Rex groaned as they stepped out of the portal. The island was bright and sunny as usual, but today was not a day for any of that. The poor boy felt as though he had been run over by a fully grown dragon, and all he wanted to do was get a potion to melt the pain away. And he was sure Hazel wasn’t feeling all that great either. He took her hand, and led her inside.

“Hello?” he said as he walked in. Normally, there was some of the house help near the front door. Today, though, Lewis happened to be coming down the stairs.

“Oh…look who it is,” Lewis said nonchalantly as he hit the bottom step. In his arms was Janus, who was giving Rex a solid stare. “Yeah…I know. He’s finally decided to come home. And shock and surprise, he’s starting bringing his girls home.” He looked up.

Simone walked out of the kitchen, Lila in arms. She already knew Rex was home. “So how was the trip? Rhenakos said you ditched him. And hello,” she said with a smile. “It’s a pleasure, miss…?”

“Her name is Hazel,” Rex said as he winced. “Can…can you have Silva whip up breakfast…? And something for a hangover? Two…hangovers?” He yawned. “Sorry…we ended up meeting some of Hazel’s friends last night. Apparently…lycanthropes can drink almost anyone under the table.

“Ah…yeah, that’ll do it,” Lewis said. “Hazel. So…which one is she?”

“The only one,” Rex said without thinking. “Breakfast?”

Hana had pulled her into their room and did up her hair. “You can’t look like you literally just slain a demon.”

“I… did just slay a demon.”

“I know. That’s the point.” Hana went through her clothes from a portal settled on a dress that fit Hazel’s aesthetic. She didn’t really like things that showed a lot of skin. Something she was sure Rex could break her out of. It was a cream long-sleeved dress with a slight ruffled at the top of the square neckline. The dress went to her ankles and had a belt tied around the waist.

Her hair was tamed by Hana who was an expert in curly hair. When she came out Hazel looked good but worse for the wear. “I can’t do anything about your hangovers though. Good luck meeting the folks.”

Hazel held his hand as they walked through the island. Her head was hurting but she wanted to stop and look at the flowers. Later… She told herself because her head was killing her.

“That was my fault… I ran away to get on a potato cart,” Hazel gave a smile. “Rex followed.”

Simone was taken back for a moment and watched the weird girl as all the kids filed in for breakfast. Hazel’s face lit up bright red as both Simone and Lewis spit out their drinks.

“Say again?”

“Breakfast?” Rex looked up.

“No,” Simone answered.

“I made Rex break up with them. I’m the only one now. It was a stipulation if he wanted to date me,” Hazel was trying to be upfront.

Lewis and Simone looked between each other as Silva brought the two something for their headaches.

“Hazel… Where are you from?”

“Sularia,” Hazel answered easily.

“Education?”

“I graduated the academy three years in advance for occult studies.”

Simone was stunned and looked at Lewis. “Occupation? Living?”

“I’m a hedge witch and occult specialist. That’s how I know Rhenakos. He’s been helping me live on my own since I was six. I live in a cottage in the woods.”

"How… Old are you?"

"I'm seventeen as of this last glaciem."

Rex gave Simone a look as he took the tonic for his hangover, and passed Hazel hers. “Mom…is there any reason you’re grilling Hazel? This isn’t an interrogation. You’re not in your sex dungeon, can you just leave it be?”

Lewis smirked, “That’s no way to talk to Simone, Rex.” He still thought it was pretty funny, though. “You said a cottage out in the woods? I don’t recall there being much outside of Sularia. It must be tough.”

“No offense, Hazel,” Rex started. “It’s really run down and I’m amazed it’s standing to be honest. Do you think I can take spare supplies from the Sularia house and help her build it up a bit?” He was already starting to feel better. “In fact…I’m pretty sure I can do an add on. Might help with the chicken problem…”

“That’s all fine and good,” Lewis said, a little surprised at the way Rex was acting. “But before that…” He motioned for Rex to come closer. The two walked a bit away, and Hazel was left with Simone for a moment.

“Need any more birth control potions?” Lewis asked. “You being responsible?” It was a new girl, and he knew how fast the boy went through potions. Maybe it would slow down a bit with one, but there was no way of really knowing.

“We…aren’t…having sex yet,” Rex said as he glanced to the side.

“Right, I’ll put an order in and…wait, what?” Lewis said, pausing. “I…don’t believe you. I’ll get Xeik to make the potions anyway.”

Rex, “No really…as hard as it is…she’s……asked me to wait. So I’m waiting…”

Simone gave Rex a look and then shot Lewis a glare, “I’m just making sure she is a good kid. I would have interrogated the first boyfriend in the family but it’s Lucas…” She knew her kids were good… At least most of them. Her eyes settled back down onto Rex.

Hazel waved her hands a bit, “Rex isn’t wrong. I’ve lived by myself for a very long time. I found the… well I guess it is a shack but I’ve done the best I can. No one will sell me supplies so I need to rely on others getting me them.”

“Why on earth wouldn’t they sell you supplies?” Simone was slowly building up anger since Hazel seemed like a sweet girl. Once Lewis had taken Rex away Hazel sighed a bit and grabbed at the edges of her dress.

“Because I’m possessed by an ancient creature and… It’s in my shadow.”

“I was wondering about that,” Simone propped her chin up with her hand as she rested her elbow on the table.

“You aren’t bothered by it?”

“I’m a harbinger of death, my husband is an assassin… well retired, my one son is an escaped leviathan slave, my one daughter is a naiad who spontaneously birthed herself, Rex’s first encounter with me was being thrown into a room where I was naked… Anything else…” She tuned into the conversation between Rex and Lewis.

“You mind-link your husband and are connected to him by barely visibly mana strings.” Hazel pointed out.

“You can see it?”

“Yes, it’s my job to see things like it. It’s faint because it’s a life signature but when you mind-link I can see it. Your backs also have an azure glow to me at times though it’s almost like I can’t be looking at it to see it.”

Simone seemed pleased, “And you… aren’t having sex with Rex?”

“No!” Hazel blushed a bit and Simone was thinking on it.

“Oh.” Simone blinked a bit. “Lewis, she’s a virgin. Look how bright red she is getting at just the thought of it.” She didn’t bother to telepathically tell her husband as he came back.

Hazel covered her face lightly and looked at Rex before settling down to eat something. “Can I look… at your island?”

“As a hedgewitch, I would imagine you are talking about the plants?” Simone watched her for her answer.

“Yes, this island is in a good climate for herbs I would need for exorcisms.”

“Rex, there’s an herb trader in town today… Why not take Hazel into Benin?” She reached into her pockets and tossed him a sack of silver. “Make a day of it. You can go home at any point.”

“I.. my chickens though…”

“Rhenakos said something about your mother was tending to them but we didn’t understand the grumbling too much.”

“I see… She must know I’m okay then.” Hazel looked at Rex. “What do you think?”

Lewis chimed in, “Almost destroyed an entire, nearly extinct civilization, and ended an entire fae bloodline.” He smirked. “We’ve seen a lot. A bit of a dark shadow isn’t too scary.” The assassin looked at Hazel with a curious smile. “I wonder what you see when we’re at a higher resonance.”

“Pops, not now,” Rex said as he raised up his hands. “Just…can you leave it be?” He was starting to regret bringing her here. Thankfully, Simone came in with the save and tossed him a bag full of silver with the recommendation to scour the town for herbs.

“Sounds like a great plan,” Rex said quickly. “Literally anything would be better at this point.” He took Hazel’s hand. “Let’s go before they decide it’s time to try and interrogate you again. Ship should be here soon anyway.” He winked at her, and led her out of the house and down to the docks on the island.

Now that he was feeling better, the island breeze felt amazing. As he led Hazel down to the shore, he glanced over to her. “Have you…ever been on a ship?” It was a valid question. Sure, she had been hunting with Rhenakos a lot, but that didn’t mean much since he tended to use portals a lot to get around quickly.

Hazel was suddenly feeling a lot more at home. She was weird but these people actually liked her. Though it looked like Rex was getting embarrassed. “Sure sweetie,” Simone smirked a bit and came over to him giving him a hug. “Give your mama a big kiss,” Simone teased Rex and kissed his face a few times before bursting out laughing. “Bring her around more. We won’t interrogate her I promise.”

There was a chuckle from Hazel before Rex took Hazel’s hand and took her away. She took her time to look around as they walked and curiously she tilted her head to Rex. “Plenty. I’ve been all over Revaliir. On ships, airships, you name it and I’ve probably traveled on it.” She gripped his hand and smiled. “I don’t like being too close to other people so I try to avoid it.”

Finally, she decided to be cute and took his arm into both of hers and put her head on his shoulder as she thought about it. “…Well, there was this one time where Rhenakos and I had to go onto this abandoned ship. It was floating outside of Iria and it would summon a fog whenever. Wendigo.” She shivered a bit. “I had nightmares for days but I was eight. Took the job and had no idea what a wendigo even was. I learned fast that I needed to up how much I researched and there would be times when I didn’t sleep so I could be ready. Rhenakos gave me a stern talking to but because he had been there I didn’t die. Normally if we ended up on a ship it was because the ship was actually the job.”

Hazel wasn’t particularly thrilled about it but she bit her lip, “I exorcise a lot of spirits. The damned, the deceased, the never born. Pregnant women are the worst. Crying and wailing for their babies. Most of the time the jobs aren’t dangerous but they can turn dangerous if we can’t get the spirit to let go. The mothers are the worst.” She thought back to her own mother and then to Rex’s. “Anyways… That’s a bit about the jobs I tend to take. If I have to I take jobs like the one the other day. Generally, I take those so I can have lots of extra coins.”

They got on the ship and within the hour they were in Benin. Hazel was staring at the water though, “The water is so blue!” A deep dark blue! She took Rex’s arm again and looked around Benin. “I’ll admit I’ve never been to Benin though. I remember Rhenakos saying something about ghost pirates at one point and an annoying assassin but… that had to be Lewis… Right?” She was curious.

They were talking and walking going near where the markets were being set up when a girl their age noticed Rex, “Where have you been Rex?!” She marched up to them and then took a look over Hazel. “My bed is cold and my boyfriend doesn’t come when I call. You need to be more prompt.”

Hazel blinked a bit as she pointed, “Alice?”

“What about it?”

“Oh, nothing.” Hazel squeezed Rex’s arm a bit as she went behind him to hide from the raging hormonal girl.

“Well, are you coming with me or not?”

“We were on our way to the herb market,” Hazel’s voice was gentle as she looked over his shoulder at the girl. She was pretty and she saw why Rex would mess around with her but damn was she… just bossy.

“Why? Need more potions? I have–”

“No, I need them for a job,” Hazel was quick to squash any of those thoughts. “Rex and I are–”

At that keyword Alice had grabbed Rex and started to drag him away, “She’s boring, come on.”

Hazel was left standing dumbfounded. She really was bossy…

Rex wasn’t sure what to say to Hazel. He was actually surprised that Rhenakos came up so much during her conversations. Apparently, he wasn’t completely useless like Rex thought. Perhaps…he did actually work when it came down to it. That still did not excuse him from being a terrible father, though.

“You were eight and going out on jobs?” Rex frowned. He barely had room to talk, of course. When he was eight, he was running between Sularia’s high end escorts, doing all sorts of odd jobs for them just to survive. He looked towards the ship coming their way to dock. “That must have been scary, having to do all of that so young…”

The ride from the island to Benin was rather easy. For the most part, Rex just enjoyed Hazel’s presence, and within an hour they had disembarked. “Ahh, nothing seems to have changed in the week I’ve been gone,” Rex said with a smile. “Yeah…Rhenakos and Pops don’t get along too well. Well, that’s what they say, but they can get really buddy buddy sometimes.”

“Alice!?” Rex said, a little surprised to see her there. Which, in all fairness, he shouldn’t have been. This was a sticky spot to be in. With Hazel at his back, he tried to get a word in as the two went back and forth about potions, and suddenly Alice grabbed his arm and started to drag him off.

“Alice, I-”

Alice spun around, throwing his hand down. “ “Alice’ what. Do you know how long it’s been? Jeez, hurry up, I’ll pull you into the back alley if I have to, and-” The hype sexual girl finally noticed the look on Rex’s face. “Oh. Oh no…really?” She looked to Hazel, and a wide smile spread across her face. “Oh no…the fuck boy has finally tried to settle down, has he?”

“Wait, you knew?” Rex asked.

“Oh please. Alshaya can’t keep her mouth shut. Besides…I didn’t care. All I cared about was your dick.” She glanced over. “It’s pretty good, isn’t it? Now, I’ll be using him now.” She started to go for his arm again, but Rex took a step back.

“No…it’s not like that. We’re not…” Rex glanced to the side.

Alice’s eyes widened, and she started to laugh. “Oh, this is just fucking precious…” She took a few deep breaths, trying to get over her raucous laughter. “Oh…girly, this man here? He’s fucking useless. If he did anything half as good as he fucked, then maybe he could get somewhere, but…he’s not worth your time. Either use him like the fuck boy he is and pass him along, or run back home.”

Rex looked down. “So…that’s what I’m worth to you, then?”

Hazel’s hair stood on ends as she watched and listened. “Wouldn’t know. We’re not having sex yet. He’s agreed to wait.”

That seemed to be the push the snowball needed for Alice to lose her shit. Then Hazel felt something she hadn’t in a while and there was a dark cover that seemed to come over the area. Her mercury eyes were glowing just a bit. “Now, you just wait a second.”

She took a few steps further and a nasty gust came through and Hazel slapped Alice hard across the face, “It’s you who is nothing but a bed warmer. After all, you sit here mocking him and making fun of him but what good are you? Some noble’s daughter? As a nobleman’s daughter, you are a useless sack that lays in beds like a corpse for their husband to fuck whenever they please. You are no good and the moment that they find out that your virginity is gone. That you were soiled… You’ll be tossed aside like a useless little rock.” Hazel got down on her level. "The number of jobs I've gotten called for to cure girls like you… I've lost count. I've turned them down because I'm no monster but someone will take the coin and someone will kill the girl to give their family their honor back. That's the reality of our sex."

“This boy? The one you insulted. He tried to save me without thinking twice. When I asked him to give all of you up he did it without a second thought because at the end of the day… You are nothing. You will never be anything. You are some pampered fucked up little princess who thinks she owns the world but you don’t. All the gold and silver could disappear and you would be left with nothing. You aren’t a survivor, or worker, or anything of the sort. You are useless. Maybe you could become a prostitute… Seems to be the only thing you are actually good at but Rex is good at a lot of things. He’ll continue to get better but not you. You lack the guts and the ability to do anything on your own.”

The horrifying aura died down and Hazel brushed off her dress. “Now get out of my way before I slap you eight more times,” she spoke as her tentacles came up out of her shadow. “And I do mean eight times. Now get out of our presence NOW.”

She went over to Rex taking his hands in hers and gave him a good kiss, “Come on now. You promised me an herb market.”

Rex wasn’t sure how to defend himself in this situation. Everything that Alice had said was probably true. She even had him doubting that Hazel would stay around. Yet, something happened that neither Rex nor Alice were expecting.

Hazel exploded.

As Hazel slapped Alice, she let a tirade of insults and mockeries spew over Alice, while at the same time defending Rex for what he had done. By the end of it all, she had both Alice and Rex merely staring at her in awe. And only one of them was aroused by it. Alice stepped aside, not really sure how to process what had just happened. The mark on her face was starting to swell, and she was already going to have to explain that one away to her father.

Hazel merely took Rex’s arm, and the two went along with their business, though Rex was still in a slight state of shock.

“That was…amazing, Hazel,” Rex said. “I had…I had no idea you could be so…” He thought for a moment. “I don’t even know the word for it. But it was amazing!” Unlike his adoptive mother and Lucas, he was not very good with words. “Oh, take a right here. This is the herb salesman. Mr. Yordan!” The two approached the man, and from there, it was all Hazel’s game.

Rex merely watched as Hazel went over the wares that Yordan had, admiring Hazel from a distance. There was a stupid smile across his face the entire time, and it was apparent to anyone looking on that he was smitten. As Hazel came back, he offered his hand.

“My lady,” he said goofily. “Did you want to go eat something? There’s a few good places here. Though there’s one I’d like to avoid, since I definitely think he’s still mad at me for hitting on his daughter that one time…”

Hazel blushed a bit and rubbed the back of her neck, “I’m not always timid Rex… Remember I have an angry as hell eldritch being attached to me. I’m protective of you… so he is too. That was more him than me and you can see where the problems happen if I’m not in control…” She frowned a bit and shook her head before smiling. “I just have to be in control at all times.”

She squeezed herself to him and chuckled, “Besides no one gets to insult my boyfriend when I’m around. I wanna take good care of you.” Her eyes fluttered back up to him with a blush that followed.

Soon she was looking over the herb market and she might have bought just as much as Simone had on any given day. Though hers were more for medicinal and practical uses. She hoisted the sack of herbs up and took Rex’s hand with a cute little head tilt to figure out his angle.

“I’m sort of starving since you ran us out in the middle of breakfast,” Hazel teased him. “And someone has been on my rear to start eating better too.” She just flashed him a smile. “Anything you recommend? I’m not really used to eating anything fancy… I normally just cook for myself.”

Soon they were at a cute little sit-in restaurant and Hazel was looking over a menu. Every once in a while she had this amused look on her face as if she couldn’t figure out what the item was. She ended up ordering a few different things. “Can… You help me eat it? Is that okay? I just want to try it. I don’t get to go to places like this often.” She had a feeling though… If Rex had his way she would be going to them more.

“You never asked how I knew Hana and Jet,” she was looking for anything to talk about. “We all grew up together. Angela was the one who helped my mother give birth to me. She kept me in her temple the first three years of my life to make sure I would live and then my mother took me back to Sularia to the Oracle mansion to live. Jet and Hana are five years older than me but they are really friendly. Rowdy but friendly. It was Jet who knocked me out when I lost control. He didn’t want me to see what I had done. I’m thankful for it. It was Hana who beat the other kids up. They ended up taking me to see their mother to get me healed up. It wasn’t long after that when I started getting rocks thrown at me. So… I moved out into the woods. Jet and Hana came by whenever they could but the older they got the more distant Jet got.”

She sipped on her drink before leaning back. “Now that I think about it… Hana said he had a crush on me. Tribal law says he can’t touch me or anything of the sort. I feel bad but… I’m not really interested in Jet too much. He and his sister are… Too much when they are together. They are good friends though. I like it when they come around because they don’t treat me any different… Just like you and Izzy.”

She reached over and took his hand and smirked, “You should bring me here more. To your folks and Benin, I mean… I like it. It’s different. It’s not… Well, in the middle of the woods with chicken noises. I miss it… Being around people. Even if I am scared of it.”

Some boys passed by the window and came up in when they noticed Rex, "Got a new one huh?"

Hazel had a questioning look on her face before she burst out laughing, "Somehow I think this is going to be the most common thing that happens to us for the first few months." The boys were looking at her weirdly and she waved them off. "I'm Hazel, Rex's girlfriend." Just being around Rex made her more comfortable around others. This wasn't Sularia… Rex was right here.

"He has like–"

"One. He just has one." They were amused and ruffled Rex's hair before skipping off. "I'm calling dibs on Alice." They argued as they left. Rex had a reputation that was for sure.

She rolled her eyes, "That's all I'm going to hear, isn't it? I'm going to have to say, I'm the only girlfriend and I'm Rex's girlfriend." She was teasing him but she wasn't mad or upset. "Should be fun. Maybe. Most worried about the one in Sularia. She knows me… Most definitely." That confidence she had disappeared and she looked a bit more scared. "Wonder how it will go…?"