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Chapter Text

Max had just bought his daily latte and croissant after school when he heard a whimper from the alleyway behind the coffee shop. In New Atlantis, the smart course of action was to ignore sounds like that and walk on. But Max had never considered himself smart in that way. He released the Shield spell from his cameo sigil (he wasn’t that stupid), and took a few steps toward the sound. 

A crash made him jump and extend his Shield in a domed oval shape in front of himself. Then he heard a faint whuffling, followed by chewing noises. Unsure if he was making the biggest impulsive mistake of his life, Max dispersed his Shield spell and called up a light cantrip. He couldn’t send the ball of light very far away from himself yet, but he was improving since Rune had started teaching him. It was enough to illuminate the animal nosing through the trash near the overturned garbage can. 

The sighthound might have been beautiful at one point, but now it was emaciated, its gray coat patchy and dull. It tilted its nose up toward the light cantrip and sniffed. Max took a step forward. The dog whined and backed into the tiny space between the knocked-over garbage can and the alley’s dead end. 

Max had a lump in his throat for some reason. He backed out of the alleyway and dispersed the light cantrip. Then he stood looking down at paper bag that held his croissant. After a minute, he tossed the bag into the alleyway and continued on his way. 

The next afternoon, Max started a new routine of buying two croissants from the coffee shop every day. 

——-

A couple weeks later, Max had just tossed his spare croissant into the alleyway when something cold brushed his ankle. Max regained his bearings after letting out a sound that was decidedly not a high-pitched shriek. He looked down at the narrow triangular head topped with the wet nose that had just startled him. The head tilted up at him, and the dog stepped fully out of the shadows. From this close, Max could see its strangely dilated pupils. 

Max crouched down and held out his hand near the dog’s nose. “Heya pup. It’s a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance.”

The dog sniffed at him delicately, ignored the outstretched hand, and shoved itself to the side of Max’s body, where it nosed at the bag from the coffee shop that Max was holding in his other hand. “Oh, so that’s what you want. One isn’t enough?” Max tried to chuckle about it, but the dog’s very real hunger only made him sad. He took the second croissant out of the bag and laid it on the ground near the dog’s head. When he pulled his hand back, the dog licked at his fingers and whined questioningly. Max smiled. “It’s ok. I have my latte, and I can wait to eat until I get something else.”

The dog gave a soft bark and bent toward its meal, tail wagging limply. “You’re welcome,” Max said, and walked away with a simultaneously light and heavy heart. 

The next time he went to the supermarket, Max bought a giant bag of dog food. Quinn saw it, grinned at him, and didn’t ask any questions. Anna wouldn’t stop teasing him about it, so he told her what was going on. She called him a softie and rolled her eyes, but she did come with him to the coffee shop a few days later. She even paid for the extra croissant. The dog food was appreciated, but that nose would keep sniffing until the croissant came out. And that’s when that tail would really start to wag. 

The situation escalated when the dog followed him back to school one day.  He hadn’t even stopped near the coffee shop, so he wasn’t sure how it had found him. Regardless, it trailed him all the way to the Magnus Academy campus.

“Pup, you can’t come in here with me! I’ll get in trouble!” He took a few steps into the building where his classes were that day. The dog still stuck close to him, its nose at his heels. Max sighed and pulled out his phone to text Quinn: Where can I hide a dog at magnus so we won’t get caught?

River followed you today! That’s so great! I missed her so much!!!

QUINN! Where can I hide her?

Quinn took a minute to respond. Nowhere - she always gets free and finds you. Except for the time you cut class to hang out with her off campus, and then you get in trouble for that. I’ll text Rune to let him know to pick you up two hours from now at the dean’s office

Max put his phone back in his pocket and sighed again as he looked down at the dog - River. “Ok - let’s find a place for you to not-hide.”

Chapter Text

Rune’s first surprise was that Max needed to be picked up from school.

Rune’s second surprise was that he was picking up Max plus a new friend.

Rune’s third surprise was that Max’s new friend was of the canine persuasion.

And Rune’s fourth surprise was that he knew where this dog had come from.

“She’s a hound that belongs to the Wild Hunt,” he said. “She was probably drawn to your fae blood.” At Max’s startlement he added, “We should bring her back to them.” Max looked stricken. “I’m sorry, Max - it’s the right thing to do. Someone is probably looking for her. Wild Hunt hounds don’t end up as strays - they’re too valuable.”

The Wild Hunt was a cohort of fae who could track anything, run fast without tiring, and would not stop until they had their prey. It was called upon when something needed to be killed but was difficult to find. The Hunt was an extremely useful tool. However, it was one the human population would find distasteful - the Hunt never left its target alive. So it remained one of the more discreet elements of New Atlantis, kept under wraps by the Chariot and the Tower. 

For those who knew of the Wild Hunt, its hounds were legendary - predators obedient only to the fae who ran with them. Rune could not match that description to the harmless-looking animal who sat silently with Max in the back seat of the car, letting him stroke her back for the entire ride. 

The Hunt’s executive office leased a suite in a building in downtown New Atlantis, near the Pac Bell. Rune drove there instead of heading straight home. He had to circle the area several times to find parking. When Rune got out of the car, Max stayed seated and finally broke his silence. “River followed me because I fed her, not because I’m fae. If she’s so important, how did they lose her for so long?” He clung tightly to River as she nosed around his neck and licked his cheek. 

Rune walked over to the back door. “I want to know that, too. That’s one of the things I’ll find out from them when I bring her up there. Come on. Get out of the car.” Max and River both emerged reluctantly. They perked up a little during the four-block walk to the Wild Hunt’s office building. Max did an excellent job of pushing down his sadness behind a neutral expression. Rune did not like thinking about where Max had learned to do that so well.

River docilely walked beside Max, even though they had no leash for her. But when they got near the building, she planted her feet and stopped moving. Max walked a few steps before realizing River was not following. He looked at where she stood hunched on the sidewalk and then back toward Rune, confused and concerned. 

Rune added up all the oddities in his head. A grim suspicion grew that he did not want to verbalize just yet. He pulled out his phone and turned to Max. “You know what? Let’s take a photo of River... over there.” Rune pointed to a non-descript exterior office building wall. “I’ll go up with her picture and talk to them. You can go back to the car and wait with her. It’ll give you some extra time together.”

Max looked sideways at Rune. The confusion had cleared from Max’s face, leaving something sharp and hard behind. Max held out his hand. “Give me your phone for a minute.” Rune handed it over. Max swiped and tapped a bit, then passed it back. “There. I disabled location tags.” When Rune looked at him blankly, Max rolled his eyes and added, “Photos won’t be marked with the location they were taken at.” Rune nodded, impressed. Max kept proving that he was no fool… and he was good with technology, too. They stepped over to the wall to take River’s photo. 

‘Lord Sun’ got Rune into the building, and his connection with the Tower got him access to the Wild Hunt’s office space. When Rune exited the elevator, a tall fae was there to greet him. “Welcome, Lord Sun. Though I admit I am surprised to see you. What use could you have for the Wild Hunt’s services?” The fae’s voice was distant, as if Rune held very little interest for them.

Rune let his teeth show briefly. It was not a smile. “It’s more about what I can do for you.” Rune held up his phone, where he had pulled up River’s picture. “Is this one of yours?”

The Wild Hunt representative looked at the photo blankly. Fae could use their shapeshifting abilities to mask changes in their expressions. It gave them excellent poker faces. “Ah. I am familiar with this bitch. She’s a rare case. A hound who lacked killer instinct. A liability who would not conform.”

Rune’s voice went very soft. “And what do you do with a hound who doesn’t ‘conform’?”

“Discipline. Though it never seemed to take.”

Rune’s aspect bloomed in his eyes, and he took a step forward, into the fae’s personal space. “Is that how she ended up on the street? She ran away from your ‘discipline’?” 

Rune had the fae’s full focus now. “She became defective - sudden blindness, which made her useless. I had thought she was put down. Just tell me where she is and we’ll take care of it. It doesn’t have to be your concern anymore.”

Flames started spilling down Rune’s arms. “You are not getting her back. She is part of Sun Court now. Harm to her is harm to me.” Fire reflected off the fae’s luminous skin. 

When Rune returned to the car, his aspect was still roiling within him. Max looked at him and went pale; River must have felt Max’s tension, because she curled into Max’s side. Rune closed his eyes and breathed deeply until he felt more in control. Then he glanced up at Max and River through the rear view mirror. “Let’s go. We’re taking River home with us.”

Chapter Text

Layne was happy Max had a pet. The two were good for each other - there was healing energy there. Healing past wounds was important to Layne. Their own. Anna’s and Corbie’s and Auntie Corinne’s. Max’s and Rune’s (and Brand’s, though he’d never acknowledge it). And now River’s. 

When Layne saw that River was blind, and heard Rune’s story about how she was supposed to have been put down for it, they looked into it. It was something called SARDS - an auto-immune disorder attacking the retina. 

Discovering this diagnosis sharpened Layne’s interest. Their independent study at Magnus had wound its way toward treating illnesses that didn’t respond well to standard magic - like immune disorders. Healing spells basically accelerated the immune system, and if your immune system wasn’t working properly, a healing spell could do more damage than good. Deeper magic did exist that could address the body’s underlying issues, which is why not much research had been done in this area. But that deeper magic was only available to those with the means to pay for it, so Layne still wanted to focus on this for their research. 

They’d been using the lab at the hospital to study this topic for the past few months. Ciaran himself, aside from advising Layne, had donated a lot of the supplies. Ciaran had also gotten them a grant from someone in the Magician’s Court, which was pleasantly astounding.

So after a few more weeks of intensive lab tests, a lot of serious discussion with Ciaran, and a rather tense and surprisingly emotional meeting asking Rune for permission, Layne asked Max if he would let them try to heal his dog. 

Max immediately gave an emphatic yes. Then he came back a few hours later saying how he trusted Layne and all, but were they doing an experimental procedure on River, and how safe was it really, and what were the risks? Layne patiently explained their research and pointed Max to Rune and Ciaran for reassurances. After all that, Max said yes again, albeit with some nervousness mixed in. 

That brought Layne to today, standing with River, Max, and Ciaran in the Sun Estate sanctum. Even though this wasn’t sigil magic, Rune had thought the sanctum would be the best place to focus the spell. And Ciaran had agreed. Ciaran had brought some tailored healing spells in his knucklebone necklace sigil, to have on standby just in case something went wrong. 

When everyone was ready, Layne took their knife and sliced into one of the infections on their arm. Layne grasped the rising magic and directed it into River, and specifically into the antibodies attacking her retinas. Once Layne started the magic, the spell ate the antibodies it killed and used them as fuel both to keep the process going and to heal the damaged tissue. It was similar to the way Layne used microbial life as fuel for their spells. Ciaran was impressed by the elegance of the concept and had pointed out that only an immolation magic user would think of crafting spells this way. 

Layne wasn’t sure exactly how much time had passed when they came out of the focused meditative state the spell had required. They turned to Max and said, “I think it worked. I can feel it working. The inflammation is down already, and it should keep getting better over the next few weeks.”

Ciaran had knelt by River and was using some bit of magic to shine light in her eyes. “Her pupils are already starting to respond to light - that’s fast - and it’s an extremely good sign.” Max quickly crouched next to Ciaran and reached out to his dog. 

Layne smiled, relieved. They moved to sit in a chair ar the edge of the sanctum, leaned back, and closed their eyes. They would celebrate the success later - right now, they were too tired. 

A few minutes later, Ciaran poked Layne in the arm. Once he had their attention, he jerked his head to where Max was sitting on the floor near River, their faces nearly touching. 

Max was crying, and he didn’t even bother using his fae magic to hide it. “Hey, River. Hi. Can you see me?” River licked at his tears. 

“Look what you did, Sweets,” Ciaran whispered to Layne. “Remember this. Remember. This is the best part of magic.”

Chapter Text

River missed Max when he was in school. While he was gone, she filled her time with exploring her new home.  It was big and had a lot of places to investigate - some areas with bad smells that she stayed away from, but mostly places with good or interesting smells River was curious about. 

But River knew that following good smells wasn’t always the right thing to do - it could get you punished. So she proceeded very cautiously. 

There was one room River was drawn to the most. It smelled like delicious and beautiful food. And the person most often in it smelled delicious and beautiful too. River wanted to get closer, but she was afraid to. She would stay outside, curled up near the door of that room for hours, breathing in the gorgeous scents and considering going inside.

One day some of the delicious smells had moved outside the room, right next to the door where River liked to sit. She nosed around the source of the scent… it smelled like food. It looked like food, though River didn’t quite trust her vision since it had gone and come back. And it was on the floor in the spot where she liked to sit… did that mean it was ok for her to eat it? She decided to go for it… Yes! It was as delicious as it smelled. 

The next time, the door to the gorgeous room was open. The treats were near the door again, but this time they were inside the room. River gobbled them down and then sat in the open doorway, She rested her nose on her front paws and watched the blurry form of the good-smelling person moving back and forth among the other delicious scents. 

River started to come inside the good room whenever Max wasn’t around. There were treats waiting for her each time. River would acknowledge the delicious-smelling provider of treats with a short bark and wag of her tail. 

Now the treats were in a bowl on the floor, very close to the center of the kitchen. River padded up to the bowl and sniffed at them. The provider-of-treats came up next to her, crouched down, picked up one of the treats, and held it out to River. River barked, wagged her tail, and ate the proffered morsel.  

Then the provider-of-treats spoke to her for the first time. “Hi River - it’s nice to finally say hello to you up close. I’m Queenie.” Queenie had a soft, kind voice - River liked it. “You’re welcome in the kitchen anytime.” River licked Queenie’s beautiful delicious fingers. 

Chapter Text

Max interrupted Brand in the armory as he was organizing some equipment. “What’s the healthiest dog food”?

“Do I look like a fucking vet? Go do an internet search.” As the kid turned away from him, Brand remembered be was supposed to be a good dad. Shit. He called out to Max’s retreating form, “Max! If you find a few brands that look promising, I can go over the details with you. And while you’re at it, do some research about dog exercise and training programs.”

Brand had his own interest in River. What Rune had told him about the hounds of the Wild Hunt was fucking fascinating. He wondered how much of that skill set River possessed, and how he could weaponize it to protect their growing court. 

While Max was home from Magnus, Brand started him and River on sprints in the Sun Estate fields to increase the dog’s stamina. Max complained about the extra work. (“Does this mean I get a pass on running when I train with the others?” No it fucking didn’t.) Still, Brand could tell Max enjoyed the time working with River on her skills. 

When it came to following commands, it was less a matter of training and more a matter of discovering what was already there. Unsurprisingly, River already knew all the basic commands and hunting commands. Brand and Max still had to modify the standard training, focusing on verbal cues to compensate for River’s reduced vision.

Before long, River looked healthier… and she was getting bored during their sessions. He talked it over with Max, who seconded Brand’s own suspicions. “She probably remembers her training from the Wild Hunt,” Max guessed. “And I’m sure that was really intense. Now that she’s healthy, what we’re giving her now doesn’t compare.” 

So Brand ramped things up. Rune fucking laughed when Brand started one-on-one sessions with the dog while the kids were at Magnus. “River is your empty-nester pet!” Brand punched him in the arm. 

Brand jury-rigged an obstacle course for River out of scraps left over from construction on the estate. (In hindsight, he should have known that Corbie would use the obstacle course as a fucking backup playground. Oh well.) He had to keep changing things up to keep the course challenging. Watching River learn how to navigate new obstacles was gratifying - there was a certain point where everything just clicked, and it was as if she danced through the course. In those moments you could catch a glimpse of the grace and power of a hound of the Wild Hunt. 

Then the day came when Brand decided it was time to start River’s real training as a protector of Sun Estate. “OK Girl, let’s see what  you can do…” Brand reached into his equipment bag and pulled out a white cardboard box with orange and blue lettering. He opened the box and some of the inner protective packaging, then held it out a small distance away from River’s nose. 

“Smell this? It’s called a ‘Devil Dog.’ It’s a deadly poison that could be hiding anywhere on the property. I’m going to teach you how to sniff it out so I can fucking destroy it… Good girl!”

Chapter Text

Corinne had just started her patrol of the Sun Estate grounds one evening when she saw River approaching her from the opposite direction. “I’m sorry I’m late,” Corinne huffed toward the dog. “Corbie got into Layne’s makeup and treated himself and a bunch of stuffed animals to makeovers… then he wanted to take his bath in the washing machine with his dolls...” Corinne trailed off. River was giving her an odd look - an expression that seemed strangely familiar, which confused Corinne, until she realized it was a doggie approximation of the smug-Brand face. She considered the direction River had approached from, and realization dawned. “Did you patrol the whole route by yourself? Couldn’t wait for me, huh?” River wagged her tail and opened her mouth in a doggie smile. 

River had been a welcome presence on Corinne’s patrols for a while now. The dog was smart and hard-working. She’d had the route memorized after a few weeks, and she would run ahead during patrols, nose in the air or to the ground. Every few minutes she’d come back to check on Corinne, and then she was off again - exploring or looking for threats, it was hard to tell. 

But this was the first time River had gone on patrol by herself, unprompted. Corinne surprised herself with how pleased she was at this development. 

Max was even more excited than Corinne about the prospect of River doing solo patrols. “She’s a contributing member of the family now!” he said happily, after Corrine filled him in the next time she saw him. Max was coming home from Magnus more often, now that River was there to greet him.

Corinne considered Max’s particular teenage combination of adult and childlike sensibilities. “Speaking of contributions to the family, Rune should teach you how to set and reinforce the perimeter wards while you’re here.” Max seemed both excited and horrified at the prospect of spending hours going around the estate setting wards under Rune’s supervision. Corinne had no problem pouring salt on that wound. “I’ll mention it to him. Rune could certainly use the extra hand.”

The wards did not warn them a few nights later. But River did. The kids were back in school, and Brand and Rune were out on a job, so Addam and Corinne were holding down the fort. Layne had to get up the next morning for an early shift at the hospital, so they and Corbie were both (hopefully) asleep upstairs. Queenie was baking cookies, which smelled heavenly. 

Then Corinne’s phone rang. It was Quinn. Quinn never called her. Adrenaline started pumping through her body even before she picked up the phone. 

“Layne!” Quinn’s voice was breathless.  There’s something after them, and it’s on Sun Estate Grounds!”

Corinne jumped up. But she didn’t know where to run. “Quinn! Which way do I go?!”

“Not there, maybe there…no. I’m sorry! It’s all blurry! I can’t tell where… Oh, wait, that’s better. She found her. Follow the sounds!”

When they heard a hound baying, it took Corinne a few moments to realize what it was. She sprinted out the side door in that direction. “I’ve never heard River sound like that,” she called over her shoulder to Addam, who was following right behind her. 

River kept barking, which helped them track her. The sound kept getting louder and closer, more than could be accounted for by their progress toward the hound’s position. 

Addam realized what was happening. “River is driving something toward us! She must know we’re here.” Corinne stopped running and pulled a knife in each hand. 

Then someone broke out of the grove of trees in front of them, with River in close pursuit, still barking. Corrine’s blade hit the figure in the shoulder and spun them around. Addam was close behind, casting a telekinesis spell that raised the intruder, flailing and bleeding, off of the ground. Corinne got a few zip ties out of a pocket and made short work of binding their now-prisoner’s hands and feet and removing anything that looked remotely like a weapon, spell ingredients, or a sigil. In the end, Corinne pocketed burglar’s tools, a knife, and a few vials of some nasty-looking liquids from their person. (Her person? Corinne was not in the mood to include preferred pronouns among the interrogation questions she was mentally planning.). 

Addam crouched down, keeping one hand extended to control the telekinesis spell, and extended the other to check River over. She was panting, her eyes a little wild, but she slowly calmed under Addam’s touch. “Good dog,” he whispered roughly, and gave her a one-armed hug. 

Corinne was still in battle mode, considering good places for temporary incarceration on Sun Estate. “Can you keep the TK spell going long enough to bring her to the wine cellar?” 

“Yes. Should we contact Rune and Brand now?” 

“Not yet. Give me a few minutes alone with her first.”  

All Companions learned interrogation skills. Corinne hadn’t used hers in a real-life situation for years. But for a few months now, Eve and Mayan had been helping her brush up on the areas of Companion training she’d need as a member of Sun Court. There were a lot of skills she hadn’t used on the Dawncreeks’ behalf that she could foresee a use for now. Corinne personally found interrogations distasteful, but she developed her expertise in them with the same enthusiasm she invested in anything that was necessary for her job. 

Down in the wine cellar, while River and Addam walked the grounds patrolling and checking the wards, respectively, Corinne learned enough to know that Layne’s would-be attacker had been working alone - there was no danger of additional people trying to break in. She texted Brand: Subdued intruder on Sun Estate who broke through wards. She was working solo. Ready for you to interrogate further when you get home.

Corinne and River were back outside the bunker, and Addam was keeping watch on their prisoner, when Rune and Brand stormed in. After asking Addam to set a silence spell on the wine cellar, Rune told him to take River back to the mansion and get some rest, then entered the bunker without another word. Brand walked over to Corinne, and she handed him the vials and tools she’d confiscated from the intruder. Brand gave a gruff nod in thanks, then told her to clean up and get a bite to eat. He knew it was useless to ask her to rest. 

Corinne waited up in a chair near the patio entrance to the mansion. At some point River wandered back to her, lay down on her feet, and started snoring softly. When Rune came in, he was rubbing his eyes the way he sometimes did after his aspect receded. He walked past Corinne and River without acknowledging them and started pacing the room. It still looked like flames would burst from him any second. 

Brand slipped in silently behind Rune and slid the patio door shut. He had stripped off his gloves and stuffed them into one of his pockets. There was blood on the leather. He glanced at Corinne and shook his head. Not the time for answers yet. 

Then Rune spoke. “It’s done. No one comes into my home, threatens people under my protection, my kin, and lives to talk about it.”

Brand intercepted Rune in his pacing, put his hands on Rune’s shoulders, and shook him gently. “Yes, it’s done. We took care of it. Now, it’s been a long fucking night. Go take a shower. I’ll have Queenie bring some food up to your room.”

Rune blinked a few times, shuddered in Brand’s grip, and seemed to come back to himself. He looked up into Brand’s eyes and smiled wanly. “As long as dinner includes some cookies.” 

“I’m sure Queenie baked some. And if she didn’t, I’ll break into the stash of junk food I confiscated from you.”

Suddenly Rune had more life in his face. “You keep it? You don’t throw it away immediately?”

“I have more fucking storage space here than in Half House. I donate them to a local food bank every month or so. Now go.”  He shoved Rune in the direction of the stairs. 

Brand watched until Rune staggered up toward his room, then turned to Corinne. “The Hanged Man had some followers who were not close enough to him to be included in the raid. This one did some work for him, but she never established the connections she needed to become a member of his court. She was a regular at his parties, though - that’s how she knew Layne. And she was furious when Layne’s kidnapping led to the downfall of the Hanged Man’s court, because it dried up her main source of both work and fun. 

“She meant to sneak in to the estate, quietly kill Layne, and sneak out. Two birds with one stone. Revenge on the individual she held responsible, and humiliate the fledgling Sun Throne at the same time.

“And she was equipped to do it, too. Her specialty was burglary. Those vials? They’re an arsenal of nasty necromantic spells, designed for stealth operations. One of them got her through the wards undetected…

“Rune is beating himself up over this. You can be sure he’s going to spend all day tomorrow modifying the wards to address the hole in our defenses.”

Then Brand’s face lost some of its battle-hardness, and concern shone through. “How much do we tell Layne?” Brand cared greatly for Layne, which touched Corinne’s heart more than she would admit. 

“Nothing,” she answered him. “They don’t need to know anything about it. They’re still healing, and this would reopen their wounds to no purpose. She was a solo operator. Like you said, you and Rune took care of it.”

“You took care of it too. You and Addam. And River.” Brand eyed the sleeping hound with no small amount of respect. Suddenly a question creased his brow. “How did River discover the intruder? One of those burglary spells masked scents.  And I don’t think her eyes are good enough to hunt by sight, especially not at night.”

Corinne shrugged. “That’s a mystery for another day.” She and Brand watched River, who was making small doggie sounds, legs twitching as she chased down something in her dreams. 

Chapter Text

Addam had just finished his Saturday shopping when his phone vibrated. It was a text from Quinn. When you get home, talk to Max.

Another text followed a few seconds later. Talk to him before you give the gifts out.

Addam did not understand why that was so important. Who would object to him splurging on those he loved? But he knew - better than anyone - that it was best to heed Quinn’s instructions in cases like these. Except… Quinn had manipulated them before when it came to Max… His phone buzzed again.

This is not like the Sunken Mall. I promise. It’s better if you talk to him first.

When Addam got home, he put his bags down in the solarium and went searching for Max. Addam found him outside, training with Brand and River. Brand had intensified his focus on River’s guarding and hunting skills. To the casual observer, this was because she was going out on patrols more often now. Max wasn’t aware of the intruder River had discovered and flushed out - everyone involved had been sworn to secrecy by Corinne. Actually, it was River’s role in the whole affair that had prompted Addam’s shopping expedition. He’d wanted to show his gratitude to her in a discreet way. 

“Max - when you’re free, I bought some things today for River that I’d like you to take a look at.” River, hearing her name, flicked her ears at him and wagged her tail. 

Brand didn’t flick his ears, but he did perk up. “You went on a shopping spree? And bought gifts? For the dog?” Addam shrugged. Brand grinned. “Oh, I wouldn’t fucking miss this for anything… we were just about done for today, anyway.” He looked over his shoulder at Max. “Come on - let’s clean up and get on with the fucking unboxing ceremony. I’ll use my phone as the calculator and you use your phone for googling.” 

“I do have the receipts, Brandon. If it’s really that important to you.”

“Oh, no. It’s more fucking fun this way.”

Fifteen minutes later Max, Brand, and Addam were gathered around the bags in the solarium. River had decided to keep Queenie company in the kitchen. From the largest bag, Addam produced a huge rectangular rattan frame that held a beautifully-made deep blue cushion. 

“That’s really nice,” Max remarked. “A doggie bed - River could use that.” Then he googled the price and his eyes bugged out. 

The next item was not as well received. It was a leash and dog collar made from high-grade leather, embossed with a delicate pattern of diamonds. There was a moment of silence  when Addam pulled it out of the bag. Then, “No,” Max said in a soft voice. “No leashes. No collars. Not ever. Return it, please.” Addam looked up. Max had gone pale, and his expression was unreadably blank. Brand slid closer to Max and laid one hand on his shoulder. The look Brand turned on Addam telegraphed fucking drop it and move on. So Addam did.

The last bag was small and contained only a few swatches of quality cotton in dark colors with subdued prints. As Max and Brand looked questioningly at the cloth samples, Addam said, “The weather has been so unpredictable lately, and River spends hours at a time outside. My tailor has made dog coats on request before, so I asked him to make one for River. I can take her in for measurements next week.”

Brand scoffed. “She’s a dog. What do you think, she’s going to wear a fucking bespoke jacket to keep her warm while she’s out on patrol?”

Addam shrugged and said, “Maybe not when she’s patrolling, but it will still be useful at other times.” 

Max remained quiet. He rubbed the soft fabric between his fingers thoughtfully. 

Addam explained further, “I originally went to my tailor to get a present for Lord Tower, for his birthday. He makes beautiful robes. I accidentally bought too much fabric, and he asked me what I wanted to do with the excess. It occurred to me that I could use it to make something nice for River.”

There were moments Addam wished he could read Brand the way Rune did. This was one of them. Brand’s face was turning almost purple, and Addam couldn’t figure out why.

Then Brand bent over and burst out laughing.  After about half a minute he scrubbed his hands over his face and stood up. “Shit. Are you telling me that River and the Tower are going to have matching robes?” A couple of snorts escaped as he regained his composure. “Get Tower to send you a photo when it’s delivered - I’m going to do a split screen with River in her new coat and make this into my phone background.”

Addam didn’t know what to say to that. Max began to giggle, which put some color back into his face. 

Max and Brand told everyone about the Tower and River’s matching outfits during dinner that evening - a new family joke at Addam’s expense. Max was certain to carry the tale back to Quinn and Anna at Magnus, if he hadn’t texted them already. Addam’s embarrassment was outpaced by his relief that the collar gaffe seemed to have been forgiven, if not forgotten. 

All was well again until Corbie piped up, “Can you make a bathrobe for Flynn, too?”

Chapter Text

Quinn had known from the beginning that River was important to the Sun Court, but not the why or how. Quinn hated when things like that were obscured from him - it made his gift feel next to useless. 

Thankfully, the fog surrounding the why of River lifted somewhat when Addam told Quinn not to tell anyone about Layne’s would-be attacker, at Corinne’s request. Quinn of course agreed not to say what he knew (though Layne’s recovery had its ups and downs regardless of whether or not they knew about the incident, so it didn’t really matter). Addam had mentioned the lingering mystery of how River had detected an intruder who’d magically masked her scent, and Quinn suddenly knew that the answer to this question would tell him why River was so important to Rune’s story.

It was too bad Max couldn’t help him. Max had talked him through situations like this in the past, which made the process a lot easier - and a lot less lonely. But one of the best parts of Max was how clever and curious he was. Most of the time when Quinn asked him for help, Max figured out that River had discovered an intruder, which made Quinn break his promise to Addam and Corinne. 

So Quinn was on his own. Thankfully, Max the bestest bestie (except for that one time they became archenemies) had written a step-by-step instruction sheet for Quinn to use during times like these when Max couldn’t be there:

Quinn’s Scientific Method

Step 1: Come up with an hypothesis.

If River wasn’t hunting by sight or scent, how could she track things down? And why did the answer to this feel like it had so much gravity? 

Quinn thought about other members of Sun Court - what made them unique? Rune and Anna were both magical powerhouses - to the point where Addam seemed weak in comparison, even though he was a strong magic user. Layne and Quinn himself had rare magical talents and were powerful in their respective areas. (For that matter, Max and Corbie also had a lot of magical potential. And Queenie… And even Brand’s bond with Rune… well, Quinn wasn’t talking to anyone about any of those possible futures. At least not yet.) The bottom line was, most everyone in Sun Court had unique magic in some form or another. 

Could River have tracked the necromancer’s magic?

Step 2: Think about one way to test your hypothesis. 

He could use sigils - they were objects with very strong magical signatures, yet they were often physically unobtrusive. This didn’t apply to all courts, but at least Rune’s sigils and Justice Court sigils were not ostentatious. If River sniffed out a sigil, that would be a good sign that she was tracking its magic. 

Step 3: Think about the exact steps you’d take, the materials you’d need. Imagine actually conducting the experiment using those steps and materials. 

Quinn imagined going out with Max to a field behind Sun Estate. Quinn took Max’s cameo sigil (after promising Max it was ok - they’d recover the sigil in every future). He tossed it into the field and sent River out to see if she could find it quickly. 

Step 4: Can you foresee more than one outcome?  If yes, tweak your planned experiment. Did you neglect to consider a particular variable? Do you need a control? 

When Quinn looked, there was still a blur of multiple futures after he tossed the sigil. Yes, River always retrieved the cameo sigil. But sometimes she brought it back to him, and sometimes she brought it back to Max…

Quinn recalled how the intruder had masked her scent - he should control for that variable. It would also be good to test two different magical signatures, to make the experiment results more compelling...

Step 5: Repeat Steps 3 and 4 until the probabilities collapse. At that point, you will be left with a single outcome. 

Quinn went out into a field behind Sun Estate with Max and River. Quinn chanted a scent-masking cantrip over one of his platinum sigils, then threw it as far out into the field as he could. Max scent-masked his own cameo sigil and tossed it into the field. 

Then Quinn brought River close to scent his magical signature, and let her loose to fetch his sigil. But the outcome was blurry when Quinn commanded River to retrieve the sigil, because she didn’t always listen to him….

Max or Brand had to be the ones to tell River what to do - she always obeyed them when they told her to do something. (Queenie was the one other person in Sun Court who could give River commands without Quinn seeing multiple possible outcomes, which made sense, because everyone listened to Queenie.) So Quinn had Max tell River to fetch the sigils...

“River, retrieve!” Max shouted. River ran unerringly in a straight line. She stopped at a spot about 20 yards away from where Max and Quinn stood and started rooting around with her nose. Suddenly she stopped, gave two short sharp barks, and ran over to Quinn. She had found his sigil!

And that did it! This was Quinn’s favorite part of this process - when the blurry possibilities of multiple outcomes collapsed into a clear straight line of cause and effect. It didn’t matter if Max went first or Quinn went first.There was only one possible outcome for each scenario. (Except for that time when River found a skunk instead. Or when Quinn looked really really deep and a kraken washed up onto Sun Estate’s beach and distracted them all away from the experiment.)

But Quinn wasn’t done yet...

Step 6: Imagine reporting on your experiment to people whose judgement you respect. Do they point out any flaws or holes in your process? If yes, fix them until your judges are impressed with what you’ve done. 

Quinn visualized reporting the results to Corinne, and she immediately questioned, “How do you know she’s not seeing where you threw it?” Quinn had to account for that…

Quinn and Max tossed their sigils into the field, but River was not with them. They brought her out afterwards so she couldn’t possibly see where the sigils had gone. River ran out to the field and unerringly found the right sigil each time.

Brand was still skeptical.  “Maybe she’s just finding a shiny object - how can you be sure it’s the magic that is drawing her? And River is fucking smart. Maybe she’s noticed that Max wears that cameo and that you wear those round sigils on your belt. That’s why she brings them to you when she finds them - no magic involved.” (Whenever Corinne or Corbie were there, Brand said the same exact thing but skipped the swear word.) 

Quinn considered this. Both of these problems could be solved the same way - use two of the same sigil, but in the possession of two different people. Then the only thing differentiating the sigils is the magical signature. If River brought the right sigil to the right person consistently, she was matching the magic on the sigil to the magic on the person. So Quinn gave one of his own platinum sigils to Max...

But whenever he did that, Rune pointed out that the sigil he gave to Max would have a residue of both his and Max’s magic. So Quinn had to bring in Addam, even though he didn’t want to waste his brother’s time... 

Quinn took a sigil off his belt, chanted a scent-masking cantrip over it, and then threw it as far as he could into the field. Addam did the same with one of his sigils. Max brought River to the field and told her to retrieve each of them and bring them to their respective owners...

Step 7: Pat yourself on the back for designing a solid experiment. Take Max out for coffee. 

Max came back to the dorm room late that evening (there had been a small chance Max would end up in someone else’s room that night, and one time he even brought someone to their room, but most of the time he didn’t hook up with anyone). As soon as Max closed the door behind him, Quinn said, “River can sense magic. That’s how she hunts.” Max’s mouth dropped open and stayed that way. Quinn grinned and continued, “Let’s go home to Sun Estate this weekend and I’ll prove it to you.”

Chapter Text

Anna opened the front door and leaned against it. “Come on, River, let’s go!” she called into the house. The dog bounded past Anna and down the steps. Anna took one last look over her shoulder. Then she stepped outside and let the door swing shut behind her. 

She had told Auntie Corinne she was going for a run on the beach with River. Which wasn’t untrue. (Anna had to be careful with how she said stuff like that, now that she had a Companion.) Anna jogged across the sand. River kept pace with her most of the time, stopping occasionally to nose at a clam shell or interesting bit of seaweed and then running to catch up. When they reached the lighthouse on the north end of the property. Anna turned off the beach and ran along the property line. 

Anna paused when they reached the carriage house. It wasn’t rehabilitated like the rest of the estate, and Rune had put heavy wards around it, keeping anyone from getting close. Even through the wards, the air buzzed with a dark energy to Anna’s senses. River, who had stopped next to Anna, hunched her back and whined. The dog could probably feel it too. 

This was one of the areas on Sun Estate she had been told was off-limits. Maybe one day she’d test the boundaries of that prohibition… but not today. Her target for this morning was something different. “We’re not stopping here,” she said to River. “Come on.” 

A couple hundred yards farther along the path - close enough that Anna could still feel some of the magic emanating from the warded zone - a different feeling buzzed at the edge of her awareness. There! She hadn’t been imagining things the last time she was here. Something magical was in this area. And it was neutral to her senses - not dark and negative like the carriage house. More importantly, it was outside the warded area, so no one had told her she was not allowed to go there. 

Anna stopped and crouched down next to River, facing in the direction of the new energy. “Can you feel that? Max and Quinn say you’re really sensitive, so you should be able to.” River sniffed the air, whined in the direction of the carriage house, and sniffed again. She took a few tentative steps in the direction of the neutral magical buzz, and then looked back at Anna. “Yes! Keep going!” Anna made shooing motions with her fingers. River barked once in response and kept following the ‘scent.’  Anna trailed behind her, excitement rising in her chest. 

The pair kept on for a couple more minutes, deeper into Sun Estate property. The hum of the magic was strong here, but generalized - Anna couldn’t sense the single point that was its source. She hoped River could help with that. 

They entered a wooded area of the estate. Here River stopped, planting her feet. She bent her head to the ground and turned in a slow circle. Picked her head up, took a few steps in one direction, bent down, and swung her head back and forth, searching. Anna bounced on her toes, torn between wild hope and the suspicion that River had lost the trail and this would not work. 

Then River nosed at one spot, whuffed with some finality, sat down, and gave two short barks. Anna ran over to where the dog sat and held her hands out over the ground, extending her magical senses for a minute. Yes! Anna swung her backpack down from her shoulder. She’d packed for a few possible outcomes. Luckily, buried treasure had been one of them. As soon as Anna shoved her shovel into the grass and dirt, the magic started rolling out in stronger waves, as if the buried object had been masked by a spell that had dissipated when she broke ground. River sat up and tilted her head to one side quizzically. Anna paused in her task to scowl back at the dog in return. 

It didn’t take long to find the source - it was not buried deeply. Soon Anna could see the corner of a stainless steel box in the hole she had dug. She redoubled her efforts to unearth it. When she lifted it from the ground, she was surprised at how small it was. There was no lock on the box - just a simple clasp. Anna opened it with shaking hands. 

Inside lay a plain yellow gold ring. The buzz of magic told her what it really was. A sigil . She had found a sigil . Someone had hidden this before the fall of Sun Estate - and now Anna had found it! This was the best of all the outcomes she had been hoping for. She reached out a finger and brushed it gently against the ring.

A domed shield snapped into place, surrounding both Anna and River. Anna dropped the box in surprise, pulled out a knife from the sheath strapped to her wrist and spun around in a complete circle, looking for threats. There was nothing. Just the natural sound of the woods, her and River, the magical buzz of the sigil, and now this shield… 

Which had the same buzz of magic as the sigil, now that Anna considered it. A protective ward, triggered by someone tampering with a sigil not in their possession. Ugh - she should have prepared for something like this! Anna said several things made River lay her ears back. Auntie Corinne would have had her filling the swear jar if she’d been within earshot. 

Auntie Corinne! Their Companion bond wasn’t that strong yet… still, Corinne would feel that something had happened to Anna. Anna pulled out her phone, expecting an impending text or call asking what had happened and was she ok. But there were no bars - the shield was probably messing with the signal. 

Anna realized she had very little time before her aunt tracked her down. She did not want to be found trapped like this. Anna set one hand against the shield and instinctively pushed with her magic. The shield rippled… and settled back in place, buzzing at a slightly higher volume. No good - it was the kind of shield that absorbed magic. She could overload it… but Rune had warned her against using her magic at that level of strength. This did not seem like a good moment to disobey him. 

River was pawing at the ground along the edge of the shield, which gave Anna an idea. She picked up her shovel from the ground, walked over to River, and started to dig - maybe they could tunnel beneath the shield. Unfortunately, after a minute of digging, it became apparent that the shield extended below ground level - it was a sphere, not a dome. 

Anna dropped her shovel, sank down on her knees next to River and buried her face in the dog’s fur. The sound that came out of her mouth did not sound like a sob. It did not . She would figure this out. River stood like a rock, not moving or making a sound as Anna held her. 

Suddenly, Anna lifted her head and stared at River. An idea was forming in Anna’s head… like a rock.. . Anna stood up, closed the sigil box and placed it on the ground in the center of the shield dome. Then she took a couple steps back from it, sat down cross-legged, and started the meditation breathing Rune had been teaching her. 

Like a rock… if Anna could suppress her magic and sense of self enough to fool the ward into thinking the area was undisturbed, maybe it would reset. She took two, three, four deep breaths and fell deeper into herself. She could not keep up this level of concentration for very long yet, but hopefully the few moments she could manage would be enough. 

There! Anna could feel the shield’s magic start to flicker. It was only for a second - then Anna’s excitement at this accomplishment knocked her out of her meditation, and the shield ramped back up to full strength. Anna’s frustration at this was outweighed by her awareness that it had been working ! As quickly as she could, Anna deepened her breathing and tried again to reach that trance state. 

A minute later, the shield flickered and dissolved. Anna shouted in triumph, opened her eyes, and found herself staring up at her aunt’s astonished face. 

When they got back to the house, Corinne didn’t yell. She didn’t have to. Anna could feel the anger - mixed with no small amount of fear - coming through the bond. But Corinne’s voice remained cool when she said, “You are grounded. I haven’t decided for how long yet. But I will know, at all times, where you are when you are at Sun Estate.” She tapped the side of her head and narrowed her eyes at Anna. “And you can bet I’ll be keeping an eye on you when you go back to Magnus, as well. No more ‘outings’ for you for a good long while.”

Anna looked at the row of three adults frowning down at her - besides for Auntie Corinne, Brand and Rune were also broadcasting their displeasure at her little adventure. Anna glared back at all of them before choosing to focus on Rune. She recalled with pleasure how his face had been slack with shock when he saw what she had discovered. “But I found a sigil. It’s mine, you know. It didn’t belong to anyone anymore, and I found it.”

“Oh, it’s yours, all right. You salvaged it from your kin’s estate. And in a very clever way, too.” Anna’s face brightened with hope. Then Rune continued, “But what you did was also dangerous and stupid. What if that protective ward had been fatal? A lot of them are, you know.”

“And you didn’t tell anyone where you were going,” Brand added. “That’s Rule #1 of solo expeditions. I don’t expect you to always confide in an adult - but at least Max or Quinn or Layne should have known what you were up to.”

Rune nodded in agreement. Brand glanced sideways at him, as if to say you’re one to talk. Rune shrugged back unrepentantly and continued, “The sigil is yours. I just need to decide on the right time to transfer its ownership to you. After this, I’m going to think long and hard about when I should start teaching you sigil magic. Definitely not while you’re grounded. And probably not for a long time after that.”

Anna was tired - and hungry - and she needed a shower. There was still room among all that for her anger to rise at the injustice of this… but she wasn’t as mad as she thought she’d be. She’d still found a sigil . Her sigil. And she’d done it on her own - wait, no, that wasn’t fair...

Anna looked down to where River already had her nose deep in a bowl Queenie had brought. “Thank you,” Anna whispered under her breath. The dog didn’t lift her face away from her food, but her ears twitched and she did roll her eyes up to look at Anna. Her tail wagged once or twice, as if to say that if Anna ever wanted to go on another hunting expedition, River was game. 

Chapter Text

River lifted her head from her bed in the room next to the kitchen and looked at Sun Estate’s human puppy, who had just wandered in. Corbie looked back at her and wasted no time in starting a conversation.

“Everyone had had a sleepover in the ballroom last night. Now it’s getting light outside. That means it’s morning, so I woke up. They said I was being too noisy and I had to leave. I left my stuffed animals in there with them - they don’t make any noise.”

River stood up, stretched, and stopped to lick Corbie’s face on the way to her water bowl. 

Corbie followed River into the kitchen. He pushed a stool over to the pantry area, used it to climb up onto the kitchen counter, and then opened one of the high cabinets. “I think your treats are here.” After rummaging around, he selected a few boxes from the pantry and dropped them onto the floor. River sniffed at them dubiously.

Corbie climbed down after claiming a few cookies for himself. “D’you want to go outside with me? I’m not supposed to go alone. If you come, I’m not alone.”

River did need to go outside to do her business anyway. Instead of using the dog door Brand and Max had installed for her, she waited for Corbie to open the kitchen door. They went out together into the cool early-morning air. 

Corbie waited patiently until River had finished what she needed to do. Then he asked, “Do you want to meet Flynn?” 

River did not know what a Flynn was. She followed Corbie gamely. She soon realized where they were headed - the garden with the very very big animal smell behind the protection magic smell. Where the very very big animal noises came from. 

River stopped when they got to the edge of the protection magic around the big animal area. She knew you couldn’t pass when the magic smelled like this. Corbie didn’t seem to know this - he walked right through. River was confused. She pressed her nose forward and felt resistance. The barrier was there...

Inside the pen, Corbie had cupped both hands around his mouth and was making his version of very very big animal noises. A more accurate version of the animal noise answered back, and a large shape lumbered over from the other side of the pen. As it got closer, the shape resolved itself into a powerful four-legged body with a shaggy coat and a huge wicked-looking pointed horn on its forehead. 

River tensed with an immediate need to guard and protect the human puppy. She was not close enough to him to help! And this magic barrier was in the way! Then Corbie let out a happy shout and began running toward the monstrous creature. Oh. That was a Flynn.

When they got close to each other, Flynn stopped and planted his feet. Corbie grabbed two handfuls of long hair and started climbing. Flynn stood very patiently. River did not think she could have done as well with someone pulling on her fur like that. Eventually, Corbie had clambered all the way up onto Flynn’s broad back, where he sat with his legs sticking out to either side. He called down to River from his high perch. “I like to sit on Flynn. It feels nice up here. Flynn will stop any bad guys who try to punch me.” 

Corbie belly flopped down onto Flynn’s back and clung. It took River a minute to realize that this is what it looked like when a very small puppy tried to hug a very large creature. His next words were muffled a little by Flynn’s heavy coat. “Flynn - this is River. She’s a new member of our family. Sometimes bad things happen, and your family gets smaller. But other times you find new people to love, and your family gets bigger.”

All three of them, River, Corbie, and Flynn, remained quiet for the next few minutes as the daylight brightened. River wondered if Corbie had gone back to sleep. She knew puppies could not stay still for long when they were awake - especially very energetic puppies like Corbie. Then the puppy stirred, hugged Flynn’s neck one last time, and slid back down the very very big back. He exited the pen and rejoined River on the other side of the protective barrier.  “I’m hungry. Let’s go see if Queenie woke up yet. If she’s still sleeping, I’ll show you where I hid my special snacks.” 

River followed Corbie back into the house. The rest of her family would be waking up soon.