Feyrahl, SF Ch 1.2
Welcome back to the SF version of Feyrahl, and the second post of Chapter 1.
Mac elected to follow Khosk's suggestion of cleaning himself before visiting the Commander, and the Human takes the Lion's recommendation seriously. As they interact it seems as though his Bodyguard is finally starting to let up a bit... or perhaps it's just Mac's imagination. He'll have to worry about that later though since he has a meeting with Commander Joren!
So, since this is the SF edition, only one reader on SF will help determine what Mac does from here! Here are the options:
1) Mac will sit in the Commander's quarters with Khosk while the Rhino gets clean post-shift. (+1 Affinity for Khosk, +1 Affinity for Joren)
2) Mac will sit in the Commander's quarters while Khosk waits outside in the hall while the Rhino gets clean post-shift. (+2 Affinity for Joren)
3) Mac will wait outside the room in the hall with Khosk until the Commander finishes his bath and permits him entry. (+2 Affinity for Khosk, +1 Affinity for Joren)
4) Mac will schedule a time with the Commander so the three of them can meet somewhere in the castle once the Rhino is finished with his bath. (+1 Affinity for Khosk, +1 Affinity for Joren, +1 Affinity for Vihas)
5) Mac will schedule a time with the Commander so he can meet with Joren alone without Khosk once the Rhino is finished with his bath. (+2 Affinity for Joren, +1 Affinity for Rolin)
6) (Verbose) Mac will join the Commander, standing in the bathing area while the Rhino washes himself so the two can talk together. (-2 Affinity for Khosk, +2 Affinity for Joren, unlock future intimacy options with Joren)
This vote will remain up until the first reader decides what will happen. If no decision is made in the next three days then my Patreons will vote on the resolution.
As always, thanks for reading, and do feel free to comment-- even if you don't want to use YOUR choice you're always welcome to plead the case and encourage OTHER readers to select an option!
Feyrahl, SoFurry Edition
Introduction to the Kingdom, Ch 1.2
Mac was astounded by the opulence of the bathing chamber attached to his bedroom; the floor was tiled and a large, smooth basin sunk into the floor was filled with crystal clear water. He shivered slightly as he undressed and set his glasses on the marble counter. The siren call of the water drawing him near, and the Human let out a satisfied groan the moment his foot slid into the tub; from there it wasn't long until he was fully submerged, letting out another happy groan as he felt the tenseness in his muscles, surrender to the warmth of the water and the soreness in his limbs revel in the weightlessness of floating in the pool.
The door to the bathing chamber opened and Khosk welcomed himself in. "Do not forget to wash your head. There is fur-lather on the shelf."
Mac's first reaction was to cover himself, despite the fact that the Lion couldn't see much at the angle, but he attempted to play it cool instead. "Where I'm from, it's considered good manners to knock before entering a room... that's why doors exist."
Khosk knelt down and gathered up Mac's clothing, his nose working faintly as he gathered the shirt, pants, and underwear, eyes on the raiments rather than the Human. "Here, doors exist to control temperature and keep out unwanted parties... but, yes, manners here are the same."
The Human huffed. "And yet you didn't knock?"
The Lion's gaze finally shifted to him and there was enough intensity in it that it made Mac recoil at first. Still staring at him, Khosk moved over to the door, pointedly extended a paw, and rapped it twice. "Sir... I am your bodyguard and I am entering so that I can keep an eye on you."
His bodyguard's deadpan was so sardonic that Mac almost thought that he was serious for a moment, just long enough for the Lion to exit the room with a sigh, shutting the door with a foot as he left, taking the Human's clothes with him. Sighing, Mac rolled his eyes and went back to gazing around the bathing chamber; his eyes ultimately settled on a small ceramic jar on a shelf near the bath. He moved over to it, removing the lid and taking a sniff; it was definitely herbaceous, and also smelled soapy.
Realizing it must have been the 'fur-lather' Khosk had referred to and he took a moment to experiment with it, taking a small amount onto a finger and then rubbed it against his palm, rubbed his hands together, and then stuck them both underwater before rubbing them together again; as anticipated it resulted in suds. Once his quick experiment confirmed what he'd presumed, Mac felt much better about making use of it. As he did so, the young man began going through the chemical composition of mass-produced shampoo. He idly wondered how much healthier that was versus what he was using... or vice versa.
Once he'd lathered his head, Mac began to use it elsewhere on his body, making certain that he was suitably clean. Although the Human still wasn't completely sure when it came to all of the intricacies of the culture in which he found himself, his bodyguard indicated that most of the people at court were nobles of some kind and it probably wouldn't do to show up for a meeting like some kind of vagabond. When he was sure that he suitably soaped up, Mac dunked himself fully into the bath, rubbing his hair vigorously to work all the soap out, and then did the same with the rest of his body.
As Mac made his way to the edge of the bath, reclining against the edge of it with a contented sigh, the silence was broken again-- by a knock, followed by a gruff voice. "I have returned with a towel and a change of clothes... Sir."
Rotating so he could face the door while still in the pool, Mac called out. "Come on in, Khosk."
The Lion grunted, stepping into the room with a folded towel in one paw and clothing hanging off of the same arm's forearm. "The Commander lives by a very concise schedule. If we leave in ten minutes we will be able to meet him in the hall outside of his quarters."
Mac watched Khosk set the clothing down on a marble counter, and then approach the bath with the very large towel; it looked like it would have been even bigger than the Lion himself needed. The Human lingered in the water. "I can dry myself, thank you."
Snorting, his bodyguard shrugged. "You are no cub, of course you can... but I am not dropping the towel on the floor, so get out of the bath and collect it, Millman."
So surprised by the Lion's use of his surname, Mack didn't object, and, using the steps in the water, climbed out of the bath. Despite his objection and Khosk's acknowledgment of it, his bodyguard started the preliminary drying of the Human by vigorously rubbing his head. As promised, however, he did ultimately drop the towel onto his shoulders and, just before stepping away, lowered his muzzle and took a huge lungful of a breath directly from Mac's scalp. As he moved back toward the door, Khosk added "Good. You are capable of cleaning yourself. There may be some hope for you after all."
Choosing to ignore the verbal jab at him, Mac wrapped himself in the enormous towel; it reminded him of a mix between a towel and a twin-sized blanket, providing him more than enough fabric to dry off. Once he managed to free his head of the huge folds of fabric he looked around the room; his eyesight wasn't great without his glasses, but it wasn't horrible, but they were still hard to pick out amidst the many items on the counter. He called toward the slightly-open door. "Khosk?"
The brownish-gold furred muzzle poked inside the bathroom. "What is it, Millman?"
There was his surname again. Shrugging it off, the Human spoke to the Lion. "My glasses... they should be on the counter..."
The Lion stepped into the bathing chamber and joined him by the counter. "They are right here."
Khosk reached down and retrieved something from beside the clothing he'd laid down. Mac held still while the Lion's paw drew near and pushed his glasses into position; there was nothing gentle or careful in the motion and the Human had to readjust them once they were in place. "Uh... thank you."
His bodyguard nodded gruffly, but, for a moment, Mac was almost certain he saw the faintest smirk on the Lion's muzzle. Pushing that idle thought from his mind, the Human spent the next several minutes getting dressed; the clothing was... different. In the end, Khosk reentered and helped Mac with sorting it out. The loose-fitting pants were easy enough and Mac had the drawstrings tied off around his waist to keep them up, but the long shirt he had been given reminded him of an eastern style martial artist top, including several tie-offs in places he wouldn't have expected them. "Why do these things have to be so complicated?"
Khosk only grunted, his scowl having returned to his muzzle as he meticulously secured the tunic onto the Human. "I can see that you are going to need a lot of help, Millman. Good thing I'm patient."
Mac had a lot of impressions when it came to Khosk and 'patient' was not an attribute he would have ascribed, but he decided to let that go. Essentially dressed, there was one question that came up as the Human wriggled his toes. "I've seen a lot of the people in the palace with shoes and without... is there some kind of guidelines?"
The Lion nodded, looking down to his own bare paws. "We are in your bathing chamber, so our paws are bare. The same will be true for your quarters. His Imperial Majesty had sandals prepared for you along with your raiment's."
The Human followed after the Lion, who had about-faced and headed out the bathing chamber door. "He did?"
Khosk grunted. "Think, Millman. You are the first Human the Feyrahlian Empire has seen in generations... do you think clothing to meet your needs would have been in reserve?"
Blushing, Mac had to acknowledge that the Lion had a point. "Oh. Right."
Following his bodyguard out first into his room, then the hallway, the Human saw that a large set of paw sandals were situated off to the side of the doorway and, beside them, a much smaller version designed flawlessly for a Human or, more specifically, for him. When he slid them on they, like the clothes, were a perfect fit. "Wow... and someone JUST made these?"
Khosk grunted to the affirmative and gestured forward down the hallway. "Yes. This way, Millman."
Mac made his way down the corridor, astounded at just how fine a fit the footwear was; the clothing was loose enough that it would have been hard to get wrong, but he'd worn 'flip flops' before that were too large and too small and neither worked well. Once he was over the shock of the sandals, however, his mind went back to his earlier observation and he slowed down until his bodyguard was walking beside him. "Sir Khosk?"
The Lion walked beside him but continued looking forward. "Yes, Millman?"
The Human asked his question. "You... keep calling me Millman."
Khosk came to a stop, ears going up; he looked uncertain for the very first time that Mac could ever recall since meeting him. "That is your family name, is it not?"
"Yes, but--"
The Lion continued walking. "Then it is fitting for me to call you by that name. I am your bodyguard, and you are my charge. Do NOT expect me to call you 'Master', Millman... it WON'T happen."
Mac had to fight back a chuckle, thinking that Khosk wouldn't appreciate it. "No.. of course not, Sir Firemane."
The Human noticed the Lion's tail lashing back and forth (mirthfully?) at his use of the title, and he would have put more thought into it except they were suddenly not alone in the hallway; Khosk came to a stop, immediately striking his chest with his paw twice in greeting. "Commander!"
Back in the throne room, Mac had known the Commander was tall but, suddenly finding himself standing beside the Rhino, the Human had to look up... and up... and up! Khosk was over seven foot tall, but Joren dwarfed him by at least a half a foot, closer to eight than seven. Mac quickly took a half-step back, moving to try to mimic the same salute he'd seen others provide to the Commander, but he was fairly sure that it was a pale imitation.
The Rhino, nevertheless, smiled, smacking his own huge fist against his massive chest once-- the metal gauntlet rang with his chain mail armor providing a snare-drum-like accompaniment. "Firemane. Master Millman. This is a surprise."
Khosk bowed his head. "My ward wished to speak with you. As his Bodyguard, I felt it was my duty to make the introduction."
The Commander offered an affable smile, folding his massive arms across his huge chest. "Well then, far be it from me to keep you from your duty, Firemane."
The Lion stepped to the side. "Sir MacKenzie Millman, before you stands Commander Joren Stonewall, Leader of the Feyrahlian Empire's Military forces and right-paw of His Imperial Majesty. Commander Joren, per his request, I introduce you to Sir MacKenzie Millman, of the Province of Kal-E-Four-Nyah."
The Commander's small, leaf-shaped ears raised, as did his eyebrows, and his smile drew even wider. "Kal-E-Four-Nyah? It is not a province with which I am familiar. I hope to learn more about it, and about you, if you would permit me."
Mac realized that he had a long road to walk.