Vesper grabbed the sheets and placed them by the entrance to the clinic. Heading back to grab the sheets they’d just messed up, and stripping that bed as well. She added a few other bits to the washing pile, grabbing some used clothes and what not from around the beds. She could hear Oleander doing something in his room. She wasn’t sure what, exactly. He had gotten up, and gone straight there. Oh dear, he wasn’t having a meltdown was he? She paused, pricking her ears. Was he moving furniture around? She wrinkled her nose, and shook her head. Boys were weird.

He came out of his room, and grabbed her coat. That grabbed her attention, and she paused, cloths in paw as she squinted at him and her bed. He dragged it to the back and then started moving cabinets around. He’d lost it. Oleander had officially lost the plot. Oh dear. What was she going to tell the Warlord? ‘Sorry, I slept with your lead healer, and he immediately lost all his brain cells.’ Yeah, that would go over well.

She somewhat cautiously chucked the cloths to the pule, and Oleander suddenly called out. Telling her she… had her own space. She trotted over to inspect what he’d done. He made a room behind some cabinets, and placed her bed into the spot. That’s what he was doing? He woke up post-sex and decided to do some redecorating? And... maybe... if or when you want to, we can share in the den. Her heart knotted up suddenly with worry. Had this been a mistake? Maybe men really were utterly unreasonable when it came to sex. Once they had it, they couldn’t live without it. “If that’s what you want… Master Oleander.” she said neutrally, still trying to collect her thoughts and figure out Oleanders angle.


"Speech"

He watched for any inclination of her inner thoughts, but it seemed she had placed a careful mask over what he had come to know as her uncertainty. And she rarely called him Master unless she was being cautious.

He waved a paw, trying to brush away her uneasiness, "I've been meaning to give you your own space for a while. This way you are still close to the job and all that." He said with a shrug. Then turned to her, "Now, I gotta schedule you for your fight lessons! I've been sitting on my laurels long enough!" Maybe he could have his dad stand in for him sometimes if he couldn't do a lesson with her every day. He moved about the room with frenetic energy, "We gotta get you strong so we can kick your sperm donor's ass." He supplied with aplomb, adding an old bandage to the pile by the door. He was in good spirits! Suddenly he had more energy at this time of day than before!

As he finally glanced at her he recognized the look she was trying to hide. She was trying not to look at him as if he had grown three heads and accuse him of witchcraft.
He grew suddenly self-conscious and looked down as if he were a kid getting caught with his paw in the pig ear jar.
"What?" he asked sheepishly.

"Speech"

Vesper chewed on her thoughts for a moment. she felt… caught off guard by the sudden changes Oleander was implementing. They'd been living their days one after the other with very little difference between them. She knew exactly what had caused the change, she was just a little afraid of the why.

She didn't say anything as he rattled on about the change, about her getting stronger. Her lessons with Wilder had stopped, the plague had upset their schedule. It was his first word that prompted her to speak. Almost as if commanded to. “What… what did the sex mean to you?” She was looking at her paws, her heart hammering. “Will it be in my duties from now on?”

"Speech"

His brows knit together in half panic concern. His ears rotated like dishes searching for a signal from Auster where his last few braincells seemed to have ensconced themselves.

He watched her look down as she asked probably a very important question but something he had not actually considered in the slightest. And then asked the next question he knew for sure the answer to.

He shook his head emphatically, "Not at all. It is not part of your duties in the slightest. It's... Well, I made your own space... to.. I hope that made that more... obvious.... I- No. No Armada slave (that he knew of) has... ss-sex as part of their duties." He just had it, why can't he even say it? Is dumbass still shy even now?

"I..." He looked away, not really knowing what it meant to him, it felt like... a whole world had opened up to him for some reason. Everything and nothing changed all at once.

"It was... I just..." His eyes were glued to her small cot in her new private space. Oh gods did that actually encourage the idea that it was part of her duties now? His paw went up to the fur by his cheek, to gently tug at the fur there.

"We shouldn't do it again... won't," He said absently, his eyes glazed over, his conscience sliding into place, starting to scream at him how fucked he was going to be... Especially if his father found out. Mortis would be so disappointed. Bas might even demote him. "It's... actually against Armada laws." He admitted quietly. So what did it mean to him? A lot more than he had realized at first. So... now he felt rushed to get her set up as a properly ranked member of Armada... Before shit hit the fan. But that could mean she would have the choice to completely walk away from him. Like half his family had. He tugged a bit more on his cheek fur, a habit he had grown out of when he was small, suddenly resurfacing.

"Speech"

…and the absolute mess was back. He started blabbering, and she tilted her head, looking up at him at last. She narrowed her eyes slightly, some of that Vesper-charm returning. “Won't?” She asked, a touch amused. Why did everything have to be all or nothing with Oleander. It seemed like he was about to start revolving his life around it, and then quite suddenly turned it into a brick wall. Sometimes she couldn’t with this boy.

She scoffed at his last statement, dramatically rolling her eyes to the moon and back. “You're really telling me that terrifying Warlord of yours has never put himself on a slave?” She asked for clarification. The Armada was so weird sometimes. They kept slaves, but had all these weird rules about them. Her last owners were basically a free for all. Of course, that easily lead to incest, and other complications.


"Speech"

She echoed his "won't" back at him and he grew more flustered. He'd really like there to be a next time but not if we wanted to keep breathing. At least from what he understood. Then she scoffed and he couldn't help but place a nervous paw on the back of his neck and pull his shoulders into himself.

He was quiet. Instantly reminded of the conversation he had had with Bas he was sworn to patient confidentiality. That was ages ago! ... While Ignita was still a slave... fuck. He didn't know the nature of their relationship then... but with the power imbalance and Bas being the Warlord himself... he wouldn't put it passed him though.

Oleander looked up to Bas. Idolized him even, but even Ollie knew his own standing in the pack was not the same as the Warlords. Ollie was technically the only member that could potentially order the Warlord on things like bedrest, self-care, and other health related commands. But that was where Ollie's power began and ended. Top of the Obelisk, : Obey the Warlord :

"It's not just the Warlord's rules... My Dad-" Fuck, if he gave her too much information, this information, she might use it against him. Might use it as leverage. Now he was really in it. He chewed the inside of his cheek.

"I don't want to be one of your monsters. And I don't want to get into deep shit with the Warlord. Once can probably be forgiven..." he mentioned hopefully...He really liked the way her body felt against him. He had never slept so deeply in his life... His skin had felt good while they touched, not like it usually did when others touched him.

"Speech"

“Alright, alright. Calm down.” she told him, voice playful and gentle as she shook her head at him. She should have guessed, any conversation about sex with Oleander was going to be a mess. But even she didn’t predict just how much of a mess.

She cautiously reached forward and gently patted his paw. She was going for comfort, but she wasn’t sure she made it. “Alright, so no forcing. So what exactly… does change?” She asked, still trying to get some clarity out of this mess. She nudged her nose towards her little makeshift room as she spoke. There was one clear change, and his comment about getting her stronger had also seemed to come out of the left field.


"Speech"

Her playful words of calm down and the patting of her paw on his was... fascinating to say the least. Usually, his skin prickled when he was touched by someone else but this was entirely different. It wasn't the practiced comfort of his family, it was a clumsy attempt and it made him clumsily smile.

The smile slowly faded as he looked sheepishly at his work to give her privacy and sudden energy to get her in fighting shape.
What changed? How could he say everything and nothing? She was still a slave and he should have put in this work months ago. But his worry for his father and the whole pack and the blight put the kibosh on all that at the time.

“Well… I’ve been meaning to get you a den for a while. But when I brought it up last time… you were technically drugged and on a bad trip and you panicked thinking I was throwing you out. So I thought having your space in the back by my door would be… enough.” He didn’t know what she might even remember from that.

“And… I want to prove to you that you can earn your freedom. If you truly want to be free you can fight for it here. You’ll be free to leave, you’ll be free to… choose who… you want to be with.” He said slowly. As if pulling that information out of him might cost him whatever he had gained earlier.

But an idea started to form in his mind, a flicker of hope, something he knew was possible.

“To prove to you that I mean it… I’ll find a way to give you your bastard father’s head. I’ll kill the whole slave camp where you’re from. Give you all their heads. Every single one that touched you.” Determination in his gaze. He was serious. This was something he knew how to do. He was a healer yes but he was also an accomplished fighter.