.
tex
-"Dialogue"-
("Inner thinking")
This is a time skip: MWMWMWMWMWWMWMWMWMWMMWMWMW
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Much Fluff, Much Needed
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In the morning, Aria woke up to some face licking from Ace, surprisingly, she licked him back once and scratched his ears.-"Morning… how you got back in?" - She grabbed his snout to prevent him from barking. -"Doesn't matter, too early" - She let go and closed her eyes again. After a long moment of suspicious silence, she half opened one eye to see Ace's furry face right in front of hers and he licked her again in the lips. Aria grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and pulled him away.-"You so damn fluffy and cute right now" - Still quite sleepy, she proceeded to bury her face on his furry chest and use him as a pillow.
Ace snickered and nuzzled on her, his tail wagged happily, constantly hitting Julius's head and waking up the silver fox.
Julius snorted and rolled away to shook his head, licking the roof of his dry mouth as he looked around the large room. He paused, startled by the perspective before looking down to his paws. -("Ah … still a fox. This was a powerful potion to have done this.")- He stretched and loudly yawned, shaking himself out.
Ace made some weird chirping noises and Aria, waking up but maintaining her eyes closed, began trying to tickle him. The red fox twisted under her grasp and then escaped, causing her face to fall on the mattress. Ace shuffled besides her, his front paws extended and his rear up as he barked in his playful pose. Aria lifted her face to him and smirked, finally up and surprisingly willing to play along, she tried to grab the red fox, but he swiftly moved aside and jumped Julius, giving the silver fox many licks, nuzzles and hugs to get him to play too.
Julius turned to the knight in annoyance, trying to get up but Ace held his shoulders down with his paw and continued to bathe the annoyed mortician, who slumped against the bed and braced himself for a small while of licking.
Aria yawned and stretched before dropping herself on both of them to join in the cuddles. - "Calm down, Julius. I know you don't like being so cute and fluffy, but it is temporal and I promised I would help you, didn't I?"- Then she got up and stretched some more - "Plus I won't get to pet fluffy foxes once you change back, so be a cute pettable thing for a while, won't you?"
Julius let out an annoyed snort in response, his ears lowering as Ace lightly nipped at the tips and tugged on them rather playfully before Aria picked him up, setting the red fox away from Julius for the time being.
"Don't get upset, Julius. Today I'm going to go to your office and sort out the clocks in a layered distribution in accordance to the type or repair needed for the clocks, and I will also set the parts needed for those and might even set up a simple inventory system to keep track of the components available and what needs to be bought."- Aria began suiting up in her armor. - "That of course will cost you and won't be cheap but it will make more efficient your workflow and processes. It will get back the time you've wasted and even save on future time by it"
Julius grumbled and looked away in annoyance, looking like he was ignoring her but his ear was intent on her and listening. He was curious as to what she was going to say despite trying not to show it. However, she didn't said anything more, she just went ahead out of the room and down the stairs towards his office.
Both foxes followed her in tow, Julius worried about her messing with stuff and getting involved in such a terrible business and Ace just because. When Aria leaned down to pick a clock, Julius quickly got in the way.
Aria growled and made a move to signal a kick but Julius didn't move, and rather than kicking him, Aria turned to Ace. -"Please get him out of here, Ace." - She got a grip of Julius by the scruff of the neck and tossed him outside. - "And come get me at lunch time" - She called while putting on her glasses and soon set up to work with heavy metal music in the background.
Ace barked and bit Julius at the back of the neck in order to pull him away.
Julius yipped at him painfully, glaring at him before shoving him away rather coldly.
Ace somehow managed to drag Julius down the corridor and stood between him and the way to his office, blocking the way. -" Don't you trust Ari, Julius?"
Julius's ears lowered- "It's not that I don't trust her." -Julius said, concerned about this 'business' she had to take care of.
"Then stop worrying. C'mon Julius, enjoy the pets while they last because once we are back we'll be the ones petting her "- Ace snickered.
Meanwhile on the mortician's office and workshop, Aria passed on the curtains to get the room more shadows. She looked at the unorganized mess the room was while sitting the edge of the desk. - "Julius may be methodical for working, but his organization clearly is pretty inefficient."- She then began begin singing, calling her darkness which separates into a bunch of different tendrils, some with sensors like the ones that Aegis had used to observe Julius work, and the others with swirls that moved the clocks and components around carefully but in a fast yet organized pace while she sat on Julius's chair and pulled out her mini laptop to create a data base as she began classifying stuff and making the basic layout for an inventory system that she would have to pass on paper later. It bothered her that she needed to design it for a primitive not computing way, but the Lullaby's engineers were still years away from making computers, and she couldn't even get started on that without securing mining rights for the rare metals needed, setting up manufacturing processes, devising education to get programmers… and all that which was needed to even get running a development center.
"At least we are setting things so that any clock from the Lullaby notes can get prime attention" -Aegis chuckled, appearing as a raven over her shoulder while she tapped and Aria smirked, barely stopping for a second to scratch his head. Of course the mercenary had additional motives to help Julius.
"You did well to obtain data from Julius' work, Aegis" - Aria praised him and felt the darkness coiling around her, like a hug. -" Now I Can also infuse the clocks from the Lullaby with a little bit extra mana from me and we get to obtain deeper statistical knowledge about the replacement of the population than anyone else."- She grinned quite pleased and continued her work.- "Also this little help I'm providing will of course have a high price."
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Both foxes went to the kitchen and Ace noticed they hadn't eaten anything yet and he had no idea if Aria had but he doubted it. For certain she hasn't gotten breakfast yet either. - ("She can get as immersed in work as you, Julius" )- He laughed and then decided he wanted to try and make the lunch ... but his efforts only lead to the kitchen be trashed again.
"Stop making a mess, Ace"- Julius yipped while Ace climbed all over everything, including the disaster the red fox had created the previous day.
"I'm not making a mess. I'm making lunch. It's just knightly to provide for one's dame" - Ace said while getting his head inside a box of cereal that was empty.
"You can't even provide common sense for yourself" - Julius looked at the disaster that was his kitchen. It was double the mess it was the day before and they were accomplishing nothing. Honestly speaking and as as much as it could hurt their pride, they needed Aria's help for even the most basic things.
"Common sense doesn't apply when you love someone or when you're hungry."- Ace got managed to open a pantry and get inside it.
"Or to you at all apparently." -Sighing, Julius left the kitchen and went to get Aria, but as he approached his office, the loud booming of music became painful for his sensible ears. He tried howling but still the music was louder than his call and he was forced to run inside at top speed toward Aria, jumping over her lap and covering his ears. The music stopped and she grabbed him.
"Alright. Just tell me nothing serious happened"- The foreigner saved her file and closed her laptop.
Julius whined, his ears still ringing. Aria examined him and after a few cuddles she carried Julius in her arms as he pointed towards the stairs. When they came down, Ace's head was stuck on the stair's banister. Both Julius and Aria let out a deep sigh and Aria proceeded to help Ace out of his situation before entering the kitchen, ignoring the mess, and getting some food from the fridge to give them and for herself. She was barely finishing her coffee when someone called at the door below. The foxes perked but mercenary didn't move; after half a minute, Aegis appeared like a blob of darkness in front of Her and bounced once before dispersing.
Aria's eyes flickered tone and then she stood up.-"They came earlier"- She scratched the back of her head and cracked her neck.- "Tell them to wait some minutes while I come down to open the door"
"Yes. " - Aegis transformed into a bat and flew out of the window.
Julius tilted his head, listening closely trying to sense who was here. Since he was a fox, however, he could not use his abilities to be able to tell.
Ace meanwhile jumped in front of her, barked to call her attention and gnawed on her hand. He didn't liked anyone else coming here.
Aria's hand moved to scratch Ace's jaw as she looked at her boyfriends. - "Since I can't leave you alone because you've proven you require supervision in your current condition, then I decided to have my meeting here instead and invited the attendants to come today. I'm sure you understand that I won't simply drop my work because of your inconvenience, right?" - She crossed her arms.
Julius let out a huff, not liking the idea of her associates coming to his tower in fear they might try to take some clocks.
Aria rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. -"Since I can't go to my meeting, my meeting will come to me. And you will behave while I get that done." - She threatened, her armor becoming an elegant formal suit.
Ace happily grinned and hopped up onto her, pushing against her tits with his paws while Julius let out another huff, sounding annoyed.
"You dont have a choice anyways. But don't worry, they are quite trustworthy and I'll be there keeping an eye on them the whole time."- She grabbed them both and letting them feel some coiling tendrils of darkness for a second, she them up the stairs and outside on the terrace, which was covered under a first layer of snow.- "You can play here and no one will know. So enjoy yourselves while I do business."
Ace barked and jumped towards the snow before adopting a playful posture like a big puppy while Julius did his best to move back onto the entrance and not get on the snow.
"You have fluffy winter coats, so you'll be fine." - Aria pushed Julius with a small kick and then closed the door, leaving them outside as she headed down to greet her guests.
Julius whipped around and yipped loudly, irritated as he lightly shivered, glaring at the door. He could hardly believe she just left them outside like this!
Ace jumped at Julius and then looked around and at the door, then to a vent that was at the side of the entrance. - "Don't you wonder about Ari's visits?"
Julius was not listening to him. The clockmaker's mind was spinning in a frenzy about all the clocks that could possibly be stolen from him since he wasn't able to defend the tower. He let out a distressed whine, pacing back and forth in front of the door.
"Ari can take care of that pretty well but she doesn't completely trust us, does she? And yet she said she trusts these cards?"- Ace closed his eyes and smiled quite darkly.
"It's none of my concern." Julius said but he was clearly worried as he continued to pace back and forth, giving an occasional scratch to the door as he tried to think of a way inside.
Then we'll have to see for ourselves, won't we?" - Ace pressed his nose over Julius's for a second before giving the silver fox a quick lick on the snout and then walking away and around the place. - "What could go wrong?"
As if he had summoned it, snow began falling down from the dark clouds. Julius let out a yip of annoyance towards the sky, shivering already as his thick and bushy tail wrapped around his legs to help keep him warm. Crouching down he pouted. -"This is absurd." -
Ace laughed and then looked at the water hose that was under the vent.- "Well, let's go in to see our mate." He correct himself - "Maiden" - The red fox set his paws on the hose and pulled on it , extending himself to pry it into the vent's cover and then pulled on it to tear the cover off by using the hose like a rope. When he was pulling back, his paws slid and he tumbled back, accidentally opening the water that shoot uncontrollably through the hose and soaked both foxes until Julius somehow managed to close it again
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"Stop touching things you don't understand, fool!"- Julius yipped angrily at him but saw that the water pressure had pried open the cover of the vent and allowed them access inside.
With their wet fur out in the snowy weather they began to freeze very fast, which prompted them to get into the now open vent despite it the fact it was dusty and dark inside. Ace got in first and thus led the way, which inexplicably directed them to the room where the enormous clockwork mechanisms kept the tower moving and ticking towards the smaller surrounding towers. They both managed to scurry around avoiding the potentially deadly gears and made their way out to the main corridor. To Ace it had been an adventure; to Julius it had been a near death experience, but as soon as they could, they headed immediately to the office and planned to hear from outside the room, but Aria wasn't there yet.
They couldn't argue their next actions due to the sound of many steps approaching. Ace grabbed Julius by the tail and quickly dragged him under the couch - "Shh. Let's hear."
Voices of various men and women conversed with Aria but it was impossible for the foxes to understand what was being spoken because they were using some unknown language.
Ace's smile showed more fangs than usual. Not only did he dislike not knowing what they were saying, but he knew that a person didn't learn a language in a short amount of time. It hadn't been that long since Aria came back and stopped hiding, which meant that these cards had known her from even before she disappeared and had remembered her when everyone forgot her; which made him recent himself just a little over the fact that he didn't remember everything about her while mere bugs did.
Julius shuffled around in place, trying to keep silent. Who were these faceless and what was Aria talking to them about? Clearly something she did not trust either of them to know if she went to such lengths such as locking them outside. Or was it as Ace said that the ones who Aria didn't trust were themselves? Even though he didn't understand what was being said, Aria's voice seemed amiable enough to these people, which made him feel quite bad. Without noticing, Julius had clung to Ace for warmth both still shivering, but the dust in the hiding place was just as awful as all the grime that had gotten stuck on their wet fur from the vent; and, unable to avoid it, he sneezed loudly.
Everything went in uproar and immediately the coach was lifted and tossed aside. A circle of faceless men and women took aim at the two shivering, dirty and wet foxes that curled onto each other while looking for a escape, the red fox getting protectively on top of the silver one while growling at everyone.
"Wait! Don't shoot!" - Aria abruptly stood up and walked to see the intruders.
The faceless were shocked and startled for an instant, keeping their guns on the critters but removed their fingers from the triggers and set back the couch while Aria grabbed the foxes by the scruff of the neck and held them in front of her, a questioning expression in her face before she tossed the animals on the sofa in order to check their status.
Both Ace and Julius were shivering, Julius from the cold and Ace more so from excitement as she passed her hands over them to examine every inch of their new weak and furry bodies. She then face-palmed, grumbling something unintelligible before turning around. Then she merely extended her hand towards the door and snapped her fingers. A shadow jackal was formed from the shadows around and went out the room. The lullaby wasn't even phased by it.
"I didn't know you had gotten any pets, Lady A." - One of the present women, the youngest one, curiously leaned to see the animals. She remembered clearly Lady A's last pet. A cute and brave little kitten called Bunsen that the Berceuse had picked up from the streets. The little cat had clearly given the Lullaby's leader some much needed companionship besides serving as a great test subject.
The Jackal came back with some towels and passed between the faceless ranks directly to Aria to hand her the towel before dissolving away. Aria considered things and then she addressed the woman. - "They aren't exactly not pets. Now sit down everyone."
Everyone obeyed without hesitation while Aria grabbed the towels to make cocooned bundles of the foxes with only their heads exposed, and then she began rubbing them to dry them before simple setting the tight bundles of furry burritos in her lap against and her chest.
"Are those test subjects then?" - A man asked her as the foxes huddled inside of the wrapped blankets, shivering out their cold.
"Not exactly either." - Aria looked at her faction, the foxes still shivering even after getting dried, thus she hugged them to provide some warmth while she addressed the faceless. - "Better than you know it so no one gets the bad idea to shoot them." - She looked up everyone with a stern look and then sighed again in what could be mistaken for embarrassment. - "These 2 furry idiotic pieces of fluff are actually Lord Julius Monrey and Sir Ace of Hearts. Remember the samples I gave Bertha?"- Aria didn't say anything at the shocked expressions of the faceless. - "For the moment this two holders are stuck like this. Better that no one knows, they are more useful alive for our plans. Thus I'm helping them. "
Julius's eyes widened in shock, dumbfounded that Aria told them exactly who they were. Did she have the slightest idea of the danger she was exposing them to?! Ace hardly seemed to care, sniffing at the air to memorize their scents to track them down later.
"Wait, lady A. So are this two your… eerrr… boyfriends?" - A black haired girl asked, observing the foreigner intently and getting a nod of confirmation from Aria, which prompted all the present faceless to nod in return and stare, some with poker faces, at their leader and her behavior toward the foxes, while realizing that their lady's activities and interactions with the role holders had managed to cause some attachment to form in her whether the outsider wanted to or not. This visit had provided some unexpected chance to explore this with the Berceuse.
A man that for some reason resembled a pirate despite his formal suit leaned back on his chair and crossed his arms behind his head and set his foot over his knee. - "The price for the holders head is quite high. More so we can get a bunch of familias and groups on our side if we kill the mortician."
Aria directs a silent and warning gaze and the member, making him gulp and apologize without her having to utter a single sound.
Julius let out a huff and leaned towards Aria, certainly uneasy with the unknown faceless being all over his office. They could take almost anything they wanted and there wouldn't be much he could do about it in the state he was in.
While grabbing both foxes, holding them protectively against her chest, Aria motioned to the people in the room- " Ace, Julius,...These fine people are my business associates which I value VERY much."
Julius and Ace both perked up, staring at her rather openly. It was shocking that she admitted such a thing at all and especially in front of these faceless, business partners or not. But how in the world Aria could have hidden all of this was much more shocking. By the way they interacted and the deference they showed to the foreigner, this appeared to be a well working organization with Aria at its head. Ace and Julius both glanced back up at Aria, wondering just how much more deeply she has influenced Wonderland that they didn't know about.
"Lady A, ¿Está bien que escuchen nuestra conversación? (Lady A, is it ok that they hear our conversation?)" - An older man said, clearly using that other language to convey a private message to Aria.- "Tal vez deberían ser llevados a otra habitación para que podamos continuar con la reunión. (Maybe they should be taken to another room so we can continue with the meeting)."
Aria nodded. -" Tienes razón. Lamento el inconveniente, pero quizá podríamos discutir otros negocios. Sin embargo encerrarlos en otra habitación sería inefectivo. (You are right. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but we could perhaps discuss other businesses. However, locking them up in another room would be ineffective)."
Ace excitedly bounced back and forth while his tail, that was out of the towel, wagged; but Julius's eyes only widened in shock. He had absolutely no idea what she was up to or what her jobs were really like, much less the extent of her influence, but Julius detect there was something weird about these faceless. Or rather, not the faceless themselves, but rather their clocks … it felt like they have more defined features or their times were stronger or extended in their clocks … or perhaps both. He wasn't sure and he could hardly tell; his abilities may have been completely restricted in his current form but he could tell that they were different.
Aria pulled on the foxes's ears to call their attention and then set the besides her on the couch. -"Will you two stay put if I leave you in another room?"
Julius shook his head fervently, glaring at her with a huff as he openly made movements to sit despite being a bundle of fluff in a towel, showing that he wasn't to accept going anywhere.
Ace decided to play the cute card, dropping his ears and widening his eyes, looking at all the females and making the youngest one squeal.
"Well, they are just foxes at the moment, so I vote for letting them stay. We can always discuss other topics y hacerlo en español para que no haya problema (and do so in spanish so there won't be a problem)." - The girl approached to try and pet Ace's fluffy head, but the red fox threw a bite.
Ace wondered if he had gotten slower as a fox or if the faceless was a better distraction than the average card. In any case, he would not allow anyone but Aria to pet him.
The same guy that suggested they kill them chuckled and spoke again, extending his arms to signal all around. -" Yeah, but since they are like this then clocks are for grabs, so we can take a bunch for experimenting or simply to prevent them from being repaired yet. Many rival groups are still in low number after the civil war."
Julius yipped at them, glaring at the man who suggested such a thing, frantically shaking his head and struggling so much that Aria grabbed him with force to make him keep still while Ace merely grinned, almost as though daring them to try. Julius then barked at Ace, the red fox turning to him with a rather crafty grin, that was startlingly dark and scary. Ace didn't give a damn about the clocks, but he might enjoy hunting these cards if they dared take any; only because that would upset Julius of course.
"That won't be needed. These clocks are here for repairing; therefore they are broken and mostly useless. " - Aria cooly said, knowing that touching the clocks at this moment would set Ace to hunt down her beloved Lullaby notes. Plus the Lullaby knew that any unwanted visitors in the Lullaby's buildings and affairs were automatically considered a volunteer for their experiments and so were any foes that dared stand against them, thus the supply for volunteers was steady to say the least.
"Jeez, well" - One of the females sighed and adjusted her glasses- " They make interesting pets, so maybe Lady A can keep them like that instead."
Ace grinned widely, looking almost proud to called Aria's pet. In contrast, Julius's jaw dropped, repulsed by the very idea and more so because the faceless and Aria started discussing all possibilities regarding them as mere stock in a serious way. His frown deepened as he shuffled around in place, pouting quite deeply as he stared up at Aria but the mercenary ignored him.
The dark haired female then sighed and tapped her finger against her chin.- "My Lady, given that our meeting should have adjustments, why don't we involve the clock master into negotiations? There are issues on the area and business we can discuss and negotiate with him as the territory leader." - The woman pulled a seat in front of the foxes politely turned towards the role holder turned into a silver fox."- Furthermore, I insist we must negotiate our help and the time of our dear Lady A, and given this change, we would like to speak about some urban issues on this territory and some improvements that need to be addressed."
Julius blinked, surprised as he gave them his attention. His eyes narrowed, puzzled before looking up at Aria. Aria in returned turned with proud deference towards the woman that had spoken.
The woman, Cosima Fiore di Armetta, secretly the Lullaby's leader of the assets in the Clock tower territorial division, spoke again towards the silver fox. Under any normal circumstances, no faceless would dare approach a role holder like this to criticize their territory and so blatantly propose business regarding the improvement but these were not normal circumstances and Lady Aria was there silently guiding and protecting them. Their Berceuse had taught them well and she, as a note of the Lullaby, was gonna put in action what she had learned. -" Because there is no local management in this territory, there are many things that can and need to be improved." - She extended her hand with her palm open, her voice calm. -"For example, the town needs some recycling plant but it can't be built because permits and projects need to be taken to either Hearts Castle or Clover Tower, but they aren't ever approved because the clock tower's territory is a minor and temporary charge due to the moves. Also the taxes collected go to just some basic maintenance but not for any development. " - The faceless rounded her words and received a coveted smile from Aria, while the other men and women listened and readied to support her. -"First we would like to discuss a local governance form. Including that the taxes be collected locally too so that the money from here will be used on this territory instead of the being taken to the rest of the country."
"Would you like to negotiate, Julius?" -Aria tilted her head and waited for his answer. Mentally she was planning to give some praise and reward to Cosima. But for the moment, this situation had turned out perfectly for her to observe her top cards actions and responses at the moment.
Ace remained all cozy trapped in the bundle of towels and the warmth within it too. He then fell sideways while snickering, and merely continued to do so as he playfully rolled around a bit.
Julius's eyes glanced around the room, feeling rather self-conscious and uneasy with the negotiations. Talking with the faceless like this was alienating him but as long as his business wasn't interfered with, he could care less what they did. However, he now knew what it felt like to be Nightmare wanting to ignore these sorts of things. This was the first time Julius was ever approached about city management or business.
Aria set her tablet and virtual keyboard again so that Julius could type answers and negotiate and steps aside so they negotiate. - "I will be a neutral party in this negotiation." The mercenary proclaimed and sat aside. She knew that Julius wouldn't have too much of a problem negotiating; he's more sympathetic towards the faceless than anyone, or rather he hardly bothered with them. He wasn't as big of a mass murderer as the rest of the holders, possibly because that would only five him even more work; and given his relationship with Aria, the Lullaby could respect him as a Role Holder even if not everyone liked that she was involved with him or Ace.
"We of course know that such is not an easy or cheap task, and it should be planned with long terms sights." -All The faceless contained their smiles; all of them in tune to this negotiation. Cosima continued. - "We of course know of the importance of the Clock Master's role and his (ironic) lack of time to attend other matters but his duties..." - Some of the faceless actually casted their leader a glance. - "... All matters of planning, project, construction costs and any other necessities can be handled by us and revised for approval by the territory leader, in exchange for some business and tax concessions; and matters of minor governance can be dealt with by forming a local elected council."
"That means there needs to be a governance center building" - Aria tapped her index finger to her chin and glanced sideways towards some of the faceless. Then she tapped Julius's forehead a couple times. -"Perhaps the smaller numbered towers surrounding the central clock tower could be remodeled for that. Although that would also be quite noisy for the Time master's normal responsibilities."
"If that's too troublesome then maybe a new complex could be built nearby and a big avenue could connect it to the central tower. " - One of the men shrugged.
Aria contained her smirk and displays of pride. She knew that her cards were negotiating a new order and power on the territory or rather the conditions that will let them gain it. -("That's ma'boys and gurls! thumbs up! :D )"- The negotiations would involve gaining more autonomous governance to the territory, changing construction codes and permits, setting plans for urban development, etc, etc, etc. All the things that Julius had never bothered with and instead left to whoever was running the country at a time to deal with. This was a masterful move. It would provide the perfect setup for many of the Lullaby's operations and Aria's long term plans of changing the world.
Julius shuffled a bit, very uncomfortable. He normally preferred to let the country's ruling party deal with management but he was still a territory leader. As long as his Clock Tower and his business was fine, he would allow it. Slowly he got into the stride of the negotiations; since he thought of it as just another work he needed to do it became relatively easier.
Ace smiled, noticing that Aria had not given out very much information at all during her discussion with the faceless. He had been listening close for details but didn't hear much; Aria was indeed careful of what was being said. However, on one of the faceless he did smell some very specialized macaroon pastries that were only served at the castle, a personal favorite pastry of the queen; which meant that whoever these faceless were, they were deeply rooted to the dealings of Wonderland if they were able to bypass initial security at the castle. This was certainly entertaining.
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Once the negotiations between Julius and the faceless were done, and the Lullaby were away, Aria released both foxes.- "Well, that went surprisingly well" - Aria stood up and began cracking her bones.
Julius looked up at her, pouting and looking dissatisfied. Although no matter how much he looked at her with annoyance and unease he knew he wouldn't be getting any answers out of her about what this meeting was. Ace yipped as he stood on the side of the couch, wagging his tail a bit. He was pleased the others were gone now and he could have some threesome time now.
She sighed and then looked at their matted and dirty furs. -"C'mon, let's go take a bath I'm dirty from rearranging this workshop and from holding you. How did you get so dirty anyways?"- She began walking towards their bedroom and the bathroom.
Julius huffed, turning towards the hologram typing top before answering her, 'you left us outside' he started to type before Ace's cold nose poked against his back door. Julius let out a screeching yip, leaping 4 feet into the air before whipping around, hair raised and frazzled as Ace trotted over to Aria with a happy grin plastered onto his face.
Aria turned to see what was going on due to the foxy screech, and read what appeared on the screen. -"Of course I left you outside. Your state was supposed to be a secret, from allies and enemies; the same that my business was supposed be kept away from my personal dealings you. Now you had me mix them and it'll be my turn to make a move in this game I'm playing with your world." -She headed straight into the big bathroom. Ace tried going in but Julius held him back by biting his tail because he didn't want Ace getting everything wet, but Ace just smirked and kept on advancing towards the bathroom and dragging Julius forward although the silver fox's paws were trying to get a grip on the tile floor.
"What are you waiting for?"- All naked, Aria stepped out, looking down at the foxes while the running water was heard coming from the shower. -"You need a bath too, so come in already. Luckily for you, I like natural soap and shampoo instead of Julius's cheap products."
Ace yipped in excitement and while Julius blushed, grumbling off to the side in embarrassment while Ace's tail wagged.
Aria walked back into the shower and her shadow raised to form a tall bench. Checking the water temperature once more, she stepped aside to beckon them into coming inside. - "C´mon. It's not as if we haven't seen each other naked."
Ace practically ran inside and quickly jumped onto the stall, sliding on it and getting caught in the air by Aria before he fell to the floor. He tried licking her but she just set him over the bench.
Julius let out a slight whine, his ears falling down in embarrassment and annoyance. He couldn't do anything to her in the form he was in now. He wanted to hold her and ask her what those people were doing in his tower even though he knew he wouldn't get an answer. The more he thought about it the more frustrated he became before Aria picked him up, startling him as she set him on the bench as well.
"You already asked for my help, so enjoy it and let me help you, fluffy boy. "- Aria pet his head and took the shampoo to wash her foxy boyfriends.
Ace let out a needy whine, and when Aria leaned down he pressed his paws against her breasts while giving her the puppy dog eyes before taking the chance to lick her tits but Aria tossed him aside, letting him land on the bench before she began scrubbing him down instead with the shampoo. Ace grinned, leaning against her and licking happily at her neck as her fingers combed through his body before she pulled away, getting more shampoo and grabbing the startled Julius, whom jolted, startled as Aria began to thoroughly scrubbing him down.
"Don't tense so much Julius. You wouldn't mind me scrubbing you normally, would you?"- Aria rolled her eyes, unable to comprehend why he was so jumpy. He was still himself and fluffy cute fox or not, they were still her boyfriends.
Julius huffed shaking himself out once he was free and watching as Aria began to scrub herself down. He stared at her, wondering if he could really trust what she was doing and hoping for her safety. Ace hopped onto Julius's rear, startling him as he looked back at the grinning fox as he locked his arms around Julius's hips and pushed against him.
Aria paused, hearing the loud yipping before she turned around and saw Julius running around in circles while Ace was trying to mount him using his bigger size and weight to get on top of the silver fox, Ace nipped at Julius's shoulders, trying to make him hold still but the stubborn man kept trying to buck the high sex driven (or deprived) knight fox off.
"Hey"- Aria grabbed the hose and twisted the nozzle to spray them and separate the horny fox. She grabbed Ace and held him at arm's length. She rolled her eyes- "Ace, I know sex is how you vent, give and receive reassurance, but at the moment you are a canine and canines have a knot at the base of their penises that swells up, and that I'm sure would leave Julius quite hurt. Also the difference in size and form doesn't makes it viable or endearing for me to even consider trying. But try to calm down and once you are back we can get at it. Believe it or not, I am frustrated too and I do want to vent out, and I don't mind giving and receive some reassurance from you."
Ace let out a snickering grin as Julius tucked his tail between his legs, letting out an annoyed huff as he glared at the knight. Aria grabbed them both by the scruffs of their necks, setting them over the counter before she began blow drying them. The result being the foxes ending looking even fluffier and fluffier till they were puff balls.
"You are balls of fluff"- She laughed at the puff balls, her eyes blinking digitally as she snapped her fingers, waiting a couple seconds with her hand extended for a swirl of darkness to bring her digital camera and set it over her palm, immediately starting to take photos of their fluffy selves until she was done and finally turned her back on them-"I need to get a transmission, so I'll at the top of the tower for a while. Don't bother me"- She then went back into the room to get dressed by the shadows, leaving them behind on the counter.
Julius barked at her - "Don't just leave me here." - But he was ignored. Ace jumped down from the counter with not problem and followed after her, leaving Julius there to frown deeply and stare after them before looking around and trying to debate on the best way to get down.
Ace eagerly hopped down after her while Julius stayed on the counter, eyeing the far off ground. Ace watched her get dressed with a greedy snicker on his lips while Julius let out a whine, pacing the counter and staring at the ground while trying to figure out an easier way down. He leaned down a few times, looking like he would hop off before thinking twice around it, continuing to pace back and forth until, after a couple minutes, he tried jumping onto the toilet seat but slipped off, taking the toilet paper down with him, and as he struggled, he got tangled up in it. Letting out a frustrated growl, Julius quickly flipped back around, huffing and puffy as he awkwardly walked around with the toilet paper stuck to his fur. When he went back into the room, frustrated to the point where he didn't knew if cry or howl in anger, the first thing he saw was a complete mess in the room with Ace among a bunch of clothes, drawers all opened and clothes tossed away, but most notably, Ace was sniffing Aria's dental floss thong.
Julius stared at the red fox, narrowing his eyes in slight disgust while knowing that had to have been the one she took off earlier - "That is disgusting Ace, don't sniff that." - Not that the meager piece of female underwear was that disgusting. It was quite sexy and quite clean.
"But I'm a fox smelling my matey girl."- Ace tilted his head, his eyes closed happily and his tail wagging.-"You wanna check it out? The scent smells a bit different than if I was down on her" - He then nipped at the sexy panties and turned around to show him, proudly presenting the floss thong to Julius.
"Do not be so perverted." -Julius growled with the hair on his haunches rising, looking annoyed.
"I can't get between her legs right now, so I merely want a taste. "- Ace dropped the panties aside then looked around and tilted his head. -" Hey, Julius? Do you know where Aria keeps her stash of sexy clothes? I couldn't find it."
"She doesn't have any here."- Julius said, hesitating before awkwardly approaching but he was suspicious of Ace's intentions. - " What makes you think she has?"
"Because whenever she comes from taking a bath or getting to sleep she always comes out wearing something sexy" - Ace trotted over to him and began to peel the toilet paper off the silver fox, snickering the whole way through as he happily hopped over Julius.
"She doesn't have clothes here, Ace. If she did I would know about them." - Julius huffed as he tumbled around, trying to kick off the pesky toilet paper while Ace nipped and bit at him indiscriminately, biting him a bit as the larger fox happily tore through the toilet paper.
"So she wears only her panties, nippy pasties and her armor of darkness?" - Ace grinned, appearing to really like the naughty thought as he toothily grinned.
"I suppose so." -Julius kicked the last remains off his foot, shaking himself out and huffing in annoyance at the new nip marks he earned from Ace's 'help' out of the stupid toilet paper.
"Then let's go ask her." -Ace grinned, picking up Aria's dental floss thong as if he owned it and trotting towards the door.
"Put that down!"- Julius growled, nipping at it and tossing it aside with a look of disgust before pushing Ace along. Julius silently clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, slightly blushing at the taste of his mate as Ace picked the thong back up and happily trotted along with it in his mouth again, happily gnawing on it and putting teeth marks in the small triangle of fabric.
A sudden streak of possessiveness tinged in Julius's chest as he tackled Ace over and bit his ear rather hard with the intent to hurt him before grabbing the piece of underwear. Ace jolted and let out a sharp bark and whine before Julius's eyes opened wide, startled as he pulled back with Aria's underwear in his mouth. His eyes were wide as he started down at the startled Ace who stared back up at him, turning his gaze to the underwear and back to Julius.
"Haha! You must have wanted her underwear really badly too! I'm glad you have the instincts of a male after all, Julius!" - Ace laughed, shaking himself off as Julius tossed the undergarment aside and pushed Ace along quickly.
The clockmaker was certainly startled by his own sudden shot of aggression towards Ace. He was annoyed but not to the point of attacking him. His actions unnerved him as he pushed Ace along, forcing him to leave the underwear behind as they went to get Aria. - "It should have been enough time for her to finish that transmission."
Rather than answering, Ace let out an excited yip, licked Julius's nose and trotted on ahead, the underwear entirely forgotten as he had his mind set on the real thing. With this new super sharp senses there was a lot more fun to be had.
Julius and Ace began climbing the stairs towards the top of the tower to get Aria from the outer terrace and were still relatively away from reaching the top when their extremely sensible fox ears caught her voice, and what they heard made them stop.
Aria's voice was tired but clear, her tone dead and monotone.-"This stupid set-up with Ace and Julius is not a relationship. It's just a facade."
After hearing that Julius blinked and moved as if he was going to keep on advancing, but Ace jumped over him to keep him still. Ace put a paw over Julius's snout and after second Julius nodded, wanting to listen to this. Ace got off him and they remained still, continuing listening intently to the conversation.
Next, the deep bass of Aegis's voice was heard sounding curious, yet as calm as it's master's .-"How so?"
"As far as I've gathered, relationships include interaction besides occasional sexual intercourse. They are supposed to be a mutual exchange of pleasantries and activities that involve the fulfillment of mutual agreements towards compatible goals that benefit the parties in the relationship and provide satisfaction regarding the Maslow's necessities pyramid.*" - Aria's tone was still a robotic monotone sound but it also held some edge. -"We perform no activities applicable to a relationship except for physical exchanges. As an example, the only date I've had with either of them is when I took Julius to the amusement park and he hated that until we got it going inside the mirror house."
Julius lightly blushed as Ace grinned, pleased with his two favorites getting along just fine. Julius frowned, glancing away. He always had a terrible time in crowded and bright places, she knew that. Well, she didn't empathize but she should know that as much as the fact that when it was just the two of them he was happy.
Aria continued, a very light growl noticeable in her otherwise flat tone. -"I understand that a relationship might had been used as an initial excuse to prevent me from leaving earlier on, but currently, If they just wanted casual sex, they could have stated it and perhaps some understanding could have been agreed. I wouldn't have minded it; I don't need anything from them, but I do enjoy the physical de-stressing and this foolish boyfriends-girlfriend pretense keeps the other holders from bothering me too much directly while they retain brag rights regarding their apparent winning the game of hearts. Things are mutually useful enough as it is."
Upset that she thought that, Julius let out an annoyed huff. She was always the one to come onto him in the first place!
Before the silver fox could make any noises that would reveal their presence, Ace once more pressed his paws against Julius's snout, hushing him with a grin before his ears honed, listening more deeply to Aria and her A.I.'s conversation.
"Didn't the clock master declare love in front of the first foreigner?"- Aegis inquired and down in the stairs the reminder slapped a blush of embarrassment on Julius face while Ace suppressed a snicker.
"He may have tried to get Alice to jealous or prove something to her. His actions were so desperate that he dared kiss me after throwing up just to show Alice he had a girlfriend. No further apologies on his part were ever presented and evidence shows that he still expects Alice to return live at the Clock tower." - Aria's voice sounded quite disgusted and she might as well could be crossing her arms and be huffing at the moment.
In the stairs, Ace looked weirdly at Julius and the silver fox looked away, not getting how it was that Aria could even think something like that.
"You could settle living quarters in the Tower. It could be a useful power base and political statement" - Aegis's voice turned more soothing than normal.
Aria's voice on contrast began breaking.-" Like any respectable female would. I wouldn't care being used, except he was the one who spoke about mutual exclusivity while Alice's ex-room here is tidy and waiting for her to come back." - A calm growl joined Aria's voice- "All her wardrobe is here. You know what mine is here? A bottle of shampoo, some soap and the change of underwear I'm wearing now. All fits into a small bag."
Julius perked up before frowning deeply as his tail swept across the ground; he had completely forgotten about the guests room still containing all that stuff. He pressed his face on the floor and put his paw over his eyes. He wanted to face-palm. Some small mistake on his part had Aria completely misunderstand his intentions again. As soon he changed back he would need to reorganize that room quickly and perhaps make it a living space for Aria instead to show her he wanted her here.
"So who you think uses you for your body and who uses you for other ends besides the agreed-ons?" -Aegis questioning interrupted the foxes's musings.
Ace Looked at Julius and let out an eager grin, seeming quite pleased despite the implications Julius foresaw in this conversation.
Aria growled in a spiteful way. -"Both of them do, and they use me only for that. But that might be the only reason we truly tolerate each other." - One could almost imagine her sneer.-" I can hardly believe I bother to try acting along the relationship's progression by having a nice dancing session with Ace or taking Julius on that date. It doesn't matter which one of them I even spend some time with, it the same way."
"If that were the case, would they not take to Alice instead?" - Aegis voice was a soft calming hush.
"Oh, they took to her, but It is not a matter of they taking to Alice. Is a matter to Alice talking to them, and they failed."- Aria's words became more calm but harsh and factual as she explained her theory. - "In the game of hearts the role holders compete against each other, but it's ultimately the foreigner whom judges the worth of the players."
"Alice's psychological profile doesn't let me understand why she chose the mad hatter as lover."- Picturing Aegis tilting his head was easy no matter which form was using at the moment.
"You can't understand this with just mere profiles, Aegis."- Aria let out a dry chuckle and entered her lecturing mode. - All holders are more or less the same in regards of power, influence, wealth or such. Whether they have or are able to get it. Also despite Alice willing to overlook the fact that to foreigners they are heartless serial murderers, Blood also goes out of his way to hide the carnage of this world to her, which she knows and is happy to ignore because it presents her with a sense of normality; looking like her ex may be a factor, but simply as it is, Blood made an impression in her beyond his looks. I got to say that besides the King, Blood is the only holder this side of the mirror that can provide a nice, fun and witty conversation."
Julius hung his head a bit, shuffling around and facing the wall. He had been quite busy with clocks … and dealing with two psychopaths … the more he thought about it the more gloomy he became, slumping deeper and deeper against the wall with a frown as he slowly came to the real understanding that he was a gloomy and boring workaholic.
Ace continued grinning, unperturbed. This just proved even more than since Julius was pathetic and boring, it was up to him to spice things up.
"If role holders are useful only for physical pleasure, then why not cut them off now and find something else to provide fulfillment for such?" - Aegis voice became a sly and suggesting purr. -"I can provide deep stimulation"
Ace growled and this time it was Julius whom hushed him.
Aria laughed lightly. -"Yes, Aegis. You can give me the most amazing orgasms ever just by sending a direct impulse into the neural central straight to my brain. No messy physical activities or fluids… but that would be a bit like cheating and after it I doubt I'd ever want coitus again"- Her tone and mood now was apparently a bit lighter.-"Plus, I am curious about my reactions to their presence. I've been monitoring it and it seems that I've been developing tolerance to their antics and a liking for their physical company. I admit that not only it is not so bad, but it is ...nice and likeable at times, like at morning when I wake up between them. It's warm."
The A.I. snickered. It was getting hard to believe that all of its intelligence was purely artificial. -"So you like cuddling and the physical touches."
"Maybe. Physical contact is a biological consideration. Although I've also considered killing both of them, assigning their roles to some of my cards, killing one to see how the other reacts… plenty of experiments come to my mind"- Aria retained her calm tone and probably shrugged at this.
A chill crawled down Julius's spine, disturbed with her thinking process before thinking it over; to be honest, it's not like that hasn't happened before. Julius sent Ace a side glare and noticed the red foxes tail wagging and his smile more cold than cheerful. Something never good in Ace.
"I would advise against it." - Aegis immediately said, surprising Aria. - "Without them, you will slowly unravel and fall deeper into the madness; which can cause temporary lapses in concentration and ultimately bring you to death faster than you would desire."
Aria let out a deep sonorous sigh -"Our sensors can't test this either, but just like Vivaldi said, I'm drifting away, but since I can't go back to my world and I won't ever fit completely here. My existence is astray and instead of going back to my world, it's the madness what I drift to."- She took a moment in silence - "But you are right. Being near a holder is useful because even without a connector the mana keeps flowing and that gets me stable. Two of them is even better."
"But that won't last for long"- Aegis sounded far more worried than her.
"I know, but it's not fair for them either and I like even deals. My game is going on and this madness will eventually get to them as much as to me, possibly forcing them to fight each other… I'll most likely leave or be dead before that happens"- Pure stoicism were her words - "It's becoming difficult to even keep processing colloquial speech patterns or causal physical engagement and reacting facial expressions. But when I'm with them is easier."
Julius frowned, determined to not let her fall into the madness or leave. She was free to do as she pleased but he truly wanted ... her while Ace tilted his head, wondering what'd be for dinner that night or rather, when he could change back to have his threesome so Aria would stop thinking all this. It was obvious she needed to vent and cuddle.
"But do you know if you can truly die anymore?"- Aegis cautiously but cryptically. - "You cannot exactly be called human any longer and therefore the concept of death may be different for your body and the state it has reached in this dimension."
"NO!"- Aria's small scream lack her normally composure.- "I'm going to die! My tomb is already waiting for me." - Her voice did sound scared and angry for a second. Thinking of her flailing her arms around in a hectic mini panic sounded feasible.- "There are plenty of ways for me to die. Even if I'm not human I'm still a foreigner, and there are plenty of normal stuff that can harm me. Hell, I'm most likely going to get killed, and more likely Ace will be the one who kills me. It's kind of his duty anyways."
"I apologize for causing you distress … and it is mere speculation, nothing more."- Aegis was quick to appease her. His voice a new hush that seemed caring and worried for his master. -"Do you fear not being able to die, Aria?"
"Fear? I don't fear, Aegis."- Aria took a couple deep breaths and continued. -" By all accounts, in my circumstances a normal person should be absolutely terrified, but I'm not normal, I can't truly feel this. I don't' get joy, fear or sadness. I only get frustration and progressive sorrow, rage and despair."
"Aria..." - Aegis stopped, letting her continued.
"I know I'm not human anymore but I don't know what I've become. That is why I'm playing my own game with this world. And for the time being that is fine, there are things I can still do. I may not care about my own existence, I'm now an end to this world, a game mechanic and designer if I want to. I don't give a damn because I've already lived my life in my world or in this." -She stated in a rather resolute tone but by the slight tremble in her words, it was possible that her lips had trembled before she stiffened them.
"Your bio-chemical levels say otherwise." -Aegis noted.
"My bio-chemical reactions are getting messed up with this new neural setup. These damn pseudo emotions are a hassle, but they are useful in other ways. At least they occupy the same channels that the madness would. Still, they are mere imitations, I still possess no empathy. It's not in my nature or configuration."
Julius and Ace looked at each other, Julius lightly blushed and Ace wagged his tail. All this did not prove she entirely loved them back but it did prove she felt something for them that she cared in some way … maybe. For now, they would accept that with open arms.
"If you say so. But you DO have an equivalent"- Aegis purred, possibly while grinning.
"An imitation is still a fake. Event his body is just a remembrance of what I used to be years ago in my world. I stopped being human way before coming into Wonderland. And that time and reality is catching up to me."- Her voice became a monotone speech again, but this time it sounded off as if someone was messing with the equalizer.- "So far my skin and tissue are once again producing spider silk proteins to hold it together, my installed components are getting their latest upgrades and even my mind is integrating better with you Aegis, which is why our render of the shadows in real time has improved so dramatically and why you are insisting we speak instead of transmitting data." -She grumbled and then grunted.- "I've been drifting away into myself from the start, all foreigners do. I didn't even know why I chose my original code name in this dimension until I remembered what it actually was."
Aegis sounded sad.- "A.R.I.A. - Adaptive Restructured Intelligent Arrangement. Hadron: A composite particle made of quarks held together by the strong force, or taken from the 'Hadron collider, : A highly specialized research machine that accelerates particles to very high kinetic energy and let them impact other particles. The byproducts of these collisions evidence the structure of the subatomic world and the laws of nature governing it. " - The A.I. sighted. - "And Scherzi. Plural of music form Scherzo. A fast-moving humorous composition that may or may not be part of a larger work."
Ace tilted his head as Julius frowned. To have a name literally so coded … did that woman hold nothing close to her heart? Not even herself? That wasn't a name at all, it was just a random set of letters. Julius let out a slight whine, wanting to go and comfort her but at the same time wanted to hear more.
"Pretty ironic, isn't it"- Aria sighed too - " Aria Hadron Scherzi: A soundly composed Adaptive Restructured Intelligent Arrangement that can accelerate particles with energy, discovering the laws of physics and nature. It would be funny ironic if it wasn't so sad. It would be funny if it weren't so ironic."
"Aria Hadron Scherzi" - Aegis tried a comforting tone but his voice held some clear urge. -"It doesn't matter if it means anything. As a complex being, you are still yourself and you're alive. But coming back to the matter at hand, you need a deeper connection with this world to not drift away."
"I know"- Out of the many things that her voice could have become, what came out was the sound of an angry sniff.- " I'm really losing it, and this stupid emotional imitation is too damn real for me."
"Aria you are having a small breakdown. If I were to take on a human form I could count the times that had happened with the fingers of 1 hand and still have fingers left to count something else."- Aegis was speaking faster. -"My registries show, that this happens after a long period of not 'venting out'. Yet I've noticed that the stress is lessened whenever you're near Julius Monrey and Ace. My diagnosis is: you need a hug. From them."
"I..I…"- Aria hesitated -" I do want it."- Her tone was meek and cute. -"And I do want them. But... I'm not sure your sensors can catch it because it's subtle and we can't check on an MRI, but since I can't love, It's more of a territorial possessive thing… more or less. Sort of like 'I'm caring because they are mine', and because they are mine and beneficial to me is why I should help them and enjoy them." - She growled frustrated with herself, yet her tone was still meek and worried- "I want them back as compatible species. Even if we just have intercourse in general, I do like their presence near, and waking up between them."- The tough mercenary sounded as if she was trying to calm herself -"But ... but I don't know how long it can last. Once they learn what I'm becoming or what I can potentially do, or that the madness is almost getting to me. They would most likely kill me…" - She affably chuckled.-"...And I will let them. I'd rather die than losing what's left of myself."
With eyes wide open Ace and Julius listened closely, deeply invested in the conversation. Neither breathed a word, remaining silent, shocked to hear such things from Aria's own mouth but they were thrilled to hear them. Ace started to go out but Julius bit his tail, holding him back and wanting to hear even more. One thing was for sure; they were going to cuddle her to no end after this.
"Have you ever considered taking them for your mates?" - Aegis asked curiously.
"NO." - She bluntly answered without a doubt. " Getting a relationship with me is a is a spiral of self-destruction"- Aria spoke fast and certain.
"Yet they happily chose to do so." Aegis pointed out.
"Because they are crazy and affected by the game. I'm better off trying to set them up together for good. I'm going to eventually leave due to my duties and impulses, so they can have each other. They are the duo, I'm an occasional 3rd part. They are already taken by each other. Seriously."
"And thinking that is helping your mental psyche, despite perhaps not being the case. You really should choose"
"Not choosing is still a choice, and I'm not choosing between them"- She sounded sure.
Julius and Ace looked at each other, Ace leaned on Julius; knowing that Aria was the glue that got them together and just as certain that they were not going to force her to choose is she didn't want to.
"Then why don't you choose Joker? You would still have two male bodies to pleasure yourself with and they have only one connector. Plus you are perfectly corresponding and trusting to each other and compliment perfectly well." - Aegis proposed another solution. His drive to set up his master for her own good was more than obvious by now.
"Maybe so, but Joker is still my best friend ever and that means more than just how useful he might be. I'm not using him unless it benefits him and even so I would tell him and ask first. As improbable as it may I care for him. Maybe that's why he says I'm Joker's joker."- Her words were affectionate, true and sincere.
"Do you love him?"- Aegis questioned again, his scripts arranging to estimate Joker's value and position.
They held their breath and listened intently. Aria's behavior was certainly very special towards Joker. For what they've seen and how she spoke of Joker, she held him in far more than mere high regards.
"In whatever way I can, but he is still my best friend and NO, just fucking NO." -Aria stated in a finalizing tone.
Both foxes lowered their heads with a disappointed sigh, expecting that sort of response from her but now wanting to hear it.
"I see … then what about a regular marriage contract with either or both of your chosen males?"- The A.I. Kept on pushing.
Aria answered quite serious. -"That would not work in the mechanics of the game. A legal contract would perhaps be fine by me, but the game ends only and permanently with a connector. Obviously there are 2 connectors, so it wouldn't work. Plus is not as if they would accept it. Ace would simply drag Julius in or come along for the ride"
"Perhaps you can tell them that you are starting to care for them or all this things worrying you?" - Aegis teased - "Your deal with them could be improved or a new solution could be discussed"- The AI sounded more happy if not outright trilled - "With more time it might become that elusive equivalent to love you have. Maybe it has no infatuation and its rational but it exists, even if only 1 person ever earned it back in your world"
Aria took a deep defeated breath and still somehow managed to huff.- " I can't.. I like them in a way different of what love is to creatures like them. But they can't comprehend it because they can't relate to it... and if I say anything they will homologate to their context which would create a fallacy..."- Again she huffed.- "It would only be worse when I go away. I'll need to leave because of duties. I am now part of the cycle even if won't ever integrate into this world"
That was it. Ace has heard all he needed to hear and sprinted over. Aria's sensors activated when he got to the top of the stairs and she barely managed to fake an annoyed expression when Ace leapt up into her arms for a foxy hug, showering her with licks and loves.
'The heck's with you!?"- Aria tried moving him away but he just drew closer. Finally she just hugged him very tightly until he calmed, and when that happened Julius came into the picture; he had been sitting on the floor in front of her and now that Ace calmed down and she stopped moving so much, he too jumped into her arms and gave her another foxy hug and even a few licks.
Aria sounded annoyed -"What's up with you?" -Their answer was to give her more licks while she tried setting them on the floor but be unable too because they climbed back on her.- "Damn it, why are you so needy so suddenly?" - Finally she dropped them.
Both of them stood on their hind legs and rested their front paws against her knees as they looked up to her rather needily. Ace stepped back and forth excitedly, whining and licking at her hand while Julius leaned against her thigh and lovingly hummed.
"Are you really that hungry?" - Aria misinterpreted and thought they were merely very hungry. She then took them to the kitchen, and once they were finished, they headed back to their bedroom where Aria proposed to have a movie marathon from movies/series/documentaries of her world.
She set the projector and laid the tablet at her side so they could answer. -"Just tell me what kind of genre you would like to watch. I vote for science-fiction or mechas. "- The merc then thought about something that made her chuckle - "And just in case that one of you mentions knights and comedy, Ace should be forever forbidden from owning, renting or getting his hands on coconuts and banging them together. In fact, he shall be forbidden from imitating anything of that film if that film is even watched, ok? "
Julius had no idea why but he agreed immediately while Ace hopped over the keyboard, typing out meticulously: 'Ladies choose'
Aria pet Ace's ear and all excited put on a movie about giant armored and heavily weaponized robots fighting giant kaiju monsters that came from another dimension; she changed into her night attire and pretty soon they were cuddling while watching movies and relaxed watching a movie after another, even if they didn't get all the movies they saw. The foreigner world was a strange place to produce this films where effects could be hardly distinguished from reality.
They rested happily, both foxes lying on top of Aria while basking in each other's presence. Ace cheerfully cuddled closer against her, his chest faintly rumbling as he let out a content sigh with his ear attentive towards her chest, listening to her beating life beneath her skin and bones. The sound was so lovely it was enough to make him blush as he slid his eyes shut, listening more deeply to his favorite sound, a sound he was going to keep no matter what. After all, it was only knightly to have someone to protect and it only made sense that he would execute any threat to his two precious people. With a little hum, Ace licked Julius's snout and rubbed himself on Aria cuddling closer, enjoying the warmth and the sound of her heartbeat. If he could lay like this more then he would not mind being a fox for a bit longer.
.
Julius responded with a yawn as he cuddled closer to Aria, letting out a satisfied humming smile. This had to have been the first time that the three of them spend nice, relaxing time together without things getting sexy. It was very nice, and her body was very warm to lay on. This must be what Aria meant when she was saying what else a relationship entailed and he had to admit that he loved it. It made him eager to get back to normal and see how they could get more of this, specially get Aria to be as loving as she had been during this ordeal.
After the last movie ended, Aria scratched their ears and then set them aside in order to move the sheets and laid on her side so they could join her, which they immediately did. She gave each a kiss on the snot and then hesitantly spoke. - "Guys… when you change back, can we do something like… I don't know… have a date?"
Ace immediately pounced over her breasts, nuzzling down in between them with a very satisfied humming grin while Julius rolled against her side nodding, taking comfort in her present as did the knight and noticing how a big advancement it was that she was asking for some of what she had 'secretly' discussed with Aegis.
Aria shuffled and closed her eyes. -"Night. And if you change back while you sleep don't dare wake me up. Just cuddle or whatever."
Julius stared up at Aria's face, feeling every fiber of his being being drawn in towards her. The strong attachment was not natural; he wanted her for the simplest reasons; this female of the species came into his territory, shared food, shared her bed and shared herself with him. His tail flickered back and forth as he felt an almost possessive desire grip hold of his clock, wanting to retain her permanently. Not as a boyfriend girlfriend standing, but as a 'mate'. A second later he shook his head, pausing at his own animalistic thoughts, surprised by how much it wandered while he pondered on the unsettling meaning behind this feeling. Not that it mattered; he would be normal when he woke up again. Tricks like this never lasted too long. However, one thing was for sure. When he woke up tomorrow he would be making some steps towards improving his tower for his 'mate', and first and foremost is getting rid of everything resembling Alice and convince Aria that this was her home too.
They went to sleep and the night passed out in tranquil bliss. But when they woke up, something was very wrong. They were still fluffy foxes.
.
.
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*Maslow's pyramid/hierarchy of needs-The Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is a five-stage model to understand what motivates people. Turns out that one must satisfy lower level basic needs before progressing on to meet higher level growth needs. The level are as follows with 1 t the base of the pyramid and 5 at the top:
1. Biological and Physiological needs - air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep.
2. Safety needs - protection from elements, security, order, law, stability, freedom from fear.
3. Love and belongingness needs - friendship, intimacy, affection and love, - from work group, family, friends, romantic relationships.
4. Esteem needs - achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, self-respect, respect from others.
5. Self-Actualization needs - realizing personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences.
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Poor Aria, she's confused by what she feels and how she is regarding them XD, but hey, she feels something for them and is realizing it (FINALLY! Now next step is to see if they can have her admid she likes cuddles and luvs)
Maybe I should have cut in two this chapter, but as I mentioned, I wanna get done with this . peekodemeeko12 and I have been working on our cowritten stories (and she's helped a lot in emotinal parts of this chapter too), mainly one for Hellsing (here under my account) and one for fandom Daily Life with a Monster Girl/モンスター娘のいる日常 in her account. Also I expect to release the next chapter of A-theist (fandom is Kamigami no asobi) soon plus a new M-shot.
In any case please enjoy all. I hope you like the foxy fluff, perhaps they can convince her of the conveniences of the relationsip while in this form...or create a lot more trouble. What do you think would happen if someone else discovers their current predicament?