Seamus asks some hard questions

"A tree? What?" Alice asked, stepping back and looking him over.

Seamus nodded. "I don't know why, but I found myself in Southeast Alaska, rolled over and fell off a cliff, struck a tree whilst learning to fly before I hit the water, hit a cliff instead, was saved by my new claws, and then got to watch the cruise ship I'd planned on us taking for our anniversary coming around a bend in the passage." Seamus massaged his knee painfully, trying to work out how much damage he'd done.

Alice covered her mouth with her hand and giggled. "So...only your wings to cover you while a whole cruise ship full of people could see you?"

Seamus glared. "I'm just lucky that ship is an adults only cruise line!" He muttered: "Primary reason I chose it in the first place!"

Alice shook her head and picked out bits of forest debris from his hair. "I can just imagine the fright you gave some poor soul! Hundreds of miles from the nearest city..."

"...45 miles. That passage is 45 miles from Juneau." Seamus glowered as he felt his knee pop. He rotated it a bit, wincing at the crackling he heard.

Alice pouted, "Fine. 45 miles from the nearest city, rugged terrain and pine trees all around..."

"Spruce trees. Ow!" Seamus's other knee popped with his continued attention. "Sitka spruce trees."

"Am I telling this story or would you rather tell the story?" Alice put her hands on her still bare hips.

"Fine, honey. Pine trees it is." Seamus winced and rubbed a newly discovered ache in his calf, his tail balancing him as he bent over.

"Grr. Spruce trees all around, and there hanging from the cliff you were, bare-as...butt naked with naught but your wings to shield you... I couldn't have invented a better story if I tried!" Alice declared, a giant grin on her face.

Seamus looked up, gave her a thin smile...and asked sweetly: "What kind of clothes would you like to wear tomorrow when we go to your parents for dinner, honey?"

Alice's eyes widened. "You wouldn't! Ahh...I mean please...ahh...I mean...uh..." She looked nervously at his watch.

Seamus felt instantly contrite. "I'm sorry, honey. That was mean of me. You can wear whatever you want to your parents." He waited a moment for her to relax. "Even if tonight you're stuck wearing a burlap underskirt and wool overskirt with a cashmere blouse, or nothing at all..."

Alice pouted again. "I hate wool." Her fingers scratched her sides fiercely, then stilled at the smirk on his face.

Seamus laughed and unbent himself.. And coughed. Then coughed again. And finally coughed a third time. He had held up his hand in front of his mouth on the third cough, and this time saw the tiny flecks of red spatter across the back of his hand.

"Honey?" Alice's voice grew concerned. 'Not again. Not so soon after the last scare. Dear heart, I love you, but can you please give me at least ten hours before giving me another scare?'

Seamus shot a look at Alice and laughed again, but it devolved swiftly into horrific coughing. Seamus looked at Vavnagal, who was rising from the bed sans her typical corset, panties, hosiery, and garters. Her high heels were clicking rapidly on the stone floor as she strode over to him and gently placed her hand on his chest. Seamus coughed again at the pressure.

"How hard did you strike the cliff, Master?" Vavnagal asked, concern in her voice.

Seamus frowned. "I thought you didn't have to call me that anymore." He coughed again. "Hard. I...struck..." cough, "...hard." He suddenly wheezed and had difficulty catching his next breath. Seamus saw little spots in the air and panicked, wondering where on Earth he was going to end up this time.

Vavnagal's face turned ashen grey and she looked over at Sireah, who was still dressed. Her eyes flicked across Sireah's corset rapidly. "I think he's punctured a lung. You cross-trained in the healer guild during your Velvet Midnight time. Did you handle punctured lungs?"

Seamus took a surreptitious look around, the spots not going away, but the walls of his room were still present.

"Yes, once, Your Majesty." Sireah said, coming over to place her hand on Seamus's chest. "But not as the surgeon. I was nursing staff."

Seamus smelled and heard Elaln approach from behind, and felt the air currents swirl on his wings as she bowed. "I trained in the Velvet Midnight as a surgeon, Your Majesties."

Vavnagal stepped back, letting Elaln take her place, and then Elaln put her left hand on Seamus's chest.

Seamus could feel heat, the pain decreasing as Sireah did something with her hand on his chest. "But I flew. How could I fly with a punctured lung?" Seamus wheezed out, the spots fading, but not gone.

"You didn't, Your Majesty. Not likely. You likely broke a rib and when Her Majesty jumped on you it pushed the broken shards into your lung." Sireah stated. She frowned. "How you didn't feel the pain of the broken rib..."

Alice gasped and interrupted: "Oh no. I'm so sorry...", 'Seamus! Oh...no. Lord, save him and I'll take Vavnagal's remaining punishment! Just don't take him from me, please!' She thought loudly.

Seamus winced at the volume of her thoughts, shook his head swiftly at Alice, glared at her without any real heat, opened his mouth, and again, coughed hard. He continued to try to convince Alice to take back that prayer, but Elaln shot him a look as she moved her hand carefully.

Seamus winced at a sudden renewed pain, but almost instantly after he felt like the alligator was no longer chomping on his chest. A few moments later and he could take a full breath again. "How did you do that?" Seamus asked, wonder in his voice.

"As you may remember, Your Majesty, our transportation ability utilizes spatial folding. Velvet Midnight surgeons envision the internal structures very precisely, then with very careful gravitational nudging, in just the right parts of the body, we heal what's broken." Elaln stated. She frowned and her hand moved around his chest, more aches disappearing as she did so.

Seamus pressed his hand against his chest in amazement. “Thank you." Seamus hesitantly but joyfully drew another full breath. “And is that it? I'm repaired? I mean...healed?" He took another deep breath and held it with weird wonder, and then let it out slowly.

“Yes, Your Majesty. Unless you decide to strike another cliff chest first.” Elaln stated dryly. Her left hand moved lower on his abdomen, her other hand drifting to his hip.

“Good.” Seamus nodded. “Striking cliffs whilst flying is bad for one's health, so noted.”

Alice snorted, concern still etching deep lines on her face.

Seamus peered at Elaln closely, watching the expressions on her face carefully. "Panning for gold or is something else wrong?"

Elaln kept her attention focused on his lower abdomen. "Your Majesty, how long have you been in pain?" She moved her left hand to his lower stomach, brushing against the tufts of curly hair and causing Seamus to grunt as he avoided laughing at the ticklishness it caused.

Seamus thought for a moment. "Huh." Thinking a moment longer still... "Interesting. Since I married Vavnagal. I thought it was related to my app changes from the zero refractory period or stamina thing." Then he shook his head. "No. Whatever you just did eased pain I've had since college."

Elaln shook her head. "Your body has been trying to slowly rewrite your DNA strands to incorporate the new information and your immune system has been fighting the changes." She moved her hands in a specific manner.

Seamus felt something else ease deep inside. "What did you do?"

"Adjusted your bone marrow a little. It should help speed up your transition, Your Majesty." Elaln placed her right hand on his neck and concentrated again.

The near constant low-level headache Seamus had been feeling since his marriage to Vavnagal finally disappeared. Seconds later, after his eyeballs stopped having a squeezing sensation he'd felt since college, he felt like the room was blurry, so he took off his glasses and blinked. Putting his glasses back on, the room was still blurry. He removed them again, and the room was sharp and distinct. He went to put his glasses back on out of habit but changed his mind and put them on his shirt collar.

A clatter on the floor and skitter of lenses shooting in opposite directions along the stone made Seamus sigh. 'Stupid. I'm not wearing a shirt.' He chuckled a little. 'Or pants...underwear...I wonder if I always felt blasè about nudity in front of groups of people or if that was college app related?'

Seamus carefully set a hand on Elaln's shoulder, intentionally avoiding disruption to her continuing process as little as possible. He smiled when she looked up at his face and nodded gratefully.

Elaln nodded back, and was now working her way down his arms, so Seamus looked over at Vavnagal again and asked. "Why did I go to Southeast Alaska?"

Vavnagal was about to reply when Na spoke up from a new hiding place in the dark shadows, musing aloud: "For Miz, our first jump is usually to avoid death, my liege."

Seamus looked over to the dark lines outlining Na and quirked an eyebrow.

Sireah said: "Figures. Our first leap is usually to someone's bedroom while they're having sex."

Seamus frowned as Na's blinking brought her face to his attention, the fur of her face blurring into soft swishes of blues, yellows, and variations of gray. 'She has gold, black, and white fur. If my eyes are better, why are colors changing?'

Seamus looked at Alice and saw the same beautiful red hair he was used to. Looking back at Na, and looking directly at her eyes, he saw her ears flatten and pupils dilate, her chest expanding swiftly from her curled position on top of the column as she sucked in a breath. Na's eyes narrowed, and she blew a breath at him. Seamus sniffed and caught hints of sandalwood, vanilla, and...root beer? No...sarsaparilla.

Na smiled, rolled just a little and drew a hand toward the cleft between her legs and Seamus cleared his throat and rewound the statement he'd missed in his head:

Vavnagal had said: "That...was my experience as well, husband. It is an experience unique to each race."

Na snickered and stretched sensuously, her tail rising tall and the tip curling toward Seamus and vibrating back and forth a little.

Seamus blushed at the blatant public invitation. Looking around, he suddenly realized no one else was responding to her tail language the same way he was...and while people were looking in her general direction, few were seeming to actually see her...

Seamus then returned to looking at Alice, whom he could sense was focused on his face. He shook his head at her, waving off the question he felt in her mind. After that, he sighed. 'When did I become this weird?'

Nazps-Odo then slowly announced from her chair by the bookcases: "The Fae first stepped between the veils as a rite of passage, or faded into the ether in their failure. For the Perizoda..." She stopped, a soft wondering smile crinkling the corner of her eyes, "...no...for the Angels of Death, we were created already knowing how to jump. But for you, husband, I suspect it is because your heart drew you to that place." She set her book on the side table and steepled her long fingers in deep contemplation.

Seamus was quiet as he returned his attention from Nazps-Odo to Alice with a sad smile. "Next time, dear heart. Next time." He held out a hand to her.

Alice stepped between Elaln and Vavnagal and took his hand with one of hers, and laid her other hand on his cheek. "I'll hold you to that, mon cher." She gave him a small smile.

Seamus shifted her hand to his mouth, and placed a kiss on her palm. "Je t'aime, ma chérie." He murmured. He stared into her eyes, then his eyes dropped to his watch, winced, and he looked back to his guests. "Would someone please give our guests a pair of dresses? Since I assume that won't have issue with the tribute...Mandy, Samantha, I would like to talk more with you tomorrow at dinner, but for now, would you like to request permission to depart?"

Samantha looked like she was about to object to the second question but Mandy put a hand on her shoulder and Seamus saw the sisters exchange swift wordless communication before Samantha inclined her head to Seamus and both nodded, both keeping their eyes studiously on his face, although Seamus could see Samantha sneaking lingering glances below his waist.

"We beg your leave, Mr. Malone." Mandy said. Samantha again nodded agreement and curtsied awkwardly, her head ducked and the bangs falling forward over her eyes and Seamus saw her shiver a little as her fingers worried at the hem of her skirt.

"You have my permission." Seamus said and saw a guard pull two mini tube-dresses, one sparkling teal and the other a midnight blue, from an armoire and hand it to them. He rolled his eyes and sighed.

Mandy and Samantha accepted the dresses, Mandy taking the blue one. Both of them quickly looked around the room at the multiple naked people, and then Mandy shrugged before removing the rest of her clothing.

Samantha blushed, turned to face the side of the room with the fewest guards, paused, then swiftly removed her bra and dropped it on the floor and shimmied into the dress. Samantha pulled off her skirt and wiggled, her rabbit tail twitching rapidly, alternately telling Seamus she wanted him to watch, then didn't want him to watch, then wanted him to watch, before it was hidden by the dress.

A moment later, Samantha realized there was a well placed hole in the rear of the dress and she shimmied the dress around just a little to line up the dress and then the tail slipped through the hole in the dress. Seamus saw her tail twitch happily before Samantha smoothed the dress over her butt and pulled the hem down.

Seamus saw her tail freeze in embarrassment and Samantha quickly pulled the top of the dress back up over her breasts, then pull the hem down over her butt, pause as it pulled at her tail, and watched her slump a little before pulling the dress up a little until the hem was just above the gluteal line.

Mandy cleared her throat and Seamus jerked and looked back at her glaring eyes, before Samantha caught Mandy's attention and shyly shook her head quickly. Mandy glared back at her, but then her eyes softened, she rolled her eyes, sighed and bowed awkwardly toward Seamus.

Mandy straightened back up, smirked suddenly, reached down and grabbed both her and Samantha's bras and skirts and then handed them to the guard, and then pivoted and sashayed out of the room, her head held high, her tail informing Seamus that she wanted him looking at her butt as she departed...not her sister's. Just before she left the room, the tail twitched a question asking Seamus whose butt he found cuter.

Seamus put his face in his hands, sighed, then looked down where Elaln was now sliding her hand down to his inner thighs, one hand pausing partway down resting just above his now very solid bit of anatomy. "I assume this part is really necessary?"

"Only if you wish to have sex again, Your Majesty." Elaln replied. She concentrated hard, but Seamus could swear he saw her smile slightly. Then he felt the back of her hand lift up just a hair and tenderly brush against him.

Seamus cleared his throat.

Elaln looked up: "You may not want to distract me right now, Your Majesty."

Seamus quirked an eyebrow. "Uh-huh. Right." He looked around at everyone, looked at Alice again..."Vavnagal?"

"Yes, husband?" Vavnagal came to his outstretched hand.

"How many punishment strikes do you have left?" Seamus asked...praying...

Vavnagal paused. Then her eyebrows shot up. Her tail twitched. And then she looked disappointed. "Zero, husband, which I'm not sure how..."

Seamus turned his face back to and glared at Alice. "Oh, I know how..." His tone could have cut steel.

Alice looked abashed and gulped. "H-how many were you supposed to have remaining, Vavnagal?" Seamus watched her fingers twitch in a motion he knew far too well. She was eager for the answer, but she was trying to pretend not to be!

Vavnagal said quietly: "A little over 1,900, since His Majesty ordered the edging without relief...but those numbers should not have just zeroed out."

Alice blanched and her fingers froze in their movement, her torso heaving above her corset as she regained her composure.

Seamus hadn't quite remembered his wording being like that for Vavnagal's edging... he'd thought it...bother. This app loved taking his thoughts and making them real. "Sorry, Vavnagal, that's on me and my thought process."

Vavnagal smiled slightly. "Delayed gratification is all the sweeter for the release, dear husband." Vavnagal frowned and touched her chin with a thumb and forefinger, her wingtips angling down over her head. "But where did the rest go?"

"Alice made a bargain...and one I'm not sure she'll survive having made." Seamus muttered darkly.

Vavnagal paled. "What sort of bargain, Alice?" She swiftly moved and placed her hand on Alice's still bare shoulder, Alice still not having taken Seamus up on his offer of wool clothing...

"Your punishment for Seamus living." Alice said simply, but steadily. She steeled herself and her eyes dared anyone to even think that bargain was bad.

Vavnagal hissed, her wings snapping out harshly and her tail curling in an s shape. She recoiled from Alice and started pacing.

"Exactly." Seamus said, his eyes not leaving Alice's face.

Alice looked at them both, annoyance rising. "I can take it! I was rash, yes, and I won't be able to sit down for a while, but I can take it!" She put her hands on her hips and grumbled darkly at the both of them.

If Seamus could have had a sense of humor at the moment, he'd have laughed at the sight of her annoyed face above her two lovely breasts, the guitar fretboards on the corset keeping everything almost whimsically surrealistic, but right now, no, he didn't have a sense of humor. "You're human, honey! Not a succubus. If the count doesn't go down based on your butt getting red by the end of a single punishment session, we're in definite trouble."

Alice looked confused for a couple of seconds before comprehension dawned in her face, then quiet worry, then fear.

Seamus wanted to pace, but glared because Vavnagal already was. Everyone, including the now finished Elaln, finally gave him space to think.

Seamus turned around and used his wingtips to stroke his goatee. "If...no. Maybe if we...no. Ah." Seamus finally spun back around towards Alice, elation in his face before misery then crushed him.

Alice drew herself up. "I accept."

Seamus looked startled.

Alice smiled slightly. "You have an idea. You're not happy with it. It involves me. But you're feeling guilty about something to do with it. But it's something you desire greatly. I accept."

Seamus opened his mouth to argue. They could try to do a punishment session and see if the count felt like it went down for her, if she could even feel the count, and his idea was possibly permanent.

Alice crossed swiftly to him, went on tiptoes and kissed him fiercely on the mouth, then knelt on both knees in front of him, taking his hand in her own and raising it to her mouth and she kissed the back of it. Keeping her head bowed, struggling to get breath as the corset dug in this position, and she spoke further: "My mind, my body, are yours. I swore this, I meant it. I mean it still. I accept."

Seamus slumped. And opened his mouth again.

Alice spoke, hearing the intake of his breath, her head still bowed. "Don't tell me."

Seamus now got annoyed.

Alice spoke again. "Please." She spread her knees, her hair automatically reforming into a long braid down her back, laid the back of her hands on her thighs, arched her back as much as the chains and corset would allow, thrust out her chest, and her tail curled around her waist. She kept her head down and stopped moving.

Seamus slumped and sighed. He glared at the top of her head, but a ghost of a smile finally twitched on his face. He straightened up, circled around Alice, placed his right foot between her legs, pushing her feet aside a little, and pushed the other tail from her plug aside and slid his foot forward until his shin was pressed against her natal cleft. He lifted his toes and felt the moist heat and heard her breathing steady. He bent down a little and grasped her ponytail and pulled her head up, lengthening her neck and Seamus braced himself with his tail as he kissed her neck.

Seamus breathed in her scent deeply once, twice, and a third time. Then he bit her neck gently, feeling the pulse thudding hard against his tongue. He closed his eyes, memorizing this scent, memorizing this feeling, praying. He slid his left hand down to her left breast and ran his thumb gently over her nipple. Cupping her breast, he pulled up gently, feeling the nipple strain as the chains pulled hard.

Alice gasped and Seamus felt the plug in her start shifting rhythmically. He saw her eyes flutter and her lips curl into a slight smile. Seamus moved from kissing her neck to kissing her red lips, then he gently bit her lower lip, feeling her tremble and her left arm twitch against the throbbing heat between his legs, but she held her position.

Seamus let go of her ponytail and stood back up, staying at her back, Alice returning her head to it's bowed position. Seamus ran his fingers through her hair and prayed. And made a decision.

Seamus used the watch, found Alice's name, and found what he had hoped for. He looked at his wife's head, her red hair, perfectly done, as it always was from shortly after they got the app, and always would be from now on, and clicked on the incredibly expensive item on his list. Then clicked accept and apply. Then made sure that awareness was set to on.

Seamus pulled his foot back, stepped around to in front of Alice and knelt in front of her. He placed his left hand on her right palm, raised her chin until she was looking in his eyes, and then placed his right hand on her left palm. And kept his eyes on her eyes, a Sehnsucht feeling, a melancholy feeling, briefly crossing over him before he forced himself to pay attention to the here and now. He saw a knowing look in her eyes, a grateful acceptance, and tears nearly came to his eyes before he could catch them. He smiled intentionally, the smile chasing away the feelings, and he saw her steady patience.

Seamus kept his eyes on the steady, unfailing, unflinching, unconditional love shining through Alice's eyes as he watched the skin of her face ripple, shine, then turn blacker than night. They were sucking in every last bit of light in the room before the pinks and reds flooded back in chasing away the night in waves. He saw the pain in her eyes flash and fade, following the black waves rolling down her arms and then he felt the skin of her hands become scalding hot before turning colder than liquid nitrogen before settling on normal skin temperature.

Seamus winced but didn't let go.

Alice breathed in deeply and hissed as the black flowed between her legs, but settled back down as the black moved on.

Seamus waited a moment and then surreptitiously lifted his right hand and flexed it, and laid it back down in her hand.

Alice winced and bowed her head in apology.

Seamus shook his head and repeated the motion with his left hand.

Alice hissed again as the black flowed down to her feet and toes. After it was finished, she closed her eyes, breathed in deeply, breathed out once, opened her eyes and smiled softly at Seamus.

Seamus smiled back. And kissed her. He felt the fur of her tail tickling his hand, rippling and smoothing as the tail lengthened, unwinding from around her waist, the dragon-scale pattern on her tail acquiring teal hues on the edges of each new scale. The new 4"-long, 3"-wide heart shaped stinger at the end brushed his hand softly before it slid around and behind her back.

Seamus watched as a delicate red lace thong grew from her hips, and shimmered down between her legs. It parted around the chain and clit piercing, and disappeared from view between her legs. It had formed a pattern very similar to what he was used to seeing in the garter belts and hosiery his guards wore. Seamus looked back up at her face and he saw her worried look still and disappear.

Alice smiled back. A moment later she looked startled.

Seamus grinned.

Alice quirked an eyebrow.

"I found another change-since you have two tails, I can choose which tail I want to keep. It won't let me deselect both at the same time, but I chose to keep this new one." Seamus informed her.

Alice nodded.

Seamus put one foot on the ground and pulled at her hands. Alice followed him in standing. He was startled when he saw that she was now wearing taller high heels than she had ever worn before.

Alice stumbled and held onto his arm, before pushing herself back upright and wobbled, but steadied herself and then grinned triumphantly.

Seamus looked over at Sireah who was standing behind Alice at the ready.

"Her Majesty the Consort will need and will be growing wings soon as well. She needs to keep her energy up through lots of protein consumption. It should be about the same amount as you are eating right now, Your Majesty." Sireah stated. "Oh, and she'll want to be naked as much as possible." Sireah didn't change her expression at all with the last statement.

Alice turned and shot a look at Sireah but at the sudden impish grin and smirk from Sireah, Seamus sighed and Alice chuckled.

Seamus looked at Sireah, narrowed his eyes, thought for a moment about the utter lack of light reflecting off her skin in waves, the extreme heat and cold, the shining and then pigments returning and asked: "Her skin has a morphable carbon nanotube framework now, with other entrained atoms in some or all of the tubes, doesn't it?"

Sireah looked lost for a moment but after a quick thought, and glance at the other people in the room, she finally nodded. "Yes, I believe that is the correct terminology, Your Majesty. You both do."

Seamus was startled. "Then why did I get so badly cut up by the rocks?"

Sireah looked at him with an annoyed look. "Remind me...how hard did you hit the cliff, Your Majesty?" Then she shrugged. "And your change was going a lot slower than hers is."

"Ah. Okay." Seamus said, turning back and caught a swaying Alice, beforing swiveling back to stare at Sireah. "Wait, was?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. It should go a lot faster now once you eat again." Sireah advised him. Sireah stepped closer to Alice and put her right hand on Alice's upper left back, steadying her.

"Oh, joy." Seamus winced at the thought of scalding heat and freezing cold in combination with eating food. That should make the next meal rather interesting. "Sireah, is that why I can see the reflections in the dark now?"

Now Sireah looked confused and her tail paused in its movement. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, what was that?"

Seamus opened his mouth, then looked over at Na who was slowly shaking her head from her spot in the dark. "Forget I asked that please, Sireah."

Sireah bowed, carefully keeping her hand where it was on Alice's back. "Of course, Your Majesty."

Seamus sighed, but Na had her eyes closed. He turned to Elaln: "Elaln, please examine Alice, just in case."

Elaln bowed: "At once, Your Majesty." Elaln stepped around Sireah and placed her left hand on Alice's right shoulder and closed her eyes in concentration.

Seamus waited a moment, making sure Alice was okay, and then walked over to Nazps-Odo. "Do I need to be careful with the DNA I received from you?"

Nazps-Odo opened her eyes and steadily contemplated Seamus. Then she turned and looked out at the nebula outside the window for a long moment and stated quietly, her voice and eyes far away: "If you have the ability to return a soul to it's body by yourself, ensure you have a cost known and paid in advance lest you drain a star to pay the toll."

Seamus's eyes widened, "Have you ever drained a star?"

Nazps-Odo was quiet for so long, Seamus almost thought she hadn't heard him, but then she replied:: "My sister."

Nazps-Odo's eyes were steady, but sorrowful. "Her husband died after executing God's judgement on the wife of a Miz that swore a blood oath to my sister's husband, hoping to forestall his hand."

Na hissed in startled recognition and quietly said a Miz name, her scent changing to rosemary and camphor.

Nazps-Odo continued staring out the window for a long moment, not reacting to Na's statement, and then murmured. "After Eve and Adam encountered Lucifer inhabiting the body of the serpent, I've since suspected he was the architect of that whole affair." She was twisting her fingers over and over in the air at her waist. "He was, after all, the Satan in that particular courtroom and shortly thereafter, my sister raised her beloved husband from the dead. And then a star went out."

Nazps-Odo turned back from the window and looked at Seamus. "Then we followed Lucifer into the Fall. And the angels ceased to marry in heaven." With that, Nazps-Odo stood up and left the room, a haunted look on her face.

Seamus stared after her, feeling small, the scale of time pressing down on him, the knowledge of what lay beyond the scriptures making him wonder if the reason it wasn't recorded was because humanity didn't need to know, shouldn't know, or couldn't have handled the knowledge. Or if what had been passed down was only that which was relevant to humans.

Seamus shook himself and looked up to see Na approaching. "My liege, a Miz wishes to approach and pay homage."

Seamus looked at her quizzically. "That wasn't the name of the Miz you mentioned a moment ago, was it?"

Na shook her head. "No, my liege." She coughed lightly. "Qadresh-I thought it was a bed-time story told to kits. It is a word in Qesret that means to be so astronomically stupid as to intentionally kill the one to whom you've sworn a blood oath to, unintentionally killing yourself in the process."

Seamus stared at her. "But...blood oaths are voluntary...and cannot be compelled, right?"

Na's ears twitched and she rolled her eyes, her ears flattening against her head. "Yes. They are. Which is why it's at the top of our list of stupid ways to die." She smiled. "Just behind ambush leaping into the ground under a target."

Seamus didn't get it for a moment, but then he did. And winced...wondering how close he had come to leaping into the ground in Alaska...

Na reiterated: "My liege, do you wish me to put off the Miz approach?"

Seamus narrowed his eyes. "I'm not wearing clothes and I'm in my bedroom."

Seamus heard footsteps from over by Alice and looked up to watch Sireah leeave Elaln to tend to Alice and walk over to an intricately carved mahogany and teak wardrobe, whereupon she removed several items before closing it and turning to face him, holding the garment bags in her hand.

Na had smiled, stepped closer and now was running a paw along Seamus's right hip. "I'm not wearing any clothes either, my liege." She leaned in close and kissed his nipple, licking it slowly.

Seamus sighed. "But you have fur."

Na purred and said: "And I could lay on you like a blanket if you're worried about another Miz becoming overcome with lust at the sight of you." She turned around and put her paws on his hips and spreading her legs slightly, lifted herself just enough that Seamus's stiffening member slipped between her folds and she sighed in contentment as she slid back down. After her feet were on the floor again, she lay her head on his chest and purred harder, lifting her arms until her paws were playing with his beard before she started to roll her hips and stomach muscles.

Seamus caught his breath, reached around and pinched her middle nipples hard, shaking his head in resignation: "No, let's go to the throne room. That's what it's there for, after all."

Na yowled softly, and then pushed herself up again, straining against the hold on her nipples before subsiding back down and contenting herself with rolling her hips, continuing to play with his beard, her tail wrapping around his waist and tickling his side.

Seamus twiched and laughed, causing Na to shudder and purr even harder.

Sireah smiled as she approached, her tail swishing lazily and her wings fluttering happily. Sireah moved to her right around them and knelt at Seamus's left side, lifted his left foot, and slid one leg of a pair of trousers on him, then crawled around to the other side and repeated the process.

"Who is the Miz?" Seamus asked, his breathing growing harder.

"Ranekoo, my liege. She is young, Tom-less, kit-less, and..." Na's voice caught, but then she continued, "...recently survived the fifth round of training." Na sped up her hip rolls and yowled in protest when Seamus relaxed his pressure on her nipples, and resumed purring when he moved to her lower nipples and applied pressure there. "She was recently assigned to the Den of the High Court for evaluation."

Sireah stood and moved in front of Seamus and Na, pinched Na's left lower nipple behind where Seamus was holding it, prompting an annoyed yowl from Na, but Seamus slipped his left hand through the arm of the royal purple silk shirt and relieved Sireah from her temporary pinching duty.

Na lifted her legs and slid them around and behind Seamus's, arching her back and neck, sliding up to kiss him on the lips, pulling his hands up with her movement.

Sireah did the same with the right arm of the shirt, with no accompanying protest yowl from Na this time. After that, she drew the shirt up higher over Seamus's shoulders and then carefully buttoned the shirt on the shoulders above his wings. Sireah then pressed her torso against Seamus's back, reached around and started buttoning up the front from the top down.

Na protested, but pushed herself a little higher, kissing him again and slipped him out of her before sinking to her knees and swiftly licking him clean, to exasperated groans from Seamus.

Seamus distracted himself and asked: "Why are they sending someone so young?"

Na stopped licking long enough to reply with: "In case we kill her out of hand for intruding on your territory, or if you claim her as another wife."

Seamus started and stared at Na's head, her tongue swift and sure in it's ministrations. "Why do they think that?!" He asked.

Sireah finished buttoning the shirt, then removed the finely spun dark charcoal grey wool suit coat from the garment bag and laid a pair of hands gently on Seamus's elbows. Seamus put his arms back, allowing the jacket to be slipped up his arms, the dual parts in the back again sliding around his wings. Sireah finished buttoning the top, and then slid the rear part in the jacket around his tail slowly before she knelt behind him and carefully pulled up his pants, Na slipping back to button the front of his pants.

Sireah arranged his belt to avoid undue pressure on his tail before she lifted it and then licked the underside of the tail. Seamus closed his eyes and shuddered as pleasure once again coursed through him, but whilst carefully avoiding accidentally using the stinger, he used the flat of his tail to spank Sireah on her butt. Sireah stopped licking with a protest sound.

"Because I intimated that any unwelcome incursions into your territory could result in either of those actions, my liege." Na said as she stood back up from having finished her buttoning process, carefully watching his expressions.

Seamus stared at her in shock and asked: "I thought you couldn't lie anymore."

Na replied: "It isn't a lie. And I can't lie...to you...without getting shocked, my liege." She smirked, jumped back up on his hips and kissed him again.

Sireah grumbled from her still kneeling position behind Seamus: "Don't wrinkle the suit!"

Seamus rolled his eyes, set Na back on the ground, and said: "We are going to talk about this, Na."

Na immediately bowed: "Yes, Your Majesty."

Seamus pursed his lips...from my liege to Your Majesty, I get the feeling it would be a good idea to learn Qesret one of these days. "Na?"

Her head still bowed, "Yes, Your Majesty?"

"I know your people mostly seem to use non-verbal communication, but do you have a Qesret to English dictionary or something that I could use to learn the language?" Seamus was feeling his eyes de-focus a little as he started thinking. Then he realized Na was jerking slightly and he looked down to see her wincing as she looked up at him in utter shock. "What?"

"Ow. No, my liege." Na bit her lip hard.

"Just say it." Seamus ordered.

"You really expected a race that hoards secrets and is full of spies and assassins to have a Qesret to English dictionary?" Na asked in wonder.

Seamus was about to swiftly reply when he stopped. Actually, that was stupid. They say there are no stupid questions...but that was one. "I just heard it."

Na nodded. And wisely stayed silent.

Seamus looked over at Alice and Elaln, Elaln nodding at him with a smile, and raised his voice a little to call over to her, "I need to go to the throne room. Walk with me?"

Alice nodded, "of course, dear," and waited until Seamus had walked over, then held Seamus's arm carefully as they slowly, regally, walked out of the bedroom.

Seamus had thought he was getting pretty good at finding his way around this place, but it was a few wrong turns and about ten minutes to arrive at the Throne Room. Alice pushed him toward the throne and then slowly stepped across the stone tiles to stand behind and to the left of his throne, keeping her head to the left as she passed to pointedly avoid seeing his gesture toward a chair beside him on the dais as he stood, waiting, in front of his throne. Seamus smirked at the back of his wife's head before he watched her slowly turned around, carefully spread her legs about shoulder width apart, and then slowly put her hands behind her back.

A half-second later, Alice's tail swished wildly and she put her arms out to her sides and her wildly waving six-foot-long tail struck a gold goblet resting on a chest, sending it hurtling at breakneck speed across the room. Alice winced as the goblet ricocheted off the wall, hitting another chest and knocked a pile of gold plates off of the top. The sudden clamor was more than sufficient to cover the hand-covered laughs from the guards. A moment later, the guards shot upright back to attention at a sharp look from Seamus.

Seamus sighed, laughter also bubbling up inside of him...but he didn't want to laugh at Alice right now. Looking back again at Alice who had resumed her position with her hands behind her back, her tail was now slowly curling back down to rest on the floor behind her, just before taking a fast step forward as she applied too much pressure with her tail...

Seamus knew Alice would want him to just sit in his chair and stop hovering, but it wasn't easy...so Seamus turned and sat in his throne, sending his tail through the back of the chair and over to where Alice stood. For a long moment, he felt nothing, but then he felt her stomach on his tail and smiled softly.

Seamus looked over at Na who, unusually, was standing next to the door, quiet and demure. Seamus winced. "Na."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Na knelt on one knee.

Grinding his teeth a little, Seamus wanted to address the issue, but now wasn't the time. "Call for her please."

"At once, Your Majesty." Na placed her front paws on the floor and began walking first sideways, then backwards through the door, not once turning her back on him. Once through the door, she stood, keeping her head bowed, and stepped to the left side, gesturing toward the door with her right paw.

Seamus felt his eyebrows twitch. He'd thought Na would have to leave to call her in, but here she was, already walking through the doorway, Na close behind. Ranekoo's black fur shone brightly, nicely offsetting the brilliant white of her paws.

"Your Majesty, may your servant present Ranekoo of the Den of the High Court, kit of Keftiri and Nakeema." Na said, her voice stiff and formal as she crawled forward behind the equally crawling Ranekoo, all of their short claws clicking rhythmically on the stone floor.

Seamus frowned. Too rhythmically. Both Ranekoo and Na were in 4/4 time as they crawled forward and both stopped at the same moment, Ranekoo twenty feet from the throne, Na twenty three feet from the throne. Seamus watched as Ranekoo's tail slipped between her legs and her forearms and back legs went flat against the floor, her head bowing until her forehead touched the floor, then Ranekoo folded her wings close in to her body, tight and flat. At that point, she froze, not moving, seemingly not even breathing.

Seamus could smell...frankincense? and oak? No, burning oak...no...the smell of the fireplace when he burnt oak logs. He sniffed harder, chasing a third scent he wasn't catching. He saw Ranekoo's ear twitch and then immediately fold flat. Seamus was frustrated. He really needed to ask Na what it meant with these scents. He looked over at Na and she was in the same pose as Ranekoo, just waiting. Bother. How long have I been sitting here just smelling two women that are in my throne room? Goodness gracious Seamus, can you get any weirder, or creepier? "Rise and approach, please."

Both Ranekoo and Na breathed in deeply and then let out a breath before going up to their paws and crawling forward again.

Wait...had they actually not been breathing while they were waiting for me? Oops.

They stopped again, ten feet and thirteen feet away and sank back down into the now familiar pose. And waited again.

Seamus felt like rolling his eyes. If this is how Miz approach a sovereign, how do they ever get anything done? Then he thought about how cats approached other cats, and wondered which came first...did Miz find it funny and adapt it to their own culture, copying elements of cats behavior, or did cats copy Miz, or was it just... pay attention Seamus! "Rise and approach, please."

Both breathed in, then out again and this time, they approached to five feet away and eight feet before Na hissed quietly at Ranekoo and Ranekoo froze.

Seamus asked: "What can..." but a sudden sharp tail twitch from Na cut him off and he changed direction "...you tell me about your purpose of coming here today, Ranekoo?"

"This petitioner requests an audience on behalf of the Ananael Mizgrolath, Your Majesty. May this petitioner approach your person?" Ranekoo asked, her voice a pleasant soprano.

I like her voice, Alice's thought advised Seamus.

Seamus nodded slightly. He glanced over at Na and with no movement from her, "You may."

Ranekoo carefully stood, the white streak of her fur running down her torso now visible, starting at the small of her throat and winding along the base of the left nipple and breast down to between her legs.

She's beautiful, I'll give the High Court that. They know how to try to distract someone... Seamus watched her eyes carefully as Ranekoo stepped forward, rotated her arms so the backs of her hands were against her sides, slowly placing her left knee beside his right knee, pausing, and then slid forward until she could place her right knee on the other side of his left leg, her tail carefully curled around her left ankle, and she arched her back and extended her neck up and to the right as she kept her mouth firmly closed. Then she closed her eyes, rotated her ears forward and extended them to their fullest extent above her head, and splayed her whiskers out wide.

Seamus watched the pulse in Ranekoo's throat beat, the arch of her neck making the vein more prominent. Seamus glanced down at Na who was still facing the stone floor, but had two claws on that vein on the left side of her throat. Seamus reached out with his right index and middle finger and placed them on the vein in Ranekoo's throat.

Ranekoo swallowed briefly, but she didn't move. He could feel the tension in her body singing like a guitar string, but she didn't move.

Seamus brought his hand down and he saw Ranekoo relax, almost imperceptibly, but she relaxed. Seamus waited, but Ranekoo didn't move. Seamus felt her thighs quiver for a moment but saw her jaw tense and the quivering stopped. "Would you like to get down now?" He asked.

Ranekoo flinched.

Seamus frowned. It had been small, very small, no more than a twitch of the whiskers, but she'd flinched.

Ranekoo kept her eyes closed. "If Your Majesty wishes it, this petitioner will get down."

Seamus almost rolled his eyes. This could become a circular discussion really fast. "Ranekoo. Please make yourself comfortable."

Na stiffened from her place on the floor but stayed quiet.

Ranekoo opened her eyes slowly and carefully rolled her body to the left, lifted her right leg, slid it over his legs to her left, turned partway, and then sat in his lap.

Seamus froze. And heard a strangled laugh from behind him.

Ranekoo felt him freeze and froze herself. Then she slowly blinked her eyes at him, her tail relaxing from her left ankle and curling around to carefully rest on his leg. She drew her knees up a little, and crossed her ankles. And waited for Seamus to speak.

Seamus looked at the black fur of her cheeks, not two feet from him, then the green flames at the corners of her eyes dancing as she continued blinking very slowly. He looked at the dark gold flecks in her eyes and thought to himself, yes, the High Court knew what they were doing. He cleared his throat, sliding his tail along Alice's stomach, pausing when she swayed hard. "Ranekoo, what sort of audience?"

"The Ananael Mizgrolath wishes to convey her respects, Your Majesty, and begs a moment of His Majesty's time at His Majesty's convenience." Ranekoo inclined her head slightly, her tail twitching and jerking before settling down.

Seamus frowned. She moves a lot more than Na...ah, duh.

Ranekoo swiftly stated: "I...this petitioner will convey any message Your Majesty wishes." She suddenly bit her lip but inclined her head further.

Seamus erased the frown from his face. "That would be acceptable. Dinner is usually served at 1900 hours on Saturday. You may inform her that she and her...ah, entourage...are more than welcome to join us at dinner."

Ranekoo stilled. She searched his face for a brief moment before dropping her eyes back down. "This petitioner will convey Your Majesty's invitation. May this petitioner request clarification?"

Seamus inclined his head.

Ranekoo asked: "When this petitioner extends the invitation to the Ananael Mizgrolath, should this petitioner also request the Ananael Mizgrolath supply...food...of a certain kind?"

Seamus frowned. "No, we can supply the food. Just bring yourselves to dinner."

Ranekoo shuddered briefly, and inclined her head.

Seamus watched her tail twitch violently. He wished for a brief moment Ranekoo was one of his Custom Girls so he could read it. Then prayed for forgiveness for wishing that.

Na spoke from her place on the floor. "May your servant approach, Your Majesty?"

Seamus looked down and said: "Yes, of course."

Na stood carefully, walked to the opposite side of the throne from Ranekoo and whispered into Seamus's ear. "She is worried that you are requesting that they be the dinner, my liege."

Seamus looked at Na in horror. "What?! Yuck! No!"

Ranekoo froze and very deliberately lay her tail on Seamus's leg and blinked slowly at him.

Seamus glared at Na. "Na-a-a-a-a..."

Na swiftly shook her head. "Not me, my liege. But there are those in the demon realms..."

Seamus blanched, disgusted. He turned and looked at Ranekoo. "Tell everyone who needs to know they have no fear of that filth in my home!"

Ranekoo inclined her head and responded: "At once, Your Majesty." And she vanished in black smoke.

Seamus pinched his nose and shook his head. "How do I get myself into these things?"

Heavy is the head that wears the crown, love. Alice thought.