"Hrrmph." A pair of ears began to twitch over the pillows, "-ngrrr." An annoyed groan, betraying a headache, preceded the opening of Titanyana's eyes. "Nyoooooooooo~"
Her ears fell flat as she covered her eyes, the room she was in seemed so bright.
"Good morning, how are you feeling?" Gretts was sitting in the corner of the room, needle in hand. She was repairing a cloth of some sort, damaged by the roil and toil of frequent use, though why she was choosing to repair this specific square of fabric was not readily apparent. It would be less of a hassle to buy or cut a new one.
"My hyeaad. . ."
"Hm, ha. Your head? That's it?" She wrapped the cloth around the needle before setting it aside. Slowly, the aging woman approached Titanyana's bedside table. "Here, water."
Titanyana grumbled into an upright position, her body ever so slightly sore. "What time is it?"
"A little after noon." The cup somehow made it into her hand. "Not that you should be worrying about that though. Your first priority is rest! Well, that and eating, any requests?"
"Hmrmm . . . fish?"
"You want that congee again?" Titanyana nodded in between sips. "Hmmm. . . maybe I could make you some for dinner, however I do not recall there being any fish in storage. How about baked poultry?"
"Mmmmmmkaay."
"Very well then. Would you like some help getting dressed before I leave? Or would you like to stay in the nude?"
Titanyana looked down at herself, she was indeed naked. She wasn't even wearing undergarments. The only problem with that was, well, Titanyana didn't sleep naked. Why was she naked? No, that wasn't the important question here, how did she even get back in the first place? She remembered being on the podium, and she vaguely remembered her last opponent being detained, but there was something else. . .
A Title! That's right, she had a Title now! Tempest!
Her tail began to squirm under the blankets as she thought about it. A Title, she really had a Title. She was set for life!
That still didn't explain how she got home though.
"How did I . . . get back?"
"Hm? Oh, Sir Strauss carried you back late last night. He said something about the Great Csillacra fixing some damage before putting you in your bed." Gretts pulled open one of the drawers in her dresser, revealing a painfully small amount of clothing as she looked for some proper clothing. "From the looks of it though, our great lord did a little bit more than that. You look different than I remember, more than just those lines under your eyes." Gretts handed her an outfit that was a little bit more on the casual side. "They look exactly like Lady Diana's, though I honestly can't say whether or not it makes you look better."
Titanyana rubbed her face, finding a very small sliver of skin under her eyes to have a different texture. "Donovan carried me?"
"Yep, princess carry and all. I must say it was positively adorable seeing Lady Diana's reaction. Do make sure you go and talk to her at some point, make sure she knows you are okay." Gretts picked up her cloth and needle before heading out. "Oh, one more thing before I go." Gretts turned back around at the door. "Try not to get into more trouble like this, it really wears down my old soul."
With that facetious request out of the way, the door gently shut, leaving Titanyana alone with her thoughts.
"He carried me here?" Titanyana once more looked down at her nude body before scanning her surroundings. If she was naked, where were her combat uniform? Surely her clothes were here somewhere, right? Maybe Gretts took them to be washed? Determining that this was something to worry about later, Titanyana stepped out of bed. "?"
Her foot landed on something soft, but kind of rough.
"???"
Why were her clothes there? And they were neatly folded? Some of the buttons on her outer shirt were gone, probably from when Donovan saved her, but why were they placed there.
". . . no . . ."
A possibility had dawned on Titanyana, one she did not like in the slightest. She had faith that Gretts and Diana would know to either put them up for cleaning or place them on a dresser or table somewhere in her room. They were just that type of person. Her cheeks turned a rosy pink as she thought of who might have done something like this.
Who was orderly enough to fold clothes like this, but clueless enough to put them there? Judging from Gretts' testimony of the events of last night, only one person fit that bill.
Slowly, her body beginning to redden as her temperature increased, she covered herself with her hands. Titanyana was, at this point at least, well aware that it was too late for that. She had been seen naked by someone of the opposite sex, a terrifying proposition to a maiden like her. She understood that it was probably a necessary step for one reason or another, and that Donovan was not someone to take advantage of her in that state, but it made her really uncomfortable to know that she was no longer 'pure'.
She hadn't been defiled, but she felt her worth as a woman had decreased.
"Why?" She squealed as she crouched to the ground, head in her hands. Her tail had curled around to her front, ready for her to squeeze and twist on to cope with her sudden onset of stress, while her ears once more flattened back in embarrassment. "Why him? Why now?"
Feeling dangerously exposed now, she rushed to get her clothes on. Gretts had chosen well, not that there was much choice in the first place, but these undergarments were a bit gentler on the skin than the rest and the pants didn't cinch around her tail quite as tightly. However that didn't matter. Right now, everything felt tight. Every sensation on her skin felt like sandpaper.
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How should she approach him? How could she approach him? Should she just act like she hadn't noticed? But he could take that to mean that she didn't think much of her chastity, couldn't he? Would it be safe to broach the subject?
Maybe she should see Diana first, she would know how to handle him. Well, 'handle' was a bit of a strong word, she just wanted something to boost her confidence.
". . . I'll think about it over breakfast." She looked out the window, suddenly remembering that it was noon. ". . . lunch."
- - - - -
Diana sighed as she leaned back in her seat, she didn't have class today. It was more accurate to say she was supposed to have class today. She had arrived at the lecture hall at the ungodly (by everyone else's standards at least) hour of ten, only to find that the professor had canceled class because he thought it was, quote, "A day too nice to be spent inside."
She could smell that bullshit from a mile, no, five miles away. A day too nice to be spent inside? Really? There wasn't any weather here, how could this day possibly be better than any other?
Obviously this was just because the professor was lazy, unwilling to talk aimlessly for a few hours while a crowd of people blatantly ignored him. . .
Now that she thought about it, maybe he wasn't willing to waste his time. It was probably ridiculously embarrassing to be down there on display like that and still get ignored.
Regardless, it meant she was free for the next couple of hours. She had been gifted time to think, which was important. She had managed to secure an audience with the Montaug tomorrow, so now was an excellent time to think about what she was going to say. The lives of the Nekh depended on it, right?
A knock at the door of the study interrupted her.
"Come in."
The door opened in response to her, the squeaking of the hinges betraying the slow speed at which it was done.
"Um, Diana? Can I speak with you?"
Diana went from 0 to 100 in an instant, shooting out of her chair and scrambling towards the timid Titanyana. The Nekh princess was understandably a little taken aback by this sudden movement, but she didn't run. Diana was, despite her hurry, fairly slow.
"Oh my goodness are you okay!? Should you be up? How are you feeling?" Titanyana was immediately smothered by Diana, who buried Titanyana with a tight hug before backing off to inspect her. It felt like she was given a full body check up in a matter of seconds.
"Mm, I'm fine. Just a little tired." She had a headache and some soreness, but those weren't worth mentioning.
"Really? You aren't lying to me? You had a heart attack you know?"
"Heart attack?"
"Your heart stopped. Donovan told me you were 'dead' for about an hour." Diana rubbed her thumb on Titanyana's cheek. "I'm certain the Great Csillacra took care of it, but not being able to properly circulate blood for that long means you were at serious risk of brain damage. How many fingers am I holding up?"
"Three." Titanyana did not hesitate to respond, it was the fastest way to get out of this.
"Okay maybe that wasn't the best test . . . I wonder what Arc would do." Diana looked to the tablet resting on the table. "I can probably just ask though, can't I? Hey Arc!? What's a good way to find out if someone has brain damage?"
"I assume you want to know how to do so without resorting to a brain scan?"
"Yes! Titanyana had an hour long heart attack yesterday, and I fear she might still have some damage."
Titanyana's ears twitched, what was that voice?
"I am afraid you can only work off of what she tells you. Is she sensitive to light?"
"Are you responding negatively to light, Titanyana?"
"Mm, I was a little stunned when I woke up, but I'm not having issues now."
"She says she isn't having issues right now."
"What about a headache?"
"Do you have a headache?"
"Not anymore."
"She doesn't have one anymore."
"Does any part of her body feel tingly or numb?"
"I can feel everything."
"She can feel every-" Diana stopped mid sentence. "What?"
"I can feel everything just fine, nothing feels tingly or numb." Titanyana wondered if maybe Diana was the one with a bit of brain damage.
"Pardon me if I sound a bit rude here, Titanyana, but can you understand what I am saying right now?"
"Hm?" Titanyana tilted her head to the side. "Why are you asking me that? Why shouldn't I be able to?"
"Oooooh myyyyyy goooooooooood." Diana's expression changed to one of disbelief. "Arc, say a random number between 53 and 142."
"Ninety-three."
"Titanyana, what number did you just hear?"
"Ninety three???" Titanyana wondered if this had something to do with her brain damage, and she became very worried.
Diana looked more confused than concerned though. "Titanyana, when did you learn English?"
Titanyana was very confused right now. Why was she being asked that question? "I haven't yet? You and Donovan are still in the process of teaching me, right?"
"Yes we are, but Titanyana, I wasn't channeling split to my voice just now." Diana put her hands on Titanyana's shoulders. "Titanyana, you can understand spoken English!!!"
"???"
- - - - -
"DONOVAN!!!" Titanyana, shocked into a near mindless state, was being dragged down the hall by an incredibly excited Diana. "DONOVAAAAAAAN!!!"
"Yeah?" A head poked out of a doorway. "Oh, hey Titanyana. How are you feeling?"
"That isn't important right now! Quick, Donovan, ask her a question in English!"
"What type of question?"
"Anything she would know the answer to, and don't use split!"
"Oh, right, the Great Csillacra mentioned something like this." Donovan shook his head. "Okay, how about this. Titanyana, is Diana bothering you at all?"
Titanyana's ears perked up. Why that question?
"You can answer honestly. Judging from her grip she has been dragging you around."
Titanyana looked to her arm, then up to a reddening Diana. "I . . . don't mind too much, but I wish she wouldn't scream like that so close to me."
"S-see! She understood!"
"Yah, great. Titanyana, I need you to give me some information about your people."
"Don't blow me off like that Donny!!!"
"Diana, please. I love you, and I know you are excited, but I'm busy trying to redesign the fucking cargo cruisers now that we have access to more materials. The excitement can wait." Donovan put a hand up to try and calm her down. This was great, but it wasn't enough to distract him from the important tasks. "Titanyana, do you think you have a good idea what your people need and can handle?"
"Maybe???"
"Great, please come in."
"Don't ignore me!!! This is huge Donovan!" Diana began to stomp over to her lover, all of the sudden in the mood to give him an earful.
"Is it? It's not like she can speak it yet, can she? What about writing? Reading? Until she can do all of those fluently she won't be at the level to teach others." Donovan responded to Diana by hugging her tight enough that she couldn't move and then planting a kiss on her cheek. "This will make those other parts easier though, won't it?"
". . . yes."
"Great. I'll leave that part to you and Arc. I need to figure out just how many Nekh we are going to be able to save."
Diana was still scowling at him, but she understood she may have gotten a teensy bit overenthusiastic. This was the best news she had received in a while, solid progress towards one of their many goals.
"Fine." She didn't chicken out, going straight for his lips. A small amount of payback for his hubris. It worked, his cheeks reddening a bit, but she also found it to be embarrassing once she turned to see Titanyana, who was about as pink as a peach right now. "Well, I'm going to get back to work now."
Diana walked away, back to the study, with a little bit of a wobble in her step. Titanyana was left to watch her go, completely dumbfounded at her brazenness. Titanyana couldn't help but feel like she had forgotten something though.
"Well, uh, Titanyana. Let's get to work!" Donovan was fumbling with his words a little bit now. "There's uh, there's a lot we need to do. So, please, come in."
She obliged, as was her duty to her people, and entered the darkened room. Slowly, as Donovan got started with some form of setup, the embarrassment of the previous interaction began to fade, and a horrible realization dawned on her. She never got the chance to do what she set out for. She didn't know how to approach the subject of her nudity.