.^^ Alistair ^^

--- Anza ---

My eyes opened slowly, viewing the ceiling, almost 30 feet above my head.

I gently rolled Indra and Tina off of me, onto Tara, and stretched slowly as they grumbled and cuddled again.

I dressed in sturdy denim jeans, a black shirt, and a seal-leather jacket, then set out towards the waterfront, following my nose towards the smell of fish.

I walked over the bridge, finding a large building that smelled of Fae and Fish. "Fulton... hmm." I walked in, and stood still, ignoring the people who attempted, and failed, to shove past me, and instead were forced to go around.

A tall, skinny man with long blonde hair walked up to me slowly, his luminescent blue eyes searching my own. I turned mine gold for a moment, and he smiled, wiggling his pointed ears, heavily laden with Mist.

"I am Anza Atkinson. I look for work. It is available, no?" I asked him when he reached me.

He bowed his head slowly. "Alistair Grigorovich is happy to be of service... come, please. The Dock Master may hire you, I am only the doorman."

I nodded and followed him, then tilted my head when I saw how plump his bottom was, despite how thin he was. I pinched it, to see if it was fat or muscle, and he smiled, mostly unaffected.

I hummed. "Interesting..." I nodded.

We reached an office at the back of the market, after a long walk down towards the water, and he knocked politely on an open doorframe.

A tall woman sitting at the desk raised a finger, indicating one minute, and then politely ended her call. "Yes? What's up, Al?"

"This is Anza Atkinson... she comes wishing work here." He said simply.

The woman blinked slowly, then smiled. "Ahhh, to think I would be meeting an Atkinson today... I knew I should dress up, but the why was lost..." she stood, revealing a sexy black dress that fell to her ankles, hugging her body perfectly.

I smiled widely. "Very nice. Very beautiful."

She bowed her head respectfully. "I appreciate the compliments... I am Erin Grigorovich, Alistair's step-aunt, and the Dock Master here on the west side of the Brooklynn Bridge."

I kissed her hand swiftly, and stepped closer, so we were chest to chest. "Wonderful to meet you..."

She smiled and stepped back reluctantly, sitting on her desk. "Now, you were looking for a job? Doing what?"

"I'm a decent Fisherman... I can wrestle sharks for you... I'm good for carving up fish, or cooking them, or anything else involving fish, really. My mother was a River Fae, so this type of work comes naturally to me." I answered.

She nodded. "Alright. I'd be happy to have someone along on one of our smaller ships that can bring in Shark Meat. Only certain sharks are allowed to be caught or killed, so you'll have to read up on the latest guidelines..." she fished around in her desk, then handed me a thin booklet, filled with fish lengths and weights that were allowed to be kept.

I flipped it open, and started reading, easily whipping through the thirty pages or so in a minute. "Alright. When do I start?" I asked.

She gazed out the window. "The boat has just left, so tonight's shift. Each excursion is 6-10 hours, you're only allowed to go on one a day, per boat, and your pay is counted from what the boat brings in. The end of the week, that's tallied, and you get paid." She nodded.

I smiled. "What to do with that time, then..."

"What... or who?" She smirked.

Alistair went to leave, and I snagged his belt. "You and your sweet ass are also needed, here." I murmured, kissing his ear.

I closed the office door slowly, and pulled him over to her, letting my jacket fall to the floor.

---

I whistled a happy tune as I boarded the ship I was directed towards.

The captain looked at me, and grunted softly. "River Fae?"

"Ogre and Fae." I nodded.

He blinked, then shrugged. "Ah well. Welcome aboard my boat, the Glynn. We're hunting for a swarm of Mako Sharks that have come a little closer to the harbor than normal. We're allowed to catch and keep anything over 4 feet. Skip, cast off." He nodded to the man on the dock.
-
I gazed into the water, and hummed. "There's quite a few of them. How many can you hold on this boat?" I asked the captain.

He tapped his fingers on the wheel. "Hmm, maybe 12 fully-grown one's."

"Alright." I nodded, and dove into the water, holding a harpoon.

The first shark swam directly at me, curious, and I measured him with the harpoon on his first pass. 'Two feet longer than the harpoon. That's 6 feet. Perfect.' I swam after him, making my feet into fins, and killed him with a stab in the heart. Then I dragged him onto the ship as the other sharks started swarming.

The captain laughed when I climbed on board. "I see now why Erin told me to take you with me! I'm going to make good money from that shark! Good job!"

I dove back in, ignoring his confused questions, and wrestled two more sharks of similar size as the first, pulling them on board and killing them.

"You said you could hold twelve, yeah?" I asked, smoothing my hair out of my face.

He blinked. "A-Aye?"

"Nine more to go, then." I grinned, and dove again.
-
The eleventh shark was the last I could get, the others going too deep, and swimming away.

"Hmph. Only Eleven, then." I said to the captain irritably.

He nodded. "Eleven is good. I approve. Okay, boys, let's try for a swarm of dogfish, next, eh? We're four hours ahead of schedule!" He laughed, and steered the boat west, back towards the harbor.
-
I took a quick shower after we were finished sectioning the sharks, and visited Erin. "All finished, boss. I'll see you tomorrow, Hmm?" I smiled.

She smiled as well. "Mm... you're staying nearby?"

"My family just bought a studio nearby, yes. Directly across the bridge." I nodded.

She set her glasses on the desk carefully. "I see... and have you had dinner?" She asked, crossing her legs and leaning back in her chair.

"... not yet." I sat on her desk. "You offering?"

"I am. Let's go!" She smiled, and took her purse from her desk, pulling me out of the building.

It was late, but I realized most places were still open, especially on the rivers. She pulled me to a small restaurant under the bridge, next to the fish market, and I hummed in surprise at the smell of delicious fish and sauces.

"Not the fish I expected, but I'm still going to enjoy myself." I grinned, squeezing Erin's hip.

"You stop that. This is a respectable establishment." She said seriously, and smiled at an elderly human who was sitting behind the counter, rolling sushi without looking down.

"Hello, Erin. New one already?" He chuckled, shaking his head, and produced a large knife from his belt, slicing the roll of sushi again without looking, then pushed it to the side, where a significantly younger boy took it to place it on a plate.

"Yes sir. She works with me at the Market, she started today." She responded respectfully.

"Is that all she started today?" He grinned teasingly, and then started a new roll.

She blushed, to my surprise. "Well..."

"No, no details, I'm only playing." He shrugged, and his knife flashed again, separating the sushi.

"You're very good at that. How are you doing that without looking?" I asked, curious.

"Ha! I've done this for 60 years, little girl! I cook with my hands, not my eyes!" He said dismissively, and then looked at a boy who was standing still. "What's wrong, James?"

"She's an og-." He started, but his siblings silenced him, hissing softly in a language I didn't know.

"Ahh, I apologize, young lady. He's very young, yet to learn to control his eyes. He doesn't know it's rude to See, and even worse to Say." The elderly man bowed his head in apology.

I blinked. "How... did he do that? The Seeing?" I asked Erin quietly.

She smiled. "Family secret. That's my nephew-by-law, James. And the elderly man is Hao-Xiang Jun, or just Jun, really."

I nodded. "Then your apology is accepted, Elder Jun. Now may I buy some food for myself and Erin? I have worked a lot, I'm very hungry."

He chuckled. "I'm sure you are... John! Take James' place, let's get back to work! James, go to your parents, help clean the house!" He snapped, and everyone started moving again.

"Interesting." I hummed.

The food was spectacular, of course, even if I was wary, at first, of eating an squid' legs, fried in oil. The end result was tasty, so I disregarded its origins.

I used Erin's phone to contact the dwarf woman who owned my building, and left a message for my brothers, then allowed her to escort me back to her 'flat', as she called it.

—

I awoke later in the night, and shot up to my feet, looking around wildly, in search of the familiar feeling, somewhere nearby.

Erin raised her head. "Hmm?"

"Sorry to wake you... are you aware of any ogres in your building? Other than me?" I asked quietly.

She blinked slowly. "Now you mention it... could be. Dunno." She slurred sleepily.

"Alright... I'll see you at work, darling. I'm going hunting." I kissed her cheeks, and pulled my clothes back on at record speed.

I was out the door, and tracking the feeling, in less than a minute.

The aura took me through the hallways to the eastern side of the building, which was confusing. Everyone knew that Ogres were afraid of the Eastern Sides of things. It was so ingrained in us that the Egyptian Fae had come to add it into their lore.

For an Ogre to live on the eastern side of anything, facing the sunrise... odd.

I stopped, as the feeling became much more potent, suddenly, then just as suddenly dialed back down, and again, in a sort of code, almost.

I tsk'ed. "I should have learned Morse code when Gregor offered to teach me, I get it. Thanks, Fate." The door in front of me was thicker than the others, and lined with salt, iron, and magnesium.

I kicked open the door, forming armor on my skin, and instantly thanked my lucky stars that I had the armor.

Like a porcupine lashing its tail, an entire branch of a Weeping Willow bonsai launched its quills at me, which would have poisoned me, without the armor.

I hummed. "Little-known Lore weaknesses? Check. Possible Trap? Double Check. Wonderful."

The bonsai shriveled into itself, and I pet the branches soothingly. "No need for that, little one, I'm not angry! You were just defending your masters Home, I don't hold grudges. Now go back to sleep, little one, I'm an invited guest."

The little tree shook itself, and settled back down to sleep.

"Invited? Really? I don't remember giving you an invitation." A soft, yet stern voice sounded from the hall.

I smiled a little. "Really? Morse code isn't an invitation? I don't really understand it, but a message of any kind is an invitation."

The woman sighed. "I see. Bellamy has some things to answer for... but you, woman, are not welcome."

I turned, to get a better look at her, and paused. Magma skin, and glowing golden eyes, were the two first things that caught my attention. "By the gods..." I breathed.

She blinked, just as shocked, as my true form revealed itself. "Oh! I see... he felt your aura, I suppose... how delightful, to find one of my own, after all these years... from where do you hail?"

"I am an Atkinson... the 2nd of the 5 children of Wroth, the old king of all Ogrekin... we are from Svalbard, most recently." I answered carefully.

She paled a little. "Ah... I see. Well, princess, should we take this discussion in for tea? I have a nice rose hip, if you'd like."

"I'd like that... and who is Bellamy? Your son?" I asked, following her into the apartment.

The answer to my question made himself known by leaping off the chandelier and attempting to attack me with his claws, not unlike a monkey.

I caught his scruff easily, and began to scold him. "Enough of that, young man! I'm sure your mother has taught you all you need to know about manners, now act like it!" I sat him down in a chair next to his mother, and sat across from her as the tea boiled.

She grimaced, taking a very pleasant human form. "Indeed, I have. Bellamy, sit still. And you know not to use your powers without a ward! We'll be talking about that later, at length!"

I smiled and took my own form, cracking my neck as the child followed suit. He looked about 8, and smelled of pure blood.

As soon as I made that connection, I looked at the woman. "You found an Ogre to mate? In America?"

She nodded. "There's several of us here. A small city, actually, though we hide very well, as I'm sure you know."

I blinked slowly, leaning back in shock. "A... a city?"

She smiled happily. "Oh yes. Beneath the Troll Market, actually. Of course, the fact that we are ogres is a very well kept secret, and we never appear in groups outside... you've caused quite a stir, you know, you and your siblings. Announcing that you're Kings and such."

"Gregor is the King. By Blood and Rite." I frowned.

She shrugged. "Perhaps of the Old Kingdom. We are free, here, followers of the Democratic process. You and your siblings are welcome, of course, to join us and mingle, as long as you understand that America shed its last Kingdom three decades ago, and while royalty is respected, for the most part, that is all."

I hummed. "A city of my kind... god's that sounds... amazing. Yes, I will tell my siblings the good news! I am happy to have found you, then, even on accident... I suppose the secrecy is to protect you from the Hunters."

She raised an eyebrow. "Hunters? No one hunts us, in America."

I gazed at her, doing my best to control the rage that was cracking its way to the surface of my mind. "The Ogre Hunters... the ones who have single-handedly murdered every single ogre in Europe and Asia? The singular reason we are very nearly extinct?!? What reason would you have for hiding, if not from them?!?" I hissed.

She shook her head. "No, we hid from the Witch-Hunts, a few hundred years ago, and never saw reason to resurface. Quite a few Ogre's from Europe have found their ways here with their families, but we couldn't risk a mass exodus giving away our new sanctuary, so we had them mask their departure, faking their own deaths. As for Ogre Hunters, I'm sure a few exist, but surely they aren't strong enough to actually kill an Ogre. I'm sure they are just the Scapegoat that many of those families used when coming here." She waved a hand dismissively.

I shook my head slowly. "You poor, poor, deluded woman... the Ogre Hunters killed Wroth Atkinson, the last Ogre King. That's why my family Fled here! Had I known that the survivors were based here and ignorant of the threat, I would have never brought us here!!!" I groaned.

She blinked, her eyes wide in shock. "They killed a Pureblood of a Royal Line?!? No, you shouldn't be here! You must leave, to draw the scent away!!!" She hissed back, standing up swiftly and shooing me towards the door.

I grumbled and let her do so, then paused at the door, picking up a few of the willow quills. "No... I don't think I will. I like this place, and I will stay. If they come, they face the wrath of the entire city's Fae. The very city itself will be their enemy. They will stay away, if they are wise." I nodded, then glanced at her. "But I'd still like admittance into this city for me and my family. We haven't seen a friendly Ogre for so very long..."

She sighed. "Yes, Yes... just go to any of the Troll Markets, and one of us will bring you to the Undercity. And don't mention us, ever. We survive by anonymity, here. Don't ruin that." She said sternly.

I nodded. "I will do my best. In the meantime, goodbye. I will see you again soon." I closed the door, wincing at the snapped bolt that would need to be replaced, and then made my way to the apartment, using the Doors to make the trip go faster.
-
Gregor stared out the window, digesting the information I'd given him, for about half an hour. He didn't move, or speak, he just stared at the moon, as hazy as it was in the polluted city sky.

After a while, though, he blinked, and nodded. "It's good to know we're not alone anymore... but I think we're still the last Generation of Royals, seeing as this city of theirs doesn't recognize our birthright. In several ways, I'm relieved. The weight of being the last Pure-Blooded Ogre... that's not something I ever enjoyed. And responsibility is another thing I've never enjoyed, so this is a blessing on many ways, yes..." he went back to staring at the moon.

I smiled. "Got your eyes on a Fae, I take it?" I teased him gently.

He didn't react as I'd expected, simply shaking his head. "There's a couple women I've met that caught my attention, but not enough to ask them for children... we'll see what the future brings, now that we know of these things... but the first thing is to get us settled here, and begin rebuilding our Kingdom, even if it's only in money, not population. See how many of them would like to join us once our fortunes are more agreeable." He chuckled softly, and then laid down, curling up with Tina in a little ball against his chest.

I nodded and patted their hair gently. "Sleep, then, and you can conquer the world tomorrow, brother."