Work Text:
He knew he looked as though he was being a smug git about the situation, but really he was trying hard to resist laughing out loud. Talia having a strip torn off her by the young man with the cultured British accent was nothing if not amusing. The same man who had managed to call the pack to the middle of the preserve at Gods only knows what time in the morning.
“What right do you have to sing The Fae Summoning song?”
Oops, wrong question. This time he was biting the inside of his cheek to stop the laughing, as it was obvious that Talia clearly didn’t know her ass from she elbow in this situation. Someone hadn’t been paying attention during her training when The Fae, and the Hale Pack’s responsibility to them, the Nemeton, and those who could use magic on Hale Lands had been covered.
And even though he had been paying attention when his Uncle had passed on the version that the pack’s Left Hand needed to know, he wasn’t about to dig Talia out of the hole she was in.
“By right of treaty. You should know that The Fae use Emissaries, since they don’t really reside here as such.”
Usually, The Fae used changelings for that position which allowed them to work well with Druids, like Deaton, and the other magic users in a pack, but this one it seemed was much more than just a changeling.
Which pointed to someone, probably Deaton, being up to something. Quite possibly more than just something given Deaton's reaction to the Emissary being here, definitely something he needed to look at.
“So, care to explain to me why when I sang The Summons it was a child whose potential had been bound and his mother who reeks of a spell corrupting her magic who answered?”
“Not anything I know about.”
And something that Talia didn’t care about either, apparently. So not the thing to say to a member of The Fae. That this wasn't a changeling who had called them was becoming clearer and clearer by the minute to anyone who knew what to look for. And given the way several members of the pack were twitching he wasn't the only one seeing what he was seeing.
“So it seems. Just like you know nothing about the Nemeton rotting as someone siphons off it's power. You really don’t have a fucking clue what is going on in your territory. Do you?”
An Emissary swearing could not be a good thing.
That Talia didn’t even look surprised wasn’t helping, annoyed that she’d been caught out maybe, but not surprised. And really there was only one person that could be siphoning of the Nemeton. Any chance that Deaton had of making out of this alive had just gone from slim to none.
Magic and power rising round them like mist in the Spring, was enough to have the fight or flight instincts of several pack members kicking in, wolf, and human alike.
“As you cannot answer, or will not, answer the questions nor provide an explanation for the darkness that infecting your pack and your lands. By right of the treaty between The Fae and the Hale pack, you Talia Hale will be stripped of the Hale Spark when the moon rises, on the morrow, so that it may be passed to another of our choosing.”
And while seeing Talia brought down a peg or three more than made his day this situation was still beyond volatile. The Summons should at least keep Talia from running and a quick sacrifice to the Nemeton might just settle things down somewhat. Deaton might just have a use after all.
Though once this was all sorted, having Talia as a Beta again that was going to be so much fun. The jumped up bitch wasn't going to have any clue what had hit her.
Really, couldn’t have happened to a nicer person as far as he was concerned.