Stacey was surprised to recognise the golden retriever and black cat with three white socks from Whistledown. So those animals had been the two teenage boys? No wonder she had seen them around so often.
Canis panted happily in the car, making small noises of excitement until Thieren barked at him.
"Be quiet or be thrown out."
Canis fell silent.
"When we get back, I'll have the two of you sent to the Huo Guard training grounds. I'm not letting you near Stacey unless you can prove your abilities," Thieren said. "I also need to investigate your backgrounds before I can decide whether to accept and keep you. You two are lucky you've been neutered already or you wouldn't have the chance to be trained as Stacey's guards."
Canis sat on the floor in the back seat, leaning his head against the surreptitious Ning, whom Stacey felt had appeared out of nowhere. Had he been with them all along or had he only just arrived? Felix walked in circles on a different car seat but didn't seem happy with the feel of the seat beneath him.
After Thieren had made sure Stacey was properly buckled in, Felix leapt from the backseat to the front, where he walked in circles and then relaxed in Stacey's lap. Stacey stroked his ears and Felix closed his eyes, purring loudly.
All of a sudden, Stacey realised how tired she was. With a full tummy and a warm furry cat purring away in her lap, she felt strangely satisfied for the moment. Her eyelids drooped.
Thieren leaned over her to help tilt the back rest down, so that she could lay back more comfortably.
"Just rest," he said in a low voice. "No need to be afraid. You can just lie back and sleep."
Stacey gradually drifted off while she felt the car begin to move, driving out of the carpark and joining the traffic on the road. It still seemed odd not to hear or feel the drone of the car engine. If anything, it was like she was being carried around on a reclining cloud.
At one stage, she felt the car stop and the warm furry weight on her lap being lifted off. A cool breeze carrying the slight scent of gunpowder and steel washed through the car. She felt herself being covered by a thin blanket and heard the sound of people talking in hushed voices.
The car boot opened and some large heavy objects were placed within, followed by the slam of the boot closing. The car dipped with the weight of people getting in. From the smells, Stacey could tell that Thieren was no longer driving but had taken the passenger diagonally behind her. It smelled like Ning had taken the wheel.
Slightly floral and fruity scents of shower products told her that two females were sitting in the backseats behind her. Not to mention their voices confirmed her guess. One girl had a sweet but surprisingly cold and high soprano voice. The other had a warm musical voice that sounded like someone who had previously trained in a choir or to make audio recordings. Her accent was very clear and enunciation precise.
From what Stacey gathered in her drowsy, half awake state was that they had stopped off at the Huo guard training centre. These two new female additions were the personal assistants that Thieren had mentioned to her earlier. That meant she was going to have to think up names for them. If so, she'd better start thinking now.
Stacey felt that she was really bad at coming up with names. For example, if she was told to come up with names for Felix and Canis, she would have named Felix Three Socks and Canis either Goldie or Dog. Given that Goldie was more of a feminine name, she'd probably just call Canis Dog. Not that the names Felix and Canis were very imaginative either, but they were still slightly more thoughtful than Three Socks and Dog.
Girls were also slightly more fussy about their names. They would want something more pretty. Stacey didn't want to leave the naming up to Thieren in case he came up with something face-palmingly embarrassing. Again.
The girl with a sweet soprano voice sounded cold and distant, despite how nice her voice sounded. Maybe Ice Queen or Queenie would work for her. If not, perhaps Honey, Candy or hmm, Elsa. Mmm. Yes. That would be a good name for an Ice Queen, although Stacey wasn't entirely sure why.
If one was called Elsa, then the other girl ought to be called Anna. If not Elsa and Anna, then maybe Gerda and Kay, although if Stacey wasn't wrong Kay was originally a boy's name. But then, she supposed, that might depend on what language it was in. Stacey couldn't remember exactly why these names would be paired together but they just felt right.
It would be best if she could pair the names together, but right now she couldn't think of any good ones. She could name them after pastries like Eclair and Madeleine, or she could use flowers and herbs. There were also colours, fruits or things like salt and pepper.
But then, it would depend on what the women looked like as well. Naming someone by their voice might not suit their face.
Stacey frowned in thought.