Setting the tone

Dustin held Emely close and waited until she had calmed down fully from her crying spell before letting go and patting her gently on the shoulder. “Right, let’s have that discussion then. As I said a moment ago, I am ordering you to be honest and tell me what it is you want or need. Don’t try telling me what you think I want to hear - this is about you. I’m aware different people want different things, so just a vague idea that you don’t want to be in charge doesn’t really narrow it down all that much for me I’m afraid.” The redhead smiled wanly at him, before pouring herself a drink from the pitcher and taking a long sip.

“If you order it, captain. I should preface that I have tried being in charge - I’ll spare you the details of my fumbling attempts at intimacy, but they were all pretty dire. Not the fault of my partners though - they tried their best, but it just didn’t work. You want me to be honest; I’m happiest when I’m given clear direction and someone else can take charge. Half the reason I studied to work in communications is because a lot of it is about getting the other parties involved to set the tone - at least half of the time at any rate. Umm…” At this, she blushed, her skin darkening to nearly the colour of her soft fur before she added “… how much detail, exactly, did you want me to go into?”

For a moment, Dustin just looked at the glass in the woman’s hands before his tablet beeped. Glancing down at it for a moment, he grinned before looking back up at the fox girl. “Ok, so before I answer, that beep was Meli and Rye telling me to explain how they tick to you in order to help us with this talk. As I said before, my fiancé is very good at giving advice. What I need to know from you is how far you want to give up control - or rather, what role you want me to take in the bedroom. If we use the other two as an example - Meli is usually happy to be the one in control unless I surprise her, and we have a fair amount of back and forth play at any given moment. Rye on the other hand normally takes the lead even if it’s just egging me on…” and here he paused before chuckling to himself and adding “…at least, unless she’s told us to get the grav-cuffs out in which case all bets are off within reason. What do you want me to do for you?”

Emely’s blush had if anything gotten deeper as Dustin had gone through the proclivities of the other women on board, and when she spoke it was soft enough that Dustin had to strain his ears to hear. “I want to be ordered around. That’s about all I know, because I’ve never found a partner who was able to let me experiment. And while things on holos look fun, I’ve spent enough time on forums on the galactic web to know that not everything is for everyone. I’m sorry, I don’t know enough to be exact for you.” Dustin shook his head and smiled at her - she’d started to look worried again. “Don’t worry about it. I’m happy to experiment to find out what works - on which note, do you want just me to order you around or…?” He left the question hanging, at which Emely blinked before replying “Oh, the matriarch? And her second?” then she giggled before continuing “that’s not an issue. If I was normal then they’d order me around any way, and as far as I’m aware I’m fine with that part of my culture at least.”

The pair chuckled for a moment before Dustin straightened up. Asides from Rye, he’d had limited experience with women looking for anything other than playful equality in the bedroom, but he’d watched enough holos and read enough books during his unemployed days on Earth to have at least a vague understanding of the basics. “Right” he said at last after considering things for a minute “here’s what we’ll do. Off duty of course, if we’re on duty we will both be behaving professionally.” Emely nodded, her tails flickering slightly as if irked that he’d think any other way. “Off duty, I want you to be part of the crew and so we’ll see how much of balance needs to be struck between all casual together and you being ordered around to make you happy. We’ll do that by talking it over regularly for the next couple of weeks and seeing what works and what doesn’t. Does that seem reasonable to you?”

The fox woman nodded happily, before raising her hand. Dustin gestured for her to ask whatever question was pressing on her. “That’s off duty and just being around each other. What about my joining the pride? And of course, after that when we…” she trailed off, grinning at him. She might be submissive, but she hadn’t been lying about having the normal levels of friskiness for her species, and some of her bubbliness was returning now that the fear of rejection had passed. Dustin returned the grin and then stood. Crossing over to the automat, he punched in a code and turned back to face her. “Well, if you’re talking about sleeping arrangements and intimacy - we’ll include that in the discussions, obviously. In the moment though we should probably have a way for you to tell me if you need me to stop what ever is happening.”

Emely seemed pleased at that, asking “so what do you want me to do if I’m uncomfortable, captain?” That last word had come out as a half-breathy sigh and Dustin made a mental note to see if Meli was priming all his partners with emphasizing his rank in intimate discussions. In reply, he shrugged. “If it’s something in the bedroom, let’s go for a word. What’s the Feliax word you like the least? I don’t want you to have to think in my language if you’re struggling.” She pondered for a moment then opened her mouth. He’d been expecting more of the yelping Feliax speech, but what came out instead was closer to a cat’s purr only at a pitch that made his ears hurt. Spotting his wince, she stopped and said “It’s pretty easy to say, and judging by your reaction you won’t mistake it for anything else.”

Dustin shook his head gently to clear it. “Probably not. What’s it mean?” Emely’s tails flickered at his words before she sighed and replied “It doesn’t translate exactly, because you’re not Feliax and your biology doesn’t work the same as ours. The closest I can get is ‘I’d cut off my tail before cutting of my line’ - it’s what you say if someone is pressuring you into joining a pride as a second or lower rank.” Dustin thought for a moment as he processed the translation. “That makes sense. Well, you now have a word to say if I - or the others - push you in ways you don’t want to be pushed. Which you can use at any point when I give you an order. Except the one I am about to give, because although we are off duty right now I am ordering you both as your patriarch and as your captain to comply. Come here, this is for you.” With that, he pulled the med spray he’d ordered from the holo and waved it at the fox girl.

Emely’s eyes narrowed for a second, before she nodded and stood, crossing the distance. “As you order, captain” - there was that breathy voice again - “would you take care of it for me?” In response Dustin smiled and reached down to gently brush her flame-red hair away from her neck. Pressing the med spray against her skin and working the activator he murmured “good girl” softly, which caused the fox girl to press herself against him. With the spray administered he tossed the empty device on the table and slipped a finger under Emely’s chin, lifting her face to look at him even as he breathed in the warm summery scent that he assumed was her perfume. “Orders then. First of all, stop calling me captain if we’re off duty.” In response Emely gave him a soft “yes sir” before he continued “secondly, I am ready to welcome you to our pride whenever you are ready and not before. When you are comfortable, you are ordered to kiss…” he didn’t get any further before the fox girl sprang up, legs and tails wrapping around his waist and lips crushing against his.