Chapter 8: Shoes
After a rather long day, Rayne finally managed to sit down in her sitting room without anything left to do for the night. Normally she would have been in here sooner, but there was a surprising amount of extra work that suddenly popped up after dinner. A rather nasty storm had set back one of her ships almost a full week and now people were demanding their deliveries that were still at sea. Even with all that she could have gotten through her work much faster if her mind didn’t continuously make its way back to Hannah. Especially the conversation about Hannah Eda and her had.
There was a brief knock at the door before Eda stepped into the room with a tray of tea and biscuits. Rayne hadn’t even asked for one yet. She wasn’t even sure how Eda knew she was in her sitting room yet. She didn’t question it though and just said, “Thank you, Eda.”
“You’re welcome, my lady. Hannah will be but a few minutes before she comes up to meet you.”
Rayne nodded. It wouldn’t be long, but she already felt impatient. She shoved those feelings down though. “How was dinner with Hannah sitting at the table?”
“It went surprisingly well.” Eda placed the tray down. “Many of the staff were actually impressed with her.”
“Oh.” Well that was good news. “How so?”
“Well she was seated next to the hallboy and she helped him with a difficult word he was reading. That then led to a discussion that revealed not only is Hannah fluent in speaking, reading, and writing Celian, but two other languages as well.”
“Really?” Now that was a surprise. It had been a surprise that Hannah could read to begin with, but now that was three languages not just one.
“Yes. Celian, treysian, and Everlian. I will admit I didn’t know the freelands had their own language, but it makes sense.”
Rayne was a little stunned. She didn’t even know that. “So Celian isn’t even her first language,” the lady said. “And I’m not even fluent in Treysian.”
“That’s not where it ends,” Eda said, looking a little shocked herself. “She also knows math and history. She even managed to impress Mr. Williams by having read and owned that book on the Orc invasions he is always searching for on his free days,” Eda said more as a side note. “Hannah knows all of this because she taught all these subjects at the school in her village.”
Rayne stared openly at Eda for a second. “Hannah was a teacher?” While she didn’t find it hard to believe because she was just insanely proud of how intelligent Hannah was, it was still shocking. “I was taught that the beastkin of the freelands were barely above savages. I didn’t even think they had villages, much less schools and teachers.”
Eda nodded. “So was I, but not everything we are taught is always correct. It does make sense that if you teach your people that beastkin are little more than animals left to their own devices, enslaving them doesn’t seem that bad.”
Rayne frowned. “I don’t like how much sense that makes…” She didn’t like this line of thought. She wanted Hannah here all ready. “What things does Hannah have left to do? I thought all the work would have been done by now.”
Eda gave a small smile which was a good sign. “She’s trying on the shoes I managed to gather. Hopefully a pair or two will work till you can take her out.”
That made the lady smile. She had almost forgotten she was going to have a day out with Hannah with all the work she had going. “Good.”
There was a knock at the door. “That would be her now. I’ll take my leave then. Goodnight, my lady.”
“Goodnight, Eda.” Rayne could feel her heart start to beat just a little bit faster now that her fox was here. She waited as Eda went and opened the door and was immediately disappointed. It wasn’t Hannah at her door.
“Anna, what are you doing here?” Eda asked the maid who was standing with a very determined look on her face.
“I have come to speak with Lady Hayward about that beast.”
“Anna, this is not an appropriate time to be doing such a thi—”
“You said that we were to bring any complaints directly to the Lady.”
Eda frowned. “If I recall I said you could bring it up after bre—”
“It’s alright, Eda,” Rayne said, standing. “You can let her in.” Eda gave a nod and stepped aside to let the maid in. “Now, what is it you wish to discuss about Hannah?”
Anna stopped at a respectable distance from the lady. “I want to bring point to how inappropriate the liberties you have allowed that fox to have are.”
Rayne narrowed her gray eyes. “Liberties such as?”
“For one, being allowed to sit at the table with the staff. We do not let dogs sit at the table to eat so why are we allowing the fox to do it.”
Lady Hayward smirked. Anna was not prepared to face off against Rayne. “Well, as you said, Hannah is a fox not a dog. Contrary to popular belief they are not the same.” She loved how much that clearly angered the maid. “But do go on. What other points would you like to make?”
“We humans shouldn’t share a bathroom with an animal.”
“I am sorry, but then what bathroom should she use? I would not have her using the male staff’s, so are you suggesting we add on another bathroom to the manor solely for her? Hannah might not be too upset with that, as it would clearly be nice for her to have one all to herself.”
“No, I am not suggesting that.” There was so much frustration in Anna’s voice and Rayne got so much joy out of it. “I’m suggesting that it should bathe outside.”
“Well, that doesn’t sound very fitting for a house such as ours. Even lower nobles have bathrooms for their beastkin staff. True they might not be the same bathrooms the human staff use, but they still have bathrooms nonetheless. Since I have no wish, nor any true need to add another bathroom for the staff living hall as Hannah is but one person, you will all have to share.”
Anna scrunched up her lips in frustration, not being able to speak out against the lady’s decision without fear of potential loss of employment. “It’s not proper for a beastkin to be teaching a human.”
“Who is Hannah teaching?” Rayne asked honestly, though she could make an easy guess.
“The hallboy. He asked her to help him learn to read. It’s not right for an animal to be teaching a person, and it's not right for a fox to even know how to read.”
Rayne enjoyed being able to look down at Anna with her height. “I can not unteach Hannah how to read. I’m afraid that she will always know how to read and there's nothing we can do about it, regardless of whether or not you agree with her ability to do so. As for teaching, would you be capable of teaching the hallboy how to read?”
“I-I—” That caught Anna off guard.
“Are you even able to read, Anna?”
“I-I can read,” she said with her face heating up in embarrassment.
“Can you read well enough to teach another person?”
Anna mumbled, “I…I don’t know, my lady.”
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you.” Rayne heard Anna’s mumble perfectly.
“I don’t think so, my lady…”
“Since that is the case, it sounds like Hannah is the only person truly qualified to teach him considering she was a teacher already. I might add that if you struggle with reading yourself, as it sounds like you do, I’m sure Hannah would be more than happy to help you as well.” Rayne knew when someone was barely containing their rage, and Anna was clearly doing just that. “Now, is there anything else you would like to add to your list of liberties?”
“No. No, my lady.”
“Good. If there is nothing more, I must ask you to leave my sitting room. I have some matters to attend to.” The maid nodded at Rayne’s words, clearly too angry to say anything, before turning and walking right out of the door Eda so kindly held open for her. That being said, Eda was very quick to close it behind her. After a few seconds to make sure Anna wouldn’t hear, the lady spoke again. “Did you really tell the staff to bring complaints about Hannah to me?”
It was rare for Eda to ever look embarrassed and it was very subtle, but it was there. “I said they could bring complaints about her sitting at the table to you after breakfast. What else was I supposed to say? Have Stewart take the complaints? We both know he wouldn’t have allowed Hannah at the table if it wasn’t a direct order from you, my lady.”
Rayne took a deep breath before sitting herself back down. “I understand. Thank you again for how thoughtful you have been around Hannah and the staff. Though I would have appreciated a little warning that complaints would come my way.”
“I’m sorry, my lady. I honestly thought saying that would have scared off anyone from saying anything.”
“I would have too. Hopefully no more will come my way though.” There was a new knock at the door and Rayne felt her mood lighten immediately. “Come in,” Rayne called out and was so happy to find that it was her Hannah this time. “Hannah,” she said with an already big smile.
“Mistress,” Hannah said as she gave a small curtsy as from the door.
“That will be all, Eda.”
“Very well,” Eda said, also relieved it was actually Hannah this time. “Goodnight again, my lady.”
“Goodnight, Eda.”
With that Eda made her way out. At the door she paused. “Goodnight, Hannah.”
“Goodnight, Miss Eda.” Hannah wasn’t sure how to feel about how both Mistress and Eda had given her big smiles upon seeing her. Without ears and tails like kin it could be hard to tell when a human was actually happy, but she just had a feeling deep down that they actually were happy to see her. She felt her face start to heat up.
Eda gave her another smile before she closed the door behind her and left the two women alone. Rayne was quick to speak before any awkward pause like last night. “I see you managed to find some shoes that fit you.”
Hannah looked down at her simple black and slightly worn shoes she now wore. “Yes, Mistress.” She hadn’t worn shoes for years now and it did feel a little strange to be wearing them again. “Though I believe they might be a little too big still…” She said that more to herself without thinking as she scrunched up her toes inside the shoes. Honestly they might be fitted right and she had just forgotten what that felt like.
Hannah’s voice was so quiet, but with Rayne’s intense focus she still heard it. “Well then, we might have to do something about that soon. Wouldn’t want your shoes giving you blisters while you go about your work.” Rayne couldn’t help but feel her heart fill with glee as she truly did now have reason to take Hannah out. “Will they suffice for now?”
“I believe so, Mistress.” Her face was already a little red but now it was growing worse. Humans had better hearing than Hannah had previously thought.
“Do you happen to know who’s shoes they were before?”
“Anna’s if I remember correctly.
Rayne couldn’t help but give a light chuckle with a smug look on her face. The irony was pretty sweet. Noticing Hannah still standing over by the door, Rayne said, “Would you come over here please, Hannah.”
Hannah quickly made her way over to her Mistress. When she had come in she hadn’t known if her mistress had wanted a meeting similar to last night and she still wasn’t sure. Because of this she stopped herself by the loveseat like she had done last night. Would Rayne even want this to be like last night? Would she want Hannah to sit beside, or even rest her head in her lap again?
Rayne was again a little disappointed that Hannah elected to stand beside the seat and not sit down next to her. She couldn’t fault the fox though, since it was inappropriate. It was what Rayne wanted though. “You can sit down, Hannah. In fact, I would prefer it if you did.”
The blush was only growing worse with everything Mistress said, still she wasn’t going to deny Rayne. Quickly she took her place down next to Mistress, and like every other time she sat down she had to do the little awkward shuffle to bring her tail into her lap. It was annoying but that problem would soon be solved thanks to Mistress.
Of course, the lady noticed her vixen’s little shuffle and couldn’t help but frown. It felt wrong to see Hannah without her big fluffy tail. She wanted to see it out, free, and wagging, not to mention her desire to touch it. This uniform would make it very difficult for the lady to get a peak or a touch in. Unless she pulled Hannah’s dress up, revealing that orange tail, as well as Hannah’s undergarments… Rayne’s breath caught in her throat at the thought of undressing Hannah herself and not just watching it happen like earlier today.
Catching herself falling into those thoughts and getting a little excited, Rayen grabbed her teacup and saucer to place them in her lap gently. Only then did she notice that there was a second cup sitting on the tray next to the pot. Eda was always thinking ahead. “Would you like some tea, Hannah?”
Hannah looked up from her shoes feet and glanced at the teapot. The smell alone was divine and brought back memories of cozy nights by the fire with Elaine. She had some tea earlier today with her meals, which was a luxury she truly thought she would never have again. Still, she knew tea could be expensive and her mistress was probably drinking a much finer tea than the servants had. “I wouldn’t wish for Mistress to waste expensive tea on the likes of me.”
Before Rayne could say something along the lines of Hannah was worth all the tea Rayne could ever provide her regardless of how expensive, the lady had a realization. “Hannah, do you know what enterprise the Hayward family makes its money in?” Hannah actually turned to look at her mistress and shook her head. Rayne almost got lost in looking into those yellow slitted eyes again, but she managed to pull herself out of it. “We run a large trade operation for tea and spices. Tea is never hard to come by for this household, nor is it ever expensive. The tea right there,” she pointed to the pot, “comes to us free of charge. Even the tea the staff drinks is the same tea I drink, my family drinks, and the same we serve to guests. There is never a reason for you to not have a cup of tea if you ever want one.”
Hannah looked at her mistress with wide eyes. Though her words were gentle there was a subtle intensity to them that left no room for doubt. Tea wasn’t something above her. Hannah wasn’t worth less than a cup of tea. She was someone deserving of a cup of tea if she wanted one. She was deserving of something positive and for the first time in years actually felt that was true.
The fox turned away from Rayne’s gray eyes, the blush on her face only getting worse as embarrassment filled her for a reason she couldn’t figure out. Quickly her eyes landed on the teapot and the empty cup beside it. Trying to not let her nerves get the best of her, she went to get herself a cup of tea. The entire time she kept nervously glancing at her mistress to make sure it truly was alright for her to do. Then before she knew it Hannah was sitting with a cup of tea in her lap just like Rayne.
Rayne wasn’t sure she had ever felt her heart soar so high when she saw the gentle blushing smile on Hannah’s face while she looked at the cup in her hands. That was what Rayne truly wanted. To see Hannah smile and be happy. That’s all she ever wanted. That and to touch those perky ears and fluffy tail. “How was your first day working on the estate?” The lady spoke gently, worried that anything louder would wash the smile on her fox’s face away.
“It was…” Hannah thought for a moment, trying to find the right words. How was her first full day? Her day had started out a little rocky with breakfast and many of the staff clearly not happy with her presence. Then she went about cleaning, which was pretty much a normal day for her, though she did have help instead of having to do it all by herself. The doctor visit was uncomfortable but she expected that. Being fitted for clothes was a little strange, not having ever had clothes specifically tailored for her before, even when she was free. Then it was back to cleaning and then dinner, which was rather nice. People appeared more comfortable with her and dinner also led to her being able to teach again which made her incredibly happy. “It was not what I’m used to, but it was very nice, Mistress,” Hannah admitted.
Rayne smiled, not that she really hadn’t stopped smiling since Hannah walked in the room. “I’m glad to hear it. I did hear some impressive things about you too.” Hannah looked up at her from taking a sip of tea. “I didn’t realize just how well educated you are.”
“I-I wouldn’t say that…I was just educated enough to be able to teach.”
“Which is far more educated than the rest of the staff. I also heard you’re going to help teach the hallboy to read.” Rayne felt so proud of how smart her fox was.
“I am, Mistress.” Even just thinking about being able to teach someone again brought a smile to her face.
“Then I dare say you are very well educated.” Rayne didn’t feel the need to mention that she wasn’t even fluent in Treysian. She wasn’t even sure either of her brothers were. Hamish would be more likely as the poet and she really couldn’t see Kaden having any need to be fluent.
Kaden…
The thought of her brother and the conversation they had filled the lady’s mind. “Hannah.” Rayne’s tone grew serious now. “There is something important I want you to know.” Hannah’s focus was fully on her and it was clear she was worried at Rayne’s tone shift. “You haven’t met my youngest brother, Kaden, yet have you?”
“No, Mistress.”
“Good, though it is probably inevitable that you two will cross paths. When you do meet him you are not to follow any of his orders. Do you understand?”
Hannah didn’t really understand. Yes she knew what Mistress was saying but she would be punished for not following someone’s orders.
The confusion on Hannah’s face was clear, so Rayne spoke up again. “In a very upsetting conversation this morning it was discovered that Kaden has different beliefs than what the Hayward family has always believed. Because of that, Hannah, he will not treat you as a person but an object. He will treat you as if he owns you and may even try and…” Rayne felt anger flair up inside of her, but she did her best to not let it show and scare her vixen. “…wrongful things with you. In fact, he thought I had purchased you for him to do such things as he pleases.”
Though part of her knew this wasn’t true, Hannah’s mind just locked on the idea of her mistress buying her to give to her brother. Her world felt like it was falling out from under her. Rayne had been so nice to her. Treated her as a person and not a slave. Why would—
“Hannah,” Rayne said gently cupping Hannah’s cheek and bringing her eyes back up to hers. “I would never do that. I could never do that to you. You are not his, nor will you ever be. That is why you are not to follow his commands. You are not to be alone with him, ever. If that ever does happen, I do not care what you have to do to get away but you will get away and come straight to me. Do not let anything stop you. Do you understand?”
The fox could see how serious her mistress was purely by the look in her gray eyes. The intensity of it actually scared her ever so slightly but she did fully understand what Rayne was saying and why. Rayne really did think of her as another person. A strange part of Hannah’s mind wondered if by Rayne saying this that it meant she was more important to her than her own brother.
“I-I understand, Mistress.” Hannah couldn’t help but keep looking into Rayne’s eyes, which was such a rare thing for her.
“Good.” Rayne held her vixen’s face for far longer than she should have, but how couldn’t she? Not only that but Hannah’s eyes were so big and bright and it was a wonder that no one else got lost in them. That being said, Rayne's gaze did move down from her eye and down to her lips. They looked soft and the lady almost found herself brushing her thumb against them just to feel how soft they were. Almost. Instead of doing that she noticed on the underside of her bottom lip, just shy of each corner, the fox had two little scars. Barely noticeable small divots, that no one would have noticed if they weren’t looking this hard. “What are those scars from?” she asked without thinking.
Hannah had been so caught up in looking at Rayne’s eyes that she only now realized Rayne had been looking back at her. Even so it took a solid two seconds for her to register what her mistress had asked. The blush had finally started to go away but it came back in full swing at realizing how long she had been staring. Still not noticing the hand on her face she said, “They’re from my piercings.”
“Piercings?” The lady realized that her hand was still on Hannah’s cheek and pulled away, much to her regret. Hannah’s skin was so soft and warm. “You had piercings in your lips?”
The fox nodded, finally breaking her gaze with her mistress and looking back to the tea in her lap. The cup felt almost as warm as her face. “We don’t pierce our ears like you humans do since their so sensitive. Well some still do, but most of us pierce our lips instead.”
“That makes sense,” Rayne said thinking about it. Lips were a strange alternative though, but then again what else would you pierce? She did know of some countries to the west in which many would pierce their noses in some way. In fact now that she thought about it she did know a man from the Casiden Desert to the southwest that had rings in his lips. The two of them had been doing business for many years now but rarely saw each other in person. Maybe it was time to remedy that. “Why did you take them out?” she asked, getting back to the conversation at hand, trying to imagine what Hannah would look like with piercings.
Mistress was so kind and clearly didn’t like to think of what kind of life Hannah had lived because of what she was. Hannah couldn’t fault her because it felt so nice to just be thought of as another person again. “They took any gold or silver jewelry off of us when we were taken.”
Rayne suddenly felt very foolish for her question and even felt her face heat up a little bit. This wasn’t the first question like this either. “Of course. Sorry, that was a stupid question.”
“It’s alright, Mistress,” the vixen said, feeling a little for Rayne. Still looking at her tea, she decided to finally take another sip.
The conversation fell out for a moment and awkwardness quickly crept in. Thankfully Rayne was still thinking about Hannah’s lip piercings and why they were the lips which then made her remember something else she had wanted to talk about.
“Hannah.”
“Yes, Mistress?”
Rayne took a deep breath. “I want to apologize for what I did last night.”
Hannah looked back up at Rayne, confused at what she would have to apologize for. What surprised the fox was seeing her mistress’s face turn red.
“I didn’t know at the time that for your race touching ears is something very intimate and not something for strangers to do.” Rayne honestly felt rather embarrassed and even ashamed that knowing this didn’t stop her from wanting to do it again.
Seeing her mistress blush gave Hannah such strange feelings. Rayne was right of course. It was typically something saved for those in an intimate emotional relationship. Something Hannah had only ever done in her adult life with Elaine, and now Rayne. On top of all that, hearing her mistress apologize to her made a warmth grow inside her chest. It was such a genuine apology and clearly did mean a lot to the lady. This clearly wasn’t something that just came up like when Neila had apologized to her, this felt planned. The fox wasn’t sure what to say. Whether that was because she honestly felt really moved by someone caring enough to actually plan an apology or because she honestly felt that her mistress didn’t need to apologize for something they both enjoyed.
“You don’t need to apologize, Mistress.” Hannah was still able to face Rayne but couldn’t meet her eyes again.
“I do, Hannah. I took advantage of my position.” Rayne really had and she felt so guilty for it. Even guiltier for how much she enjoyed it. “I shouldn’t have pushed you into doing that.”
It was true that Mistress had told her to put her head in her lap but Hannah had allowed the rest. Well, she might not have felt like she could speak up against Rayne but she never even felt like she wanted to. The lady was so kind to her and it was obvious how curious she was about Hannah’s ears. Curious enough that Hannah actually found it a little cute. She had even pushed her own ear back into her mistress’s hand, even if it was subconsciously. She still wanted it and enjoyed it.
“You didn’t push me, Mistress,” Hannah eventually managed to say through a bright red face. Though she wasn’t able to look her in the eyes, she could tell Rayne was about to say something about it still being abuse of power, and Hannah didn’t want her thinking that. Rayne had only ever been kind to her. Mustering as much mental and emotional strength as she could, Hannah said, “I enjoyed it. It was nice to be touched like that again.”
Rayne had been about to say something but stopped at Hannah’s words. Though she had tried to push her fretting aside all day, there had just been this pit in her stomach she had been ignoring. A pit formed by the worry that Hannah might have seen her abusing her power like her previous owners. But her vixen’s words told her otherwise. Rayne prided herself on being able to tell when someone was lying to her, and Hannah clearly wasn’t. Hannah had genuinely enjoyed the lady playing with her ears. That fact made Rayne’s heart start pounding in her chest. She could feel the blush on her face get worse as Hannah’s words repeated in her head over and over again. She enjoyed it.
“I-I’m glad I didn’t push you and I’m happy to hear you liked it,” the lady eventually managed to say. Rayne was never one to easily fluster but knowing Hannah liked having her ears played with was almost breaking her. Not only that but the urge to do it again had grown tenfold. She couldn’t bring herself to ask though.
Hannah nodded, still not able to look up at her mistress. Her mind filled not only with the events of last night but also the dream she ended up having. She wondered if Mistress would play with her ears again now that she admitted she liked it. It felt strange that she really hoped Rayne would. There was still that little voice telling her this was wrong to do with someone she just met, let alone a human, and Hannah was somehow able to push through it. It had felt so nice and caring to have her ears touched again. It was a level of affection she hadn’t had in years. “I k-know humans are really curious about o-our ears, so I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to do it again.” Hannah felt like a schoolgirl asking her crush to touch her ears.
Rayne’s heart had been jumping for joy knowing Hannah had liked it, but now it was soaring through the skies. “As long as you don’t mind.” The lady hadn’t felt this excited in a long time. So much so that she couldn’t bear waiting for it, and moved her cup of tea back over to the table, freeing her lap. She regretted it though when she saw Hannah’s hesitation as the fox looked down at the tea in her lap. “Oh, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t assume you meant now.”
Hannah’s face felt hotter than the fire heating the room. Yes she had said she wouldn’t mind doing it again but she hadn’t thought it would have been right away. Not that she didn’t like the idea of that. She very much liked the idea of Mistress touching her ears. She looked down at her tea. She hadn’t drunk too much of it and she was worried she would lose out on having such nice tea. Then again, Mistress had said tea wasn’t something below her, and she could have it any time she wished.
“It’s alright, Mistress,” the fox managed to say as she nervously moved her cup and saucer back to the table. She didn’t meet Rayne’s eyes, but did turn to look at her lap to at least see if this was still what the lady wanted. “We can do it now.”
“Only if you’re okay with it,” Rayne said, feeling excitement build back up inside of her. It didn’t take long for Hannah to curl up and lay her head down in Rayne’s lap. It was a little awkward with the tail being stuck under the dress but that wouldn’t be a problem for much longer. That also brought up the other thing Rayne wanted to talk about. “I didn’t think to ask you what kind of clothes you liked earlier today,” the lady said, reaching out and touching those soft ears. It was just as pleasurable as it was last night.
Hannah felt awkward at the first touch but it didn’t take but a few seconds before she could just fall into the affectionate attention. “What do you mean, Mistress?”
It felt so natural to gently play with her fox’s ears, and as much as it clearly calmed and relaxed Hannah it did the same for the lady. This was the perfect way to end the day. “Well, Lena is making you clothes and I would like to make sure you will like them. Do you have styles you like? Or certain colors?”
It was a little hard to focus but Hannah did manage to answer. “The clothes I liked to wear back home are very different from the clothes people of the Empire wear. It’s a lot colder in Everlial than it is here and our clothes reflect that.”
Rayne thought about that for a moment. She hadn’t known it was colder in the freelands, but she did realize it was far northeast of the Empire. The lady hadn’t really ever spent much time in colder climates than her home. She did wonder how different the clothes of her fox’s home might be from the clothes here. “It does get rather warm during the summer, so thicker clothes might not be ideal. Are there any clothes you like from here?”
“I… I never really put much thought into it, Mistress. I was always told what to wear so I didn’t look to see if I would like anything different.” She felt a little bad now that she hadn’t spent time looking at the clothes of people she saw in the market.
That upset Rayne, not because she was upset with Hannah, just that her fox never had the choice to explore and try clothes. Rayne honestly loved clothes and even loved the process of picking out what she liked. Maybe when she took Hannah out for shoes she could look around and see if she liked anything. Though that would just mean Rayne buying her more clothes and the lady didn’t want to imagine how Eda would react. “What about colors?”
“I like green and red.” Hannah found her eyes closing as her mistress started scratching at the base of her ears. It felt so nice and she could feel her tail give a very slight and gentle wag. “Creams are also nice.”
Rayne caught a glimpse of something moving to her side and looked over. Under Hannah’s uniform there was slight movement and the lady’s eyes were locked on. Her fox’s tail was wagging ever so slightly. Hannah was wagging her tail because of Rayne and it made the lady feel more powerful than she ever had before. “Greens, reds, and creams,” she said, not taking her eyes off the slight motion under Hannah’s uniform. “I’ll keep that in mind.” She would send word to Lena tomorrow to use those colors, though it didn’t differ much from what Rayne had picked. She just chose colors Lena said would go with orange.
Hannah didn’t reply and just melted into the touch. The work hadn’t been hard today but ending the day on this would have made even the hardest day worth it. Mistress was a natural at playing with her ears and thankfully wasn’t repeating exactly what she had done last night. The fox had to fight down the part of her wanting to be touched in that specific way again. For now she just wanted to lay back and relax to her mistress playing with her ears and that’s exactly what she did.