31 Thirty-One

It was a day for connections to be made and strengthened, schemes to be checked and executed, plans to be done. Come nightfall, the Palace of Neu-Jupiter still had a late visitor, Katze taking an unmarked Aircar straight to the private aeroport, finding that Iason was already there to meet him upon his arrival, alongside the Furniture who immediately took over the parking of the car and the sealing of the gates, having opened part of the shields for their guest.

The Blondie looked well.

After the failed assassination, Iason seemed as prevailing as ever, his stature unshaken although there was a cautious aura about him. It made Katze curious if Riki was likewise well, though from one mongrel to another, that was quite easy to figure out. The redhead believed the Pet would have survived a diluvium with sheer cunning alone. Nothing could have taken him down, not even a brush with death…

The guest was not here to stay overnight, but the Furniture were certain he'd be here until late which meant that they would be up late as well. The last to bed and the first to rise - one of the things in the strict credo observed to the letter by the superior Blondie's servants, though the brothers had been anxious lately.

Katron had not made it back since the Pet Auction, and had been a cause for alarm for those left in the House, up until Iason called them aside to inform them that the Alpha of their Trinity will come in before the week expired, only later as the maintenance had taken longer than anticipated. Thankfully, the Palace still ran as effectively, the twins showing off their tailored 'unity' and cooperation in sticking to the schedules, indeed the best of the best there are anywhere.

"Master," Katze gave the Blondie a small nod.

Iason was not one for pleasantries, but he was noticeably easier to deal with when he was at home, Katze although at times missing the strolls they'd indulged in through the gardens, now committing to forgotten habits the perusing of the domed arboretum park in Area 4 Ainis, where they used to frequent and discuss the many details of their plans.

Neu-Jupiter was now the head of Tanagura, and he needed to be protected, the privilege of walking in public no longer a workable opportunity unless you consider doing so with a bevy of guards in heavy armour enjoyable. It wasn't.

"This must be important when you had to call me up here again, Master Iason," and Katze cut to the chase, making Iason smile.

"Let's talk inside."

--

Although he was allowed, Katze never reached for his cigarettes whenever in the Palace as a form of respect, discovering that Riki had lost the taste for the habit after sleeping for a year, alongside other wonts when Jupiter had purged him of them at the rebirth. Thus, no matter how much Katze craved from time to time, he suppressed himself with a practiced cool.

"There's an increasing market demand for raven-haired Pets recently, given Riki's appearance at the Auction in Midas. Not only that, we've also received requests for black-winged seraphims."

They were in the Main. Katze had been admiring the Floating Gardens for some time as he continued with his reports, tea served and a late spread readied by the Furniture, Iason silent and listening intently to the details but noticeably narrowing his frozen eyes when he heard that last bit.

"Black Seraphims..." he repeated the words... of course everyone knew it was impossible, even Raoul admits to that. "It was inevitable that the public would develop a taste for what's exclusive. Yet I don't even know if I should take that trend as a compliment."

"Isn't mimicry the best form of flattery, Master?"

"Never in any case," Iason admitted. "There is but one Exclusive."

Katze agreed, not without first taking notice of the Blondie's open aggression against the idea of people wanting to duplicate Riki's standing. He doubted that Iason also did not have the same reservations regarding the Academy's manufacturing of raven-haired Pets. There wasn't anything particularly special about them really: just a replica of what Neu-Jupiter's Pet was – the purpose of the matter clear enough that the trade was likewise riding this bandwagon and playing to current tastes just because Riki was now the most alluring subject on the planet.

Or has the public simply forgotten how one of the brothels, Numbers, had gone down the proverbial drain for taking in black-haired Pets, the idea proving not so popular with its picky patrons? Even in the caste system, Onyxes are the least of privilege in Tanagura, the mere face…

Then there's that black-haired mongrel from the slums that had become the object of scorn in the Capital once when he became a Blondie's Pet. That had only been a few years back, but now people seemed to have forgotten about it overnight. Who could've guessed how the tables would eventually end being so reprehensibly turned?

The customs that had once been were fast-deteriorating in the face of Iason and Riki's relationship. Katze firmly believed the possibility of how, soon, the radical idea of love shared this way would become an ideal. He could see Tanagura undergoing a transformation, though those who would follow in the footsteps of Jupiter's Lovers are still unclear figments for now.

Speaking of which, where is the infamous j e w e l of the Mink household? The Black Market's Subarctic Scarface had not seen the Pet since he'd arrived.

"Katze!"

Riki had walked in from the Court of the Palace, his wings out, just come from a few flight laps around the tiers. Just as he'd began to wonder when the broker would drop by, here he was, Kantre informing the Pet but a few minutes ago of the late visit.

"Hello Riki."

Katze couldn't help but stare at those bare wings, the Pet appearing to be extremely used to them now, the Ex-Furniture remembering the shock of the first time he'd seen them. Still so beautiful and now weaved with silver - when had this happened? Riki smiled.

Amazing that he can be this happy now when he could have easily suffocated in Eos before. It looked as if Iason had listened to the counsel he had been given, that one theory Katze threw at him about keeping their life isolated enough and focusing on building the relationship instead of shoving it down Riki's throat for no reason.

"Just fine…" the Pet's short reply, summing it all up somewhat.

It was one of those meetings he was not supposed to intrude upon, he knew. Iason and Katze had business to discuss and frankly, he didn't want to know what it was, be it for Tanagura or the Black Market. But he did take the time to scoot over to where the Blondie was seated, wrapping his arms around him in a gesture of affection. Katze averted his eyes as they kissed. Lovers, he rolled his eyes in a form of amusement.

"Can I go see an Airbike race?"

"Which one?" it was an immediate 'yes', the Exclusive indeed having the time and liberty for such privilege. "I'll have Katze arrange it."

"I was thinking you'd come with me…"

After the Pet Auction, Riki had wanted to go on more of these dates. Iason likewise wanted to treat him to them of course, but then was conscious how it wouldn't be so safe this early, especially with the probabilities of more assassination attempts just around the corner.

"I want to sit this one out," said the Blondie, to which Riki instantly frowned.

"How come?"

"We cause much commotion in public," Iason ran his fingers over the scruff of his Pet's neck, the latter shuddering as if a sensitive nerve had been struck there and, indeed, that was one place the Blondie toyed mercilessly with to start a fire down his loins. "And I don't think it would be wise to flaunt away. You may need to go incognito and with either Katron or Katze when you're in Midas."

Riki stopped at that. Again, he frowned.

"Hah! If I know shit…

"You're just not the sort to enjoy something that's not as complicated as those elite parties."

The Pet wriggled out of Iason's grasp and trudged away. The Master just laughed at that, Katze shaking his head with a sigh and the barest curve of a smile on his lips.

Riki has definitely turned the universe over, the space between both him and the Blondie fortunately, as Katze put it, no longer existing. This bond of theirs had bridged it completely no matter how madly it had begun. It had also changed Iason, gave him a new insight to how living should be like. He could even laugh at something he neither tolerated nor allowed in the past...like what Riki just did, stomping off like someone's disenchanted girlfriend...

Both of them followed the Pet as he emerged on the garden plateau below, greeted by the twins who instantly dogged his heels to prepare him for bed. Among the complicated rituals the Exclusive had to go through before sleep nowadays included a third or forth bath, getting his feathers preened especially when he was out using his wings, checking for scratches and any wounds, checking for any signs of illness, ad nausea.

Katron usually did this all by himself with top precision, despite the full knowledge that the night will mess it all up once their Master Iason had their Master Riki in his arms. They could fuck until morning. Now, both Furniture had to do the task list, catering to the Blondie's routines as well. They had their hands full.

Really, they needed Katron home - and soon!

"How is the construction of the Nest at Cerberus doing?" Iason asked as they continued to watch Riki discuss something with both Katrice and Kantre.

It caught Katze off-guard for a moment, but he immediately understood what was being questioned of him.

"As scheduled. The Luxury Arcades are already done and will be prepared to take tourists by the end of the month. However…" the redhead lowered his voice. "The Core Facilities will take a few more months, even a year. The weapons though will be completed earlier. The installations are surprisingly faster when there are no...watching eyes."

Cerberus was a hostile, uninhabited asteroid just beyond the two moons, with qualities not far off from that of the planet, twice large as the Capital of their planet, but based on the data left by the first scientists who colonized Amoï, could more or less be turned into another successful territory. Iason and Jupiter were able to formulate a strategy by which the said inhospitable environment could be transformed into a living oasis in space, complete with its own artificial atmosphere and an indescribable Eden to exceed anything there ever was in the Star System.

But of course, beyond the surface, the plan also included a secret facility for weapons manufacturing subterranean, which Katze had so far splendidly carried out, pleasing Iason greatly, with an outer disguise in the form of an even better Pleasure Paradise to be introduced to the public to curve any suspicion. The strategy was that when the news does break out - and it will soon enough - Cerberus would be viewed as just another Tanaguran expansion project, a unique undergoing in the name of scientific gain and no more.

"Good."

The redhead knew this to be all part of the Will left to Iason, but something about it unsettled him as the Blondie had mentioned before how he would prefer choosing a different path from the one the old god had set for him. Yet now he had changed his mind. When he'd informed Katze about this months earlier, the broker had doubted, and has since wanted to know what had pushed Iason to take to this road and in such masterly strides.

"What is it?"

Iason could tell there was something Katze wanted to inquire about but was calculating, always selective of his words.

"Master, why did you engage in this god-sized investment? Why so suddenly?"

"I remember you to be a man who asked questions only when it was necessary, Katze."

"It just concerns me," he had to say it.

It was not because they were hiding it; the redhead's existence had all been founded on the purpose of managing all the secrets that made the system of things on the planet move. But the swiftness by which Iason wanted this done was staggering! That alone indicated some manner of impatience, of hurry, of an extreme need for something to be fulfilled. But for what?

When the instructions were shown to Katze, they were not that explicit in detail. He was just given what he needed to know in order to start acting accordingly.

"Are you really asking of me to answer that?"

Katze fell into silence, knowing that this would be the best response. He neither wanted to back down on his question, but would not pursue it so openly. He still knew his place after all. Iason smiled. Trust his Ex-Furniture to know him so well as to be able to play his games.

"I need a base of power outside of Tanagura," and so the Master spoke as a reward to Katze's concern. "One that will respond the same way as the Tower to Neu-Jupiter but on a separate plane so it's not so easily compromised. Fortresses for defence, for safekeeping...call it a contingency plan or excess if you want, but I need a grip on something beyond what's here and now."

Riki's voice suddenly erupted in familiar laughter, and belatedly did Katze realize…Of course it was the Pet. It had always been about the Pet. The Pet who had been the cause and cure of it. Iason was looking intently at the other even as they spoke.

"I need more certainties," said the Blondie.

Katze understood. The Master was no longer the unfeeling artificial...in that year they had slept he had been entirely transformed. Now he knew the feeling of helplessness, of constrictions, to not be able to do anything. They both looked at Riki. When the Pet noticed this, he turned to them with a smile before letting himself be led away by his nurses to ready for turning in for the night.

Such dangerous Furniture, doting on something so utterly precious. Iason must indeed be mad in this form of trust, yet the redhead had thought about how they had all doubled, no, tripled the efforts to make sure nothing would ever spiral out of control again. Dominance and a complete grasp of the situation was the only way both the Blondie and himself could be what they are.

And they both wanted Riki safe…

"It does not matter whether something does happen or not," Iason couldn't help but sigh in resignation. He was talking of the danger, danger to them both, and that he must protect Riki from it no matter what. "The world must never know the extent by which we've gone.

"What lies beneath all this, I expect you to keep as our own little secret."