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" I'm telling you, he was acting normal at first, and then he suddenly lunged at me like some wild animal," Molly explained to the rest of the Nein with wild hand gestures. They were all gathered in the main area, keeping a close eye on the room, which held a certain wild mage that attacked the tiefling minutes ago. Once they heard the commotion of him and the Omega tussling in the room, they stepped in to help corner the Omega and lock him into the room, as if he were some escaped zoo animal. Nott protested audibly to that idea, but it was the most non-violent option they had.
"You sure? "That sounds so unlike Cayleb," Jester said, a noticeable frown on her face. Then she leaped in front of Molly, who was sitting in a chair, and smiled mischievously. "Maybe he was possessed by a demon!" She gave a theatrical wave of her hands.
"Caleb isn't possessed by a demon! "Nott snapped, with tightened fists, her ears flattening in irritation. The goblin stood up in her chair; her stance sparked with indignation. Jester shrunk back from the tone, her frown returning.
The goblin cooled her expression and took a deep breath. "Sorry, I just...I'm worried about him, first that whole thing last night, and now this." The goblin slumped back into her seat, staring wistfully at the door, which was where the now feral wizard was.
"Well, if he wasn't possessed by a demon, something else clearly happened to him. Maybe it had something to do with last night?" Beau pondered while arching a brow at Nott, as if she had any idea about what happened last night besides what was shown to her.
"Well, whatever it is, we probably should help him, yes?" the purple tiefling said in that calm tone of his, though there was a hint of unease in it; that was probably due to him getting attacked by a 100 or 90-something pound Omega just 10 minutes ago. They were all a bit disheveled and annoyed with each other, especially Nott. She was still reeling from their decision to lock Caleb up. Their scents mingled together to create an atmosphere of annoyance, concern, and nervousness all at once.
"Obviously," Nott growled. Beau shot her a glare as if she weren't bitchy on the regular. Nott flipped her off, and Beau began to get up from her chair, ready to square up with the little goblin girl, her scent sparking with agitation. Fjord quickly stepped in between them.
"How about we all just calm down here? The half-orc raised both hands, ready to push the girls away from each other if need be. Nott snorted and rolled her eyes, like Courage the Cowardly Half-Orc could stop the both of them.
"As if you could stop two cats from fighting, cowardly lion!" the beta sneered, baring all of her jagged, sharp-edged teeth.
"Alright, listen here, you little—" Fjord began.
Children, please! Let's all get along here, huh? It won't do our feral friend any favors if he can smell a bunch of angry alphas and betas, huh?" the tiefling purred, holding his hands up placatingly. The monk, half-orc, and goblin begrudgingly sat back down in their seats.
"Beau, maybe you could investigate the place where Caleb burned that assassin girl? To get any hints on why he's acting this way. "Beau nodded and stomped out of the abandoned house they were in, clearly glad to be out of here.
Molly gestured with his hands for the nein to get up. They obliged, and the Alphas rested their hands on their weapons, all except Jester and Nott, the latter wanting to argue for them to not look so ready to attack. It would only frighten Caleb more, but she stayed quiet.
She was the first one to walk to the door, deciding it would be best for Caleb to see her first before any of the others. Molly stayed in the back. She kicked the chair, which was wedged under the doorknob, and turned the wooden thing ever so slowly. She pushed the door open and was instantly greeted with the sight of a more disheveled Caleb rocking himself senseless in a corner, whining and clawing at his thighs.
They were all also hit with a wave of cedarwood and old books, scents that weren't usually sweet, but now they were, sickeningly. Fjord's and Molly's pupils dilated until there were only thin rings of their eye color left. Jester noticed that they started to breathe out of their mouths; Fjord was specifically trying to hold his breath, trying to restrain himself.
Caleb's eyes snapped to the intruding Neine and let out a low growl in his throat, his eyes flickering between every one of them with hunger and fear simultaneously.
Nott recoiled from the growl as if struck, but she stood her ground, not willing to let herself run away when Caleb needed her help. She suddenly realized what was going on with him.
"Shit," she breathed. "He's in heat."
" He couldn't have picked a better time? " The half-orc complained. Nott ignored his comment.
The Nein stood there, frozen. They had never seen Caleb act this way, so they didn't know what to do.
Jester stepped up first.
"Come on, Caleb, come on, we won't hurt you," Jester cooed while stretching her palms out, as if trying to coax a stray cat from a trash can. She sat back in a crouch.
Caleb promptly bared all his teeth in what was a snarl, which caused Jester to jerk her hands back as if he struck her, which he was close to doing.
He returned to rocking himself back in forth. His breaths came in ragged pants, and the black of his pupils nearly swallowing the blue, his eyes were still unnervingly focused on every single movement from the Nein. Hissing and snarling. His movements were frantic and restless, like a stray cat backed into a corner that was also in heat.
His nails clawed at the wooden floors and walls as if he wanted to escape, but he couldn't with 5 people blocking his path. There was blood on his nails, his legs, and his hair from how many times he clawed at himself and the wood.
Fjord stepped in front of Jester and crouched on the ground just like she had done. He started to breathe in through his mouth to not smell the thick, overpowering smell of Omega sweetness. The slick that was leaking from Caleb's pants was not doing him any favors.
"Come on, Caleb, this has gone on long enough," the half-orc said while slowly pulling out a hand in invitation.
Caleb lunged at it with a snarl. Fjord barely had enough time to snatch his hand back from Caleb's incoming teeth. "Shit!—" the startled half-orc said.
The mage didn't stop there, however. He swatted his hand at Fjord's general direction and growled. He backed away from the large man, hissing and snarling, his back rising like an angry wildcat.
"What is wrong with him?! " Fjord growled, and Caleb trembled while stubbornly trying to hold his defensive stance against him. He whimpered and quickly shook his head as if to erase the sound from memory. Nott could see that he was trembling, and the wet spots on his thighs were stained with slick.
"Don't do that; you're scaring him!" Nott shouted while pointing to the feral mage in the corner.
"He's scaring us," Fjord growled again while arching a brow. He checked his hand for any cuts. There was none. Ha! What a baby! Caleb barely even touched him!
"Yeah, because you guys and your strange pheromones are smothering him!" Nott said, the knuckles on her clenched fists whitening. Caleb growled deep and low, not at Nott, never her, but at the rest of the Nein. His sweet scent of arousal was overpowering the room, a stark contrast to his attempt to intimidate them. The goblin wrinkled her nose but stood her ground.
"We're trying to help him! " Fjord said indignantly while rubbing his non-injured hand. He wrinkled his nose at the thickening smell of arousal. It was unfortunately enticing to all the Alphas in the room. He shook his head as if to rid himself of any lustful thoughts.
"No, the goblin girl is right; we're like a pack of dogs swarming a mangy alley cat." Molly said, all of their eyes averted to him. He had stayed in the back, being given the Omega some space, not wanting a repeat of earlier. "How about we give him some space, hm?" Molly said with a playful smile while motioning for the gang (besides Nott) to come over. Caleb punctuated his point with a lunge at them and a growl that had the whole group stumbling back.
Beau and Fjord reluctantly walked with Molly towards the back of the room.
Nott grabbed Jester’s hand before she could follow. She turned her head and raised an eyebrow at the other Beta.
"You're not an alpha, remember?" Nott said with a chuckle.
"Yeah, but," Jester sighed before continuing, "he's scared of me too," she said with a frown. Caleb proved her point with another hiss.
Nott sniffed the air around Jester, which smelled suspiciously like sea salt and clover. "It's because you smell like noodle-arms over there," Nott said while pointing her thumb at the half-orc who shouted an indignant "Hey!" while blushing.
"Oh," Jester said after a while, looking down at herself while blushing. She rubbed her hand on the scent glands on her wrists, neck, and ears.
"Better?" she eagerly asked. Nott stuck her nose in the air and then nodded. "Yay," Jester squealed before Nott shushed her.
The little goblin grabbed the blue tiefling’s hand, leading her to where Caleb resumed rocking himself senseless while tearing at his thighs. You couldn't see it if you didn't look close enough, but there was relief in his eyes when he looked to see the distance between him and the Alphas. Also a tiny bit of fear, as if he dreaded they would close that distance too.
Nott knelt in front of Caleb. Holding her hand out gently, like she wanted Caleb to sniff her to recognize her, he was very much like a stray alley cat right now.
Caleb slowly crawled towards her outstretched hand, his eyes flickering back and forth from her to Jester to the rest of the Nein in the back, as if he were waiting, not daring for them to do something.
When the mage's nose finally picked up Nott's scent of leather and ale, his pupils dilated until only a thin ring of sea blue was seen. Caleb shoved his face into the goblin's hand, rubbing his face up and down on the small appendage, purring all the while. It was an adorable sound.
He was sensing her.
"His purr is so cute," the blue tiefling whisper-squealed in Nott's ear. The mage unfortunately jumped back at her closeness. He didn't growl at her; she wasn't an alpha, just cowered away with a whimper from the unfamiliar scent. Nott shot her a sharp look over her shoulder; Jester flashed her an apologetic smile.
"Hey, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you or Nott, okay? "I'm just here to help you." The beta tiefling slowly stretched her hand out towards the cowering mage; she bared her neck slightly in submission. The Omega looked at Nott as if asking if she was safe to touch. Nott nodded at him with a tentative smile.
Caleb slowly crawled towards her, looking at Nott after every step, or crawl, he made. She nodded at him with the same grin every time. When his nose bumped against Jester's fingertips, she used her other hand to card through his sweaty, dirty copper strands. The Omega purred and nuzzled into her touch. Caleb wouldn't like to hear it, but both the goblin and the tiefling thought it was adorable.
He still smelled of fear and slight arousal, but it was paired with the sweet smell of contentment too.
"You just wanted a soft touch, didn't you, didn't you?" Jester crooned while scratching Caleb's scalp, digging her sharp nails into the pale skin under the red strands. It did not hurt the Omega; in fact, it seemed he enjoyed it, based on the way he arched into her touch like a pleased feline.
Unfortunately Caleb pulled his head away from the tiefling’s eager touch. He ignored Jester's disappointed whine and bumped his head against Nott's, nearly knocking the Beta goblin over.
"Whoa, whoa, okay," she giggled. Her hands cupped his face, trying to hold him back from headbutting her into the floor. He whined and she scratched his scalp like Jester did. He purred and nuzzled into her hand. Her claws dug deep into his scalp, getting all the best scratching spots, making him purr deeply.
Jester pouted at her in jealousy, and Nott smirked before looking down at the speckled blood on Caleb's thighs and face. Some of it was on her hands from touching his face.
"Um, Jester?" Nott said while arching a brow and pointing at Caleb’s blood-dotted legs.
"Oh yeah, right." Jester got up on her knees and rubbed her hands together before letting them hover over Caleb's body. Flashing ribbons of light wrapped around Caleb's body, the unexpected brightness made the omega whimper and want to back away, but a soothing purr rumbled in Nott's chest, soothing him instantly.
Caleb's wounds glowed in pink light before they disappeared completely. The Omega's eyes widened in shock as if he didn't see Jester try and fail to heal Fjord yesterday. Jester bent his leg to show him his healed thigh. "All better, yeah?" The tiefling cooed. The Omega gave a happy whimper and laid his head on Nott's lap.
The Omega's scent was content until Beau burst into the house. Her alpha scent was instantly noticed by Caleb, who whined and then let out a low, guttural growl once more, baring his teeth. The Nein's eyes all snapped to her, Nott shooting her a glint.
"I didn't find anything at the...uh, what happened?" Beau tilted her head.
"Caleb's in heat, and we just got him to calm down. Quick! Go to the back before he freaks out again," Jester whispered, shooing Beau away to join the Alphas at the back as Caleb's growl deepened.
Beau quickly joined the Alphas at the back, holding her hands in surrender to Caleb, something she never thought she had to do.
"So are we supposed to stay here the entire day or what?" Beau whispered to Molly. The tiefling just shrugged, "We're just following their lead." The tiefling gestured to the two betas comforting the wild Omega. Beau would never admit it, but the sight was sort of cute.
The goblin wiped the wizard's face with a handkerchief. He was a sweaty thing from the heat. Normally the wizard smelled like yesterday's garbage, but now he smelled good. It was weird, sort of how heat changed everything about someone's body.
She scratched behind Caleb’s ears, his contented purr vibrating her lap. Jester carded her fingers through the Omega's hair, his purr doubling from the dual attention. The room smelled of happy Omega, a much better scent than distressed Omega.
Jester grabbed Caleb's cheeks and smushed them together, cooing at him all the while. "You're sooo cute, Cay-leb!" The Omega nipped gently at her hands, as if shooing them away. The beta just squealed and kissed both of his cheeks, which made Caleb's nose scrunch, but he did not pull away. Heat! Caleb was much more open to touch than regular Caleb.
The Betas resumed petting him, the Omega nodding off every once in a while before snapping up; it was like watching a baby fight sleep. He did that until he finally closed his eyes permanently, succumbing to the lull of sleep.
He looked much younger like this, more at peace with himself. Nott would miss this when he returned to normal.
She pressed her lips to his temple gently before asking Jester, "So how are we going to get him to bed?" She tilted her head. Jester hooked her arms under his knees and shoulders and lifted Caleb without even a grunt of effort, despite both of them being the same, short height.
"Does he ever eat anything?" Jester asked with an arch of her brow. "Cuz he's like, wet tissue paper."
Nott looked at her feet and shrugged. "He wasn't much when I found him; he probably barely got an opportunity to eat a scrap of bread." She kicked at a pebble on the worn, wooden floors. The goblin frowned. She had to continue protecting Caleb so he could get stronger and more powerful. Then he could do great things; she knew he could. That boy is a genius, and paired with her thieving abilities, they could do anything together. He could help her.
"Well, there's probably something in this house I can turn into a meal. If not, I can always just go into town, you know?" the cleric said with an easy smile.
"You would do that for us?" Nott shouted, her eyes widening. She got on her tiptoes and grinned up at Jester, her hands clasped together in a pleading gesture. The tiefling waved her off as best as she could with both hands trapped under Caleb.
"Of course," she scoffed. "What are friends for?"
The goblin threw herself on Jester's leg, wrapping all her limbs around the cleric's leg and squishing her cheek against the tiefling’s knee. She inhaled the scent of candy and pastries.
" "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she said, the words slightly muffled due to saying it in Jester's knee.
"You're welcome!" She moved Caleb with one hand to be slung over her shoulder so she could pat the goblin's hooded head. She moved Caleb back to his original position with ease. Nott grabbed her dangling hand and squeezed it, following Jester as she laid Caleb on the bed and tucked him with blankets up to his chin. Nott hopped on the bed and pressed one last kiss to his temple before Jester turned to the Alphas still at the back.
"You can walk freely now!" She threw her hands up in the air with flourish before she pressed one finger to her lips in a "shhh."
"Just keep your distance," Nott warned with an arch of her brow while simultaneously petting Caleb's head with the gentlest of hands.
Molly smirked and raised his hands. Beau rolled her eyes while Fjord just nodded. "Will do."
"Once he wakes up, we can ask him some questions about what the fuck happened last night," Beau crossed her arms. This was clearly a non-negotiable for her, but fuck her.
"Fine, but rest first. Heats usually last 3 or 5 days. So you'll have to wait," Nott said with narrowed eyes. Beau just shrugged, "Whatever," and sat in an unoccupied chair. She tried to appear as nonchalant, but the way she stared concernedly at Caleb begged to differ.
"Nott, can we, uh, talk with you for a moment?" the half-orc asked hesitantly from across the house. Nott sighed reluctantly, stroked Caleb's cheek one last time, and jumped off. She left Jester to fuss over him. She walked up to Fjord and looked at him intently with an arched eyebrow.
"So are heats usually like this for him?"
" I don't know, I didn't even know he was an Omega until now," Nott snapped. She was sort of upset that he hid this from her; it's not like she hid her designation from him! She was hiding way worse things, though, and so was he clearly, so they had better things to be upset about. She wasn't going to hold it against him; it wouldn't be fair to either of them.
" Alright, I'm just asking a question," Fjord said, trying to make his tone sound as gentle as possible.
"Look, on the ship I lived on there were plenty of Omegas. I've seen what they are like in heat, and they, uh, usually don't act like that," he said while crossing his arms, trying to appear sure of himself despite his blush. "They're way more...lustful." The Alpha gestured to the sleeping Omega who was attacking them at least an hour ago.
"Well, not everyone's the same! Some people are just different!" the Beta snapped. Fjord raised his hands in surrender and took a step back.
" I bet you would prefer if he were hornier, so you could use him in any way you wanted!" The goblin took her dagger out from her pocket, pointing it towards them, ready to attack if they dared to confirm her theory. She was 3 feet of threatening Beta. Her faint scent soured with anger. Fjord put his hand on his sword, ready to defend himself if he initiated. Ha! He couldn't even knock out two bricks! Beau got up and stepped between the two parties.
"Dude, chill, they were just asking questions! "Beau raised both her arms as an attempt to block them from any attacks.
The goblin lowered her dagger and pursed her lips, still glaring at all three Alphas.
Beau pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. "Look, some Omegas, bonded or not, get a little defensive in heat towards anyone, mostly Alphas. That's all."
"How do you know that?" Nott asked, her eyes narrowed while she crossed her arms.
"Read a book about heat cycles," the monk shrugged.
"Whatever, just stay away from Caleb until he's ready, alright?" the Beta growled.
"Could've assumed you were an Alpha with the way you act," Fjord mumbled.
"What was that?" she snapped.
"Look, how about everyone rests for the night? We're all tired and moody, and we'll have to be here for a while until Caleb’s cycle is over," Molly said. He kept his voice as soothing as possible, trying to calm the sour scents of irritation that returned from earlier. The nine all nodded to that idea; gods know they need the sleep.
Everyone went to find furniture or a room to sleep in. Nott walked back into Caleb's room and let out a deep sigh to see he was purring peacefully in sleep as Jester brushed his hair. He nudged her head further into her hands, unconsciously asking for more. Jester giggled; her eyes flashed to Nott, who was looking fondly at the adorable sight.
"Is everyone heading to bed?" Nott nodded and stretched out her arms. Jester gave her a crushing hug before kissing the curve of Caleb's cheek.
"Goodnight Nott!" Jester shouted as she walked out of the room, probably towards where Fjord was sleeping.
"Night, Jester," Nott yawned as she hopped onto the bed with Caleb. He let out a little whimper at the slight dip in weight, and she shushed him with a scratch behind the ears. He resumed purring.
She laid her head on his plush chest. His purr is vibrating in her long ear. Her cheek was flat against his slow, steady heartbeat.
"Goodnight, Caleb," she said as she kissed his forehead one last time before finally closing her eyes.
It was going to be a long 3-5 days.