Ryuu walked over and knelt beside Aiden's chair taking both her hands in his. "Please don't ever change. I would rather take on the entire world than to see you become something terrible."
"You mean a douchebag?" Meryn asked.
He shook his head. "No, normal. You are not normal Meryn, that is what makes you so unique and special. When people conform, they make themselves fit a cookie cutter mold and when that happens, they become interchangeable and replaceable. You my dearest heart are so perfectly imperfect that others fear who and what you are, because you reflect back at them how ordinary and small minded they are. Do you understand?" he asked keeping eye contact.
She gave him a wobbly smile, fighting back tears. "Basically, I'm a Fruit Loop in a bowl of Cheerios."
Ryuu raised both of her hands to his lips before pressing them to his forehead. He brought them down between them. "Yes. Yes, you are."
"You're our Fruit Loop Meryn and don't forget it," Colton said wagging a finger at her.
Etain looked down at Vivi. "How did you know about her grandmother?"
"I didn't. I was much older when I attended university. I may have looked like a twenty-year old, but I had several centuries under my belt. My roommate used to put down others, but when she did, her voice became harsher. I didn't understand it until the first Christmas when her family visited. Her father would bark at her in the exact same tone. I knew when I heard Meryn's voice that they weren't her own words, she was just parroting back something she had heard repeatedly," Vivi explained.
"What happened to your roommate?" Meryn asked turning back around to face the table. Ryuu took a step back but didn't move far away from his charge.
Vivi smiled. "She fell in love with a local farmer much to her father's dismay, moved far away and lived long enough to have great-great grandchildren running around her kitchen."
Meryn gave a decisive nod. "Good." She looked up at her mate. "Did you really fight everyone?"
Aiden grinned and held up his knuckles, that, despite shifter healing were still red and swollen. Meryn peppered his hand with kisses. She looked up her eyes sparkling. "Didja kill anyone?" she asked brightly.
"Oh yeah, she's feeling better," Rheia commented, sipping her water.
Aiden shook his head. "No baby I didn't."
"I bet if he had gone after that tunnel escort after Meryn slapped his hand, that would not be true," Gavriel commented.
Aiden's eyes darkened. "More than likely."
Etain cleared his throat. "He didn't just beat them Meryn."
"Oh? What else?" she asked.
"He declared that if anyone else moving forward hurt you through word or deed it would be seen as a direct challenge to
him, and he would fight them to the death," Etain explained.
"Holy shit," Colton whispered then frowned at Aiden. "If you were going to go all out you should have invited me. I think I'm pissed."
Aiden rolled his eyes. "I needed the warrior of the city who had witnessed the transgression for which I was basing my challenge on." He gave Colton a sour look. "You would have complicated matters."
Gavriel chuckled. "That is putting it mildly. There would have been a number of disembowelments and our lovely doctors and nurses are busy enough as it is. They did not need to spend the afternoon stitching up bigoted bootlickers."
Declan sat back. "Etain gets all the fun," he griped.
Colton eyed his new friend. "Maybe we could meander through the levels to see if anyone else needs a reminder on how to treat our midget."
"I am not a fucking midget Colton," Meryn threw a roll at him.
Adriel and Aiden pinched the bridges of their noses before Adriel turned to Aiden. "That is your second in command."
Aiden pointed to Declan. "And he's yours."
Kendrick looked over at Etain. "That reminds me. We need to attend morning drills with Goddard and Viktor. I owe Goddard a bit of sparring and I told Viktor you would be interested in training with him after I told you how he flirted with Vivi."
Etain's eyes hardened. "Oh, he did, did he?" He gave a menacing smile. "Just let me know when you are available," he offered. Kendrick gave him a mock salute.