Never had the Grand Marshal found himself in such a perilous situation.

Never had a challenge outweighed, outnumbered, or outmatched the adversaries he had too many times faced.

Never could he have imagined, not in his most frightful dreams…

Not for all seven kingdoms combined…

He had woken up that morning in high spirits. Normally, the mere sight of his precious mate during the early hours of the morning, lying beside him so unguarded was enough to soothe and ignite him all at once. It was his battle of opposing wills. No matter how vigorous or lasting or satisfying their lovemaking had been during the night before, Mammon still urged for his mate. Reminding himself that he would exhaust even the most spirited of succubi if he sought for more, Mammon resisted the temptation to wake Haru from his sleep. To want another so dearly, so constantly, so fervently, he thought, was…

No. This had to surpass love. He would consult the elders; they would know the most adequate name. He would also check to be sure there was nothing more ominous plaguing him.

But today, he was in high spirits as they were finally leaving Vargr. Today, he would head back to the comforts of his court and perhaps enjoy some more alone time with Haru before he went back to earth, and not have to worry about rogue wolf scents. Or perhaps he would join Haru on his return to earth. They had more privacy there. Even there, waking up beside Haru always felt more… well, much more of everything.

Yes, today, everything was off to a good start. Mammon had inspected the troops and seen them battle the previous night before retiring. Silvoh held his ground well, but it was Ghenus who everyone had the most trouble with, and when the two fought as a pair, as expected, they were quite troublesome to keep up with. True to his word and skill, Faolán left no wolf standing. Mammon had already suspected it, but when he fought, Faolán was an entirely different wolf, showing no hesitation, and erasing all trace of his usual calm demeanour. Leviathan was in for rare delicacy with this lot joining the ranks of court.

Mammon’s chest squeezed when in the middle of these thoughts, his Haru stirred and blinked his sleep off, gifting him his tired yet fulfilled grin. It nearly broke the wolf’s resolve as he clung on to reason. Still, they would have more time alone soon. Indeed, Mammon predicted this to be an excellent day.

Yet, on their way to court, the Grand Marshal faced what he could only deem as his most stupendous opponent yet.

Mammon saw it now, how the child had won— no! How it had stolen Faolán’s heart. And the fool fell for it!

And Haru was no less another victim, unaware how close he was to being imprinted on. With his half-dazed gaze, Rudi successfully got himself in Haru’s arms with the littlest of efforts. Mammon realised they had only passed the gates outside of Vargr, yet it felt as though hours had passed since Rudi marked Haru’s chest and arms as his permanent residency; it made it cumbersome to hold his beloved's hand. What to do? It felt niggling to just chase the child off. 

“Will we be going to your home, Mister Ito?” Rudi blurted eagerly, and Mammon’s eyebrow twitched, unable to raise itself any higher. More so because Haru was equally joyful in his response. “You can call me Haru, Rudi.”

“Ha-ru?”

Haru’s smile was again too wide as he emphasised the pronunciation, “yes, Haru.”

“Haru. Haru!!” The child beamed, arms flying up, as though he’d just won a prize. Mammon nearly lost his composure, but before he could reach for Haru, enormous paws reached for his shoulder. “Grand Marshall please,” Faolán said, “don’t fret yourself, Rudi will not imprint. Even if he could, your scent right now is strong enough to ward off a platoon of wolves from a few miles away.” Any other time, Faolán’s gentle smile might be enough to appease, but not here; not right now. Mammon only read an absurd amount of condescension.

Mammon shook his shoulder from Faolán’s touch and remained quiet, painfully aware of his soured mood and the ridiculousness of the circumstances. Then he heard the next word he feared most: Trains?

“They’re the most beautiful thing you will ever see, Rudi!!” Haru’s tone carried on, oblivious to the tormenting scene he caused right behind him. “And they’re so fast! When you come, I will take you to Ueno Station. There you’ll see the *Shinkansen! One day soon, the *Maglev will be ready too! I’m sure we’ll be able to go see it.”

“What’s a Shanksen… or Muhlev?”

Haru chuckled. “Only the fastest trains in the world!”

Rudi fidgeted in the human’s arms. “So does that mean we will go to your house, too Haru? When? Can we go now? Faolán let’s go now!”

“Easy, Rudi,” Faolán muttered calmly. “You’ll make Mr Ito drop you.”

“We are going directly to court, which is where you will remain.” Mammon finally intervened. He tried to keep his tone even, but even if Haru hadn’t spared him a quizzical look, he knew he was failing. “Only Haru and I will head to earth.”

It was a moment before the child spoke again, his eyes downcast and his tone much less excited. “Why can’t I come?”

“Rudi, let it go.” Faolán replied. “You’re going to love court. It’s what we discussed before, remember?”

“But Haru… Haru won’t be there. I want to be where Haru… is.”

Haru leaned closer to the child’s ear and whispered gently. “Don’t worry, Rudi! I’ll be here for a while.” And with a side glance at Mammon, he said loud enough, “and we’ll find a way for you to come visit me and I’ll show you trains then, right Mammon-san?”

Mammon looked at them, but it was Rudi’s broad, shimmering eyes he caught staring back at him.

“Right, Mammon-san?” Rudi pierced him with a pleading gaze that only furrowed the silver wolf’s brow in rebellious contempt, but was he really equipped for this standoff?

From the merciless wolves of Vargr, to the mighty Oxen of *Ro’Laris; from the superb Seers of *Nar where one’s thoughts are no longer their own, to the straggler demons and stealthy angels around Hell; the twinkle in this one’s hungry eyes were all it took to rob Mammon of his most treasured one. Rudi was, indeed, a consummate opponent.

Mammon raised his gloved hand over his mouth as he cleared his throat. “It’s Grand Marshal Mammon. And we’ll have to see about that.”

Mammon wasn’t sure how he sounded to the child, but somehow it wiped the sadness from its brow and his wolf's ears perked up. This wasn’t what he expected, but the child resumed its merry fidgeting in Haru’s arms, while begging for more stories about his mate’s world.

When Rudi held Haru closer to steady himself, Mammon found his arms jerking ahead to… well, he wasn’t sure what he was going to do, but again, Faolán’s paws on his shoulder reminded the nervous Marshal to hold himself together.

Anyone would pass by and not spare him a glance. Anyone who did glance at him would take him for granted. He looked harmless, scraggy, and mildly disaffected. But the cunningness, oh, the artful cunningness behind those red eyes. Indeed, this trip to Vargr produced some serious troubles ahead, the Grand Marshal decided.

Art commission by Shashashacoo. (Link in description)

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