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jeriendhalBeen a while since I've had been able to add enough new material to make posting something worthwhile. Enjoy.
* * *
Entering the house they split off, Ali heading towards the kitchen to grab breakfast for herself, and Salli going upstairs to her room to clean up and get properly dressed for the day. When the noblevixen reached it, she found a young serving vixen waiting for her, sitting on a settee across from her suite’s door.
“Nari, what are you doing here?” Salli asked. She tried not to let the lingering irritation from her conversation with Zaker enter her voice. Nari had been one of a series of servants who had kept a polite watch over Salli at her parent’s orders, during the dark days after her divorce and escape from her late husband Kev. How many hours had the girl sat on that very couch, making sure her leigelady’s daughter didn’t try to irreparably harm herself? As if Kev hadn’t done enough damage to her already.
“I’m to help you dress, Lady Sallivera,” Nari replied, rising to give her a curtsey, ears flicking back slightly as she took in the sight of Salli’s sweat drenched fur and form fitting black bodysuit.
“Dress? Oh yes, of course.” Once upon a time dressing Salli had been one of Nari’s duties, when the noblevixen had favored the elaborate splendor of her class. More recently she had favored simpler fashions, fitting better to the rough colony world she administered, and not requiring aid to put on. Getting out of it however, had been a duty Ali had been more than happy to aid her with. “Wait a moment, I need to wash up.”
Salli left Nari outside, peeling off the body suit and tossing it into a cleansing hamper, which immediately began to buzz as it began removing all offending dirt and sweat particles. She took her time in the shower, letting the drying fans blow her pelt out until her skin began to tingle. When she came back out, Nari was already there, a heavy blue dress in a more formal homeworld style already laid out. Giving into the inevitable, Salli allowed the serving vixen to dress her, taking care of the buttons running up the back of her dress.
“Milady, forgive me for being forward,” Nari said, hooking the last button, “but I think I speak for all of the House’s staff when I say that we’re very glad that you’re back to your old self again.”
Salli’s brow wrinkled, wondering which “old self” Nari was referred to? The feckless child, endlessly teasing her poor twin brother? The youth of her teens and twenties, confident that all around her loved her? The terrified wife of her monstrous husband, Lord Kev? The weeping survivor that hid in her rooms after her escape? Nari had come into the Darktail household after Salli had already moved into Highglider Manor, and had only know Salli as the broken wretch from that latter time.
As for what she was now, that was a work in progress. A construction, made of equal parts reinforcement from Doctor Kwan’s talk therapy, the loyalty and love of Alindar, and a discreet collection of neurotherapy drugs. Confident, if not as great prior to her marriage. Powerful, for did she not have the resources of an entire planet at her command? Angry…
Angry?
“Milady, are you all right?” Nari asked cautiously.
“Sorry,” Salli said. “Just had an odd thought.” Disturbed, she shook her head at Nari’s offer to bring out her box of jewelry to peruse, and headed downstairs to meet her parents.
She found them in the breakfast room, a warm, sunny chamber, with a large bay window positioned to frame the rising sun. She sat herself as a servant began setting food on the table, nodding her head to Mother and Father in greeting.
“Did you sleep well, dear?” her father asked cautiously over his breakfast soup.
“Very well, thank you,” Salli returned. Neither of her parents asked, nor did she offer, information on whom she slept with. The servants could tell them easily enough, once someone checked to see if Alinadar’s own bed had been slept in.
After the soup had been cleared off and replaced with a selection of succulent spiced meats, her mother asked, “Do you know when you’ll schedule your surgery to replace your eye, Salli?”
“Not yet,” Salli answered. “I’ll have to consult with the Estate’s physician group. That’s assuming I choose to just replace it, and not go for a full body regeneration.”
Mother and Father’s ears both perked up in surprise. “That’s rather extreme at your age, isn’t it dear?” her father said.
Salli then offered them the same reasoning she’d given Alinadar, and the argument seemed to resonate with both her parents, despite the expense.
“Sensible. I always did regret we didn’t do more for you, after you were injured,” her mother noted.
Such as getting any aid for her numerous psychological difficulties, Salli noted internally. Though they had known she was suffering, how to alleviate it had had escaped them, the state of Foxen psychoanalysis being somewhat… basic, compared to other races. It had taken Melanie, more widely travelled than either Salli or her parents, to recognize the need to find outside help for her and hire a human therapist. It was not her parents’ fault that their own outlook had been so painfully provincial, she reminded herself. Forgive.
“I’m glad you agree,” Salli said.
“Also, it would be a good step in separating that Alinadar vixen from you,” her mother continued. “She can go back to Greenholme while you undergo the procedure. A few months of distance should be enough to break up her infatuation with you.” She wasn’t so crass as to add, and your infatuation with her, though it was certainly implied.
Salli stiffened, ears flicking back involuntarily. “You believe so?” she replied, keeping her tone neutral, trying to regain control. Ali would more likely stand sentinel over her body in the treatment pod for the whole time, knowing the girl.
“I think it would be for the best, don’t you?” her mother said.
“It would require some legal maneuvering. As she’s indentured directly to me, in my capacity as Greenholme’s governor, I’d have to set up a proxy to monitor her behavior in my absence,” Salli temporized.
“Surely that would be Rolas and Melanie’s responsibility to watch over her,” her mother pointed out.
Her idiot sister-in-law was the absolute last person Salli wanted monitoring Ali’s behavior, she thought. She could just imagine what dragging the mentally delicate vixen back into Melanie’s sphere of influence would do to her. Alinadar was developing a good moral compass these days, but having her old pirate commander ordering her around again could only end in disaster.
“I don’t think that would be a very good idea,” Salli answered. “Ali needs… Ali needs…” Her voice faltered and betrayed her, not completing the sentence. Ali needs me. And I need her. Instead she substituted, “Ali needs competent psychological counseling. That might mean a trip to Earth, or at minimum hiring a specialist like Dr. Kwan and paying for their passage to Greenholme. At any rate it would something I would feel more confident about if I were able to monitor the situation directly.”
“Well, we can't argue that she does need help,” her father with perhaps a little too much heartiness.
“Indeed,” her mother agreed, flicking an annoyed look at him. She cleared her throat. “For now though, I wish to talk to you about the party we'll be having tomorrow. I wanted to let you know so you could clear your schedule for tomorrow evening.”
“Party? What party?” Salli demanded, perhaps more sharply than she'd intended.
“A party to celebrate your return to the homeworld, dear,” Mother explained. “You have been gone for almost a year, and recently survived that vicious attack on the colony.”
“With eighteen exceptions, everyone survived the attack. I did nothing worth celebrating, aside perhaps from serving as a distraction to Bloody Margo, long enough for Patroller Blacksailor to ambush her and capture her.” Actually Ali had done most of the distracting, but calling more attention to Alinadar wouldn't be a good idea at the moment.
“Nevertheless,” her mother said firmly, “you are here, and this is a chance for you to mingle with your peers. A duty that you've been avoiding ever since your brother's wedding.”
“I've been busy,” Salli said defensively.
“And now you're not. Which makes this the perfect time,” Mother pointed out. “You need to keep abreast of the political situation, especially when it comes to our colony. Which means you're going to have to mingle.”
“I've been keeping up with the reports you and Father have been sending me,” Salli said.
“That's not the same as making personal connections, and you know it. Exert yourself, Sallivera. You may consider that an order from your liege lady, if you must.”
Salli didn't miss the use of her full first name, so she nodded assent. “I'll get Ali kitted out in something appropriate. Her usual mode of dress is a bit utilitarian.”
Mother grimaced. “I think this might also be a good time for Miss Blacksailor to connect with her own family. The party will be at the manor, so our normal security perimeter will suffice.”
There was a long pause, before Salli finally managed to grind out, “Point taken.”
* * *
Entering the house they split off, Ali heading towards the kitchen to grab breakfast for herself, and Salli going upstairs to her room to clean up and get properly dressed for the day. When the noblevixen reached it, she found a young serving vixen waiting for her, sitting on a settee across from her suite’s door.
“Nari, what are you doing here?” Salli asked. She tried not to let the lingering irritation from her conversation with Zaker enter her voice. Nari had been one of a series of servants who had kept a polite watch over Salli at her parent’s orders, during the dark days after her divorce and escape from her late husband Kev. How many hours had the girl sat on that very couch, making sure her leigelady’s daughter didn’t try to irreparably harm herself? As if Kev hadn’t done enough damage to her already.
“I’m to help you dress, Lady Sallivera,” Nari replied, rising to give her a curtsey, ears flicking back slightly as she took in the sight of Salli’s sweat drenched fur and form fitting black bodysuit.
“Dress? Oh yes, of course.” Once upon a time dressing Salli had been one of Nari’s duties, when the noblevixen had favored the elaborate splendor of her class. More recently she had favored simpler fashions, fitting better to the rough colony world she administered, and not requiring aid to put on. Getting out of it however, had been a duty Ali had been more than happy to aid her with. “Wait a moment, I need to wash up.”
Salli left Nari outside, peeling off the body suit and tossing it into a cleansing hamper, which immediately began to buzz as it began removing all offending dirt and sweat particles. She took her time in the shower, letting the drying fans blow her pelt out until her skin began to tingle. When she came back out, Nari was already there, a heavy blue dress in a more formal homeworld style already laid out. Giving into the inevitable, Salli allowed the serving vixen to dress her, taking care of the buttons running up the back of her dress.
“Milady, forgive me for being forward,” Nari said, hooking the last button, “but I think I speak for all of the House’s staff when I say that we’re very glad that you’re back to your old self again.”
Salli’s brow wrinkled, wondering which “old self” Nari was referred to? The feckless child, endlessly teasing her poor twin brother? The youth of her teens and twenties, confident that all around her loved her? The terrified wife of her monstrous husband, Lord Kev? The weeping survivor that hid in her rooms after her escape? Nari had come into the Darktail household after Salli had already moved into Highglider Manor, and had only know Salli as the broken wretch from that latter time.
As for what she was now, that was a work in progress. A construction, made of equal parts reinforcement from Doctor Kwan’s talk therapy, the loyalty and love of Alindar, and a discreet collection of neurotherapy drugs. Confident, if not as great prior to her marriage. Powerful, for did she not have the resources of an entire planet at her command? Angry…
Angry?
“Milady, are you all right?” Nari asked cautiously.
“Sorry,” Salli said. “Just had an odd thought.” Disturbed, she shook her head at Nari’s offer to bring out her box of jewelry to peruse, and headed downstairs to meet her parents.
She found them in the breakfast room, a warm, sunny chamber, with a large bay window positioned to frame the rising sun. She sat herself as a servant began setting food on the table, nodding her head to Mother and Father in greeting.
“Did you sleep well, dear?” her father asked cautiously over his breakfast soup.
“Very well, thank you,” Salli returned. Neither of her parents asked, nor did she offer, information on whom she slept with. The servants could tell them easily enough, once someone checked to see if Alinadar’s own bed had been slept in.
After the soup had been cleared off and replaced with a selection of succulent spiced meats, her mother asked, “Do you know when you’ll schedule your surgery to replace your eye, Salli?”
“Not yet,” Salli answered. “I’ll have to consult with the Estate’s physician group. That’s assuming I choose to just replace it, and not go for a full body regeneration.”
Mother and Father’s ears both perked up in surprise. “That’s rather extreme at your age, isn’t it dear?” her father said.
Salli then offered them the same reasoning she’d given Alinadar, and the argument seemed to resonate with both her parents, despite the expense.
“Sensible. I always did regret we didn’t do more for you, after you were injured,” her mother noted.
Such as getting any aid for her numerous psychological difficulties, Salli noted internally. Though they had known she was suffering, how to alleviate it had had escaped them, the state of Foxen psychoanalysis being somewhat… basic, compared to other races. It had taken Melanie, more widely travelled than either Salli or her parents, to recognize the need to find outside help for her and hire a human therapist. It was not her parents’ fault that their own outlook had been so painfully provincial, she reminded herself. Forgive.
“I’m glad you agree,” Salli said.
“Also, it would be a good step in separating that Alinadar vixen from you,” her mother continued. “She can go back to Greenholme while you undergo the procedure. A few months of distance should be enough to break up her infatuation with you.” She wasn’t so crass as to add, and your infatuation with her, though it was certainly implied.
Salli stiffened, ears flicking back involuntarily. “You believe so?” she replied, keeping her tone neutral, trying to regain control. Ali would more likely stand sentinel over her body in the treatment pod for the whole time, knowing the girl.
“I think it would be for the best, don’t you?” her mother said.
“It would require some legal maneuvering. As she’s indentured directly to me, in my capacity as Greenholme’s governor, I’d have to set up a proxy to monitor her behavior in my absence,” Salli temporized.
“Surely that would be Rolas and Melanie’s responsibility to watch over her,” her mother pointed out.
Her idiot sister-in-law was the absolute last person Salli wanted monitoring Ali’s behavior, she thought. She could just imagine what dragging the mentally delicate vixen back into Melanie’s sphere of influence would do to her. Alinadar was developing a good moral compass these days, but having her old pirate commander ordering her around again could only end in disaster.
“I don’t think that would be a very good idea,” Salli answered. “Ali needs… Ali needs…” Her voice faltered and betrayed her, not completing the sentence. Ali needs me. And I need her. Instead she substituted, “Ali needs competent psychological counseling. That might mean a trip to Earth, or at minimum hiring a specialist like Dr. Kwan and paying for their passage to Greenholme. At any rate it would something I would feel more confident about if I were able to monitor the situation directly.”
“Well, we can't argue that she does need help,” her father with perhaps a little too much heartiness.
“Indeed,” her mother agreed, flicking an annoyed look at him. She cleared her throat. “For now though, I wish to talk to you about the party we'll be having tomorrow. I wanted to let you know so you could clear your schedule for tomorrow evening.”
“Party? What party?” Salli demanded, perhaps more sharply than she'd intended.
“A party to celebrate your return to the homeworld, dear,” Mother explained. “You have been gone for almost a year, and recently survived that vicious attack on the colony.”
“With eighteen exceptions, everyone survived the attack. I did nothing worth celebrating, aside perhaps from serving as a distraction to Bloody Margo, long enough for Patroller Blacksailor to ambush her and capture her.” Actually Ali had done most of the distracting, but calling more attention to Alinadar wouldn't be a good idea at the moment.
“Nevertheless,” her mother said firmly, “you are here, and this is a chance for you to mingle with your peers. A duty that you've been avoiding ever since your brother's wedding.”
“I've been busy,” Salli said defensively.
“And now you're not. Which makes this the perfect time,” Mother pointed out. “You need to keep abreast of the political situation, especially when it comes to our colony. Which means you're going to have to mingle.”
“I've been keeping up with the reports you and Father have been sending me,” Salli said.
“That's not the same as making personal connections, and you know it. Exert yourself, Sallivera. You may consider that an order from your liege lady, if you must.”
Salli didn't miss the use of her full first name, so she nodded assent. “I'll get Ali kitted out in something appropriate. Her usual mode of dress is a bit utilitarian.”
Mother grimaced. “I think this might also be a good time for Miss Blacksailor to connect with her own family. The party will be at the manor, so our normal security perimeter will suffice.”
There was a long pause, before Salli finally managed to grind out, “Point taken.”
