Welcome to Gaia! ::

Sebastet slept the entire day through, finally stirring at nightfall with a slow stretch. Waking up was almost a repeat of the last time she'd woken up with him in her bed. She had her back to him, his arm around her holding her against him. But this time, she simply enjoyed the feeling of his rumbling purr behind her, his breath on her neck making her shiver for him.

She shifted slowly this time, turning so that she could look at him. She raised one hand to his mane but hesitated before touching him, then gave in to the urge and moved ehr fingers through the fur of his mane. She was surprised at how soft it was, thinking that it should have been rough in texture. She let her fingers stay there as she settled back down against him, facing him this time with her head tucked under his chin, finding that she fit against him perfectly that way, and closed her eyes purring softly.

She didn't want to get up, didn't want to face the rest of the world just yet. As she laid there, her thoughts went to him staying again. She thought of having his Mark on her, right where her neck met her shoulder, and shivered against him as her body reacted to the thought. She hadn't known him long, only a grand total of two days, but she found herself wanting him to claim her as his, wanting him to stay with her permanently.

He made her feel safe, protected even, things she hadn't felt in a very long time. And the way he watched her, touched her, made her feel cared for, wanted. She didn't want to lose those feelings. But she didn't think she could ask him that, not when he had a life to get back to...

Sebastet gave a soft chuckle as she sat up straddling him, tossing her braid over her shoulder in the process, "Evening, I think you mean," she corrected him softly and pointed to the darkened sky outside the balcony doors. As she looked down at him she couldn't help but smile, "I think we've done this before..." she added with a raised eyebrow, reminding him of when he'd arrived.

Of course, she'd been holding a dagger to his throat at the time, but it was a very similar position. She put her hands on his chest, moving her fingers through his fur and loving the ability to be able to touch him.

The room was warm around them from the sunlight that had come through the balcony doors while they'd slept, that warmth keeping the chill from the evening air from reaching them just yet. It was like the rest of the world couldn't touch them just yet, couldn't spoil their time together.

Her head fell back as he moved his hands over her, a soft moan escaping her, "Oh yes... Much more enjoyable...." she moaned the words out softly before leaning down to kiss him, her hands over his.

She couldn't believe everything he did to her, most of it without even talking. The way he touched her probably should have been illegal but she loved it. He touched her as if had every right to, as if he were already her mate.

And the way he said her name? That wasn't the first time he'd purred it. But purring, growling, hissing, gasping, or yelling. That combined with the way he touched her and she was practically putty in his hands. He played her like he'd known her for years instead of days.

Should she ask him to stay with her? Should she beg him to mark her? She wanted to, the gods knew she did. But she didn't know if it would be fair to him...

Sebastet let out a laugh and leaned in to kiss him briefly, "Come on then. I'm a passable cook. I'm fairly sure that I can feed you with no problems," she told him, deliberately understating her skills in the kitchen as she swung herself off of him then the bed and headed for her closet. She came out in a simple halter top and shorts.

Then she headed for the other closet. She hesitated a moment, but opened it anyway. She paused as she looked inside of it then had to smile. It seemed that the Tower had done something on it's own again. Inside the closet were all of the clothes that were made for Lio by the tailor as well as a few other things just for him. She silently thanked the Tower and pulled out a simple pair of shorts for him and tossed them to him as she made for the door, leaving that closet door open on her way.

Sebastet limped into her room growling and went straight for the chest at the foot of her bed where she pulled out her healing pouch and got the burn cream she'd made up. She sat on the bed and spread it over both of her feet, giving a soft sigh of relief when it numbed the burns there.

She made a decision then and there to move Lio into her room up here as soon as possible. There was less chance she'd wake up with the sun pouring over the bed up here. Especially since she'd put the bed in where the sunlight wouldn't touch it all even if the curtains over both the balcony doors and the window were open.

She considered doing a great many things since she was awake but shot every one of them down since her feet were now burned both from her fur burning away and the sun hitting her skin after. There wasn't much she could do until they healed up. Which meant that she was stuck here until then.

She gave another unhappy growl and shifted herself further up on the bed and pulled the cord that would ring the bell set at the main door to the tower and tell one of the servants that she needed something. That done, she simply waited for one of them to show up then ordered that all of Lio's things be moved up to her room, asked for a blood packet and coffee, and for the papers on her desk to be brought up from her office.

As the servant saw to getting Lio's things moved by two more servants and brought up her paperwork, Sebastet got to work on the things that should have been done by a secretary. If she'd had one.

Doing paperwork didn't help her mood much. Having to reapply the burn ointment periodically didn't help much either...

With plenty of coffee on the bedside table where she could reach it, she continued to work through her paperwork. It amazed her how much paper it took to run the castle. Orders for supplies to be brought in, things to be sent out, requests to come to the island that had to be replied to, requests from the village Elders, but the worst part for her was the accounting that had to be done.

She kept the funds for the villages communal fund and used that money to order supplies that the island needed; like spices, stone, fabrics, animals for the villagers herds, animals to repopulate the forest, seedlings and seeds for planting fields and the garden, other more exotic items for those that lived in the castle, books for the library... The list was really endless. For everything that the island produced for itself, there were other items that had to be ordered from other places around the world.

And with each ship that came in, there was the risk that another Hunter would show up intent on eradicating the 'evil supernatural' population and 'saving' the humans that lived here from them. Or another group of poachers who'd heard about the wildlife here that they could take advantage of.

Each ship brought in someone else who sought the refuge of the island that she offered. Each of those had to have a room of their own and had to be told of the rules of living here. Some stayed, others left.

And right now she was trying to plow through orders and accounts, reminding herself yet again that she needed to find a secretary to take care of this stuff for her, to weed out the things that actually needed her attention from the things that could be taken care of by someone else. She hated to do the paperwork enough that she was actually giving off a low growl while doing it. Having to pause to put more ointment on her feet didn't help her temper much.

At least Lio's things had been moved up here by now, though she hoped he wouldn't mind her taking charge of doing it for him.

She'd had one of the servants open the balcony doors and push the curtains open so that the breeze from the ocean came in while the sunlight warmed the room without invading to burn her again. She found that to be one of the few things she missed since being Turned: the sunlight. She was forever banished from feeling it warm her fur or soothe her during a nap. She could still move around during the day, but only if the sunlight never actually touched her.

Her temper at the moment wasn't really helped by the fact that she kept getting distracted from the paperwork. She kept finding her hand going to the spot where her neck met her shoulder where Lio had given her his Mark, forever binding them together as Mates, giving a soft goofy smile whenever she did so. She'd shake her head and make herself get back to work again, softly calling herself a 'lovesick fool' from time to time.

She finally set aside the requests to come to the island, having approved two more vampires, a shape shifter, and a mage but turning down one vampire and two shifters. The latter three she knew to be trouble-makers and wanted them nowhere near the island, much less the populace. The other four she would give a chance to, though one of them sounded as if they were in a more desperate situation than they implied. Those letters would get sent out on the next ship to be delivered.

But now she was stuck with the accounts and orders and truly hated them. When she did the accounts, she usually found herself dreaming about numbers when she slept.

Still, she pulled the ledger over her lap and held the order requests in her other hand as she worked out which ones to approve and which ones could be put off, growling the entire time....

She looked up as yet another load of papers were brought in and rolled her eyes as she simply directed them to be put on the bed next to her then passed off the letters to be sent out. She went back to the accounts and orders when she heard the knock, "Come in," she called out absently as she approved the orders for stone and seeds to come in but set aside the order for more silk then made a note of the purchases in the ledger, still giving off a low growl over it all as she did the required math.

Sebastet waved away his lack of documentation and tried to resettle the stack he'd saved so it wouldn't topple over again, "Don't worry about it. I needed the break. I hate doing the accounts anyway. I've tried to get a secretary but they always take off after looking at the amount of paperwork it takes to run not only the castle but the island as well. So I'm stuck with it," she said simply, welcoming the excuse to set the ledger aside.

She settled herself up against the pillows and gave her haltertop a small tug before settling her shorts as well then reaching over to take a sip of her coffee. She had to stay seated thanks to her feet but managed to give him a good look-over after setting her cup back down.

"I'm Sebastet. It's good to meet you Michael. You're welcome to stay on the island and in the castle as long as you like. We even have a hallway of suites specifically for shifters such as yourself. There's a concealed door just below the main staircase in the reception hall that leads to it. That hall has archways open to the outside of the main castle wall but hidden from view from the outside by magic, so you'll have easy access to the forest if you need it," she introduced herself easily then explained about possible accommodations for him, knowing that the shape shifters usually preferred to stay in that particular hallway.

"As for a job, there are numerous possibilities for you. What skills do you have to offer?" she asked him then frowned when her feet started to tingle again, making her reach for the burn ointment to put on them again.

Sebastet gave a short laugh and shook her head with a smile, "Nonsense, Michael. Someone with such a varied array of skills is certainly welcome here. As it happens, on rare occasion, we actually need someone with your more questionable skills. But for now, would you consider the position of secretary for me? I need someone who can handle the accounts, take care of supply orders, sort through what absolutely needs my attention from what you or someone else can take care of. On occasion it would require you to inventory certain areas like the armory, the main library, or my personal library. I need someone trustworthy to take care of my personal library, someone who won't give in to delving through some of the more dangerous books for accumulating such knowledge to actually use it. As a shape shifter instead of a mage, you're not likely to be inclined to learn the spell that turns a person inside-out, for example," she offered, hoping he'd take that position.

"You will be required to keep your fighting skills sharp and occasionally teach a few self-defense skills to the humans who serve in the castle. We all take a turn at that. So it seems to suit all of your current skills. In return, I'll see to it that you work with Cain Albright, our head librarian and the one in charge of the main library, so he can assist you in learning any language you choose to help with correspondence between the realms. From time to time we do have problems with poachers or Hunters and you're free to hunt them and kill them without reproach when the villagers inform us of their presence on the island," she continued, trying to sweeten the deal for him.

It wasn't the only position available, of course, but certainly the one best suited to all of his skills...