[Pup]

  She could understand that everyone wanted Moose’s attention, but she had a difficult enough time sharing with Kitty.

  She didn’t need more people taking his time.

  She looked over the big brown lump of a man sitting at the table. He seemed to have brushed off his scare at seeing Kitty. The fall from the seat had vindicated her once again, though he had seemed to recover quickly.

  ‘Why does no one else see her then? She never gets a reaction on the stations. Are… are we all just cowards?’

  She shook her head. It wasn’t important.

  “Very well, as you seem to know what you want why don’t you tell him the contract terms?”

  Looking at the Crova, she seemed to feel something about the interruption. Though what was hard to tell.

  ‘It’s so hard to read her.’

  “Fine. It’s not that hard anyways. You work for Moose and do what he wants. You get hired for the quarter master position. I don’t know what that means, but she says you are good at it so I shouldn’t need to tell you anyways.”

  She pointed at the Crova, who had recommended the Urissa. Apparently he was good at the job.

  “You can have as many magic disks as you want. The water is the same and it’s clean. You might get some treats, but Kitty doesn’t like it if you eat too many so be careful. Uh, I don’t know where you can sleep. Kitty will decide that, I guess.”

  She didn’t really want more people to share the bedroom. It was crowded as it was.

  Saying no was hard though.

  “Hmm, I see. That is easy to understand. You didn’t mention how long I would be here though. Shouldn’t that be something I know?”

  She cocked her head and looked between the two passengers.

  ‘What a strange thing to ask.’

  They both seemed amused, she could tell that much, but she didn’t know why. It seemed very simple to her.

  “You work here until Moose doesn’t need you anymore. I thought that was obvious?”

  The Crova definitely seemed to be laughing.

  ‘Did I do something funny?’

  “My, that is quite a thing. What will happen if I get too old to keep working? The pay must be quite good as well, to keep people here that long. Hmm, did you mention that? I don’t recall it.”

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  She pinned her ears back and had to stop for a bit.

  ‘What does Moose do when we get old?’

  “Kitty, does Moose get old?”

  She didn’t even know the answer to that, so best to ask the expert.

  Even if that was Kitty.

  “Why matter?”

  ‘More difficult questions.’

  “I.. I guess if he got old he would need to stop, right?”

  That seemed the most obvious point at the moment. If Moose was in charge and he had to stop being in charge, what would the rest of them do? She had joined after Kitty, so she didn’t even know how long Moose had been here before she joined, let alone how old he actually was.

  “Nothing stop Moose.”

  …

  ‘I believe it.’

  With that settled, all she had to figure out was what happened to the rest of them if they got old.

  “I don’t know what would happen if you got old. Maybe Moose would stop you from getting old until he is done with you?”

  That seemed logical.

  “Oh my. That seems like quite the thing. Is that all I will get then, staying young to work?”

  Ah, she saw the problem now.

  “Of course not. If you work really hard and Moose is happy you might get a head pat. It’s really hard to do though.”

  She heard a noise and looked to see the Crova with her head on the table. She seemed in pain.

  “Ah, of course. I’m not a fan of head pats though. Is that all we get?”

  She felt her tail bush out and her mouth fall open.

  ‘No head pats?’

  She looked over to Kitty to make sure she had heard that correctly, but Kitty seemed just as shocked as she was.

  This… She had no idea how to handle this.

  ‘Is this why negotiations are hard, because people are weird?’

  “You don’t want head pats?”

  “Hmm, doesn’t seem like they are all that useful, no?”

  She didn’t think her brain could handle this.

  “… You can have naps? Moose might let you sit on his lap, that’s good right?”

  A quick check and Kitty seemed to agree. Both good incentives.

  ‘He must like one of them at least. This is the best stuff.’

  “That doesn’t seem any better than head pats, now does it?”

  …

  “Are you ok? Do… Do you need help?”

  She needed to ask. She had to make sure. She agreed that head pats and lap time were on the same level. Maybe naps were a lesser thing, but they were still very nice. To not like either?

  Unheard of.

  She heard some very unusual sounds from the Crova, so it was clear she wasn’t crazy.

  ‘Even the Crova knows he is giving up so much. She clearly wants to say something about it.’

  “That is a question alright. Why don’t we come back to this later then, yes? Come, tell me, is there anything else I should know for the contract.”

  She wasn’t being taken seriously. The newcomer seemed very amused right now.

  ‘I knew it. He knows exactly what he is getting. He is just trying to get more. I guess I offered too much to start out. Is that why the Crova wants to say something, she knows he is going to ask for more?’

  Now that she figured it out, she wouldn’t fall for the trick again.

  “Sure, I guess. You can’t get more though. Moose won’t let you.”

  What else did she need to tell him?

  ‘I bet Moose could put it all in his little book, then he wouldn’t need to remember what he had already said.’

  “Ah! I belong to Moose, you can’t have me. You need your own slave. I tried to find one here but it didn’t work out, so you need to figure that out on your own.”

  ‘Hah! I knew they weren’t taking me seriously. As soon as they need to work both of them stopped thinking things were funny.’

  “Young lady, why would I need a slave. No one needs to own slaves.”

  She narrowed her eyes. She had to make sure they weren’t tricking her again.

  “You are supposed to be a master, right? I don’t know where to find a quarter either, but getting one is your job. Same with the slave. You just can’t have me. That should be pretty simple to understand, so don’t try to trick me.”

  The blinking showed they didn’t expect that.

  “Hey! Wher--. We nee...”

  Nobody expected the interruption either.

  lot heavier on the emotional side than our little romp here, but for those of you who enjoy the character connections but want some more action this might fit your taste. Give you a bit more of that adrenaline hit. I smell just a hint of the unknown as well. It might have quite the enjoyable mix for those that like the sound of that.

  lot though. I meant it.