Perfect Strangers

by Jan Stryvant

Daelyn blushed after a moment, and then scowled at him.

  "Don't go getting any ideas, buster!"

  Sean smiled and shook his head slowly, "Too late for that!" He motioned towards the tables that were being set up in the living room, "Is that what I think it is?"

  Daelyn suddenly smiled, which made her look even more radiant, and nodded. Sean got the feeling she could make his lion sit up and beg.

  "Twenty-one is when you come of age in dwarven society, and my uncle said it wouldn't be fair to let it go uncelebrated, especially after all you've lost."

  Sean blinked, "Really?"

  "Your father was a really good friend of my uncle's," Daelyn sighed and shook her head.

  Sean frowned, "And that makes you sad, why?"

  Daelyn held out the sack with the gold coins Sean had given her.

  "It means I can't take this," and she handed it back to him.

  "Are you sure?" Sean said and looked into the small sack. The six unmagicked coins, as well as the four now enchanted ones were still there.

  "You can't pay friends for helping you," Daelyn told him. "It's one of our older customs. You help friends and family for free, because you can't set a price on their bonds and loyalty."

  Sean nodded slowly, and took one of the enchanted coins out of the sack, which he then held it out to her as he slipped the rest into his pocket.

  "I'd like you to take this, as a gift."

  Daelyn rolled her eyes, "I just told you I can't."

  Sean smiled, "This isn't one of the gold pieces I offered to pay you. This is an enchanted gold medallion, and I'd like you to wear it. I think it would look good on you."

  Sean was rewarded with Daelyn blushing all the way down into her cleavage, which was easily as big as Jolene's, which made it rather impressive, as Daelyn was half a foot shorter.

  "You want me to wear it?"

  Sean nodded and smiled as she took it, suddenly looking rather shy.

  "What does it do?" Daelyn asked, turning it over and looking at it.

  "It protects you from scrying and mind based spells, like sleep or paralyze."

  "Oh!" Daelyn paused a moment, "Do Roxy and Jolene have them?"

  "Roxy does, but Jolene's a magic user, so I just taught her the spell."

  "Thank... thank you," Daelyn said softly and blushed again. "I think I'll go find a nice chain to wear it on. Excuse me for a few minutes.

  "Of course," Sean said and then opened his eyes wide as Daelyn stepped forward and gave him a rather warm hug, then quickly left the room.

  Looking up, Sean saw Samis and his wife Sarah smiling.

  "I didn't do anything wrong, did I?" Sean asked

  "No, son, nothing wrong at all," Samis said with a chuckle.

  "Come," Sarah said and beckoned him to the kitchen, "let's get some food into you before the party starts! Samis, why don't you go knock on the door and see if the others are awake yet?"

  Sean followed Sarah into the kitchen and was rather amazed at the amount of food she set in front of him, not that he complained! He started in on it with a will as he was starving.

  "I always love a man with a good appetite!" Sarah laughed.

  "Thanks," Sean said, between bites. After a few minutes he paused, "May I ask something about Daelyn?"

  Sarah nodded, "Of course, Sean. What would you like to know?"

  "I'm kinda getting the impression that she's not all that popular with the guys, and considering her looks, which please, don't take this the wrong way, are a lot better than any of the girls I've met down here, and well, why? I'd expect there to be a long line of men after her."

  Sarah sighed, "It's her height. Daelyn's a good six inches taller than most girls. Why she's as tall as or taller than many men."

  "So?"

  "Dwarven men don't like tall women much, Sean."

  Sean blinked, "That has to be the stupidest thing that I've ever heard."

  "Knowing her as well as I do, I'd be inclined to agree with you on that, Sean." Sarah nodded, and then added with a wink, "But their loss is your gain, right?"

  Sean felt his lion actually sit up and pay attention. Sarah was smiling at him very warmly.

  "I'm not a dwarf," Sean replied slowly as his mind happily considered that thought. Of course his lion was now pushing the idea, and honestly Sean had no intentions of resisting.

  "Ah, but your family is good friends with a number of dwarves, it wasn't just your father, but his father, and his father too. Plus, you're not human, you're a lion."

  "Why does everyone keep telling me that being a lion makes things different?"

  "Because they're one of the few lycans that take non-lycans as wives. In every race, there is the one group that is the exception to the usual rules, and for lycans, that's the lions."

  "So, it wouldn't reflect badly on Daelyn if I were to pursue her?" Sean said with a smile as Roxy and Jolene, fresh out of the shower entered the kitchen, yawning.

  "Oh no, in fact it would be quite welcomed," Sarah turned to the girls as they entered and pointed them at seats, then started to heap a large amount of food on a plate which she gave to Roxy, who started in on it with a single minded intensity. Jolene's plate was somewhat less filled, but she started in on hers almost as quickly.

  "So, they trying to set you up with Daelyn yet?" Roxy whispered to him.

  "I think we're past the word 'try,'" Sean admitted quietly. "How'd you know?"

  "She's too tall. Male dwarves are really touchy about height. If you're a really tall one, you look for the shortest woman who'll have you."

  "Why's that?"

  "Tunnels. Notice how the hallways we walked down were only a few inches above your head?"

  "Yeah, but the rooms here are huge."

  "That's a sign of wealth," Roxy told him between bites; "to have space you don't need and can't use. But for the hallways and everything else? Most are lower than the ones we came here through. That's probably because they get more human visitors here and don't want them to feel claustrophobic."

  Sean laughed, "I actually kind of like the feeling of being underground."

  "That's your lycan side. We cats like dens, and dwarven communities are just like one big one to us."

  "What about you?" Sean asked, nudging Jolene.

  "For a tantric magic user, being underground is to be surround by the life of the earth," Jolene smiled at him, "So, yeah, I kind of like it too."

  "First time, Jo?" Roxy asked.

  Jolene nodded.

  "Obviously not for you though, right?" Jolene asked Roxy, smiling.

  "Nope, they're several large communities around Vegas; it's also where all the tin knockers come from."

  "Tin knockers?" Sean asked, as Jolene looked on curious.

  "They're the guys who do all the HVAC work in the high rises," Roxy told them. "You have to be small enough to fit into a lot of tight spaces, but strong enough to do some pretty heavy work. Dwarves are naturals at it, especially with their love of working metal."

  "Huh, learn something new everyday," Sean said and added a "Thank you!" to Sarah as she dumped another pile of bacon, eggs, biscuits and gravy onto his plate.

  Daelyn almost ran back to her room, she had a chain that would do Sean's gift justice, and she couldn't wait to put it on and see how it looked.

  He'd given her a gift! She laughed and wondered if he knew the significance? The way he smiled, she had a sneaking suspicion that he knew exactly what he was up to. It was one thing to give a woman you were interested in a gift of jewelry, but to give her a magically enchanted one? Especially with such a powerful spell?

  Oh, but there were going to be a lot of jealous women in the tunnels tonight! Daelyn couldn't help but laugh at that thought. Her uncle had been right, though. The way Sean's eyes locked on her, Daelyn smiled and sighed happily as she stepped into her home. No dwarven man had ever looked at her like that!

  Going to her room she found the necklace she'd been thinking of, it was a one-inch band of delustered go
ld alloy, that would lay flat around the base of her neck, and dip down slightly over her chest, so the coin, once attached would hang right above her bosom. Clearly visible with the dress she was wearing.

  Finding the proper attachment ring, it took her only a moment to wed the two pieces together, and then she quickly put it on and looked at it in the mirror.

  The chain looked wonderful, the workmanship put into it was obvious, but the lack of shine on it drew one's eyes to the gold pendant attached there, the lion's head prominent.

  Smiling, she turned back to the door, and then stopped for a moment. Going over to her closet she kicked off her low-heeled shoes and got out the pair of spike heels that she'd bought on a lark. Most dwarven women wore heels, because they were so short, but Daelyn always avoided them, because it made it clear to everyone else just how tall she was. She'd bought this set when she'd decided to go out to one of the casino bars and see what it was like, not being looked down on for her size. She still used them on occasion, but only when pressed into tour guide duty at the museum, something they often asked her to do because of her height she was sure.

  Heading back to her uncles, for the first time in her life Daelyn strutted down the hall. Sure, in heels she was almost five-one, but for the first time in her life, that was going to be an advantage.

  When Daelyn came back to the room, Sean sat up and once again stared.

  "Whoa, she's hot," Jolene said, next to him.

  "I'll say," Roxy agreed and then nudged Sean and smiled; teasing him, "go get her, Hon! Time to let the lion out!"

  "Oh hell no, he can wait, I saw her first," Sean growled softly and getting up he walked over towards Daelyn and noticed she was now a bit taller than before. Letting his eyes look down those shapely legs he saw the rather sexy three-inch spike heels she was wearing, and looking back up at her, he smiled as she turned to look at him. The very fact that she'd put on something to accent her height, the one thing others held against her, made it clear to him that she had put them on just for him.

  The other girls there were all looking at the medallion he'd given her, and seemed to be quite impressed. Sean would think that a gold medallion, even one that was made from a one-ounce coin wouldn't be that impressive to dwarves who worked precious metals regularly. Of course the chain she had it on was rather nice as well. So maybe it was the combination?

  Walking up to Daelyn, he took her hands in his, and then bending over slightly he kissed her full on the lips in front of the others. He could feel his lion's approval.

  "I like what you did with my gift," Sean said, smiling down at her as the others looked on.

  "Well, I wanted to be sure it was on a strong chain, I wouldn't want to be without its enchantments," Daelyn replied with a wink.

  "It's enchanted?" One of the girls who had been admiring the coin asked, sounding a bit surprised.

  Sean turned and smiled, "Of course, made it myself. It protects one from being scryed on, as well as from spells that would attack the mind. Like say a sleep spell."

  Sean was a little surprised that the eyes of all of the girls there widened, well Sarah's didn't, she just smiled a little wider and looked rather happy.

  "Why don't you come sit with me," Sean said, returning his attention to Daelyn.

  "I'd be delighted, Sean," Daelyn said and taking his arm he led her back to where he'd been sitting with Jolene and Roxy.

  "Did I just make them all jealous?" Sean whispered to Daelyn as Roxy slid over so they could sit.

  Daelyn giggled, a rather surprising sound. Sean found he kind of liked it.

  "Most definitely. In human terms you just put a twenty carat perfect cut flawless blue-white diamond on my finger."

  "Good," Sean smiled and helped her sit and then sat next to her, "Does this mean we're engaged?"

  "Ummm," Daelyn suddenly blushed and both Jolene and Roxy snickered.

  "What are you worried about?" Sean teased, "I'm trying to marry the gal who hit me in the face with a hammer. A silver hammer, mind you!"

  "Just behave yourself, and you won't get hit again," Daelyn warned in a low voice.

  "Oh, he behaves himself very well," Roxy whispered.

  "In bed," Jolene added with a wink.

  Sean put an arm around Daelyn, and hugged her, which stopped her from saying anything and just then the men showed up with the beer. Which was when the party really got started. Sean glanced at his watch; it was just past eleven, which mean he had definitely slept in a bit longer than normal. And while it may have seemed a bit early to start drinking to him, apparently it wasn't to anyone else. It wasn't long before he had a mug of beer in his hand and everyone was toasting to his good health.

  As parties went, it was wonderful. Sean had never had a much in the way of birthday parties before, because he and his mom just couldn't afford it. She'd bake him a dozen cup cakes and put icing on them, and that was about the height of it. Not that Sean had minded, he appreciated it more that his mother had always taken his birthday off, and that they'd been able to spend the time together.

  But today, today was wonderful. The beer in his mug was wonderful, and it was refilled as soon as he emptied it. Different foods and snacks were brought out all throughout the day, there was talking, there was music, there was even dancing, and Sean made damn sure to dance with all three of his women.

  Of course he had to smile when that thought went through his head, he'd already decided that Daelyn was his, and after one rather slow dance with her he'd maneuvered her back into one of the darker corners and wrapping his arms around her, he'd kissed her long and hard.

  She'd resisted a little, but not for long, and was returning it with interest by the time they both came up for air.

  "Earth and stone, I hope nobody saw that," Daelyn sighed and leaned into him, "but damned if that wasn't worth the embarrassment."

  "Daelyn," Sean whispered in her ear.

  "Hmmm?"

  "They all saw it, and if they didn't I'll happily drag you out into the center of the room so they can," Sean purred.

  "You wouldn't!" Daelyn's whisper went higher in pitch.

  "And anyone who makes fun of you for it, will be pounded into a nice bloody smear on the floor," Sean mock growled.

  Daelyn sighed and leaned into him again, "I could get used to this."

  "That is the general idea," Sean said and gave her a kiss on the forehead. He then danced another round with Jolene, who was a little unsteady on her feet from all the beer, and then Roxy who wasn't.

  "Is Jo okay?" He asked Roxy.

  "Eh, the alcohol is getting to her. She can't burn it off with magic the way we lycans do naturally. That's why she's not drinking as much as the rest of us."

  Sean nodded, "Keep an eye on her; I'm a little preoccupied with Dae right now."

  Roxy snickered, "Everyone is waiting for you to move in for the kill."

  "What's that supposed to mean?"

  "She's a virgin, and they all know you want her, and that she wants you. I think they're all a little surprised you haven't had your way with her yet. Especially now that everyone's heard about that little gift you gave her."

  Sean smiled and gave Roxy a kiss, "Thanks for the heads up, I'll make sure I go easy on her the first time. As for moving 'in for the kill', she's mine, what's the rush? Right?"

  Roxy laughed, "Taking pointers from your lion I see?"

  "I'm learning," Sean agreed.

  It wasn't much longer after that, that desserts were brought out, and apparently a present for him as well.

  Sarah had just handed Sean a plate with a piece of cake on it that he was eating when Samis came over to him with a small package.

  "What's that?" Sean asked, looking up from his seat.

  "Your father gave this to me, a few months before he passed. He told me he wanted me to give this to you on your twenty-first birthday, or afterwards, if that wasn't possible."

  "What is it?" Sean asked setting the plate down and taking the small velvet coated box
. It had a thin metal band wrapped around the sides, and that was it.

  "I have no idea. He told me that only you could open it."

  Setting the box down, Sean stood up and gave Samis a hug.

  "Thank you, Samis. Thank you very much for giving that to me."

  "You're welcome, Sean. Your father, he was a good man, but unfortunately he was too trusting, and in some ways, too naive perhaps. He didn't realize the trouble he'd gotten both himself and his family in, until it was too late. So he did what he could to try and protect you, and pass on his legacy.

  "When he gave me that, he told me to tell you that there is a world of difference between justice and vengeance. That when you burn the world down, you burn your own home with it. But," Samis smiled then, "if you ever do find yourself with the power to exact justice, he won't complain if you get a little revenge on those that wronged your family as well."

  "Thanks, Samis. Yes, there's definitely going to be a little vengeance before I get through with all of this, I'm sure."

  "I remember you as a child, Sean. You're almost a member of the family."

  Sean smiled and turned to look at Daelyn, as she sat eating a piece of cake and talking with Roxy and Jolene.

  "Just how sound proof are the rooms here?"

  "It's solid rock, Sean, so very."

  Sean nodded slowly, "I think it's time to unwrap my other birthday present."

  Samis laughed again, "Have a good night!"

  "Oh, I plan on it," Sean grinned and picking up the box and putting it in his pocket he walked over to the girls.

  "What was in the box?" Jolene asked.

  "Something from my dad," Sean told them, "Samis has been holding on to it for I guess thirteen years now."

  "Aren't you going to open it?" Daelyn asked, looking up at him.

  "There are some things more important, Love. It can wait until morning," reaching down Sean took Daelyn's plate as she stared at him with wide eyes and handed it to Roxy, then carefully pulling her up out of her seat he kissed her long and hard in front of everyone.

  "Time for bed, my love," he whispered in her ear, then sweeping her up in to a bridal carry, Sean took her back to the room they'd been staying in.

  "Don't I get a say in this?" Daelyn asked, still looking up in shocked surprise.