Page 21 of Reforging Onyx

The outings to Onyx’s recreation room he had less of an excuse for. All of the wards and monitoring that he’d had the room enhanced with since Onyx’s incident would ensure that nothing like that could happen again, but Dominic was still loath to let the boy out of his sight.

“Shane is being punished,” he said mildly. Which was true, if perhaps not as severely as the wolf ought to be, given what had almost happened.

Onyx made a face, but he didn’t comment. Dominic wondered if Onyx understood why this was a punishment for the wolf.

Perhaps some form of social outlet would give his tiger a companion of sorts. Someone who might accompany Onyx in the recreation room and play the console games he was so fond of.

“Did you have companions in the camps? Friends?” Dominic inquired.

Onyx’s expression shuttered, all of his exasperation and frustration vanishing in the blink of an eye. “Do you really think they’d be friends with a supe?” he asked, his voice not quite hiding the edge of derision it carried.

Dominic hummed thoughtfully, stroking Onyx’s cheek. “I suppose not,” he said after a moment.

The rebel humans had utterly failed to appreciate the strength of the weapon that they’d held in their midst, and perhaps that ostracization had helped facilitate such a failing. They wouldn’t care to understand what they hated, and what they did not understand, they could not use efficiently.

Still, that might be something to explore.

For the present, however, Onyx had been doing very well and deserved a reward. “I have work to finish,” he said. “But I should be able to do that from the rec room if we go there.”

The recreation room was Onyx’s domain, and since the first time he’d taken the Rayne witch to the room, Dominic had avoided encroaching on it without need. Having some space that his tiger could feel was even nominally his own would help him settle. Even a caged tiger needed his den, after all.

“The rec room?” Onyx repeated, eyeing Dominic. “You want to come with me to the rec room?”

He sounded doubtful, but Dominic didn’t miss the longing in his eyes, the way Onyx was nearly vibrating with the need to stand up and leave the room.

Dominic smiled, closing his laptop and standing. “Come.” He offered Onyx his hand, but the boy was already scrambling to his feet and ignored the outstretched hand.

Onyx bounded for the door. “Let’s go,” he said quickly, like he was afraid Dominic would change his mind if he didn’t move quickly enough.

This was more animation than Onyx had shown since his re-collaring, and Dominic wondered if perhaps he should have taken his tiger back to the rec room earlier. But that could have caused its own problems if it had caused the Rayne witch’s resistance to return too quickly.

It was all a delicate dance, one Onyx didn’t even realize he was participating in.

Dominic’s touch to his arm kept Onyx from pacing ahead of him as they went to the rec room, and Dominic opened the door, gesturing for Onyx to precede him into the room. While Dominic wasn’t anticipating a poor reaction to the room, this was something that he might not be able to anticipate the Rayne witch’s response to.

There was no evidence left of the blood that had stained the floor. While the spreading pool was a memory that Dominic would not soon forget, it did not appear that Onyx shared in that reflection.

Onyx grabbed one of the controllers and flopped down onto the couch. “I’ll keep the volume low, okay?” he asked as he turned the television on.

Dominic chuckled as he arranged himself at the other end of the couch and opened his laptop to the documents that he had been reviewing. “I have meetings after lunch,” he said, “But we can be here for about an hour and a half, then have lunch before we go back to the office.”

He switched to his email and sent off invitations for a small dinner gathering to a few witches who he knew had slaves who might prove to be suitable acquaintances for his tiger. They might be encouraged to let his tiger have socialization time.

Onyx cheered from next to him after a time, making him glance up to see what had gotten the Rayne witch excited. “Sorry.” Onyx didn’t sound particularly contrite. “I just beat something hard, that’s all. Didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Would it be good for Onyx to have someone to play with?

“Well done,” Dominic said, putting warmth into the words. He meant the praise even though he had no idea what the game was about or what it was Onyx had completed. Teaching the Rayne witch that he could and would reward accomplishments was also necessary.

Onyx offered him a wry smile. “You don’t even know what you’re congratulating me for,” he said, shaking his head. “But thanks anyway.” He set the controller down, standing up. His voice quieted significantly as he continued, “I need to use the bathroom.”

But he only stood there, not moving in the direction of the small restroom.

The words gave Dominic pause, even though he knew that the room had been heavily warded. He knew how heavily it was warded; he’d done it himself. But it didn’t prevent the unease at the idea of his tiger being back in that room, though he allowed none of it to show on his face.

Onyx was observant enough that he likely felt the change anyway.

“Very well,” Dominic said. The shattered glass wouldn’t happen again, nor would the pool of blood.