Showering and dressing oneself with an injured
shoulder presents far more challenges than one would think of initially. Add in
an injured forearm, extensive bruising of the other arm, and bruising of the
shins and feet, and you will be imagining the difficulty of Skye getting ready
in the hour allotted him between when the sedative wore off and when his sister
Evangeline was supposed to arrive. His makeup was not up to his usual
standards, but for a one handed rush job it was rather good. His left eye did
sting from being accidentally poked with both a mascara brush and an eyeliner
pencil though. He hoped there was time for a full body wax in his schedule
before tonight. While he had gotten his face, shaving his legs and chest in his
current state would be a nightmare, and there was just no way to shave his
arms. A prickly arm at a ball would just be a disaster.
He was glad to see that the treatments to
minimize the color of his bruises had worked well enough. Nothing a little
concealer from his stylist before the ball couldn't fix. They still hurt and
made his movements a bit stiff, but he needed to be able to show as much
unblemished skin as possible tonight, especially if the view was going to be
obstructed by some ghastly sling on his arm. After all the work he had put into
developing his pectorals they would be partially hidden, his abdominals and
back would just have to pick up the slack.
Evangeline arrived with not one, but two of her
assistants in tow. "Oh, my sweet, little baby brother! What have they done
to you in that arena? Are you all right? If I could get my hands on that Neanderthal
that did that to you! That beast really needs to be put down I say. I doubt
it's really his fault though, the poor thing... just negligent poor training.
Now he's the one who needs to be put down for incurable viciousness. There
ought to be stricter laws on who can own men, you know? Firm love and kindness
is the key to good training of a manpet. That’s what we did for you, and look what an
adorable gentleman you turned out to be! Some of these women just about let
their men run wild. They starve them for attention and discipline, and then
look what happens! When I bought my Clarence I took a whole months’ vacation to make sure he acclimated
properly to his change in environment and be certain he had bonded adequately before
I left him at home alone. That month was the best investment of time I have
ever spent. Oh, and for ensuring loyalty, the extra cost of one who still has
their certificate of virginity is worth every credit. Just a little bit of
attention and they will follow you into a black hole and back out. I need to
make sure to bring it up at every opportunity tonight that you still have your
certificate. You and Clarence do play so nicely together. I do hope that your
new Lady is amicable to the two of you still having play dates, and you being
able to attend family functions once in a while. You get along well with all
the families manpets, and it would be a shame to waste that good
socialization."
Evangeline's ramblings were like the Word of God
her name meant as far as Skye was concerned. You listen, you let it flow over
and through you, you obey, and you do not interrupt. Unless she stops for an
answer the question was rhetorical. She does not stop for answers from men. With
other women she was a brilliant conversationalist. Men, she believed, should
embody the virtue of silence unless their voice is asked for.
Their first stop of the morning was to the tailor
to have his outfit for tonight adjusted to suit his injuries and Evangeline’s tastes. She and Evangeline decided that
since his chest would be obscured at best, they needed to focus on his other
attributes. It was decided that his ensemble for the evening would be skin
tight black leather briefs with a built in studded sash over the left shoulder
that would have a matching sling. For accessories, he would have a studded
black hide bracer on his right forearm and matching shin guards. It was classic
gladiatorial eveningwear, no real risks taken. Classic, however, meant that his
garment would serve as a frame for his body, not a distraction from what they
would be bidding on.
After the hours spent figuring that out, and
having the necessary alterations made, (Skintight leather is rather unforgiving
if you want it to look just right, be able to move in it, and not loose
circulation to any marketable parts.) Evangeline and Skye had a light lunch.
His sister spent the time traveling between locations, as well as between bites
while they ate, having her assistants look up all they could find on the
potential buyers and any marketable traits that she might forget to bring up
while socializing. She was especially pleased to hear that he had gotten
exceptional marks in his marital arts classes, (Not to be confused with martial
arts, which he also excelled at) as this would be a great segue to go from
discussion of his exceptional training at a prestigious charm school to the
benefits of a man with his prior mentioned certificate intact.
Even if he was purchased by a stable and not an
individual, such things were still of great import. Most stables made a
substantial secondary income by offering many of their men as courtesans, and
there were few stable owners and staff who did not sample the attentions of
their own gladiators. You have to keep morale up, and if everyone can enjoy it,
all the better. As Evangeline said, "Firm love and kindness is the key to
good training of a manpet." Some stables were more brothel than
gladiatorial team, and even had men in their ranks that had never fought a
single time. Stables were where women who did not want, could not afford, or
were blood related to their own manpet went for masculine company. Women with
their own pets even came to the stables in search of variety.
Also, some women wanted to try a man before they
bought him. Not just physically, they wanted to see how he behaves in various
situations; take him out to social events, see if he played well with their friends’ pets, check if he could fulfill their
needs, and watch how he adapted to her lifestyle. Many of the better schools
have strict policies against rental or trial periods. Most stables; however,
were in the business of renting out their men for any reasonable purpose, and
if a woman offered a reasonable price would be more than willing to turn a
profit. Being bought from the stable didn't mean his career would have to end,
either. Ishtar’s Planetary Government had laws against the cruel practice of stopping
a man from participating in the games. If an elderly, retired, serving boy,
invalid, who had never been trained a day in his life, and who's Lady was
opposed to any form of violence decided he wanted to fight; he would be placed
in the first battle that allowed for one of his combat appraisal. It would most
likely be unpaid, and at the hour before dawn, but no one could legally stop him
from going onto those sands. That is the right of every man on Ishtar.
It was also important that a stable gladiator be
capable of mingling in a broad variety of social settings. First, he would be
expected to go to them to make appearances and thus increase exposure for his
dual careers as a gladiator and a courtesan. Second, there was no telling what
type of events a lady who had rented him to accessorize her arm might take him
to. Balls, galas, clandestine gatherings, high class restaurants, rustic local
events, star cruises, exotic safaris, concerts, shows, or just a lonely night;
it was all possible as long as the stable owner agreed. Sometimes, instead of
an individual renting a gladiator, a group or event would rent anywhere from
one man to an entire stable at once. The contract for such a thing could be for
any number of tasks, but standard would be for them to accompany and provide
for the needs of any of those they were hired to attend to.
Niche specialties also could be quite a selling
point. For example, a pair of men whose affection was for one another could go
for quite a high price. The ladies who liked watching that were always ravenous
for more. Unusual skin, hair, or eyes could knock up the price some, but by
less than the cost of attaining that trait through surgery or cosmetics.
Outside of the skills already mentioned, the only area Skye had particularly excelled
in at school was dance. He wasn't sure which he liked better, fighting or
dancing. Really, the two were closely related when it came to the skills
involved. A ball, of course, is a reasonably good place to showcase that
talent, but limited in that most of the dances at a ball are rather structured
and moderately simple. There would be times however, when free dancing would be
accepted and he would need to capitalize on these. Sadly, any improvised
dancing he did would have to be solo as he had no partner. Also, it would all
have to be done with one arm.
The car pulled up to Studio Jorje, Skye and
Evangeline got out with his new outfit and her gown, and her assistants drove
off to do whatever it is that they do. They walked in and the transformation
began. Skye had only once been to this stylist before, and that was a simple
hair and makeup for the battle yesterday. He had always before gone to one of
the school stylists they kept on staff whenever he needed to be prepared for a
special event. Jorje first helped him remove every stitch, even the sling, so
he could see what needed to be done. First, he was steam showered and
dried. Then the waxing came next. He hadn't had any type of permanent hair
removal done in case his new Lady thought he should grow out any given area of
hair. Jorje was very thorough, saying, "Just because clothing is supposed
to cover it doesn't mean it will the entire evening, best to be safe; just in
case." Skye wasn't sure which strip of hair removed was the most painful,
but he had several nominees in mind for the award. This was being a much more
complete makeover than yesterday. Yesterday had been to look good from a
distance. This was to look good from up close; and based on Jorje’s comments and attention to detail, Skye
was no longer certain there was any portion of his anatomy that would be safe
from minuscule examination by any of the five senses.
He was buffed. The numbers that were dyed into his
skin were bleached and scrubbed away. He was polished. He was deodorized and
fragranced in areas he had not been aware could be deodorized. Then the makeup
began. It wasn't just on his face. Every
muscle was highlighted, low-lighted, and shadowed. As if worried Skye was not
nervous enough about tonight, Jorje informed Skye of the subtle flavors each of
the cosmetics would lend to his body, "Just in case."
What kind of a ball is this going to be?"
Skye wondered to himself, What are they going to do to me? Surely, with how she
was going on about how important my certificate is, Evangeline isn't going to
let any prospective buyers have their way with me before the auction? Then Skye
remembered that there are loopholes to keeping one’s certificate. Even if the certificate’s validity is brought into question, an
investigation into whether one should be revoked can be stretched out under
political pressure. Evangeline also does not hold alcohol well. With her being
ten years Skye’s senior he had had plenty of opportunities to notice at family
holidays that when imbibing she became noticeably less than prudent.
If he remembered correctly, liberties taken with
their sister Carmen's manpet, Jimmy, one New Years Eve brought about the
purchase of Clarence due to Carmen's recommendation that, "If you need to
do that every damn time you get tipsy, you can damn well get your own!" If
Evangeline ended up drinking, not only would his virtue be unguarded, but with
Clarence absent, his sister was quite likely to bring under duress the virtue
of at least one of the other attendees. Hopefully, it would be one who wouldn't
mind. While he was at it, he hoped her indiscretions wouldn't start a feud.
Some women were rather territorial about their manpets.
By the time Jorje started working on Skye's hair,
terror had taken a nasty grip on his heart. This was going to be a disaster.
They were going to go there. He was going to make a fool of himself on the
dance floor, and while he is doing so his sister was going to go get sauced and
start telling stories about the "face diaper incident", that is if
she doesn't come up with something worse. Then, while she is distracted, some
obese stable matriarch was going to drag him off to some dark corner and taste
test his cosmetics, after which she will tell him she was just browsing and had
no intention of even bidding on anyone. As a review she would announce to
everyone present she was thoroughly unimpressed, but that although his
performance qualified only technically, his certificate should be considered
voided anyways. Then to top off the evening, Evangeline would find the favorite
manpet of the most influential person present and proceed to enthusiastically
ravish him in the middle of the dance floor. That was this evening’s forecast. Then he started thinking of
scenarios that were somehow worse.
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