Nathanael to Shumani

[Banshee2020]

Demeter. The world was once peaceful, inhabited as it was by the three intelligent species similar to the wolf, fox and cat found on Earth. The world was temperate climate was ideal for the thriving biologically diversity that could be found there. There was one major continent with smaller landmasses situated off the coastline. The seas were calm helped by the gravitational pull of two moons orbiting the planet at distances just perfect to maintain the tides so they rose and fall only a matter of feet.

With the natural weapons of the sapient three species the need for technology was limited. Where there was no necessity the mother of invention was redundant. The species lived peacefully for the most part and when disagreements did occur their teeth and claws were enough to settle arguments swiftly.

Humans had long since started to spread their influence in the galaxy and with them went all the diseases they had become immune to. They had not learned their lessons from the colonisation campaigns on their own world. The pneumonia spread like wildfire through the native population of the once peaceful planet, decimating their numbers. Not content with killing the population with disease the natural arrogance of the human species felt obliged to reduce the beings of the newly settled planet to commodities to be bought, sold and used as humans saw fit.

*****

Nathanael sat back in his chair and put his hands behind his head as he lifted his feet and spun round triumphantly. He had just succeeded in breaking into a bank. The machine in front of him popped up a new window and the shrill ring of an old fashioned telephone blared out through the speakers. As he returned to his start point he grinned and reached down to answer the incoming call.

“You bastard. How the fuck did you manage that?” the voice coming through was more amused than angry. Nathan just laughed. “Seriously Nathe, how’d you get through all that? I’ve spent days going through it, there were no holes in that security at all.” The voice was a little upset that all the hard work had gone to waste in a matter of hours.

“I’ll send you the full report in the morning Frankie, I’ve got an appointment in an hour and have to get going or I’ll be late,” Nathanael replied, still laughing at his friend’s disappointment. He’d send in the report on how he’d managed it, then he’d be paid a lot of money. It would get fixed and then in about a month he’d be asked to try it again. It was the circle of his life, breaking into places and then telling them how he’d done it.

“You aren’t finally getting a Demeterian are you?” the voice queried, “About bloody time, I’ve seen the state you leave that place in.” It was true, Nathanael Tassinari was many things but he was definitely living the eligible bachelor lifestyle. Tidiness was not high on his priority list. Oh it was neat enough for bringing equally eligible young women to but it would never have stood up under close inspection.

“Yes, yes I’m finally getting one,” he sighed knowing he was way behind in the trend of having one of the native creatures in his home. He had held back because he wasn’t sure about the moral repercussions, there was just something that grated him deep down. However, time and time again it had been shown to him that the Demeterians were just very trainable creatures, that’s all. “You know,” he continued, “you haven’t been over to visit for a while.” He grinned as he knew what the answer would be. “Nathe, you know damned well I’m in a relationship now… no matter how good you are you aren’t getting me back,” she said it with a laugh at least. It didn’t matter, he would have any woman he wanted in his bed tomorrow night.
He ended the conversation and stood, walking to the door he picked up his jacket and took a look out over the city from the huge windows that graced the wall of his penthouse suite. It never ceased to be a breath-taking sight. Pulling on his coat he patted the breast pocket to make sure his Lumion was there, he had every intention of spending money this evening and it would do no good to leave it behind.

The ride into the city itself wasn’t too bad for a change, it was after the rush hour but it seemed even they had cleared quickly. He pulled into the underground parking area for the dealer’s building and headed to the elevator. The door swished open and a Demetarian was there waiting, she bowed to him and checked the list on her Lumion, “Mr Tassinari, welcome to Amadej Tschida’s emporium. A private booth has been reserved for you and Mr Tschida will meet you there.”

He nodded and thanked the girl who looked a little surprised that he even acknowledged her. He spent the rest of the ride up the building in silence, a little unsure of whether he had broken some protocol. He was grateful when the elevator came to a halt and the girl bowed, “This is your floor Mr Tassinari. I hope you enjoy your visit.” This time he said nothing to her and stepped out of the elevator into a very plush reception area.

A man approached, he was rotund to say the least and kept mopping his brow free of the glistening sweat that beaded upon it. “Ahhhh Mr Tassinari!” he called out and waddled across to shake his hand, “It is such a pleasure to finally have you visit my humble premises.” Nathan would hardly have called it humble but it was obviously his usual routine so he left him to it. “Well,” he replied, “I finally gave in to the idea and I thought I would visit the best.”

This pleased Amadej no end and he grinned broadly, “Please come with me, I have selected the best for you to look at. I have assumed you were looking for something female, I hope I did not overstep my bounds.”

Nathanael shook his head and they made their way into another room where a red velvet couch was seated at one side of a room and the other was a bare, brilliantly lit, white wall. Amadej indicated to Nathanael that he should be seated, “I realise you have never done this before so I will guide you through it. I will discuss the merits of each Demeterian that comes out for you to view, if you wish to take a closer look then just say so. I will bring them close to you for inspection.” Nate sat down as instructed and Amadej called for the first one to come out.

“This one, about 20 Earth years old, well trained, speaks clearly. I think this would be a good first time purchase.” The young creature he brought out looked well beaten into submission perhaps but not trained. Nathanael wondered if this was actually a good idea after all, he shook his head and this one went back and a second was brought out. Amadej discussed the merits of several female Demetarians of varying species and looked as though he was getting a little frustrated with the consistent head shaking from Nate. Finally he brought out a bright little thing, vulpine, had only basic training but was showing potential. This young creature had a spark still about her and Nathanael sat forward a little. Amadej noticed the change in body language and sent her closer to him. She seemed so innocent despite what she must have seen and been through. There was something so pure about her that he had forgotten existed in the world that he just looked at the other man in the room and nodded.

“Excellent choice sir!” he exclaimed, happy that he had finally found something to keep his client happy. “Come with me and we shall get all the paperwork and finances sorted then you can take her away.” He sent her off again and they walked out of the room and to his office. He transferred the not insignificant charge for her through his Lumion and signed the necessary documents of ownership. R25,000 (or 25,000 Rupiah) was a lot of money by anyone’s standards. He hoped this was worth it.

“Oh, I know it’s only a little thing and you can feel free to let me discard it for you but your choice was wearing this when she was captured,” he held out a necklace with a wooden charm attached. Something squirmed uncomfortably inside him again but he reached out and took the primitive jewellery anyway, “No, I’ll take it.” He didn’t know why, he just knew he should.

She was already waiting in his car when he arrived back at the parking area. He was sure he would get used to this but it felt very strange to have a Demetarian staring at him in the rear view mirror. He didn’t know if he should speak to her or not and waited to see if she would say anything first.

[pumirya]

Shumani had awoken early that morning. It was just another day, or as her people called it, a jum, but Shumani was used to awaking with the rising of the sun and that habit had not changed in spite of her captivity. Shumani sat up in her bed and her hand moved to her neck. Sighing softly, Shumani pushed the bed cover off to one side and swung her legs over the side of the bed, or sobba, in her native tongue. How long had she been here, wherever here was, Shumani wondered? The human colander was so different from the one her people had been using for as long as anyone remembered.

Would today be the day, Shumani wondered as she stood. Would a human come for her today? Where would she go? Would she have a kind master or mistress, or both? There was so much she did not know about the human language, still. It was complex, and it had rules; which it always did not follow. Then there was the cooking, which poor Shumani was still pretty bad at, although she was able to prepare a few dishes, one of them called ‘macaroni and cheese’.

The man who owned the place she was kept did not seem all that pleased with her progress, although he put on a good face for the other humans who came to view Shumani and other Demeterians. Shumani was trying her best, though, and felt she did better with every rising of the sun. She still missed her home terribly. Being kept indoors so much made Shumani feel even more bound. She would have been happy with even a small window to look out of.

Shumani dreamed almost every night about her home. The large grassy meadows, streams of crystal clear water. Trees that were so tall they seemed as though the reached all the way to the clear blue skies above. She dreamed about her family, her mother, father and her brothers and sisters. Her parents were no more. They had fallen ill and nothing could be done to save them, in spite of her villages’ medicine woman’s knowledge, and efforts. They were in the next world now, where the goddesses’ of sun and moon lived.

Shumani was sitting quietly on the edge of the bed, thinking of her siblings, when Tschida came for her. Shumani did as she was told and followed the large, sweaty human to the room where she knew a human or humans would be waiting to look at her while Tschida talked. Shumani did not like Tschida. Tschida was mean, even for a human. He was quick to use force to correct mistakes, and often yelled at Shumani and other Demeterians, using a wide variety of human ‘curse words’. Shumani would be happy to leave Tschida.

The human who was looking at her today was a younger one, and he was alone. He seemed to like her, and so Shumani was ushered away and taken to what was called a ‘car.’ Shumani was in awe of the things called cars. They were large, and looked heavy, and yet they floated on air and moved about faster then any animal or bird Shumani had ever seen. How could they float in the air? How did they move? Was it some kind of magics only humans were able to use? To Shumani, cars were amazing, but scary at the same time.

Shumani was put in the car and a short time later the human, who was now her master appeared and got in the car as well. Shumani knew he was her master because she had been told by a pleased looking Tschida as he had called a assistant to take Shumani to the human’s car. Her master’s name was Nathanael Tassinari. It was a long name and Shumani had been repeating it over and over again to herself as she had waited... “Nay – thane – a –el, Tay – see – nary –ee?” Was that how her new master’s name was said?

Her master appeared to be waiting for her to say something, and so Shumani took a deep breath, thought back to her lessons, and said softly, “Hello, master.” Hers was a good attempt, though Shumani still placed too much emphasis on the vowels, and said them, more often the naught, with their long sounds. Shumani’s ears lowered and tilted forward as she realised her mistakes. Her master would probably be angry with her now, and they had been together not even one moons rise. Taking a quick breath, Shumani tried again.

Her second attempt was better, although it was probably still not as good as some of the other Demeterians, Shumani had heard... Shumani felt unhappy and scared. Would her new master beat her for making a mistake? Would he yell at her? He might even return her to Tschida. Shumani looked hopefully up at her master. Maybe he was a nice human. Shumani had seen a few who appeared to be that way. This human, her master, Nathanael Tassinari, had a look to him that was different then Tschida. He had kinder eyes.

Shumani swallowed and waited for her master’s response. She was feeling a little hot and was beginning to feel quite thirsty. Shumani was getting more used to the climate in the lowlands, but her body had yet to fully adjust to the warmer temperature, compared to the cooler temperature of her old home in the mountains. Taking quick, silent breaths, Shumani looked longingly at the container of sparkling water, sitting in a raised round circle next to her master.

[Banshee2020]

“Hello, master.”

The Demeterian was obviously trying but she was having difficulty with the pronunciation. He smirked, it wasn’t an unpleasant sound she made but she needed to work on it. She seemed disappointed with her attempt and her ears dropped forward, he had to remind himself that she was not human, she was just an intelligent and useful pet, but she did look rather cute doing it. Her second attempt was better.

When she looked up at him again he had to smile, it was the same look a puppy would give to its owner when looking for praise. He also noticed her glance at the bottle of water beside him. She was probably thirsty he thought and switching the car to auto while on the highway he picked up the bottle and handed it to her.

“You don’t need to call me master…” he thought about it for a moment, what would be appropriate if not ‘master’? Anyway that name was reserved for more interesting times with some interesting women, as was ‘sir’ so that one went out of consideration too. He smirked at the thought, it would have been far too weird for her to call him either of those. “Call me ’Mr Tassinari’,” he decided that would be the best option. He hoped she had understood what he had said.

A call came through and he lifted the receiver to answer it, he felt a little uncomfortable with the thought of answering a call in front of her. He wondered if her hearing was sensitive enough to pick up both sides of the telephone call. The female caller purred down the phone at him, he couldn’t help but roll his eyes. This one wouldn’t get the idea he wasn’t interested, not a second time anyway. He brushed her off and hung up, “One of the first lessons will be answering the telephone and learning who to tell me about and who to take a message from,” he chuckled to himself, she probably had no idea what he was talking about.

He took control of the vehicle again and drove into his private parking area. It was habit that he switched everything off, got out and went round to her door to open it for her. If anyone had seen him they probably would have thought him insane, opening a door for one of her kind. He waited for her to step out and closed the door behind her. “Follow me,” he told her and walked off to the elevator. He stepped inside and showed her which buttons she should press to get them to his home, it was a code since the elevator went straight to his suite. The pair of them ascended and he did wonder what she must think of it all.

When they reached his suite he stepped out first and waited for her. The view straight out of the elevator was always an impressive one, now it was dark the lights from the city made a stunning display. He pulled off his jacket and hung it on the stand. “Firstly,” he said, “you’ll probably want to see where you’ll be staying.” He walked across the large and impressive apartment with the huge wall of windows and pushed open a door. It was the second bedroom but in most apartments it would have been larger than the master bedroom plus had its own bathroom with all the facilities she would need, the far wall was one-way glass out over the city and to the plains beyond. “I hope it’s ok for you,” he said, “I’ll let you have a look around and just come out when you’re ready.”

He closed the door behind him as he left and headed back to his jacket, he pulled out his Lumion and the necklace came with it. He’d forgotten about it but he still didn’t know what to do with it. Examining it more closely he thought it looked quite sophisticated, there were two types of wood used in the design. A golden circle and inlaid was a silver one, a sun and a moon perhaps? It couldn’t be, just coincidence he thought. He took both items to his desk and placed them in the drawer within it. Sitting at the desk he opened his computer and started working on the report he had to send in to the bank the next day while he waited for her.

He suddenly realised two things, one that he did not know if she had a name and two that she would need clothes. The next realisation was that he was actually responsible for her life and wellbeing. At least she was independent enough that she could feed herself should he be out for more than a few hours. He liked his freedom and didn’t like the thought of changing it for a pet, no, she could learn to look after herself.

Shaking the thoughts out of his head about responsibility and care he turned back to his work and started writing up how he had broken into the bank. He was so engrossed in what he was doing that he didn’t notice when the girl came out of her room.

[pumirya]

Shumani accepted the water gratefully. The water was so cool and refreshing as it quenched her deepening thirst. The water tasted as good as the water Shumani had drank from the around her former home. “Grazzi,” Shumani said softly; then quickly corrected herself and said, “Thank you.” Her new master then informed Shumani of his wish to be called something other then Master. Shumani nodded her head to show she understand, while saying ‘Tassinari’ silently.

Shumani was startled by the sudden ringing of the phone, and she jumped a little. She was still not quite used to the random noises the strange and large variety of things humans carried around with them made. Shumani did not know what the thing her master was using was called until he had finished talking into it and addressed her. It was a telephone, Shumani realised, making the connection from the thing her master had just used to what he was telling her.

Shumani nodded again when her master finished speaking to her for the second time. Shumani was grateful for the water and even more grateful that her new master had not yelled at her or hit her when she had spoken. Shumani spent the rest of the short trip in silence, saying her master’s name over and over in her head, and looking at the ‘telephone’ and wondering how one used it? How did the 'telephone' work? How was it possible to talk to someone who wasn’t in the same place as you? Humans had such amazing tools.

Shumani hesitated for a moment when her master opened the door for her and waited as she got out of the car. Shumani was shocked that her master had done this. She had never seen a human act in such a manner. Still processing this latest development, Shumani followed her master into the elevator, that was one thing she did know about, having seen them used and been on one many times. But, like so many other things, Shumani did not understand how the thing called an ‘elevator/ worked. Perhaps she never would know?

Shumani stood at her master’s side, and closely watched his every move, while listening to his voice attentively as he pushed a series of buttons on a flat surface just inside the elevator door. Shumani nodded her head again when asked if she understood. The Elevator moved upward and a few moments afterwards they arrived at what the Demeterian quickly understood was where her master, and now she, lived. And what a home it was! Shumani knew her new master surely must be a very important human to have such fine... things.

Her master then lead Shumani to where she would live from now on, until she went to the next world, or her master tired of her and rid himself of her. Shumani followed silently, after catching her breath. The spectacular view outside had caused Shumani to gasp in awe. They were so high! They must be higher up in the air then a mountain. It was a little scary, but Shumani knew enough about the places humans lived in to knew she would not fall through the window. Even so, Shumani kept a safe distance from te windows.

The human village was so large, how many homes did they have? The lights from their dwellings seemed to chase the darkness from the night sky. This made Shumani feel a little sad, as it was harder to see the moons from her master’s home. When she was shown into her room, Shumani gasped quietly. The room was larger then her entire former home had been. Was such a nice place really all hers? Shumani was quite speechless and so transfixed; she almost forgot to nod when her master ordered her to join him when ready.

Shumani walked around the large room again and again, looking at the things in it and touching them. Shumani moved to the bed and lay down on it, briefly. How soft it was! It felt as though she were lying on the clouds! Humans seemed able to make anything! How could they make something that felt softer then a cloud? Shumani hook her head and sat up. Her master would be very angry if she disobeyed him by failing to return to him, because she fell to sleep. Petting the bed gently once more, Shumani hurried from the room.

Shumani approached her master slowly and stopped several paces away from him He seemed to be busy, and Shumani did not want to disturb him and make him angry. Her master took notice of her a few seconds later and Shumani bowed her head and, after a long pause, softly said, “thank you.” Forgetting herself, Shumani turned her arms over and extended her hands toward her master, with her palms facing upward. It was a way of saying thanks that came as natural to Shumani as breathing. Oh, but wait, what as she doing!?

Realising what she was doing, Shumani lowered her arms and her small frame became tense. She had done something not allowed. She was not to express herself in the old ways, unless her master wished it. But her master seemed kind, so perhaps he would look over her failure. Seeking to redeem herself, Shumani said quietly, “You wish something to drink, Mr. Tassinari?” Shumani spoke slowly, thinking over every word; then sounding each one out in her mind before she said them aloud. This attempt was Shumani's best yet.

[Banshee2020]

Nathanael jumped a little when he looked up and saw her standing quietly to the side of his desk. She thanked him for noticing her, he must be missing something in this whole ownership thing and thought he should perhaps do a little research on the subject. When she held out her arms he could see it was a natural response but had no idea what it meant. Suddenly she tensed and lowered her arms, he found himself tensing too since he didn’t know what she was going to do next.

He relaxed back into his chair when she asked if he wanted a drink. Her speech was getting better with each attempt and he smiled at her. She was really trying and he appreciated it. It was right to encourage hard work wasn’t it? He straightened his face again and nodded. “The kitchen area is over there,” he indicated with his hand, “and I’d like a whiskey with just a drop of water.”

He wanted to see how much she knew and how well she had been trained. He left her to it and turned back to his work, it was getting late and he wanted to get it done before he went to bed. He found himself instead looking up Demeterian ownership, how to treat them, how to train them, what to expect from them. Obedience and ‘seen-but-not-heard’ seemed to be the only things people were after. They seemed to expect them to be fully trained before they bought them too. Perhaps Nathan was being over ambitious taking on one that was less well trained than most would want but surely it couldn’t be that hard.

The glass was placed on his desk silently and he sat back to take a sip, it was perfect and he raised his left eyebrow with surprised appreciation. Placing it back on his desk he stood and nodded at her, “I’ll finish the rest of the tour now. Then the rest of the evening is your own to do as you wish.” He walked to the kitchen area and showed her where to find everything, “If you want anything to eat just help yourself.” He reached in to the fridge and grabbed a bar of chocolate and started eating it as he continued the tour.

He showed her his room, it was bigger than hers with a mirror on the ceiling above the huge and ornate bed, a walk-in wardrobe and attached bathroom. “This is my room, you won’t be in here much.” It was a simple but obvious statement, he only expected her to be in there to clean, change sheets and put clothes away, that’s about it. He stood there to let her look around a little then he coughed to get her attention and indicated to leave.

“If there’s anything else then just ask, I don’t bite,” he smiled at her, “and now your time is your own until the morning. I’ll be up at seven am, I like my coffee black and strong and I’ll have a couple of slices of toast with butter.” He walked back to his desk and sat down to finish his work. He tried to keep an eye out for what she was doing, he was curious about what she would do. When she disappeared into her room he finished up on his report and tipped the last of his drink down his throat. Walking into the kitchen he left the tumbler by the sink and walked off to his own room.

It felt strange knowing that someone else was in his home, he was used to other people staying here but they usually stayed in the same room as him and there usually wasn’t much sleep involved. He couldn’t hear anything and wondered if she was already asleep. Stripping and throwing the clothes vaguely in the direction of the washing basket, he jumped into the shower and without thinking started singing, not unpleasantly, as he scrubbed. He dried himself with a towel, one wrapped around his waist and the other in his hands rubbing his hair into a dishevelled mess as he dried it.

Satisfied that he was dry he threw the towels roughly where he’d thrown his clothes and slipped between the sheets of his bed. The light beside his bed glowed softly while he lay there, he rolled onto his side and wondered what the strange creature was doing in the room not so far away from his own.

[pumirya]

Shumani nodded eagerly and quickly made her way over to the kitchen area. This was her first chance to show her new master how useful she could be, and make him happy he had chosen her. Luckily for Shumani, she was familiar what humans called ‘alcohol’ particularly with one called ‘whiskey’. The fat man who had sold Shumani had been a heavy drinker. It was his practice, she had come to learn, to train Demeterians in how to prepare drinks, so that he did not have to. Shumani didn't understand how humans could tolerate alcohol; the little that she had tried had made her stomach very sick, and it had made her head hurt and feel fuzzy.

Shumani carefully searched through the drinks her new master had, until she found the whiskey. It was an expensive kind, in a clear container whose shape Shumani knew quite well, as she did the picture on the front of the bottle, a purple background with a gold crown. Taking the container down from its place, Shumani placed it gently on the counter and then went in search of a glass. Finding one that was cleaner then the others, Shumani poured the whiskey into the glass; and then added a drop of water, exactly as she had been ordered . With a nod of her head, Shumani hurried back to he master’s desk and gently placed the glass of whiskey on the desk by his left elbow, and waited for her master's reaction to his drink.

Her master seemed pleased with his drink, and so at his reaction, Shumani’s face had come alight. When she was told to follow her master again, for te rest of the ‘tour’ Shumani did as she was told, walking quietly beside and a step behind her master as he walked across his large home again and entered another large room. The new room turned out to be her master’s room and it was even more impressive then hers, as it rightfully should be Shumani knew. Once more Shumani could not suppress a gasp as she stared around the room. The mirror over her master’s bed particularly fascinated her. Why was it hung over her master’s bed? That is what Shumani was wondering about when Nathaniel loudly cleared his throat.

Shumani jumped a little at the sound and then nodded. Yes, Mr. Tassinari,” Shumani said softly as she inclined her head forward. Of course she was not to be in her master’s room except when told to do so. This was her master’s room, his private space for sleeping and spending time with whoever his mate was. Her new master did not appear to have a life-mate, so he would probably have more then one female around, or so Shumani reasoned. Her master was old enough to have a mate, Shumani was sure of that, but she had not a clue about how humans dated, married, so forth and so on. Shumani’s race mated for life, unless a partner passed on. They had no concept of divorce, settlements, and things such as that.

When her master ordered her to leave, Shumani inclined her head slightly forward again and backed silently out of the room. What was she supposed to do now? Shumani wondered silently, should she clean her master’s home? True, she had not been ordered to do so, but perhaps her master would see her hard work and praise her in the morning. Shumani went about picking up various items of clothing she found and putting them in a basket she found in a closet near the door. Next Shumani washed the dirty dishes and glass she found in the sink and on a large square table, called a coffee table, which sat in front of a thing called a couch; which itself in turn sat near to and facing the large windows in the main living area. After the dishes and glasses were washed and dried, Shumani placed them a cupboard with other dishes and glasses.

Shumani moved to the entry of the large room and looked around her again. Oh her new master would surely be pleased when he awoke in the morning to find his home so clean! Shumani moved a few steps closer to the windows and gazed out at the humans’ city and its lights which made the darkness flee away, much like the sun’s rise did the moons each day. Shumani’s ears perked up as she heard her master begin to sing. Shumani found the singing not unpleasant, though it was, she would think privately, not as good as had been her mother’s, or some of the others in her tiny village. What the song was about, Shumani was unsure, as there were still many gaps in her understanding of the humans’ complex language.

"Coffee, back, make strong. Two slices of toast, butter." Shumani repeated her master’s breakfast order over and over again in a whisper soft voice as she walked slowly around her masters’ home one final time before going back into her own room. Her master had told her he would be up at seven. Shumani frowned as she looked around her room. If she woke at her usual time, it would be before her master, although, by how much, Shumani was not quite sure. Shumani had the basic ideas of hours and minutes down, but she had never been given an ‘alarm’ to wake with, neither had she ever worn what was called a ‘watch’. She should ask her master about those in the morning. He might wish for her to have one of them.

Shumani slowly approached the large window in her room. It was still a little frightening to be so how, but Shumani reminded herself she was safe behind the ‘glass.’ Placing her hand gently upon the smooth surface of the window, Shumani raised her head and gazed up at the twin moons high in the dark night sky. From her window, it seemed as though the moons were easier to see. Tears formed in Shumani’s large, expressive eyes as she stared out into the night, toward where she thought her old home was. A soft cry rose in her throat and Shumani forced it down. She had to be strong, as her terribly ill mother had asked her to be with her last, dying breath.

That knowledge did not stop the pain in Shumani’s heart and it did not make Shumani miss her home any less. She would never again see her home, the mountain would soon take it back, and it would be forgotten, save by her. Shumani choked back another cry as she rubbed at her eyes. Shumani reminded herself that she was a lucky being. Her master seemed to be a kind one. He had given her such a large place to call her own. He had even said she could eat what she wanted, although Shumani was hesitant to eat as such.

Shumani looked for the thing that made rooms dark and light, and finding the light panel, pushed it and plunged her room into almost pitch darkness. The only light came from the city’s’ lights and the light of the moons. Moving back to the window, Shumani resumed gazing up at the twin moons. Shumani hoped, Tasha and Tikaani were still alive, and being treated well, wherever they were. They had been inseparable, until the end, and Shumani still missed her older sisters deeply. Lost in thought, Shumani began to softly sing.

[Banshee2020]

Nathanael did not have a good sleep that night. He tossed and turned, waking up almost every time he rolled over. Dreams, when he did doze off long enough to enter REM sleep, were full of wild animals invading his home. One was of the little fox-girl, he walked over to her to ask her something, put his hand on her shoulder and as she turned around her face distorted into a slavering monster who tried to eat him. That one had made him wake up in a cold sweat and listen for a few moments to determine if she was in the room. Eventually he shook his head, laughed nervously at his idiocy and went back to sleep. It was typical that he finally started to get some decent and restful sleep about half an hour before his alarm went off.

For a moment he considered throwing the alarm across the room and imagined the satisfaction of seeing it smash into tiny pieces as it hit the wall but instead he rolled over to the edge of the bed, reached out and slammed his hand, palm down, onto it. The noise stopped and he rolled onto his back and sighed, after the night he had had he did not really want to get up. Eventually the little voice of reason in the back of his head won out over the desire to just stay in bed and he threw back the covers and got up. He washed, shaved, cleaned his teeth and dressed in a smart suit ready for the day he would spend at the bank he had broken into yesterday presenting his findings to their security chief.

He wondered if the fox-girl would have his breakfast and coffee ready for when he stepped out of the bedroom door. He realised to his astonishment that he hadn’t actually asked Amadej if she had a name, nor had he asked the girl himself. There was no collar with name tag that he had seen some Demeterians wear when out with their owners, not everyone was into that trend since it had connotations that the owner was not capable of controlling their pet well enough to ensure it went home again after whatever task they had been set. He was determined that he would forge a bond with his, he wanted her to trust him not fear him and that she would feel safe enough here to want to come home again no matter where she had been asked to go.

Checking himself out in the mirror one last time and making sure the look of ‘smart-yet-rebellious’ was perfect he stepped out into the living area and instantly wondered if he had moved house in the middle of the night. Everything was spotless. Everything was tidy. It took him turning round and checking that his bedroom was definitely his bedroom to believe what he was looking at. The Demeterian must have either been up exceptionally early or she had not taken any free time last night and done it after he had gone to bed. Either way it was certainly showing him that he had made a good choice, this girl was eager to please.

On the table by the window in the lounge he could see steam rising from what he assumed was his coffee. He walked over and sat down, still amazed by the standard she had cleaned the place to. His coffee was waiting for him, it was still hot and when he took a sip he smiled, it was exactly as he had asked for. A small plate beside the cup had two slices of toast and butter cut into quarters, the butter had melted into the toast a little so it was pooled in the natural dips in the bread. He folded each quarter into half to eat it and leaned over the plate so he didn’t drip melted butter down his clean clothes. He had not yet seen the girl so he assumed she must have been off doing something else.

He had just finished the last piece of toast when she appeared to take his plate, he handed it to her and smiled, “Good morning. Thank you for breakfast, everything is exactly how I like it.” He took another mouthful of his coffee and sat back for a moment, observing her behaviour and mannerisms. He wondered how much was natural and how much was training. He liked to watch other people and suddenly he wondered about the Demeterians since they passed almost unnoticed in society. He finished his coffee and held his mug up, “Could I have some more coffee please?” He asked it and waited for her to come back over, as she was refilling the coffee he tilted his head to one side slightly and asked, “Do you have a name?”

[pumirya]

As she thought she would, Shumani had awoken sometime around dawn or shortly after. Opening her eyes, Shumani had sat up in her bed and yawned. It was a soft yawn, one barely audible, even in the silent apartment. Shumani took a few moments to look down at the bed cover. It was so soft and warm. Shumani had marveled at how it soft the blanket felt and how warm it was as she had fell to sleep the previous night. It was almost too wonderful to believe.

The sun was just peaking over the horizon as Shumani climbed out of her bed. Walking to the window, Shumani had softly gasped at the sight of the human city now unfolding below her in the slowly growing light, The sight was even more amazing in the light. The humans had so many buildings and each one seemed to sparkle and shine like a jewel as the slowly rising orange-yellow sun reflected off them. Shumani once again wondered if there was anything the humans could not do. And her master must be one of the greatest!

Shumani had watched as the soft grey sky turned a vibrant blue; then she had made her bed, straitening the sheets; then pulling the cover back onto the bed; then straightening it. Hopeful her master would be pleased with how she had made her bed, if he were to check, Shumani had padded silently out of her room and into the main room... Shumani had walked slowly around the entire room, making sure that she had not missed anything the previous night.

Shumani had made her way into the kitchen, to make her master’s breakfast, while wondering where her mater kept the things that she would need to clean his home. The humans had machines that could clean their homes and places the worked, but many liked to use things they called brooms, dusters and machines that needed a person to push it around. Some of these machines were larger then others and were quite loud. Humans called the machines, ‘retro’ whatever that meant. Maybe the word meant something was old?

Shumani did know one thing; the ‘retro’ machines hurt her ears, a lot. Shumani hoped her master did not have a ‘retro’ machine for cleaning, but if he did, she would have to get used to it. Shumani had to search through the cupboards a bit, until she found a round white container with a picture of a woman wearing a four pointed crown with a star above her head, inside a green circle. The word ‘coffee’ was on the bottom of the circle, in white letters. Another longer word as at the top, but Shumani did not know what it was.

Shumani had used a thing called a spoon to measure out how much coffee she thought was needed. Shumani made enough for several cups, in case her master decided he wanted more then one cup. A coffee machine sat near the east end of the counter and that was where Shumani went next. Looking at the machine for a moment, she pressed a button on its top and placed the coffee inside, in a small thing that reminded Shumani of a fishing basket. Shumani set the machine to ‘strong’ then went to find the bread and butter.

The bread was on top of the refrigerator, and Shumani needed to use a chair to stand on so she could reach it. The bread was in a bag that was white in colour, and had the word ‘wonder’ on it in blue coloured letters. After getting two slices of bread, Shumani put the ‘wonder’ bread bag on the counter; then carefully put the two slices of bread into a thing the humans called a toaster. The toaster had four long holes in the top of and was silver in colour.

Shumani didn’t like toaster. She had burnt hr fingers several times while trying to learn how to take them bread out of them. A small green light blinked on the bottom of the toaster and the two slices bread popped up. Shumani waited a moment; then reached a hand out tentatively and very carefully grabbed the top of one slice of bread and pulled it up and out of the toaster, doing the same with the second slice of bread. Next she got the butter from a shelf in the refrigerator. Shumani found what humans called a knife and very carefully used it to slice the butter as she had been taught.

A light blinked on the side of the coffee machine, alerting Shumani that her master’s coffee was ready. Shumani picked a random cup and poured the coffee into it. Coffee had a strange scent, but as far as how coffee tasted, Shumani had no ideas. Shumani had buttered her master’s toast, after putting it on a plate, along with extra slices of butter. Shumani then took the cup and plate over to a small table by one of the large windows. Shumani could hear faint noises from inside her master’s room. Shumani looked at the coffee and toast; hopefully her master would be pleased with her efforts.

Shumani watched silently from a chair across the large main room her master come out of his room. He appeared surprised, but happy at how his home looked, and appeared equally as pleased with his breakfast. As her master finished his first cup of coffee and toast, Shumani was at his elbow, coffee pot held tightly in her left hand, ready to our her master a second cup of coffee and take away his dirty plate. “Thank you, Mr. Tassinari,” Shumani replied in a soft voice, her face lighting up with joy as her master praised her work.

“Good morning,” Shumani replied belatedly, putting more weigh then needed on the vowels, but it was still a bit better then before. Her master did not seem to notice, however as he asked Shumani her name. Shumani inclined her head once and replied in a soft voice, “Shumanitutanka.” Realising her mistake the moment she spoke her given name, Shumani’s body tensed, ready for a stern reprimand or maybe even a cuff to the ears. “I’m sorry,” Shumani managed to say, her speech failing her as he small body trembled noticeably.

Shumani was shocked that her master did not yell at her or hit her. She had been reminded over and over again that humans did not like long, hard to remember names, and thus she had been given a shortened version of her name. Willing herself to stop trembling, Shumani apologized again, this time doing a much better job of saying the words. "Shumani,” Shumani replied as one her left ear turned slightly at a random sound. The short version of her name still sounded odd to Shumani, although she was getting used to it.

“Mr. Tassinari,” Shumani asked softly, inclining her head. “May I have a…. watch?” It would be clear from the way Shumani spoke and the long pauses between each word, that she was not quite sure what a watch did, and Nathanael could assume that Shumani did not know how a watch worked either. “So know time,” Shumani added quickly as she was able to form the words in her mind and then say them, she hoped, they way they wee intended to sound. "Alarm...?” Shumani asked hesitantly, her ears tilting forward.

Shumani hoped she was not asking for something her new master would not want to get her. Shumani also wanted quite badly to ask her master what her wanted her to wear. Shumani had seen other Demeterians clothed in many different ways from a simple brown robe to very fancy looking clothes, to clothing that barely covered the body at all. Of course the clothing also was different for males and females, with the males seeming to wear more plain clothing. Should she ask her master about clothes, Shumani wondered as she glanced down at herself. What would her master want her to wear? Whatever it was, Shumani would be grateful to have it...!

[Banshee2020]

 
Nathan was angry that she would shake so much in fear when she thought she had got something wrong. It was an obvious sign of how they were trained. It was deemed unacceptable to hit a dog yet it was perfectly acceptable to hit a Demeterian? The hypocrisy was staggering. So she did have a name and not one given to her by the trainer it seemed. He was still mulling over this new information when she asked for a watch. It was obvious she wasn’t entirely sure what she was asking for but he figured she wanted to know what the time was and to have an alarm clock of some description.

“Alright,” he said as he pulled back his left sleeve, “this is a watch that just shows the time.” He held out his arm so she could see the analogue watch face. “Do you want one that also has an alarm or would you prefer an alarm by your bed and a watch that just shows you the time?” He looked over at her, she was a little unsure he could see from her body language, “It’s alright, anything that helps you will help me too. If you want or need something I want you to ask me.”

He picked up the controller for the television and pressed a button on it, the screen lit up with a shopping site. A voice asked what he was looking for and glancing over at an enthralled Shumani he asked for watches. The screen changed and in front of them was an array of different watches both digital and analogue. Moving the selection to one of them he asked about it and the voice came back telling him all the features this particular watch had and showed a larger picture of it from various angles.

Nathe looked back over at her and tried to gauge her reaction, he held out the controller to her and said, “Sit down and have a look through them and find one you like, come and get me when you have.” He couldn’t help but smile at her as she tentatively sat down with the controller in her delicate hands. Standing, he then walked behind her and leaned over her to show her which buttons to press, “It will also help with your language skills, you have to ask to see them. While you’re at it you might want to look at some clothes you like.” As he stood back up he ruffled her hair a little before picking up his coffee and heading to his desk, he had a bit of time yet before his meeting and was curious to see what she would pick out.

Sitting at his desk he started by looking through his schedule for the day. It started with the meeting at the bank he had broken into just the day before, lunch then with Jasper and Kitty from one of the magazines who like to speak to the movers and shakers, two other small meetings with potential new clients and then a break before a full on digital and physical break-in at a large pharmaceutical company’s HQ. If he got done in time there was also Markus Whitehall’s 25th birthday party to which he had been invited. Markus was almost as bad as he was for his reputation as a ladies’ man so it was guaranteed to be a good night.

Next on the agenda were the messages. He quickly ran through all the filtered mail just in case something had been filtered out that he actually wanted to keep but as usual his system had done its job and nothing he wanted was in amongst the bombardment of advertising. Emptying the trash from that folder he moved onto the main inbox and started sending the generic response to all the job request messages. That done he went through the other messages, adding appointments to his scheduler and replying where necessary. Every so often he would glance up and see if Shumani was still looking for things and satisfied that she was doing alright he went back to his work.

Finishing the messages he reached into the drawer at the side of his desk and pulled out the Lumion, he transferred the report on the break-in to it and sat back for a moment. He then stood and with Lumion in hand he walked over to Shumani and sat down beside her. “How are you getting on, found anything you like?” When she showed him what she had chosen he nodded and, taking back the controller, bought everything she had liked. “It should all be here a little later on today for you.”
Nathanael showed her how to use the television and then stood to leave. He went over and picked up his jacket, shoving the Lumion into the pocket, and then went to the elevator. “I’ll be back at about 4pm,” he said to her, “Shumanitutanka.” The pronunciation was terrible, the inflexions on the letters all in the wrong places but he had tried to say her name properly. The elevator door opened and he stepped in, disappearing as the doors closed again. He laughed at himself, he knew it had been terrible and he hoped he hadn’t offended her.

[pumirya]

Shumani stared down at the watch, clearly finding it quite amazing. Slowly she reached a finger out and gently touched the watches’ face, watching as the second hand as it moved slowly in a circle around the numbers, which Shumani remembered were called hours. The Demeterians did not have hours or minutes. They had istaġuni, or seasons and they called their years, turns, dawriet in the native tongue. The words, Jum and leji were day and night, respectively.

Shumani frowned and looked up at her master as he asked her what kind of watch she wanted. Her uncertain musings continued when her master asked her if she wanted a watch with a alarm or a alarm at her bedside. “Oh,” Shumani said in a hushed voice filled with a childlike sense of wonder as her master pressed up a small, long, square shaped object and pressed a green coloured button near the top right corner of the device, turning on, what Shumani suddenly remembered, was called a TV; yet another amazing thing.

Then her master told her to sit down and choose a watch she liked using the device that controlled the TV. He explained it would be a help to her in learning the human language and lastly he told her to pick out some clothes. There were so many watches, that Shumani felt rather overwhelmed at first. However, after a time, she picked out a watch that looked like her master’s, but was a ‘ladies’ watch the voice from the TV said. Shumani knew her master had said to get what she wanted, but she still fretted overspending his money.

Next, the quiet, gentle, and feminine voice from the TV, asked Shumani if she would like to look at clothes. Shumani nodded her head enthusiastically, before remembering she had to vocalise her wishes, and said, yes. There were a lot of different clothes to pick from, and again poor Shumani felt in over her head. The TV voice asked what size dress she wore and Shumani said the number that her trainer had said was her size. Shumani wondered how human females ever picked out clothing, with so many amazing choices.

Shumani settled on two robe-like dresses, white, one with red trim and the other with blue trim which matched her eyes. Shumani did not get ‘shoes’ as she did not think she needed them, but if master insisted, she would get some later. Shumani found that shoes were uncomfortable and made the sides of her feet hurt. Remembering a alarm, Shumani formed the word in her mind and then spoke it. A broad selection of alarms appear, and Shumani pointed to a square alarm with a light blue body and white face and said, “That,”

Her master sat down beside her a few moments later and he asked how she was doing. Shumani smiled brightly up at him and pointed happily to the TV screen, where the summary of the things she had picked out was only display. After her master had bought the items she had choose, he told Shumani that her things would arrive later in the day. Shumani nodded, delight and gratitude showing plainly on her face and in her eyes... ‘Thank you, Mr. Tassinari,” Shumani had said, pronouncing the word, you, with a overly long ‘u’ sound.

Her master then got up and went about getting ready to depart. He told Shumani that he would return hme around time, 4pm, and Shumani nodded, though she suddenly felt lonely as she unhappily watched her master walk toward the elevator door. “Goodbye, Mr. Tassinari,” Shumani said softly as she elevator doors began to slide closed. Then her master said her name, her full name, and Shumani smiled and waved a hand at him, just like she had seen humans do as they left each other. Moments later, Shumani was left all alone.

Shumani wondered what she should do now? First she made fresh coffee, but did not turn the machine on, knowing she could do so later when her master wished it. Shumani then went to the door of her master’s room and pushed it gently open. Her master had told her that she was not to go into his room but to clean and to put things in order. Well; the room did look a little messy and the bed needed made. Approaching the bed, Shumani sniffed at it, it was fine, so Shumani just made the bed, taking care to do it perfectly.

Shumani made a mental note to ask her master when he wanted things such as bedding and clothes washed. Shumani mad her way into her master’s bathroom and put the bottle(s) which held, body wash and, shampoo, back on a small multi shelved rack which sat in the corner of the bathrooms’ very spacious, shower. Shumani then picked up the large bath towel from the floor near the shower and the wash cloth, which hung over a small rack built into one of the showers’ walls. Shumani then took her leave of her masters’ room.

Shumani placed the dirty bath towel and wash cloth with the other things in the large basket she had found the night before. Shumani then wandered back to the couch and sat down on the floor in front of the couch, the TV remote held carefully in her small hands, as though the remote were a rare, priceless jewel. Shumani began pushing the ‘channel’ button. There were humans singing songs, most bad, humans selling things, some humans talking to humans, humans mating, humans driving strange looking cars around and around in circles. There were humans dancing and humans chasing various animals that Shumani recognized as being on her planet. Shumani found a ' music' channel climbed onto the couch and sat listening to the soothing music until she eventually fell to sleep.

Spoiler

(Shumani is curled into a ball on the couch.)

(What Shumani fell asleep to. It can also be on the TV when Nathanael gets home.)