It's the rumbling that wakes Layth up, which otherwise would be extremely difficult under the circumstances. The strips of early-morning light through the half-open metal window shutters are interrupted by a vast moving shadow, but at least that hides the devastation of clothes and linen and empty plates and bottles strewn about the room. But, despite the pressure of the two does laying on top of him, Layth can at least feel his toes again, even though other parts are still numb or sore from overuse.

"Must escape," the buck mutters as he slowly eases the two does off of him enough that he can roll out of the bed. It's not very graceful when he lands on the floor, but he doesn't hurt any worse for it. He lays there for a moment, worried he might have woken them … then crawls as quietly as he can towards the door.

The two crazy women mutter but don't wake up – even they have limits, and need to sleep. Besides, the bottle of 'fun juice' is all used up by now. Through the window slats, Layth can see the giant airship, Ajax, that the does arrived on… leaving!

Layth rubs hide forehead. "How do they get back?" he mutters as he watches the ship in dismay. Since he figures he has to find them new transport, he looks for a robe so he can go ask about it.

Tartarus base may be isolated, but the VIP rooms come stocked with bathrobes at least. Although Layth's biosuit is around the room somewhere, likely in multiply pieces once the girls figured out the secret of unzipping the interlinked scales.

Layth grabs a robe and heads for the door. He'll find the suit later. Right now he feels like he's trying to escape a den of vipers. Vipers that are never full.

Without naked bunnies to intercept him, there's no problem with getting the door opened. And no traffic in the hall – after all, just about everyone that was using the VIP quarters left with the Ajax!

Layth rubs his forehead. He sighs and heads back in the quarters, though he senses doom as he does so. "Wake up," he tells toe pair softly and proceeds to shake each of them gently. "Your ship just left… "

Calligenia throws a punch reflexively, while Aisha tries to burrow further into the tangle of bedding, muttering, "No more cake, daddy, I don't wanna be fat… "

Layth suppresses a laugh and tries again. "Your ship just left," he repeats to see if they respond. If not … well back to plan A, go find someone to talk to.

Finally, Calligenia sits up and licks her lips, stretches, scratches her armpits… and then wakes up. "Is it breakfast time?" she asks, blinking at Layth. "Ship?"

"It'll come back," Aisha mutters from under the covers.

"The Ajax, the one you came in on. It just left. I give up; I'll go find someone who can tell me when you two can head back to the city," Layth says as he rubs his neck this time, feeling the tight collar on it and the odd sensations of tugging under his skin when it moves.

"Wait, we're staying with you," Calligenia says. "The city was boring. It was all just Aisha posing for photo-graphs to sell rabbit food."

"It was good money," Aisha mumbles defensively.

"But it may be dangerous to stay with me," Layth points out, "I have things to still tend to and a spirit to save somehow. What will you do here?"

"Help you, of course," Calligenia says. "Don't you want me… us… around?"

"I'm your bodyguard, I'm supposed to keep you safe," Layth points out as he sits on the edge of the bed. "Do either of you really want your necks shaved and have these devices fitted?" he asks and taps the metal collar. "It goes into me… "

Aisha's head pokes out from under the sheets, looking at Layth with big brown bunny eyes. "Would we need to do that?" she asks.

"You might. They are needed for any sort of quick learning," Layth admits. "It doesn't hurt, but it does take a lot of getting used to having."

"How much longer are you going to be doing… whatever it is you're doing?" Calligenia asks.

"I'm not sure. It could be years," Layth says. "Why?"

"That long?" Callie asks. "Is it really important or profitable?"

"What is it you do here, Layth?" Aisha asks. Finally. They didn't really bother with talking much the past few days.

"I have to find a way to grow a new body for a Silent-One who's spirit is trapped. I owe her that, she deserves a chance to be happy," Layth explains. "It's not about being profitable it is … we have become semi-linked. She has been teaching me and I her. I have been her hands and helped work with their old technology."

"Oh, is that all?" Calligenia says. "She is a spirit, but not a demon?"

"She is a friend," Layth says.

"Ummmm… " Aisha says, looking from Calli to Layth. "You've developed a relationship with this dead girl? I mean… what sort of bond do you have?"

"Not anything physically intimate. Just a friend," Layth insists. "It is hard to explain. It is … I know how she feels because neither of us had a good life growing up."

"Tell me about her," Calligenia asks, crossing her legs on the bed and giving her full attention to Layth. "Aisha may go summon breakfast."

"Hey, I'm not a servant," Aisha complains. "The voice-thing is all the way over by the door."

"She is a Silent-One. You may know of them as Savanites? Well, before Sinai they were a powerful empire in the stars. Their society was, and still is, structured. family birth defines position. She was born to a low-class family and was taken to be trained very young. She was trained as a simple technician and never even given a name. She was also the one ordered to change out the part … that killed almost the entire Fenris crew. When their base was abandoned on the moon, she stayed behind. She stayed to protect some of the old systems and because she felt she was responsible for the deaths, even though at the time she didn't know what she was told to do would have ended the way it did," Layth explains. "I met her when her remains were connected to those old crystal artifacts. I've been … her voice and hands since. I gave her a name and I have tried to make her feel worth something." He shrugs a bit. "I'm a protector and … she needed that."

"How old was she?" Aisha asks.

"Not very old. I've never asked her, but I think she may have been around twelve," Layth says. "A child."

"Do you feel protective of her?" Calligenia asks, ears flopped back. "If you gave her a new life, what would be your place in it?"

"Her mentor, I suppose. She needs someone to teach her about how things are now," Layth says.

"I don't know how you can… resurrect someone," Aisha says quietly. "Isn't that… forbidden or something?"

"I don't either, but after seeing what I have seen, I think anything is possible," Layth answers quietly. "I have to try at least. I've seen too many people die. I want to see someone live."

"Would you raise her as a father?" Calligenia asks, sounding very serious.

"I don't know. I am not sure I would make a very good father," Layth admits.

"Someone has to raise her," Calligenia points out. "If she is long dead, she may not having living family."

"Even if she does, it would be impossible to find them after sixty centuries," Layth notes and shrugs. "But I do not know if I could be a father. I am not even a husband."

"Nobody knows how to be a father," Aisha says. "That's what my father says. 'Every child is different, so a man must learn and adapt and love them as best he can,' he says."

"And she isn't Lapi, cannot speak, and has spots," Layth points out. "It's even more complicated. And then there is you two."

"She need not be reborn as a Savanite," Calligenia claims. "What about us? You're going to marry us, aren't you?"

"I think Aisha would sooner marry a Karnor than me," Layth claims. "And what do you mean, not reborn as a Savanite?"

"You… don't you like me, Layth?" Aisha asks, looking somewhat stricken… but of course her ears are still hidden under the sheets.

"I didn't say that. I thought you would want something better than me," Layth answers and rubs his forehead.

"I will give you a child, and it could be this girl reborn," Calligenia offers. "If you truly love her as you might a daughter, it can be done."

"Better?" Aisha asks. "I want… someone who is right for me, not… some wealthy buck who will treat me like property."

"I wouldn't have a child with you unless you were my wife, Calligenia," Layth now says as he tugs at his own ears. "And that has obligations to it." There he pauses. "Same for Aisha. I am not very traditional, but … I would want a proper wedding ceremony and some nodding to traditions, even if we would not follow them completely. I wouldn't treat Aisha as property, for example."

"See, that's one of the reasons I want you," Aisha points out. "I thought, maybe, you wanted me too… "

"Hmmm," Calligenia ponders. "Does the wedding need to come first? In Dianus a priestess usually just blesses the couple. I do not know how it is done in Abu Dhabi. But the spirit-girl is trapped here, you said."

"I would still want the proper ceremony, though, and then for each of us to wear symbols of that union," Layth admits as he looks towards the ceiling. "I wouldn't expect you to just be a traditional wife, but I wouldn't want it not known you were my wife."

"That is a complication," Layth admits to Calligenia. "And no, some marriages happen after a child has been conceived … though those are often forced," Layth notes, "And would you be willing to have a wife-mark?"

"I will agree to whatever customs you wish," Calligenia notes, and smiles. "I chose you for my mate in Abu Dhabi."

"I did too," Aisha adds. "I mean, we… I wouldn't do that unless… you know!" the doe says, blushing.

"So if I asked you to allow a jeweler to insert a permanent ring in one of your ears, or any other place of my choosing, you would allow it?" Layth asks, a hint of curiosity in his usually even voice.

"That seems a small thing," Callie claims. "Warriors wear their scars proudly. I will wear a ring proudly too."

"It needs to be gold, for a wedding band," Aisha notes. "I can help with that… I mean, if you're my husband than my money is also yours."

"There is tradition that when two are joined, each takes on a mark symbolizing that union. The marks vary from a ring on the finger, to one permanently set in their ear. I have heard tales of people placing them in more intimate places, to even once a story of a male who wore a ring in his nose,", Layth explains, reaching over to lightly take hold of Aisha's nose for emphasis of explanation. "My preference is for something permanent, since I do not take a marriage lightly. Once the union is made, it remains until death."

"I don't know that a ring through your nose would give the proper impression," Aisha notes.

"Why not?" Callie asks her.

"Uh… well… beasts have that, for being led. Led by the nose, right?" Aisha says. "Wouldn't that say we, as his wives, were leading him around like an animal?"

"It showed dedication and willingness to display to everyone," Layth says, shrugs, and lets Aisha's nose go. And at Aisha's explanation, he laughs a little. "Haven't you been wanting to do that anyway?"

"We would be leading him around like wives are supposed to do," Calligenia claims. "But I suppose, outside of Amazonia, that might be seen as inappropriate. And he would be sneezing on our bond if he got sick. It could also be used against him in combat. A band would be safer, as it could not be grabbed or hooked."

"A band?" Layth asks, shaking his head.

"Clipped along the ear, or near the tip," Calligenia suggests, holding her own ear and rubbing the area. "It could be used as a weapon, if weighted and swung properly… "

"Not everything has to be a weapon," Aisha grumbles.

Layth laughs again as he rubs his forehead. "It's a mark of family, not a weapon," he agrees. "Though your mark could be something like that if it were your preference, Calligenia."

"Family… will we have a clan emblem?" Calligenia asks.

"And as a point, I would have to have a mark from each of you. It seems wrong to try to represent two very different women with a single symbol," Layth suggests. "And a clan emblem? There are no clans I know of outside of Amazonia. Would it be expected that one would return there to at least establish a clan emblem with your mother?"

"You should have a Hydron mark, a proper one, on a dagger," Calligenia notes with emphasis. "I will give you my dagger as part of the wedding."

"I… well, you know how it works in Abu Dhabi," Aisha says. "I would take on your name. Or… I suppose the name of your former master? Or do you have one you'd rather use?"

"Hm. Should we return to Amazonia after the ceremony to inform your mother?" Layth asks. "And to replace the dagger given?"

"I think the matter of names would have to be discussed with your father. It may be more appropriate for me to take yours, since your family is the more significant one," Layth suggests.

"Sounds like there will be two weddings then," Aisha says. "But… will you marry both of us each time, or just me in Abu Dhabi and Callie in Dianus?"

"My mother will wish to know, and see the child of course," Calligenia says. "I would like to give birth at home."

"I think it would only be proper to marry both of you each time, following the proper traditions of each land," Layth suggests after thinking about it a bit.

"This means in Dianus it will be the male submitting to the female as the familial head, instead of the female to the male in Abu Dhabi," Layth tells Aisha, "But I think you would enjoy that."

"And two honeymoons," Aisha squeaks.

"The past few days show that Layth can survive such ordeals," Calligenia says, as if that was what Aisha was worried about.

"The nose ring for me could be Dianus," Layth jokes, "Since Calligenia believes the female should lead the male there."

"Men and women have their roles," Calligenia says. "It is not really a case of one leading the other."

"Describe their roles?" Layth requests.

"Household duties are usually shared, if they are married," Calligenia explains. "In Clan Hydron, both usually serve functions assigned to them, according their talents, within the holding. For us, I would still be expected to work towards expanding our interests and wealth, and you would still serve as my guide and mentor and bodyguard – but also help with the children."

"I'm not a great homemaker, and I still want to work in business," Aisha says. "Maybe we could get a maid?"

"I would be expected to be in some ways what Abu Dhabi would the wife," Layth notes to Calligenia, though he sounds at least amused by it. "And I wouldn't expect you to be a homemaker," he tells Aisha. "I would help there as necessary. Or a maid is a possibility."

"And all of this is probably thinking too far ahead," Layth admits. "Neither of you have even met the person that started this conversation."

"You would have to… well… be the 'front' for the business, and many will not do business with a woman," Aisha admits.

"I could teach you how to dress and act like a man," Layth offers, sounding serious.

Aisha looks stricken at the notion. "I like being who I am," she notes. "I do not think I should have to put on a false front… it would be dishonest… "

"I was joking," Layth says and holds up his hands placatingly. "But … you two really do wish to marry me?" He does sound honestly surprised by that concept.

"You make me feel… less afraid of my failings," Calligenia admits, seeming reticent to do so in front of Aisha.

"I feel… comfortable with you," Aisha notes. "You don't have special expectations, and neither do I. I can be myself… and if you are unhappy, you will tell me."

"Okay. Well, I want you to both know I take this very seriously. A union with each of you is not entered into lightly," Layth says. "I also expect that each of you will bear children. Are you okay with that, Aisha?"

"Does… does it have to be immediately?" Aisha asks nervously. "I mean… it would be easier for me to help Callie if we weren't both pregnant… and then she could help me later… ""

"No, it doesn't have to be immediately. I am just saying it is one of the few things I would ask you to do for me," Layth says. "But this is really getting a head of everything. Come. I should introduce you to Fallen-Star." Layth rises from the bed and gestures for them to do the same. "And I will also see that Calligenia is fitted with one of these while we are there," he adds and taps the collar.

There is some more complaining about leaving the bed, but eventually both does are up and reassembling wearable clothing from the debris. They even find Layth's odd armored jumpsuit sections, and watch expectantly to see how he assembles them.

Layth meticulously lays out the segments of of the suit on the floor in a line in a pattern that looks like a cut open and stretched out version of the odd scale-suit. The buck then lays face down on the 'front segment, then rolls across the floor across the remaining sections. The end effect is that they draw up and he rolls and in case his body almost like a mummy. Once he's on his stomach he flexes a few times to get the pieces to adjust into proper place. He does a single, hard, push-up and ends up back on his feet. "Actually, both of you will be fitted with collars," he decides. "It will be good practice for when you each have a permanent ring placed on your bodies."

"It doesn't look that uncomfortable, although I don't know why you don't take it off to sleep," Aisha says.

"Because I can't. It has tubes that feed directly into vessels in my neck and sires that go into my spine," Layth explains. "It is literally locked on."

Both of the does get wide-eyed at this, but don't say anything.

"I'll have to shave a circle around your necks too. The doctor can help me with fitting them. But once that is done … I can introduce you easier to the spirit. You can peak with her in a training simulation once she has possessed me," he offers.

"Callie can go first," Aisha says quickly.

"It doesn't actually hurt at all," Layth offers. "It feels like … snakes slithering through your neck."

"I am sure they can be removed when they are no longer needed… Layth?" the bunny-assassin asks.

"Yes, they can be removed. I am a little attached to mine now, but it will be removed when we are no longer needed here," Layth says. "And … it helps you understand what I have been going through."

"I trust you," Calligenia says, tilting her chin up and scratching at her neck a bit. "I am supposed to be learning new things, after all!"

"Oh, yes, it uses a chemical suppressant to stop all fur growth under it while it is on. That's a good thing, otherwise it would itch terribly," Layth says as he heads for the door. "And are both of you sure that neither of you would want my mark to be a nose ring?" he asks.

"I'd have to see one," Aisha says, her own nose wiggling… well… like a Lapi nose. "It might make kissing strange."

"Calli?" Layth asks as he holds the door open for the pair.

The chocolate doe walks out, pausing to kiss Layth on the lips. "I could get used to a ring in our noses, so long as they do not make noise."

"Our?" Layth asks, "You would wear one too?"

"I assumed we would match?" Callie asks.

"That is not required, but it can be done. Would you prefer that?" Layth asks as he closes the door behind them

"I do not know – I may need to work up to it," Calligenia admits. Aisha still looks a bit shocked about the collars.

"Some on, you wanted to help, so time to be fitted with the collars," Layth says and waves for them to follow. "This way. It won't hurt, I promise. And I can teach you all about strange machine in the learning programs too. But mainly, I can introduce you to Fallen-Star. Just don't panic when you see me go spotted… "

"Don't forget breakfast… " Aisha says quietly, as they make their way to the elevator.