Dead Star Dockyards

Diana managed to dress herself without much issue, the sundress Cherry had chosen for her wasn't exactly the most complicated article of clothing. Speaking of, Cherry was a little bit upset that Diana had managed to do it herself. It would appear that Cherry was becoming a little bit possessive when it came to Diana's care, only willing to share the duty with Donovan. She was currently stomping her feet ever so slightly as she trailed behind Diana and Titanyana, not enough to make a racket or draw attention, but loud enough for the two of them to notice the change.

"I said I was sorry Cherry."

"Hmph!"

"Cherry . . ." Diana was feeling better, but this whole ordeal was making her feel guilty. ". . . how about I let you choose what I eat for dinner and desert tonight?"

A slight pause in Cherry's stomping told Diana she had won before even receiving an answer. It was comical how easy she could be to sway sometimes.

"Cake."

"Hm?"

"I'm going to make you a cake! Oh, oh! I can put little sweets in the batter and, but, oh no, it's . . .  I have to start now!" Cherry twirled around Diana as she rushed ahead, more panicked than excited about starting the baking process. If Diana had to guess, that attitude was because she thought she was short on time.

Now, Diana didn't fancy herself to be an expert on baking, but did it really take half a day to bake a cake? Maybe if it was one of those fancy multi layered wedding cakes she could understand the hurry, Diana just felt that Cherry knew better than to make such a thing. Rather, it was more like she knew Cherry didn't know how to make a layer cake. It didn't seem like a skill Cherry had picked up given her, well, her disposition towards complex instructions. 

Diana hated to denigrate her like that, but Cherry really struggled with multi-tasking and remembering a list of things she needed to do. If the task was simple, like washing laundry or cleaning, she would carry it out without issue. Once you started adding qualifiers and secondary task, such as differing levels of gentleness while washing different clothes, she would often come back with questions. 

"It smells good."

"Hm?"

"Um, sorry. I didn't have much for breakfast this morning. Moving around too much with a full belly makes me queasy." Titanyana's ears fell flat in embarrassment. Diana was vaguely aware that it was unladylike for a woman to appear eager to eat, but was it really that much of a sin? "What is it?"

"Chicken noodle soup. It's a dish from home, my home. It was common to eat it when ill or depressed. It was easy to make, well, easy to prepare. Usually the ingredients were premade to some degree, most often being sold in cans, so all you had to do was reheat it." Diana remembered how nice it was to just sit down and enjoy a bowl of soup whenever she was stressed or got a cold. 

". . . chicken?" Titanyana tilted her head, obviously curious about one of the primary ingredients.

"It was a bird grown specifically to be livestock. Just think of it as easily accessed poultry."

"Oh. What's a can? Is it like a bowl?"

Diana sighed. It was fortunate that she had spilled the beans to someone who would be part of their sphere, but it was still unwise to be so careless with regards to modern tools and inventions no matter how basic and inconsequential they might seem. 

"Cans are little metal cylinders sealed tightly in order to preserve food for long periods of time. You and your people will probably be seeing a lot of them in the coming years."

"How so?"

"They are used to transport food, Titanyana. Aren't your people starving?"

"I, um, yes. Yes they are."

"Mm. My guess is that the Holifanians have also developed them, and they will probably prefer them to transporting loose grains or preserved meats."

"Oh." Titanyana's ears drooped again. She was probably a little bit apprehensive about the prospect of using cans, something she and her people had no familiarity with.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much. Let's just eat."

"O-okay."

- - - - -

"Pour it slower."

"Why?"

"Right now we are trying to skim all of the fat and oils off of the top. If you pour too fast the soup will start going as well."

"Fine." Donovan gripped the sides of the hot metal pot with gloved hands. He had since given up on trying to argue with Gretts, less because he found himself continuously in the wrong but because it was a fruitless endeavor. Exhaling, he slowly tilted the pot while minding the open flame. 

"That's good," Gretts was collecting all of the refuse in a small stone bowl, careful not to let it splatter, "as the level drops you will need to slow down how much is coming out."

"Yeah yeah." Donovan was a little disgusted at the pale brown concoction bubbling on the soup's surface, so he had no problem getting rid of it. His concern was over the taste and safety of the soup now that he knew that was inside of the ingredients at some point. "Almost gone?"

"Juuuuuussst a little more . . . done." Donovan returned the pot to it's previous position, level on the grate. "Looks good."

"Smells good."

"Yes, that too. I might have to steal this recipe if it turns out to be a favorite among the staff. I'll be experimenting in smaller batches to see if there are better ingredients for the taste. Is that alright?"

"That's fine. I'm just surprised you don't already have something like this."

"Oh we most certainly do, I just haven't seen this particular recipe before. I find it to be a shame that none of the original ingredients are available, unique dishes are something of a treasured currency around these parts." Gretts produced a spoon and dipped it into the cauldron, sipping the broth in the divot. Nodding in satisfaction, she returned it to one of the pockets on her apron. "Tastes good."

BRRROMP

The door to the kitchen was pushed open quite violently as someone entered, the bottom dragging across the stone floor a short distance and creating an uncomfortable grating sound as it shook.

"Gretts! Quick! I need to make a cake!"

"Cherry? What have I told you about the door?"

"The cake is more important! Diana wants me to make her a cake!"

Gretts visibly gave up on the door argument, throwing up her hands and pinching her nose. "Alright, well, we can start after the soup gets cleaned up."

"NO!!! Not we! Diana wants me to make her a cake!"

"Do you remember the recipe?"

"Nope. I need you to tell me."

"Why don't you let me help you then?"

"NO!!! Diana said she wanted me to make her the cake."

"Fine, fine." Gretts waved her hands as she picked up a ladle and bowl off of a nearby table. "I'm sorry Donovan, but could you please handle the soup until someone else comes along to help? Just one scoop should be enough to fill the bowl."

"Oh, yeah, no problem. I take it Diana is on her way?" Donovan wanted no part in whatever trouble it was that Cherry was stirring up. Hopefully Diana had cheered up a bit since the morning.

"Mhm! Lady Diana and Lady Strapper are heading to the dining room right now, they just finished their bath."

Donovan wanted to raise a brow at the mention of Titanyana, but he restrained himself. It wasn't impossible that she had purposefully timed her bath to coincide with Diana's, but she probably just went for one after her morning training. Titanyana wasn't going to try anything malicious.

It did mean he would have to figure out how to carry three bowls at once though.

"Thank you for the heads up, Cherry. I'll be looking forward to the cake."

"It's Diana's cake!"

"Whatever."

- - - - -

"Here you go." Diana had watched Donovan tip-toe his way to their table from the kitchen, two bowls cradled in one arm with another held in his other hand. She thought it was a little bit funny to watch him struggle, but that amusement was very quickly extinguished once the bowl was in front of her. All that remained was hunger, and a distant feeling of longing. Was it a mistake to ask for this after all? "And one for Titanyana."

"Thank you." The twitch in Titanyana's ears as Don mentioned her name did not go unnoticed by Diana. "Um, may I?"

"Go ahead." He probably didn't know it, but Titanyana was beginning to act more like someone in a lower social strata than him, trying to make it clear that she was submissive towards him. Diana couldn't confidently give a specific reason, there were too many viable choices at this point, but she was confident that the princess' attempts at romance were playing a role. Diana had a feeling that 'submission' was part of the courting ritual for female Nekh. "How is it?"

Titanyana had shivered a little bit when she swallowed the first spoonful of broth, ears and tail perking up.

"Does it taste good?" Donovan knew the answer.

"Mmm! Very!"

"Great! There's more in the back than you could imagine, so eat your fill." He sat down right next to Diana, who promptly put her weight into him. "How about you? Is the soup to your liking?"

"The color is off, but otherwise it looks close enough."

"I'll take that as a win." He craned his head down and placed a kiss on Diana's forehead. Using his free arm, he scooped up a spoonful of the broth and brought it to her mouth.

- - - - -

As usual, Rize found himself attending the front door throughout the day. He worked on his English, completed the math problems Donovan had assigned him in the morning, and spent the rest of his time daydreaming once he finished his assignments. This was a job for the Sanctum's academy staff, a group which he had joined. Was attending the front door of a mostly empty house 'owned' by someone who wasn't particularly popular boring? Yes, but he had his tasks to keep him busy. Besides, this was easy work, and he got paid a pretty generous amount considering how little he was actually doing.

Of course, that didn't mean he did nothing. The mornings could be quite hectic whenever the Holifanians decided to head over, and the occasional customer for one of those metal paintings could cause him a headache, but Rize had grown up expecting to be a merchant. Those stuck-up nobles were probably going to be great practice for when he had to make a deal in the future.

Today was a bit different in that regard, a more professional and humble guest knocked on the door. 

How exactly Rize knew this wasn't quite clear, perhaps it was just a consistent force and cadence, but he could tell that this person was not likely to cause problems. Upon opening to door to greet this man, Rize could see the proof on his face.

"Good afternoon mister Enforcer. Is there something I may help you with?" It was an enforcer, the blue and black mask immediately identifying the man as such. Keepers of the peace and enforcers of the Arboreal Maiden's edicts, there were few groups in the Sanctum more trustworthy and honorable.

"Yes. Would this happen to be the domicile of one Lord Donovan Strauss?" The voice was clear in spite of the mask's muffling. 

"That would be correct. Would you like to wait inside while I retrieve him?" Rize, a resident of the Sanctum since birth, would never suspect an Enforcer of acting in bad faith. He had never been given a reason to.

"Please." The Enforcer stepped through the door at Rize's invitation, assuming a tight stance in front of the now closed entrance. Rize had needed to deal with enforcers before, at his mother's tavern, and understood that they respected the privacy of others quite a bit. Even when a brawl was taking place at the bar in front of them, they would not step in to break it up unless one person clearly didn't wish to be fighting or the owner of the building requested their intervention. 

"I will be right back."

"Of course."

- - - - -

"You should try scratching behind Titanyana's ears sometime." Titanyana and Donovan froze at Diana's suggestion, both for different reasons. Titanyana's reason was obvious given her rapidly reddening face, while Don was simply blindsided by her proposition. His first thought was to wonder if that could be considered sexual harassment of some sort. "She seemed to really enjoy it, and it helped me calm down. It was just like petting a cat."

"A-a cat?" Donovan couldn't say he also thought Titanyana to be quite cat-like. "She didn't do anything inappropriate to you, did she?"

"S-she didn't do anything without my permission." Titanyana shrank down towards her rapidly disappearing soup and began to mumble. "You can do it if you want to. . ."

"What was that?" Their conversation was interrupted by a knocking by the entrance to the room. Rize was standing there, politely trying to grab somebody's attention. "Never mind. Rize, what's up?"

"An Enforcer is at the door, requesting your presence."

"Hm?" Donovan stood up, leaving Diana and Titanyana with souring expressions. Both of them had an idea of why an Enforcer would be here. "Alright, I'm heading over. Better to get this done sooner than later. Diana, Titanyana, if I'm not back soon you know where I'll be. Please tell those three what happened when they get back."

- - - - -

"Good evening officer, how may I help you today?" Donovan made his approach known to the Enforcer as he entered the room. It was never a good idea to surprise someone like that, even if you didn't believe your approach was particularly stealthy.

"Am I correct in assuming you are Lord Donovan Strauss?"

"That would be correct."

"Then I will have to ask you to follow me. You are being detained as a suspect."

"Before I do that, may I ask what crime it is I am suspected of committing?" Donovan could see the Enforcer furrow his brow in response to Donovan's question. Donovan was currently unarmed, an intentional decision, so he was probably confused as to why Don was being confrontational. This line of questioning was probably one that devolved into a fight shortly after.

"You are being detained as the suspect in the attempted murder of a noble."

"Do you have sufficient evidence to establish that I am the perpetrator or have a warrant for my arrest?"

"I'm sorry?" The Enforcer ever so slightly twisted his head, eyes still locked with Donovan's.

"I am asking if you are confident that I am the perpetrator or if you are acting under the orders of someone who is confident that I am the perpetrator. If you are not, then I will have to ask you to leave. It may not seem like it at the moment, but I am a busy man. I have tasks to attend to here that cannot be done elsewhere, so sitting in a cell for an undisclosed amount of time is simply unacceptable. You have my word that I will not flee until you receive such confirmation, such attempts at flight would have little effect here."

"I am acting under the orders of a justice." The Enforcer's hand slowly drifted up his sword's sheath and rested on the cross guard. Almost imperceptibly, he lowered his center of gravity to prepare for a fight.

"Very well then, lead the way."

Defiant compliance, one step below malicious compliance, was the method Donovan determined to be the best for the situation at hand. Pushing the level of defiance to the limit, making use of every rule, loophole, and exception to delay and irritate the officer before obediently going along with his instructions. An officer that was acting maliciously would be quicker to enrage and make a mistake, a mistake that could be exploited legally, while a cautious officer who was kept in the dark would be incentivized to delay the arrest until he had confirmation. He would prefer an actual lawyer at his side, someone like the Scholar, but such a luxury was rare.

Donovan could see the Enforcer's surprise very clearly through the slits in the mask. This was the desired outcome. Make the officer's life hard, but in such a way that he could not do anything about it. Appear to be on a course of physical struggle and resistance, but détente before a climax. It was, in many ways, a combat tactic he was familiar with, poking in and out of range in order to keep the opponent on edge and increase the possibility that they make a mistake, never actually engaging without an opening. It was a little different here, but the principles were the same.

"Huh-uh, um. Right this way then . . ."

The officer, Enforcer, now mentally off-balance, was not in nearly as much control as he would be normally. Donovan had established himself as an unknown quantity in his head, irritating but not doing anything illegal. He was defiant, but compliant. This would obviously make life difficult for him in the future should he be guilty and arrested again in the future, but if he was innocent it would only cause officer's familiar with how he acted to be more cautious in the future. Making a mistake when arresting an innocent man could have disastrous consequences on their careers and reputation, the knowledge of how difficult he was to handle forcing them to be that much more hesitant and careful.

As Donovan passed through the door he made sure to stop, raising an alarm in the Enforcer's mind, only to shut the door and continue. Wearing down his nerves was the whole goal.

Rishtahn had made the first move in the game, and Donovan had never been more appreciative of Doctor Helmsguard's lectures on how to act when pulled over by a police officer, drunk or not.