Bonus 8 In Which Aster Has to Instigate the Talk

Bonus 8 In Which Aster Has to Instigate the Talk

Aster strode through the dim corridor in the after-dinner quiet, allowing herself a soft breath of relief at the faint sounds of guitar music. Lord Seijis door was no more soundproof than any other in North Watch, for all that he had the best room, and shed been concerned about what she might hear. He was playing something upbeat, which meant he was in a good moodideal for her purposes. Different kinds of music could have indicated different kinds of awkward this conversation might be, never mind if hed had Minifrit in there. Hell, if shed stepped into this hall and found Biribo and Junko exiled from the room, she wouldve just put it off for another time.

And not just because of the awkwardness. Aster remained somewhat leery of Minifrits sly intellect, but she approved of what the woman was doing with Seiji. He badly needed to relax and vent, and nobody else had managed to unwind him at all.

She stopped right outside the door and folded her arms, waiting.

The music didnt stop, but after a few seconds Seiji called out from inside. Cmon in, Aster.

Not having to knock was one of the surprising benefits of working for someone Blessed with Wisdom. Opening the door, she was greeted by Junko, who of course received her due in ear scratches before any other business began. The Dark Lord himself was perched on the foot of his bed, strumming away and lookingwell, he never looked relaxed, but definitely on the lesser end of his sliding scale of tension. Not actively angry at anything in particular, which was about as good as it got. Behind him, Biribo flicked out his tongue at her in what she chose to interpret as a greeting.

Nice, Aster commented. Yknow, the troops like it when you play in the mess hall after dinner. You should feel free to perform more often.

Trust me, Aster, I feel free to do whatever the fuck I want, he lied with a grin, pausing his melody to strum a minor chord at her. I felt like some quiet tonight. And you didnt come here to chat about music, so whats up?

Oh, yknow. I just cant deny my passions anymore. Take me, you virile beast, you.

He actually stopped playing, scrunching up his whole face as if swallowing an entire mouthful of pure sour syrup, and she cackled with glee.

Thats magnificently fucking amusing, Aster. Now what the hell do you want? If you seriously just came here to bust my ass Im demoting you to Donons assistant and putting Naz in charge of the troops.

That would be hilarious enough Id almost want to see it if it wasnt guaranteed to get everyone killed. Shed never admit it to him in so many words, but it was just nice, working with and directly under a powerful man who had no sexual designs on her. Aster had felt briefly offended at first, and then again when hed dispelled her theory that he might be gay by taking Minifrit to bed, but it had faded quickly. The world was full of men who found her pretty; sooner or later shed find another who wasnt an entitled creep about it. For now it was justpleasant, having a relationship that was safe from all that noise. No, but seriously, I need a word with you about Gilder.

Seiji sighed and the song shifted entirely into minor key. Im sure thisll be good. Whats he done now?

Right now, or at least a couple of minutes ago, he was in the kitchen having a healing slime applied to his face where Jadrin backhanded him into the wall.

Instantly the music stopped and Seiji shot to his feet, scowling. She did fucking what? Junko growled, as usual reflecting his mercurial moods.

Aster folded her arms. Gilder grabbed her asswith both hands, apparentlyand told her anything Sakin could do, he could do better.

The revelation that Jadrin and Sakin had been boning had come as a surprise to basically everyone. Aster frankly doubted the relationship had been much more than a physical outlet, but even so Jadrin had been raw and even more volatile than usual since the cat tribes raid.

Seijis expression flashed through a series of rapid transformations. It was kind of amazing, how easy he was to read when his guard wasnt up; the man didnt seem to have a single thought that wasnt displayed in its entirety on his face. According to him, the Japanese were a famously reserved and shy people with a cultural emphasis on social restraint. Aster figured he was either fibbing about that, or had made himself very unwelcome back home. Knowing him, either was plausible. When he went into performance mode, of course, it was like he became a whole different person, but in undefended moments like now? She got to watch in real time as he rapidly processed the exact blend of amusement, grudging approval, disgust and anger shed have expected a man to feel about hearing this.

That little shit, he grumbled finally, sitting back down and placing the guitar in his lap again. Well, good on Jadrin, then, sounds like he had that coming.

That is the universal consensus, yes, and Gannit took great pleasure in telling him so at length.

Whys this require my attention, then? Sounds handled to me.

If that was the entire story, then yeah, Id agree. But this is becoming a pattern. Gilder is a boy ofwhat, twelve? You know what that age is like. Hes surrounded by women who are mostly young adults, sexually experienced andlets call it outgoing. Once he discovered that they consider him too young to be a threat, hes started pushing boundaries as far as theyll go, doing shit thatd get him knifed if he were five years older. Ive started getting complaints from the girls at a rate of at least once a day that he keeps making propositions or even trying to get handsyand those are just the ones whore pissed off by it. The rest just think its funny, which of course is only encouraging him. I just learned this afternoon the only reason hes not managing to peep on the womens bathing hour is because Benit and Aenit have been trading off days to spend the entire time hounding him away.

Seiji blinked twice, looking vaguely annoyed but mostly nonplussed. Huh. At this rate it sounds like somebody actually is gonna knife him.

Exactly.

He shrugged and strummed a soothing chord. And weve got healing slimes in almost every room now. I think that would be very educational for the brat. This sounds like a problem thats on the way to solving itself. Again, what do you need me for?

Aster heaved an irritated sigh. Hells revels, the man really had only two modes: needing to be hugged continuously for several days, and needing to be repeatedly kicked in the face. The problem was he was never going to let anybody do either of those. Well, one problem; the other was how often he managed to be both at once.

Aside from the general fact that running this organization means putting a damper on disruptive elements? Seiji, hes a kid. Gilders not a bad person, he just needs some damn guidance. Come on, youve seen how women get treated in this country. That doesnt happen because men are inherently assholes, it happens because nobody explains to them whats so shitty about this behavior while theyre still young enough to listen and care.

He shrugged, mulishly refusing to meet her eyes and shifting from strumming chords into a complicated series of arpeggios, the way he always did to signal his attention was mostly on the music and not whoever was talking.

So? Makes sense to me. Explain it to him, then. I bet Minifrit will if you dont. I still dont see why this is my problem. Its not like Im his dad.

Dont be stupid, of course you are.

The music aborted with a jangled half-chord as the Dark Lord stiffened, his whole face twisting up in a grimace of such alarmed revulsion that she couldnt help breaking into a grin.

Oh, un-clench your buttcheeks, nobodys saying youve gotta tuck him in and kiss his little forehead. Leaving out the fact that hell listen to a mans opinion over any womans, especially about this, its your opinion specifically he cares about. Those kids have had exactly two adults who bothered to take care of them in their whole lives, and the other one was using them for profit and got a bunch of em killed on purpose. They all look up to youand Gilder in particular is a ringleader among the kids because hes been with you the longest. It matters a lot to him what you think and what you say, and the example you set for him will reach all the kids. Not just the Rats, but the other kids here who actually have parents. Setting an example here is important, Seiji, and youre the one whos gotta do it.

He drew in a long, deep, excessively dramatic breath and blew it out. Fine, I see your point. But! Just for the record: not his dad.

I dont care if thats what you choose to tell yourself, she retorted, smiling. So long as you actually do the job. Cause if you dont you will never stop hearing about it from me.

You are a pain in the ass, he accused, standing up and setting aside the guitar.

Thats why you need me.

He sulked all the way to the kitchen. With Junko trotting at his heels and Biribo buzzing along behind, Seiji walked in a constant slouch, scowling at nothing and intermittently muttering to himself in annoyance. Aster just watched him sidelong, not bothering to conceal her own smile. As such she got to see the exact moment when he slipped into performance mode, as they entered the corridor from the mess hall to the kitchen. Suddenly he straightened up, his posture relaxing and his stride lengthening into a casual, confident amble.

Aster fell behind with the animals, taking no offense in it. Biribo, for all that he was a bottomless fount of information at times, had a tendency to go quiet and deliberately make himself unobtrusive when his master was dealing with matters that didnt require exposition about life on Ephemera. She had actually found that taking cues from him in this made her a better bodyguard. Maybe not more effective, but more discreet, and she knew from her experiences working for the Kings Guild that that was an important part of the job.

Wow, its a whole party in here, Seiji commented idly as he breezed through the kitchen, heading right for the pantry door. Of the actual kitchen staff, Gannit was the only one still here, putting away the last dishes. Gilder himself still sat at the kitchen table with a small bowl of fruit porridge in front of him. Little bastard had managed to leverage sympathy over his black eye even from those who knew he deserved it; he was going to be a real terror when he grew up. The surprising addition was Minifrit, who was perched at one end of the table, smoking.

It is now, Gannit retorted, even more acerbically than usual. Come on, I just got everything put away. What do you want? And why do you keep bringing that damn dog into my kitchen?

I think you mean my kitchen, corrected the Dark Lord, ducking into the pantry. His voice emerged from within, accompanied by more rustling and thumping than would actually be necessary to find anything. The man just couldnt not create a spectacle, it was like a disease. The damn dog has a name, by the way. She also likes treats and headpats, dont you, Aster?

You know Im not gonna rise to the bait, Aster replied, lounging against the wall by the door. Im just gonna kick the back of your knee when youre not expecting it.

Seiji re-emerged with a wine bottle in his hand, and shot her a grin before pointing it accusingly at Minifrit. Anyway, you dont get to complain about Junko when youre letting this one smoke in here.

Minifrit blew a cloud at him, which he waved away with an angry motion, scrunching his nose.

Suddenly Seiji had leaned over and into his space, draping an arm around the lads shoulders and squeezing him close, an overtly menacing leer plastered onto his face. Hey, there, cute thing, he cooed. Thats a sweet little butt you got there. Bet I can think of a good use for it. Whaddaya say?

Gilder had gone completely rigid, eyes bulging in shock and revulsion. Even Minifrit blinked at that; Gannit, meanwhile, had dissolved into howls of derisive laughter. Aster had to envy her relaxed attitude. She herself, even knowing what was going on, felt instinctively queasy and had to repress an urge to charge across the room and physically intervene.

Seiji only gave it a moment to sink in, though, before releasing Gilder and moving back out of his personal space. He took another long swig of wine, his expression distant, and spoke up again in a quieter tone after a few long seconds in which Gilder sat there stunned into silence.

And then theres context to consider. Women have to go through life without the means to defend themselves against shit like that, and the full knowledge that nobody from the police to the courts will have their back if they try to address any grievances through the system. Theyre constantly having that stuff done to themthat, and much, much worse. The comments and the grabbing usually lead directly to the much worse if the asshole doing it thinks he has the opportunity. And theres straight up nothing they can do about it, most of the time. The world is their bathhouse. So those implications, Gilder? The fact that you get away with this shit because youre young enough that its non-threatening? That means, by definition, that once youre no longer a kid, it is very fucking threatening.

Seiji watched the boy from the corner of his eye, sipping wine, while Gilders eyes widened and his face lengthened as he silently processed all that, putting those implications together in his own mind. Ever the master of dramatic timing, Seiji gave him just long enough for it to sink in before delivering the surprise gut punch.

For somebody who knows what its like to be powerless and vulnerable, putting someone else in that position is a really shitty thing to do.

Gilder flinched, physically, his face crumpling. He had to clear his throat twice before speaking hoarsely.

Wow. Im an asshole, huh.

You and me both, kid, Seiji murmured, staring at the wall and taking a bigger gulp of wine. We should work on that.

Aster, watching Gilders increasingly shamed expression, decided this had gone far enough. The idea was to teach the boy a lesson, not torture him.

I think itd be a good first step for you to apologize to some people, she stated. Starting with Jadrin.

Jadrin? Gilder looked up at her, grimacing in sudden panic. That crazy If I go near her right now, shell kick my ass!

Perhaps, Minifrit said idly. Do you deserve to have your ass kicked, maybe?

I think you might be surprised, said Aster. Obviously dont push it if she tells you to fuck off, which she might. Goddess knows shes under no obligation to listen to you. But take it from somebody whos fucked up a few times, Gilder: youll feel better if you at least try.

He screwed his whole face up in an expression that reminded her strikingly of Lord Seiji just a few minutes ago. Not for the first time, Aster inwardly despaired at the Dark Lords truly inexplicable combination of cunning and obtuseness. It seemed like he honestly had no idea what a role model he was to the kids and especially Gilder.

Yeah, well Heaving an enormous sigh, Gilder finally hopped down from his chair, abandoning his half-eaten porridge. That was a big deal for a Gutter Rat; they never took food for granted. He trudged toward the door, pausing next to Aster to look up at her, and then glance back at the others. I guess

After opening and closing his mouth twice, mutely, Gilder just hunched his shoulders and slouched out into the hall.

Godspeed, soldier, Seiji said solemnly.

So, Minifrit commented after the boys footsteps had receded into the distance. You and him both?

Come on, its not like I ever molested anybody in the train, he grumbled, scowling. Im not an animal. You heard what I said, I never had trouble getting girls the aboveboard way.

She smiled knowingly and propped her chin on one hand, leaning toward him in expectant silence.

Seiji shrugged and avoided her look, drinking again before speaking. Japans nothing like here.

You may have mentioned that, Aster said solemnly. Once or twice. Non-stop, every chance you get, for months.

What I mean is, you cant mistreat women there the way people do in Dlemathlys, he snapped. Shit thats apparently normal here would get a person jailed in Japan, and good riddance to em. Still, its not exactly I mean, I wouldnt call it asexually egalitarian country.

Minifrit blew a puff of smoke to the side. So, of course, you have never raped anyone. Or even groped someone? Flashed them? Catcalled?

I just said I didnt, he said irritably. Come on, give me a little credit.

I am, she replied, still smiling. And now you feel guilty because youve gone through your life treating women exactly as badly as was socially acceptable where you lived, and suddenly the context of a place where whats socially acceptable is different tells you exactly what that means. Tell me, Lord Seiji, among all those girls you nailed in the Tokyo club scene Did you show any of them any real care? Or respect?

I never hurt anyone! he protested.

I believe you, she replied, still outwardly calm. But you did something, or this wouldnt be bothering you now.

Minifrit was, herself, pretty good with the dramatic timing. She gave him a moment to welter in it, taking a long draw from her pipe and exhaling a spicy sweet cloud before following up.

If youre seeking absolution, youll get none from me. Life is not hard for women in Fflyr Dlemathlys because of a few terrible men who go out of their way to be more cruel and vile than the average. It is hard because most men do exactly what they can get away with and never consider why it might be wrong. It sounds to me like the difference between you in Tokyo and some of the brutes youve executed here is what you were respectively allowed to pull off. Just because Really?

Her soliloquy was brought to a halt by Gannit crossing the room and bonking her on the head with a frying pan. To relatively little effect; it was a gentle bonk, as bonks went, and mostly absorbed by Minifrits pinned-up hair.

You just calm your tits, girl, the old woman ordered, brandishing the pan as if for a follow-up strike. Getting on the boys case for being no better or worse than anyone anywhere is just about the stupidest thing I can imagine doing. He came here, saw what was up, and has been making it better, as best he can. What the hell else do you want? This oughta be encouraged, not bitched at.

Yes, well I suppose thats also true, Minifrit agreed, finally smiling with a bit more warmth and reaching across to squeeze Seijis hand. We have all of us done miserable things, and we all had our reasons. I see you doing your best to help, and that should matter most.

Yeah, I can easily see you being a little shit when you could get away with it, Gannit added, condescendingly ruffling Seijis hair on her way back to the cabinets. Not like you can do anything about that now, though. Past is past, and youre doin better. Cheer up, kid, you done good.

You handled Gilder quite well, Aster agreed. Dont get me wrong, as parental talks go that was unnecessarily roundabout and occasionally horrifying, but it certainly seemed to work. Made more of an impact on him than I even hoped, at least.

Parental, nothing, Seiji insisted, scowling and trying to smooth his hair back into place. Im not his dad.

Tell yourself that, if it helps you, Minifrit said sweetly.

I hate you all, the Dark Lord complained.

You love us all, Aster retorted, smirking. Dont worry, Lord Seiji, we love you too.

Having studied his own example, she now gave it just the right two beats of pause before landing the parting shot.

And yet Still dont wanna bang you.

The Dark Lord gaped at her for a second, and then burst out laughing.