Page 18 of Xel: Broken Bond
“Well, that’s it,” my master said with a chuckle. “The flock has spoken. You’re now a polver bed.”
I smiled, surprised at how upbeat I was feeling about this unexpected new adventure. It wasn’t like anything I’d ever learned before, but I was getting the impression I was going to thoroughly enjoy it.
Would this be the way it went every day, though? Would I work with my master, or would he send me off to work alone, once he’d taught me how to do the various chores? So far, he’d given little indication that he viewed this as a solitary occupation, and he’d displayed no impatience or disdain at having someone tag along with him. So perhaps this was going to be different from the hotel, after all? Perhaps this new master was someone who might enjoy my company, regardless of a few early misunderstandings?
CHAPTER NINE
XEL
Back at the cottage we set about preparing breakfast, while Bribie lay on the floor underneath the table and watched with the soulful expression of one who hoped some food might be dropped onto the floor.
“Do you know how to scramble eggs?” my master asked me.
“Yes, sir,” I replied, feeling slightly miffed about the question. Cooking hadn’t been one of my primary duties at the hotel, but I’d spent enough time in the kitchen to have seen how the cooks prepared the food. “I was given extensive training in food preparation for a number of species,” I couldn’t help adding, hoping the statement came out as helpful, rather than irritated.
My master nodded, though he didn’t seem particularly convinced. “I read a bit more of that instruction manual Aiden gave me after I went to bed last night. And it said that dimari are generally expected to prepare meals for their owners. But it also said that a lot of dimari haven’t been taught much about how humans like their food prepared. Not many humans buy dimari, so there isn’t a lot of point in the Eumadians spending a lot of time and effort training you to understand Alliance culture.”
That was true enough, and I tried to calm my own irritation at having my skills questioned. When I’d first arrived on Rendol 4, I’d been surprised at some of the cooking techniques. But I’d quickly adapted, making mental notes on the types of food Alliance species enjoyed, and how their cooking methods varied from the other species I’d been trained to serve.
“But the other thing,” my master went on, “is that I’m just used to doing a lot of things for myself.” He was currently measuring milk and some sort of grain into a saucepan, setting it over the stove to heat. “It’s quicker for us both to do part of the work, rather than me sitting around idly waiting for you to do it all. And I…” He sighed and leaned against the counter top, looking at me seriously. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to stop doing that. It said in the manual that dimari can get offended if they think their master doesn’t have faith in their work. But looking after the animals is a very hands on thing. And if you’ve been working hard in the pens all day, it’s not fair to expect you to come back and do all the cooking and cleaning in the house as well. So… I know this is going to be quite different for you, but you’re going to have to get used to the idea that I’m going to share the work with you. It’s absolutely not a criticism of your skills or dedication. It’s simply that… well…”
“You didn’t intend to buy a dimari,” I ventured, when he didn’t seem to know how to finish the sentence. “It’s not unexpected that I don’t quite fit into your routines.” Despite my discomfort, this conversation was providing a number of insights into my master’s behaviour over the last day. He wasn’t objecting to me being here. He had accepted me and given me a place to sleep in his house, and invited me to watch the wall screen with him. But fitting his lifestyle together with my training was still going to take some effort.
He seemed relieved at my acceptance of the complications here. “We can figure out some new routines that work for bothof us,” he said, with a weak smile. “It’s just going to take a bit of time. But there are a few more details we need to talk about,” he added, as he stirred the pot of grains. I assumed from the ingredients that it was going to turn into a porridge of some sort, though I wasn’t familiar with the particular grain he had used. I also made sure to keep enough of my attention on the eggs to make sure they didn’t burn.
“Looking after the animals is a major part of the work, but one of the most important things is showing the animals to customers who come to buy them. Bo tends to take care of most of that, but if you’re interested, I can ask her to show you the process, and which forms need to be filled in. That side of things involves a fair bit of chatting to strangers, and not everyone is comfortable with that, so…”
He trailed off, and I waited, sure he would have something more to say about it. But he fell silent, and I scrambled to put the rest of his sentence together. I had a feeling this was similar to when I’d started working at the hotel, when the staff had asked me all sorts of questions aboutthings I liked. What food did I like to eat? What sports did I like to watch? Which sort of weather was better? Was my master asking me for apreference? He wanted to know whether I preferred to speak to the customers, or just stick with the animals?
I opened my mouth to tell him I was here to serve his wishes, and that whatever he decided would be fine… but I froze, a split second before the first word left my mouth. Because I realised that I did, in fact, have a preference, for all that it was forbidden to speak it. Dimari did not have preferences. We did not question our master’s orders…
“I would be very happy to learn how to greet the customers,” I said, telling myself I was saying it in order to be helpful. If Bo needed extra help, or if she was away one day, then it would be useful to my master to have someone else who could take care ofthat responsibility. It had nothing at all to do with the loneliness of working in a place that was so isolated.
Whatever my reasons, my master seemed genuinely pleased by my response. “Great. I’ll get you to spend some time with Bo, then, and she can walk you through it.”
He fell silent again, while we finished cooking breakfast and then divided it into two portions.
“May I ask a few questions?” I said cautiously, waiting a moment for my master to sit down at the table, and then seating myself only once he was settled. It was not unheard of for dimari to eat with their masters, though in some households, they were expected to eat separately with the other servants. Here, though, I was getting the rapid impression that my master was not going to stand on ceremony about any of the minor details of daily life.
“Of course,” my master replied. “Ask away. Anything you need to know.”
That came as a surprise. My previous master hadn’t wanted me to bother him with anything at all, preferring that I direct all of my queries towards Kathy, my supervisor. “When I worked at the hotel, I tended to keep my scales purple most of the time,” I explained, as a brief preamble. “It helped me to blend in. Most people assumed I was a Solof. Do you have any preference as to what colour you’d like me to be?” I’d been trained extensively in manipulating my colouring, and I was ready and willing to present a wide variety of colours for my master’s pleasure. When I’d first seen Kade, for example, he’d been doing an admirable job of matching his master’s dark brown skin.
My master seemed taken aback by the question. “Um… no, I don’t think so,” he said, looking me over in a way that was entirely non-sexual… and yet it lit a tingling arousal in my groin. I was accustomed to having sex three times a day, on average, and so far, my new master hadn’t touched me at all. I’d been half-hard all morning, and my master didn’t seem remotelyaware of my willingness to serve him. “Blue is perfectly fine,” he added, as if wondering why anyone would ever think otherwise. “You’re, uh…” He gave me that quick once-over again… and this time, his breath hitched just a fraction as he completed the perusal. “Blue is perfectly fine,” he repeated, before abruptly turning back to his meal.
Oh. So he wasn’t entirely immune to me after all. That was interesting to know.
“What about appropriate clothing?” I asked next. “For cleaning out the cages. Do I need any particular sort of apron, or boots, or…?” I shrugged, attempting to think of something else that might be required. I was being a helpful and diligent dimari, I insisted to myself. I wanted to be well equipped. It had nothing to do with wanting to wear literallyanythingother than these drab beige clothes that I’d worn every single day for the past three years.
My master nodded. “I’ll need to order you some new clothes. We can work out what size you are once we’re done with the morning cleaning, and then we can order some stuff on the grid. And I’ll get you a comm, as well,” he added, in what I suspected was just a reminder to himself. “You’ll definitely need some new boots. And something casual. Jeans, maybe? And some shorts for warm days.”
“Thank you, sir,” I said, relieved that I was to be allowed to wear something different. “Is there anything else you’d like to know about my training?” I asked next. When I’d met my previous master, I’d given him my operations manual, which had contained a full list of all my skills. But I had nothing similar to give to this new master, since I had no idea where my old master had put the data stick, and I didn’t know what Aiden had told him about me while they’d been locked away behind a closed door together. But from my master’s behaviour so far, he seemed either unaware, or uninterested, in all of the skills I’dspent so long perfecting. And if he was unaware, then perhaps all I needed to do was educate him a little about the possibilities.
“Uh, no, I’m still reading through the manual Aiden gave me,” my master said, a little too dismissively for my comfort. “I’m sure I’ll have some questions once I’m done with that, but for now, I’ll just keep reading.”
I nodded and concentrated on finishing my breakfast. This would all work itself out in time, I assured myself. Aiden seemed to know a great deal about how a dimari expected to be treated, and though he’d been called away on urgent business, he would come back sooner or later. I just needed to be patient, and all this could be worked out.
Twenty minutes later, I was following my master into the cattery again, this time with the intention of doing some serious cleaning. “Each cat needs to have their litter tray cleaned,” my master explained, “and we’ll take away their food and water dishes and bring fresh ones. We’ll also change the towels in their beds. When a cat is adopted, we clean out the entire enclosure with disinfectant.” He led me through into the storage room, collecting a trolley and loading it up with bowls, towels and tins of canned food. Then we began working through the cattery one cage at a time, letting each cat wander the corridor while we cleaned its cage. My master used a system of mild bribery to get them back into the cage at the end of the process, waiting until the last minute to set down the bowl of food, then shutting the door once the cat was busy eating.