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Another night, another pointless celebration. It seemed the people only delighted in making up reasons to drink and gorge themselves on food till they were sick. It only made him hate them more. And worse, it seemed he was one of the few fighters to even be in attendance. Of course, Kaxek wasn't present. The only one Xeda saw actually enjoying himself was Tazyn.

He knew he had to make up for the showing, and he figured that was the reason Ophilia forced him into this situation. Make sure everyone knew he was still obedient, that he was still of sound mind and could be trusted around them.

But he couldn't be. He really shouldn't be here. They couldn't change him no matter how they tried. All he could do was bide his time and hope he didn't snap.

He let Ophilia parade him around like before. Let others approach, let them smile and talk to him. Only this time, he could see the unease in their eyes. Could smell the faint scent of their fear. They didn't touch him this time either but kept an arm’s length away. They were learning.

Only when he saw Sal with his group of men did he feel the rage rise again. But even they stayed clear of him, and for that he was grateful.

He hardly gave them notice anyway. He spoke little and stayed close to Ophilia's side. It was her he found his focus shifting toward throughout the night. He focused on her scent, the way she moved, how her hand rested on him, and let his mind wander to places freely, uncaring how shameful or forbidden they might be. Funny, it calmed him even as it pained him.

When the thoughts weren't enough, he even risked letting his tail glide across her leg ever so slightly, as if by accident. It was a dangerous game he played, knowing it only served to make his heat worse. What was more frustrating was Ophilia's reaction, which was basically non-existent. She didn't try to kick him away or tell him to stop. But she didn't even look at him or smile either. She ignored him completely, and that only made him feel worse.

At one point when she went off to get a drink, he glared at her in hopes she would look at him. Just one look. That's all he wanted. If they were alone, he would have demanded it. But here, he knew how bad it would appear for both of them if he tried to command her in front of the others.

He could tell how tense she was. That she wouldn't directly look at him made him wonder if she was starting to fear him more too.

Are you afraid?

Yes, sometimes.

He felt a painful need to just call it quits and convince her to let them leave this awful party behind and go back to their room. He wouldn't try to scare her more or anything. But maybe he could get that massage she promised. Yes, that was all. Nothing more than that. And how nice it would be.

Before he could attempt to gain her attention, Ophilia turned to him. "One moment," she said, and slipped away. He watched her again, disappointed at first, then agitated when he saw who she was approaching. That man from the showing, who he assumed was Kaxek’s representative.

The man smiled at her as she came to stand beside him. He put a hand on her shoulder and leaned down, whispering something in her ear. She nodded in response, and he slipped away.

Xeda watched him sharply, his fangs slipping from his upper lip as if ready to snarl. Then he fixed his expression when Ophilia returned to him. She gave him one of her forced smiles, but her eyes seemed far away.

"Come with me," she said. She led him toward the elevators, and he began to feel relieved. They were leaving, thank the elders.

They got onto the elevator, taking it back down. Yes, this was perfect. He could ask her to send for food since he didn't care for anything at the party. They could spend the night in each other's company, and then he'd ask her to sit by him and maybe rub the sore parts of his body, let her hands move across him and then down where it was sore the most. And then after...

The door slid open, but not to their floor. Disappointment and confusion ate at him as she started down an unfamiliar passage.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

She turned to face him, and once more, he saw that strange faraway look in her eyes, like she was seeing through him. "A...private affair." She reached out her hand to him when he didn't move. "Something for you."

He looked at her with an odd expression but trusted her. She didn't look worried or upset exactly, just strangely distant. He cautiously followed her to a door down the hall, and when she opened it, he found another nice room similar to theirs, only a little more open, with an inground bed in the middle bigger than the one in his room. There was a table set with food and drink, and it was dimly lit and warm just like he liked it.

It was empty too. Heat simmered low when he assumed they might be alone here together and that this would be a perfect place for them to have their moment. He walked in eagerly, looking around at how nice it was. Then he turned back to the door and noticed Ophilia still stayed outside the room.

"There will be others to join you," she said stiffly. Then she gave him that forced smile. "When you're ready, just come back to the room."

"What is this?" he asked. "What do you mean by others?"

Her face turned red, and she cleared her throat. "It's a...gift, Xeda. To help with...to help you get through the next game."

His eyes narrowed. Help him get through the game?

She laughed nervously. "You'll see." She turned to leave, then stopped herself. "But if...if nothing is to your liking, we’ll arrange something else. If you like. But you can enjoy yourself. You're allowed that too." She shifted on her feet, as if she was desperate to get away. "Anyway, I'll see you soon." Before he could tell her to wait, she was gone, the door sliding back.

Stunned, he stood there, watching the door as if Ophilia might reappear again and tell him she was messing with him. When she didn't, he looked around the room. It did look like they made it just for him. Maybe this was only meant to be a time for him to relax, giving him a moment away from everyone. But he would have had that just fine with Ophilia in their room. Why couldn't she stay? And who else, exactly, was supposed to be joining him?

He hung about the room for some time, waiting, picking at some of the food left at the table, trying out the bed and finding it nice enough. There was a bathing area too, in another room with a large bath just like the one in his room. But none of them were more impressive than what he already had. He was starting to worry that maybe this was his new room and that for some reason they had decided to separate him from Ophilia, that this would be part of his punishment for his actions at the showing. But the more he paced and thought about it, the more that didn't seem to make sense. Maybe she chose to separate them, but he couldn't understand why she would. He was becoming increasingly bored as time passed and more impatient as he wondered about Ophilia.

When he finally had enough waiting, he went to leave when the door slid open before him. He froze as a group of otherkin appeared on the other side.