When Callum woke up the next day, he lay on his bed for a long while, wondering how he was going to spend the day. After Bel had left the day before, he'd realized he had half a day with nothing to do. Callum had never had days with nothing to do before and had no idea how to spend his time. After a nap, he'd ended up wandering around the building. There wasn't much to see. He remembered Bel saying that it was a building for all aliens but as far as he could tell, the humans were the only people inhabiting it. Of course, it wasn't like he went around knocking on the doors.
When he got bored, he returned to his room and taste-tested most of the foods that Bel had bought him. Everything was so delicious that he ate too much and ended up passing out early. He didn't think he'd ever wasted an afternoon and evening in such a manner before and it didn't feel good. He had to do something today until his meeting with Bel but what? He would have liked to talk to Valencia and he probably should have but he didn't know where that conversation would go and how long it would go on for. He also wanted to find out where his sister and Riley were but didn't know how to go about it.
With a sigh, Callum got up. He wandered to the bathroom and relieved himself and then headed for the kitchen. He was tossing back a glass of water when there was a knock on the door. He glanced at it curiously and padded over. Before he was halfway there, he remembered he was naked and stopped short. "I'll be right there!" he called out. Bel had said something about how the apartment was close to soundproof but he didn't know what else to do. Wondering how he could hear a knock if the apartment was soundproof, he scurried to his room.
His clothes from yesterday were tossed at the foot of his bed. He quickly pulled on the shirt and the shorts, figuring they would do well enough and hurried back to the door. There was another knock as he crossed the sitting room. He studied the door frame for a moment and tapped the place he remembered Bel hitting earlier. The door slid open, revealing a woman on the other side.
At first glance, she seemed human or fie, with the right dimensions and reddish skin. But as soon as he saw the eyes, he knew she wasn't human and probably wasn't fie, either. The left eye was bright, vivid green with a yellow diamond pupil. The right, half hidden behind a lock of honey-blond hair, was a swirl of yellow and green with seemingly no pupil at all. Callum goggled at her. Her eyes were so...cool! He had never seen anybody with mismatched eyes before and her eyes seemed like they should belong to two different species.
The woman tipped her head down so that her right eye was hidden behind hair completely and Callum suddenly realized how rude he was being. He broke his gaze away from hers and quickly took in the rest of her. Her face was pleasingly round, with slightly plump cheeks and lips and a button nose. Her mass of hair fell all the way to her bottom, thick and wavy. She wore it loose around her shoulders and face. There were threads of green running through the gold.
She was shorter than him by about a head and quite curvy, which was shown off to great effect by the dress she was wearing. It was a pale red, shoulderless, clung to her body almost as closely as a carcha jumpsuit and ended just about exactly where her thighs began. As if that wasn't enough, there was a triangular cut out that showed a large expanse of her bosom and another that showed most of her midriff. A tiny band of cloth just under her breasts was all that kept it from being one large cut out. The woman wore numerous multicolored bracelets on either arm but no other jewellery that he could see. Her feet were bare.
Callum stepped back. His face felt a little warm. "Um, hello. How can I help you?"
The woman glanced back up and he did his best to look at a spot just below her eyes. He didn't want to stare at them if she didn't like it but he didn't know where to look if he wasn't looking in her eyes. "Shargi has come to be your aide," she said. She spoke carcha but with an odd, slurred accent. Her voice was also surprisingly throaty.
Callum shook his head slightly in surprise. "Oh, I was expecting a fie." He supposed that if they were sending her, she must know the ship well even if she was an alien but it seemed strange to him.
Shargi cringed a little. "Shargi is sorry, Master. It is not proper for a fie woman to serve a male, even a great warrior such as you. Shargi will do her best, Master."
Callum frowned. It wasn't proper? He had questions about that but he supposed he could ask Bel. For now, Shargi seemed like she thought he was about to hit her. Why? He took another step back and forced himself to smile. "I'm sure you will do great, Shargi. Thank you. Come in!" He waved a hand for her to enter.
Smiling tremulously, Shargi stepped inside and out of the slightly dipped alcove. Callum saw that her dress was backless and wondered how in the world it stayed on her body. He followed her in and then put his hand behind his head. He wasn't sure what to do next. "Would Master like Shargi to cook Master breakfast?" Shargi asked.
Callum nodded. "Sure, that would be fine." Even though he was covering considerably more skin than she was, Callum felt a bit uncomfortable in such short shorts. "I think I am going to take a shower," he said, striding toward the bathroom.
"Oh!" Shargi gasped. "Shargi apologizes. Shargi will come and help wash Master."
Callum whipped around in shock. "What?!" Shargi scrambled back, tripping over the low table and landing hard on her bottom. His consternation turned to concern instantly. "Are you alright, Shargi?" he asked.
She didn't seem to hear him, crawling around to her knees and bowing with her forehead pressed to the floor. "Shargi is sorry! Shargi will do better!" She straightened up so that she was sitting on her heels and began to strip off her dress. Somehow she got the entire thing off without standing. She was wearing nothing underneath. "Master may punish Shargi now," she said, her voice shaking, eyes downcast.
Callum was slack-jawed. How had everything turned this fast? All he'd done was turn around quickly and shout in surprise. Is this what fie expected from servants? Even carcha didn't expect this kind of cringing servility. Even through his horror, Callum couldn't help but admire the nude form of the alien. She had plump thighs and the largest breasts he'd ever seen, with wide areolas that were so pale they almost melted into her skin, yet her waist was narrow and her belly was flat. 'Stop it, you idiot. You have to do something to fix this.' "Shargi," he said, as gently as he could. "I didn't mean to startle you. I was just surprised. I can shower on my own. Please just fix breakfast. For both of us," he added, just in case.
Shargi nodded and bowed again, head to floor. "Thank you, Master. Master is too kind." 'Why?' Callum thought as he walked away. Why was she like this? It turned his stomach that anybody was forced to act like that. He would need to do something.
He gathered up his clothes and went to the bathroom. A shower gave him time to think about how to approach Shargi, as well come up with plans for the day now that he had an aide to guide him around. When his shower was done, Callum tried to shave but couldn't figure out how to work the weird shaver Bel had got him. With a sigh, he combed his hair and out on the deodorant she'd gotten him. According to her, fie were very sensitive to smells and humans could be very stinky. She had put it a lot more delicately than that, of course, but they'd all gotten the message.
Fully dressed in the same clothes he'd gotten yesterday, Callum walked back out into the sitting room and found Shargi setting plates of things down on the low table. She had her dress back on, for all the good that did. Callum sat down cross-legged at the table and waited for her to finish. There were four plates of food, a pitcher of something purple, two empty plates and two empty glasses. Callum gestured for her to sit once it seemed like she wouldn't on her own and she sat across from him, on her heels once more. "Would Master like Shargi to serve him?" she asked, diffidently. She kept her eyes down. Callum wondered if Mikan had an aide like Shargi. 'They would probably run into each other because neither was willing to look up.'
"That's fine, Shargi. I can serve myself. Please eat, too." Callum took some from each plate. There were some soft, squishy things, slices of meat, a mild cheese and some kind of tart fruit. Shargi hesitantly plucked a piece of fruit but nothing else. After swallowing his first mouthful--it was delicious, whatever it was--Callum said, "Tell me about yourself, Shargi."
"Master wants to know about Shargi?" Shargi asked, haltingly. She nibbled on her fruit but he noticed her glance at the meat.
"Yes. And please eat." After a moment he added, "I dislike eating alone." He didn't like manipulating her even that much but he wasn't sure what else to do.
Shargi, darting him looks as if to make sure it was still okay, skewered a piece of the meat with her fork and moved it to her plate. "What does Master wish to know?" He opened her mouth to eat the small piece of meat she'd cut and Callum noticed her upper and lower canines were slightly longer than a human's.
Callum almost snapped at her to stop calling him 'master' but he thought he should take things slow with her. "I don't know what you know about me but I lived my entire life until two days ago on a moon called Ragrun. We had no connection to the outside world so I don't know much." He laughed self-deprecatingly. "I didn't even know there were other aliens out there beyond the carcha and the dobed. For example, you are the first one of your species that I have ever met." He hoped that led her enough.
Shargi chewed her mouthful slowly and swallowed. "Shargi is a hato, Master. She is the only one that is aboard Shimayasumota. She has never met another, besides her family." Her gaze flicked up quickly and met his. He regretted that it was so quick. Her eyes were fascinating. "Shargi remembers her mommy telling her they were going somewhere safe but Master Kuzur found us first. He kept Shargi for his own and sold the rest."
Callum looked away so that she wouldn't have to see the look of horror on his face. He'd been a slave, too, but at least he had his sister with him. Things were starting to click into place with Shargi. When he could be sure he had control of his face again, Callum glanced back up at her. "How did you come to be here?"
"The Princess Mistress Tsyirinsaku attacked Master Kuzur's home to take back some of her sisters that Master Kuzur had captured. She allowed Shargi to come on her ship if she would work hard for her."
Callum's eyes narrowed. "And this is your work? Being an aide?" 'They should have trained her first, so she didn't think she had to strip for punishment the first time somebody startled her.'
"Sometimes. Shargi goes where Mistress Nisosoninur tells her to go. Mostly Shargi cleans things but sometimes Shargi is an aide. For male aliens. It is not right for a fie woman to serve a male, so Mistress Nisosoninur tells her."
"I see." Callum worked things over in his head. He had some things to chew on. Shargi watched him and he could tell that she was feeling anxious. She had no idea what he was thinking after all. He wondered if this Mistress Nisososo-something was hard on her. How easily she still jumped suggested so. "How long will you be with me?" he asked, thinking that was the best way to soothe her.
It seemed to work. Shargi brightened a little and said, "Twenty-four days, Master."
Callum nodded. "Well, if you are going to be with me for twenty-four days, I want you to stop calling me master. You're helping me out. You can just call me Callum."
Shargi actually looked directly at him, her eyes wide. "By name?! No. It would not be proper. Shargi cannot. Shargi is not…" she shook her head, seeming on the edge of panic.
Callum lifted his hands in a soothing gesture. "Alright. You can't use my name but I don't really like being called 'master.' I was a slave, too, you know. Is there something else you can call me?"
Shargi peered at him under a sheaf of hair, dry-washing her hands nervously. Finally she said, "Shargi wonders if calling you 'Sir' would not be too disrespectful?" She immediately flinched away as if he was going to yell at her.
He wasn't sure where she got the word from but at least it wasn't 'master.' "That's fine, Shargi. Just fine." Callum wasn't very hungry after all that but he thought Shargi would be upset if he didn't eat anymore so he forced it down, harrying Shargi to eat at the same time.
When they were finished and Shargi had cleared away the plates, he said, "I need your help to check my messages. Bel said she would send me a message and that you could help me read it."
Shargi brightened. "Shargi can do that. Does Sir have the identity chip?" He nodded and then did the thing that made his virtual display activate in his hand. Shargi came and kneeled down so that they were side by side, her shoulder pressed up against his. She was warm and had a spicy kind of scent that was different from anything he'd smelled before but far from unpleasant. He remembered that she was wearing absolutely nothing under her clinging dress and suddenly started to feel a little hot and short of breath. 'Focus,' he chided himself. It didn't seem to help.
Shargi leaned forward. "This icon is for the messages," she said, pointing at a little picture of what looked like some kind of rodent sitting on its haunches. "When the yabra is sitting up like this, it means Sir has a new message." She seemed more excited than the explanation warranted but it made Callum happy. Better than her nervous and cringing. "The yabra lies down when Sir has none." She tapped the icon and a new screen appeared. It was mostly empty with a few lines of fie writing on top and more down either side. Shargi hit one of the lines. "Shargi cannot read," she confessed, "but she has found a way to listen to messages." The way she said it was like she was sharing a secret and when he glanced at her, she had a wide smile. He began feeling even warmer.
When Shargi hit the line, the screen changed again into a mostly blank one with several lines of writing. Shargi hit another small icon--this one was two circles connected by a vertical line--and a voice emitted from the screen. "Thank you for choosing Jinayabuki Tailoring for your clothing needs!" The voice was female, cool and clear, speaking fie. His auto-translator changed it to carcha in its buzzing voice. "Your patronage is always appreciated. The delivery estimate for your clothing is Teggan 7th between the hours of four and five. Please make sure someone is able to let our certified delivery personnel into your home so they can make sure your clothes are delivered properly. Have a pleasant day and we look forward to your next visit!"
Callum blinked. That had been surprising. "Oh, Sir already has some clothing coming! That's good."
"Yeah...when is Teggan? The...the 7th?"
"Today," Shargi grinned. "And it is almost four now."
Callum frowned. He knew vaguely that the carcha and probably others had a way of counting time but he never really knew what it was. Everything on Ragrun revolved around the food deliveries so that was how they marked time. There were no seasons or anything on Ragrun either. "So Teggan is a...month?"
"Uh huh." Shargi put a finger to her bottom lip. One of her fangs showed prominently. "The fie, they use different months than the carcha. Um, they have fifteen months." She proceeded to reel them off, pleased with herself when she came up with the last one. They fell out of Callum's head immediately. "Each month is twenty-four days and each day is thirteen hours." She frowned. "But fie hours are almost twice as long as carcha hours. That was difficult for Shargi to get used to. Seconds are about the same, though, Shargi thinks. Each fie minute is seventy-five seconds and each hour is seventy-five minutes."
Callum felt adrift. He had no way to contextualize any of that. Shargi seemed so happy, though, that he couldn't help but smile. "Thank you, Shargi." He would just have to start paying attention to how long things lasted. He wished they were on a planet with a sun. That would have made things easier. "How do you know it is almost four?"
Shargi pointed at an icon that had three squiggly lines. "These numbers. Shargi knows her numbers even if she cannot read. These say three and six and two. That means in thirteen minutes it will be four."
"I see," Callum said with a nod. He tried to memorize the three squiggles. "Let me try to activate the next message." He hovered a finger over the display, his face creased in concentration. "How do I go back?" Shargi hit a little button near the top and they were on the previous screen again. Callum hit the line below the one she had picked earlier and a new screen opened. Then he hit the icon for audio.
"Hello, Callum! I'm glad you figured out how to read this. I hope that your aide is proving a fit. If you still want to visit me tomorrow night, please come over anytime after seven. I'm looking forward to it! My address is linked to the message." Callum didn't know what that meant. He hoped Shargi did.
Shargi peered at the message with narrowed eyes. "This was sent yesterday. Sir knows who this is? Sir is going to her tonight?"
"Yes, it was Bel. Uh, Belmavidelko. If you can find where she lives for me then, yes, I am planning on visiting her tonight."
Shargi's eyes opened wide and her eyebrows climbed until they disappeared in her bangs. "Mistress Belmavidelko?! You are going to her home?" She clapped her hands to her mouth, horror in her eyes. "Shargi did not mean to, Sir!"
"Didn't mean to what?" Callum asked hurriedly, keeping his tone as mild as he possibly could. "Question me? That's fine, Shargi. You don't have to worry about that."
"Shargi...Shargi called Sir...she said…"
"'You?'" Callum guessed. The way she flinched told him he was right. He had absolutely no idea why addressing him as 'you' would mean anything at all. He'd thought she was calling him 'Sir' all the time because...well, he didn't really know why but he didn't think it was a conscious decision. "You can call me 'you.' I don't find it...offensive?" He was guessing at what upset her. "I hope you don't mind me calling you, 'you.' I don't think I can stop myself."
"Of course Master can call Shargi 'you.' It is Shargi that cannot call Master by such a rude address."
Callum did his best to keep his dismay from his face and voice. "I don't find it rude, Shargi. Please don't start calling me 'Master' again."
"Shargi apologizes, Sir! Shargi will not forget again!" She hunkered down but didn't move away from him. "Will Sir punish Shargi now?"
"No, of course not." Callum touched Shargi lightly on the head. She cringed but calmed when he began stroking the top of her head. "I'm not going to hurt you, Shargi. It would make me happy if you could relax around me more."
Shargi settled and, after a moment, said, "Shargi would like that, too." She closed her eyes, evidently enjoying the petting.
Callum kept it up for a while until he was sure that Shargi had completely calmed down and then he gently took his hand away. Shargi opened her eyes and she seemed a little disappointed. "I guess we should stay here until my clothes come." Shargi nodded. That meant they had some time to kill. "What do you like to do for fun, Shargi?"
Shargi blinked in surprise. "Shargi likes to play games. She mostly plays alone, though. The people on the net are…well…Shargi watches shows, too. The fie have many good shows."
"I like games," Callum said. Shargi's eyes lit up. "What are shows? I think I've heard people mention them before." Nita and Valencia's father Seville had both been born and lived part of their lives off Ragrun. "They're like, people playing pretend right?"
Shargi nodded. "The fie are very good at it. Shargi used to get confused about what was real and what was not real."
"I think I would like to watch a show," Callum said.
Shargi nodded eagerly. She opened her own display and began to rapidly sort through screens. "Shargi knows the one." The screen mounted on the wall lit up and Callum stared. On it were drawings come to life. The drawings were brightly colored and moved and spoke just like real people. "Shargi likes this show. And it is impossible to think it is real because it is not real!" She giggled.
Callum watched it with her pressed to his side. He didn't really know what was going on but the drawings were so energetic that he laughed anyway. They also somehow survived extremely violent situations with no apparent injury after a few minutes. It was very strange and it was even stranger that it seemed so funny to him. Shargi laughed at the same times that he did, so he supposed that was the point of the show. He certainly didn't see any other point, since he couldn't follow the story at all.
They had finished the first show and were on to what Shargi called another 'episode' when a little chime sounded from his display, which was still open in his hand. Callum and Shargi both jumped. "What was that?" Callum asked.
"A message," Shargi said. "There is a way to make it so it can be heard even when the display is closed but Shargi does not know how. Her Mistress changed it for her so that Shargi would always know when she was being summoned."
Callum navigated to the message and activated the audio. It turned out to be a message from the people bringing his clothing. Apparently they were right outside the door. Callum jumped up, wondering why they didn't just knock. He let them in and was shocked to see four fie men outside his door, all carrying big boxes. They nodded to him, all muttering too softly for his translator to pick up. They seemed wary of him for some reason. Callum stepped away from the door and they bustled inside. Quickly and efficiently they put away his clothing. Then they left without a word. He received another message telling him everything had been delivered. 'What a pointless message.'
Callum went into his room and looked over all of his new clothes with increasing incredulity. His entire life he'd made due with just one outfit, consisting of two articles of clothing. Now he had dozens and dozens. Shirts, pants, shorts, skirts, coats, robes and a bunch of other things he really wasn't sure about. He'd been expecting maybe two or three more outfits, since the fie seemed a little obsessed with clothing, along with a new jumpsuit for piloting. Instead he had three jumpsuits alone! What did he need three for? How much had all this cost? It seemed...frivolous.
"Shargi is impressed," Shargi said, from the doorway. "She sees a very many fashionable choices. Sir's taste is first-class!" Callum glanced at her. He almost told her it was Jina that picked out the clothes but he didn't want to disappoint her.
"Thanks."
Shargi tapped her fingers together anxiously. "Would...would it be alright for Shargi to bring some of her clothes and other items here?" she asked, seemingly already prepared for him to deny her.
"That would be alright, I suppose, but why?"
"It is only to make sure that Shargi is available to Sir as much as possible." She said, waving her hands. "But if Sir would prefer Shargi get up before Sir wakes in the morning to return for cleaning and new clothes, Shargi understands!"
Callum gazed at her for a moment, working through the implications of what she was saying. "Shargi, are you planning on staying here for the entire month?" he asked.
Shargi nodded vigorously. "It is required. Shargi must be with her Master as much as possible to aid him properly."
"I see." Callum turned away so he didn't mistake his sudden anxiety as dismay. She was going to be here the entire time. A vision of her in nothing but her skin flashed through his mind. "Sure, Shargi. Please go get anything you would like to keep here. Don't feel constrained. My home is yours." As soon as the words left his lips, Callum wondered what he was doing. He should be telling her that she could not stay in his apartment for twenty-four days. But he kept silent as Shargi clapped her hands and thanked him profusely. It was going to be an interesting month.