[The Norkari Mtns.] Chalet du Sommet Minuit

Skarlet got out of the bath and dried off. She wrapped herself in her towel and headed for her room for a new change of clothes, The towel barely covered her.

Any light in Skarlet's room was artificial, not direct sunlight. Her room was extravagent and fitting of a young woman. There was no mirror in this room, but there was a Painting hung in place of one. She no longer had an old bottle of wine sitting on top of her dresser, she now had a wine bottle holder holding both bottles of Wine and bottles of blood. The bottles were clearly marked so that there would be no mistake. Sitting on a shelf was her doll, Alice, looking well taken care of.

Skarlet drops the towel and searches for an outfit to wear for in home.

The trip from the Northern Gate to The Chalet did not take terribly long, as they traveled by way of The Sun, and the teleposistion room therein. Now, Naoki leads the way out into the main lounge. Floor-to-ceiling windows provide an incredible view of the lake and surrounding mountains. Leather couches and comfortable chairs dot the floor in several clusters around coffee tables. In the center of the room, a large, square, freestanding stone fireplace crackles invitingly. A well-stocked bar presides over the rear of the room, the counter formed from a slice down the middle of a stout tree, polished to a mirror finish. Hunting trophies adorn the walls. Fur rugs cushion the cedar planking of the floor. Wrought-iron chandeliers hang from the bare roof beams. Against each wall, a suit of plate armor stands silent guard. One of them grasps a halberd, the other holds a sword and shield out in front of him. Where the coat of arms might be were these relics possessed by a noble warrior, there is emblazoned a Midnight Sun logo. Relics of an age past, perhaps, but kept around for primarily sentimental reasons.

Moving toward the center of the room, Naoki selects one of the larger couches to seat herself upon, and glances upward, to the window. The light of the sun shines almost directly downward; it’s high noon. Almost anyone could plausibly be around at this hour; someone may end up walking in. For that reason, and certainly, not out of any personal concern of her own, she hopes that Haru will keep that blanket about him. At least for now.

Speaking of, Naoki turns slightly to observe Haru, see what he thinks of the room. She brought him to this room with the idea that it’s large enough for him to transform in comfortably, but he also - as far as she can tell - can’t write or communicate clearly while big and fluffy.

Skarlet was lounging at home reading books on herbs. She wanted to know what herbs could be found in certain places that could be beneficial to her regenerative properties. Though many of these herbs may have no effect on her, some might. She lay on the couch with wearing a blouse and skirt with no leggings, her legs close together.

A low purring sound emanated from Haru as Naoki pet him. Most hoomans didn’t know where the good spots were, but it appeared this one did. That didn’t surprise Haru too much as Naoki appeared to be of some relation to cats herself, it only made sense she knew where the good spots were. Eyes closed, Haru wore a mask of pure bliss as Naoki massaged and petted him.

When she stopped finally, pulling the paper out, Haru’s unfocused gaze would rest upon Naoki. Shaking his head slightly to clear his vision, he saw that she was reading his note. Now was the moment Haru had been waiting for. How would Naoki respond to his question?

As Naoki mentioned the things a master might do for him, Haru quirked his head to the side, contemplating what Naoki said. Those all sounded like very good things for Haru’s master to do at the start of the relationship. There had been no mention of loving him, but Haru supposed that something of that nature would come with time. Overall, the things Naoki had said sounded quite suitable in Haru’s estimation.

Rising from the sofa, Haru would place himself so his head was directly in front of Naoki’s, one set of amber eyes looking into another of near identical color. Letting out a sniff, Haru nodded his head up and down, making it clear he found a master offering those things suitable.

"If he's anything like most of you mortal creatures, he'll probably want affection, too. Maybe even that 'L word'."

The 'L word' wasn't something Forni liked saying. 'Love' was a concept that most demons found absolutely abhorrent, and he was no exception. Speaking of, the little tentacle demon was peeking out over the neck of Naoki's shirt, peering warily at the furry creature that was gazing so intently at his roaming habitat. Black eyes blinked owlishly while the tips of two tentacles appeared to either side of his head/body, tapping and wriggling against the fabric.

"..I think you need to find out what he eats and make sure I'm not on the list."

He had no desire to be eaten by the weird cat-thing, thank you.

Naoki looks on with bated breath as Forni and Haru examine each other. The two separate without incident, and that’s fine enough, she supposes.

“This is Fornilan, and he’s a sort of demon,” Naoki says. “He already shares a bond with me similar to the one you’re describing, so he is not to be eaten, played with, hurt, or anything else of that sort.” Following this statement, she reaches up with her right hand to rub the side of Forni’s head in the way he prefers. Affection is something Naoki has in spades; there is plenty for both of them.

She continues to idly rub at Forni as she watches Haru transform, seat himself, and begin to write. It doesn’t seem to be very much trouble for him, she notes. That’s going to be very convenient, though perhaps the nakedness might offend some.

Leaning to one side, Naoki reads Haru’s latest writings. Raising one eyebrow, she looks up to face Haru. In a tone bordering on the shamelessly lascivious, she asks, “So you would like me to ride you?”

She smirks a bit to herself; questions like those practically ask themselves.

In a significantly more disciplined tone, she continues, “That’s very agreeable to me and more than doable. In answer to your first question, I would say that, yes, I am a suitable Master for Haru, and further, I would like to be Haru’s Master.”

Unsure how such an agreement might be formalized, Naoki pauses her Forni Fondling to extend her hand toward Haru for shaking.

Although Haru took in the part regarding not eating or hurting Fornilan, the part about not playing with him didn’t really fully connect in Haru’s mind. Haru played with whatever he wanted after all. Regardless, this lapse of understanding wouldn’t be apparent, for Haru simply quirked his head to the side in response to Naoki’s statement.

As for Naoki’s and Fornilan’s rather pointed response about him wanting a rider, Haru seemed mostly oblivious to what they were implying. Offering a cat like grin as Naoki confirms she will be Haru’s master, he quickly scribbled down a response, placing the hastily scrawled message on Naoki’s lap. The message read the following.

Haru wants to carry his new master somewhere right away. Master should know the speed at which Haru can carry them.

Even before Naoki had had time to properly read the short message, Haru had already transformed into his cat form. He paced back and forth before Naoki, giving her an expectant look, his tail swishing back and forth rapidly. It was quite clear from his body language he was rather excited about the prospect of carrying Naoki somewhere.

Haru sidled over to beside Naoki once they were on the porch, kneeling down so she would be able to easily climb onto him. After all, from his standing height, climbing onto him would be a bit troublesome. Once Haru was satisfied Naoki was firmly seated on his back, he stood up and walked out into the unshielded area in front of the porch.

Naoki’s discomfort of the snow and cold hadn’t been missed by Haru. Although he wasn’t particularly good at understanding hooman’s in a normal way, his instincts let him pick up certain things that he would otherwise miss. Naoki would find herself sinking into Haru’s copious fur coat, which was also extremely soft and warm.

Sniffing at the outside air a bit and sticking out his tongue to catch some of the various snowflakes that were falling, Haru seemed to be preparing himself for something. He paced back and forth before suddenly halting, his muscles tensing up. Without any other warning, Haru leaped forwards through the air, reaching the height of perhaps twenty feet.

However, instead of dropping back to the ground, Haru only kept gaining in altitude and speed. Naoki would feel the rush of cold air pushing against her as the pair of them rocketed upwards at a rather steep angle. Right around the time Naoki might be thinking she had made a terrible decision by agreeing to ride Haru, the cold wind that had been battering away at her vanished. She would also find the strain of holding onto Haru was gone. It was as if some unseen force was helping hold her in place on Haru’s back.

Inspection of her surroundings would reveal the disappearance of the cold wind was not due to Haru halting his flight, in fact, they still seemed to be accelerating upwards at breakneck speeds. A faintly translucent orb seemed to have surrounded Haru, only visible at certain angles, but Naoki would be able to make it out. After a few minutes of traveling at a steep upwards slant, Haru finally slowed down to a halt. Craning his head back to look towards Naoki, he then looked down at the ground below them rather pointedly.

Although it would be hard to judge due to just how high above the ground they were, Naoki would be able to just make out the curvature of the planet. Although much of the world below would be obscured by clouds, a small grouping of lights would be visible. That ‘small’ group of lights was the Free City. Naoki might notice a noted lack of breathing problems despite the height they had ascended to, most likely an effect of the bubble surrounding Haru.

"Mother?" Skarlet comes looking for Empress Naoki. Once found she greeted her and wanted to talk about new developments. "Hello Mother, so you're Empress now? What does this all mean? And am I a princess now?"