lilfluff

Title: Rabbit Hole, part Two
Fandom/'verse:

aldersprig's Addergoole
Rating/Warnings: A bit of cussing, a little fighting, accidental compulsions...
Previous parts: Part One (and on LJ)
Summary: The Law's don't care if you know what you're doing. Not the law of gravity, nor the Laws that effect the Ellehemaei fae...

A Rabbit Hole by Any Other Name ...

Ric hated to admit it, but a week later he was getting uncomfortably comfortable with the idea of living underground. If not for the other students, well some of them anyway, it would almost be paradise. Such as whichever of the jerks had just grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him away from the door to his math class. Oh come on! Not this class, I can already tell that I don't want Reid's attention!

"I hear you providing tutoring, that little guy? Well then, be a good tutor and give me your homework."

Ric looked up, and up, and wondered what school lost its secret weapon of basketball mass destruction. The jerk had to be at least six and a half feet tall. No, the guy was holding him in the air, the guy was at least seven feet tall.

"Yeah. One tiny little problem with that. I don't think, 'My Neanderthal is eating it' will cut it as an excuse."

Mister Jerk lifted him higher to look at him eye-to-eye. "You want an excuse from my fist? Or maybe I should just take your whole bag?"

Over Jerk's shoulder Ric saw one of the upperclassmen stare at the giant with a frown and start to approach. But just as the other guy opened his mouth he heard a more familiar voice.

"Right. Playtime is over. Put him down. Now." Turning his head as much as the twisted collar of his shirt allowed he saw Etheldred glaring up at the giant.

The upperclassman apparently took that as his cue, "Are you having a problem?"

"Yeah."

Etheldred spoke right over him, "Not yet. As long as he puts my friend down I won't have to hurt him."

"Uh, yeah... I guess I'm not dead yet."

Mister Jerk turned so he could see the upperclassman too. "This is between me an the shrimp. Butt out."

The upperclassman's frown only grew. "I don't think you realize just who--"

Ric didn't quite catch what Etheldred did. Her hands darted out grasping the giant jerk's arm and next thing he knew he was sitting on the floor watching as she twisted the arm and pulled the jerk down to her height. "I think this guy wants to talk to you. We'll just be leaving now."

Grabbing Ric's shoulder she pulled him into the classroom ignoring the jerk and upperclassman's words. "Hey, Etheldred, once I finish this panic attack remind me never to upset you."

"If you could crack a Python joke you weren't panicking."

"That was then. This is now. I've got time to panic about it now."

"I thought you were joking when you asked for a bodyguard."

"I thought I was too. Mostly. At least, at the time, I thought I was joking. I mean I'm used to being at the bottom of the ladder. But usually the jocks don't do that right outside the classroom."

"Really? With the complaining you've been doing I thought your old school must have been pretty bad."

"Well, I guess-- ack! Reid's getting ready to start, finish this later?" Ric settled back in his seat with a sigh, trying to concentrate on the lesson instead. Taking down notes more for Etheldred's benefit than his own since he had already worked a little ways ahead.

He started to lean over to speak to Etheldred again when the girl who sat behind her spoke before he did. "Just a little friendly advice, watch out for," when they turned to her she froze with her mouth open, shaking her head after a moment. "Look, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying he was up to anything. But it isn't always a bad idea to ask yourself why someone is being helpful before you answer."

With that the girl shoved her notes into her book and left without saying anymore. Ric looked over to Etheldred who simply gave a tiny shrug before collecting her own materials. "Etelka's been here a year already. Maybe there's some history between the two of them?"

Dark Down in the Rabbit Hole ...

Saturday a week later found Ric going through his usual morning routine. Muttering unkind things about the night for going away already when he wanted to sleep more, then finally getting up and getting ready to face the day. It was the weekend and he only had two things on his schedule. First up a tutoring session with Etheldred, and then with the rest of his day clear he'd track down the rumors he'd heard of a D&D game. He hadn't brought any of the books with him, not when he'd been planning to run and had tried to pack light, but even if D&D wasn't his favorite game it would...

He stood for a moment at his open door staring into the dark hallway. He looked back in at the functioning lights in his room then back into the hall. "Right. It's only a little ways down." He thought about leaving his door open for light before pulling it closed. Not a little kid anymore, I can handle a few feet of darkness. There's no monster waiting to get-- He'd no sooner thought about monsters when a scream echoed down the hallway.

His hand, tracing along the side of the hall found a doorway and he froze with his hand poised to knock. Wait, is it this one or the next? Damn it I lost count.

One moment the hallway was pitch black and a blink of an eye later it was lit with a flickering crimson light. He heard something that sounded almost like one of his neighbor's horses clearing its throat, something right behind him, and he slowly turned. Yeah. Of course it's a Minotaur and not a horse. Ric yelped as a huge hand reached up to shove him to the wall. The creature grinned as it pressed steadily harder and harder on his chest making his ribs feel like they were going to snap at any moment.

"Let him go! Now!"

* * *

Etheldred's morning was going at a non-stop panic. She'd slept through her alarm for the first time in months and woke to find herself with barely half an hour until her study session with Ric. Now, just after a quick shower and throwing on clothes, came a thud against the wall and a shrill cry.

"What the hell are they doing out there?"

She could just make out a yelp and a whine as she reached her door, opening it to see someone huge and hairy looming over a vaguely familiar guy. More importantly the other guy had Ric held by his arm and was pulling back from the hairy guy.

The guy thrust his other hand out and suddenly had a staff in it, rapping the hairy giant right across the nose. "Back off! He's not yours to play with."

Etheldred cracked her knuckles and grinned up to the hairy giant when he turned at the sound. "Playtime's over, run along home."

The guy's staff poked the furball's chest. "You've lost here. Hunt somewhere else."

She watched until the guy was gone then turned back to find Ric listening to a quiet whispering from the other guy. The faux-torch light made things confusing at first but finally she recognized him as the guy Etelka had been warning them against. The guy smiled as Ric's face got a dazed expression and he finally spoke.

"Yeah, you're right, we should go somewhere safe."

Still held by his arm Ric started to follow the guy, at least until she shouted after them. "Hey! Where are you going? I've got a safe room right here."

Ric stopped and looked back, eyes going wide as if he'd just noticed her. "Oh! Yeah. Hey, it's okay, this is where I was heading anyway."

Still holding Ric's arm the guy, what was his name, stared right into her eyes. "Perhaps you'd like to come too? It will be much safer over this way."

"I don't think so. Just let him go and there won't be any trouble."

"He was just saying he wanted to follow me somewhere safe, so unless you want to come along too I don't see how this is any of your business."

"It's really simple, I'm his--"

The guy cut her off with a laugh, "Like I'm going to believe that. The other way around maybe, but you being his?" He pulled Ric face to face, "An ignorant little pup like you hasn't really grabbed her already. Right?"

"Huh. No, sorry, she's mine. Don't see why you need one, but maybe you should have asked earlier."

"You're kidding..."

Etheldred almost laughed at the disbelief in his voice. "Will it make you go away if I say it for you too? Fine." She dropped her voice into a sing-song tone,"Me, his. You, annoying. Go way please."

An intense feeling rushed through her as she spoke, and Ric stiffened in the guy's grasp his eyes going wide as a wind seemed to hit him. With a growl the upperclassman shoved Ric over to her.

"You played me! Departed gods you played me! You think you're clever? You think you don't need any help? Hell, you aren't worth it."

Etheldred pulled Ric into her room while the upperclassman stormed off, leaning against the door after closing it. "What the hell just happened?"