Harris Saga Chapter 10: Ireland
Kathryn watched the wake of the ferry spread out on both sides behind the stern of the ship. She leaned her body against Devon’s and glanced across him to where Letitia was snuggled against his other side before looking back at the water. Her voice was low. “She’s nae coming with us fer long is she?”
“No she’s not.”
“When she leaves what are ye going to do with her?”
“I’m not going to do anything with her. She’s going to stay a part of my harem, only I’ll shift her to reserve status.”
The Ladyba looked up at him briefly before returning her attention to the water. “If ye do that ye could be crippling the harem. Five pokegirls couldna work as well as six.” Her tone was carefully neutral.
“Oh that.” Devon smothered a smile. “I’ve got a Breeder’s License and with my connections at the Conservatory I can ‘store’ as many pokegirls as I can catch.”
Kathryn poked him in the side. “So why did ye nae see fit to tell yer Alpha about this fact?” And if that’s so then why haven’t we been catching the ferals ye’ve been having us drive off.”
“Because I think you are going to argue with me about rotating the ferals into storage until I’ve got a full active harem and I don’t want to waste my time with pokegirls I have no intention of using.” He unclipped his pokedex. “How about we look at the pokegirls I’ve got right now and try to plan our strategy as to possible acquisitions.” He activated the display and pulled up the information on himself.
Harris, Devon Jamie
Age: 15
Residence: Highland County, Blue Continent
Region: Scotland
Status: Active
Rank: RESTRICTED
Licenses: Tamer-Y, Master Tamer-Y, Researcher-N, Watcher-N, Breeder-Y
Active Harem:
Ladyba Level: RESTRICTED Name: Kathryn
Armsmistress Level: RESTRICTED Name: Tess
Enchantress Level: RESTRICTED Name: Lamya
Demon-Goddess Level: RESTRICTED Name: Hatsumi
NurseJoy Level: RESTRICTED Name: Letitia
For access to restricted data please enter delta level access codes.
Letitia leaned over to read the display. “Why is some of your information restricted?”
“You can limit access to data on your own file. All Gym leaders automatically slug their information requests with Epsilon level clearance so they’d get the information but your average Tamer is going to read that and think twice about trying to challenge me to a pokeduel.”
Kathryn gave him a look. “So what does it look like without all that restricted nonsense?”
“Hold on.” Devon entered his password.
The display now read:
Harris, Devon Jamie
Age: 15
Residence: Highland County, Blue Continent
Region: Scotland
Status: Active
Rank: 10
Security Clearance: Theta
Licenses: Tamer-Y, Master Tamer-Y, Researcher-N, Watcher-N, Breeder-Y
Active Harem:
Ladyba Level: 20 Name: Kathryn
Armsmistress Level: 35 Name: Tess
Enchantress Level: 20 Name: Lamya
Demon-Goddess Level: 85 Name: Hatsumi
NurseJoy Level: 28 Name: Letitia
Kathryn blinked. “I didn’t realize that Hatsumi was that powerful.” She scanned the information again. “What does it mean that you have a security clearance?”
“Every Tamer has a security clearance. Most start out with security clearance Beta. The vast majority of Tamers never go above Beta. Most of the time it doesn’t mean anything until you reach Delta level. At security level Delta and above you have to undergo a background screening and vetting process from League Council. Since you are probably going to ask anyways, Theta level means that I can function as a courier of sensitive information.” He grinned. “I can also act as an officer of the League. It’s kind of like being a policeman.”
Letitia was reading from his other side. “How did you manage to already become a licensed Breeder? Was it because of your family?”
“It turns out that all you have to do to become a Tamer is to pass a test. You can take this test as soon as you think you are ready.”
“The system is set up so that after you become a Tamer you have to wait a year before you can test for Master Tamer and two years after that before you can test for Breeder. Researcher and Watcher each have a two year wait after your last successful test. More importantly, they each have some specific requirements involving recommendations from existing members of the old boy network and I don’t have those yet.”
Letitia looked puzzled. “So if going from Tamer to Breeder takes a minimum of three years how is it that you are registered as a Pokegirl Breeder?”
Devon flashed a smile. “I passed my Tamer test when I was nine. I passed my Breeder test when I was thirteen, after the incident at the Conservatory.”
He frowned as he reactivated his security system. “I’ve actually been thinking about removing the information about Hatsumi entirely. She’s too powerful for a beginning Tamer so I have little intention of using her in pokebattles but I’d like to keep her capabilities available in case of Team Viper or some other group of idiots appearing on the scene.”
“Unfortunately I have to weigh that against losing her in a salvage battle. I’ve decided to try to reason with challengers. I’ll tell them that she is not available for salvage and if they argue I guess I’ll use her in the pokebattle if I think she’d do the best.”
He looked thoughtful. “Perhaps I’ll rotate her into stasis storage for the time being until some of my other pokegirls come up in level.”
Kathryn frowned. “I thought you wanted to keep her available? Won’t long term storage defeat that whole idea?”
“My pokepack has a limited space that can be utilized for stasis storage. Since I’ve got Tess and a converter, I don’t have to worry about running out of power.” He chuckled briefly. “And pokepacks have a failsafe. If they are damaged they automatically eject all stasis storage items before the power dies completely.”
“Anyway if she’s in stasis storage in my pokepack she’s still a lot more convenient than if she is in some pokecenter or the Conservatory.
He refocused on the task he’d set himself. “So I’ve got a bug/flying type, a fighting/steel type, a magic/psychic/steel type, and a steel/magic type. The magic/psychic/steel includes Lamya being a Battle Enchantress which doesn’t appear unless she’s actually in her armor.” He gave a nasty little grin. “That’s going to be a horrible shock to some Tamers.”
“With the types I’ve got, I’m going to have a real problem with fire types.”
Kathryn shrugged. “Ye need water, electric, rock, or fire. Dark might be interesting or perhaps a ghost or ice, but no more steel or bug types.” She looked up at him. “Are ye planning to make any changes in your current lineup?”
“The only change I know for sure that I want to do is to evolve you to a Ladyien. You should be ready to evolve at the next level.”
“Thank ye. I’m looking forward to it.”
He flashed a grin at both of the ladies. “So if you see any water types out there, let me know. And if you see me dive over the side, I’ve probably found one.”
“Ye should also be on the lookout for some pokegirls with high libidos. The only one ye have now is Lamya. And if yer past is any indication, ye’ll be needing at least one more in your harem.”
“I’ll take your opinion under advisement.”
***
“Let’s go for a walk on the beach.” Letitia pulled at his arm as they stepped off the gangplank. “It’s a beautiful day and who knows what we might find.”
Devon let the NurseJoy pull him down to the beach. At least this close to the docks there are no crowds. Most people would rather be on a beach where they didn’t have to watch the ferries and cargo ships pull in and out.
Kathryn watched them with amusement and no little satisfaction as she followed. While she was mildly jealous of the attention Devon paid to the NurseJoy, she knew that his harem hadn’t suffered because of her presence.
She also knew that Letitia would be leaving them fairly soon and Devon would then spread that attention to her and the others.
As they moved farther from the docks, Devon became aware of a commotion in the water. Froth was being whipped up on the surface and feeder fish were leaping frantically out of the water in an attempt to flee. He caught a brief flash of a large expanse of mottled brown hide and realized it was a pokegirl.
Devon was unclipping his pokedex when Letitia gasped. “Is that a pokegirl?”
“Yeah.” Devon aimed the pokedex at the dimly seen shadow.
“No data,” the pokedex intoned cheerfully. Devon tried again with the same response. Finally the pokedex locked on. “Baleena the whale warrior pokegirl. Baleena is very powerful and immune to cold attacks.”
“A tough water type.” Devon looked up at the sky. “Thank you.”
Kathryn stepped between Devon and the Baleena. “No Kathryn. This is more Tess’ line of work.”
Kathryn made a moue of unhappiness. “I want to evolve.”
“You will.” Devon unclipped Tess’ pokeball and released her. “But this is not your kind of fight.”
“Tess we’ve got a Baleena right off of the shore there. Piss her off and lead her farther into the shallows.” He pulled a pokeball out of his pocket and handed it to a surprised Kathryn. “Kate, if she tries to run and Tess can’t turn her I want you to nail her with this. She’ll probably get free if she hasn’t taken too much damage, but the time it will take is what is important.” Kathryn gave him an odd look but nodded.
“Go ladies. We’ve got a pokegirl to catch.”
As they took to air, Devon raced to the shore. Letitia wisely elected to stay a safe distance from the fight. “Tess start with sword’s dance and follow with focus energy.”
She drew her sword as she started to glow. The Baleena made a straight line towards deeper waters. “Kate NOW!”
Kathryn threw the pokeball. The Baleena was struck and converted into a red cloud which was sucked into the pokeball. It bobbed on the ocean surface.
“Tess, use the flat of your sword to knock the pokeball onto shore and then get back here immediately.” The Armsmistress hovered and struck the ball like she was playing golf. The pokeball landed in the sand and spit the Baleena out. She hit the sand and bounced, momentarily stunned.
As she rose to her feet Devon could see that Tess was still getting into position. “Kate HEADBUTT!”
There was a crunching noise as two heads impacted and the Baleena shook her head dizzily as Kathryn flew back up into position.
A powerful jet of water sprayed from the Baleena’s mouth as she expertly nailed Kathryn with a watergun. The Ladyba was blown backwards but shook off the effects and rejoined the fight as the Baleena turned to race back to the ocean and safety.
“Tess feather shuriken.” A sleet of ki-charged feathers knocked the Baleena off her feet. Devon could see that she was starting to look worse for the wear. It wouldn’t be long now.
The Baleena staggered to her feet and waded into the surf. “TESS THUNDERBOLT!” Lightning arced from the Armsmistress to crash into the water pokegirl, who promptly went down. Devon’s pokeball was already in the air and hit her a second later.
This time she stayed caught.
Kathryn retrieved the pokeball and landed gently in front of him. “Master.” Devon frowned as he took the proffered pokeball. Kathryn only called him master in public.
As the light clapping began behind him Devon realized that the battle must have drawn a crowd.
He started to turn when Kathryn began to glow. He watched as the glow grew brighter until it outshone the afternoon sun and he had to squint to keep watching. Finally the glow began to die as the crowd oohed and aahed.
Kathryn had grown a couple of centimeters and her body had filled out nicely. All four of her arms had lengthened and grown more slender. Her head cap had disappeared and been replaced with waist length apple red hair that shimmered in the breeze. He knew that it would show large black spots when it laid still. Her antennae had grown longer and more slender and her face had slimmed down and become more human.
She smiled at the first words out of his mouth. “You are beautiful.”
“Thank you master.” Even her voice had changed. It was slightly huskier and had become sultry. “Can I ask ye a question?”
“Of course.”
“Why were ye calling me Kate during the battle?”
“In a pokebattle time is of the essence. Whoever can get commands off faster often has an edge. So I shortened your name to Kate.” A gentle smile appeared. “It’s your battle name.”
“So when ye call me Kate I should be preparing for a battle?”
“Yeah.” He looked thoughtful. “Actually having a code that lets you and the others know a battle is going to start could come in useful for a surprise attack on someone.”
“Enough talk, master. Would ye be willing to give me a hug? It’s only to show yer appreciation of course.”
“Of course.”
Kathryn stepped into his arms and he held her tightly. A slight frown appeared on his face. He looked down. “What are you doing with your lower hands?”
She winked. “If you don’t move, no one will ever know.”
“Stop that. It’ll stain my pants.” Kathryn pouted but relented.
“I feel, friendly.”
“It’s a result of evolving. I promise a nice long Taming just as soon as I can.”
She snuggled against him. “If ye promise…”
“Master Devon?” It was Letitia. “There is an OfficerJenny who would like to talk to you.”
Kathryn’s eyes narrowed. “They’ll nae be taking you without a fight this time.” She glanced over at Tess, who’d fallen into a low guard position.
“Relax. Last time they just attacked. Maybe the fact she wants to talk is a good sign.”
Tess gave them a quick look and then refocused on the approaching Jenny. “It is a good sign that they want to stay healthy,” she spat through gritted teeth. “She moves one toe out of line and I’m going to see how much she likes having her insides on the outside.”
Devon did release Lamya and Hatsumi before the Jenny could get to him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw them go into a quick huddle with Kathryn and Tess before spreading out behind him. They were trying to look non-threatening, but he could see by the sudden look of wariness in the OfficerJenny’s eyes that they still needed some practice.
Of course it might be the fact that Hatsumi was softly growling.
“Letitia tells me that you caught that feral Baleena. She’s been plaguing our area for weeks now, destroying nets and crab traps. I just wanted to say thanks and I also wanted to let you know that there is a bounty of 50000 slc if you Tame her.”
Devon grinned. “That is my intention.”
She nodded. “That’s good to hear. I just need to get your name for my report.”
“Devon Harris.” The Jenny flinched and stepped backwards.
“Oh, I see. Well I need to be going. Just come by the pokecenter to claim your reward.” She almost fled.
Lamya snickered. “I see your reputation precedes you.” She sobered at Devon’s glare.
Devon was about to put up some of his pokegirls when there was an interruption. “Hey you! I want my pokegirl!”
Devon turned around. There was a young red faced man of about twenty or so glaring a him.
Even though he was slightly euphoric over the fact that he’d just caught his first feral pokegirl as well as scared off an OfficerJenny, later Devon was to agree that he was still more than a little cocky with his reply. “Squeeze me?” Lamya giggled.
The young man became turned even redder. “You have a pokegirl that belongs to me. I was going to catch her. That Baleena is mine. Now hand her over.” The crowd, which had started to scatter, suddenly detected another show starting and began to coalesce once more.
Devon’s response was short and to the point. “Bite me.”
Devon had heard of this but he’d never actually seen someone turn purple before. The man actually spluttered. Letitia murmured, “I hope he doesn’t have a heart condition.” Tess even cracked a smile.
“Perhaps Hatsumi will get to have curry tonight.”
The man glared. “I challenge you to a pokegirl battle. If I win I get the Baleena.” An excited murmur swept the crowd.
Devon shrugged. “If I win I get to pick one of your pokegirls with knowledge beforehand as to who is who. And I want single combat.”
The guy gave a nasty grin. “Done. He pulled out a pokeball. “My Foxx is going to clean up on your steel types or your bug. Whichever I take out makes no difference to me.”
His Foxx was tall and sleek, covered with a light coating of shiny reddish fur. A snarl rippled along her muzzle and her ears were flat as she glared at Devon.
Devon sighed. No matter who he used this could be a serious problem. He made up his mind. “Lamya.” She grinned and stationed herself in front of him.
Devon put the rest of his pokegirls up. It was only polite. That and Hatsumi was starting to make Devon slightly nervous as she stood there staring at the guy and licking her lips hungrily.
The man grinned. “For the record, whose ass am I about to kick?”
Devon heard Lamya’s muttered, “Your own.” He suppressed a smile.
“My name is Devon Harris.”
“Aren’t you the guy who Tamed all those pokegirls in Glasgow?” He sneered. “Sounds like a big fairy tale to me.”
Devon refused to be baited. “And who might you be.”
“Seamus McGuire.”
Devon couldn’t resist. “Never heard of you.”
Devon decided Seamus had the reputed Irish temper as he turned purple once again. “You’ll remember me after today,” he growled.
“Lamya armor.” She summoned her Zeromer armor out of her body. Devon smiled. “Shall we begin?”
“Lady, flamethrower.”
“Lamya backstab.”
Lamya vanished just before the flames washed over where she had been standing. She reappeared behind the Foxx and struck, knocking Lady sprawling.
“Lady, flamethrower.”
“Lamya witches curse.”
The Foxx gagged on her own spit as Lamya pronounced her curse.
“Lady Bite”
“Lamya Iron Punch”
The Foxx bit down hard on Lamya, her teeth grinding against her armor. Lamya staggered backwards. Then her Iron Punch connected. The Foxx was blasted backwards a good ten meters. She hit the ground and bounced limply.
Letitia took up the call. “Foxx is unable to battle. Devon has won the match.”
Seamus cursed loudly. “Lady return.” As the pokegirl vanished into her ball he cursed again. “That damned Baleena is all yours.”
“I’ll take the Foxx.”
Seamus gave a double take. “Don’t you want to know what else I have?”
“Not really. I’ll take the Foxx.”
Seamus grinned. “Sure. Here you go.” He tossed over the pokeball and stalked away.
Letitia looked curiously at him. “Why the snap decision?”
“She’ll work perfectly for me. I need a fire type and Kathryn was commenting on how I needed a pokegirl with a high libido. The Baleena surely doesn’t have that.” He frowned. “But I really am going to have to do something about that name.”
***
“Welcome to Belfast.” Cameron Harris’ voice was deeper than his son’s and held more of a brogue. Devon could feel the strength in his father’s arms as he was pulled roughly into a hug. Taming was a young man’s job, but at thirty two Cameron could still pull his own. Of course these days Cameron wasn’t on a pokegirl journey. Now he was here on work.
“Thanks, Da.”
“Have a seat.” They settled into the pub’s booth.
Cameron peered deeply into his son’s eyes. “I see that what happened to you hasn’t helped. You look more like a pokegirl than ever. Mayhap you should consider cutting your hair.” His grin took some of the sting from his words. “If you’re not careful, someone is going to bounce a pokeball off of your head.”
Devon just shook his head. “Anyone who does will be trying to pass that pokeball when I’m done.”
“So, son, how’s your journey going? Aside from that nasty business in Glasgow, I mean.”
“Not too dreadfully. I’ve gotten a good start on what is shaping up to be an outstanding harem.”
Cameron’s eyes had been following Lamya, who Devon had sent to get him some tea. She was wearing one of the silk choli and churidar sets she’d picked up in the Crescent Moon, and the butter colored cropped top and fitted pants set off her dusky skin beautifully and displayed her lush figure to perfection. A sapphire that matched the blue in her eyes winked in her navel as she walked. More than a few men and women were openly staring at her. “I have to agree. Ye’d best be guarding that one.” He smiled. “Some will try to trade for her and others will try to steal her.”
Devon shrugged and nodded to his Armsmistress, who stood off to his left. “Tess is keeping an eye on her. If anyone is stupid enough to try anything I’ll have to give serious thought to giving them to Hatsumi.” His dad gave him a puzzled look. “Let’s just say Hatsumi doesn’t appear to be to that finicky about what she eats.”
Cameron looked shocked. “Ye wouldn’t really feed a person to one of your pokegirls would ye?”
“I haven’t yet.” Devon smiled. “And I probably won’t.”
“That’s good. So what brings ye to Belfast?”
“You do Da. Remember?” Devon sounded annoyed. “Otherwise I would probably be preparing to challenge the gym in Glasgow.”
“Right.” Cameron took a deep draught of his beer, his eyes still following Lamya as she wended her way back to where they were seated.
I should have left her in her pokeball and kept Kathryn out. I forgot how much my Da is a letch. Of course there is no guarantee that he wouldn’t stare just as much at my Ladyien. Devon sighed. “So why am I here?”
Lamya plopped down next to Devon and put his tea on the table. “Here, Master.” Cameron watched her breasts move beneath her choli.
“Thank you.”
She smiled prettily, leaned her head against his shoulder, and murmured quietly to him, “I don’t think it would be safe for me to be alone here.” She tapped the hilt of her khukuri. “The next man who pinches my ass is going to lose some fingers, unless it’s you.”
“Use a witch’s curse instead. That should be much more entertaining.”
Lamya’s eyes gleamed. “What a splendid idea.”
Devon turned his attention back to his father. “What did you call me for?”
Cameron glanced at his son and then back to Lamya. “You need to learn some better manners if you are going to be dealing with more officials of the various Leagues.”
“Then you have no worries Da. I intend to stay far away from any League representatives. Why would I do something that daft?”
“First of all it is a part of your responsibilities as a courier. Second you are a Harris and I’ll not have you shame me. Third I’m going to be sending you to deal with some officials in the Indigo League. Last because I’m telling you that you’d bloody well improve yer attitude.”
Devon felt rather than saw Tess shift next to him. He made a motion below the level of the table with his hand. She didn’t relax, but then she didn’t do whatever she’d been considering. When did I pick up a harem full of bodyguards?
Cameron saw her move. “Ye’ve got a feisty one there. Methinks you should shorten her chain just a wee bit.” He eyed his son. “Or can ye not protect yerself?”
Here Devon was on familiar ground. Cameron had always enjoyed baiting his son. “Considering the crap I’ve had to wade through recently I happen to like her being a mite protective just fine.”
Cameron gave him a disappointed look. “I expected something like that.”
“I’ve got a package that I need delivered to a Professor Stroak in the Indigo League and you were the closest courier.” He gave his son a slight smile. “I warned ye when ye were taking all those tests and filling out all of those forms that having a security clearance would bite you in the arse one of these days. Feel the teeth?”
“The professor may have some further work for you and you’ll be following his orders or I’ll be knowing the reason why.”
“I understand, Lord Harris.” Devon’s voice was dry. His father had served on the Blue League Council for almost ten years now. He was a troubleshooter and his father’s behavior was the primary reason that Devon had no intention of working for the Blue League if he could avoid it.
Unfortunately he’d come to that realization after his security clearance had already been granted and his requests to have it revoked always mysteriously disappeared after he sent them off. Devon scented his father’s work in the whole thing.
“I’ll be giving you your package tomorrow morning. It’s been arranged for you to take a transport here out of Belfast. Your ticket has already been purchased and your ship sails at noon.”
“All right. Anything else?”
“Not right now.”
Devon remembered something. “I’ve got a gift for you in my room.” His dad looked curious. “No, it’s not from me. When I was traveling down from Glasgow I ended up staying the night at a place owned by Ken and Megan. They gave me a jar of jam for you. It’s blueberry.”
Cameron’s eyes lit up. “I haven’t been there in years.” He leaned back reminiscing. “Megan made some damned fine jellies, but that makes sense since she’s a bug. So how are they?”
“They appear to be fine.” Devon ignored the bug comment. It was always easiest to ignore his father’s comments.
“They had a cute daughter there, I canna remember her name.”
“Kathryn.”
“Aye. How was she? She should be about the right age to be finding a Tamer.”
“She did. Me.”
Cameron looked at his son speculatively. “You? I remember her being a little spitfire. She would have been too much for ye. Perhaps she’s mellowed over the years.”
Devon just grunted. “Perhaps.” He changed the subject. “I was wondering if I could have some time with Mother before I leave.”
“You’re a grown man. Ye don’t need to be hiding in the arms of yer mother no more.” Cameron’s eyes were hard. Devon suddenly realized why his father didn’t have his alpha out. He was concerned that Alice would disobey him on this order. She’d done so before.
“Yes Da.” Devon felt a wave of resignation sweep through him. His relationship with his father was rocky at best, and Cameron did his utmost to make sure that his son had as little a relationship with his mother as possible.
“Why do you keep me and mother apart so much?”
“You’re a weak man, Devon. You rely on others too much and Beth’s coddling was the start of that. You need to stand up to pokegirls more.”
Devon remembered what happened when he tried that. The bloody noses had become broken bones. That was one of the reasons he’d learned to bury his rebellious nature from everyone.
Cameron shook his head. “Pokegirls are not people, and treating them as such isn’t going to change the truth. They are tools, like a hammer or a wrench and ye need to be treating them as such.”
His father’s face hardened as Devon refused to comment. “I see that ye haven’t changed a bit. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a loss if ye were to become a pokegirl. Yer brother doesn’t have such absurd ideas.”
Devon stood. “Unless you have any more orders for me, Lord Harris, I need to be preparing for my journey.”
Cameron gestured idly. “Suit yerself.” He pointed with his chin at Lamya. “She can stay. I’ll make sure she gets safely back to yer room.” Lamya froze.
Devon smiled. And I thought we’d never find anything new to fight about. “Sorry, Da, but I’m afraid that’s not going to happen.”
“There’s a big part of yer problems, lad. Ye apologize too much to the wrong people and not enough to the right ones. Ye needn’t worry yerself, I won’t be hurting the lass. Quite the contrary.”
“No.”
Cameron’s face hardened. “And if I insist?”
“I could mention that the law is on my side, but instead I think I’ll use threats, since I know that you do understand those. You try anything with any of my pokegirls and I’ll take these pokegirl traits you are so fond of riding me about,” Devon held up his hand and flexed his claws, “and I’ll make it so you can never Tame a female again.”
Cameron’s eyes widened as the talons slid in and out of view. “Yer more of a beast than yer damned mother. Get out of me sight.”
***
“What a thoroughly disgusting man!” While not astonished at the outburst, Devon was surprised to hear it come from Tess.
He’d have expected something like it from Lamya. She still looked unsettled from the encounter.
Letitia looked up from her book at the outburst as Tess walked into the room.
Devon shook his head as he released Kathryn and Hatsumi. “I’m not sure that the news that this particular meeting was one of the best ones we’ve had recently is going to help your temper.”
Lamya looked shocked. “Please tell me you’re kidding?”
Kathryn cocked her head. “I take it yer meeting with yer father didna go well?”
“Actually it was fairly civil. There was no screaming, no hitting and nothing was broken. Of course Da did offer to Tame Lamya for me.”
“He did what?” Kathryn looked incensed.
Devon was more concerned by Hatsumi’s growl. He was still getting used to her but suspected she was serious about making people into curry and she had that look he was starting to recognize.
“Forget it.” Devon waved a hand tiredly at Hatsumi before she could ask. She gave him a hurt look. “While his attempt is something new, I suppose that it is nothing more than a reasonable escalation of the special relationship we’ve shared for so many years.” Lamya winced at the acid in his tone.
“Da has always thought that I was coddled too much as a child. He’s also extremely disturbed by the fact that I show a lot of pokegirl traits.
“The fact that I believe that pokegirls are people is something that he’s never understood. He thinks my belief is completely absurd.” Letitia was staring openmouthed.
“Tess and Lamya heard him. He thinks that pokegirls are tools, like a bicycle or an airship. You use them as you need to and put them up when you are done. He’s not even sure that they have souls.” Tess looked surprised as Devon continued, “I do know that nothing I’ve ever found will change his opinion in the slightest way.”
“He insists that a Tamer must give his pokegirls what they need, but then the famed Harris pride wouldn’t allow any less. I suppose if you think about it this is a logical extension of his beliefs. You must take care of your tools or they’ll break, usually when you need them the most.”
“It is just a shame that he’ll beat a man who abuses his pokegirls and yet still deny that they are any more than creatures. The fact that there are many more people who share his opinion compared to the ones who share mine sometimes drives me to distraction, but I’ve learned to live with it.”
“It doesn’t help that he is the Lord Harris and lives in a world where there are two types of people: those who can give you orders and those you can give orders to.”
“I think that I understand Da’s ambitions but I don’t share them in the least.”
Devon wrapped his arms around Lamya and held her tightly. “There is nothing that we can do about my father. What we can and are going to do is leave on that ship tomorrow. A little distance from my father would be very welcome right now. Another thing we can do is ensure that none of you are alone until we’re safely away from Da.”
He looked over at Letitia. “I know we’d talked about having you travel to the Conservatory with my father on the ferry ride over, but I realize now that is a probably a very bad idea. After dinner tonight I’m going to have Hatsumi teleport you there instead. I’ll call Poppet and let her know you are coming.” He sighed.
“I’d like to let you stay until the morning, but I’ve got two new pokegirls to Tame tonight and probably will not have very much time for you.” He gave Kathryn a weary look. “I’m afraid you and I are only going to be able to steal a handful of minutes somewhere tonight as well.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Kathryn gave him a rueful smile. “Thanks to what I’ve heard about yer father right now I’m angrier than anything else. I can’t believe he’d treat his own son that way.”
“Sometimes I wonder if he even thinks if I’m his child. Of course sometimes I rather hope that I’m not.”
Letitia came over and took his hand. “You can relax, Devon. None of us believe that you share your father’s beliefs.” She rubbed his palm against her cheek. “You are our Tamer and I believe you want what is best for us.” A murmur of agreement swept the room.
“Thank you all.” Devon’s voice was husky.
Lamya looked up at him with an impish look. “Can we eat your father’s jam?” He just stared at her and then burst out laughing.
He was still laughing as he managed to choke out an answer. “Sure. What’s he going to do, send me to the Indigo Plateau?”
***
“Why did you choose me? Seamus has some valuable pokegirls, and they are much more desirable than me.” Lady looked confused as she sat on the bed next to Devon. “Nobody would want me when they could get his Pegaslut.”
“When I saw Seamus send you out to fight I knew that I wanted you. After the pokebattle I didn’t even bother to ask what else he had. I took you.”
“That’s insane. Flattering, but insane.”
“You wouldn’t be the first person to call me that.” Devon smiled easily. “I wanted you for two specific reasons. I wanted you because I need a fire type pokegirl. I also need a pokegirl with a high libido and since you happen to be both, I realized that this was a blessing indeed when I saw you.”
“You can’t go more than a couple of kilometers out of town without tripping over a Growlie. Seamus took you but good, master.”
“I won the battle, I got the Baleena, I got you, and Seamus walked away empty handed. I don’t see how I got ‘taken’ as you put it.”
“We could spend all night discussing why I wanted you but I’d much rather Tame you instead. However there is one thing that I have to do first.”
Lady’s ears canted sideways. “What’s that?”
“I’m officially changing your name to Seraphina. Without meaning you any insult, Lady is the name a lazy Tamer would give a canine pokegirl. Of course the error is compounded by the fact that you are not a canine. You’re vulpine.”
“I don’t know anything about vulpine but you got the lazy part right. Seamus named me after watching some pre-Sukebe video about a couple of cartoon animals called dogs.” She shook her head. “Why make my name Seraphina? It sounds pretty.”
“I try to give my pokegirls names that fit them. It probably sounds weird, but it lets them know that I care enough to think up a name that is special to them.” He gave a small smile. “Another reason that I give all my pokegirls special names is tactical. None of the pokegirls I use regularly will have names that start with the same letter, to avoid confusion during a battle.”
“Seraphina means burning one. It’s got a double meaning with you since you are a fire type and you have a high libido. You do like Taming, right?”
She smiled lazily. “Anytime, anywhere. I don’t suppose you have endurance?”
“Actually I do. I also have recovery.”
Seraphina actually bounced. “Oh goodie. Seamus didn’t have either.” She flumped down onto the bed and looked over at the pile of restraining equipment that was next to it. Her ears went sideways again. “You don’t need that with me. Or is it that you like that sort of thing?”
Devon leaned over her putting him face to face with his new Foxx. “Those aren’t for you. After I get done with you I’m going to have to tame the Baleena I caught.”
Seraphina pouted as best she could with a muzzle. “You mean I don’t get you for the whole night?”
“Sorry. Just for a couple of hours tonight. I’ll make it up to you later.”
Her eyes got big. “A couple of hours?” She grinned. “I don’t know if you got robbed by Seamus, but if you can go a couple of hours I certainly got the best end of the deal.”
“Seamus was an ok Tamer, but he couldn’t last a couple of hours if you spotted him ninety minutes. I always had to get some assistance from the rest of his harem.”
“You’ll be helping me with that too.” He slowly licked her lips. She gave him a big smile. “In fact, you’ll probably end up helping me with Dima later tonight.”
“Who’s Dima?”
“That’s what I’m naming the Baleena.”
“Ok. Well if you last two hours I’ll be glad to help you with her.” She winked. “I’d be glad to anyway but if you last two hours I’m yours body and soul.”
“I’m going to hold you to that.”
She looked down the line of his body. “I’d rather you held that to me.”