Knightly Duties (Sahal)

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Sahal Jai Azal"]


"It's alright, dear. I understand it was a big leap for you," Siobhan patted Sahal's hand to reassure the girl. Calling her a girl was probably a bit ironic since Sahal was almost twice her age. But the Lady had far more experience.


"You're not ready to see the stars, but I can bring them to you in a small way. There's a zoo with animals from Kaeshana and other planets. It's also got a botanical garden. Does that sound fun to you?" Firemane and the Eldorai had made a big effort to prevent the animals of Kaeshana from going extinct by transplanting as many specimen as reasonably possible. The zoo was maintained by Firefarm, one of the company's subsidiaries.

 

[Sahal Jai Azal]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

Sahal brightened up at that.

“I would like that, Mistress!” she said eagerly.

The gardens and zoo were set in a more remote part of the city, set by one of the two rivers which flowed through the city.

Siobhan, being a Countess, naturally had VIP access without having to line up with the commoners. The zoo itself had a selection of painstakingly created biomes from Kaeshana’s lost world.

“It’s all so beautiful…hey, what are these little things?” she asked, pointing to the Jesters frolicking in their habitat.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Sahal Jai Azal"]


Firemane was quite proud of the zoo. A lost world had been painstankingly recreated to remind future generations of Eldorai of where they'd come from, help preserve the animals of a lost world and, of course, make money.


Siobhan was biased, but she found Sahal's reaction adorable. It reminded her a bit of her daughter Galina. Naturally the little furballs caught the elf's eye! Siobhan could not blame her since she loved little Grrbyrr.


"Those are Jesters, my dear. They're super cute, but if you leave them unsupervised for too long, they'll pillage your larder and then eat the tablecloth," she said with a grin, taking Sahal's hand into hers. "They need lots of attention, but are very sweet. They've got limited empathy, so they can project their feelings and even talk telepathically. Would you like to have one?"

 

[Sahal Jai Azal]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
Sahal looked at the little furballs wandering around their pen, occasionally bumping into each other or squabbling for food. As she got closer she started to feel their emotions.
“Amazing. I’ve never had a pet before…maybe I can see how I go with one. They are very cute!”

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Sahal Jai Azal"]


Siobhan was happy to have someone who shared her love of the little furballs. They were so adorable! "That they are, sweetie. They're very fun to have around. Just don't overfeed them. When we're done, we can go to the pet shop and you can choose one. It'll be my gift to you!" Siobhan liked giving her girls gifts.

 

[Sahal Jai Azal]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
“That sounds lovely!” Sahal gushed. “I had a Yazgid once, but I rode her in battle. She was also a bit more dangerous than these little furballs I figure too.”
She put her hand on the glass. Immediately a Jester came over and licked the window. Disappointed there was no food offered, it rumbled off again.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Sahal Jai Azal"]


"You need to meet my daughter Galina. She's got a baby Yazgid. We found it during a camping trip. Maybe you can help her train it. It's not meant for her to charge Xioquo with, but it would be nice if it didn't try to bite her when it's bigger!" She fondly stroked the Qadiri's hand.

 

[Sahal Jai Azal]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
“Telling a Yazgid to bite something is very easy, telling it to bite only certain things is harder. Training it not to bite at all is very difficult, but it can be done. I would be happy to help her. It is best to train them whilst they are young. Once they become adults they become more stubborn than a Ghoush in a feedlot!”
Sahal enjoyed the petting as they continued to walk through the exhibits.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Sahal Jai Azal"]


"I'm fine with it eating people who want to hurt her. Or uppity manlings," Siobhan said with a laugh. "The last part was a joke. Well, unless they're very uppity. Got to make sure they know who's boss."


She gave the elf's arse a firm, possessive squeeze because Siobhan had no sense of shame. Then she took the girl's arm, leading her through the various exhibits. Among other things, the zoo had a Cylix section where visitors could observe the fierce felines in their natural habitats - or at least a close approximation of them.


"These are Cylixes. Fierce, beautiful creatures, and dangerous. They're from Dahomey. That's Tempest's homeworld," Siobhan explained and pointed towards one of the big cats. Like any decent predatorial cat spieces, they killed any catgirl they found.

 

[Sahal Jai Azal]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
Truly, catgirls were the favourite food of Cylixes. It was probably the sparkles.

“I don’t think I want one of those as a pet, Mistress, it looks hungry!” Sahal commented as they saw the creature pacing about.

She was thinking in her mind what would happen if a Cylix encountered a Yazgid. A big battle most likely!

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Sahal Jai Azal"]


"Yep. They're ferocious predators, darling," Siobhan remarked happily. "They're also good at ambushes and natural climbers. If you go for a walk in the hot savannah of Dahomey and don't pay attention, chances are a Cylix is gonna pounce you from a tree!"


For all their ferocity, they were no match for a good blaster. By the time Firemane formed, the adult Cylix population on Dahomey had dwindled to 5,000. However, the company had made attempts to preserve their population. It was a common joke in Firemane's Dahomian crew that the Lady wanted to preserve the Cylixes because Galina thought they were adorable!

 

[Sahal Jai Azal]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
“We could let them go wild here, but I don’t think we want any Qadiri to be eaten by them.” For a moment she grinned. “Except uppity manlings!” she said with a laugh, imitating Siobhan’s tone.

“Do they have somewhere which serves food from another planet? I would love to try something from this Kay-shay-na.”

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Sahal Jai Azal"]


"You're learning! Excellent. My gender lessons are paying off," Siobhan said with exaggerated smugness. She gave a nod in response to Sahal's query. The way the elf pronounced Kaeshana was very cute. "Come with me, sweetie. There's a restaurant that specialises in good old Kaeshana food. It'll be my treat for you. Let's get some Eldorai delicacies into your belly."

 

[Sahal Jai Azal]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

Tivarna’s Table was a somewhat fashionable restaurant set in the leafy confines of the botanical gardens. The owner clearly had instructions on how to deal with Siobhan, because as soon as she appeared the prettiest waitress led them upstairs to an outside table and fussed over them.
It was well known that Siobhan was a good tipper for good…service.

Sahal glanced at the menu blankly. She was basically literate in her native tongue, but Galactic Basic looked like gibberish to her. The menu didn’t even have any pictures!

Inevitably it would be for Siobhan to suggest and order a speciality. Today they had a warm Saan and meat salad with flatbreads and spicy relish.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Sahal Jai Azal"]


"High Lady, it is such an honour to host you! You look lovely today," the pretty waitress said sycophantically, gushing over the Countess. It was probably no surprise that the waitress had ignored regulation and undone a few buttons on her blouse, exposing some nice cleavage. "Please sit down here. You'll have complete privacy. I hope our service satisfies you."


As usual, Siobhan loved being the centre of attention. "I'm sure I'll be completely satisfied with your services, my dear. You're such a beauty." Naturally she could not resist the urge to have her hand get acquainted with the waitress' shapely butt. A sexual harassment lawyer would probably have a field day here.


Then she turned her attention to the menu. Looking at Sahal, she realised that the girl would have difficulty with Basic! She didn't want to draw attention to the girl's lack of literacy and embarrass her though. "What do you think of the special, Sahal? Warm Saan and meat salad with flatbreads and spice sounds good, doesn't it?"

 

[Sahal Jai Azal]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
Sahal smiled. “That sounds lovely, Mistress, I’m sure whatever you suggest will be perfect.”
She closed the menu. She suspected that the available food was written on there, a strange concept to a slave and soldier who usually go whatever the quartermaster could dig out of a barrel.

When the food arrived it arrived in a big way. Eldorai had large appetites and portion sizes were usually big. And so Sahal was present a meal probably larger than any she’d seen before. Her eyes went wide.

Still, a bit intimidated by the cutlery, she used the bread to pick up the meat and vegetables and eat it.

“This is very nice! Sweet and hot!” she said, unknowingly opening herself to a corny Sio comeback!

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Sahal Jai Azal"]


"Sweet and hot! Just like you, my darling," Siobhan said cornily. She could never pass up the chance for a corny come-on. Leaning forward, she gently took ahold of Sahal's hair and pulled the elf into a kiss, savouring the taste of spice on her lips.


"Yep, very hot and sweet," she concluded after locking lips for a bit. Then she went back to digging into her food. After all, she'd accumulated quite an appetite. She'd noted that Sahal was avoiding using knives and fork.


"You can use the fork to pick up your food. Just not too much at the same time! And the knife to cut it. I'll show," she spoke, demonstrating it as she cut some meat, then put it in her mouth. She didn't want to embarass Sahal or give the girl the impression she thought her uncivilised, hence why she kept her tone gentle and phrased it as a suggestion instead of an order.

 

[Sahal Jai Azal]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
Sahal was probably having the same reaction as the Franks did when the Byzantine princess brought a fork with her. She was likely having a ‘Why do I need a fork when the Goddess gave me fingers?’ moment.

Still, she picked it up and jabbed the food, harpoon like.
“Thank you, Mistress. You’re very sweet too,” she said shyly.

Although she used the fork, she clearly wasn’t too happy with it, but she persisted. Presumably eating with one’s fingers was not what these people did. It wouldn’t surprise her!

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Sahal Jai Azal"]


"Just wait till we're home. Then I'll show how sweet I can be," Siobhan said most cornily. She was probably too self-centred to notice that Sahal was not happy about being told not to eat with her fingers. Her intercultural understanding had its limits!


However, while Siobhan dug into her food, an Eldorai couple showed up on the scene. A beautiful, blonde-haired Eldorai lady who strut into the room as if she owned the place and could probably rival Tarissa in arrogance, gave them a disdainful look. "Look, it's Lady Kerrigan, eating with her pet. She taught it to use knife and fork. How cute. Perhaps there's hope for these natives to become civilised after all," she told her companion.


Oh, dear, someone was going to be chucked out of the room...

 

[Sahal Jai Azal]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
Sahal at first looked down at her plate, ashamed and embarrassed. But then, her eyes narrowed, and she seized the knife from the table and grabbed the woman’s dress.
“Oh yes, Mistress was teaching me, but we haven’t gotten to the part where I stop eating vachita like you yet.” She bared her teeth, and through luck or design the Saan had stained her teeth reddish so she looked like she had bloody fangs.

“Now run away before I fillet you!” she growled.