Hmm, maybe some tropical fish? Or at least, exotic fish from somewhere? She hadn't had a good tasting fish from the desert continents in awhile...hmm, would they even have those here? She'd need to talk to Livia. She went to bite into the fish again, only for to bite into mid air as it was yanked from her hands by a rather irate and wet looking kitten who was going on about something with her being disrespectful? Beast? Lizard
her?"...I beg your pardon, cat?" For a few seconds, Sorcha needed to process the obscene amounts of disrespect she had just been shown, a look of sheer disbelief plastered on the dragons face. Sorcha liked to think of herself as reasonable. She realized her mistake that she had made. She had thought she was mostly alone here - who would be so daft to sunbathe right by the lakeshore anyways? And she'd have apologized for getting the kitten wet as well.
But this kitten?
Whoever was the owner of this cat, sorely needed to teach her some manners. Or perhaps she was just a stray? Either way, the dragon was
not happy. The dragon pulled her lower half out of the water, standing at her full height and towering over the smaller kitten. She had dealt with disrespectful harlots like this before, and she'd deal with them exactly the same way she had done the others. She gave the kitten a cool glare, tail hanging listlessly on the ground with wings tucked close to her body.
"Perhaps you shouldn't have been foolishly sunbathing next to the lakeshore." Her voice was firm, serious and regal, as if the kitten was speaking to someone who held great power. A small spark of electricity leaped from one of the dragon's horns to the other as she unfurled her wings from her body followed by a veil of electricity running enveloping her body before blasting skywards. Standing fully before Maoin, Sorcha spoke once again.
"You stand before Sorcha Ó Maoilriain, Radiant King of the heavens and last surviving Grand Dragon of Valhalla." She let the full weight of her words sink in before continuing.
"And I will take nothing less than a full apology for your insults or I shall teach that disrespectful mouth of yours some manners."The kitten simply stared back up at the taller woman, seeing the electricity arc between the lizard's wings. The tale was ridiculous, and yet as Maoin looked the woman over there were signs of truth behind it. Most base lizards had no wings, and she wasn't a succubus or demon of some sort by the smell of things.
Maoin thought carefully about what she was going to say here. She considered submitting, but her owner had mentioned on more than one occasion that she needed to learn to stand up for herself. And besides, it wasn't as if this Sorcha was her mistress - she had one of her own.
"If that is truly your title, I apologize for not addressing you by it." Despite her irritation, that was true. Such things were important to the organization of a society. A slight curtsey of respect was displayed for the dragon before her.
However, her following words would likely irritate Sorcha. Thinking back to the incident, the kitten thought for a few moments about what to say before delivering her reply.
"However this is a public area for everyone to enjoy, and that was an incredibly nice patch of grass to take a nap on. As much as you have a right to play in the water, I have a right to nap on the edge without getting splashed by a torrent of water." A quick look over Sorcha's body made the kitten think of a nice way to finish that reply.
"I advise that you should be more aware of your surroundings and less concerned about flaunting your body, Grand Dragon Sorcha O' Maoilriain."The dragon studied the kitten quietly, debating whether or not she was actually being sincere. Of course the cat would question the titles validity, but it was less about the titles, and more so about how the kitten had spoken to her. Immediately assuming hostility for some small mistake as splashing water on someone, meant said person was in need of a serious attitude adjustment. As the cat continued, however, Sorcha was less than impressed with her ‘apology’. It started out acceptable, but quickly turned into a scolding. She shouldn’t really start anything, as that would make Luna more than a little upset…argh, damn her own dragon blood.
“Do not patronize me.” Sorcha replied with obvious hostility.
“A simple apology would have been acceptable; I do not need a scolding from a stray.” She had to refrain from adding flea-infested to that insult. Ugh, Luna was definitely going to be upset with her if this continued.
“And I am quite aware of my surroundings, but that has very little to do with your terrible attitude and obvious lack of respect. My choice of apparel is my own, and as I am a dragon, I do not normally nor will wearing clothing ever be normal. Now…” She cleared her throat, foot slamming into the ground with force enough to leave a small impression in the dirt.
“This is your last chance for an acceptable apology before I lose what little patience I have left, stray.”Maoin's mouth dropped. Stray? She clenched her fists, looking angrily at the beast that stood before her.
"I am no stray!" The kitten let the words out with a surprising amount of conviction, eyes being expressive as they narrowed slightly. The cat calmed down slightly as she continued however, remembering the beast in front of her was worth some degree of respect and managed to maintain a matter-of-fact tone.
"Lady Gwynn Foghlu' is my owner and mistress, and I am proud to serve her as a familiar. If you feel that I have represented her badly or acted with misconduct, then tell her. Despite your status as a grand dragon, only my mistress and the employees at this school have the right to punish me as they see fit."Truthfully though, perhaps this entire thing had been a bit excessive. But Maoin wasn't afraid of this creature, this oversized lizard.
"If you are truly aware of your surroundings, then you knew of my presence and splashed water on me solely out of some desire to be cruel. As a grand dragon, you are probably thinking I wouldn't fight back and sought me out as a weak enough target to bully, weren't you?" A frown crossed the kitten's face as she thought about it. A kitten wasn't very strong at all, were they?
“How dare you insinuate that I would ever do something as dishonorable as attack an unaware foe, or bring such shame and dishonor upon my Knight. I would never bully a weak or defenseless creature, nor would I ever be needlessly cruel.” The dragon growled. Sorcha had given the kitten enough time to apologize. She may have let it go even if she hadn’t if the kitten has sufficiently given her reasons for not, but insulting her character like that? That was not something Sorcha could let go so easily. Her honor as a Knight, Grand Dragon, and Queen would not allow it.
“It seems you lack any sort of honor whatsoever. I shall be speaking to this so called master of yours to make sure they properly discipline you so you will not bring them any more shame.” Sorcha’s wings beat violently, stirring up a gust of wind.
“But first…I shall teach you consequence of disrespect.” There was only a brief moment for Maoin to prepare as Sorcha’s feet left the ground and the dragon lunged forwards in an attempt to grab the kitten.
Maoin blinked as the dragon made it abundantly clear that this was entirely an accident. Perhaps she had spoken in haste? As the dragon gave her fair warning though, the kitten found herself already moving out of the way of the fast beast, landing two feet out of Sorcha’s path as sweat began to run down her brow.
For a brief moment she felt just a bit more confident in herself until the wind from passing her by nearly knocked her down to all fours. Suddenly realizing this was serious, the kitten started fumbling with the blade on her belt, trying to get the thing out while backing up at the same time to a distance that would give her a larger reaction time.
The dragon's feet hit the ground, digging into the earth as she stopped her forward momentum. She turned, pivoting her body to face the direction the kitten had dodged in. She launched herself forward, lunging at the kitten again. Noticing the sword at the kittens side, Sorcha simply ignored it. There were many ways she could go about this, but she was confident in her speed.
The kitten this time in an awkward position and fumbling with her blade knew she would be hard pressed to dodge given how close it was the previous time, and instead finished drawing the sword out and while holding the small thing with both her hands lunged forward as well, hoping the dragon would skewer herself on her mistress’ gift.
Sorcha was unimpressed by the kittens’ lack of swordplay. Really, she was just embarrassing herself, but that was irrelevant at the moment. If she had her Glaive, this would be but a simple matter. Even without it, it was relatively simple though if the kitten had any sort of skill they could use it to their advantage. Suddenly, Sorcha gained altitude mere feet before running into the blade, her body barely clearing the top of Maoin’s head. She flipped, landing behind the kitten and turning, large wings slamming into the cat followed up by Sorcha turning and making another grab for the kitten.
As Sorcha’s wings slammed into the kitten, Maoin let out a small and dissatisfied
”Merw!” As she was knocked forward, tail helping her maintain balance and telling her to roll forward putting her a few feet away from Sorcha’s grasp. A brief look down caused her to frown as she realized she would be cleaning out the dirt and grass stains from this dress for hours. The sword once again was lifted into what almost qualified as a comically bad stance as the kitten raised it over her head this time as if she was going to hack downwards with all her might.
Really? Was this the best the kitten could muster? Sorcha was sorely disappointed. For one with such big talk about bringing honor to her house, she was just embarrassing herself and her house. Still, this disrespectful kitten needed to be taught a harsh lesson. It was an easy to follow, predictable move. Sorcha didn’t even need to dodge it. The dragon caught the kittens sword wrist, and gave it a sharp
twist.
The kitten let out a surprised yelp as her hand instinctively released the sword from her grasp and she found the rest of her body, despite her extreme sense of balance, trying to follow her hand and bending over terribly. Realizing things were going poorly she made one attempt to struggle and break free by allowing her body to follow the weight as it was twisted, grabbing onto Sorcha’s arm with her open hand and wrapping her tail and a single leg around it as an anchor before sending a single foot straight into Sorcha’s face.
The kitten was still resisting? Well, she had to admit she was a feisty one, but that could only get one so far in life. Sorcha used her free hand to grab Maoin’s foot before it hit her face. Well, the kitten had just lost any ability at all she had to win this. She may have been holding firmly onto the dragons’ main body, but there was one little tiny detail the kitten forgot. Sorcha gave a powerful flap of her wings, jumping into the air and rocketing over the lake. The dragon wrestled with the kitten, attempting to pull the cat off of her and dump her into the lake.
The cat realized what was going on, and seeing the water beneath her grabbed on tighter, ending her struggles as she held onto the arm as if her life depended on it.
”Mew! No no no no no.” She spoke rapidly with a high pitched voice, shaking slightly from fear as she gripped on with surprising strength.
For one who was so brave earlier, they were much less so now. Was a little water all it took to deter the cat? Sorcha sighed. Well, she wasn’t going to be needlessly cruel. Not unless the cat made her. She came to a halt, hovering only feet above the surface of the lake as she let the cat sweat a little bit.
“Will you apologize for your insults?” She asked simply.
The kitten realized what was going to happen if she did anything else, tears starting to flow out of her eyes. Suddenly, a long string of words came out of the cat as she was forced to yield to one of her natural and inborn fears as she gripped tighter onto Sorcha.
”Ishoudnhaegrabbed-the-fishor-questioedyouhonorIdidn’tknowitwas anaccid!” The cat’s attitude somehow managed to calm down slightly as she breathed deeply.
”I-I can’t swim!” Then whatever was said afterwards sounded something like an appropriate address for the Radiant King of the Heavens, but it was totally incomprehensible.
Seeing the cat in obvious distress, Sorcha immediately gained altitude and took her away from the surface of the water. Can’t swim? Seriously, what sort of familiar couldn’t swim? Sorcha was growing less and less impressed with the kitten by the minute, though she had to give her credit for standing up to a dragon. She earned enough of her respect to at least thing a bit more of her than she initially had.
It took only seconds for them to reach the lakeshore once again, Sorcha making sure to land a few yards away from the lake to give the kitten some space. Her feet gently landed on the ground, though not releasing the kitten just yet. Instead, the dragon wrapped her in a gentle, but firm hug. Sorcha couldn’t help but to feel somewhat responsible…seeing a crying child of any sort always made her want to help.
“Shh, it’s alright little one.” She spoke gently, giving the kitten a soft pat on the head.
“That was partly my fault. I should have realized you wouldn’t have liked water.”It took a few moments for the cat to realize that they weren’t going into the lake anymore and she immediately let go as her feet touched the reliable ground beneath her. The kitten wasn’t expecting a hug, but after a few seconds she hugged back, mostly just trying to regain some degree of control over the panic that had just finished running through her veins. The head pats calmed the girl down until she seemed to have gained some degree of self control, at which point she looked up at the dragon silently as she waited for what came next, arms still wrapped around Sorcha’s body. The kitten wasn’t going to be a sore loser and start complaining at this point.
“Feeling better then?” Sorcha asked, pushing the kitten off of her.
“Good, because I haven’t forgotten about your punishment.” The dragon turned, her hair having become quite…disheveled looking in the process of dealing with the kitten. Well, traditionally she had people who offended her wash her scales. It was a much more…severe punishment in dragon form since it could legitimately take one all day to wash a giant house-sized dragon.
But it’d still be a fitting punishment.
“Now then, let us get going. You’re mine for the next few hours. So, go find something to wash and brush hair with, some soap and some armor and weapon polish. Get to it! And if you’re not back in thirty minutes I’ll be having a stern word with your master.”The kitten listened attentively as she was pushed off, listing the instructions in her mind with her eyes looking to the grief with shame as she gave a brief and obedient bow and hurried back to her dorm. The dragon had promised earlier that she would be having a conversation with her owner anyways, and as she returned the cat gathered everything that Grand Dragon had requested - a brush, a bar of soap, and some polish and steel wool. All of which and more was already located in the ‘emergency’ bag Maoin always kept in the room incase they were travelling and her mistress for some reason needed to be made to look decent on the fly. Additionally, she threw a pen and some paper in there along with an envelope and a wax seal as she thought about it.
Maoin removed the simple black dress she had been planning on going out that evening in and instead put another slightly less simple dress into her bag and put on her servant’s uniform before returning to the lake by the dragon with several minutes of time left. As she approached, she kept her eyes down and curtsied as she put down the large bag of various beauty supplies. The kitten soon removed a portable stool, taking a step back from in as an obvious invitation for Sorcha to sit down.
By the time Maoin returned, Sorcha had already returned to sitting in the water by the lake. It was too relaxing not to take the opportunity to relax a bit. Thrust into the dirt next to the water was her Glaive, blade buried in the ground. Leaning on it was her armor, ready to be polished and cleaned to the bit of perfection. Upon noticing the kittens return, Sorcha turned her head and was pleasantly surprised to see the kitten curtsy. Not only that, she kept her head low to the ground, avoiding eye contact.
Hmm…
For a brief moment, Sorcha narrowed her eyes at the kitten in thought, but quickly was replaced with a small frown. Perhaps she had been wrong about this girl? Well, she’d find out shortly.
“I hope you do not expect me to sit on that stool.” Sorcha replied with a rather unimpressed huff.
“You could have at least procured another, could you not? Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter much since I won’t be using it.” She made a dismissive motion with her hand, collecting all of her recently wet hair in a hand and pulling it out of the water. The long strands of hair fell to her waist, most of it actually longer. As she laid it on the ground, it’d be rather obvious it was likely only to get dirtier laying there.
“Wash. Make sure it’s spotless and all the tangles are out, hmm? And I do hope you brought something for me to drink while you work.”The kitten frowned, thinking about how to handle this best. Bending over in her maid uniform and getting three things out of the bag, she used the stool she had set up as a small table for her things. Sorcha would feel her hair being lifted up and then lowered again as it was lowered onto one of the few towels Maoin had within the bag.
”Your dragoness …” How exactly was she supposed to address the dragon?
”I have strong ale from Ireland crafted from the finest of hops and fine liquor from the winter lands to the North-East, which would you prefer?” “Lady Sorcha will do just fine.” Sorcha frowned, displeased with the title.
“And I shall take the ale from the North-East…it has been awhile since I have been home. A little taste of it would do me wonders, really.” She leaned back against the shoreline, elbows resting on the ground.
“Hmm…you do have some glasses, yes? You do not expect me to drink directly out of the bottle do you?” So far, this was going exactly how Sorcha assumed it might after seeing the kittens haste to obey.
The kitten had gotten herself up from her task to acquire the liquor for the dragoness.
”Of course Lady Sorcha.” Maoin dutifully was returning with the liquor when the dragon mentioned that she needed a glass.
Well damn. Her mistress usually just drank straight from the bottle, and a small drinking glass would usually shatter anyways underneath the stresses of travel.
”I-I apologize Lady Sorcha. Glasses shatter easily in travel, so I tend to not include them within my kit. If you require one, I could retrieve one.” The dragon would likely hear a strong hint of honest apology in the kitten’s voice as if she was disappointed in her performance.
Sorcha harrumphed, giving a dismissive wave of her hand.
“And you call yourself a servant?” Sorcha coolly replied.
“I am quite busy, so I am afraid that would require more time than I have. Hand me the bottle then and get to work. I am afraid my hair has not received a good scrubbing in some time…so do take care. I expect it to be flawless, and do be mindful of the horns.”The kitten frowned slightly as it was implied that she was an inadequate servant. However, the bottle of liquor was soon handed over and the kitten lowered herself to her knees and got to work with shampoo and started the process of washing out the dragon’s hair with the lavender smell filling the air. The kitten scrubbed the hair, and having ears of her own made it easy for her to understand the dragon’s request regarding the horns and only cleaned them lightly, making sure to be gentle with what she assumed to be sensitive.
Sorcha remained quiet as the kitten got to work. It had been quite a while since she had been pampered like this. Luna was nowhere near qualified for it, and while she would like to enjoy it more her goal was something else entirely for the moment. She took a quiet drink of the alcohol…it tasted delicious, really, but instead of commenting she merely scrunched up her nose in mild seeming disgust before giving a small frown as she smelled a rather enticing fragrance.
“Lavender? I never really did enjoy the smell.” She said, placing the bottle on the shore.
“Didn’t have anything else?”The kitten frowned slightly as once again her work was insulted.
”No Lady Sorcha. This bag only contains supplies in case of an emergency.” The cat girl returned to her work though, wondering if this was somehow inadequate.
“Emergency supplies?” The dragon scoffed.
“I suppose that’s the best you could do then?” Ah, she disliked doing this really.
At this point, the kitten raised an eyebrow. Was the dragon that considered dancing around nude in the lake for fun possibly this concerned about having inadequate hair products?
”... Lady Sorcha, I apologize for digressing, but I have some serious doubt that you are that interested about emergency supplies or the smell of Lavender or that you have some strange hatred for perfectly comfortable stools. What are you getting at?”“Whatever do you mean, kitten?” Sorcha managed to barely contain a laugh. Well, perhaps the kitten was more observant than she thought? Either way, she’d wait for the cats reply before doing anything else.
“I am, a grand dragon after all. Old enough to be your great, great, great, grandmother. Likely even older. You expect me to make do with sub-par care?”The kitten gave a slight frown, looking into the dragon’s face.
”No, but if you were truly this interested in how you were cared for you would already have your own servants and probably wouldn’t let a simple cat touch you. And if you did, you wouldn’t have requested only a bucket of soap and a brush, since what you are asking for would be impossible given that. I know my abilities in this area are far beyond anything but the most pompous Emperor would request, and your complaints aren’t the type I would expect from someone who would genuinely lack satisfaction with my work, Lady Sorcha.” The kitten raised an eyebrow down towards the dragon, knowing her claim was true. This was an area that she had expertise in and even what some might call talent.
Sorcha laughed. Well, the kitten was
much more observant than she gave the kitten credit for. It was rather amusing, and she had to wonder how such an observant kitten could be so terrible at service. Indeed, in the dragons opinion the kitten…well, she certainly wasn’t terrible but she wasn’t good either.
She turned around, resting her upper body on the shore, her elbows on the ground and her head in her hands.
“You’re quite observant. Apologies for acting like a complete scoundrel, but I was simply curious. Do you know why I don’t have my own servants? I don’t need them. I can take care of myself perfectly fine, although I will probably have a certain funny knight help with my hair occasionally in the future.” She gave Maoin a soft smile before frowning.
“And yes, your abilities so far have been quite spectacular, kitten. Your care was good…but it is far from perfect. ” She pulled herself out of the water, sitting on the water’s edge once again, scooting over to the kitten.
“…why do you serve people, little one?”The kitten raised her eyebrow as the dragon suddenly shifted. There was still shampoo in her hair. By the gods, that was irritating and Sorcha would see the kitten’s eyebrow twitch slightly. The dragon probably wouldn’t expect for the kitten to continue her work, rinsing out the hair with a bucket of water and returning to her bag.
She was on a roll, damn it. And besides, it was easy to think while one worked like this. At least when you weren’t interrupted constantly. However, she was curious about what sort of criticism the dragoness would have about her work. Didn’t her mistress always say it was too good?
”... I usually don’t serve random people. You seemed to want a makeover.” The kitten paused for a moment as she focused on massaging the soap into Sorcha’s back.
”... and since you were merciful and I deserved it for my attitude I decided to bring my bag back. I figured it would help make it up to you. And besides, I figured that I don’t have anything to do for a few hours so I might as well work on something I enjoy … as my mistress puts it … ‘dolling’ things up, if that makes sense, Lady Sorcha.” The cat was hiding the fact that she also had a question, but she didn’t bother mentioning it right now.
”... I’m just surprised that you think my care is lacking.” “I see. To be perfectly honest, I did not expect this level of care. I first thought you were a troublemaker when you were speaking to me, and was going to give you quite the harsh lesson in respect and service, but after seeing all of these supplies I thought you were much too prepared for such a thing.” Sorcha remained quiet for a moment, organizing her thoughts. She enjoyed ‘dolling’ things up, apparently. Well, that was not something she entirely could say was a wrong train of thought, but…it didn’t exactly sit well with Sorcha. Servants should definitely enjoy their work with ‘dolling’ things up certainly…but it shouldn’t be for their own benefit, so to speak.
“And don’t get me wrong, little one, your work is quite…exceptional, but it is rather...lackluster. The fact that you only serve your mistress is a rather…jarring fact. Do not get me wrong, you should always put your master first, but…” She frowned, thinking of the best way to ask this.
“Before I continue, let me ask you something. You serve people because you enjoy making them look good in a way you think they’d like?”The kitten listened carefully to the dragon’s words, trying to understand them. The girl had to stop herself from speaking until it was clear the older creature finished speaking. After thinking for a moment, she managed a response as she finished putting soap on Sorcha’s back.
”I’m … I’m a little confused here. I serve my mistress because I am her familiar and I care for her deeply otherwise as well …” If Sorcha turned around to look at the kitten’s face, she would see the cat shake her head as it was obvious she was thinking about something else and a small blush fled her cheeks as she tried to get it out of her mind.
”Is … is that wrong of me?”And after a few seconds the kitten responded to the dragon’s second point.
”Well … I like making my mistress look nice. She is the most beautiful woman in the world and … it’s nice to see her go all out periodically. Normally I don’t do it that much but … is it wrong of me to enjoy that? I just … I just think it’s my mistress’ right to be as beautiful as she can possibly be ...”
“But I don’t just do her makeup. I clean, wash the dishes, do the laundry … for hours every day.” The cat gave off a somewhat exhausted sigh, but it’s wasn’t a hateful one.
”I do that so that she doesn’t have to. If it means her having a bit more fun out in the dirt, I’ll do her laundry and be quiet about it so she can smile and be carefree. I make her the best meals I possibly can so she can gorge on them and be satisfied on the best of foods every day. She knows I would do anything if she ordered me to do it, and I follow the silly orders she gives sometimes no matter how embarrassing or ridiculous they are because I know she’ll remember those moments fondly for years.”Sorcha sighed. Well, the Kitten’s logic was certainly not entirely wrong. A familiar should serve their master and care for them. Steer them on the right path if they are losing their way, and otherwise help them. But above all, a familiar should
always, always, always stand by their master and their decisions regardless if the familiar inherently agreed or not. That was something many seemed to forget these days…Loyalty, no matter what the circumstances. The master didn’t exactly sound like the most spectacular one either, though, so perhaps she couldn’t be entirely to blame.
“I will not comment on your master or your relationship with her. I do not know her so it Is not my place to comment.” Sorcha replied, leaning back into Maoin. Sorcha was picking up some pretty strong feelings here, and she might normally tease someone about it but now was not the time for such things.
“But you are correct…a familiar should always serve their master. Attempt to steer them on the right path, keep them out of trouble. They should be loyal, even if their master does something stupid, or ultimately makes stupid decisions. You can try and try to change someone’s mind or behavior all you want, but not everyone can be reasoned with. Some have to literally have sense beat into them.” She chuckled slightly from that, as if speaking from experience. She shook her head, dismissing the thought quickly.
“In the end, though, if a mage is left alone because of their decisions, a familiar might be the only thing they have left. Likewise, a familiar should always know when to slap their master for being stupid. A familiar should be a faithful, loyal companion, but they should also know when and how to tell the master they’re being stupid in the best way that would make the mage see that they are wrong.” Sorcha sighed, shaking her head.
“And of course it is fine to want her to look her best…but is that what she wants, little one? Everyone has different standards of care, of how they want to look, of what they want out of life. Forcing your own opinions, views, and fashions on another is hardly going to get you anywhere. In the end you can try, but it always ends badly in the future.” She yawned, stretching with her wings slouching as she spoke. Phew, she was feeling a bit tired. She could go for a lovely nap right about now.
“So I will ask you again, little kitten. Are you ‘dressing up’ your master for your own satisfaction, or hers? You shouldn’t serve others because you are happy serving them, making them look the way you want or cooking what you want to cook. You should serve them because you want them to be happy doing what they do, and of course scold them and maybe slap them once or twice if they’re being silly. To be honest, this master of yours sounds like she could use a lesson in hard work or two…”The kitten listened attentively to Sorcha and pondered her statements for a few moments before thinking about how to respond appropriately. Eventually she frowned.
”Well … I don’t trust that she would dress herself well at all if I didn’t. It might hurt her image in a way she doesn’t understand and well ....” The kitten finished working on the Dragon’s back, moving to her front instead and pulling the soap out as she got back to work there. She didn’t pay any extra or any less attention to … certain areas … than she should,
”... and dressing her up does make me feel good. It … it gives me a sense of control, I guess. And it’s time when we are close too … so I tend to spend longer doing it when I’m feeling lonely and …” The kitten took a second to breathe in and out as she collected her thoughts.
”... am I simply not supposed to enjoy it? Or should I let her allow me to do it as a reward?””The thing is … she’s never given me a serious order. I almost have to prompt her to give them … it’s just hard for me to work with her and do what she wants when she doesn’t understand that I need to know what’s going on.” For a few seconds the kitten waited, thinking about their discussion regarding pettings.
”And she wants to become a pirate … but she doesn’t take her classes seriously, one of the easiest ways she could improve herself to work towards that. I think she has this fanciful idea in her head and doesn’t really understand what it would be like to actually do it. And … she almost seems to NOT want me to serve her. Like … she wants me to go out and do my own things that I enjoy and doesn’t seem to understand that my hobby and passion is to care for her, to see her smile after playing in the mud despite the trouble it causes me. She complains that sometimes I dote on her … but would she really rather spend less time playing and instead do the laundry, or clean? I just don’t think she understands exactly how much time I save her everyday …” She paused for a few moments before continuing, rinsing the soap off the front of Sorcha before rubbing her shoulders.
”... but at other times she gets very possessive in ways I don’t understand. Other people petting me nearly made her go berserk, but she refused to tell me what she wanted and I had to make the offer to refuse other’s pets for her. Doesn’t she understand that she could have simply told me …?”Sorcha listened, giving a quiet sigh as Maoin continued to work. Honestly, the kitten was very good at her job. Sorcha couldn’t really give her much more advice in the area, but she at least could try, and to be perfectly honest this master of Maoins sounded like a certain young dragon she used to know…
“To be perfectly honest, your master sounds a lot like me when I was a kid.” Sorcha laughed, shaking her head with a small smile.
“Ah…if she is, then she’s got a hard life ahead of her. It wasn’t until someone came along and literally beat some sense into me that I even attempted to change. Moving on, though…” Sorcha hummed lightly to herself, thinking of the best way to respond.
“To be perfectly honest, little one, I am not sure I have the best answer. You are most certainly allowed to enjoy dressing up your mistress. You simply have to remember that you should dress her up in a way she’d find appealing, not that only you would find appealing and you’d support that image regardless of what you wanted. I am certain a compromise could be made, no? As for her image, maybe she doesn’t care? Personally speaking, I don’t care much for someone’s ‘image’ at all. You can have the best image in the world, and still be a terrible person.” Sorcha fell silent, thinking of which point to move onto next. To be honest, it sounded like this person didn’t want to be a master at all, which was concerning for their relationship at all. The fact that they didn’t give Maoin a serious order could mean a number of things. She didn’t want to order her around, or she simply didn’t care for her. From what she surmised it was likely the former, but it wasn’t exactly any easier for a familiar that eagerly wanted to serve. Of course, that doesn’t mean she couldn’t attempt to help out here.
“Hmm…Perhaps this master of yours doesn’t order you around because she thinks you already do enough, and doesn’t want to trouble you further? If she’s anything like I imagine, she would prefer doing things herself instead of having to rely on someone else. I was certainly quite like that, although I wasn’t really one to have many people I could rely on in the first place so I was never really given the option.” Sorcha finally responded after a quiet moment of thought. Possessive though? Well, Sorcha had a few ideas.
“All I can say for certain as that your master probably cares for you more than you realize. Maybe even a little jealous that you were getting pettings from other people. She probably just has difficulty conveying that fully, really. Not everyone has an easy time talking about how they feel. Some find action easier – and of course, it gets easier with age. I have mellowed out quite a bit. If I had been any younger I wouldn’t have even given a certain little kitten a chance to even apologize.” She chuckled, giving her a small pat on the head
The kitten took everything in, nodding. Well, what her mistress wanted was part of what she was planning for the night, but then Maoin frowned slightly as the dragon voiced thoughts on the final question. It took her a moment, but eventually she started to respond.
”Well … I know she cares for me … but she’s just so damn frustrating at times ...” Sorcha would soon find a mirror in her hands and feel her hair being braided ornately as the kitten continued to talk.
”... saying I was an ‘adorable, defenseless, innocent’ little kitten who shouldn’t have a care in the world …” It was rather infuriating, really.
”... who that she has to worry about or she’ll get hurt …” And for a moment the girl looked at the ground, stopping her braiding.
”I mean, you’d think if she cared about her little Maoin, her little kitten, she’d let me take care of her. She’d help me out rather than making me to guesswork. Make it easy for me, you know?” For a few moments, she sighed.
”... I mean, I’m not going to argue that this body is intimidating at all. People want to pet me all the time and they can’t take me seriously. Which I could put up with if that made it easier for my mistress to talk to.” Her hands returned to working on the braid, and the only thing that prevented her from yanking the hair painfully was her training and experience.
”But apparently while she’s on board to fight a kraken or whatever talking to a cat about feelings is somehow difficult.” Maoin rolled her eyes to the sky, but then looked down, eyes starting to water.
”And sometimes. You know. I wonder if I’m worth anything at all. She’s told me I am, but I’m not convinced. I’m not like you, a mighty dragon that can fly and shoot lightning from her fingertips. I’m no hellhound or phoenix that breathes fire, or some beast that tears through warriors like a hot knife through butter. I bet if my mistress had a choice today, she’d pick one of those things rather than some sort of fucking domesticated animal that she would lock in a comfortable little cage if it meant keeping her safe. She’d trust one of those to be able to serve her.”Maoin’s eyes widened as she started looking at the ground, abandoning her work. She kicked a nearby rock.
”I’m a cat. I meow. It doesn’t matter how much I work with the sword or how much I practice, I’d never match any of those myths. I could never take you on. I don’t mean to be rude … but I doubt you could ever comprehend how unfair it is when you can just dangle me over the lake like that, and then I have to deal with my instincts telling me I’m about to die like I’m some sort of coward. And maybe she’d be happier that way. If I was gone. Then she could get a REAL familiar like you, something she could trust to defend her, a badass, tough, wise myth. She’s dumb sometimes, but I know she has the heart of a champion. If I offed myself, she’d find something worthy within a few days.”Before Maoin could say anything else, she’d feel a sharp swat on the head from the dragon.
“I will not be having any sort of talk of ‘offing’ yourself in front of me, little one.” The dragon harshly replied. Honestly, Sorcha was growing a bit tired of this. Ahh, she wanted to go back in the water and start splashing about again. Adulting was difficult.
“Understand? Then do not mention it again. You are worth something to her obviously, or she wouldn’t have kept you around would she?” Sorcha sighed, shaking her head.
“And Kitten, is it not your responsibility to help your master in any way you can? I cannot say it isn’t right for you to question your skill, but you need confidence. You need to prove that even if you are not some myth or strong creature, you’re still the best, or is that sword of yours just for show? You stood up to a dragon, dear, I think you have more strength than you realize.”The cat rubbed her head where she had been hit, taking a second to refocus as she listened to what the dragon had to say. Maoin returned to working on the braid, weaving the dragon’s hair together with practiced hands. Her voice wavered slightly as she replied, asking a question Sorcha was probably very familiar with.
”Lady Sorcha … I just … I just don’t think confidence or standing up to you makes a difference if I’m just going to lose anyways. I’ll just end up being a liability and getting in the way …”“Then you need skill to back up that confidence, don’t you?” The dragon replied.
“Even a simple human wielding only a blade and not even an ounce of magical ability can best a dragon with a little skill, luck, and clever thinking. I’ve seen it happen many times, and once quite recently.” The dragon chuckled, before sighing.
”So if you do not want to be a liability or get in the way, then you should make sure you’re not, shouldn’t you?” Sorcha turned to face the kitten, wearing an impish grin.
“Starting with swimming lessons.”The kitten blinked once or twice as she finished the braids before she really registered what the dragon was saying.
”Mreow?” Then suddenly she realized where this was going, and was starting to shake and show some signs of panic.
”Oh um but Lady Sorcha I’m still …” It was rather obvious she was trying to come up with just about anything to avoid being tossed into that lake.
“Nope, not crying your way out of this one, little one!” Sorcha laughed, grabbing the kitten by her shoulders.
“Best way to learn is by doing!~” Before the kitten could even reply, she would feel her feet leaving the ground as the dragon picked her right up…and tossed her into the lake a few feet from the shore. Not missing a second, Sorcha jumped into the air and dove in after the kitten.
The kitten screamed something as she fell into the lake, and after trying to reach the bottom with her feet realized it wasn’t there. After a second, she started to panic as she reached the surface with her arms flailing around and tears falling out of her eyes as she tried to focus on anything at all. It was incredibly obvious that she was horrified at the prospect of being in there.
Eventually some other object landed in the lake next to her, and she tried to climb on top of it for safety, feeling relieved that she wasn’t going to drown. Lady Sorcha was surprisingly nice and allowed her to cling onto her horns for a few minutes until the dragon decided it was time to start actually teaching her, at which point she pried the kitten off and gradually submerged her into the water until she was far enough in that she could swim.
It was possibly the most horrifying experience in her life, with her mind instinctively informing her that she could die at any moment. She shook, fought, and cried, but the dragoness was incredibly patient and taught her the basic swimming strokes and soothed her worries as the kitten was well soaked but learning with the promise that she’d be allowed out if she managed to make it from a hundred feet out on her own.
After about an hour of begging, crying, and teaching, along with three failed attempts, Maoin found herself exhausted at the shoreline with tears falling out of her eyes as small waves lapped at her feet. Through that hour the water seemed a little less terrifying though, and while her cat instincts told her it was bad Maoin knew she could swim out if she was tossed into it again.
When Sorcha flew down next to her, the kitten got up onto her knees and started the process of wringing out her tail of all the water that had covered her fur. She looked down at the black fur as water fell onto the shoreline, eyes still watering although tears weren’t falling out.
”That … that was mean.”“Sometimes, one must be harsh in their lessons to teach otherwise no progress can be made.” She retrieved the bottle of ale that the kitten had gifted her earlier, taking a long drink of it.
“Ah, I’ll need to ask Luna about getting some more ale stored in the dorm…” She chuckled, shaking her head knowing about how well that conversation would probably go.
“Still, little one, you did well…though you have yet to polish my armor or glaive.” She replied pointing towards the items in question which hadn’t moved through the entire event.
The kitten blinked a few times at the dragon as she stood there. Well, of course she hadn’t! She wasn’t even done cleaning the dragon up yet!
”I … I can do that in a bit.” The kitten ran over to her bag, bringing it over along with retrieving the dirty weapons.
”Now sit down so I can finish working on you. I wasn’t done when you decided to start teaching me, Lady Sorcha” Her voice was surprisingly forceful as she pulled out various bits of makeup and put the dragon down onto the stool as if she’d done this many times. And of course she’d need to fix the braids and … however, the dragon would probably be able to tell that she had something else to ask as well from her years of experience with this.
Sorcha glanced at the makeup, a small smirk forming on her lips as she sat on the stool once again. Well, she didn’t really want to be pampered at the moment…she was fairly certain the kitten had done well enough so there wasn’t really any need too. She was mostly teasing her really, but…well, might as well continue as soon as the kitten decided to ask whatever she finally wanted to ask.
“I don’t mean to pry, but you seem like you might have something you want to ask me, little one.”The kitten paused for a moment as she thought about what exactly she wanted to ask, but quickly returned to applying eyeliner on Sorcha’s face.
”Lady Sorcha ... My mistress is gone on the weekends and well … I was wondering if you could train me to be more …” The kitten thought about what she could offer her in return, but the answer was staring her literally right in the face.
”... I could polish your scales and wash your hair and pamper you in return after we finish! Even you’ve said I’m good at this!” It was rather obvious the kitten’s face was hopeful as she continued her work, confident that the dragon would think a little training would be worth the exchange of receiving such royal treatment.
Sorcha was honestly a bit surprised by the Kitten’s request, but she saw no reason to deny it. Norns knew Luna wouldn’t be interested in doing such things, besides it would get in the way of her knights studying. In return for a little training…well, Sorcha could do that.
“…are you quite certain, Little one?” She asked.
“I would not mind training you, however…it will not be easy and you will agree to do everything I say without complaint?”The kitten’s ears twitched happily as a large smile spread across her face, not really catching Sorcha’s obvious warning in the sort of excitement that only one so young could have.
”Lady Sorcha ... I’ll do my best! I won’t let you down!” When the kitten stopped bouncing slightly and continued to work on Sorcha’s face, the dragon would feel the kitten’s tail wrap around her leg lightly. If it meant being able to serve her mistress better, she didn’t care what sort of training she’d be put through.
Sorcha didn’t entirely think the kitten understood the gravity of the situation…but that was fine. Hehe, she’d have a bit of fun with this then.
“Very well then, we shall meet back here this weekend, but for now…would you stop with the makeup? I look beautiful enough without it. I do not need to blind the masses any more than I already do.”The kitten just raised an eyebrow at the naked dragon lady and rolled her eyes. Couldn’t anyone just appreciate her pampering without any sort of comment?
”I must disagree Lady Sorcha. This eyeliner will really bring out the red in your eyes and make you look all the more fierce and majestic.” Maoin simply continued her work for the most part silently, eyes obviously in focus and lip curled in concentration as she did so. Eventually she was finished, and the kitten handed Sorcha the mirror again so she could look at her handiwork.
Soon the glaive and amour was polished, as it simply being stuck into the sand didn’t result in the sort of long term muck that took too long to take care of.
Then a letter, wax seal, and pen were also inserted into her hands, and the kitten’s eyes drifted towards the ground and her animalistic features dropped as her tail went between her legs.
”And well … earlier you said you wanted to talk with my mistress so you could have her discipline me properly.” Her fingers were put together as it was obvious she was a little nervous.
”I just … just thought I’d make it easier for you to convey what you think that entails or arrange a meeting for you to meet her. The letter will be sealed so you know I didn’t peek at it, Lady Sorcha.” With her eyes towards the ground and averted, it was rather obvious that Maoin wouldn’t be able to read it.
Was…the kitten serious? Well, she did say she would have a word with her master, but that was more of a formality than anything. Still though, it presented a fairly welcome opportunity…she’d help out the kitten here a little bit.
“I see. I did say that…well then.” Sorcha took the pen and paper. It took the dragon only a few minutes to write something onto the parchment, seal it and return it to the kitten. Whatever was written, the dragon didn’t comment and decided to walk over to her armor and glaive. Indeed, they both sparkled quite brilliantly and the blade was of course, as sharp as it ever was.
“You did well, little one.” Sorcha replied as she started dressing herself in her armor.
“And I seem to recall not even asking for your name – that is quite rude of me.”The kitten perked up as she was asked her name, stashing the letter away carefully.
”It is my fault Lady Sorcha, I should have offered it. I am Maoin, servant of Lady Gwynn Foghlu’.” The cat gave off an apologetic curtsy and decided to clarify one last thing about their meeting here during the weekend.
”Is there anything I should bring out, Lady Sorcha? And when do you wish for me to arrive this weekend?”“Well, Maoin, it is a pleasure to meet you. As for what you should bring…” Sorcha hummed thoughtfully for a moment, as she strapped on the last piece of her armor. She observed the kitten rather intensely for a few seconds before seeming to decide on something.
“Bring nothing but something that is easy to breathe in, and something that you don’t mind getting dirty. As well as a bathing suit if you’re feeling particularly modest. You can bring your sword if you wish, but we won’t be using it for awhile.” She couldn’t think of anything else that was particularly important that the kitten would need…hmm…maybe…
“Now, if you’ll excuse me little one, I have things I must attend to,” A small stomach growl likely made that obvious.
“That has nothing to do with eating nor drinking large amounts of alcohol. Meet back here first thing in the morning as soon as the sun starts its ascent – and do not make any plans at all. Training will last until I think you’ve had enough for the day.”Without another word, the dragon took off, bolting into the sky and heading back off towards campus.
The kitten watched the dragon fly off. That would be an early awakening, but Maoin always found it easy to be nocturnal. She’d arrive a little early this weekend to make sure the dragon wasn’t disappointed. She returned to the dorm before Gwynn returned, changed her dress and cleaned herself up, and left once more. The kitten placed the letter beneath the note, and explained that it was meant for her as well. Of course Maoin was curious, but she wouldn’t look. After all, curiosity killed kittens.
