a known thing here. Also... Um..." She looked over at the man, stopping in front of her old childhood home at the same time. It was comfortably familiar to her, but the man stopped, gazing at the place instead of her.
"Is this the palace of the King here?" He spoke accented Standard, but his meaning was clear.
The place, being only three stories tall, was modeled in the same vein. The ceilings were all vaulted too, which made it seem larger than it really was from the outside. The decorative trimming was a deep gray now, and the building had been repainted white, but it was well cared for and very pretty.
"No, that place is much bigger. Nicer too. This is Debri house. My mother owns it. Anyway, I was just going to suggest that, if anyone offers to have sex with you, or asks you out on a date, you should do it. It might help with that problem you have." She felt a little mean, saying it that way, but to her shock, the man nodded.
"I know. It's the same in Harmony. Those of Tellerand are rather more conservative than our fellows. We seem aloof, and as if we do not enjoy the company of others. That isn't the whole of it. Really it's more about protecting the virtue of the women in our midst. The poor men that traveled with us ached over your form, as often as not, I would guess. Driving themselves not to see you, in hope that they would not shame you." To him, it was clear that he believed all of that.
It was better than she'd thought, at least.
Sighing, she smiled at him.
"Good! You all had me worried there for a bit. Well, for the most part, you don't need to worry about that here. So, if anyone asks for attention from you, or just dresses nicely, look at them and smile. If they want you to do anything, then do it. Um... men might want to do things too. That's forbidden over there, isn't it? Men having sex with other men?"
That got a grimace and a nod.
"Aye. But not in Harmony. I have met such people, and survived the adventure. I do not think I would enjoy such, however."
"It probably won't come up. If it does... Well, just offer to use your hand on them, or your mouth. That's less uncomfortable than a lot of other things. We'll try to make sure you don't have to though. You're kind of short, like a commoner would be here, so if a noble tells you to do it, you'll just have to. On the good side we won't be here too long." She wanted to be joking with him, teasing him for being prudish, but there was truth in what she'd said.
It wasn't a hundred percent, but in the main if a noble man or woman told you to have sex with them, and you weren't near their own station, you really didn't get a choice. The best you could do in that case was volunteer to do something that wouldn't hurt too much and get to work fast enough that they didn't get bored with it.
The small pale man next to her looked mildly afraid at the idea. It wasn't wrong , so she didn't correct him on the matter. Fear might just help him in the long run, if he used it well.
"Still, don't be rude to people by not looking at them. Try to smile, and if you can't, then make sure you don't let anything show on your face. People can take offense, and this is the Capital. Some of those people have armies to back up their anger, if it comes about."
There, that would help not at all, she was certain. No one that wasn't from that part of the world would really understand what she was telling them. Not until it was too late. Their best bet was to lock Roget away in a few small rooms for the duration of their stay, and get him back to Harmony in the shortest time possible. That would be the next day, she thought. If all went well.
She got out, unloaded her bags from the back, and handed the small man with her his own single tan pack. It was the same kind of thing that everyone in Harmony seemed to carry. Available at the free store there. The one that her brother, Kurt, ran. If he hadn't been killed for being a pervert yet.
Then she took the craft down and put it on
"Is this the palace of the King here?" He spoke accented Standard, but his meaning was clear.
The place, being only three stories tall, was modeled in the same vein. The ceilings were all vaulted too, which made it seem larger than it really was from the outside. The decorative trimming was a deep gray now, and the building had been repainted white, but it was well cared for and very pretty.
"No, that place is much bigger. Nicer too. This is Debri house. My mother owns it. Anyway, I was just going to suggest that, if anyone offers to have sex with you, or asks you out on a date, you should do it. It might help with that problem you have." She felt a little mean, saying it that way, but to her shock, the man nodded.
"I know. It's the same in Harmony. Those of Tellerand are rather more conservative than our fellows. We seem aloof, and as if we do not enjoy the company of others. That isn't the whole of it. Really it's more about protecting the virtue of the women in our midst. The poor men that traveled with us ached over your form, as often as not, I would guess. Driving themselves not to see you, in hope that they would not shame you." To him, it was clear that he believed all of that.
It was better than she'd thought, at least.
Sighing, she smiled at him.
"Good! You all had me worried there for a bit. Well, for the most part, you don't need to worry about that here. So, if anyone asks for attention from you, or just dresses nicely, look at them and smile. If they want you to do anything, then do it. Um... men might want to do things too. That's forbidden over there, isn't it? Men having sex with other men?"
That got a grimace and a nod.
"Aye. But not in Harmony. I have met such people, and survived the adventure. I do not think I would enjoy such, however."
"It probably won't come up. If it does... Well, just offer to use your hand on them, or your mouth. That's less uncomfortable than a lot of other things. We'll try to make sure you don't have to though. You're kind of short, like a commoner would be here, so if a noble tells you to do it, you'll just have to. On the good side we won't be here too long." She wanted to be joking with him, teasing him for being prudish, but there was truth in what she'd said.
It wasn't a hundred percent, but in the main if a noble man or woman told you to have sex with them, and you weren't near their own station, you really didn't get a choice. The best you could do in that case was volunteer to do something that wouldn't hurt too much and get to work fast enough that they didn't get bored with it.
The small pale man next to her looked mildly afraid at the idea. It wasn't wrong , so she didn't correct him on the matter. Fear might just help him in the long run, if he used it well.
"Still, don't be rude to people by not looking at them. Try to smile, and if you can't, then make sure you don't let anything show on your face. People can take offense, and this is the Capital. Some of those people have armies to back up their anger, if it comes about."
There, that would help not at all, she was certain. No one that wasn't from that part of the world would really understand what she was telling them. Not until it was too late. Their best bet was to lock Roget away in a few small rooms for the duration of their stay, and get him back to Harmony in the shortest time possible. That would be the next day, she thought. If all went well.
She got out, unloaded her bags from the back, and handed the small man with her his own single tan pack. It was the same kind of thing that everyone in Harmony seemed to carry. Available at the free store there. The one that her brother, Kurt, ran. If he hadn't been killed for being a pervert yet.
Then she took the craft down and put it on
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