The warm breeze of the approaching spring ruffled Sabre's fur as the leopardess walked around her territory with Longwei's company while Antain, her little adopted kit, ran around sniffing everything new and exciting. At the moment, he was preoccupied with the new playgrand of the growing town's bustling streets.

"It looks like the construction is proceeding according to plans." The leopardess closed her eyes for a moment, focusing on the many scents of dust, wood, concrete and steel around that mingled with the scents of many different Extraspecies and many new plants already set in place. "It pleases me. But what is the current progress?" She turned to look at the dragon while watching Antain stop to sniff a bush of the likes she had never seen before; pale green with sturdy looking needle leaves and big white flowers.

"The hospital Rita has built is completed and is currently accepting patients as of last night. The oceans and lakes around your territory have finished being cleaned for the most part, and the fishfolk have begun construction of waterways to allow transport of goods in and out of the territory; over land and subterraneous. The fishfolk Verain have sent, both aquatic and semi-aquatic, are making excellent time in their various constructions." Longwei smiled.

"So fast … it's amazing the speed at which Extraspecies build when unseen. The fact they can do so unseen is amazing." Sabre approved, looking around with an examining eye to the sky as the mysterious mists and clouds above, which had formed over the territory for the initial construction to block any viewing from outside the territory, were dissipating. "But for the land areas, it's taking more time." She made a small call for Antain as the pup walked around her, going back and forth to touch or smell anything that caught his attention, while sometimes bringing a leaf or small branch for his mama to sniff.

"The port is slow to be built, with reported fights between the fishfolk and land Extraspecies. Some of Rita's forces have been deployed there to keep the peace between the Extraspecies." Longwei explained, softly exhaling a cold mist. "There have been some misbehaving Extraspecies acting aggressive towards one another, but that is to be expected when bringing together Extraspecies of the sky, land and sea." Longwei explained.

"Yes, few courts can count with so many Extraspecies living together so close. In a way it's an interesting experiment for all Extraspecies. They are unused to this, at least on this scale." Sabre joined Antian into seeing from a distance how bioluminescent trees were being planted on the sidewalks, each set with a defined set distance with the space between them filled with bushes, surrounded with a ring of flowers. Perhaps most importantly of all, all of the plants were edible and trees also produced fruits or edible seeds to allow for urban foraging.

"A very interesting experiment." Longwei smiled as he examined a bush to see if it held any berries yet. "I am eager to see the final product of your creation here, my Amako Sabre."

"It will take time to reach an end … if there's any. More likely it can be said this is an ongoing experiment and experience of progress and practicality." Sabre kept on walking, grabbing her pup in her arms and looking ahead while any working Extraspecies bowed to her and looked away. Sabre ignored this, following what Amare had taught her about behaving in public spaces; this would take even more time to change if it could even, assuming it was viable. No matter what, she was a royal now, and others would treat her as such, so better to keep playing along and do the best she could for everyone, especially for herself and her loved ones.

"Endless indeed. And the pushback of the humans seem to never cease. They seem to react too quickly and make mistakes, making them easy prey for the council." Longwei deeply chuckled, appearing to be enjoying himself.

"I was notified about the reporters or other ones trying to sneak in. But there's just been too much to take into account, so please tell me more about this from the council's actions." The leopardess placed down Antain again, watching him run. While she already pondered the many problems that still needed culling, she was sure there were far more situations that she was probably not even aware off. "I must say the council's effectiveness is very swift and on point." She praised, playing the game with a council operative.

The dragon joined his hands under his long sleeves. "Nothing for you to worry about, Amako Sabre, unless you wish to see reports of our interactions. You may find them as enjoyable as I do myself." Longwei smiled, appearing very entertained by the thought.

"I'm sure to find them interesting and useful." The Amako insisted before she let out a small growl to remind Antain to stay close. Her adorable kit was just getting very curious and adventurous, straying further and further away from her as he explored.

"I will bring copies upon my next visit. I must say, however, while the organized human fronts are well taken care of, the physical border of your territory is lacking. Some Extraspecies are afraid of how close we are to the humans. There have been a few curious humans that have wandered their way into the territory, frightening a few Extraspecies from their presence, but they have been promptly kicked out and any evidence they have taken photos or videos of, taken from them." Longwei frowned. "The border will be secured as soon as the deep channel is dug."

"And that is even though we are so small … for now." She sighed. "I would like to build an entrance building. A skyscraper. It could serve both as well as entrance and visitor center and many more things. It would be impressive too it we manage to make it as tall as to be one of the tallest buildings in the world, yet construction times and the money," she groaned.

"Should we make such a priority? Perhaps you could ask for the funds from the council." He suggested. "There are many eager to gain favor with you, Amako."

"I would, once again, ask for my own fortress den to be postponed and the money used for that instead." She massaged her temples before stopping herself and adopting a more regal posture, as Verain had instructed her. It was bothersome to have to remind herself to look regal at all times but it was also necessary.

"I'm sure they would be eager to fund both." Longwei smiled. "They would insist on you have a secure den before most other things. In fact, they have. They've recently approved to put more funds into your castle."

"Even though I preferred something more useful." Sabre groaned again. "I would prefer that skyscraper at the entrance of the territory. As I said, it can serve for many things, especially for centralizing our deals with hoomans there and gather the attention of our constructions for that building rather than the rest. Not to mention I'm sure hoomans would immediately want to build something bigger right in front, which could block the rest of hooman land behind."

"If there is something we can count on for the humans, it is their vanity and egocentrism." Longwei sighed but his amused smile showed his confidence in his knowledge about hooman reactions. "The council is dead set on erecting your castle before much else. Such is a priority for safety reasons for the Amako Sabre." He smiled gently. "Once that is completed, then they will give funds for the tower you wish."

Sabre groaned, but realistically speaking she did not have the funds, yet, to do much else and she now needed to uphold at least some of the status quo of a royale of her 'high primal blood'. "On the bright side, it will give us time to plan it better. We need to appear friendly and cooperating, after all." She huffed and then smiled. "I suppose it is quite good the hooman country is dealing with their southern secession wars … and that they were foolish enough to build that fence border at the edge of my territory and thus gave us the chance to let the other hooman countries recognize this place as a new independent country." She laughed. That had played out surprisingly well. "I bet they did not expect that. But more surprising was how fast they were bought into just letting it happen. But I guess they do need an external enemy to keep tension up and divert their own citizen's attention for their own crumbling."

"I agree." Longwei smiled rather deviously. "It seems the timing of your rise is working out perfectly."

"And as such I ought to take advantage." Sabre puffed slightly, looking regal. "And yet, it's all over a spider's thread; somewhat secure but balancing precariously. Such web can't break on it's own, but an external force could rip it off. Thus we must be as fast as we can while we can in order to ensure a strong foundation." She let out a small growl. "What about security forces?"

"Aleksey's forces are also on the rise." Longwei began, keeping an even pace with her while being careful of this subject, as she was displeased with her mate's previous actions; although it also seemed she had recently lifted her mate's punishment regarding hugs and affections. "He has recruits from various places around the world, though many stem from Nikita's forces along your own chosen ones. Aleksey's wounds are healing well." Longwei assured her with a calm smile.

"I'm glad he is healing so fast." Sabre nodded, looking down as she recalled his reactions to her shocking him earlier. He was still unable to walk completely right but was able to move without too much pain. "I'm still somewhat mad at him, but I'm also worried. I don't want to leave him alone for long … I miss that idiot." She closed her eyes tightly for a moment before smiling warmly and meowing cutely. "I guess his punishment needs to be over entirely, so I'll be there." She concluded, not saying aloud how scared had been for him during his operation. She had not left his side immediately following his surgery.

"Aleksey is in the best possible care. Rita is unsurpassed in terms of operations on Extraspecies and the operation was a flying success. Though he is now more of a mixture of dragon and tiger in some degree; not a chimera though. He will stabilize and learn to control his new abilities perfectly. Aleksey is rather ambitious and is taking this in stride." Longwei confidently smiled. "There is no need to worry. The mixture will not affect his future offspring, Amako Sabre. Should you choose to produce more young, they will be full bred bastet. Rita saw to that."

"There is no way I could not worry." Sabre turned to look with big eyes at the dragon. "What if the parts from dr..different donors are rejected? Bastet are too sensible to those. What if something goes wrong?" She mewled. "And what if he does not adapt to such different parts and pieces?"

"They will not be rejected, nor will anything go wrong under Rita's careful watch. Aleksey will be inheriting some of my family line to complete the parts taken from him. He will be be made whole again, I assure you." Longwei kindly smiled down at her. "Aleksey will recover and become an unstoppable force in supporting your reign. And it will be hidden by implants donated by Nikita himself."

"Could you explain more? I do not know what you mean." Sabre looked up, stunned, but still looking worried. She felt guilty that she had been too busy and angry to ask about the details of what his surgery would involve. She had known Aleksey had been in need of an eye and that his lungs, arms … legs … and most everything had been damaged, but to go as far as replacing organs with something Longwei had lying around ... well, that made her was scared for her precious mate. "I more than anything just want my mate to be alright."

"I have inherited many parts of my family. They are of no use remaining in storage, and Aleksey is in need of parts. Therefore, it is best he uses the parts I have no use of. And since Nikita is the closest untainted family, he will receive fur implants from Nikita in places where his fur no longer grows." Longwei explained.

"But parts of your family? In storage?" The leopardess looked more confused than creeped out. "Wouldn't they have to be err, pardon, fresh? For transplants to work?"

"They are fresh due to the technologies and methods used to preserve them. The chance of an Extraspecies rejecting flesh from a mythical Extraspecies is low. And once accepted, work exceptionally well with the body. It is the reason why humans like to fancy hunting mythicals to implant their body parts into their own, or thinking that eating those would grant them mythical benefits." Longwei frowned, exhaling a freezing mist from his nose.

"I did not know that. Well, the second part. I've heard in human myths. But the important thing is that Aleksey will be fine." She tried to smile. "Although I would bet he'll always complain about patchy fur."

"Most likely." Longwei smiled in amusement. "But that would be a little vain for the nephew of the white fang to think." He admitted.

"He can be a bit vain once he gets better." Sabre smiled, a bit more calmed. "He wants to become an alpha, so it will be fine."

"Amako Sabre." A voice called, making her turn as a short human with a long scarf trotted over to her with a friendly smile. "I have obtained the food you desired." She grinned, shifting back into her true form; that of a water nymph, loyal to queen Verain.

"Thank you. Your quest has been completed." Sabre praised while sniffing and checking the package of greasy, unhealthy, unoriginal and troublesome to get food that her hooman wanted.

"You are very welcome, Amako Sabre. Next time you need me to venture into the human city, do not hesitate to ask." She grinned in excitement before trotting off.

"What is this?" Longwei asked, sniffing the aroma coming off from the parcel.

"It's food for my hooman. Chinese food. She said she craved it." Sabre sighed.

Longwei blinked, perplexed before once again glancing at the bag and smelling its contents. "From what provenance?"

"A cheap but effective business idea to convert chinese food into something greasy and acceptable for hoomans of this side of the world." Sabre flickered her whiskers. "It's bad for my liking but it will make Jackie happy. Although I admit that some of it may not taste so bad … as long as it's made with healthy ingredients and not so much oil." There had been a time when she liked it, but now her taste and nose were too sensitive for many of the ingredients.

"Hoomans will never cease to disgust me." Longwei deeply frowned, finding the very thought to be very unappealing. "Have arrangements been made as to where to relocate her once she recovers?" Longwei asked, his gaze appearing critical before he took a deep breath, making a physical effort to calm himself.

"Mr. Longwei." Sabre smiled, looking down at the greasy food. "There are many hoomans. Far too many are bad while only some of them may be fine or good, even. But my hooman is different from all other hoomans because she is my hooman. She is not a bad hooman despite her many, many flaws." She then looked at him with big gentle eyes. "Perhaps you can check on her and study her so you can see different ways to behave other hoomans have. Maybe you can consider it as a studious endeavor. After all, the more we learn and understand about hoomans, the more advantages we'll have when dealing with them and for predicting their reactions and behaviors."

"I deserve no lecture, Amako Sabre. I know your position to keep your hooman in your immediate vicinity. While I disapprove, I respect your decision." Longwei slightly inclined his head.

"Mmhh." Sabre then grinned. "By the way? I'm sure you have tasted real chinese food, Mr. Longwei. But what about hooman chinese food? The real one?" She laughed. "I have only enjoyed such in cultural fairs in other country. It truly is different."

"There is a delicate balance between flavor and texture which true chinese food holds. I have never been more abhorred to smell something so greasy be considered something as perfect as chinese food." He explained with a frown. "I feel my stomach curl imagining the taste."

"Like mexicans about real tacos." Sabre approvingly nodded and considered prohibiting that horrid abomination of calling a hard shelled tortilla imitation of a montruocity as a 'taco'. "Would you like to come with me? I need to give these to my hooman, but I would like to keep your company a bit longer, Mr. Longwei. Antain too likes you to play with him and we can also discuss further plans." She smiled while giving a purr.

"Since you have asked, I cannot turn you down." Longwei smiled in agreement.

Sabre took out her phone and called for the teleporter that Verain had assigned her, Nira. Having two teleporters to call on, Nira and Ryn, was very convenient. "Hello, Nira. Please open a way to point JH. I'll give you my coordinates."

"Yes, Amako Sabre." The Nereid giggled as she appeared besides the Amako before giving a small bow. She gently waved her arm and opened up a portal before them, stepping aside with a sweet smile.

With a devious smile Sabre stepped through the portal, seeing Jackie and Apple sitting on the couch with a terrible B rated movie playing - something of the likes with giant, dinosaur piranhas. The moment the ex-host saw the big bag of Chinese food in Sabre's hands her eyes lit up, sucking in an excited before her gaze shifted, spotting Longwei following after her. Jackie's face immediately fell, confused and clearly disappointed to see Longwei there.

Apple turned to Sabre, seeing her enter the room before he hopped up and bowed to her. "Amako Sabre." He greeted, keeping his ears attentive.

"Hello, Apple. Jackie, I got your special food." The Amako winked, approaching her hooman and giving Apple the bag of goodies.

Jackie's smile somewhat returned, staring at the big bag of chinese food just for her. "Gimme!" Her mouth drooled as she eagerly held out a shaky hand, wanting to take it immediately before Apple set it down on the coffee table in front of her. "Thank you, Sabre." Jackie grinned, quickly opening the bag and pulling out her delicious dinner. She pulled out some wooden chopsticks, opening up some of the heavily soaked breaded chicken and began chowing down with an eager grin.

"I wonder how the original version of that chicken tastes like." Sabre pondered aloud, taking a seat near her hooman, ready to pounce on the chance of pets.

"I cannot begin to fathom what sort of chicken this is supposed to recreate." Longwei admitted, standing by the couch and not bothering to take a seat.

"It's general tso's chicken." Jackie answered, popping another in her mouth before grabbing an eggroll.

"I've never heard of such." Longwei frowned, narrowing his eyes and looking insulted as she ate.

"Well it's good. Want to try some?" She offered, holding up a piece of chicken with her chopsticks for him to take.

"I certainly do not." The dragon looked repulsed at her offer. "If I wished to poison myself I would not even consider using this stuff."

"Fine." She said, popping it into her mouth and humming at the tasty delight.

"He has a point, Jackie. You are a recovering hooman, so you need to eat healthier." Sabre meowled, coming to sit besides Jackie before laying her head on her hooman's lap, purring loudly while looking up at Jackie with adoration in her large pupils. Still, she gave Longeri a side glance, knowing he'd start nagging the hooman harder now that Sabre said something to Jackie.

"I eat just fine. Stop complaining." Jackie sighed, poking her on the snout as Sabre leaned into her hand and purred. "There's nothing wrong with what I eat."

"There is plenty wrong as in everything." The dragon huffed. "The quantity is outrageously large, it is very greasy and completely unbalanced. Not to mention that it drips sugar contents where there should be none."

"I don't see me eating 'unhealthily' is hurting you in any way. What does it matter?" Jackie asked, sounding a tad annoyed. "I like it, so I'm eating it."

"Do not to eat such horrid food if you plan to be in service to Amako Sabre for a long time." The dragon looked, if possible, more disgusted, trying very hard to swallow and accept the fact that Jackie will be staying with the Amako for sometime.

"I'm eating healthy. See? There are vegetables in this one." She said, opening up the next container of meat and showing some carrots, broccoli and snow peas mixed in with the meat.

The Amako quietly just laid on the hooman's lap, purring happily and enjoying her favorite Hooman's scent.

"Then arrange for food to have only those and no unhealthy sauces." Longei insisted.

"I don't criticize what you eat so why are you insulting my food? I think it tastes great." She smiled, setting some more in her mouth and staring at him while she chewed. "And it's not like I eat it too often."

"Often or not it has consequences for your health, unlike my normal meals." The dragon looked over to the counter, seeing some empty containers from the last time she had some. "And the evidence of your recurring habit is here."

"Your normal meals consist of fruit and raw meat." She pointed out with a frown. "And of course I'm eating mostly take out food right now. I can't move very well." She explained while tossing another piece of chicken in her mouth with her chopsticks.

"Then order healthy food instead. Fruit is perfectly healthy and hoomans can eat it." He insisted, nagging.

"I order healthy food too. Today just happens to be my favorite Chinese food day!" Jackie deeply frowned in annoyance.

"That greasy food is hardly an excuse for true Chinese food." Longwei immediately countered with a disapproving frown.

As Longwei and Jackie continued arguing, Sabre kept on purring, evilly planning on inviting Longwei over more to try and discourage her hooman from eating so badly.

"Amako Sabre." Apple spoke up, standing back up and also not taking a seat. "Jackie's progress has improved since the last you've come. Her heart rate is steadily returning to an even rhythm, as is her breathing. Physical exertion proves to tire her out less quickly than before. Her sleep schedule is heavy, as to be expected." Apple reported, appearing a little tense in the presence of Longwei.

Sabre nodded, cuddling Jackie's lap. "And what about the care given to her?"

Apple hesitated, pulling his ears back for a moment. "From a medical standpoint, just fine. From a hooman interaction standpoint, not so much." Apple explained, keeping his focus on Sabre and not looking to Longwei.

Jackie kept quiet for a few moments, grumpily frowning. "Lea and Naoki do weird stuff to me when I sleep." Jackie admitted with a frown. "I don't like waking up naked and being examined. Or worse yet, covered in so many flowers I'm almost drowning in roots. At least the apartment always smells good though. And he does use flowers that don't make me stuffed up."

"Apple," Sabre frowned, knowing that was unlikely the worst of it. "What else do they do to my hooman?"

"Examinations and constant visual watch. Jackie has persisted she doesn't need assistance in the bathroom but Naoki insists on her not wasting potential fertilizers. Lea insists on blood tests every day and often draws them and examines Jackie's wellbeing while she sleeps, resulting in loud mornings." Apple explained, looking to Sabre with almost pleading eyes to get them out of there. "Naoki also seems to have a habit of sucking on your hooman's toes as she sleeps. That in particular is perhaps the most disturbing."

"Ahhhhh," Sabre's faked a cough. "Jackie, let yourself be taken care off." She looked Jackie up and down, trying to see where to hug her and settling for Jackie's leg, pulling it up and gently making Jackie to lay sideways. "Don't be a difficult hooman."

"So you're fine with me waking up in the morning with my toes in Naoki's mouth?" Jackie asked with a sour frown. "It's weird."

"So weird I can't process it at the moment because I'm just extremely happy you are better." Sabre purred, ignoring what her brain was not willing to process and really not even wanting to imagine it. For the moment, she was with Jackie, who was recovering nicely, and so the feline was happy.

"Such is completely normal for a healthy Jubboko. He is being polite in feeding from areas which do not pose a problem for you, hooman." Longwei frowned.

"I don't like it." Jackie sighed, popping more food into her mouth.

"Naoki worries about you too." Sabre accommodated on the couch to hug Jackie's leg better.

Jackie sighed, reaching down and gently petting Sabre's head. Her fingers lacked the strength to put much pressure into her touch, but Sabre purred and leaned her head against her regardless with a happy grin. "I'm glad I'm getting better too. I don't feel like my body is going to just fall apart at any moment anymore. Still can't do much, though." Jackie sighed. "Just walking around is tiring. At this rate, I won't be able to put Aleksey's credit card to good use other than online shopping."

"Well, enjoy shopping and having it all delivered to you." Sabre chuckled, already thinking on how to abuse that card herself a bit. "And take it easy and rest. Later on you'll tire enough while helping me nanny my little fluffballs." Sabre laughed.

"Yeah, I know. How are they doing?" Jackie asked, gently tugging on Sabre's ear but her strength failed her, letting the ear slip through her fingers. "Ugh." Jackie huffed in annoyance, her hand already feeling sore.

"Where is Lea?" Longwei asked, looking around the room and not seeing her.

"Lea is sleeping underneath a bed in the small guest room over there." Apple pointed. "She's still fast asleep. I can hear her snoring." Apple spoke, twitching his ear.

"And how is your bed, Jackie? Soft and comfy enough?" Sabre asked, curious on how to improve Jackie's stay here.

"Yeah, it's pretty comfortable." Jackie admitted but her expression was less than enthusiastic.

"You don't sound happy about it? Should I have it be changed?" Sabre pried. "Tell me all."

"Well, because I so often wake up to the weird things Lea and Naoki do to me, I usually end up sleeping in Apple's wings." She admitted, appearing a little sheepish.

Sabre's fluffy ears flickered once, then twice, and then she began laughing hard.

"I-I was desperate! Come on." Jackie frowned, embarrassed.

"There is no shame saying you like it." Apple teased with a grin, flexing his wings a bit and eager to prove to Sabre he's been useful. "You like it. You don't wake up periodically in my wings like you do the bed."

A flush crawled across Jackie's face as she turned back to her crappy food, eating it and keeping quiet.

"That's adorable!" Sabre clapped. "Apple, keep sleeping with Jackie."

"Eh." Apple sighed, shrugging.

"Sabre." Jackie growled, stopping short and having a small coughing fit before turning her sharp eyes back to Sabre. "Don't say something weird like that."

"Not weird at all." Sabre chuckled. "Enjoy it, Jackie … you could do sooo much more too, if you were not healing, so there's no way anything else can happen." Sabre laughed, instigating the innuendo.

Apple's eyes widened, looking away rather awkwardly as Jackie's face became a deeper shade of red.

"Sabre, please stop, this isn't good for my heart." Jackie frowned, rubbing her head before she laid down and tried to ignore her awkward comments.

"Or maybe your heart needs that, just some light fleshy fun. It's good for the hormones too and very healthy." Sabre insisted with a few giggles, rubbing her head against Jackie's healed leg.

"Ugh." Jackie frowned, covering her head with a pillow as Apple awkwardly looked away and scratched his jaw.

Sabre laughed a bit more. "You need some dates that don't end up on disaster too … so why not skip the date and get directly to it?"

"Sabre no." Jackie huffed. "Please change the topic."

"What is healthy for the hidenka, my Amako?" Naoki asked, coming before her and bowing. "Forgive me for not greeting you, my Amako Sabre. I was setting flowers in the other room."

"Hello, Naoki. Good choice of flowers, they smell wonderfully relaxing. Lavender especially helps given its soft tones that also aid in the relaxing environment." Sabre greeted the plant. "As for healthy, Jackie needs to eat healthy food and have healthy interactions with other creatures."

"Is the interactions she has with us not enough to aid her healing process?" Naoki asked, "how may I improve her healthy interactions to better improve the hidenka's health?"

"It does help, but hoomans need some sexual encounters or action to be healthy, just like most everyone." Sabre gave Jackie an evil grin.

"No, we don't. I'm fine." Jackie's muffled voice insisted while hiding her head under the pillow.

"You are not fine, Jackie." Sabre poked the hooman's knee. "Hey Apple, you've seen how hoomans look all healthy after shaking it, right?"

"From what I've seen of humans, yes. They tend to mate whenever they please since they don't have a season like most Extraspecies." Apple spoke up, feeling a little out of place in this conversation.

"Humans are subject to their most basic of desires which they indulge in whenever convenient to them." Longwei frowned, displeased.

"So the hidenka is unwell?" Naoki asked.

"Sabre, please stop. I've been through this before with the others, I don't want to go through this again." She huffed. "It's no big deal, who cares?"

"You should care." Sabre became more adamant like the naughty kitty she is. "For health reasons. Mental health, even."

"No. Not giving in to peer pressure." Jackie huffed, waving her hand down towards Sabre to shoo her away. Instead of letting her go, Sabre took her hand and gave it a small kitty kiss before purring against her leg.

"It's not peer pressure. It's advice." Sabre teased.

"I fail to understand what is deficient with your hidenka, my Amako. If there is something she fails at, I must ensure she learns to excel at it, as to best serve whatever needs you desire, my Amako." Naoki spoke, unblinking.

"This isn't really something for us Extraspecies to get involved with." Apple admitted with a huff. "Especially you, since you are missing the core principle of the issue here."

Sabre looked at Apple with big eyes. The bat had earned just a few more respect points. "Agreed, still, it's for her good that we should mention things that could improve her health."

"Are we to go find a suitable mate for the hidenka?" Naoki asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Absolutely not, plant!" Apple immediately barked at him, turning to look in his general direction. "Many hoomans who would be interested in accepting an invitation from a plant XS are riddled with diseases and would not be healthy for her so no."

"Would they listen to you?" Naoki asked.

"No, plant. Stay out of this; hoomans need to go out and choose their own mates, and this hooman is injured. Vigorous activity would only lessen her healing time, much to the displeasure for the Amako Sabre." Apple irritatedly growled.

As they kept on arguing, with even Longwei joining the discussion, Sabre merely closed her eyes and decided to take a kitty nap right there with her precious hooman.

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Sabre's feet ached as she slumped against the couch in her designers quarters, the old apartments where she had her workshop, which had been spared from much remodeling as it needed to remain a secret and safe location. It was slowly becoming one of the only places she could still rest in without prying eyes. Running a territory was exhausting; she was glad to have capable Extraspecies helping her but she still felt a bit overwhelmed.

Aleksey's loud purrs vibrated against Sabre's lap as he curled up against her with a satisfied smile. Ryn and Nira stood behind her, reassuring her of her safety while Reza texted whoever it was he was contacting. Indra was going through curtain designs and Madeline was watching her cubs. For the moment, everything was peaceful.

The clouded leopard nuzzled Aleksey's cheek, peeking over to Madeline who held her napping kittens inside of a basket. She was sooo incredibly happy right now; the only thing that would make her more happy would be if Jackie was there to pet her. The thought made Sabre loudly purr as Aleksey misinterpreted the reason for her purring and gently touched her nose with his.

"I love you, detka." Aleksey murmured, nuzzling her as Sabre gently touched his cheek.

"I love you too, Leksey." She purred, nuzzling him as she scratched under his chin, thinking how nice that would feel if Jackie was petting her.

"No need to flaunt so heavily that you are taken." Indra huffed, annoyed as Sabre constantly kept getting distracted by her mate. "Now, aquamarine for your new castle's curtains or magenta? Or perhaps a pale pink?" He suggested, deep in thinking. "I need to know so I can order the new materials. No doubt whatever curtains or rugs or interior designing those old council members think of is going to be old and terrible."

"Aquamarine for the curtains and rugs can have magenta touches. Definitely. I saw their idea of color and is definitely … classical. Dark red and golds … so common and cliché." Sabre nodded, agreeing with the peacock. "We can get a base of aquamarine and then later on have sets with different touches of seasonal colors, but the base of aquamarine is nice."

"Wonderful. Now, Aleksey, when do you believe you will be ready for your tailored suit and coat? I'm dying to see it on you, though the colors are a bit drab in my opinion." Indra complained, fluttering his tail feathers.

"The sharp cut makes up for it." Sabre grinned, also excited to see her mate wearing such nice clothes. "And I love the little pincer on the back. It makes him look ever stronger."

"Yes, well, I'll believe it when I see it." Indra frowned, pointedly frowning at Aleksey.

"I try on when ready." Aleksey noted, leaning up slightly and nibbling on Sabre's ear. "Perhaps personal showing to you liking?" He teased, licking her ear as Sabre deeply blushed and hugged him, watching his wounds as the large tiger excitedly purred.

Sabre flushed beneath her fur and rubbed her head to his, finding him too adorable to ignore. "Anything new to report?" She asked, gently rubbing Aleksey's cheeks.

"Yes. There be update with hooman Luigi who give Jackie trouble." Aleksey smiled, licking Sabre's cheek.

"What update?" Sabre asked, remembering the sleazy man with a growl. She was going to make sure to torture him tenfold what he had done to Jackie over the years.

"Luigi hooman work for me now." Aleksey's lip pulled up into an intimidating toothy grin. "He much many connections; useful connections, and now they my connections." He throatily chuckled.

Sabre frowned, clearly looking displeased. That man caused Jackie a lot of trouble, so hearing he was still breathing irked the feline.

"I not make life easy." Aleksey grinned, seeing his mate's displeasure. "I keep close eye on Luigi hooman. He know he make mistake, it cost him life."

"I will trust you on this, Aleksey." She poked his nose with a claw, causing him to flick his ears and smile. "I don't like him but I'll allow it. And what about Jackie's mother? Any news?"

"Disappeared; can't track or find. She have help, but not sure what help." Aleksey frowned, pulling his ears back. "We still searching, but my sources limited. I prefer not involve uncle or council."

"I agree. But keep an eye out if she appears." Sabre lightly growled. She didn't want to give the council or Nikita any kind of ammunition against her precious hooman. Sabre knew she depended on Nikita and the council for a lot of stuff, but she also knew their views and there were things she couldn't leave to luck. Which made the fact that she had a spy very lucky for her; Niyol, the thunderbird Jackie had helped, was currently keeping an eye on the council from the inside at the moment. She hadn't heard much from him yet, which means the council hadn't decided on a move just yet. "Could the council have been involved with that?"

"Niet. If council, they already would have made move." Aleksey explained. "I think outside help; not sure who or what. Not enough resources to delve too far into seeking host's mother."

"I will have to set some kind of extra security around Jackie." Sabre frowned, determined to keep her safe from her crazy mother. "I hope that woman escaped outside the territory and went far away. If she dares come back or close to Jackie," She trailed off with a fierce growled while puffing the fur on her neck.

"You seem to worry more for ex-host than do for own mate. That make me jealous kitty." Aleksey huffed, nibbling on Sabre's paw to make her paw attention to him.

"I'm worried for Jackie's safety and future." Sabre admitted with a hesitant meowl. "You are safe here and with me, ´Leksey."

"She favored by Amako, so she fine against any small threat. Now threat of political threat be only harm." Aleksey commented, rolling a bit on his side."It not too late to let hooman host go. If she leave now, attention minimal, and she escape being put into political spotlight." Aleksey suggested, flickering his ear.

Sabre's eyes widened in horror. "I can't do that! My poor precious hooman could get lost! And she'd be left all alone and sad and, and-! No!" Sabre growled, refusing to let that happen to her bestie. "I will NOT abandon Jackie. She is my Jackie and helped me when I needed it, I won't let her down. I'm going to repay her for everything tenfold. She is my wonderful hooman and my best girl friend, a true sis." Sabre declared out loud. Jackie had stuck with them and protected them as best she could given her situation, and Sabre was going to repay her back and then some by keeping her close, safe, sound and in better conditions than Jackie could have had otherwise in the alternative reality of the sunk neighborhood with no future.

Aleksey stared at his mate's horrified expression before sighing. "Then we need take extra precautions to keep hooman host away from hooman political discussions. Council already have eye on her, and hooman politics take interest too. Her presence coming up in media, but they not have name yet. They soon will, though." Aleksey warned.

"I will bring more hoomans as reverse contracts. That will hide her." Sabre puffed. Rather than try to keep Jackie a sore secret, she would hide her in plain sight.

A wry smile pulled Aleksey's lips up. "My mate is so cunning."

She smiled and gave Aleksey a kiss on the cheek. "I am. Better deal with everything."

"On other note, training of arena friends go much smooth; they running nanny business in day and at night, train. Not many train professionally before, but they taking to it well."

"Oh? They are?" Sabre blinked, a bit out of the loop in this regard.

"The nanny business do poor, as expected. Most mother or father Extraspecies reluctant to leave offspring with anyone, resulting in many carrying or wearing cubs strapped to bodies as they help with construction." Aleksey explained, sounding amused. "It take some time for Extraspecies to adapt to more hooman based concepts, but I sure they come to like some of them."

"Taking babies to construction sites is dangerous." Sabre crossed her arms in thought before she brightly grinned. "But this is something I can easily help. I just need to leave my babies in their care."

"What." Madeline asked, snapping her head around to Sabre as Indra, Reza, Nira and Ryn did the same.

"Amako Sabre, you really don't intend to leave your royal lineage with these untrained soldiers, do you?" Ryn asked, astounded.

"Of course I plan to. They are very capable fighters and my friends." Sabre stood up from her seat, boasting proudly. "That will give confidence to other parents."

"Niet, mate." Aleksey deeply frowned. "I not like idea. It not though parents not confident in nursery; they only trust selves to proper care for offspring. Leaving cubs with strangers strange concept to Extraspecies."

"I trust them. And Madeleine would be there along some hidden guards or something. Extra species need to realize they can and need to trust other Extraspecies. It's part of learning to live together." She sat down again, having decided this already and there was no changing her mind.

"Not with our cubs as examples." Aleksey growled, apprehensively pulling his ears back. "Please rethink idea."

"Specially with our cubs as examples." She insisted. "What better promotion and propaganda than that?"

Aleksey's tail nervously twisted. "I choose who extra guards are there." Aleksey asked, seeing she was set on this idea of hers.

"Very well. And Bin will be there too." Sabre accepted, looking at the corner of the room, where the invisible lizard was likely watching the cubs in secret and waiting for anything adorable to happen to take photos or video and send it to both Sabre and Nikita.

"You know of Bin?" Aleksey asked, sounding more displeased than surprised.

"Pfff...Of course I do." Sabre winked. "He has been checking on the cubs all the time."

"Wait, who?" Madeline asked, quickly jumping up to her paws. "He has?! Since when?"

"Worry not, Bin is a friend." The leopardess assured, waving it off and taking the moment to change topic. "So, Indra! How about WYLD? "

"We have been selling out of merfolk clothing constantly in the stores in Verain's territories. We've changed times of the store being open to a mere few days a week with breaks in between to stock up on clothes and yet we still quickly sell out. They really love clothes that are comfortable underwater. Clothing stores in the lamia tribe cities are progressing nicely as well, with shops opening up not long ago and are flooded with constant patrons." Indra eagerly grinned. "It's been going very well."

"I knew the idea of slow fashion staples of clothing along our normal designer lines was good!" Sabre laughed, enchanted by the news. "Although we may need to slow our next collection until I have some more time." She frowned and was about to continue before she was interrupted by a bark from Madeleine.

"What you doing here, hooman?" Madeline lightly growled as Sabre looked up, seeing her guard standing at the entrance and effectively blocking an exhuasted Ms. Smith from entering the room.

"I have some reports to give to Amako Sabre." Ms. Smith stated, her voice having lost her usual professional edge.

"Let her in." Sabre ordered, watching Madeline step aside and let Ms. Smith in. Sabre blinked, stunned to see Ms. Smith in such a poor state; her glasses were barely holding on to her nose and her shirt was untucked and disheveled. She wore two different pairs of slippers, one yellow polka dot and the other a dark brown as the woman walked inside and stood before Sabre.

"I've come with some updated reports about the construction of the canals. They are nearing completion, and soon this peninsula will be an island with the only direct access point being the subway and the bridge over it connecting your territory from the US border." Ms. Smith explained, appearing unsteady in her stance, as though she was on the verge of tipping over. To have seen this strong of a woman fall to such a messy looking state was rather disheartening, but Sabre knew Ms. Smith was still dealing with some human legal issues regarding her last job as a coordinator. Thanks to quite a few issues, Ms. Smith was bumming it out in Sabre's design studio in a downstairs room.

"Are you alright, Smith? You look … mmmh terrible." Sabre admitted, her tail nervously curling.

Ms. Smith glanced up from her paperwork, emitting an unamused snort. "Yes, I suppose I do look terrible. The construction has been keeping me up and unable to sleep, not to mention the legal paperwork and some fees and," Ms. Smith began rambling before pausing, emitting a soft sigh. "I'll be fine, Sabre. Nothing a little time won't fix."

Sabre's tail lashed back and forth, notably staring at the coordinator's fingers. Her fingers were longer and more slender than Jackie's, but she knew Ms. Smith could pet almost just as well as Jackie could. The Amako huffed, straightening up her spine as everyone else gasped. "Since you know, I have been under a lot of stress lately, so I will allow you to pet my fluffy self to help me relax." Sabre offered, knowing this would help ease the crazy cat lady; and hopefully help Sabre get some relaxation in as well.

"Well, I certainly can't turn down the great Amako Sabre." Ms. Smith tiredly smiled as she set the papers on the desk and sat beside Sabre, letting the feline lounge across her lap. Sabre stretched her arms and legs out, letting Ms. Smith masterfully pet her belly as the feline did her best to enjoy it. While the petting felt nice, it just wasn't the same. Jackie had a much more aggressive but adoring petting style Sabre had grown accustomed to and terribly missed.

"It's not the same." Sabre pouted, curling her tail in dissatisfaction but still taking the belly scratches. "Jackie's petting is sooo much more satisfying."

"Perhaps if you place a shirt of Jackie's over your nose, it will help?" Ms. Smith suggested with a playful smile, fully enjoying petting the feline's sides and relieving her own stress. Ms. Smith paused in her petting, hesitating. "How is my old host doing? Is she doing alright?" Ms. Smith asked.

"Jackie is doing alright. She gets tired petting pretty quick." Sabre frowned, finding this to be the most heartbreaking at the moment. She was having a hard time trying to relax now that she was without her hooman's petting and loving reassurance that everything was going to be alright.

"I'm glad. Any permanent damages?" Ms. Smith asked, trying to glean more information from Sabre. The feline emitted a small huff. The only information Ms. Smith was given the promise that Sabre was going to take care of everything. Other than that, Ms. Smith had no other way to know what has happened to Jackie through her recovery process; and Sabre was hesitant to tell anyone anything about the 'improvements' given to Jackie without her consent.

"No. Her operation was a success." She said, unable to give any details at the moment. "She is resting right now in a safe location to heal up. You can see her when she comes back."

Ms. Smith sighed, realizing she wasn't going to be getting any more information on the host as she resumed her petting, watching the feline twitch and frown. The more Sabre thought about Jackie, the more she missed her. Sabre knew her hooman was in good hands, but she couldn't help but worry. Despite having seen her just the other day, Sabre pulled out her phone and called Apple.

"Yes, my Amako?" Apple greeted, sounding at ease.

"Put Jackie on the phone." Sabre ordered, listening to the phone shuffle hands for a moment.

"Hey, what's up?"

Jackie's voice sounded like music to Sabre's ears as she immediately began to purr and relax her body. "I just wanted to say hello and check on you." She couldn't wait for Jackie to come back home where the feline could monopolize her precious pets.

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Finished and out so quick! We wanted to give our lovely readers another chapter to enjoy considering how long it took to get Kroc's chapter out; Sabre's chapter went through a few agonizing corrections and alterations but we hope you enjoy what came of it! 5 REVIEWS for the next chapter 3 33

Chaos-dark-lord: We promised we'd get this out as soon as we can… and it's basically my last day of vacation, so there you go XD And yeah, we know we have soooooo much to release in terms of our site and stuff, but well, we have an awesome new original story that we are writing and as we've mentioned, we are absolutely taken with it. We have many scenes written … but we need to sort them all out and make real chapters out of them XD anyways, enjoy this. Next epilogue is :le spoiler: Eztli ;D