Homelands Pt. 05 Ch. 01

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Author's note

Part Five takes immediately after Part Four. It is not necessary for you to have read Parts One, Two, and Three, but if you have not read Part Four, you will find the story difficult to follow.

I won't be including notes to introduce each scene as I did in Part Four. A few readers found them distracting. It should be clear to you whose POV a given scene is written from and where it takes place.

As ever, if you have questions feel free to email me or leave a comment. Either way, I'll try to respond in a timely manner.

This is primarily an incest story, but it is also sci-fi/fantasy, and supernatural elements are not incidental to the plot. Additionally, many chapters will feature elements of other categories, particularly group sex and anal.

All sexual acts are consensual and involve parties who are at least eighteen years of age.

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"So what do we do?" Nick asked.

Veronica studied her brother's face. The way he was looking at her, as if he expected her to solve all their problems, made it hard to hear out the rest of what he had to say. All she really wanted to do was hug him instead.

Sometimes, it seemed that Nick pretended not to have any ideas of his own, just so that he could get her to tell him hers, and to let her know how much he respected her opinion. Transparent as that was, it was still incredibly endearing.

But this was not one of those times. He really was asking her to figure things out for them. And the rare display of childlike innocence from the older brother she'd spent her whole life trying to impress made Veronica's insides melt. She forced herself to look away, to focus her attention on fluffing up her pillow, lest she suffer a cuteness overload.

"Eric's busy planning something stupid as we speak," he said. "And you know it would be pointless to try to talk sense into him."

"Actually," she said, "that's pretty much exactly what I was thinking you need to do."

"Me?" he asked, with a huff that was very close to being a chuckle.

"Yup."

He shook his head. "You're something else."

"Obviously, you won't be able to convince him to hold off," Veronica continued. "But maybe we can talk him out of an all-out assault."

"Maaaaybe," Nick said, frowning. "But this is Eric we're talking about."

Veronica sighed.

Their brother probably was psyching himself up for a direct attack on the throne at that very moment. It wasn't that she doubted that. But they couldn't just give up that easily. From the sound of it, they wouldn't stand a chance against the combined might of House Bravo and House Fisher. And no matter how sympathetic their father might be to their position, which probably wasn't all that sympathetic anyway, he'd have no choice but to make war if the king demanded it.

They needed leverage. Their only hope was to take a few hostages of their own and propose an exchange. Anything else would just result in a bloodbath.

Somehow, Eric needed to be convinced of that. And he wouldn't listen to Veronica. But he just might listen to Nick.

With a flick of her wrist, she changed out of her sun dress and into a baggy T-shirt and loose pair of silk pajamas. Not exactly the kind of outfit that was best suited to seducing her brother. But she was, for once, not in the mood for that. Too tired, for one thing.

And too preoccupied with thoughts about their father.

The trip back to the Playground had taken no time at all. Apparently the yacht hadn't been necessary. It was just less disorienting. And gave the kids a chance to prepare themselves mentally for what they were about to undergo.

Not that it had prepared them. Not for the induction ceremony, and not for the fateful visit from their father. That last part had been one of the most exhausting experiences of her life, even though she'd done nothing but stand there and squeeze Nick's hand the whole time. Simply processing all the emotions her father brought out had been trying enough.

Why couldn't she just hate their father, the way Nick apparently did? Why did all those childhood fantasies have to come back to her all of a sudden?

As she slipped under the covers, Veronica said, "If we tell him it would be stupid and reckless to go for blood, he'll go for blood. If we tell him that it would be going soft on the king to kill his children, that mourning their loss would be easier than constantly worrying about whether he'll ever see his loved ones again, then maybe he'll focus on taking hostages."

Nick remained silent for a few moments. "And if that doesn't work?"

"We'll deal with that when we come to it," she said.

Her brother stared at her, brow furrowed. But, in the end, he offered no objections.

Nice and tame. Like a good, housebroken puppy. If he was as much like their father as Hank had said that he was, he wouldn't have given in so easily.

Without asking her permission, her pussy started quivering.

Damnit.

She wanted her father to disgust her. The way he should have. But she couldn't help herself. There was just something about her father that had made Veronica swoon, even as she cursed him for being a selfish, cold-hearted bastard.

He was just so calm. So perfectly in control. Was there anything as sexy as a man in control? She couldn't be blamed for responding to that. Or for suddenly noticing how pliable Nick was. Men like that just exuded sex appeal, no matter what they looked like.

And those eyes.

Those gorgeous, green eyes. They veritably sparkled with intelligence.

Only, no, they didn't. Because eyes didn't sparkle with intelligence, except in cheesy novels where they not only did that but somehow managed to express all sorts of emotions besides. In real life, eyes didn't do a whole lot besides blink, dilate, and, of course, see.

It might not have been his fuck-me-breathless emerald orbs that told her so, but Veronica knew that her father was every bit as smart as the man of her dreams would have to be. Smart enough to not just keep up with her, but challenge her. As smart as she told herself that Nick was, though in the back of her mind, she had her doubts.

Her father was shorter than she liked her guys. And he was a bit thin too. Not as bad as Kurt, or anything. And what muscles he had were sculpted from stone. But he wasn't even as built as Nick, and her brother struck Veronica as a little small himself. On top of that, her father's face was well past lean and creeping up on gaunt. There were deep grooves in his hard skin, which was only lightly tanned. To say nothing of the scars.

He didn't at all have the kind of face she'd pictured all those times, while fingering herself and whispering "Daddy." That man had a hint of maturity, enough to remind her that she was with no mere boy but a real man. But he still had smooth skin and dark hair.

Exhaling heavily, Veronica rolled onto her side and made like she was getting ready for sleep. If Nick touched her, she just might melt. But it wouldn't be his face she'd be seeing. And what if he noticed that? He was, after all, damn good at reading Libidos.

"Tired?" Nick asked, slipping under the covers beside her.

She moaned incoherently in response.

Nick chuckled and kissed her shoulder.

His touch set her skin aflame. She was aching for it. It wouldn't be her brother inside her, but it would still feel good. She simply needed a hard dick inside her. Who's ever it might be. Strong hands grabbing her. Lips pressed against hers.

What would it be like to fuck a dragon?

No. She couldn't think that way.

She actually was tired anyway.

"It'll all work out," Nick whispered softly, running a hand up and down her side.

Thankfully, his hand didn't venture anywhere but her hips and her waist. Nor did his lips graced anything but her shoulders with their presence. All nice and safe.

Nothing a brother should do with his sister, of course. But they were long past the point where that mattered to either of them. More importantly, it wasn't anything that would make it impossible for her to resist him.

She found it even easier to tune out his words, utter nonsense that they were.

How could he possibly be so confident about that?

Slowly, Veronica drifted off to sleep, hoping to dream of her brother, yet afraid that it would be her father her awaited her on the other side. Whether he'd be playing the role of villain or love interest, though, she wasn't yet sure.

#

When they got back to what everyone had taken to calling the Playground, Eric couldn't help but notice that their house seemed a lot smaller. And a lot less like home. It was merely the place he'd grown up now. Nothing more.

They'd spent all of one night in Summer, yet that had been enough. It had changed everything. Torn his family apart. Given him a sense of purpose. And opened his eyes to how insignificant his life up until that point had been. All his problems, as well as his achievements, seemed pathetically small now.

Summer was where he belonged. And it was where this would all get resolved.

To hell with small ball. He wasn't going to nip at House Bravo's ankles. No, he was going to go for the windpipe. And that meant going back to the Homelands.

The others would try to talk him out of it, obviously. And call their cowardice "reason." That's what cowards always did. They talked "sense." Curiously, though, "sense" often sounded a helluva lot like doing what was best for protecting their own hides.

Well, they wouldn't all line up against him. Especially Gabby. She, at least, would back his play, no matter what.

Nick might too, if not for Veronica. Eric would bet anything that, at that very moment, Veronica was busy telling Nick that he had to try to "talk sense" into Eric. And the poor sap, who was usually worth at least half a damn, would do exactly as she said.

Fucking pathetic.

"Hey there, cutie," Annie said, walking into the kitchen.

He looked his sister up and down. She wore a pair of pink fuzzy socks, the tiniest pair of pink panties, and a white tank top that was way too small for a girl with such large breasts.

"Nice socks," he said.

Why did girls think fuzzy socks were so cute?

"Thanks," she said as she jumped up onto the kitchen counter.

She sat there, sitting on her hands and swinging her legs back and forth, like a little kid. One look at her body, though, confirmed that she was plenty grown up.

Ever since discovering that their powers gave them some limited control over their appearance, Annie had taken to rocking a new look every time he saw her. Sometimes her tongue was pierced. Sometimes it was not. There was occasionally a little diamond stud on one side of her nose. The ratio of brown to blonde in her hair was never quite the same.

Just now, though, she had no piercings, and her hair, worn in pigtails, was its natural color. He preferred her usual look, but he couldn't deny that her innocent little girl act was having an effect on him. Annie usually tried so hard to convince everyone that she wasn't a child anymore, that she was a bad girl without an innocent bone in her body.

"Where are our moms?" she asked casually.

"Out on the deck," he replied. "Having a fight."

"Oh," she said. The goofy smile faded. "About dad?"

"Naturally," he said, before turning his attention to hunting for beer. There father was what they always fought about, these days. "What did you think of him anyway?"

"Total jerkface," his sister replied.

Eric snickered. Looking over his shoulder at his sister, he asked, "A jerkface?"

Annie looked away and ran a hand through her hair. "Yeah. Jerkface."

The fridge was practically empty. And of course it was. They'd cleaned it out before leaving, knowing that they'd be gone a lot longer in the terms of this world's time flow than it would seem to them. There wasn't much more than the water filter, a bunch of condiments, a jar of pickles, and a can of olives. But he was sure that he and Nick had stashed away some beers for just this reason.

Yes. There, in the vegetable bin.

"Crisis averted," he said.

"He's pretty short, too," Annie said, ignoring his moment of triumph.

Eric regarded her silently, wondering if she was mocking him. After deciding that she was not, he popped the can, took his first frothy sip, and said, "That he is. And scrawny. You see those arms? Kinda ballsy to be walking around in a vest, built like that."

"Yeah," his sister said, voice distant.

"Wait," Eric said, holding up a hand. "Don't tell me you thought he was hot?"

"Who said that?"

"No one. But when I asked what you thought of him, you immediately starting trying to convince one of us, and I'm not sure it's me, that you don't find him attractive." He took another sip. "And you're not doing such a good job of it."

She gave a half-shrug. "I don't know. You have to admit, there is something about him."

Eric simply sipped his beer by way of response.

"At first, I thought he had a funny-looking face. Like, emaciated or something. But those eyes? A girl could get lose staring into those things."

"Shoot me now. Right in the face."

"Oh, don't be like that," she said, swatting at him as if he were a fly. "You're the one who brought him up. Asked me what I thought and I answered. Deal with it."

"No accounting for taste, I guess," Eric said.

"Anyway, I didn't say he's hot. Just that he had something going on. Which he does." Annie paused, then added, "Though he's not entirely hard on the eyes."

"Plus, there's that big ol'...dragon claw. Am I right?"

"Yeah," she said, a little breathless. "Gotta imagine he knows a few tricks."

Eric couldn't reach his sister's ass, so he gave her thigh a playful smack.

And, to his surprise, thought to himself that her legs were a bit thin.

Once upon a time, he'd have thought Annie had a great body. And that assessment wouldn't just have referred to the breasts that he strangely was starting to think of as merely medium-sized. No, he'd have her lower body in mind too. The way her ass cheeks didn't touch. Her inner thigh gap.

But now?

Gabby had staked a claim on him. And not only was she refusing to leave, no matter how many eviction notices he served up, but she was driving away all other claimants too.

"Any-way," Annie said, making two words out of it, "I'm totally fucking with you. The dragon thing was creepy."

"Right," he said.

His sister rolled her eyes. "C'mon. Are you kidding me? He was a total dick. I was hoping you'd punch his face in. And that body? What a joke. The ugliest guy I ever fucked was hotter than him. And I've had some moments I'm not proud of."

Eric simply regarded her flatly. Annie liked to pretend she was as wild as Olivia. But they both knew that she wasn't even close to being in the same league. And he wasn't buying that her earlier remarks were the ones she hadn't meant. Not for a minute.

Heck, even Eric had noticed their father's eyes. They hadn't had the effect on him that they'd obviously had on Annie. But it wasn't hard to imagine why his sister might have gone a little weak in the knees.

"Plus," she continued, "he's totally old. And I don't mean old like Uncle Wes, who's got that distinguished older gentleman thing going on. Dad's hair was more salt than pepper, and his face looked like beat-up old leather. Thought we're not supposed to age like that?"

"We're not," Eric said. "But we can control our appearance. So...."

"Oh," she said, trying to hide the fact that she was intrigued by that.

Eric wasn't sure whether to be amused or disgusted.

Just then, Gabby walked in. Alone. Her cheeks were puffy, her eyes red, and she carried herself like she'd just finished a grueling workout.

Eric put his beer down and went straight over to his mother. Standing behind her, he pulled her against him before wrapping his arms around her waist.

"We'll deal with him," he said. "The king first, but Hank will get what he deserves too."

Gabby laughed and patted his hand. "Oh, baby. You're so sweet. There's no need for that, but I appreciate the thought."

Was she fucking hot for him too?

After everything he'd done to her? After he'd humiliated her son in front of her?

"Well, excuuuuuse me," Annie said, rolling her eyes. "Didn't mean to get in the way. Or, you know, take up too much oxygen."

Eric ignored her.

"He was just trying to help," Gabby said.

Eric didn't see it that way, but neither did he want to argue. Not after she'd just finished having the same argument with Jennifer. Hell, with how stubborn his mother was, she'd probably be inclined to sing Hank's praises just as a fuck-you to whoever tried telling her that she was seeing what she wanted to see in him.

He did that himself, sometimes. Didn't mean to, but he did. It was probably something he'd gotten from her. Wasn't anything any of Jennifer's kids did.

"I guess I'll just go see what Mom-Jay is up to," Annie announced.

When neither Eric nor Gabby reacted to her words, she snatched up Eric's abandoned beer, downed the rest of it in one gulp. Then she tossed the empty can into the sink before heading out onto the deck.

"Goodnight, dear," Gabby said.

His sister's harrumph was cut off sharply by the sliding glass door ramming home.

"We'll get Patty back," Eric said.

"Somehow," Gabby agreed.

"With no help from anyone else," he added.

His mother sighed. "Not enough anyway." Her blue nails ran lightly over his forearm. "Though I think we can count on Wes."

Eric frowned. He started to disagree, but cut himself off. Maybe she was right. His uncle had never struck him as a man of action. And if Aunt Zoey told him she'd like to see him start wearing skirts, his legs would probably be shaved within the hour. But with how upset Zoey was about Kurt's disappearance, that might just work in their favor.

"Jennifer's going to move back in with her mother."

"Really?" Eric asked, stunned.

"Yeah."

He waited for an explanation, but none was forthcoming.

"What about Nick and Veronica?" he asked.

"I don't know. She hasn't told them yet," she said. "You think they'll go too?"

Eric frowned. "Good question."

If Patty was concerned, Nick often seemed to suddenly grow a pair. But if his mother laid the guilt trip on him? If both she and Veronica did?

Of course, Veronica was pretty close to Patty too. Closer, probably, than she was to her mother. And if she argued in favor of helping, then help they would.

"Depends on Veronica," he said.

Gabby gave her ass a little wiggle. "Baby, it always depends on what the woman wants. Some guys just don't realize it."

He chuckled at that, and planted a kiss on the top of her head. "If you say so."

"I do," she said, with a hint of amusement.

Followed by a weary sigh.

Eric decided that he could worry about his brother tomorrow. Patty and Kurt as well. Just then, his mother was his only concern.

"Seriously, though. How are you holding up?" he asked.

She hesitated a moment before responding. "I honestly don't know, baby. Don't really want to talk about it anymore tonight either. No offense. I know you were just trying to help. But I can't even think straight anymore."

"What do you say we go take our minds off it then?" he asked, heart racing.

Was that insensitive? Was he just being a typical guy, thinking about sex when it was the furthest thing from her mind?

"Mmm," his mother moaned. "That's...exactly what I need right now."

So he took his mother by the hand and led her up to his room.

#

After trying, in vain, to fall asleep, Nick gave up. Careful not to disturb his sister, he slipped out of bed, crept across the room, cracked the door open, and drew upon his powers to slip through an impossibly narrow opening.