Darcy yelped and slapped at the hands swinging him, starting to feel a bit dizzy. "Ai-jie! Put me down!!"
The woman who was now laughing set him on his feet. "You getting mad at me now Qin-di?" She tsked, feigning annoyance as she spun the key fob around her finger, leaning forward so that he had to crane his neck up to see her face clearly. "Whatever happened to some good old respecting of one's elders?"
Darcy rolled his eyes so hard he looked like he was about to pass out just from pure exasperation. "Yeah yeah, keep it down would you?" He glanced back at where the car door was slightly ajar.
The woman was instantly intrigued, she peered over the top of Darcy's head at the tinted windows of the plain black car. "Keep it down for who? Someone asleep in there?" She smirked, "Is it him?"
Darcy flinched, he smoothed out his clothes before answering.
"Well..."
"No one is sleeping anymore." Were the disgruntled words that drifted from the car.
"Shit, did we wake you up? Sorry Kelpie."
Kand-Lei blearily made his way out of the car, hoisting himself up with the help of the edge of the door.
"Who's this then Qin-ge?"
The woman smiled, stretching out a hand with the merry jingle of bracelets, "Ai-Xin, nice to meet you."
Kand-Lei greeted her as he was used to, sleepily kissing her finger tips and pressing them to his forehead. "I am Kand-Lei. A pleasure to meet you as well."
Ai-Xin chuckled and glanced at Darcy. "Qin-di, he's so polite. You stand to learn something from him."
Darcy smiled, reaching over to separate Kand-Lei's hands from where they sleepily gripped Ai-Xin's.
"Ai-jie, don't start nagging already, we just got here."
She gestured to the wave painted sports car, "Me too, I started driving the moment I heard from Mumma that you had found your fated mate."
Darcy blinked a few times. "You... you did? Wait wait, have you not seen the news?"
She made an annoyed sound. "News? Who has time for that? If it's not in the financial reports then I don't know about it! Being the CFO is so time consuming didi. You wouldn't understand."
Darcy sighed as he combed the ends of his hair, how many times would he have to tell this story he wondered. "Are the others coming as well then?"
A slight weight on his shoulder reminded him that Kand-Lei was still very present and very sleepy.
"Of course they are! Manny-Lee got on a plane yesterday, he should be almost here by now, and the twins arrived before I did."
Darcy followed her into the house, leading Kand-Lei by the hand down a wide corridor.
"Already here? You mean-" he was cut off by a tall woman tackling him from the left, when he opened his mouth to say something again, he was tackled from the right by a petite woman. He stumbled and would have fallen to the ground if not for the iron grip with which the twins had him in.
"Qin-didi!!! You look so thin! Have you been eating well?!"
"Didi, what are you wearing? I don't remember seeing this jacket before!"
"You should always take care of your health!"
"We came as soon as we saw the news! You should have told us didi!! We could have helped somehow!"
"Why does everyone keep mentioning the news?" Ai-Xin cut in, looking between her two sisters.
"Ai-jie, you haven't seen?"
"Just search his name and you'll understand soon enough."
As Ai-Xin pulled out her phone the twins ushered Darcy and a drooping Kand-Lei into the living room where their parents were already sitting. Despite the flamboyant decorations the atmosphere in room was quite agreeable. Relaxed with a calming effect. An effect that was practically shattered when the twins brought their boundless energy into the space.
Kand-Lei fell straight onto a couch, already half asleep. Atmosphere be damned as far as he cared.
...
The studio lights blared, reflecting off of glasses, pale faces, and many sheets of paper strewn before the panel of experts.
"So, Dr. Watsoj, if I am indeed understanding you correctly, I am to believe that all areas of science are in an uproar about this new development and no one can agree on anything?"
The scientist chuckled as she rubbed her eyes, "You're quite right, we barely understood the old concept of fated mates and now one of the three laws of mates have once again been broken."
"Three laws? Sorry.. I'm not familiar."
"Scientists, many years before they were called that, came up with the idea of three main things about fated mates that would remain consistent with every pair. Firstly that it awakens upon some form of contact, either a brush of the hands or a kiss, doesn't matter so long as physical contact is made. Secondly it is always an alpha and omega that are paired, as had been observed for centuries." She paused, taking a slow sip of water. "And thirdly, fated pairs will find the other's scent particularly intoxicating and potent in whatever effects it has."
She drummed her fingers on the table for a few seconds, staring down the glass of water like it had killed her favorite orchid.
"The first rule was broken in nineteen-twenty-six, a pair managed to awaken the bond through merely a moment of eye contact." She glanced up at the host, rearranging the papers around her neatly. "The second rule was broken this week, as I am sure everyone is aware."
The person sitting to her left cleared his throat, tapping a piece of paper in front of him. "While scientists might be having a hard time dealing with this development, I think I speak for a lot of us when I say that we historians are absolutely thrilled with this revelation, just thrilled! Why this paints everything we know in a whole ne-"
"Revelation?! Blasphemy you mean!!!" The host of the show winced when the man sitting across from the scientist slammed his hand down, strewing papers everywhere like so many scattered ashes. "These people are obviously liars! Fame seeking leeches! They should repent before they commit anymore blasphemy in the eyes of the gods! I seek only to save their souls of course."
The woman clad in a dark robe that concealed her face who had the happy position of being in the splatter zone of his zealous spitting tapped the table to draw the attention of those around her. "The goddess has never been wrong, she has her ways and she chooses who she chooses. There have been instances where one person has bonded with multiple mates, so why not two of the same gender."
She tilted her head towards the historian, "Could certain texts not now be interpreted to support this?"
The historian nodded eagerly, "Oh most certainly honoured one, many seemingly obscure texts have now a new light cast upon them! Why it is as if we have found the final piece to the grand puzzle of the universe!"
He paused dramatically, hands spread as if he were displaying the tapestry of fate, "Two omegas, destined to one another. How brilliant!"
The scientist glanced away, her posture unconvinced.
The priest openly scoffed, muttering under his breath.
The Moon's Emissary inclined her head, hiding a smile.
"I have a feeling that this might be a trifle more common than we expect. But- well, goddess willing, we shall find out in due time. Watch for the threads of light that guide our lives, they are twisting and changing, a new era dawns here and now. Watch it unfold my children, bask in the glow."