100daysofsummer
Heinz again. 2,340.
“You bought a puppy. There weren’t enough disturbing sycophants on the ship for you that you had to go and buy one?” The words were spat out in disgust. Heinz flinched, but didn’t dare duck behind Emil. The opinion wasn’t one that was unique. Some couldn’t tolerate telepathy, even when it was pushed into acceptable social forms. The mills experienced the occasional protest. Every now and then, they were subject to inspection by politicians who had been lobbied to have them shut down and their occupants ‘humanely disposed of’. The young man before them obviously was not overly fond of Heinz or Heinz’s counterparts, and he rounded once again on Emil. “What were you thinking?”
“A great deal more than I share with you,” the man with skin as black as night returned archly, straightening his jacket as he moved past the angry young man confronting them. “You know that I rarely act without a good reason, Domenico.”
The young man, whose skin was maybe a few shades lighter than Emil’s, had eyes that bored through Heinz and unlike Emil’s, they were a light hazel brown. They felt anything but warm. His clothes were more elaborate than Emil’s as well, with flowing robes that wrapped around the young man from shoulder to waist and around his back before getting pinned just under his arm by an elaborate set of clasps that led down to his hip. Each clasp depicted an animal of some sort, and they were connected to each other with silk ropes that dangled down from the last clasp and wrapped back around opposite to the robes. Long black hair was braided into hundreds of braids that were drawn into a larger braid in back, but a few stray braids escaped to frame his angry face.
Heinz reminded himself not to flinch at the glare. To back down would be to shame his master, and out of all the puppies available, Emil had chosen him. Whatever the reason behind the choice, Heinz would not willingly give his man with skin as black as night cause to regret his decision to buy Heinz.
“Heinz,” Emil turned to call back to him. Sparing Domenico one last glance, Heinz rushed to catch up with Emil. Ruffling his hair once he came within range, Emil shot him a small smile before leading them down the hallway and into the interior of the ship. Never having been outside the puppy mills that he could remember, Heinz tried not to gape like a fool, but quite imagined that he failed at the feat. They’d taken a small shuttle from the docks, and while the vessel had not seemed terribly big to him, it was a speck of space dust compared to the ship he found himself on now.
“Do not mind my brother,” Emil told him lightly, ushering him down a central hallway that was filled with people bustling about. “He’s something of a hothead.” Eyes were staring at them as they passed, and Heinz struggled to not give in to the urge to stare at the floor and cower at the attention.
There were a thousand different races present. That in itself was nothing surprising to Heinz. He was aware of just what the universe could hold. Puppies came in all shapes, sizes and nationalities. It was their telepathy and their age that defined them. That, and the fact that most parents were quite willing to sell their telepathic children to the mills. Free roaming telepaths were reviled among all races. The mind was a sacred inner sanctum, and few wanted to associate with someone who could peek into it or speak directly into it on a whim. Puppies could be harnessed, controlled, and their upbringing strictly monitored. Free roaming telepaths did as they chose, restricted by no one and nothing.
Even controlled as puppies, Domenico’s opinion wasn’t an uncommon one.
“Mr. President!” A young lady came rushing towards them in an official looking flight suit. “Mr. President,” she repeated, out of breath as she bent over to put her hand on her knees. “You turned your prompter off again,” she accused.
Bemused, Emil dug a hand into his jacket producing a small device. “So I did. My apologies.”
“The Governor of the Carpathian is expecting you to be there for the conference you scheduled with him and his council in ten minutes.” She stood up, throwing her arms over her chest and glaring at Emil as if he were a naughty child. “I’ve already had to reschedule your meeting with Andrews and Wyatt, and neither of them was pleased given the troubles they’ve had at Xanthippe.”
“Yes, yes, Adora, I’m sorry. But this was an urgent matter I had to attend to. I’m sure they will understand,” Emil soothed.
Adora did not look convinced. “All the same sir, we need to get you into proper clothes and to the conference room. I’ve already instructed Jasper to stall to give us time.” She turned and marched down the hallway, the expectation that Emil would follow her obvious.
Chuckling to himself, Emil reached out to brush his hands through Heinz’s hair, startling Heinz into jumping slightly. Daring a glance up, he allowed himself a small smile as Emil rolled his eyes. “Can’t keep the good Governor waiting, can we?” His man with skin as black as night joked lightly, placing an arm around Heinz’s shoulders to guide him down the hallway.
The main central hallway gave way to a series of smaller, more secluded pathways. Some of which required codes as Adora adeptly placed her hand on the palm readers and punched the keypads with practiced efficiency. After several elaborate lifts, they reached a floor that was completely devoid of anyone, and Emil took over to place his palm on the reader and type in a code to slide open the only-enormous though they might be-doors that Heinz could see on the entire floor.
“Sir?” Adora stopped them as she gave Heinz a pointed glance.
“He’s coming in with us,” his man with skin as black as night laughed. “I can’t very well leave him stranded in the hallway, can I?”
“Has he been cleared, sir?” Adora had a stern, if frustrated, look on her face. When Emil merely smiled at her brightly, she sighed. She motioned Heinz in, her lips pursed in disapproval, before she tapped the simple quartz pendant on her necklace. “Jasper, send Yasmine and Freddel to the presidential suite to investigate a possible security breach, please.”
Heinz sneezed, startling a delighted laugh out of Emil as he left them for the rooms inside the suite.
“He’s not a security breach, Adora,” Emil’s muffled voice filtered out. Heinz made to follow it in farther, but Adora’s hand on his chest stopped him.
“You will stay here for the moment. Once Yasmine and Freddel have cleared you, then we’ll figure out what to do with you.” She brushed past him then, heading for the other rooms that Emil had disappeared into. “You better be getting dressed Mr. President! We only have five minutes.”
There were sounds of clothing rustling and drawers opening and shutting, and then there was something that made Heinz sneeze violently and then there was no sound of anything but his own heart beating in his chest. He very badly wanted to call out to his man with skin as black as night-just to assure himself that he hadn’t been left alone, forgotten. However, he didn’t want to disturb his man when it was obvious that he was busy.
He also did not want his behavior to reflect badly on his master, so he stayed in the room that Adora had verbally confined him to. The ceiling was vaulted, and the area was at least four times that of his run at the puppy mill. A pair of elegant sofas sat at one end, and a small desk sat next to a screen that depicted the scenery of the space moving by outside the ship. Cautiously, he moved to a spot beside the doors he’d come in, and slid to the ground beside an exotic looking tree that was growing out of the carpet. It gave off a pleasant-if strange-thrum in his head, so he dared to lean against it, resting his forehead on the smooth bark.
For a moment, he wished to be back within the confines of his run, back at the puppy mill. At least there, he knew what to expect. Here, it might be hours before his man with skin as black as night came back for him.
If he remembered Heinz at all.
He shivered. Puppies were kept as symbols of status. And as president of whatever it was that Emil was president over, he obviously was a man in a position to be envied. Such men often wanted trophies that showcased their wealth and their power. Puppies were a great means of displaying both. And yet it was another mark against which Heinz fell short. He was old. Most puppies his age had been bought and trained and settled years before they’d hit puberty. His looks were nothing special; the man with skin as black as night far outshone him.
The door to his right abruptly slid open, startling years off of Heinz’s life as two people strode confidently into the room.
The woman in red and the pirate-who-was-not-a-pirate. He blinked, and then let go of a series of successive sneezes. Something about them tickled his nose. Having the time to adjust to the smell made the sneezes lessen and then die off all together.
“I told you he bought a puppy,” the women cackled, presenting the pirate with a palm. “Pay up, Freddel.”
“You’re a pain in the ass, you know that, Yasmine?” Freddel retorted, scowling as he dug into his pocket and place a few bills in Yasmine’s manicured hands. He turned his attention to Heinz and bent down to get to Heinz’s current level. “So you’re Mr. President’s new puppy, eh?” He raised a dark eyebrow and stared at Heinz.
When the silence and the stare became too much, Heinz averted his gaze and whispered Yes into the man’s mind.
“Figures,” Yasmine scoffed. “The council will have fits. Accuse him of using telepathy to spy on them. As if the ship’s computers weren’t already magicked to track any devious plots they hatch while onboard,” she rolled her eyes.
“It’ll be a PR nightmare,” Freddel agreed. “Good thing we’re secret service and the problem falls to Adora and Domenico instead. Stand up boy, and let us have a better look at you.” Freddel gestured, and reluctantly, Heinz stood. Inspections were very rarely anything but humiliating, his man with skin as black as night’s being the only exception Heinz could recall.
“He’s not a purebred,” Yasmine murmured, grabbing his chin and ratcheting it up so that he’d look her directly in the eyes. “I bought my son a puppy while we were down there. He’s been begging me for ages. And even though he’s a mutt, he still has this one beat.” She sighed. “Then again, who can fathom Emil’s mind?”
“His collar’s been changed recently.” Freddel’s hands traced over the sigils, and Heinz desperately ignored the urge to back up and swat away the hand. “Interesting choice of sigils.”
“Emil definitely had a hand in it,” Yasmine agreed, tilting Heinz’s chin to the side so that she could get a better glimpse of the side of his neck. “Best to do a few scans to make sure he’s legit.”
Freddel stepped back, staring at Heinz intently. Apprehensively, Heinz waited, still as death until the air around him seemed charged with the same funny smell that had reached him at the docks. Unable to stop himself, he sneezed violently and successively until he stumbled, his knees hitting the floor.
“Odd reaction,” Yasmine murmured, reaching down to tilt Heinz’s head up so that she could stare at his watering eyes. “Anything?” She turned questioningly to Freddel.
“The only magic I could sense in or on him was his collar.”
“And the telepathy?”
“Doesn’t count.” Freddel dismissed. “It’s more a genetic flaw than a real type of magic. Barely registers when I scan for magics.”
“What are we going to do with you?” Yasmine shook his chin lightly before releasing it with a sigh. “He certainly can’t stay here.”
His heart lodged itself in his throat. Of course not. He was an object to be had, not something to be constantly reminded of and in contact with. As kind as the man with skin as black as night had been to him, Heinz was just a puppy. His place was wherever his master decided it to be. It was entirely possible that he’d just imagined the kiss. After all, how many times had he imagined himself getting adopted out of the mills? And who wouldn’t want to be kissed by the man with skin as black as night? He would not be staying in Emil’s rooms with him and sharing his daily life with the man.
Wishful thinking. Always wishful thinking, he scolded himself. If he could teach himself not to hope for so much, then it wouldn’t hurt as bad when reality dealt its blows.
“One of the intern bunks is empty,” Freddel added thoughtfully, “and the security clearance is probably adequate for him.”
“Aren’t they a bit busy? We can’t have a puppy in the midst of everything causing chaos.” Yasmine impatiently motioned him up, and obediently, Heinz forced himself to rise to his feet, even if everything in him was reluctant to.
“It’s the one buried at the end of all the hallways and past the main offices. Usually it’s reserved for the night shift interns, but the ones we have now prefer to be in the thick of things, no matter what time of night or day.” Freddel shrugged. “C’mon, pup. Let’s go get you settled.”
Head bowed, Heinz let them escort him out of the pretty rooms that the man with skin as black as night lived in.
La. I don't want to go to work this week. ;_;
“You bought a puppy. There weren’t enough disturbing sycophants on the ship for you that you had to go and buy one?” The words were spat out in disgust. Heinz flinched, but didn’t dare duck behind Emil. The opinion wasn’t one that was unique. Some couldn’t tolerate telepathy, even when it was pushed into acceptable social forms. The mills experienced the occasional protest. Every now and then, they were subject to inspection by politicians who had been lobbied to have them shut down and their occupants ‘humanely disposed of’. The young man before them obviously was not overly fond of Heinz or Heinz’s counterparts, and he rounded once again on Emil. “What were you thinking?”
“A great deal more than I share with you,” the man with skin as black as night returned archly, straightening his jacket as he moved past the angry young man confronting them. “You know that I rarely act without a good reason, Domenico.”
The young man, whose skin was maybe a few shades lighter than Emil’s, had eyes that bored through Heinz and unlike Emil’s, they were a light hazel brown. They felt anything but warm. His clothes were more elaborate than Emil’s as well, with flowing robes that wrapped around the young man from shoulder to waist and around his back before getting pinned just under his arm by an elaborate set of clasps that led down to his hip. Each clasp depicted an animal of some sort, and they were connected to each other with silk ropes that dangled down from the last clasp and wrapped back around opposite to the robes. Long black hair was braided into hundreds of braids that were drawn into a larger braid in back, but a few stray braids escaped to frame his angry face.
Heinz reminded himself not to flinch at the glare. To back down would be to shame his master, and out of all the puppies available, Emil had chosen him. Whatever the reason behind the choice, Heinz would not willingly give his man with skin as black as night cause to regret his decision to buy Heinz.
“Heinz,” Emil turned to call back to him. Sparing Domenico one last glance, Heinz rushed to catch up with Emil. Ruffling his hair once he came within range, Emil shot him a small smile before leading them down the hallway and into the interior of the ship. Never having been outside the puppy mills that he could remember, Heinz tried not to gape like a fool, but quite imagined that he failed at the feat. They’d taken a small shuttle from the docks, and while the vessel had not seemed terribly big to him, it was a speck of space dust compared to the ship he found himself on now.
“Do not mind my brother,” Emil told him lightly, ushering him down a central hallway that was filled with people bustling about. “He’s something of a hothead.” Eyes were staring at them as they passed, and Heinz struggled to not give in to the urge to stare at the floor and cower at the attention.
There were a thousand different races present. That in itself was nothing surprising to Heinz. He was aware of just what the universe could hold. Puppies came in all shapes, sizes and nationalities. It was their telepathy and their age that defined them. That, and the fact that most parents were quite willing to sell their telepathic children to the mills. Free roaming telepaths were reviled among all races. The mind was a sacred inner sanctum, and few wanted to associate with someone who could peek into it or speak directly into it on a whim. Puppies could be harnessed, controlled, and their upbringing strictly monitored. Free roaming telepaths did as they chose, restricted by no one and nothing.
Even controlled as puppies, Domenico’s opinion wasn’t an uncommon one.
“Mr. President!” A young lady came rushing towards them in an official looking flight suit. “Mr. President,” she repeated, out of breath as she bent over to put her hand on her knees. “You turned your prompter off again,” she accused.
Bemused, Emil dug a hand into his jacket producing a small device. “So I did. My apologies.”
“The Governor of the Carpathian is expecting you to be there for the conference you scheduled with him and his council in ten minutes.” She stood up, throwing her arms over her chest and glaring at Emil as if he were a naughty child. “I’ve already had to reschedule your meeting with Andrews and Wyatt, and neither of them was pleased given the troubles they’ve had at Xanthippe.”
“Yes, yes, Adora, I’m sorry. But this was an urgent matter I had to attend to. I’m sure they will understand,” Emil soothed.
Adora did not look convinced. “All the same sir, we need to get you into proper clothes and to the conference room. I’ve already instructed Jasper to stall to give us time.” She turned and marched down the hallway, the expectation that Emil would follow her obvious.
Chuckling to himself, Emil reached out to brush his hands through Heinz’s hair, startling Heinz into jumping slightly. Daring a glance up, he allowed himself a small smile as Emil rolled his eyes. “Can’t keep the good Governor waiting, can we?” His man with skin as black as night joked lightly, placing an arm around Heinz’s shoulders to guide him down the hallway.
The main central hallway gave way to a series of smaller, more secluded pathways. Some of which required codes as Adora adeptly placed her hand on the palm readers and punched the keypads with practiced efficiency. After several elaborate lifts, they reached a floor that was completely devoid of anyone, and Emil took over to place his palm on the reader and type in a code to slide open the only-enormous though they might be-doors that Heinz could see on the entire floor.
“Sir?” Adora stopped them as she gave Heinz a pointed glance.
“He’s coming in with us,” his man with skin as black as night laughed. “I can’t very well leave him stranded in the hallway, can I?”
“Has he been cleared, sir?” Adora had a stern, if frustrated, look on her face. When Emil merely smiled at her brightly, she sighed. She motioned Heinz in, her lips pursed in disapproval, before she tapped the simple quartz pendant on her necklace. “Jasper, send Yasmine and Freddel to the presidential suite to investigate a possible security breach, please.”
Heinz sneezed, startling a delighted laugh out of Emil as he left them for the rooms inside the suite.
“He’s not a security breach, Adora,” Emil’s muffled voice filtered out. Heinz made to follow it in farther, but Adora’s hand on his chest stopped him.
“You will stay here for the moment. Once Yasmine and Freddel have cleared you, then we’ll figure out what to do with you.” She brushed past him then, heading for the other rooms that Emil had disappeared into. “You better be getting dressed Mr. President! We only have five minutes.”
There were sounds of clothing rustling and drawers opening and shutting, and then there was something that made Heinz sneeze violently and then there was no sound of anything but his own heart beating in his chest. He very badly wanted to call out to his man with skin as black as night-just to assure himself that he hadn’t been left alone, forgotten. However, he didn’t want to disturb his man when it was obvious that he was busy.
He also did not want his behavior to reflect badly on his master, so he stayed in the room that Adora had verbally confined him to. The ceiling was vaulted, and the area was at least four times that of his run at the puppy mill. A pair of elegant sofas sat at one end, and a small desk sat next to a screen that depicted the scenery of the space moving by outside the ship. Cautiously, he moved to a spot beside the doors he’d come in, and slid to the ground beside an exotic looking tree that was growing out of the carpet. It gave off a pleasant-if strange-thrum in his head, so he dared to lean against it, resting his forehead on the smooth bark.
For a moment, he wished to be back within the confines of his run, back at the puppy mill. At least there, he knew what to expect. Here, it might be hours before his man with skin as black as night came back for him.
If he remembered Heinz at all.
He shivered. Puppies were kept as symbols of status. And as president of whatever it was that Emil was president over, he obviously was a man in a position to be envied. Such men often wanted trophies that showcased their wealth and their power. Puppies were a great means of displaying both. And yet it was another mark against which Heinz fell short. He was old. Most puppies his age had been bought and trained and settled years before they’d hit puberty. His looks were nothing special; the man with skin as black as night far outshone him.
The door to his right abruptly slid open, startling years off of Heinz’s life as two people strode confidently into the room.
The woman in red and the pirate-who-was-not-a-pirate. He blinked, and then let go of a series of successive sneezes. Something about them tickled his nose. Having the time to adjust to the smell made the sneezes lessen and then die off all together.
“I told you he bought a puppy,” the women cackled, presenting the pirate with a palm. “Pay up, Freddel.”
“You’re a pain in the ass, you know that, Yasmine?” Freddel retorted, scowling as he dug into his pocket and place a few bills in Yasmine’s manicured hands. He turned his attention to Heinz and bent down to get to Heinz’s current level. “So you’re Mr. President’s new puppy, eh?” He raised a dark eyebrow and stared at Heinz.
When the silence and the stare became too much, Heinz averted his gaze and whispered Yes into the man’s mind.
“Figures,” Yasmine scoffed. “The council will have fits. Accuse him of using telepathy to spy on them. As if the ship’s computers weren’t already magicked to track any devious plots they hatch while onboard,” she rolled her eyes.
“It’ll be a PR nightmare,” Freddel agreed. “Good thing we’re secret service and the problem falls to Adora and Domenico instead. Stand up boy, and let us have a better look at you.” Freddel gestured, and reluctantly, Heinz stood. Inspections were very rarely anything but humiliating, his man with skin as black as night’s being the only exception Heinz could recall.
“He’s not a purebred,” Yasmine murmured, grabbing his chin and ratcheting it up so that he’d look her directly in the eyes. “I bought my son a puppy while we were down there. He’s been begging me for ages. And even though he’s a mutt, he still has this one beat.” She sighed. “Then again, who can fathom Emil’s mind?”
“His collar’s been changed recently.” Freddel’s hands traced over the sigils, and Heinz desperately ignored the urge to back up and swat away the hand. “Interesting choice of sigils.”
“Emil definitely had a hand in it,” Yasmine agreed, tilting Heinz’s chin to the side so that she could get a better glimpse of the side of his neck. “Best to do a few scans to make sure he’s legit.”
Freddel stepped back, staring at Heinz intently. Apprehensively, Heinz waited, still as death until the air around him seemed charged with the same funny smell that had reached him at the docks. Unable to stop himself, he sneezed violently and successively until he stumbled, his knees hitting the floor.
“Odd reaction,” Yasmine murmured, reaching down to tilt Heinz’s head up so that she could stare at his watering eyes. “Anything?” She turned questioningly to Freddel.
“The only magic I could sense in or on him was his collar.”
“And the telepathy?”
“Doesn’t count.” Freddel dismissed. “It’s more a genetic flaw than a real type of magic. Barely registers when I scan for magics.”
“What are we going to do with you?” Yasmine shook his chin lightly before releasing it with a sigh. “He certainly can’t stay here.”
His heart lodged itself in his throat. Of course not. He was an object to be had, not something to be constantly reminded of and in contact with. As kind as the man with skin as black as night had been to him, Heinz was just a puppy. His place was wherever his master decided it to be. It was entirely possible that he’d just imagined the kiss. After all, how many times had he imagined himself getting adopted out of the mills? And who wouldn’t want to be kissed by the man with skin as black as night? He would not be staying in Emil’s rooms with him and sharing his daily life with the man.
Wishful thinking. Always wishful thinking, he scolded himself. If he could teach himself not to hope for so much, then it wouldn’t hurt as bad when reality dealt its blows.
“One of the intern bunks is empty,” Freddel added thoughtfully, “and the security clearance is probably adequate for him.”
“Aren’t they a bit busy? We can’t have a puppy in the midst of everything causing chaos.” Yasmine impatiently motioned him up, and obediently, Heinz forced himself to rise to his feet, even if everything in him was reluctant to.
“It’s the one buried at the end of all the hallways and past the main offices. Usually it’s reserved for the night shift interns, but the ones we have now prefer to be in the thick of things, no matter what time of night or day.” Freddel shrugged. “C’mon, pup. Let’s go get you settled.”
Head bowed, Heinz let them escort him out of the pretty rooms that the man with skin as black as night lived in.
La. I don't want to go to work this week. ;_;