The sheer misery Aeris could sense in the slave market had always bothered her, but at least Isis had taught her to filter some of it out, even if she was uncomfortable with the idea of blocking it entirely. It felt too much like cowardice for her to deny the suffering of the humans who her people had enslaved because of their 'crimes' - more often than not crimes committed in ignorance of the laws created to protect the Planet. But not many other Cetra seemed to see it that way, even the other healer caste she could see searching for whatever slaves they needed here appeared indifferent to the humans' pain so long as they could make use of them.
"How might I serve you my lady?" The uncaste who approached Aeris felt vaguely slimy to her senses, but she smiled faintly at him anyway, her hand tightening slightly on the arm of the warrior caste who'd agreed to accompany her.
"I need to see the concubines." A faintly panicked look appeared on his face, but he responded politely anyway.
"I can arrange to have as many as you want presented to you in any size group you want. Any preferences?"
"Not really...actually, yes there are some criteria. First, the concubines have to be interested in men," It was almost funny the way the relief spread over his face; Aeris hated it that healer caste weren't considered adult until two years later than warrior caste so even though Cloud was expected to be having sex from his sixteenth birthday she was still supposed to be a virgin on her eighteenth. "second they have to have some experience with men, and third they can't be older than twenty-five." Sephiroth's age, so she was fairly certain Cloud would still find a man nine years older than him attractive, and presumably a woman too.
"If you'll come with me then I can show you somewhere you can wait while I get all the concubines who fit your criteria." He was typing something into his PDA as he spoke. "What size group would you like to see them in my lady?" Aeris followed the man, again reassessing whether she really needed to give Cloud a concubine as his coming of age gift from her, and reluctantly concluding, again, that yes she did. All of the arguments Isis had made still applied, no matter how much she disliked - no despised - the woman, and she ran through them in her head one more time.
Cloud had to take a concubine in the first year after he became of age, but he was in love with her brother, and Sephiroth returned those feelings, except that Cloud mattered more to him than he did to Cloud. Aeris knew that it would hurt her brother if Cloud chose another lover so soon after their first time, but he'd probably accept someone forced on Cloud. She was far more empathic than Cloud was, a warrior caste couldn't afford the degree of sensitivity to the emotions of others that a healer caste needed, and so she was better suited to choosing someone who wouldn't absolutely hate being Cloud's concubine.
"Are there few enough for me to meet them one at a time?"
"If that's what you want, yes." He glanced at his PDA before he spoke again. "There's a total of twenty who fit your criteria; seven male and thirteen female, which set do you want to see first?"
"Umm...female." There would be less for Sephiroth to be upset by with a female concubine, or at least Aeris thought there would be less to hurt him with that, and it would give Cloud some variety. They'd reached a luxuriously decorated room by then and the uncaste offered her the sole chair.
"If you'll wait here my lady I'll go get the first possibility."
"Don't bother bringing her files with her; I'll tell you whose files I want to see after I've spoken to all of them."
"Yes my lady." He bowed as he backed out of the room, and Aeris finally let herself scowl at the man's behaviour.
"What a perfect sycophant. Do you think he was born to the warrior caste or the healer caste?"
"I couldn't say." His voice was carefully neutral, almost too neutral. "It's a form of cowardice...cozying up to the biggest bully he can find to an extent, but sadly I can't claim it's only found in uncaste, you see it in warrior caste and healer caste too."
"I know that." She'd seen far too much of that attitude in Isis, and she treated Sephiroth appallingly too. "And all too often sycophancy's coupled with petty abusiveness towards anyone with less power than they have."
"Which is one reason to be wary of anyone involved in the slave trade."
"I can't imagine it was this extensive before the crisis, do you think it will die down in a generation or two?"
"It wasn't, but...we're outnumbered and the humans tend not to see the need to care for the Planet as we do. We need to force them to care for it if they won't do it by themselves." So the slave trade was unlikely to die down, although Aeris thought it was more a matter of her people quickly growing used to owning people this way than of the humans being incapable of learning to live with the Planet's needs.
"Here's the first one my lady." The uncaste was followed by a beautiful woman wearing nothing but a bikini who immediately dropped to her knees, bowing her head to Aeris. "And here's ten tags for whichever ones you want to find out more about."
"Thank you. Just send the next one in when I finish with her."
"Yes my lady." Aeris waited for the uncaste to leave before she turned to the woman, trying to decide what to do in the interview.
"You don't have to kneel, and you can look at me. What's your name?" She paused for a second, but when the woman didn't instantly respond she added something else. "And speak freely while I'm interviewing you."
"I'm Farah." She pushed her loose mane of golden hair away from her face as she stood with a calculated grace that put Aeris' teeth on edge. Then she walked forward in a way that drew Aeris' attention to her breasts and her hips, more than her skimpy clothes did already, and knelt at Aeris' feet. "Do you want to test my skills yourself, or is that what you brought your companion for?"
"Neither." Aeris couldn't hide her shock at that, and she continued the interview as best she could, even though she knew she wouldn't be buying the blonde. She sent her out without a tag, and watched as the next slave came in, a redhead this time. Every one of the women was just a obsessed with sex and her looks as Farah was, and they all seemed to be the type to try and use their appearance to manipulate their master.
"Am I being unfair because they're all women, or do they seem like snakes to you as well?" She'd told the last woman to have the next one wait until Aeris called for him, and asked for snacks and drinks as an excuse, but really it was to give her a chance to talk to her guard since she hadn't seen anyone worth considering for Cloud.
"You're being unfair to snakes with that comparison. Please, don't saddle the Planet's Weapon with some sort of manipulator; since it'll be a gift from you there's no way he could get rid of a concubine you chose for him."
"I won't; I'm trying to make things easier for him, not harder. If I can't find anyone suitable I'll work out something else to give him." She fell silent as the snacks and drinks she'd asked for was brought in - especially since the slave who'd brought them in stayed waiting for her to finish eating - and hoped that the men would be a bit more interesting.
They weren't. The first two didn't actually look that different from some of the women; if anything they had longer hair, and their mannerisms were more feminine, it repelled Aeris, and she suspected it would repel Cloud too. The next three had bulky muscles, but with an indefinable air of softness that said it came from gym work-outs, not the sort of training her brother still did even if he could never put it to use; they were out as well. Aeris was beginning to think she'd be better off finding a reasonably attractive slave from some other area and getting her some training when the sixth man came in and she recognised him.
"How did you manage to be the one who brought us our snacks?" He was dressed differently, in a sleeveless black tunic that shimmered faintly in the light instead of the rough loose trousers he'd been wearing before, and his black hair fell loose past his shoulders instead of being tied back by a leather thong, but that red dot on his forehead was distinctive.
"I get bored when I'm waiting to be bought, so I've infiltrated the staff to the point that I'm asked to do stuff like that fairly often."
"So, you get stuck here often? And when you say you're bored, do you mean you're incapable of keeping yourself occupied, or that you're not allowed to do anything you find interesting?"
"The latter. And yes, I've been sold back here something like fifteen times - and it usually takes at least a month for them to find someone who wants me."
"Why are you usually sold back here?" Aeris kept her voice as calm as his...and there was something oddly familiar about him, but she couldn't pin it down.
"It varies and I don't always know, but I can make deductions. A couple sent me straight back as soon as they saw my scars." Aeris had seen those when he was serving their snacks and she couldn't understand why they'd bother anyone. "Three sent me back here after they saw me working out."
"You were doing knife drills weren't you?" Aeris wasn't sure how she'd known that, but she was pretty sure that knives were his weapon.
"Yes. I don't have any idea why the other ten wanted to get rid of me, although I didn't exactly fit in with their harems I didn't do anything to interfere with how they worked." Aeris could sense his truthfulness and she nodded, making her decision on the spot.
"What's your name?"
"Tseng."
"I think I'll take you then."
oxOX()XOxo
Cloud noted Sephiroth coming into the hall from the corner of his eye as he sparred with his tutor, Morgan, but he couldn't pay the sort of attention he wanted to pay to his consort's presence, not and defend properly against his opponent. And Morgan took advantage of his moment of distraction to press an attack that Cloud barely managed to block, so he focused tightly on the fight. So tightly that he was surprised enough to leave an opening when he saw Sephiroth kneeling at the side of the hall with a book instead of doing a kata or attacking a training dummy.
"I think that's enough. You don't normally let your consort distract you, but I can't blame you for it now, not with your birthday coming up so soon. And he obviously wants to talk with you about something."
"I need to talk to you first. It's something I'd already discussed with Sephiroth, but I haven't had a chance to mention it to you yet."
"As you wish sir. We can talk while we take care of our blades?"
"Yes." Cloud turned and went to one knee by Sephiroth, stroking his hair and feeling faintly guilty at the way he leaned into Cloud's touch, almost purring in pleasure. He'd always wonder how much of Sephiroth's love for and devotion to him was natural and how much was something programmed into him by the Cetra who'd raped his mind nine years ago because Cloud had demanded the Jenova-child as his consort. It had been the only way to save his life, and even then Cloud had been sure he loved the man, even without knowing him personally, a love that had only grown stronger as he matured, but even so it was a doubt he'd always have, and hide forever. "Come with us to the armoury love, then I'll have time for you."
"Yes Cloud." Sephiroth looked up as he spoke, and stood obediently, holding his hand out to Cloud, a mute appeal in his eyes. Cloud smiled and took the hand in his own once he'd stood, pulling Sephiroth towards him for a kiss before they started walking towards the armoury. He sat beside Morgan to clean his sword and sharpen it a bit, and Sephiroth settled down on his knees near Cloud's feet, just far enough away to avoid causing problems for Cloud as he worked.
"What did you need to talk to me about sir?"
"I won't need a tutor after I come of age, and if I kept you on in that role people would think less of me. Do you want to leave my household? I have an idea for how you can stay, but if you don't want to..." He trailed off, waiting for Morgan to respond. Even though he desperately want Sephiroth to have a primary bodyguard they both knew they could trust, and wouldn't abuse him or take advantage of his vulnerabilities in other way Cloud couldn't try and force Morgan into the role.
"No. I don't want to leave your household. What do I have to do to stay?"
"Sephiroth needs a primary bodyguard, someone with the authority to choose and command all his other bodyguards." Cloud wished he'd been allowed to give his consort a bodyguard earlier, but even if Cloud thought of Sephiroth as his consort, and everyone knew that Sephiroth was his choice for consort it wasn't official until he came of age. "I want to know that his protector doesn't resent him, for being who he is and my consort, and that the people supposed to be protecting him won't use the way our people have crippled him against him." Cloud didn't like saying that sort of thing in front of Sephiroth, but he already knew what Cloud had come to feel about what the other warrior caste had considered necessary to keep him from being 'a threat', and that Cloud loved him no matter how badly he'd been damaged. "I know that you wouldn't do that, and so we were hoping you'd be willing to take the position."
"I'm honoured, and I'd be more than willing to take care of your consort for you."
"Thank you." Cloud smiled at Morgan, and finished tending to his sword in silence, reaching out to help Sephiroth up once he'd finished. He pulled his love to him for a kiss, reaching up to stroke his hair and enjoying the feel of Sephiroth's muscles underneath his silk robe.
"Would you rather talk about whatever you wanted here, or should we go somewhere more private?"
"Somewhere we can sit comfortably might be better." Sephiroth smiled as he responded. "At least if you are willing to go along with my idea."
"Well, why don't you tell me what your idea is, then I can decide."
"I thought...we're both virgins, so...we could do some research...together?" Sephiroth lifted the book he was carrying until Cloud could see the title 'Gay Sex for Beginners' and Cloud laughed in relief, since he'd half-feared Sephiroth was going to ask Cloud to make love to him early. He loved Sephiroth, but he didn't feel right about formalising their relationship early, especially since if anyone found out he might lose his consort, or people might think Sephiroth had taken advantage of him somehow.
"That's a really good idea. Where did you get the book? I've never seen it before."
"Isis gave it to me. She...said I should have some idea of what would be expected of me." Cloud was sure that wasn't exactly what she'd said, he had no doubt at all that the bitch had added some sort of spiteful comment or insulted Sephiroth somehow when she gave the book to him, but it was a good idea to make sure they knew what they were doing their first time, if Cloud didn't he could hurt Sephiroth.
"And I should know how to take care of you. Where would you like to do this?"
"The first room of our quarters?" It was the logical place Cloud supposed, where they did things together that didn't require more space or access to other resources, so why did Sephiroth sound hopeful instead of confident?
"We can sit together and share the book then. You can show me what you've found interesting first."
"Yes, you can read about the practical areas later, by yourself." Sephiroth wanted to share the fun bits with him then, rather than being bored while Cloud found out what he'd already covered, not that Cloud could blame him for that. He kept his arm around Sephiroth's waist as they walked to their quarters together and pulled Sephiroth down to sit with him on the couch in the first room.
"So, what did you find interesting?"
"It says from behind's best the first few times so..." Sephiroth opened the book at one double illustration, a photo covering the whole page of one man on his hands and knees with another man kneeling behind him, pulled partway out, with a sketch of the same subject on the other page. Cloud gasped; he found that incredibly tempting, even if he wasn't sure which position he'd rather be in, but something in the way Sephiroth held himself told Cloud his consort didn't feel the same way.
"But you don't really like this idea?" Sephiroth shook his head wordlessly in response and Cloud smiled at him. "So, tell me why not."
"I...I want to be able to see you when you take me our first time. It's worth the extra pain. And...from what I can tell Cetra develop physically at the same rate as humans, and at sixteen you're not as large as you will be one day."
"Why do you assume I'll be the one to take you?" Sephiroth seemed shocked at the question and he swallowed, looking uncomfortable before explaining.
"Because I can't even imagine taking you. I don't think I'd be able to perform if that was what you wanted." Sephiroth looked scared as he explained and Cloud hated that, so he pulled Sephiroth closer to him reassuringly, kissing his throat gently.
"It's alright. I don't blame you for what's been done to you. Tell me, could you take someone else or is the prohibition an absolute one?"
"If you commanded it, and you were watching I think I could, but not otherwise."
"I'll remember that." Even if he didn't like the implication that Sephiroth would be doing that purely to please Cloud, not because he thought he'd enjoy it the idea was incredibly hot. "Do you have any fantasies of how you want our first time to go?"
"I...I've had some for a while. They're a bit more specific now, but not much." He sounded so uncertain about telling this to Cloud, and Cloud couldn't understand why.
"Tell about one then. I want to know." He wouldn't promise to fulfil it, not without hearing it, but Cloud really wanted to know what would turn Sephiroth on.
"You kiss me first...we spend quite some time on that and you let me undress you when you undress me. You touch me, explore my body slowly, kissing me sometimes while you do that, and tell me that you...care about me." Care for him? Cloud would be more than happy to tell Sephiroth that he loved him, he had for a long time. "And you let me do the same for you, learn how to please you and what you react well to." That seemed odd, that Sephiroth expressly mentioned that he wanted to learn how to please Cloud without doing more than imply that Cloud should do the same for him. "I...in my fantasy you're gentle when you prepare me, and gentle when you touch me, and I can see your face when you take me."
In a way it was sweet how little Sephiroth was asking for, but at the same time it was almost unbearably sad that he expected so little, that basic consideration seemed to matter so much to him. Cloud kissed him full on the lips for the first time- always before he'd kissed Sephiroth's cheek or forehead, never the lips - and made him a promise.
"I can give you that. I'll be gentle with you, at least the first time, and I do love you." Perhaps, no probably, not as much as Sephiroth loved him, but it was still love. "Later you can show me if there's any position you particularly wanted, but for now I just want to kiss you, properly." He took the book from Sephiroth's hand and put it aside as he began kissing his consort.
oxOX()XOxo
Aeris felt a bit guilty as she picked up Tseng's brush and the cheap silver hair clasp she intended to use to keep Tseng's hair the way he claimed to prefer, but traditionally any jewellery a concubine wore was supposed to be a gift from his master. At least she'd been able to outfit him in decent clothes, even if they were off the rack rather than bespoke and she smiled at how good he looked in the dark blue light wool suit she'd chosen to present him in.
"Forgive my insolence, but are you sure it's a good idea to present me wearing so much clothing?" Since concubines were kept half naked a lot of the time according to Isis, and Tseng's attitude seemed to bear that out.
"Yes." And none of the five outfits she'd chosen for Tseng displayed as much skin as the ones she'd seen the concubines for sale wearing. "This looks far less vulgar than the displays I saw when I chose you, it doesn't hide how fit you are, even if it doesn't display your muscles the way something tighter might. And if Cloud decides he wants to keep you half naked in the future he'll tell you that and make the appropriate arrangements. Now turn around and let me sort your hair out then you can do the same for me."
"Yes madam." Aeris hated the title Tseng used for her as he obediently turned around, offering his back to her, but it was the traditional way for a slave to address any free person he didn't belong to unless told otherwise, even if it did make her feel old. She reached up and began brushing that black hair, not quite as long as hers or Sephiroth's, but certainly long enough to appeal to Cloud, since she knew that was something he enjoyed, then fastened it at the base of Tseng's neck with the clasp.
"There. Your things will be sent to whichever room Cloud assigns to you, since as far as I know he hasn't chosen any rooms to be dedicated to his harem yet." Not that she really expected him to hurt her brother by taking a full harem, but there was always the possibility that other people would see fit to give him concubines as gifts. "Now brush my hair out for me. Cloud thinks I look better with it loose." And even if she only normally wore it loose when she attended formal celebrations as a minor she wanted to please him today.
"Then wouldn't he prefer it if I was presented to him with loose hair madam?" Tseng sounded a bit unhappy about that as he brushed Aeris hair out, but she could tell he was willing to do whatever it took to please Cloud.
"No. Sephiroth always wears his hair loose and I want you to look different from him. Besides your hair looks boring compared to Sephiroth's, so there's no need to emphasise it." And it was a lot shorter than Aeris' hair or her brother's, even if she thought the colour was a bit more dramatic than her own.
"As you say madam." Politely reserved, implying that he agreed with her, and if Aeris wasn't empathic she'd even believe that the man did believe her.
"Cloud likes the reserved type, but you should find some way to make sure he realises that you carry knives and can use them." She'd found a brace of knives and forearm sheathes for them over Isis' protests, although her mother had seemed to approve of her actions, and Aeris had overheard her saying something about 'that sweet Wutaian boy' when Isis had complained to her about Aeris' actions. And thankfully Aeris' tutor didn't have the authority to override her wishes, not without her mother and guardian's support - although it would probably be different if Tseng had been an enhanced slave, rather than a standard human, or if he'd had bodyguard training, rather than being classed as a concubine.
"When you present me to him madam?" There was a hint of surprise hidden behind those words and Aeris shook her head in response as she turned to look at him.
"No. Although you might want to see if you can figure out a way to make the knives look a bit less discreet. Not obvious, but enough that he won't think you're trying to hide them from him if, when he sees them." She wasn't sure if it was Cloud's guardian, Cid, Morgan, his tutor, or her brother who'd taught Cloud how to spot hidden weapons, but he was frighteningly good at it. Aeris hadn't realised just how well the combination of silk shirt and suit, both dark, would hide the knives, or she'd have picked out a different outfit, and she'd already ordered the other outfits packed for transport.
"Yes madam." He stripped his jacket off and rolled up his sleeves to remove his knives, fastening them on over his shirt instead.
"Wait. You can wear these now, they won't interfere with your ability to draw your knives anymore." She picked up the simple silver cuff links Tseng had refused before, and watched as he used them to fasten the cuffs of his shirt. She made one last inspection of him once he'd put his jacket back on, pleased to note that even she could tell he had knives there, although that could well have been because she'd already known about them.
"I think we're ready to go now." She hadn't bothered with make up for herself, she only really used it for the formal parties, and Tseng hadn't asked about using some make up himself, and since Aeris thought Cloud would react better if he could see his concubine wasn't going to be the useless toy he'd complained about. She turned and walked out of the room, Tseng following a few steps behind her and made her way to the lounge.
"Cloud running late Mrs Strife?"
"A bit. I'm going back to Nibelheim next week...Cloud hasn't needed me for a while, but I felt obliged to stay while he was still a child."
"I guess that means you'll be going back to Rocket Town on a permanent basis too then Cid?"
"Yeah. I want a chance to go into space myself. It's nice that you're financing the sort of program ShinRa wouldn't, but shit...it still doesn't let me get into space myself, you keep me too busy with the administrative stuff, and I can't risk myself while I'm the kid's guardian of record." He wouldn't have been allowed to, and Aeris wished sadly that he hadn't been forced to put his dream back like that because he'd agreed to be Clouds official guardian. Still, the fact that Cloud's mother had let him wander off into the mountains when he was five; far enough that he'd activated his powers without her realising, and then proceeded to let him leave Nibelheim and find Aeris to bring about the Restoration; made her unsuitable for the post. And Cid had helped Cloud get to Midgar, and then helped the Cetra track Hojo down.
"And you've got the program nearly to the point where it's useful to us, giving us resources we can't get in other ways without harming the Planet, so..." Aeris knew she was blushing at how close she'd come to pointing out what the real reason the Cetra had sponsored a space program to be developed under the control of one Cid Highwind was, and the man laughed a bit at that.
"Yeah, it's not gonna be dependent on my prestige as the Planet's Weapon's guardian much longer. And here's the kid now." He glanced over Aeris' shoulder and she spun to throw herself at Cloud.
"Happy birthday Cloud!" Cloud just laughed and spun around for a moment, before tossing her at Sephiroth. Even now he had problems with being touched, unless it was Cloud, but he'd gotten it down to just a momentary flinch with her, less than with anyone else, and Aeris wouldn't even notice if she wasn't attuned to his feelings. She kept an arm around her brother as she beckoned Tseng over with her free hand.
"Cloud, this is Tseng, he's my birthday present to you. I thought I'd save you the trouble of finding a concubine for yourself." She heard Sephiroth's indrawn breath beside her just before he pushed away from her, and as she turned she caught sight of the near betrayal in his eyes before he fled, leaving her staring after him.
"Sephiroth didn't know about this did he?" Cloud's voice was cold with anger and almost accusing; Aeris just shook her head, she couldn't think of what to say to that. "I can't believe you'd do that to him. You know how insecure he is about me, then you bring him in on the very day I come of age, without even warning him? What possessed you? Were you trying to find the way you could hurt him most of all? And you know it's traditional to get the consort's approval of concubines beforehand, or you should. I'm going to find him, try and fix your screw up. I suggest you think very carefully about how you can make this up to him."
Tseng was radiating terror as Cloud walked out, and all Aeris could think of to do was comfort him, she just couldn't think of anything else while his emotions were leaking into her that way. "It'll be okay Tseng, I picked you because you were the only concubine there who didn't act like some sort of mindless over decorated toy. Even if he wants to he wouldn't be able to replace that, and if you make it clear that you'd be just as happy to play the part for public consumption without expecting to share Cloud's bed Sephiroth should accept you."
"I've never seen a Cetra place that much importance on his consort before." There was a hint of wonder in Tseng's voice, then it turned just short of accusing in the next breath. "Did you know about that tradition, of getting a consort's approval for a new concubine?"
"No." Isis hadn't mentioned it. "Did you?" He would have mentioned it if he had surely, unless he assumed Aeris had consulted Sephiroth already.
"No. Most of the Cetra who bought me either didn't have a consort or didn't care about their consort's opinions." Aeris flinched at that, and began thinking hard about how to apologise to her brother now that Tseng's fear wasn't distracting her.
oxOX()XOxo