Quills

"It is just about time. I will head out early." Nora said as she sat up and moved to the balcony in advance, out of habit. She had a routine of napping or just enjoying the breeze on the terrace outside. It was nice to get alone and she could ruminate about things as she looked off the large balcony. It was landscaped. She could see the city bustling with activity below and distant clan buildings. The population was massive.

A lot of the coastline was preserved for enjoyment. From what she could discern from her earlier lessons, she was located where India would be located, but it had split off from the continent, along with part of Southern Africa. A large body of water akin to the English Channel ran between the two. It would probably turn into an ocean when the climate warmed naturally. Nora closed the interface map, and moved to lie down on the large patio furniture on the terrace. Liem rolled the awning out. She jumped at the noise. 

"You forgot to apply this, your skin will get damaged, and it could hurt without it." Liem said as he sprayed her liberally with an SPF that they had developed for her sensitive skin. He was very attentive and protective of her. But he respected her boundaries. She complied with his wishes to stay outside while the staff did their work. It was isolating to not have many people to talk to. She did need to start drawing the line to protect them and herself. It would be hard to do so with Liem. She just wished she had more people around her to talk to, yet she did not. The men that would be part of her group of spouses would be those people. Choosing would be so hard, just based on their bodies and faces. She would want people like Liem around her. People who she can talk with beyond words of love. People who like to learn and grow their knowledge.

'I should tell him he can be himself, that I am used to acting a part and I can pretend to be a Matriarch for him. I am already pretending to be a lost Northerner. Would he be offended if I asked him?' Nora thought and sighed.She pulled an Uzuza from the stem and popped it into her mouth. This world had awesome fruits. Uzuza was not only used in perfumes, it was delicious and relieved indigestion and gastrointestinal ailments. It was common to eat it with every meal and was a mainstay in all homes. She had cravings for things that did not exist here. If she could not get home then she would work her hardest and pull every morsel of knowledge in her brain to recreate it. 

"I think I am done with the mathematics section, the way it is taught is far more efficient from when I was taught. Geology is pretty interesting, it is more fun " Nora said. She had learned to be vague and knew it was essential that she kept where she was from as a secret. They asked sincerely twice, but after they seemed to respect her privacy.

"Can we practice your conversational skills? Rocks and land formations are pretty boring topics," Liem said. Nora nodded and asked a question that had bothered her when she was going through the data.

"Oh? Okay, well, since we are alone, why do the salutations differ so much? Is there just a universal one that can be used with everyone? Why do I have to ask permission to speak with a member of someone else's Bind? Why do I have to be announced?" Nora asked. He opened himself up to this. Nora's lips curled in a slight smile.

"Salutations are usually given on meeting someone. You use different salutations based upon your intimacy and class of the person you are speaking with," Liem said.

"Is it a problem for me to just use my own salutation with members of the other class? It seems odd to be disrespectful to someone that does not deserve it. I can be polite around Matriarchs and Alphem. But I am not going to denigrate people that have been forced into roles they cannot escape, with their own power. " Nora said. Liem looked like he was taken aback by her question. Certainly this was a sore point for Northerners. It was a sore point for many men.

"It is to draw a line between them and you." Liem said, holding back his emotions and bitter feelings.

"That line is very apparent. I know it is dangerous to talk this way. But is it so bad if I treat my men, and my people well, is it really anyone else's business? I know the purpose is to naturalize me and teach me the language, but they cannot expect me to shirk my culture completely," Nora asked.

"If it is done in your within your own clan, it is alright. But others might take you as weak and punish those that you pardon in public, or spite you for your behavior. Your public facing reputation must always be stern to protect yourself and others." Liem said. Nora's forehead wrinkled, she had not thought about the perception of the women.

"Matriarch tools work on almost men on the Leadership level, except children and spouses of other Matriarch Primes. My mother lost a younger brother at a summit two years ago. He was caught with another Matriarch's spouse in a bathroom. She did not like my mother very much, it seemed like a pleasure to her. One minute he was crying and swearing his innocence, the next he wasn't. He was innocent. He was a Bitas. He was still very dear to her. It is best to keep the line up. Those you are nice to in public can end up being targets to others." Liem said.

"I see." Nora said, appalled. "I would not have the strength to send someone I care about in public if I knew they could get hurt because of me. I am going to have to think of a way to keep them safe, while being able to live with my conscience. I would not have it in me to let my sons out into public. I would keep them home unless it was absolutely necessary. You will be safe, right? I can be a proper Matriarch to protect you. I can act tough." Nora said. Liem chuckled, she sounded like his friend's mother when she started to ramble like this.

"Yes, I am a delegate and a politician's son. My mother, sister and you will have the only access to punish me. It would require me to commit a grievous offense for anyone else to access it, so I cannot be used in pressuring or punishing my mother. There is always a physical attack. I know self-defense for that" Liem said. Liem flexed. "I am very strong. See," Liem said as he pulled his shirt up to show a very muscular chest and abdomen.

'It is the perfect time for him to start shamelessly advertising myself to her. This is a shameless tactic that others use.' Liem thought as he pulled the tunic. He flexed his pectorals, arms and chain of abdominal muscles. Nora's eyes widened and she felt herself blush. He was teasing her more and more these days. She laughed. She was only slightly relieved.

"Hey, I hope I only have girls. Seriously. Well, maybe one, if he is like you, and he can defend himself," Nora said as she poked him in the chest. She longed for a loving family before she came here. It would be possible now that she was healed.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to disparage males. It is just awful what they have to face. I see their families, although from very high. Just interacting among themselves is hard enough. " Nora apologized. She did notice Liem as he shifted his position from being relaxed to anxious.

"It is not that. You did not do anything wrong." Liem said, turning his head away. He was still not wearing his top. Liem had made some realizations. He liked who she was. Deep down. He had taken his top off and showed her his body. He had almost placed her hand on him. This was more than a passing attraction. He was starting to long for more. He would need to discuss it with his mother eventually. His mother ordered him to downplay the class system issues. She was bright and had already seen through it all from the beginning. She was the perfect opportunity for him, but he could hurt her. Her motives were entirely pure. His were not. He could not afford to miss the opportunities she presented.

 It felt like Liem's heart was squeezing in his chest uncomfortably when he thought about it. She kept bringing up travelling and living outside of Callor. Was he wrong about her? After she was done learning all the material she could choose to leave. She had her choice of clans that were offered to foster her until she had established her own footing in every major city on the planet. It could all go awry. There were Clans that were more powerful than the Allari. One of these clans resided in Callor as well.

Talan, the third son of clan Hudai, would have taken his place had he had what was turning out to be completely useless knowledge of the North. She would have been under constant surveillance if left with the Hudai. Talan himself would protect her as well as he could. But his mother would groom Nora by any means necessary to take over Hudai. Even if it meant using Talan's life to threaten her. He was certain that she would protect him. It was fortunate it was him here. His mother was slightly more progressive than others.

'There are worse scenarios than being with me. It will be in her best interest anyway. I can make it up to her by ensuring she is not exploited.' Liem eased his conscience. Allari was one of the clans that had thankfully made the offer. His mother was quick to act. Allari, being a medical clan, gave Allurai access to every new biological discovery.

'She has checked the monitoring. I am sure she is very pleased. Too bad it is not going to end up the way she wants it to.' Liem thought. He was infatuated with her. Not like one of the men that had seen her unconscious and formed an obsession over her. This was actual love. Not many Alphem experienced it first. It scared him. He would not bother her or follow her like the others did if she left. That would just hurt him. Those men were reassigned. His mother was thankfully merciful. The doctors that had followed her to the city were assigned new positions at Sacred Tree Hospital. Anything that would happen to him would be his own fault if it came to it. He had to work hard and 'display his plumage' as he learned.