Moonlight, Magic and Mystery – 18

“Of course we are.” Justin giggled as he tested his wings and hovered somewhat like a pale well-endowed hummingbird. “Don’t you just love how your cock feels in the breeze?” 

“No.” Brian was trying to pull leaves over himself, but they were in a willow tree and the leaves were narrow and rather sharp. No one was going to see Brian Kinney with fucking wings. “Would you kindly reverse this spell please, before I kill you?”

“Fairies don’t kill, remember Tinkerbell? I mean Tinkerbell is a gentle fairy, like you and I. Not something out of a Tim Burton movie.” Justin flitted from branch to branch enjoying the freedom of flight, flying past Brian every now and then to kiss him quickly, even though the older man did his best to elude him on each pass. 

“If this fairy gets his hands on you witch boy, you are fucking dead.” Brian’s teeth were gritted as he did his best to control his temper. He had a lot more sympathy for Frances now that he was even smaller than the six-inch man. Ethan he didn’t give a shit about; let him stay small. 

“Don’t be a bitchy fairy.” Justin made himself twinkle. “Come on, fly with me. We’ve got a few hours before Michael and Emmett get here. It’ll be fun.”

Justin flew close and Brian lunged for him, falling off the branch. He started to scream when his wings fluttered and he was flying. And just in time, because he’d almost landed on some guy’s head. The man swatted at him. Brian glared and flew in front of the bearded man’s face. “Look asshole, this is a fairy retreat. I’m a fairy and retreating, so lay off.” The look of horror from the bearded man before he fell backwards in what only could be described as a swoon, had Brian laughing out loud. 

“See, I told you it’d be fun.” Justin laughed. “Come on, let’s go find the rest of them.”

Brian, getting the hang of flying, chased after Justin, catching him up in his arms, they kissed, arms tangled but still flying. Not noticing that they were attracting attention from some of the campers before they disappeared in a flutter of wings deep into the leaves of the willow tree.

“Did you see that?” someone asked, rubbing his eyes. 

“I think I did.” Another person answered with a laugh. “This shit you gave me has a righteous high.”

“Willing to accept the high from the drugs as an explanation for what had happened, the retreat organizer went back to checking the campers in for the weekend. 

In a down filled birds nest, Brian kissed Justin. “You are a rotten little shit and I’m going to punish you like you won’t believe.” He began.

“Promise?” Justin laughed, “But after the weekend.” Not waiting for Brian to answer, Justin pulled him closer. There was something almost wickedly sinful and definitely fun about being naked outside in the evening twilight. Sex should be amazing. 

Emmett and Michael had been driving for two hours, been lost three times, found their way again and now that it was dark, had a suspicion they were lost once again. Neither one was speaking to the other. 

Finally Emmett said. “I really don’t understand why you think we should both spend the weekend here. I don’t want to be here and neither do you. Let’s just turn around and go home.”

“We can’t even if we wanted to. I’m almost out of gas.” Michael’s voice was bitter. “We’re almost there, I saw a sign about five minutes ago.”

“You never said one word.” Emmett glared, not that Michael could see him.

“This is the turn.”

It took them almost an hour to check in, be assigned a place to stay and to reluctantly put together their costumes that were to reflect their inner fairy. By then they were both exhausted and agreed to sleep and deal with the retreat in the morning. 

Brian left Justin sleeping in the nest at the top of the tree. He hoped it was a deserted nest not wanting to deal with the aftermath of what might happen should the owner appear. Justin had a rather bad temper when disturbed from what he figured was much needed sleep. 

He would never admit to the blond that he rather enjoyed being able to flit around like a bird. He watched Emmett and Michael arrive and the looks on their faces entertained him as they became initiated in the rights of the fairy retreat. He followed them both inside their cabin, sitting in the rafters watching and listening to the two of them. 

Michael held up the clothing he’d chosen. “I’m glad no one I know is going to see me in this. I hate drag.”

“But you look lovely in drag.” Emmett simpered as he modeled what he’d chosen. “It’s all in the genes. You carry yourself very much like a lady. Your daddy would be proud.” 

“Whatever.” Michael looked over at Emmett. “Are you going out? It’s late. I thought we’d just go to bed and check things out in the morning.” 

“Georgie would have wanted me to have some fun. I know he’s attended one or two of these soirées in his time. I’ve read about it in his journals. He loved these weekends. He could spend a whole 48 hours being the man he longed to be. If he can’t attend, then I’ll do it for him.” Emmett put the final touches to his fairy costume before heading for the door. “You really should come out too. I mean your beau would want you to have some fun.” 

“I’m not so sure about that. Ben wasn’t all that interested in the weekend.” 

“So that’s why all the doom and gloom, you wanted Ben to come. Well honey, there’s no time like the present. Why don’t you call him and tell him what he’s missing. Maybe he’ll come up tomorrow.” 

“I doubt it, he has a seminar tomorrow.” Michael threw himself down on the rather hard camp bed. “Ouch, this bed is like sleeping on the floor.” 

“Exactly why you need to find yourself a nice soft manly mattress.” Emmett giggled, disappearing quickly out of Michael’s sight. As soon as the door shut behind him, all semblance of mirth disappeared. He missed his Georgie with a desperation he wondered if he’d ever get over. Everywhere he turned he was reminded of the man. He knew he needed to let go. Even Georgie’s journals had told him that. But try as he might, he just couldn’t. Now that he knew about Wahjee, he kept watching everyone for signs that they might be from that race. He was pretty sure Justin and Brian were Wahjee, but he wasn’t sure how Gus came into the picture and now Melanie was pregnant. George said that humans and Wahjee didn’t interbreed. Maybe he’d be able to ask Brian some day. 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Melanie put her hand on her belly. She was three months pregnant and showing more than she thought she should be. “I look ridiculous.” She glared into the mirror. 

“No you don’t, you barely have a bump.” Lindsay laughed as she made their bed. “I’ve put some nice clean sheets on the bed. Why don’t you lay down and rest. Your ankles are a bit swollen.”

“I need to go into the office.” Melanie declared, pulling a loose fitting sheath over her head. “My clothes look stupid with this belly.” 

“You look beautiful.” Lindsay wrapped her arms around her wife. “There is no reason to go into the office on a Saturday. Everything will still be there on Monday and you know the doctor said you ought to take it easy.”  

<i>Phoebe was tired of this human mother’s constant whining. She could feel the stress pulling at her tiny body and she didn’t like it one bit. It was time for some gentle persuasion. </i>
All of a sudden Melanie felt an overwhelming rush of fatigue and the desire to lay down became too much to resist. “You know, maybe I will have a short nap.” She said, laying on top of the duvet. 

“Naps are nice.” Lindsay beamed. 

“It’s almost time for Gus to have his, why don’t you bring him in here. We’ll be company for each other.” Melanie could feel her eyes getting heavier. 

“I’ll see what I can do.” Lindsay pulled a soft woolen throw off the end of the bed and covered her wife before tiptoeing out of the room. 

Gus looked up from the computer game he was playing. He was three and rather frighteningly bright as far as Lindsay was concerned. Doug, his cat, lay stretched out on the desk top, watching everything Gus was doing. Melanie and Lindsay often joked that it was almost as if the cat was taking notes so that she could do what the boy did. They didn’t know how close to the truth they were. The game he was playing was a drawing game, testing his skills as a budding artist. 

“It’s time for your nap, buddy.” Lindsay said as she approached his desk. “What are you making?” she asked, unsure of what she was seeing. 

“Daddy and Jussin are fairies.” He giggled. “They fly in the trees. See, they have wings like a butterfly.”

“Uh Gus, they have no clothes on. Don’t fairies wear clothes?” She wasn’t even going to go into the fact that he’d made his father a fairy. 

“No clothes, just skin.” Gus shrugged. “Fairies don’t like clothes.”

“The fairies in your books wear clothes.” 

“Those are pretend fairies, these are real ones.” Gus made his picture fairies sit in a bird nest before climbing down from his desk. “Nap now mommy.” Doug jumped down beside him. “Sleep with momma and Phoebe.” 

“Gus please don’t call the baby Phoebe, you know it annoys momma.” Lindsay had given up trying to make him stop calling the baby Phoebe around her. Even though she was sure the baby was a girl and would be named Jennifer Rebecca, she was beginning to mentally call her Phoebe as well. 

“Okay.” Gus agreed. He didn’t need an annoyed Momma; she wasn’t very nice when she was irritated with him. She’d tried to spank him once the week before, but Phoebe had made her arm hurt before she started. Gus hadn’t forgotten his shock at the realization he was about to be physically struck. Phoebe was a good friend to him already. 

Gus was pleased that his momma was already asleep. He climbed up on the big bed with his blanket, laying his head on a pillow. Doug jumped on the bed and settled between Melanie and Gus, stretching out long and lean. Gus carefully covered her up, leaving only the tip of her nose uncovered. He shut his eyes, happy to be close to Phoebe. It wasn’t often he could be this near. “Phoebe our daddies are being silly fairies today.” He whispered, his voice soft as a summer breeze and almost as quiet. 

“My daddy is having fun.” She agreed. “Your daddy is too, but he doesn’t want my daddy to know.” 

“Daddy’s are funny.” Gus said quietly. He sighed. “Sleep now Phoebe.” His small hand rested on the mound that was Melanie’s tummy, the warmth of his hand felt by the small one tucked safely inside. 

Phoebe turned over and over in her watery space, thinking about what the world would be like when she was born. She worried about her mother’s inclination to work too hard and her refusal to eat properly. She worried about Gus and his safety, for she could feel black forces pressing down on the house, though her father had Gus in a protection spell. It would be another almost six months before she could be born, though she supposed if she had to, she could do it in five though it might leave her too weak physically to be much help to Gus. 

The calming lullaby sung by her Grandmother Jenn filtered into her haven. One or the other of her Grandmother’s always knew when she was anxious and wove a spell of song for her. Gus’ grandmother knew songs from ancient times, and her grandmother knew the newer ones. They were all good. Phoebe let herself relax, she needed her rest as well as her mother. 

At the fairy retreat, Justin woke refreshed from his nap. Brian was nowhere to be seen, but he wasn’t worried. He suspected the older man was enjoying the freedom of flying. He shivered, it was colder than he’d expected. To warm himself up, Justin took to the air flitting here and there keeping out of sight of the other campers but observing them carefully. He was hoping he’d find Brian but instead he found Michael peering out of the door of one of the cabins. 

Flying low, Justin could tell that Michael wasn’t happy to be stuck in the woods. He was shivering and dressed in a kilt. Justin laughed out loud as he flew higher. Michael heard the sound and turned toward him, his eyes bugging out at the sight of a blond winged human. “Holy fuck, it’s a fairy.” He whispered, trying to trace where the Justin flew, but he was too fast. “I saw a fucking fairy.” Michael ran outside to tell someone, but everywhere he turned and anyone he told, wasn’t interested. They were in a fairy retreat after all. Of course he saw a fairy.

Emmett didn’t hear any of this. He was sitting deep in the woods in a secluded glen, his back to a large rock, smoking a joint he’d brought from Georgie’s stash. He was well and truly high. He watched Brian fly into the open glen and then he watched as the man sat on his shoulder. “Hey Brian.” Emmett said as he took another hit. 

“Hey Em.” Brian leaned in, hoping for a residual high from the fumes. “What’s up?” 

“Not much. I miss George.” Emmett sighed. “Oh, and I know you and Justin are Wahjee, but I won’t tell.” 

“I’m a fairy, a figment of your doped up mind.” Brian said. “Blow that smoke my way, would you.” 

“No problem.” Emmett blew smoke over his shoulder. “So why the fairy wings?” 

“Justin’s idea of a fun weekend.” Brian said when he let the smoke out of his lungs. 

Emmett found this funny and started to giggle. 

“Hey don’t laugh, I could fall off.” Brian was high.

“No you couldn’t, you’d fly.” Emmett giggled, this time offering Brian a toke. It wasn’t easy, but he managed to suck in another lungful of the powerful weed. 

“Fuck, that’s either good stuff or it works better when you’re three inches tall.”

“I think size does count.” Emmett laughed “Though for a fairy, you’re not badly hung considering it’s damn cold out here tonight.” 

“Yeah, no shit. Justin and his fucking ideas. Do you have any idea what it’s like to fuck in a bird’s nest? I mean the fucker could come home any minute and mistake us for some kind of naked bug.”

“It is kind of a strangely ironic idea, I mean you and Justin as fairies.” Emmett sighed. “I envy the two of you. You have so many years left for you to spend together. My Georgie and I had such a small amount of time.”

“He loved you Em. He still loves you. I mean look how he trusted you with a secret that meant everything to him. Wahjee take the knowledge of their existence seriously.” Brian sucked back some more smoke. “Of course you aren’t having this conversation with a fairy either.”

“That’s true.” Emmett sighed. “I mean if I was going to have you as a figment of my imagination., I think a full size Brian Kinney would be more fun than one big enough to put in my pocket.”

“In your dreams Emmett. Don’t tell Justin, but I’m a one man fairy.” He giggled. “It’s a secret.”

“Your secret is safe with me.” 

Michael stumbled into the small Glen. He slumped down beside Emmett. “I think I’m having a bad trip.” He closed his eyes and leaned back, but not before nodding to Brian. 

“Have some smoke.” Emmett offered. “It’s pretty good.” 

“Can’t, I’m seeing things.” Michael sighed. “I know it’s not good when you start hallucinating.”

“Oh, seeing anything interesting?” Emmett had to ask, knowing full well what the other man was referring to. Brian was now leaning against Emmett’s neck, thoroughly high.

“I saw Justin.”

“Oh, I didn’t know he was here this weekend. Was Brian with him?” 

“No, I saw Justin flying. He was a fairy.”

“Oh.”

“I see Brian too.” 

“Really?” 

“Yeah, I think he’s on your shoulder. I think he’s high. I recognize that look he gets.” 

“Oh.” Emmett paused. “Is he a fairy too?” 

“Of course he’s a fairy. He’s been a fairy all his life.” Michael huffed. “I’m a fairy too. But not as much as Brian. I suck at being a fairy. I don’t know my inner fairy.” He started to cry. 

“Oh for fuck sake, Mikey. Get a grip.” Brian stood up, his legs wobbly. He flew over to Michael and kissed him. “You’re fucking pathetic.” Then he flew away.

“Fairy Brian kissed me.” Michael sighed. “I’m tired, really, really tired. I’m never doing any kind of drugs ever again in my whole life.”

“I want what you had. Fairy Brian didn’t kiss me.” Emmett laughed.

“It sucks when you can feel and hear your hallucinations.” 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

“Brian, I don’t want you going out there.” Justin stood in the front of the heavy loft door. Brian was dressed all in black from head to toe. It wasn’t club clothing, but rather what he referred to as ass kicking clothing. 

“I know what I’m doing.” He slipped into his leather jacket. “I won’t be late.”

“You aren’t a fucking comic book hero, you aren’t Rage.”  Justin’s hands were on his hips, his voice shrill with fear for what Brian was doing. 

“Justin, move away from the door. Shanda Lear is my friend. I’m not standing by doing nothing when the punks that bashed her go unpunished.”

“You wouldn’t let me join the Pink Posse. You said they were nothing but wanna be thugs. But it’s okay for you to go there looking for trouble.”

“I’m not fucking dressed in a pink fucking shirt, head shaved like some kind of white supremest asshole. I’m an out and proud gay man who will not be intimated by these homophobic freaks. I thought we were finished with shit when Stockwell was corralled. Apparently not. I’m not looking for trouble, but I’ll tell you this once and only once. I’m not backing down from it either.” 

“It’s okay for you to walk around like some kind of super hero, but it isn’t okay for me to go out with a bunch of guys just because we wear pink shirts.” Justin slumped, he knew he sounded stupid and he didn’t like it. 

Brian put his hands on Justin’s shoulders and moved him to one side. Then he lifted Ty off of his shoulder and put him on the counter. Killer he shoved with his hip, the big dog wasn’t all that anxious to make a point of keeping his master inside. “Killer, get your leash, you’re coming with me.” 

“Woof.” The dog was pleased to be included. He loved going for walks with Brian, especially lately. They got to chase people and sometimes he got to jump on them, making the people fall to the ground while he pretended he was a pitt bull. It was a lot of fun.

“You’ll take Killer, but you won’t let me go?” Justin’s feelings were hurt.

“Witch boy, I want you safe. I don’t want to have to worry about you.” Brian leaned forward and kissed him soundly. “Don’t wait up.”

“You can’t tell me what to do, you’re not the boss of me.” 

“Gee Justy, do you want some cheese with that whine?” Brian laughed and left the loft. , making sure to spend a few seconds to put a captivation spell on the loft door. Justin would have to work pretty hard to get the door to open, if he could do it all. 

Justin kicked the metal door over and over until he couldn’t feel his foot. Then he sat down and screamed, throwing a temper tantrum the likes of which hadn’t been seen in years. 

Ty sat and watched in silence, fascinated by the almost human reaction. Wahjee were supposed to be more stoic. He flashed the scene in his mind to Gus’ Wah cat, Doug. They had become close over the last few months. 

Justin finally picked himself up off the floor and headed for the shower. There was no way he was going to allow the man he loved to risk his life without some kind of back up protection. Killer was good to a point, but he was really just a large furry pussycat as far as Justin was concerned. 

Emerging fifteen minutes later dressed as Brian had been, in black, Justin headed for the roof. His boyfriend was good, but he also underestimated his blond partner. Justin was <i>of the moon </i> as the Wahjee liked to say. He’d been born on the night of the new moon and since then, that shining skyclad orb had regulated his life. Nothing could stop him when he was exposed to its light. 

Near Babylon, Brian and Killer sauntered between light and shadow. He nodded to friends and acquaintances. Watching and seeing everything and anything. Killer smiled his toothy doggy smile, not really understanding why everyone backed away. He was showing his teeth like his yellow haired master did. But instead of showing their teeth back at him, they jumped and cringed, hugging the walls. 

Brian didn’t mind, it saved him from actually having to talk to anyone. Killer may look at first glance like a curly haired friendly, overly large dog. But when he smiled, he lost that huggable look. When he rounded the corner at the far end of the block, he had to walk past two bathhouses. Brian could feel the hair on the back of his neck rise. Something was wrong. Killer felt it too. Gone was the prance of a standard poodle, replaced by the stealthy and careful glide of an ancestral wolf. 

He held back, staying in the shadow of a downtown city tree. And then they saw it. Two Wahjee and three humans bent on trouble. Chris Hobbes at the front of the pack, for it was a pack of predators like any other in the city jungle. Looking for prey to take down and destroy. 

Brian had other ideas. Three men came out of a bathhouse arm in arm. Laughing over the antics of the evening and talking about what they were going to do next. To Brian’s astonishment, Chris magicked the group into large heavy Neanderthalic thugs. This was not acceptable. No wonder no one was able to identify the bastards who were bashing gays in the city. The rules about using magic near humans so that they were aware of it were crystal clear and even Hobbes knew that little fact. 

The Hobbes gang pounced on three men. Brian and Killer quickly followed. The tall pseudo Rage had the advantage of knowing that the look of the attackers was merely a façade. He was holding his own, when all of a sudden Justin was beside him, Ty on his shoulder. The Wah cat leapt onto Hobbes, his Wah cat abilities more than a match for the evil Wahjee. 

At his home, Gus dreamed a nightmare. He was dreaming of the fight between Hobbes and his gang along with his father and Justin. Not realizing that his dream was real, he unconsciously gestured just as Hobbes and the other Wahjee with him joined their black forces in preparation for killing Brian. The two men had raised their hands, a mass of black energy going unnoticed by Brian and Justin in their efforts to ward off the humans bent on doing them harm. But Killer saw the dark mass. He was a dog after all, a heredity offspring of wolves who had once walked the very spot he stood on. He leapt toward the two Wahjee, just as Gus reduced them to the size of mice, his mouth open, Killer’s teeth closed over them,; ignoring the black swirl of evil, his teeth bit down and despite the bitter taste, he chewed once and swallowed.

Gus, in his sleep, crowed in triumph. Phoebe, who had leant her power to Gus, did the same as she flipped over and over in her watery home. 

Killer tried to spit out the bad taste but only burped up a black slime that slithered into a grate near the curb. He whined, looked around and found a puddle of water to rinse out his mouth. 

“What are you doing here?” Brian asked when he could catch his breath. Justin had returned from chasing one of the humans. 

“Hey Brian, thanks for being here.” One of the gays from the baths was nursing a black eye.

“No problem Bob.”  Brian glared at Justin to let him know that it wasn’t over. “Hey Jake, you okay?” He helped another one up off the ground. 

“I’ll live.” The man looked at Brian who now had Ty on his shoulder. “Man, is that a cat or what. Did you see him rake that bastard who had me down?” he reached over and scratched Ty behind the ears. “Cool cat Brian, though isn’t it kind of weird to have him on your shoulder like a parrot?” 

“No.” Brian answered as he dusted off the knees of his jeans. He looked around for Killer who appeared to be dry heaving into the gutter. “Hey boy, you okay?” Brian asked the dog. 

“He must have eaten something that didn’t agree with him.” Justin rubbed the dog’s back. “Hey, did you see where Chris disappeared to?” Justin asked Brian. “Or that other guy he was with?” 

“No.” Brian looked around. “Go home brat.” He whispered in Justin’s ear.

“Rage needs a sidekick.” Justin snickered. “And not one with fur.”

“Rage is a figment of your imagination.” Brian scoffed as he continued on his patrol. Justin and Killer had to run to catch up with him. He didn’t want Justin to get over confident, but he’d been glad to see him. If he’d had to face the attackers any longer, he might have had to resort to Wahjee powers and that wouldn’t have been smart. 

“Yes, but there’s always truth in what I draw.” Justin put his hand in Brian’s, pleased when the older man threaded their fingers together. “You’ve got to send Ty home, he’s kind of attracting a lot of attention. I mean cats aren’t usually part of your wardrobe.” He snickered at Ty’s glare in his direction.

“I suppose we could call it a night.” Brian glanced down at Killer who looked miserable. “Killer doesn’t look well and frankly, all this activity has made me horny.” 

“Everything makes you horny.” Justin laughed. “Home it is Rage.” And with that he popped them all to the rooftop garden. “Sorry I can’t do more, some asshole put limits on my powers once I’m inside.” 

“Hmmmm, I wonder who that could be?” Brian pulled Justin down so they lay on the small plot of thick grass under the moonlight. Ty jumped over to his favorite spot on the ledge. He liked to keep an eye on everything when the two men forgot the world in favor of each other. 

Justin rolled over until he straddled Brian. “Moon boy remember, I can get the best of you under its light.”

“Duh, why do you think I drag you up here all the time?” Brian asked with a laugh before pulling Justin closer. 

Justin laughed and made their clothes disappear, cool air washed over their bodies.

Seeing that the men were suitably occupied, Ty jumped down to stand near where Killer sat, huddled in a mess of dog misery. <i>”Uh dog, you ate two Wahjee. It isn’t an acceptable thing to do.” 

“I couldn’t help it.” </i>” Killer was miserable. <i>” “Do you think the master will be angry?” 

“Of course he will be dog. You don’t eat people,; for one thing they taste bad and for another, they’ll make you sick for days.” </i>” He looked around. <i>” “I, uh, have had some experience in accidentally eating things that don’t agree with Wah cats.”

“What am I going to do?” </i>” Killer whined and put his paws over his nose.

<i>” “Don’t eat any more of them for one thing.” </i>” Ty said. He leaned back and began to wash the base of his tale, looking up for a moment as he left hind leg pointed to the moon. <i>” “I mean they were only small like a mouse, who’ll miss them?” 

“Yah, nobody will care.” </i>” Killer smiled, feeling better until his stomach rumbled and he burped. 

But they were missed immediately when they stopped breathing. For Wahjee were all part of one and even though they strived for good, those that had turned, affected them all. When Chris Hobbes and his friend died, each and every Wahjee alive on the planet felt just a little bit of elation. Few knew why, for the idea of black arts didn’t occur to many. But the ones who had allowed blackness to steal into their souls, they knew that their number was fewer by two and it worried them.