Chapter 5 Thoughts on the Future.

I didn’t sleep well this night.

The cause of my turmoil snoozed softly into my chest, unconsciously using me as a body pillow so that she wouldn’t lean on her boobs. Irje was kind enough to alleviate my most immediate disquiet by stating that it would be quite some time until the masters arrive. As Domina’s primary husbands they represented her will everywhere, while she could wield her power here, in the capital.

Which meant that one was quite often gone on merchant trips securing trade agreements with other countries. The other one was leading forces somewhere, either to strike at other countries and secure more slaves or to thin out the magical beast population, lowering their incursion rates and harvesting their valuable flesh.

Domina was both generous and shrewd and made sure they would have a contingent of slaves to serve their most imminent and continuous needs. Whether warming the bed or writing the missives in other languages. While I was somewhat baffled about it, politically, it made sense. Not only it insulated her husbands from the outside influence, but Domina would also have her agents in each retinue as independent ears. As they say: trust, but verify.

That is where Irje’s assuredness came from. There was no way Domina would get fresh slaves for either of them until they have been vetted and screened, and thus Sulla always bought them well in advance.

I realized how badly I’ve underestimated Irje’s position. Supervisor of the dying vats my ass. Her actions in observing this new batch of slaves could not only make or break her but might have a lasting chain effect onto the husband-envoys and eventually on Domina herself. She was so wound up on a constant basis that it was no wonder how quickly she passed out yesterday, dozing off mid-sentence.

Well, all that was great and informative, but I was still stuck here with just a single project to get me out so far. Irje assured me that Domina would see the use in my soap, but I needed more options. Unfortunately, everything that I’ve come up with so far needed the resource I didn’t have. Time.

I briefly thought about running away and heading back to the crash site but discarded that idea. First of all, getting out unnoticed was nearly impossible, while no one would acknowledge me in the city, walking alone through the wilderness would not only raise eyebrows but would also paint a huge red mark on my back. Even though Emanai had large walls surrounding its borders, to keep the magical beasts at bay, there was a chance that some snuck through. Even wer would rarely travel alone.

Secondly, the state of the crashed shuttle itself. What I remembered seeing was just a tiny core of the pod. Metallic cage designed to house the machinery. Living carapace and all necessary components were either burned away during entry or decomposed from the disuse long after.

And finally, the navigator didn’t suffer any injuries during the crash. I had no idea what happened to him but I knew that he choose to end his life by harvesting his gene-nanites into the containment fruit. If he chose to do so instead of establishing some sort of an outpost first, it would be unlikely that I would be finding anything there, which would grant me immediate power.

I tried to think of anything that I could try to ‘discover’. I was thinking about a loom before but that would not only take time but require some more substantial investment than plant oils, soot and elbow grease. It would require lumber to build and a trip to a blacksmith to make more intricate parts.

Biological compounds might be easier to discover, for example trying to find a simple antibiotic would just mean I had to shuffle through mouldy leftovers, which as a slave was an easy task. However, I had suspicions that penicillin won't be met with jaw-dropping success in the lands of magical people who had magical resistances to common sicknesses.

I lived in an ancient society, as such, while the culture was abundant, the bias was still firmly on one’s status. I couldn’t just walk out in the open and start spouting knowledge I had. At best I would be ignored. Trying my hand in music would simply firmly establish my current status. Here music was for pleasure. Like sex. And the musicians for others were seen as those who sold their bodies. Granted, there were, most likely, artists of renown that had many wealthy patrons, but that was also true for the prostitutes.

The only things, that were immediately available to me right now, were my body, which I was actively trying to avoid from being used and nanites. Most of which were finishing up the task I’ve set yesterday, making my balls tender.

And the naked cuddle-bug in my arms, but I digressed.

Idly playing with Irje’s hair, I thought about the machinery within my body. The possibilities it gave me were vast and, at the same time, extremely limited. Since they relied on my body to restructure itself, most of the easily available options were to simply enhance my current body or modify it within human standards.

There were certain augmentations that were above and beyond standard human development. Prime examples were my newly installed knowledge and tingling nuts. But these augmentations were polished through the thousands of hours of research by the civilization with immense technology at their disposal. I could slowly implement them myself, as I become aware of them and after a very selective diet, as long as I needed them of course. I could start growing the cerebral ports, but I had nothing to plug myself into, nor a sufficient amount of gold in my food to make connectors.

The takeaway was, while there were many, I couldn’t make my own or modify existing ones, within any reasonable time frame and resources.

Then, there were outright No’s. I couldn’t just steal biology either, just because I had a magical being at hand I couldn’t simply copy their magic organs or whatever made them the way they are. To do that I had to establish a laboratory, collect specimens and, possibly, even perform few dissections. Only then could I attempt to replicate anything my nanites weren’t already preprogrammed for.

But I could fake small things, however. I am not sure if I could make my eyes feline or grow a tail, but I could try to do something simpler. Like ears. Shift a bit of cartilage, promote some growth. As long as I had a good example of what wer ears could realistically look like I could copy that and even disguise myself as a wer. Which would let me do many things discreetly.

And where would I find a set of beautiful, genuine wer ears? I smiled slightly and moved Irje’s hair away, revealing hers. They were round and had pale-blond fuzz upfront, blending with her hair, but darkening in the back. Very feline. Like a-

I loudly snorted, unable to contain myself. This cougar lady had cougar ears!

Roused by my sounds Irje languidly stretched. “Mmmmmmmm!”

“Sleep well?” I watched her move in front of me, unashamedly.

“Mmm, I haven’t felt so rested in ages!”

“You say it like you haven't had sex for a while.” I raised my eyebrow.

“I haven’t had a fuck like this ever,” she huffed incredulously, glaring at me. “Do you think I am rich to afford someone of your skill?”

“For starters, Sulla bought me for a pittance as a murk,” I said rather pointedly, making her flinch. I sighed. “Sorry about that, but this was my first time with anyone.” I scratched my head. “I might’ve gone a little overboard, but that wasn’t anything special.”

She goggled at me, “Yer shitting me,” and then licked her lips. “You mean there’s more? Eh-heh-heh.”

“Down, girl.” I lightly smacked her butt, my nanites were still at work, “What I meant is that most of it was you. All I did was listen to your body and gave it what you craved.”

“Perhaps that's what separates the Companions from prostitutes, you make it sound so easy.” She hummed and then looked away. “You can probably become one easily enough, you know. It won't matter even if you have a distaste for men, since women rule the country anyway.”

I caressed her chin and gently turned her to face me. “But then you won’t be able to afford me~” I teasingly told her as she nuzzled into my palm, making her blush. “I will keep it in mind, but only as a last resort.”

“I would expect a personal discount then.” She winked back, making me smile and forget my gloomy thoughts.

“Makes me wonder…” I mused out loud.

“Hmm?”

“What do you consider as average sex. I thought it was quite common back at the farm.”

She thought for a second. “It is, common that is, it brings pleasure and most seek it out quite often. It is also usually one-sided, with either master scratching their itch or more well-off slaves trading it for favours.” She sighed. “I didn’t even realize you can have so much more pleasure. Especially from a guy, your lot tends to finish way too early even for me.”

“Oh?” A grin split my face and Irje quickly backtracked, realizing the hole she dug herself into. “A-anyway, we have to get dressed it is getting bright enough to work!”

As I got up myself, looking for my tunic, I saw her picking up the sordid mess of her shift with an outstretched arm. She cautiously sniffed at it and made a grimace, throwing it back on the floor. Tying up the rope around my waist, to keep my tunic snug, I looked at myself: as I suspected the shift, Irje provided for me yesterday, was virtually impossible to see under the outer dress.

In the meantime, Irje was busy digging through her chest once more, her naked ass swaying with her movements. Her breasts perched slightly on the edge of the container. I shook my head in exasperation. Damn minx. Despite her words to the contrary she managed to keep my eyes wandering without even trying to.

She dug deep, curving her back and my mouth went dry, seeing her blond mound emerge from the shadow between her inner thighs, teasing me mercilessly.

Well, she left me dry yesterday and it was a prime time for some payback.

With my newly acquired knowledge of her body, my teasing fingers gently brushed on her thigh. They slid high gliding just outside her lips. Inside the chest, Irje jumped with a loud ‘Thunk’.

“What are you doing!” She hissed at me, rubbing the back of her head.

“Do you need any help?” My face was an image of innocence, while my fingers slowly massaged her butt.

“No! S-sto…” She bit her lip when my knuckles ran through her fuzz.

“You know, you should hurry up.” I softly said into her ear, as I traced the fingers around her nether lips. “It is getting bright and you need to work soon.”

Her glare faltered at my persistent touch. Shakily, she started to pull out her other shift, her attention clearly elsewhere. The shift looked old and obviously smaller than the other one, but breezy enough for her to put it on without trouble. I let my hand explore her glistening folds as she pulled it over herself. Her legs subconsciously spreading out under my touch while the falling skirt of her shift obscured my actions from view. By the time she was done with her sash, her face was flushed and her eyes half-lidded.

I passed her the tunic with my free hand. She took it and shot me a contemplating glance. “It’s almost time to go.” I urged her to move before she decided to jump my bones instead.

Irje quietly nodded to me, panting shallowly and started to put on her tunic. It took her few attempts as her legs began to shake somewhat, but she soldiered on as I expected from her. As she was fishing her arms through the tunic, fighting with her bountiful chest for space, my hand slithered away from her.

“Wha-” Irje froze mid-move.

“Oh! Would you look at the sun!” I said with fake urgency. “It is time to go!”

“What? Wait…” Irje redoubled her efforts to put the tunic on. Getting stuck in her panic. “No! Come back!” I could hear the cloth starting to rip forcing her to stop pulling so hard. “Damn you!”

“I'll see you in the yard when you are ready!” I called from the door.

“ERF! Get your pr… get back here! Right now!” the closing door muffled her screams.

I shivered, walking outside, hopefully, my prank would not bite me later. Too much that is.