Complications? (Lita)

[Karishima Yumi]

There was much to do.

Karishima retruned to work a woman possessed. The House had just re-opened from its most recent quarterly cleaning, and she was organizing theme parties and special celebrations and general bombastic orgies the likes of which she had never done before. The cash windfall was welcome, though all her girls were beginning to complain, save for two. She would have to back off soon.

Meanwhile, Anactoria herself had all but ordered her to spend more time in what was supposed to be her primary function: the Sapphis castle library. Karishima always loved the library, it was home to her. But just now it was a time consuming distraction. She made the occasional appearance and did her duties, trusting the twit who called herself princess would soon be satisfied and her flighty focus would soon return to her suitors.

Honestly, the child surrounds herself with horny women and places her body and the throne on the market, and people had the gall to call Karishima a whore?

Karishima took the outrage, and a century more of it besides, and let it fuel her true work, that of the Spider. But in this was also being stymied. There was private investigator nosing around her many underground business. Unlike the complacent City Watch, this woman was good and her job, conducting her investigations in the same way Karishima herself would have. That told the half-demon that snoop would reach the same conclusions she herself would reach. That was a problem. She would have to die, and soon.

But she was hesitant in pulling the trigger, so to speak, on ordering the woman's death. Ever since she... ever since that... thing had happened between her and Lita, her own moral compass and been thrown out of whack. She wasn't a monster. She really wasn't. But she would have to be one if she wnated to succeed. It was getting confusing.

Fiona, one of her bodyguards and one half of the only pair of people she trusted, saw her Mistress under all this strain and took it upon herself to begin arranging Karishima's day in the most effective way possible. So when Lita's letter arrived, it was Fiona who scheduled an appointment with the inventor in Karishima's office for two days later. Buried in work as she was, Karishima herself never even noticed the names on the appointment sheet, that is until, just before the scheduled appointment.

"Lita?" she said in a suddenly small voices she dismissed representative sent by the courtesans of the House. Her heart skipped a beat. "Lita is coming here?"

She was sitting behind a rather impressive desk in the study on the top floor of the House of Earthly Delights "Yes," Fiona confirmed, realizing too late that something was wrong with that. "Is that a problem, Mistress? Shall I send her away?"

Karishima almost said yes, but stopped. She had been dreading this moment ever since -- since --

-- since I raped her till she threw up? That was her guilt talking, a guilt that she had, until then been able to suppress with work. Now it was back, with interest. Maybe it was time to face it. Which sounded all noble in theory, but she'd never be able to look Lita in the eye. She hadn't communicated with the invertor since that day, even though she continued her work. Karishima knew that because orders for materiel kept coming in, and she did her level best to fulfill them.

"Show her in," Karishima said in a horce whisper, poring herslef some water from the pitcher on one corner of her desk. Drinking it didn't make it any better. "Then leave us," Karishima added.

If it had been anyone else, Karishima would expect a ransom request. 'Keep me comfortable or I blab and you're ruined in this Empire' But Lita didn't think like anyone else. That's what made her so good at what she did.

Karishima settled back into her desk chair, and waited for Lita to appear in the doorway. What does a rapist say to their victim? 'I'm sorry' seemed far to weak...

[Lita]

Lita stared at the returned message. She read it again. Then again. Twice more. Her eye twitched a little and she glanced at the fourteen foot clay man lying on a rather large table. She walked over and picked up a small knife and began smoothing away at an imperceptible imperfection.

"Busy? Busy? Of course she's busy. I'm busy too." She muttered to herself. "What does she want from me? She never tells me, she never checks in for a progress report. What am I doing here?" She jammed the knife and it sunk to the hilt in the soft clay. Then she stabbed it six more times. The holes began oozing a bluish red substance. She glared at the holes as if they had personally insulted her.

"I'm pretty sure I said face to face. I'm pretty sure I said there would be needs to discuss. How do I get you from here to there?" She tossed the knife off to the side where it clattered against the floor. She looked at the message again. "Two days? Two days? I'm pretty sure I wrote that it wasn't urgent. I wrote it wasn't urgent, I know I did. Two whole days." The liquid rolled off the clay and a small bit dripped onto the floor where it bubbled unpleasantly. She turned to the door and stormed outside, surprising the guards who were currently guarding the door. She stepped onto the street and grabbed a random street urchin.

"You boy, catch me some rats, good ones. I'll pay you some copper for each one. Good quality. I need at least three." She let go of his collar and he stumbled away. "Be quick about it." She called after him. She walked back up to the guards. "Make sure he gets his coppers." And with that she disappeared back into the warehouse.


The morning of the meeting had come and Lita was not feeling up to it in the least. In order to avoid the now usual sickness every morning that she had suffered since coming to this city she had stayed up all night working. This hadn't worked. In fact, it made everything a whole lot worse. Of course one of the things that needed to be discussed was the wardrobe issue. With her skill with a needle she had managed to do some alterations but her growing size was soon going to require new clothes new clothes entirely. Right now she was wearing the dress Karishima had forgotten as it was the only outfit that fit comfortably after alterations. Admittedly it was a bit stained with grease and other things, but she didn't care at this point.

This awful city had done little for her so far. While she did have a job, her time in the city had repayed her with a lack of palace girls, a quickly degenerating figure, and constant sickness and nausea. With luck she would be able to relocate to a nice countryside with fresh air, trees, and all she'd feel a whole lot better.

She entered the bottom floor of the House of Earthly Delights and flashed the letter, that is to say, she held up the letter and kept on walking. She pushed past anyone that got in her way and was far from delicate about it. She entered the room with a bang, or at least the doors behind her did.

"Don't anybody touch me. I swear if any of you touch me I'll explode into the biggest fireball you ever saw." She announced before marching to Karishima's desk. "And you. Don't you talk to me. I have some things to say to you."

"You may be the big bad boss or whatever, but when I ask you to a face to face meeting I don't mean in some cushy little office. I mean down where I'm trying to do my work. Work that you gave me. And I don't care if this schedule of yours is so rigid. When I say you need to talk to me, you need to get yourself down to my level where I'm doing all this dirty work for you. You want secrecy? What kind of secrecy do you think your getting when I'm out dragging several tons of clay man up and down the street?" She began pacing, throwing her hands up to accentuate her speech.

"It's bad enough you don't check up on anything. I assume somebody is at least checking my expenditures. Dear lord, maybe you don't have any definite plans for this but you still need to come by and at least give an opinion. I do not make these for fun, I make them for you. That means you need to make sure I'm doing what you like so I'm not wasting my time and your money."

Lita had to stop to take a few deep breaths. She'd never gotten tired this quickly before, she hated this city.

(OOC because I can. Lita is about the equivalent of mid third month I believe. At least according to the math. Make of that what you will and don't forget the twins)

[Karishima Yumi]

The first thing Karishima noticed was her scent.

That was not to say that Lita smelled bad, per se, but the half demon definitely picked up a kind of... aroma that she had not noticed from the other woman before. It was actually a rather calming scent, all things being equal, and it reminded Karishima of those few, wonderful moments in between the act and Lita fleeing out the window when they had held each other, completely spent.

The woman herself, however was anything but calm. The ire in her voice and the wild waving at of her hands juxtaposed with that sweet scent caught Karishima a little flat-footed. Fiona, ever faithful, steeped up to her defense at once, taking her place standing beside Karishima at the desk. "You will not speak to Mistress Yumi like that!" she snapped. "You have no idea the burdens that have been placed up her shoulders! This city --"

But Karishima had recovered her composure by then. "Thank you, Fiona," she said, and the other woman shut up. She then truned her full attention to Lita. As Lita tried to catch her breath, Karisham eyes passed up and down the woman's body. She had gained weight, and this puzzled her for a second or two. It was a good look on her, she mused breifely, before noticing the strange scent again. For some reason, that new scent and her increased weight linked themsleves in her mind...

Of greater concern however, was how out of breath she seemed, how tired. Her eyes were red, from what Kairshima assumed was lack of sleep, and she looked far paler that Karishima remembered. Lita was wearing the dress she had left behind that day, but it looked as though it had been altered... easily around the mid section. Odd. This seemed like an important detail somehow.

"Fiona, fetch Ms. Triat a seat. She looks about ready to fall over,"

Final blinked, and looked from Karishima to Lita, but said nothing, leaving the desk side to a table across the room for a chair.

Karishima spoke, but addressing a point somewhere on Lita's face, but unable to meet her eyes. "In truth, said said carefully. "I was not aware you had sent me a message. Fiona has been handling all my correspondence of late, and I only new you had asked to see me this very morning. And I do apologize for not... following up with you at the warehouse. I just thought... well... that you would not be... entirely comfortable with being in the same room with me again. After what happened the last time."

Fiona returned with the chair, a high-backed, cushioned number and slid it into place beside Lita, but still looked at the woman as though she'd just a soon magic her out the damn window. She returned to her place at Karishima's side, wisely remaining silent.

"Please have a seat, Lita. You dont look well. Rest a moment before we continue."

Karishima kept her tentacles firmly away from Lita, and under her desk. It was not an easy task; they missed the feel of the woman's skin. Though just then, she felt less of an urge to have her way with Lita again, and more of a need to give her a hug. This was shaping up into a very surreal morning...

[Lita]

Lita sat down on the provided chair, though she tried to hide her gratefulness. "Incident?" She flipped through her memories until she found the one. "Oh that." She brushed it away with her hand. "While it was distracting it did nothing to harm the actual time line of my work. Still I appreciate your sentiments but I think more trouble has been caused by your complete avoidance of my project entirely." She began digging through her pockets.

"Now that we've gotten that out of the way, for future reference, here it is, please insure that you receive my summons as quickly as possible." She set a clay rat on the table and returned to digging through her pockets. "I may not have a complete timeline but on certain occasions there will be immovable deadlines where immediate attention is required. If this is the case I will alert you, on the other hand, if anything drives me to contact you believe it should be taken care of quickly and efficiently. I do not enjoy constant interference or probings into my work so if I am inviting you to do so, take advantage of it."

Lita pulled out a small scroll. "Now on to business. I don't know what you've heard about me, but you should know I don't like magic when it comes to my work or much else. Now this is less a personal preference than a fairly strict guideline. Allow me to demonstrate." She set the paper over the rat and tapped it lightly. It burned in a flash of fire and there was a bright flash, the smell of electricity hung in the air. The clay rat began twitching.

"This is what I bring you today because you could not come to me." She looked at it sadly. "It was awhile before I learned this, I lost so many to magic. The reason it does not move properly or even truly live is that I gave it no brain, nothing that would allow it true life because I knew that it would die here. Remember that Ms. Yumi. I do not create my children to be left to die by the roadside. They are built to live." She stared at the twitching clay vermin. Her hand moved up to the edge of the table and she had to restrain from touching it, from holding it still as it twitched and shivered.

Then it inflated slightly and bulged at every point. It stopped moving. "Should I use magic on the clay golems they will last maybe a week or two. Should you desire to know, every organ I placed in that poor creature has been reduced to ash, there is nothing salvageable and even the clay is now tainted with its death." She picked up the malformed thing and looked at it. "I don't build things to die Ms. Yumi."

She set it down on the table, facing Karishima. "What I need is natural lightning, a magical storm is acceptable so long as the lightning produced is natural and yes there is a difference. A magical rainstorm brings lightning naturally, a magical lightening storm ends in ash. I believe a lightening rod off the top of my warehouse would be impractical and would draw attention. Something you wouldn't like. So some sort of fix must be thought up."

[Karishima Yumi]

The way Lita brushed aside the incident left Karishima speechless, and she was grateful when the otehr woman kept talking, it gave her time to catch her bearings.

Fiona, meanwhile, looked livid as Lita proceeded to dictate terms to her Mistress. She held her tongue , but there was no mistaking the murder on her face. Didn't this uppity mutt know who she was talking to? Had she no idea what she had put her Mistress through theses last few months?

Karishima watched the clay rat brief existence, before leaning back in her chair, chin resting on intertwined fingers. Best to deal with the immediate concerns first, then they could tackle the... incident. "Summoning a magical storm to generate lighting is certainly possible. It a complicated spell, and easy to loose control of if certain conditions are not met. It can be even more troublesome if a summoning is attempted during a season where thunderstorms are less common. Such as fall."

As she talked, her tentacles slipped free of her conscious control, coiling along the desk like ivy, but made no move to approach Lita. "Fiona, how long would it take you to prepare everything you need to create one?"

Fiona blinked. Was her mistress really listening to this.. this... she couldn't think of a pejorative strong enough. "Five days, Mistress. Minimum amount of time to preapre the needed materials and makes sure its done safely."

"That solves the how," Karishima mused. "Now we just need a where... Fiona, have Bianca bring me my imperial property listings. Lita, can the golems be moved in their present state?"

Fiona's eyes rolled back slightly as she mentally 'called' her sister Karishima's eyes fell back on Lita. "Are you feeling alright, Lita?" concern in her voice. "I know I've asked a lot of you and I have been... remiss in keeping myself abreast of your progress, but I am not a slave driver. If your work is at a stable point and you need to take some time off, you'll find my vacation polices are frist-rate."

[Lita]

"Golems, as in plural? I think you underestimate the enormity of what you're having me do." Lita adjusted herself on the chair. It was actually quite nice and suddenly she was aware of how little sleep she had been getting. But she had to hold firm, no weakness in front of the boss. "There is one golem, and he's hardly in a finished state. Sure he could be the brought to life immediately, but there are so many modifications we could perform before that. Suppose instead of the smooth soft clay exterior we coat him in crushed stone. While retaining the mobility he is now outfitted with a rather effective armor against swords and knives and such. That is to say moreso than he was before. Far be it from me to create something that could be destroyed with a simple stab." Lita was overcome by an urge to yawn but she fought it down.

"In any case, vacations and sick leave are for those who don't have a job to do. There will be plenty of time for rest when my creations begin reproducing themselves and I won't be needed." She blinked and then her eyes just didn't open again, still she kept on talking. "I thought you might oppose this, many uninformed do. My creations are alive just like anyone else and deserve to continue living just like anything else. Children are an extension of our own existence don't you agree? In any case, using three to seven freshly dead bodies everytime a new one is to be made, not to mention the clay and the lightning storm, it's all just so inefficient when they can simply multiply themselves." This chair was so comfy. Lita didn't want to move but she knew the meeting would be ending soon enough. She forced her eyes open.

"If there is any chance that the storm could take place somewhere not around here? Since I started working in this city I've found the air and food disagree with me. It's hardly productive if I spend mornings sick in bed. I'd rather appreciate it."

[Karishima Yumi]

"Most definitely," Karishima agreed, but somewhat distractedly. There was a part of her mind working on a puzzle that had nothing to do with the conversation at hand. "That is why I'm having Bianca get my imperial property listings. A more remote location outside of Venus would be preferable to make the arrangements to generate a storm."

Obvious exhaustion Karishima was thinking. Weight gain, coupled with sickness in the morning and..? The pieces were starting to assemble themselves in her head.

Karishima sat forward in her chair, her arms resting on desk. "Your work ethic is commendable, Lita. No can fault that or your obvious genius and creativity. But as you just heard Fiona say, it will take at least five days to prepare the storm, and that is only after I am able to select a site. You're clearly tried. I'm asking you to take just a one or two days off to catch up on some sleep. I know how this might sound, considering what... happened a few months ago, and my lack of communications since then but... I'm worried about you. Your creations - 'children' as you put it - deserve to --"

Karishima stopped short, her incidental choice of words fitting the last piece of the puzzle into place. Her eyes widened slightly, but she soon composed herself. "Ah," she said, mostly to herself.

[Lita]

"I appreciate your concern but there is still far too much to do. Something that could be cut down on if I could just show you. I admit he's very much done as he is, but I want to show you exactly what you're getting out of me. Plus five days is enough time to make any changes you require." Lita's eyes wanted to close again. She'd probably have to go straight to bed the moment she returned to the warehouse. Still, her creation was amazing as it was, it was, after all, one of the most basic of designs she had ever done. A thought occurred to her, hitting her like a ton of bricks and jolting her from her sleepy state.

"You...you don't think this is it do you? This isn't even a prototype. This might as well be a paper boat compared to what I'd like to do for you, what you've asked me to do. This is showing off the rowboat before I build the frigate, the model before the full sized thing. What I'm saying is, I haven't made you what you wanted because I don't know what you want. I'm simply showing off here, this is what comes standard in a basic model." She forced herself to stand and began pacing.

"Sure it would be good to have a place set aside for when actual production begins but we're not anywhere close to that yet. We've been talking about mass production already and I don't know what I'm producing. Hell, wizards could create golems just as good with magic and you'd never have to worry about giving them the spark of life. Just autonomous creations which is the difference between theirs and mine. But still, in these past few months I've made one that isn't even finished when a wizard could make scores. You didn't hire me to build just another golem and I don't plan to. This is just a model to show off." Lita stopped pacing and leaned on the chair. She wanted to sit down but if she did she might give in. There couldn't afford to be more misunderstandings.

"It's a working model to be sure, it's a damn fine one as well. But still, it's only a model for greater things to come."

[Karishima Yumi]

Karishima regarded Lita for a few seconds more before suddenly rising from her chair. "Well that settles it then," she said. "I'll have to come to the warehouse at once, and see for myself. If you feel alright about having me there, that is?"

It was then that Bianca came in, her arms loaded with several scrolls, no doubt detailing Karishima's various properties. "Bianca, excellent timing. Drop those here and order my carriage prepped. The good one, at that. Then I want you and Fiona to select a subtitle suite for storm generations. Fiona has all the specifics. Fiona, cancel the rest of my meetings until after lunch."

"Yes Mistress," both women cooed. Bianca dropped the scrolls and tablets on Karishima desk, then head back out of the office. Karishima rounded the desk and offed a hand to Lita. Just a hand, she was quite careful to keep her tentacles back. "If you have the time now, Ms. Triat," she said simply. "I'll come with you and have a look for myself, as I should have to begin with."

[Lita]

Lita smiled but inside she was cursing herself as best as she could. "Now would be perfect." Now was awful. Sleep was right there waiting and while she had gotten Karishima to do what she wanted, the lack of sleep would be hammering away at her the entire time. She kept the smile going and forced herself not to yawn. She took Kari's hand and shook it in thanks before quickly letting go, it was a rather weak handshake this time around but Lita was focused on other things.

"Now please feel free to take your carriage, I will walk. I find a brisk stroll helps me remember and I must be prepared to show you all my wonders in all the detail you want." She forced a bigger smile. If they split up she could dash into an alchemist and get something to wake her up. Something that would be very strong. She could use that stuff she'd tried when she was in her eighties. It had kept her up for nearly two weeks. A drop or two of that would be perfect. She suddenly realized she had stopped smiling and her lids were beginning to droop and quickly resumed her act.

[Karishima Yumi]

Karishima, now that she had figured everything out, was careful to miss nothing, and so caught Lita drooping eyelids. She understood workaholics; she herself was one. She ever respected them, and it was one of things that has brought Lita to her attention in the frist place. But there was more to consider now, did the other woman not see...that...

Oh dear... she though to herself. She hasn't figured it out yet...

"Nonsense!" Karishima said aloud. "It my fault that you walked all the way up here. The least I can do now is give you a ride back." A part of her cringed inwardly at the thought of the next card she was about to play, but it was necessary. "I insist," she added playing on the fact that Karishima technically was Lita's boss, and bosses insist on something, one had better listen.

Noticing that Lita was about ready to fall over, she casually offered her arm to Lita as she walked near her as causally as you please, as of this was something she did everyday, and not a attempt support the visibly exhausted inventor. "If I know Bianca, the coach will be ready for us by the time we get downstairs," she added.

[Lita]

"Yes ma'am." Lita said though inside she was cursing. Her mind began racing on a one way path. Perhaps she enter a light trance in the coach, it wouldn't make up for four hours of the real thing or even eight of sleep but anything she could get was better than nothing. She allowed herself to be escorted to and into the carriage. She took a seat and felt the soft cushions, everything was so comfortable. A minor trance, it was little more than a nap and she'd be perfectly able to snap out of it if Karishima had questions.

Lita took a deep breath, then another. The third was too much and she fell asleep. despite her best efforts.

[Karishima Yumi]

As Lita was climbing into the carriage, Karishima gave few special instructions to the driver before entering herself. The were under way right after that, but slower than one might expect, and the bumps and bounces that come with carriage travel were rather gentle.. like being rocked by gentle waves on a boat.

Karishima sat on the bench seat across from Lita, giving the other woman plenty of space for the inevitable... which happned almost at once.

One cue, Karishima extend one tentacle out of the window and spin the tip in a circular motion, signaling the driver to keep moving at the same careful pace. The soon leave nights doorstep, but instead of heading for the warehouse, they had for the city outskirts, keeping to well worn pass, and being a long slow circle around Venus.

As Lita slept, Karishima felt a growing urge to gather up the sleeping woman in her arms. There was a moment of panic as she though she was losing control again, but after a moment she checked her feelings. Yes there was a throb of desire deep, deep down, but mostly she just felt like making Lita comfortable. To take care of her.

She shook her head. "Always had weakness for moms-to-be," she mumbled said herself, laughing lightly. But for now, best to just let Lita sleep. No point in bring back unwelcome memories by touching her.

[Lita]

Most elves meditated every night for a few hours, it was more efficient than sleep and it was peaceful. Lita was one of a few who decided that there were benefits to actual sleep. Highest of all were the dreams. Lita loved the freedom, the power to mold reality, to bring things into existence that had no hope of existing outside the fantasy. This, of course, came with the drawback that she had to be properly focused. She wasn't.

She dreamed of being chased. She didn't know what, but so many unnamed things followed her in the dark woods. She found herself back in her home village in time to watch it be destroyed, torn apart. She saw her old friends and family fall to the unnamed thing. It spread out, it reached out, she ran. Locations she had been to past her by quickly, every one fell, every one fueled the creature and it grew.

She finally arrived at the city gates, her latest destination and the end of her travels. She turned to face the creature as it descended upon her but then she was lifted up. From up on high she could see the darkness, it wasn't large, it wasn't singular, it was all her past creations and now, holding her up from them was her newest golem. It was shining like gold and yet it looked like purest diamond. It held her out of the reach of everything that was after her. However Lita's trained eye could see that it was cracking, straining, falling apart before her very eyes. There was also some pork chutney there too and the dream exploded into the usual nonsense that dreams can become.

[Karishima Yumi]

Venus was a large city, as cities of the day went. It took some time to make three circles around the whole thing. But by the time they started circle number four, afternoon had officially begun. And still Lita showed no sign of waking anytime soon.

This left Karishima in an odd position. She thought an hour or two would be all Lita needed, but it was fast becoming obvious that she was clearly more tired than even she probably knew. The best option would be to take her back to her home in the warehouse and let her rest up there... except Karishima felt.. well.., a little ill at the thought of leaving her. She chalked it up to worry. Lita obliviously had not figured out what Karishima had pieced together already, and was clearly not taking good care of herself.

It occurred to her, sometime later that she normally felt jealous when the women she knew became pregnant. Children was something she couldn't have. Consequence of being a halfbreed of two very different creatures; she was a dead end when it came to progeny. Still she didn't feel jealous this time. She assumed that would come later.

None of that solved her immediate problem of what do do with the sleeping woman. Take her back to the House? Or to the warehouse? Or continue like this? The House would be more comfortable, the warehouse more familiar, the carriage... well there was no benefit to the carriage really, aside from being near her.

What to do...