Starlit Petal Ch. 02

Xisha growled in frustration and rested his head on the table with a groan. His face pressed up against the sheet of paper that was covered in strange characters. He was beginning to loathe the little piece of paper and what it represented.

"I think you need a break. Don't worry about it, learning a new language is always hard the first time." Flair's deep rumble of a voice tried to comfort him, and the big man's hand rested on his shoulder.

"Why do I even have to learn this?" Xisha grumbled, raising his head off the surface of the table and bringing the paper with him. He unstuck the paper from his face and put it back down where it belonged, then looked over at Flair for his answer.

"These lessons are free, and learning to read and write are every bit as useful on Umbraelen as they are on a mortal world. Perhaps moreso. If you truly wish not to learn I can't force you." Flair sounded a little sad, and Xisha felt a knot of regret form in his stomach.

"Oh... no, I appreciate it, Flair but I just don't understand why. I know how to read and write already. We're all speaking the same language why do we write a different one?"

Flair laughed, a rumbling noise that Xisha could tell the big man was trying to make sound less patronizing than it was. "Xisha, you don't really think we're speaking your language do you?"

"...huh?" Xisha stared at Flair blankly.

"We're all born on a hundred different mortal worlds. We don't specifically speak your language. When someone speaks, your spirit understands and your brain turns it into language." Flair smiled at him patronizingly like this ridiculous explanation should have been obvious.

"So you're... speaking a totally different language right now?" Xisha frowned a little, still not sure if this was a prank. People on this world seemed to love to poke fun at newbies like him.

"Well, you'll get a headache if you do it, but if you concentrate and listen very closely to what I'm saying then you can make out the differenc—"

Xisha narrowed his eyes, concentrating, watching the way Flair's mouth was moving. He heard it. Underlying what Flair was saying was a completely different set of foreign words that matched the movements of the big man's mouth more closely than what he was hearing. Both existed in the same space at once, and he felt a moment of incomprehension as his brain failed to process. The headache ripped through him, and he cried out, squeezing his eyes shut and clutching his temples.

"Owwww..." he whined.

"Warned you," Flair rubbed the back of Xisha's neck but he didn't sound especially remorseful. "You can understand mortals in the same way, and vice versa. Consider it a perk of immortality. A perk that unfortunately does not extend to written language. So yes, you need to learn again."

Xisha grumbled as the throbbing pain slowly faded. "Alright... thanks Flair I appreciate the help."

"It's my job. If you want a more advanced education that's something you can save up for, but basic education is provided by the city. Thank Queen Serriqa, if anybody."

"I doubt the Queen would ever speak to me... is she in charge of like... this world?" He should probably start calling it Umbraelen. After two weeks of being here, someone had finally told him the place had a name.

"No, just the Queendom. I'll give you a lesson on geography and politics another time. How are you adjusting? You said you started working at Starlight?" Flair walked over to a big comfy chair on the other side of the room and settled himself into it gently. The wood, or wood-like substance that the chair was made out of groaned softly.

"It's been fine... Mas— Er, Petal has been really nice to me." Xisha found himself smiling fondly as he thought about Petal.

"Really? Colour me surprised, that boy is as independent as any person I know, and headstrong individualists are pretty much the majority on Umbraelen." Flair sounded amused, like Xisha had just told him that Petal was an animal who'd just started talking.

"He, uhh... I think we're... going out? I never really asked him about that." Xisha blushed a little, stopping himself from explaining the whole 'Property of Master Petal' thing that the other boy had gone on about after they'd had sex yesterday. That meant they were dating, right?

"Really? I've known Petal a long time but he's never taken a partner for more than a day or two. I'm sure he's being charming and treating you well, but... Be careful. Don't let him string you along and hurt your feelings, okay?" Flair frowned a little, looking concerned.

Xisha laughed nervously, and blushed. Petal had been 'treating' him to a handjob, whilst forbidding him to cum earlier that morning. This had gone on for a good forty minutes before he left Xisha delirious and denied. His balls ached gently even now, and yet he couldn't find himself to be even remotely upset or angry at the other boy. That probably wasn't what Flair had meant by letting Petal string him along. But still, his warning stood out to him as something to take seriously.

"I'll talk to him about it, thanks Flair... Oh, and I wanted to ask. Petal told me he's over a thousand years old... is that true? I'm never sure when he's teasing me."

"Yep, he is. Petal is old, but he's not that old. Queen Serriqa is five thousand, and the Empress is supposedly a little over thirty thousand."

Xisha's eyes bugged out, "T-Thirty thous...!"

A deep rumble of laughter echoed through the room from Flair. "Well, I personally don't believe anything I hear if it comes out of the Empire. But the thirty thousand number does get around a lot. Umbraelen is like that, stories have a way of going around and around until they only vaguely resemble the truth." Flair glanced over at the great big wooden clock that stood against the far wall as he spoke. "Looks like we're about out of time, little guy. Shall I schedule you for four days from now?"

"Yeah. Same time if you don't mind." With a soft sigh, Xisha started to gather up his things into his bag. He was still considering finding another tutor after he'd been forced to turn down Flair's advances. He was nice, and a good teacher, but he wasn't Xisha's type. The big burly guys weren't really his thing. It was totally fine when he entertained them as clients, but that was different.

A strong wind blew through the streets as soon as he stepped out onto them, forcing him to hold his skirt down. It died down as soon as it came, and his clothes and hair settled into place as he looked around. Tall, cramped buildings made out of metal and stone rose behind him, while an excessively wide span of street stretched out before him. More cramped, claustrophobic buildings rose on the other side of the street, separated by a tiny handful of pedestrians who only seemed more sparse by virtue of how big the street was. Xisha pulled his map out of his bag and tried to find the address Petal had given him. His Master had told him that he'd be there most of the rest of the afternoon, but that Xisha didn't necessarily need to stop by if he didn't want to. Given that he had nothing else to do, and couldn't even stay at home to read books yet since he couldn't read, he headed towards the address.

Half an hour of walking brought him to a squat, wooden building bearing the numbers on the front that Petal had given him. He double checked three times, comparing the numerals one at a time to make sure they matched, just to make sure he wasn't going in the wrong door. The wood creaked open, and the sound of metal clashing on metal, swift, heavy footsteps, and grunts of exertion greeted him. The place looked like some kind of martial arts dojo, with various spaces cleared for people to practice and spar in. Many were using wooden imitation weapons, others used hands and feet, and some were using their 'Weapons.' Flair had told him that a Reflection's Weapon was an extension of their soul, as much a piece of them as any part of their body. Flair had taught him how to summon his Weapon, but after that, he hadn't thought about it or even tried to use it, nor had he seen anybody else doing the same until now.

Petal was actually inside one of the sparring rings when Xisha spotted him. He was wearing a tight stretchy tube top across his slender, pale chest, and a pair of very short shorts that cupped his bulge and invited Xisha's gaze to linger on it. His long bangs were swept back and clipped in place out of his face. The rest of his short hair glistened with sweat, just like the rest of him. His eyes were fixed upon the woman across from him, oblivious to the observers, including Xisha. The woman had a shaved head, and was wearing some less skimpy but still tightly-fit clothes. A long, wicked-looking blue-gray halberd twisted in her hands, weaving through the air testingly and being wielded as delicately as if it were made out of bamboo. A slender, crimson blade was in Petal's grasp, not a deep blood red, but the colouration was subtle in a way that Xisha thought made it look classy and dignified. Petal was mostly standing still, so Xisha was able to make out some details across the surface of the blade. Flowers were engraved all across it, an intricate and complex pattern that made it look like dozens of blossoms were interconnecting.

Petal moved first, darting forward with a wide swing. The woman spun her weapon, eloquently catching Petal's blade and sending it wide with a tiny flick. "Terrible!" she scolded him as the butt of her weapon swung in and caught Petal in the ribs. The impact drew a grunt out of Xisha's Master, and he staggered backward a step. "I could have sliced you open with that!"

Petal growled softly and came in again, leading with a thrust. This time she deflected it without getting a free counterattack on him, and she didn't scold him either. They continued on, speeding up over time until Xisha could barely fully keep track of what was going on. She continued to scold and yell at Petal whenever he made a mistake, which was relatively often. At one point, they switched, the woman making attacks at Petal whilst he tried to deflect or dodge them. Two came in, Petal barely deflecting the first, whilst the second earned him a scolding. Afterwards, she came in hard with a quick, direct thrust. With a wet sound, the tip of the woman's halberd pierced Petal right in the chest, blood spraying over the head of the weapon.

Xisha felt a terrifying chill sweep over him. "Master!" He screamed, leaping blindly over the railing towards the two of them. The woman's weapon vanished into thin air. The tiny spray of Petal's blood that had adorned it fell to the ground, as though it couldn't follow the weapon to whatever ghostly place it had gone. She looked over at Xisha, her expression confused. Xisha did what Flair had taught him, and he felt his own Weapon form in his hands. The huge two-handed maul still felt awkward in his hands, and he skidded to a stop as the woman eyed him skeptically. He knew he didn't know how to use this thing, he was probably making a fool of himself even by summoning it.

The gurgle of a laugh that came from Petal made Xisha stop his advance and nearly drop the huge hammer. "Wow, Xisha, your Weapon is a giant hammer? That's adorable." He was clutching the deep wound in his chest like it was nothing but a scratch, and he was snickering at him.

"W-What's...?" Xisha blushed. Everybody was looking at him.

"It's okay everybody, he's new, he just thought I was seriously injured. Fuck though you didn't have to stab me that bad, Keen, this really hurts." Petal waved away all of the confused stares and winced as he clutched at his chest.

"Oh stop your whining you big baby, you're the one who wanted to spar with Weapons," the woman replied dourly, still eyeing Xisha suspiciously. "You gonna put that Weapon away, kid? You look like you're more likely to hurt yourself with it than me."

"Oh!" Xisha blushed, and released the weapon, allowing it to vanish and... do whatever it was that these things did. Did it go inside him, when he wasn't using it? Was it floating around in space? Some other plane of existence? He'd have to ask. "Sorry..." When he looked over at Petal, someone had brought him a bandage and was tying it around the horrific gouge in his chest. The boy was wincing a little but seemed more annoyed than grievously wounded. Someone brought a bandage over to Petal, and he stripped his top off to apply it himself, wrapping the white cloth around his chest.

"Gonna be sore all day. Bitch." Petal grumbled, but his tone didn't have the acid in it to imply that he was seriously upset. He just sounded a little grumpy. Of course, Xisha wasn't sure if Petal was capable of serious vitriol, the boy was always overly cheerful, it seemed.

"Fine, I'm sorry. I honestly thought you could avoid that one." Keen frowned at him, but her expression softened a little. "I'm getting tired and your girlfriend is here, anyway. We'll practice more later if the Queen doesn't have me working overtime on this disaster until I die."

"Girlfriend? I prefer the term bitch toy. Or obedient plaything. Ooh! boy slut! I like that one best. My boy slut is here to see me!" Petal clapped his hands excitedly together and beamed at the blushing Xisha. Keen didn't bat an eyelash.

"Well, go spend some time with your boy slut, then. Complain to him about how badly you've let your technique slide and how you can't compete with me anymore." Keen grabbed a towel from a nearby bench and started to wipe some of the sweat off her face as she prepared to leave.

"Meh. If I really wanted to keep up with you I'd have to break up with my boy slut here and do nothing but practice. I do appreciate the practice though, Keen." Petal allowed Xisha to escort him to a bench to sit down, and promptly grabbed his ass as soon as he was seated properly. Xisha frowned a bit when he saw that Petal's chest bandage was soaking through with red already.

"Ummm... Master, do you really have to call me that and, uhh..." Xisha squirmed in Petal's grasp as his fingers sunk into the soft flesh of his ass.

"Have to? Nope, but I want to." Petal winced a little, and his hand that wasn't inching deeper and deeper into the crack of Xisha's ass by the second clutched at his chest.

"Err, I was going to ask about this 'disaster?' Should I be worried?" Xisha bit his lip a little. He was already kind of worried about Petal.

"Oh stars, no. A bunch of idiots tried to blow up the aqueducts last night. The Queen's people scooped them up before they could do a lot of damage or get away. Queen is shitting bricks over it, of course. Less about the property damage, more about the pride damage, you know? Ugh... Seriously though sweetie, I know I offered to spend some time with you today but I think I'd like to sleep this off. Come with me to my place?"

Xisha suppressed the little wave of disappointment and nodded. "Of course. Umm... where do you live?" The two of them left the dojo and literally went right around the corner to an apartment building that looked exactly like Xisha's. When they got inside, the similarities continued, right up to the point where they got inside. "It's... the exact same as where I live..." Xisha mumbled.

"Yeah. Housing isn't commoditized in the Queendom. Unless you're a public servant you live in one of these no matter how well-off you are. It's free though, so, can't complain." Petal groaned and lowered himself onto the very worn-down couch that looked like it got at much use as his bed did. "Shit that's sore. Ugh."

Xisha looked around. It was the same apartment as his but Petal had bookshelves in every room. There were... interesting looking paintings on several of the walls, and when Xisha went into the kitchen, there was an easel and paints set up in the corner. A half-finished canvas was propped up on the easel, looking like all the rest of the pieces on Petal's walls. Xisha smiled a little bit. Maybe he'd give Petal some instruction on his use of watercolours. That was something he knew how to do, at least.

Xisha rifled through the kitchen, finding a lot of different spices, a generously stocked ice box, and a half-full wine rack. Digging through one of the high up cabinets, he found a box that was full to the brim with a pleasant smelling tea. He grabbed a little of the dried flowers, and wrapped the bundle in one of the perforated pieces of paper. A few moments later, after the kettle had been brought to a boil on the stovetop, he returned to the living room, cup of hot tea steaming in his hands.

His master was unconscious already, one leg off the side of the couch. His breath sounded a little ragged and had the slightest wet rasp to it, which made Xisha worry. But, Petal had assured him that he'd be fine. He sighed and set the tea down next to him. He'd drink it when he got up, probably.

***

"Nggghf." Pain and impact woke Petal up with a start. He was face-down up against the wooden floor, and his face was a little sore. With a groan, he pushed himself up a little, and saw that he'd fallen off his couch. He wondered why it was that he ever slept on this thing. He fell off at least one in ten times. Actually, he'd probably just taken the average closer to one in nine, with this one. He reached up to grab the edge of the coffee table to lift himself up off the floor. The clumsy motion hooked the edge of something on the table, and a second later, he was suddenly wet with a mug and bag of tea in his lap. Petal stared at the empty mug, then at the spot on the table where it had probably been sitting, then back at the mug.

"When did... I don't even drink tea." He scowled at the liquid soaking through his shorts accusingly. Petal stood up and removed the wet clothes, tossing them in with the rest of the pile in his bedroom. A cursory glance at the clock showed him that he'd slept quite a bit longer than intended, and that his shift would be starting soon. Soon enough that he needed to pick out his outfits and apply his makeup now, anyway.

Half an hour later he was fully dolled up. A glance in the mirror showed that the white panties he was wearing were showing properly through the sheer, translucent black skirt he'd paired them with. He was a little more made-up today, with a full complement of shiny lipstick, eye makeup, and he'd even gone and feathered out his eyelashes, which was a step he usually skipped since his lashes were naturally long enough not to need it. He'd had the extra time, and when he'd say down, he realized that he was feeling more femme than normal today. It was always best not to fight it, when that happened. Whenever he went and didn't indulge his moods, it always ruined the day. A ruined day, he could handle, but being grumpy wasn't really conducive to his line of work.

"Oooh, someone's pretty today~" Prani was just inside the foyer of Starlight, and she greeted him with a grin. She'd been very flirty with him ever since he'd pounced upon Xisha, and part of him wanted to be suspicious about it. It was probably just that he'd demonstrated to her that he wasn't unattainable, though. Not everything needed to be an angle to work

"Did it just for you, sweets." Petal winked at her and gave her a sly grin. To his amusement, she actually blushed. He headed around the reception desk to check his schedule. Busy, as always. "Who's this?" he asked, pointing at an unfamiliar name right at the end of his night.

"You had a cancellation. He lucked out and got the spot, I think." The receptionist, he thought her name was.. Va? Ba? Some one syllable name he couldn't remember. He could never remember one syllable names.

"You scheduled my break beside Xisha's?" he asked, poking his nose in where it didn't belong.

"Yes! I told you already. Now shut up about it." One-syllable scowled at him, shoving him out and away from the desk. Petal gave her a fake pout and headed off to his room to see his first client of the night.