! Then poisoning your brother with it as well! And then you attack your own father, your caregiver, over this retched thing!?" Shadow looked terrified as he was yelled at, and so did Mephiles, clinging to his mother who did nothing to stop the discipline taking place. Her sons needed to learn, especially Shadow.
"I should denounce you as my heir; I'd have an easier time getting a proper son from your brother to take my place!!" And just like that, Shadow had lost all respect for their father, and lost his right as the heir to Lord Doom's family line, all of his inheritances and brutal teachings falling upon little Mephi instead.
Over time, Mephiles would learn that hanyous brought nothing but bad things with them and his father would later teach him how to kill for that purpose. But they had both cried for Maria that night.
The scene rippled and here, Mephiles had grown, he looked more stoic and cold-hearted. He watched the forest from the front step of their massive estate, his father soon joining him.
"He isn't coming back, my son, he's deserted us," his father coldly said to him.
"But, he has to come back...we're brothers." Mephiles replied cooly, the 15-year-old's acid green eyes staring blankly at the spot on the forest's edge where his now adult brother had left. Today had been Shadow's 18th birthday and after one last sword fight together, this time with real swords, Shadow embraced his brother, told him he loved him, and silently left his family home, not even caring to tell his parents goodbye.
"No, Mephiles, he is not. He is corrupt, now come inside. You have more training to do before your fit enough for me to even think about letting you take over my lands," his father grumbled before turning to head back inside.
"Yes, father," he sighed, silently following him. That was the last he saw if his brother for many years. Not until Mephiles killed their father after finally being fed up with him telling what to do. And once his mother started dabbling in the dark arts, always mumbling about bringing his father back, he got rid of her too.
To Meph, that was his last act of kindness since she'd been slowly losing her mind at the death of her mate, and he'd killed her out of pity. That, and he nor Shadow ever viewed her the same after that night Maria was killed, so it wasn't that big of a loss to the new lord.
Mephiles awoke with a gasp soon after, drenched in sweat and forcing Silver out of his dream. The demon had done everything he could to forget about that point of time in his life, and his mind had betrayed him for revealing that to him again. He hated those memories, loathed them with a passion now, and it went against everything he believed in today. He refused to believe that his father had been wrong about hanyous, all of Doom's reasonings had been engraved too far into his mind and heart now to ever make him think otherwise.
And as Silver awoke back in his own body and in his own bed, he...couldn't help but feel sorry for Mephiles.
Just a little.
