[sylvanSpider]

--magali&mendez--

Magali smiled with Nokra bringing a little bit of hope into the conversation. It was his chance. Hell, it was their chance. She'd silently resolved to go talk to Fikri herself to see if there was work to be done that she could aid with. If he needed a break, she would be there to provide it. But then, there was a chance he wasn't working either. He could have been a customer. The politics of a ship's crew were well beyond her and she knew little of the hierarchy save for the fact that the pilot was on top.

“They did!” Magali said perking up. Truth be told, she only had one master before their last, but she taught her to cook, clean, sing, play instruments—essentially anything that would make her pleasant to be around and easier to sell. The raising and training of felis children into adults was a profession not many took part in but one that was exceedingly profitable. She blushed at the compliments, each one bringing butterflies to her stomach. Though, as she was coming down, she didn't know if she should attribute that to the drugs or not. “Well, I'd be happy to cook for you,” she bit her lip looking down, excited at the fact that she was doing that by her own free will and not to please a master. After all he'd done for her, she wanted nothing more than to start giving back now that she was able.

She grinned, shifting her eyes from one gentlemen to the next, “I actually would love to. It's been so long since I've had access to a decent kitchen.” Her eyes roved among the cabinets, the countertops, the stove top and the oven. The thought made her giddy. Cooking had always been her favorite task alongside the music, and both of those responsibilities had proven null and void by her being sold to a pimp rather than a single master. “I think I'll bring him some regardless. I've seen how people get when they are hungry. A bit of food would be good for him.”

--ashi--

“Then don't let them use me as leverage,” Ashi said simply, melting into the spot that Shaldag set her on. She sighed contently, “Use me as leverage first. If I'm not wanted by father's allies at this point, I'm at least wanted by Daowei. We've fooled them once; we can do it again.” She gave a close-lipped smile, still conscious of the blood in her teeth.

“I will. I will, once I recover,” Ashi said with a resolute nod. Her combative training would come in handy after all. The second she was able to walk again, she was going to ask Hyun where she could prove herself useful. She may not have had a written guide to study this time around, but this time she had better—she had Hyun and possibly better guidance with Shaldag. “Mm, maybe we could paint over it. It's a good way to spend time, I think. Or, at least it was before I uh...ran.”

Ashi looked over to Hyun somewhat confused. This wasn't her home? Then where was? She still had plenty to learn about her girlfriend it seemed. When she told Shaldag to take off his shoes, she looked down at her own shoes and gulped. She wasn't sure that was an ability she had now, and she shuddered to think of what taking off her shoes would feel like. The princess was sort of melted into the sofa, trying hard not to move. She was still covered in blood, and she sincerely doubted her girlfriend would appreciate bloodstains on her furniture.

Her eyes shone at the prospect of comics in her near future. They would provide that sense of security that she'd had when she was living in the palace. They were her escape then, and they could be now. “I'd ask to look at them now, but I don't want to muck up the pages.”