Chapter 65: Catching Up
He wasn’t quite sure how he got into this predicament, but he had a few guesses.
It might have been allowing Scarlet to ask him questions that should have been pretty basic for someone like her. It might have been agreeing to teach her MMA when he wasn’t busy in an attempt to add ‘non’ to her ‘lethal.’ It might have been Tel shifting the target of ‘Blade harassment’ from Pan to him, once she started noticing them before they could ink her. Though, Scarlet did manage it one time, much to the white-furred female’s displeasure.
It could have been the short—but intense—fight he had with Nalah to allow Scarlet to take credit for the win in the war-game. Possibly the hit to the pride of the Blades when they learned that he, a slow and...emotionally obvious alien managed to avoid their detection.
Hell, it might have just been his agreement to hold Scarlet’s latest lesson with him outside.
Whatever it was, he wasn’t sure if it was a mistake or not.
Given that majority of the pack hadn’t seen him fight before, it was probably obvious that word would get around, people excited to see what ‘the guy who tells everyone what to do’ was capable of.
Regardless of if he should have seen it coming or not, having all but a few of Jax’s security force—them grumbling about having to remain on duty—had gathered to place their bets after his sixth consecutive fight. It may have been that he acted like he hadn’t really taken a hit yet, or the fact that he was still going at all, but the pack seemed more invested with every round and had stopped caring about who would win, and decided to switch their wagers to when.
Considering that he needed to be careful of assorted Lilhuns forgetting to retract their claws? He was exhausted, and starting to feel the pressure of those arbitrary guesses feeling closer and closer.
For the sake of fairness, he asked his direct pack to stay out of it since they could spar him later on, and he was accepting challengers from whoever else was interested. A few of them complained that he hadn’t had time to continue their training, but a patented ‘should you really be so excited to kick my ass?’ had gotten enough chuckles, as well as a single comment from Harrow that needed him to clear his throat, to shelf the complaints.
The next contestant approached the hastily marked square, Jax and him making it with a few less-than-great spears. The carpenter that he had just finished with was given enough time to reconsider their life choices and leave the ring before their replacement took their place, Joseph pausing when he heard the clacking of ironwood and excited chitters.
Turning around, after waving Nalah’s concerns about his continued fighting and using his shirt to mop some of the sweat from his brow, he found himself in a bit of a conundrum. Violet wanted to spar.
It wasn’t that he worried she would get hurt—he had seen how hard Pan and her could go at it and knew she would be fine, even if he ended up putting a bit more power into something that he may have wanted. The issue was the mix of not wanting to hit her, and seeing just how fucking fast she had gotten recently.
He was about to deny, instead wanting to go lay down in the shower under cold water for an hour, when he needed to bite his tongue at how enthusiastic she seemed about the prospect. Not wanting to disappoint his daughter, he drew a breath and forced a smile that looked more alive than he felt.
“You sure about this Vi?” He asked, the slight throbbing from countless hits leaving bruises underneath his clothing pulling away from his otherwise cocky grin. Having to take the legs out of someone who forgot that it was a spar—and not a real fight—had taken quite a lot out of him after so long, more than a one of them getting a good shot or two in before he curbed their enthusiasm.
The young Queen paused in donning her sheaths, nodding excitedly as murmurs around the spectators intensified. The extended pack had gotten used to seeing her around, some even seeming amused when the energetic child had started regularly helping where she could, and were understandably curious what she thought she could do versus the other alien who had cleaned house so far.
Joseph grimaced, securing his wraps again and double checking that he wasn’t going to break anything punching her required armour. He had honestly put off this match-up, or any at all besides allowing Pan, due to worries of injury. Of who? No idea. He’d rather not find out.
Yet here he was, leaving his corner with trepidation, exhaustion, and a riled up crowd of Lilhuns cheering for the den-kit in hopes that she might end the winning streak. Joseph sighed, knowing that if they had sent some of the more well-trained members then he wouldn’t be just tired and sore after so many rounds.
He tapped his fist against Violet’s spring-compensated blade, taking the brief contact to note how much it compressed. Not much. Hits would hurt.
Although the rule for calling heavy strikes was still in effect, that wouldn’t stop them from landing something that did far more damage than either could expect. He decided to play it safe as he backed off to a reasonable engagement distance and decided to go with his usual plan when dealing with new fighters.
Feel out her range and prod with some jabs. Maybe a hook or two before he started looking for weak-points.
He was expecting speed. Not...this bullshit.
As soon as they had cleared the distance, Violet snapped her middle set of legs into the dirt and used the increased traction to burst towards him in a display that stunned him. Almost enough to take the first flicker jab to the face.
He slipped to the side as the ironwood brushed his cheek from below, using the weight loaded onto his leg to strafe to the side and stumbling slightly. It seemed that she had picked the limb to flash at him so that he would fall into range of the other with his dodge.
If it wasn’t so close to breaking his nose, he would have been proud. He would still be after, but for now, Violet was actually a credible threat to his burdened muscles.
His surprise was coloured by a pulse of adrenaline and an expectant smile. Sparing with the pack was fun, but it had been a while since he had the chance to feel so far on the back foot without the threat of death or serious injury.
Being able to focus on a tough fight—and not being asked what his opponent could improve on after the fact—freed up some mental space to really immerse himself into the conflict. If he hadn’t spent the last few hours avoiding stray claws and throat-punches, he might have been able to afford to keep notes of what Violet should work on. As it was though? Avoiding those damn sheaths would be a feat in itself.
Sliding his feet back under him, he bounced backwards out of her effective range, knowing that although she could still reach him, she wouldn’t attempt to after having Pan take advantage of the hyper-extension so often.
Or he thought she wouldn’t.
The blade flew forward on a canted angle, the straight easily avoided. The returning tuck of her blade, however, managed to clip the side of his head, sending an echoing thud through his ear and momentarily dazing him.
The bouncing purr of his daughter celebrating her successful strike was drowned out by the yelling of the crown, Pan calling out in excitement and encouragement as Rose and Cobalt chittered and clicked from their corner. The lucid part of him mentally shook his head with a grin. His girlfriend, who usually seemed so concerned for his well-being, was losing her shit about him getting clocked. The rest of him agreed, though. That was clever, and he couldn’t have done it better himself.
He brought his arms up in time to repel the three follow-ups, ignoring the fourth that aimed for his stomach as he preemptively exhaled and tightened his abdominal. It landed true, failing to wind him, his right snapping forward on reflex and cracking against her defences with an audible report like a gunshot.
Based on the fact that she retreated to continue circling him, it got the message across.
‘I was the one who taught you how to return fire.’
Using the free real estate afforded by his willingness to soak damage, he distanced himself from the ‘ropes’ and claimed back the space he needed to move onto the next plan of action; jabbing forward whenever Violet tried to clear her vision. An occasional flick of her blade needed him to abort the move, his knuckles being slapped or redirected avoided by a narrow margin. Each stifled jab was replaced by a push of his palm against the moving blades to open her up.
A hit to her face was called, a right abusing the slight overeager usage of her left earning him the first of three points needed. He returned to his corner to suck back oxygen, noticing Scarlet watching him intensely with a mix of surprise and reverence, much to his displeasure.
It occurred to him that barely any of them had seen him do more than arrest movement and deliver a strike in return, the Lilhun basic CQC focusing on vitals rather than concussive force giving him free reign to shots and grapples that would otherwise be shrugged off. It would work better if he was aiming to cut instead of rattle their brain-cage.
One male learned—pretty thoroughly—that the body was absolutely something to worry about against him, and another figured out that the muzzle was a perfectly valid target as well, their more elongated jaw proving to be detrimental against an uppercut. All learned that he was perfectly able to break bones if he wanted, his denser muscles that allowed him to apply great force in smaller movements making joint-locks particularly dangerous for them.
Although Lilhuns in general were stronger than him, the full use of his body when throwing punches made each shot deal far more damage than any of them expected, the force transferring from his feet, to his hip, and into his hand. Their greater sprinting may have given them a speed advantage, but his controlled pacing made waiting out his opponent actually something he could do to recover stamina a bit, leading them to rush even harder to keep the pressure on. There was a niggling little observation he felt in the back of his head that he would need to expand on, but for now, a loud voice derailed any attempt to think on it.
“Why did no one tell me that Violet can move like that?” Harrow all but shouted, the orange-furred female practically bouncing in excitement. Joseph finished gulping down what little saliva he had left from failing to bring a drink out and raised a brow, his voice hoarse.
“You never asked.”
Jax chuckled, nudging his mate with his elbow. “It seemed that he was not aware either.”
Joseph raised a finger, noticing how stiff his hand was from smacking the Atmo’s sheath and dehydration. “I’ve been busy okay? Pan’s been overseeing her training since i got all ‘leader of the pack’ and shit.”
“Fight her next!”
The Human frowned at Harrow grabbing his arm and shaking it violently as she demanded the spar, Joseph shaking her off when Violet clicked her agreement to continue. “I’m done after this.”
Tel chuckled, surprising him slightly as he turned to see her hidden behind Jax from this angle. Deciding to get this over with before the pack could bother him about taking too long to rest, and before Tel could do something to ruin his focus, he just shook his head at her and moved to touch gloves before reengaging.
It seemed that Violet learned, because she used her initial burst of speed to stop on a dime and bolt to the side before he could do much about it, landing a clean shot to his left kidney and following it up with a high hook that left his arm numb when he blocked it. Spinning and deciding to try out his own movement, he distracted her with a kick to the guard and tried to abuse a weakness he couldn’t remember if she still had since he last pointed it out.
Using the temporary blindness to get to her side, he let himself load his punch before getting ready to call the hit, being interrupted by a leg flashing towards him.
He blinked with her loudly snapping a click, glancing down to notice the point of her leg aimed at his chest and stopping before it could hurt him. His eyes widened with a mix of pride and bewilderment at the fact that she had not only taken his advice to use her legs, she did so with minimal pause and without dropping her guard.
He laughed, taking a second to hug her while singing his praise and returning to his corner with a stupid grin on his face, the entire pack taking a few beats of stunned silence before it shattered with a deafening cheer erupting at her small victory. The voices of his little family were drowned out by the electric hum of satisfaction and a good fight. He wasted no time starting the next round.
The start was much slower, Violet remaining quiet with two legs hovering above the ground to jolt her in any direction required while he waited for something to loosen up. A jab here, a teep kick there, and a threat of entanglement were all in play. He wasn’t even remotely comfortable using a joint lock on her, him being woefully ignorant to how much abuse her limbs could take before irreversible damage was done, but she didn’t know that, and he intended to keep it that way.
A blade shot towards his stomach again, him bracing for a hit that never came as it stopped mid-thrust to be flicked upwards. A knee-jerk slip backwards saved him from spending days mumbling. He was about to stuff her blade with his hand so that he could get to her side at a distance too close for her to raise her leg, but the other blade being turned upwards and threatening to skewer him in the throat forced him to retreat in order to avoid it.
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His leg wobbled from the extended exertion, various Lilhuns yelling for Violet to pressure him when they noticed. She shifted her head to look at them, something that he was hoping would gain him a moment to try a new angle, but her compound eyes had a much wider field-of-view than he was expecting, the three lightning fast flicks keeping him at a distance.
Frustrated, if a bit manic from the thrill, he threw caution to the wind, catching the tuck of her blade and ramming his left into her upright torso with only a bit of pull before it connected to ensure she wouldn’t be hurt. Pulling her captured blade, Joseph doubled-up the attack with an uppercut from below, calling this one due to the awkward angle being too stiff to reliably reign in, and Violet being too short to commit further without hurting himself.
Bouncing on his feet in his corner, he didn’t really hear much anymore, the rush of blood in his ears muting all but the steady rhythm of his heart. He felt a slight headache from where Violet had gotten the first hit, but it wasn’t bad enough for him to call it quits.
He was having too much fun.
Ignoring the pack’s cheering, he excitedly tapped Violet’s sheath and readied the next encounter, keeping his stance low and using a longer guard than usual to allow him a bit more freedom at manipulating her blades. It paid off instantly, his daughter firing a sweeping scythe at his mid-section and him pushing it inwards to restrict any shenanigans involving wrist manipulations. Her free blade cracked against the straight punch that numbed his hand as they disengaged.
Not one to disappoint, Violet let loose the first thing he taught her. A standard one-two: Atmo edition.
The slight flicker of her silver sheaths passing his reflexive rotation preceded the heavy shot to the face, sending him backwards onto his ass. A slight ringing in his ear accompanied his laughter as he wiped the wetness around his lips, Violet’s punch drawing blood, but luckily not breaking anything.
He chuckled as he waved away the worried pack, disregarding the slight trickle of red liquid from his nose as he was eager to get back into the fight to see what his daughter could do when pressured. The previous exhaustion felt like hours ago, sore muscles and bruises naught but a suggestion to his system. Even the nose felt numb, though a sting around his eye suggested that he was going to be sporting a shiner for a while.
Assuring Violet that he was fine, he smiled proudly, conceding that he had underestimated her and feeling determined to enjoy it as much as he could. She hesitantly accepted his outstretched fist and readied her guard, Joseph leaving his own low and allowing himself to fall into instinct.
Violet had too much range for her height, no clear flank that he could abuse, and even getting her to clam up was ill advised, because she didn’t need to stretch her arms out to be a problem. It felt challenging.
He was loving every second of it.
The Atmo seemingly steeled herself before launching into a repetition of the last round, her flicker jab being sidestepped and her straight firing right behind it. Joseph used the back of his hand to slap the spearing blow to the side, continuing the fist forward at a low angle to draw her guard in.
She did, her compressed blade tilting to intercept the attack to a lower section of her upright torso. He threw his speeding fist downwards, allowing himself to follow the inertia and letting his weight fall onto his leading foot, spinning with the now-airborne heel of his rear leg.
Given that he typically avoided the more stylistic kicks since they left him too open, the rapid rotation came as a complete surprise to Violet, her lowered guard failing to rise in time to stuff the blow. He hauled the leg back, yelling his point as he crashed to the ground in his victory, shooting his daughter a grin from the packed-down grass and dirt that cooled his sweat-soaked skin.
A failed attempt to get up reminded him of how much he had pushed himself, laughing as his body refused to move and exhaustion caught up to him in a single wave, Violet looking exceedingly worried at his fall. He tried to speak, finding that he struggled to voice anything with his mouth as dry as it was. Lacking any other method of communication, he struggled to raise his arm, giving the Atmo a thumbs-up before it succumbed to gravity.
All he could do was smile that his daughter did so well, and that he managed to pull off a win in his battered state. In a few years, Violet would be able to wipe the floor with him.
It was something he was incredibly excited to see.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Hey Rob! I was worried when you didn’t call,” Joseph greeted his brother tiredly, Pan sitting on his lap with a look of disapproval while Tel rested her head atop his own from behind him. It seems that burning himself out and needing painkillers to stave off the injuries that Violet gave him had made both of them somewhat mad, though Tel seemed more amused with his performance.
Rob, for once, was wearing a loose shirt instead of his button-up and blazer, his signature coffee freshly poured from what seemed to be a thermos he kept nearby. “Hey Joe. Sorry, i had something come up and needed to head out of the system to deal with it.”
He felt a small worry build on his voice. “Everything okay?”
His brother took a sip from his drink, finally registering that Joseph’s head was sandwiched between two others. He raised a brow as he spoke. “Yeah, we dealt with it for now. How was the trip?”
The Grand Hunter closed his eyes in exasperation, allowing his head to follow Tel’s example and resting his chin on Pan. “Long story short, there are upwards of a few hundred Lilhuns at least, i made people mad, people made me mad, more Atmo were found, i have a trade caravan on the way at some point with more for the settlement, and the guy i went to meet with is some sort of black-market-slash-assassin-guild big shot.”
Robert blinked, lowering his attempt at a second go with his coffee. “Come again?”
“Which part?”
“All of that?”
Joseph shrugged, the attempted muted by Tel’s elbows resting on his shoulders. “There are, at minimum, ten packs. Numbers are obscured, but the two packs we visited alone were a couple hundred. Someone was mad i was with Tel. They died. Not by us, don’t worry...” He paused for a moment. “I should be more concerned by that...”
His brother stared in bewildered concern, waiting for Joseph to finish.
“Someone wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer with Tel, so i had to make a point. Someone befriended more Atmo and were chased away for it. They ended up here. We have people, animals, and various odds and ends coming in a caravan whenever they get the chance. And finally, Yep,” he finished with a nod, earning himself a pout from the white fluffy pillow, Pan’s ear flicking him in the cheek for the disturbance.
Rob took a second to think, sipping his coffee before running his fingers through his hair. “How dangerous was it?”
Joseph winced, noticing Pan lean heavier into him and causing him to scratch at her chin fondly. “Define dangerous?”
“Joe.”
“Fine, fine. The guy who was mad at me tried to kill me with a sword, well, two, and there was a scare or two besides, but overall, not too bad.”
“Good God, Joe.” Robert pinched the bridge of his nose and took a breath. “You seem fine, minus the nose and bruises.”
“Unrelated,” he countered with a smirk, earning him a reproachful look from his brother. “Sparing with Violet on an empty tank isn’t something I’d recommend.”
Rob rolled his eyes before glancing between the two females, Pan being somewhat annoyed with his casual dismissal of his injuries while Tel couldn’t keep the smirk off her face. “Anything else i should know?”
Joseph thought about it, chewing his cheek as he tried to condense all the assorted goings on, his minor headache fogging his judgment for a second. “I have assassins now. So, that’s neat. Weird, but neat.”
“You what?”
He sighed, a wince at his slip hurting his face as he waved a hand to gesture up at the Lilhun using him as a headrest. “I have a few kicking around now doing messenger work and keeping tabs on things. It was Tel’s profession before she got here.”
“That is inaccurate, my male,” Tel countered disapprovingly.
An attempt to look up at her failed. “Why?”
“You perform majority of our electrical maintenance. Would it be accurate to describe your position as an electrician?”
An intake of breath to argue was paused before he tilted his head in consideration, the soft fur of Pan’s ear somewhat nice on his bruise. “So what would you call it?”
“I am a Blade. We have many uses. Severing the binds of what holds one from the Void is but a single facet,” she stated firmly, easing her jaw back onto his head now that she had defended her point.
Robert stared at the back-and-forth with confusion before shunting his eyes closed. “I was trying to be coy about asking how things were with Pan, considering the company.”
“They have been rather taken with each other,” Tel answered for him, drawing a blush from both subjects of the topic. She cupped Joseph’s jaw with a paw, speaking in a more sultry tone near his ear but remaining loud enough to be heard by the terminal as the pad of her thumb stroked his cheek. “A fact that he forgets i am aware of.”
Rob paused, apparently waiting for Joseph to do or say something in response, blinking when his brother just refused to look at him with embarrassment painted on his face. “So... You’re...”
“Both,” the Grand Hunter answered sheepishly. “It just kind of happened...”
“No, no.” Rob held a palm up to assert himself. “I’m not saying that I’m against it. If anything, I’m happy for you. I’m a little concerned about the assass...Blade part,” he corrected as Tel pouted in his direction, “and I’m pretty worried for you as a whole, but seeing as you don’t seem any worse for wear, I’ll just be happy you didn’t start a war.”
“Well...”
“Joseph.”
He reached to rub at his neck, landing on Tel’s head and absently changing the gesture to play with her fur, his nails scratching behind her ear. The expected complaint failed to be voiced as he fought to keep the contempt out of his tone. “Looks like Trill is Tel’s dad, and a massive pile of shit to boot. I may have gotten worked up with him.”
Robert pierced him with his hardened gaze. “Don’t tell me you got into it with a girlfriend’s parents again.”
“Hey.” Joseph abandoned the scratching to hold his hands up defensively, earning a noise from the grey-furred female who’s interest was peaked at the mention of his less...restrained past. “He wanted to use Tel as a fucking broodmare. I had issues with that. There’s no war or anything, but he’s keeping an eye on me until Tel picks a ‘Sheath.’ Think monogamous life-partner-slash-handler.”
“I have committed myself to this one,” Tel added smugly, allowing her tail to wrap around the chair to circle him and capturing Pan with the effort, though no corrections were made if she noticed.
Robert furrowed his brow. “Monogamous?”
Joseph shrugged, Pan huffing a light laugh at her bond’s discomfort with the situation as she gently accepted the seat-belt that was Tel’s tail. “Don’t ask. I’m just along for the ride at this point.”
A hand was placed over Tel’s muzzle before she could made a suggestive comment, eliciting a chuckle from both of the females and an exasperated exhale from him. Robert ignored the interaction to ask his next question. “Life partner?”
He contorted his face with uncertainty, glancing up at the grey-furred female who seemed happy to let him flounder instead of assisting after he cut her off. “Far as i can tell.”
Rob furrowed his brow. “You’re married again?”
The Grand Hunter stopped mid-breath, his eyes halting in their roll. A blink covered the slight rebooting of his thought process. “I’m what?”
“The binding of his previous mate?” Pan asked, apparently recognizing the term and using the opportunity to clarify. Robert cautiously nodded.
“It’s an arrangement where two or more people vow to live their lives together. It has origins in religion, but it’s carried far beyond that now. Not everyone does, and even less actually follow it, but that sounds like he got married.”
“I marked my male,” Tel added, a slight frown donned at the mention of his ex. “All are aware that he is unavailable and i will accept no others.”
Joseph’s brother rubbed his temple, a finger raised on his opposite hand to ask his question. “So, you married Tel. Or, well, close enough to it. What about Pan?”
“She is an exception,” the Blade interjected as Joseph opened his mouth, earning Pan a look of interest from Rob, though the white-furred female seemed content to enjoy her seat and the slight embrace from Tel’s tail instead of adding to the conversation at the moment. “She may also be his mate, but i would not tolerate another.”
“I guess i should...congratulate you?” Robert offered, obviously thrown off-balance by the sudden development and Tel’s firm stance on the matter. A notion Joseph felt deeply as he internalized what that meant for him. “Or yell at you for causing trouble with a new species, i honestly don’t know.”
“He has joined the treaty,” Pan finally contributed, saving her mate from needing to answer the implied question. “He has been accepted as one of our own, in a way.”
Rob nodded, closing his eyes as he sighed and reached up to fix the hair he displaced earlier, a small gold ring clinking against the mug when he went to finish off his beverage. “Fine. I’ll drop it for now. I’m still worried about the whole assassin thing, but I’d rather you hire them to be safe, based on what I’m hearing.”
Tel smirked, putting a mix of pride and mockery in her voice as she looked at her Sheath while addressing his brother. “Hire? I’m afraid he has taken it upon himself to train one.”
Joseph held his hands up in innocence as Robert looked about ready to blow a fuse, a reproachful scowl directed at the overly-amused female. “She’s a guard and their CQC isn’t good for anything besides killing. I’m teaching her non-lethal.”
The plea mollified Rob for the moment, the man cycling a breath forcefully as he glowered. “Anyway. I’m going to be out of the system for a while to handle some things, i just stopped back to check in. I need to get going. I’m glad you made it back okay, and try not to honeymoon too hard out there.”
Joseph groaned at the wink and the confused looks from his mates. “It’s nothing bad right?”
Robert shook his head, reaching for the command to end the call. “I’m fine, Joe. Look out for yourself. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
The screen went blank, Joseph refusing to open his eyes lest he become aware of the intense curiosity from the two using him as furniture. He honestly just wanted to go to bed.
And maybe ask Mama for help with something.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Oh, hello Joseph.”
The Grand Hunter lazily glanced behind him, tearing his eyes off the wall of text on the terminal for the first time in hours. It felt like the contents lingered in his vision to float within his gaze as he smiled for the white-furred female he had come to love so deeply.
“Hey, Pan. Need something?”
She shook her head, flicking an ear in curiosity as the quiet scratching of Scarlet’s quill finished transcribing the portion he was reading aloud to the Lilhun language. “I was merely drawn to your voice.”
His expression softened enough that he would have worried it would melt off, were it not for the slight fatigue so early in the morning from reading the technical works of metallurgy ruining the moment. “Getting the document Rob sent translated over for Heralt and Harrow to go through.”
“I was under the impression Harrow would assist you,” Pan implied lightly, seemingly more interested in why Scarlet was chosen to help than the content of what she was assisting with, not that he blamed her.
He waved away the thought with a dismayed groan. “She’s busy working on something and won’t tell me what.” A brush of the hair out of his face reminded him to ask Mama for another haircut. “I’m just letting her, since it seems like she’s been pretty stressed out while i was fucking off making ‘friends’. Something like this is probably good for her.”
His bond giggled, nodding her understanding as she folded her paws over her lap. The idea sparked something, but she continued on a line of questioning he would have been shocked over if it wasn’t for the emotional connection she had with him. “Is this related to your annoyance when Tel made light of your decision to train a Blade?”
Regardless of how used he was getting to her catching onto the smallest flickers of his thoughts, he sighed, giving her a defeated grin that defied the tiredness in his eyes. “Yeah. I don’t like the way they’re treated. Figured I’d start with making Scarlet my secretary.”
Pan glanced to Scarlet, the Blade blankly waiting to be directed further, her only involvement in the interaction being her ear pivoting between the two. “Was that not one of my duties?”
Joseph noticed the slight sadness in her voice, speaking quickly to dispel any ideas before they formed. “You’re doing too much as it is. Between helping with my shit and managing clothing, you’re already doing more than you should. Scarlet will just help me around where i need a hand without having to bother you.”
His mate entered the room, his seated posture levelling their height. Her light laughter and soft kiss made him frown, though it was made considerably more difficult due to the smile that refused to leave.
“I am aware. Thank you for thinking of me.”
“You’re picking up shit from Tel again,” he chastised, running his thumb over the fur of her tail that had found his hand. She gazed at him lovingly before repeating the affection and stepping back.
“Is there anything i may assist with?”
Scarlet perked an ear as he hummed in consideration, a glance between the two females from him solidifying a plan. “Actually, yes. If you have time, anyway.”
“I will always have time for you,” she replied confidently, making his heart ease. He waved her off, fighting back the blush with a covered cough that earned him another giggle.
“Yeah, yeah. You already have me, you can stop flirting.”
A smile punctuated her amusement. “Then i would not get to see you so flustered.”
“God dammit, Tel,” he lamented lamely in response. A shake of his head refocused him, ignoring the swaying appendage that confirmed how much fun she was having while copying the grey-furred female’s assertiveness with her own twist. “You ran your own shop for a while, right?”
She nodded, curiosity pausing her display of amusement. “For a year, yes.”
“Do you think you and Nalah could hammer some ‘customer service’ into her?” He thumbed to the invested Blade, Scarlet failing to feign her lack of interest in the conversation.
“Nalah?”
He shrugged. “She worked a handful of jobs that dealt with customers, apparently. Given how people reacted when she used to translate for me, It’d be a good idea.”
“I will fetch her, if you wish.”
A nod was given as he marked his place on the document, accepting the tablet that Scarlet offered and placing it with the rest so that they might resume at a later time. “I’d appreciate it. One more thing.”
“Yes?”
A grin marred any attempt to seem overly serious. “Think you could make a uniform if i describe it?”
She tilted her head, a blink noting her curiosity. “I will need to finish Harrow’s request first, but it shouldn’t be much of a delay. What would you like me to make?”
He pointed a finger upwards, levelling it at the seamstress as he pictured how annoyed Tel was going to be when she finally seen the results of his ideas. “So it starts with an apron...”