Uninvited Guest

After all of the gifts had been given, the family went about their regular tasks. The exception being Ahsch and Ariin, neither of whom had much planned for the day - he had been taken off the guide rotation after the incident, at least until a full review was completed later that afternoon, and his sister had planned to be tired due to her own gift to her brother the night before.

Before the twins or Mahat could decide on a course of action for the day, there was a knock at the door, to which Xulla shouted, "I'll get it!" A few moments later, the lepuru hollered, "It's for you, brother!"

Ahsch frowned at the two girls with him, who returned the look, before the trio moved to the front of the house, where Xulla was over-exuberantly speaking with...

"Miss Starr? What are you doing here?"

Kira, who had a rather amusing expression of polite frustration, seemed almost relieved when Ahsch appeared. "Ah!" she exclaimed, interrupting Xulla's ceaseless questions about the Canyon, "I have another expedition planned for today, but when I told the fools at the guild that I would have you be the guide, they told me some nonsense about you not being available."

"That's correct."

The human's eye twitched. "Excuse me?"

Ahsch sighed, then pointedly looked at his younger sister. "Xulla, don't you have chores to do today?"

The younger girl looked back and forth, sensing drama, but at her brother's impatient look, she pouted, sighed, and left with a huff. Taking a moment to make sure she was gone, the hrafthi boy turned back to their uninvited guest. "There are two main reasons that I will not - cannot - be your guide today. The first is that yesterday's incident review hasn't been completed. Since there were no fatalities, it's not considered a critical matter, and because we returned to the village so late, nobody wanted to stay up to deal with it. When a guide still has an incident review pending, they're off rotation and cannot guide any expeditions until the review is complete; therefore, I can't be your guide.

"But secondly - and honestly, more importantly - I don't _want _to guide you. Your stupidity put everyone's life in danger, and it's sheer luck that it was an illusory drake and not a real beast that was waiting for us down in the Canyon, let alone that I didn't dare to use magic and give myself mana burn. That aside, while he certainly seems competent, Michlas is not a guide, and even with Mahat there to help, he was lucky to get back to Savras as quickly and unscathed as he did.

"So you'll excuse me if I take a day to relax and reflect. I don't think I'll be guiding any more expeditions without first meeting the client and deciding for myself if they're worth guiding. And, having met you, I feel confident telling you that you are _not _someone I intend to guide ever again."

Kira stared for a long moment, her expression of shock delighting Ahsch. In the tense quiet, Mahat spoke to the mage. Just a thought, Master, but try using your Heart Sight. Frowning internally, he did so, and had to suppress his own shock; Heart Sight allowed him to 'see' the emotions of others, and instinctively know what swirling colors around them meant. While anger and surprise were present, the overwhelming emotion Kira was feeling was... arousal? Little bits of information filtered in as Ahsch examined the girl: her tired body language, the dark bags under her eyes, her slightly disheveled look.

His covert inspection was interrupted when she scowled. "Now look..."

"No, _you _look," Ahsch snapped, an idea forming. "Or rather, think. What possible reason would I have to risk my life for you? If you want me to guide you on another expedition, then go and come up with at least one actually good reason for me to do so." He took a breath, then a gamble. "Maybe that'll keep you busy enough you don't spend all night masturbating."

Shock flared in her emotional aura. As did a massive spike of arousal. She tried to mask it with anger, but he could tell she didn't really mean it. "How dare...!"

"You heard what I said, Miss Starr. Have a good day." And with that, the boy firmly closed the door in her face.

He turned around, feeling Mahat's smug glee, and could see his sister's failing attempts to keep from laughing. "What was that?" she managed to get out, smothering a snort.

"That," Ahsch sighed, thankful for the sound-dampening enchantment on the house, "was a hell of a risk that I'm hoping pays off."

"How so? Obviously saying that to her is risky, but what are you hoping to accomplish?"

The boy explained what he'd seen using Heart Sight, then paused for a moment as he considered his suspicions. "Kira is some sort of wealthy brat. A merchant's daughter, maybe a noble. It explains her arrogance, a bit of her stupidity... and there's a good chance that she feels the weight of responsibility if she's expected to take up the family business - whether that's an actual business or the business of being a noble. And I happen to know that there's correlation between needing to be in charge in day-to-day life and being sexually submissive."

Ariin grinned. "So... you pretended to get really upset with her, and gave her a command while acting like it was more of a rhetorical question? And all in the hopes that she would actually do it and offer herself to you?" The girl's grin turned almost predatory. "Why, brother... what happened to not abusing your power?"

Ahsch waved off her comment. "Given how the commands work, it should be pretty obvious to her. If she doesn't want to deal with it, or otherwise decides to say 'fuck you' to me, she can just tell me to get rid of it, and I will. If she doesn't though, and comes back later with something to offer..." he shrugged, letting his girls fill in the blanks themselves.

The Dominant Mage glanced over his shoulder, as though checking to see if Kira had left, though there was no way for him to see outside. Then, rolling his neck quick, he grinned lasciviously at his girls. "Now then, since we don't have any plans for the next few hours..."