Lords And Ladies (2.11)

Zoe tackles Rhoda to the ground, pinning her to the floor as she screams and kicks.

“You can’t touch me!  I am the princess’ handmaiden!”

“Don’t hurt her,” says Jenna, quickly.  “Just sit her down next to the princess.”

“Are you sure, ma’am?  That seems quite dangerous.”

“It’s true,” Annie says, as Zoe hoists the flailing handmaiden over her shoulder and carries her to the couch.  Annie pulls her legs to her, letting Zoe plot Rhoda down on the couch.

Rhoda’s head snaps around like a tornado, glowering at Kitty.  “You!  I should have known she would be here, cavorting with you.”

“You already did know,” says Kitty.  “I told you.”

Annie smiles at her friend/servant.  “It’ll be okay, Rhoda.  You’re here, I’m here, just relaaaaaaax.   Just sit back and think of the prince...”

“T-the prince?” says Rhoda, her voice increasing in pitch.

“Just imagine him,” continues Annie, in a soft, calm tone.  “Giving you a deep, relaxing, sensual massage.”

Rhoda taps her fingers together nervously.  “B-but that would be wrong.  He outranks me.  H-he’s royalty.”

“Yesssss,” says Annie.  “That’s what makes it so delicious.”  Annie cocks a devilish grin at Rhoda.  “Now close your eyes and think about it.”

Rhoda obediently shuts her eyes and sighs deeply.  A distant smile crosses her face.

Outside of the corner of her eye, Kitty notices that Jenna has taken another sip of her whiskey bottle.

“There you go,” says Annie, cheerfully.  “She wants my brother to do things to her,” she helpfully explains to the room.

“Riiiiight,” says Jenna, taking another sip.

The phone on the coffee table rings.  Annie picks it up, handing it to Kitty.

“Hello?”

“Phone call for you,” says Anastasia’s voice, in a gentle, almost purring tone.  “Lord Durante’ Ilucis, I believe.  He says it’s important.”

“Transfer him, I guess.”

Dante’s voice is even more hurried than last time.  “Kitty, I think you’re life is in danger.”

Kitty sighs, and rubs her forehead.  “I know.”

“You know?”

“Someone tried to kill me.”

“What!”

“I’m fine.  It’s been a busy day.”

“How can you be-Okay, well.  There’s another...I got a package in the mail.  The note says...It’s the Zoinomicon.”

Kitty’s eyes widen, her mouth drops.  Her heart pounds.  “Are you sure?”

“Yes.  Well, that’s what the note says, only...”

“Only?”

“Only...Kitty, what size are grimoires, usually?”

“I don’t know.  I guess the size of any other manual, just...uh.  Magic.  Or eldritch.”

“So they wouldn’t normally have to be shipped in giant crates?”

“...No, Dante, I would assume not.”

“Okay, well, I...I think...I think this might be a big book.  I need you to come over and check it out.”

“I can’t, Dante.  I’m under armed protection.”

“...Right.  Okay.  Hmm....I’ll see what I can do to get it over there, then.  Probably safer.  I’ll call my people, maybe...Oh, have you had lunch?”

“Um, no?”

“We’ll bring lunch.  We haven’t had it either.”

“...Ahuh?”

“What do you guys want? Let’s work something out.”

“...Um, okay.  Hold on.”  Kitty put a hand over the phone.  “You guys hungry?  Anyone?”

***

Elsewhere...

The Wolf District looks strange, even net to the other Districts..  Tiger Island was a nation unto itself.  The Dragon District was the center of town, a decedent, gleaming beacon of light and sound on dark nights.   The Raven District was taken up partly by the towering Wall itself - the one thing separating the City from the ruins and the outside world - and small, simple buildings.  And the slums, an unofficial ruined section of the Dragon District that was incorporated into the city only because of convenience, were...Well.  Slums.

But the Wolf District dominated the well-defended peninsula, stretching out from the Dragon District to the beaches.  In between was a wide, green, luxurious land suitable for farming, as well as natural freshwater.  The Wolf District - safely hidden behind the city itself - produced almost all of the city’s food supplies (the remainder being produced on Tiger Island).  It was, in a way, the city’s little secret; an extensive little Paradise hidden from the rest of the ruins and protected on all sides by the Shark Fleet (also known as the Shark District or the Floating City).

The people of the Wolf District itself were varied in ethnicity, tracing their pre-Titania ancestry from the Americas and the Middle East.  As with the rest of the tribes, there was a sizable Asian population as well, but the Wolf District was especially notable for it’s high population of Native Americans.  Of special note was Matriarch’s Wolf family themselves.

The Wolves valued both privacy and law.  As such, Lady Wolf did double duty as the commander-in-chief of the police force, giving her a rather tumultuous relationship with Lady Dragon, who was unofficially commander-in-chief of organized crime by sheer virtue of being Lady Dragon.

There will be a test on this later.  Of note right now, however, is a little ranch house by a dirty road.

It was a small, unassuming little place, well-maintained but old.  Corporal Lincoln had bought it after his promotion, on the cheap, and spent most of his free time fixing it up, with a few small alterations to house a pet eagle.

Lincoln has just finished packing for the most part, with an eagle sitting on his shoulder.  The last luggage has been shoved in the back of the squad van (which, of course, doubled as Lincoln’s van).  Lincoln stood by it with his eagle on his arm.

“‘Bout time to get our cat friend, Washington,” says Lincoln, as the eagle cocks its head to the side and stares at him.  “I know, I know.  But I wouldn’t feel right otherwise.  It’ll be fine, you’ll see.   Probably.”

Lincoln walks over to the side of the porch, sand crunching underneath his boots.  He kneels down, peering into the darkness.

“Miu?”  he calls out gently.  “Are you there?  Miu?  Kitty kitty.”

Two amber eyes peer out at him, blinking.  The eyes turn away from him, and he hears a sickening crunch.  The eyes look back.

“Sorry if I interrupted your hunting, little miss.  I’m going to...go away for a little while, for my job.  I don’t want to leave you here alone, so I thought I’d...Well...I’d be mighty obliged if you wanted to come with me.”

The amber eyes blink, regarding him carefully.

“‘Course it’s fine if you don’t want to.  I’m sure there’s plenty of rats and snakes around, and you’ll probably wander off somewhere anyway.  And there’ll be people.  I don’t know if that’s a factor, little miss.”  Lincoln tips his hat.

The amber eyes look away for a few moments, before approaching him.

Something licks his nose.

“...I’ll get the bag, then,” says Lincoln.