Page 14 of Right Next Door
“Give your report,” Tsok said calmly, fingers working rapidly on his holoboard, writing out one of the many messages he had to send today.
In front of him, barely visible through the holodisplay, Davard was standing in front of his desk, waiting to be given leave to speak. Tsok could work and listen at the same time, so long as what he was doing didn’t require too much thought.
“The charina has settled in well,” his aid started simply. “The new renovations she asked for have nearly been completed. She has been selecting all of the new furniture and designs herself. She is about two-thirds through her allowance now, but at the current rate of her spending, she won’t run out before the next deposit. She is quite good at budgeting herself. She has not once run out of funds since she began this mission of hers.
“Furthermore, she is nearly completed with the cosmetology courses she began taking. At her current rate of work, she will be finished with all her lessons within the next two tendays. She has already scheduled her exam for licensure, and she has begun procuring all the things she will need in order to begin working.
“She has selected one of the outbuildings for her salon. She toured it the other day and declared it perfect for her needs. It is easy to renovate the area so that the public can access it without getting to the manor. The security teams have already drawn up plans to account for these changes. They’ll begin implementing them when the builders start their work.
“The chef has a full grasp of the charina’s palette now. She eats all her meals to completion without waste or a desire for more. Her health is stable, and she is agreeable to me managing her medical appointments and checkups. She was, of course, scanned by the ambassador before her arrival, but I thought you’d like a more thorough check. We will be completing that after she finishes her lessons, but before her test.”
Tsok’s fingers stopped moving and he leaned his head to the side, looking past the holodisplay to Davard. His assistant and steward wasn’t really looking at him. He was staring above his head, no doubt going through the mental list of things he wanted to report.
Tsok frowned as he continued talking.
“She had some of the staff move about half of her belongings downstairs. She informed me that they were full of supplies she brought from Earth that she used to use for her fur styling business. She told me that she is going to compare them to things she finds here to see if she can find equivalents since she can’t get the ones she’s familiar with.”
Tsok furrowed his brow. Davard just continued unaware of his boss’ growing annoyance.
“This morning, she woke at her usual time and ate breakfast alongside her beast companion. The creature truly is a terror. I would recommend some kind of training for it before it breaks and scratches everything in the manor. Otherwise, it is being fed a diet recommended by the charina that includes raw meat, fish,and eggs with some supplementation for health. At her request, I’m locating an animal clinic that is willing to look after this creature. Apparently, it is common for humans on Earth to keep unruly beasts like that, but there are no scans of one available. So, it has to be a clinic willing to work within that limitation.”
“Davard.”
“Personally, I see no purpose for the creature. It does not hunt, it is not strong enough to protect her, butisstrong enough to be a nuisance. I cannot understand why the charina would be attached to such a thing, but she is. If I had to guess, it is a maternal instinct. It’s like she’s taking care of a kit that is capable of getting into trouble and nothing else. In that way, I would suppose, she will make a good mother if you ever decide to breed kits upon her. I just cannot stand the destructive little-”
“Davard.” Tsok’s voice was harder this time, cutting through his assistant’s rambling.
Davard blinked, focusing back on him. He cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Forgive me, honored char. I seem to have gone off on a tangent.”
“Indeed.”
“The point is, they’re both settling in well and she is good enough at self-regulation that I don’t think I need to pay any extra attention to her.”
“Very well.” Tsok returned to his message. “I’m satisfied then. Good work, Davard.”
“Thank you, char. I will, of course, continue to monitor and assist her with anything she should need.”
“Excellent.”
“I’ll be off then. I have to finish looking for that blasted animal clinic. Though, why anyone would want to keep such an annoying creature alive is beyond me.”
“Davard.”
Tsok’s call stopped his assistant before he could leave the room. Without looking up from the message he was writing, Tsok said-
“You do not need to give me such in-depth reports in the future.”
“Char?”
“I mean, I do not care to listen to such things from you.” Tsok paused in his writing again, looking at his assistant with undisguised annoyance. “Things like her altering one of the outbuildings and updates on security changes are important. Everything else you just told me was not at all worth being in a report.”
Davard hesitated, confused. “I’m sorry, char. Did you not order me to keep you updated on the charina’s actions?”
“I did. I did not intend for you to tell me every little thing about her daily goings on. You are in charge of her. Which means, if it is important or something you cannot, or do not, have the authority to handle, I wish to be informed. Otherwise, I do not need to hear about it in a report.”
“Er…”
“Do not bother me with unimportant things related to the charina again.”
