Cinco Storia Book One: Awakened

Chapter 9

I. Qualifications

II. Registration procedures

III. Pet husbandry

IV. Disease prevention

V. Breeding requirements

VI. Quality assurance

VII. Prohibitions

VIII. Disposal procedures

IX. Exclusivity clause

News of the Pet Law being amended was almost like declaring war against all of Tanagura's beliefs and social traditions, not to mention an utmost desecration of the rules first forged upon all owners by Jupiter himself.

But then the Council did not want to further delay Iason's return into their fold as they had been almost dying to repair what was lost of their grand dominion, particularly the System whose keys had been handed down to the chosen Tanagura Blondie.

So they made a show of it all. Because to manipulate the masses this way was as always the easiest done, and by toying with the general public's psychology, showing them such power and grace, was to take their interests and make from them an advantage that the Blondies can next wield.

First they admitted that Jupiter had already died, which was a shock to everyone, although it shouldn't have been because it was already the root of such widespread gossip. Then they notified everyone of his chosen heir, and that he had come back to step up into the dead god's pedestal to rule over his inheritance as was his new right and responsibility.

They were able to reintroduce Iason to the populace this way, with a parade of entirely solemn grandeur, moving him from Eos Tower One to his new palace with much ceremony. All the Blondies were there, six and six to either side, in their royal regalia, as Neu-Jupiter walked forward towards his new residence.

To ease Riki's transition into the picture, he was likewise carried in with the tide the day Iason re-entered. They placed him in a reverently carried cast of gold, dressed in robes of black, surrounded by blooms, a field of guards and much security. The entire fan-fare. They had earlier confirmed that he was likewise chosen by Jupiter, to be Iason Mink's Exclusive half, and that he had also received the Will of the dead god.

No one was allowed to speak or meet with the two.

Even in the Elitists' party that ensued after the transfer, Iason was kept away from the crowd, but the Blondies need not have to, as he himself maintained a distance before disappearing near-midnight to sit by his Pet's pod, looking at Riki's peaceful face as if seeking answers from his expression. He fell asleep beside him, and the next day woke up reluctant still to play into his new role...

Blue.

Iason looked at the new robes he had on that morning. They were no longer the white-grey-silver-gold formals the rest of the Blondies donned. Blue velvet like the colour of his feathers he imagined; the hue somehow made him feel quite set apart. And he felt it was rather lonely on the very top.

"Must we always make such distinctions?" Neu-Jupiter asked as Raoul walked in to see him.

"Tanagura is all about distinction. You're Neu-Jupiter. There needs to be a difference."

"A difference that is not entirely necessary Raoul," he reminded.

"Oh but it is. It's that difference that protects Riki and puts him at your feet on the same pedestal."

Iason somehow agreed. Somehow it all felt right, to see himself like this, another breed above from the rest, though where his pride had gone, he had not the answer. The Elite of the Elite of Elites. And now he has Riki there with him. "How does everyone react?" he was curious.

"To your return? As they should," Raoul responded. "They use the new title for you now...Neu-Jupiter. The Council has ordained it."

Iason looked out from his roomy closet. A circular platform hovered just beyond where he was, right above and dead middle of the very splendid indoor Babylonian gardens of their new home. Chains were the only links that held it in place, kept the circle from flying away. No doors, no teleportation gateways...the only way to get there was a precarious flight which he of course can do. It should serve a good deterrent to anyone interested to transgress the place.

He looked up.

How the space was bathe with the brightness of glaring sunshine. It felt warm, felt assuring, although Riki who slept in the bigger Pet bed under canopies of silk in the middle of that platform was yet to bask in it. He still slept peacefully, and all Iason could do at the moment was keep him from being disturbed.

"And Riki?"

Raoul joined him where he was on the balcony, watching that circular platform drift, soundless groans as the chains holding it down swayed, "He has his own share of nomenclatures. The citizens of Midas call him Jupiter's Pet, Lover, Consort...

"The Council will simply refer to him as the Exclusive, of course."

Raoul moved them forward, "Our transport is already waiting outside. We should leave."

Iason would have looked himself in the mirror, but then he knew that the being who would stare back at him was none other than himself. The same Iason, but then he was not entirely the same was he?

"And thus my godhood starts..."

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Half an hour after his master left, half hour after the system droids were set and activated to guard the Penthouse Palace of Neu-Jupiter, a low moan escaped the lips of the sleeper, a stir into waking as he heaved deep, slow breaths of air, as if a child just burst from the clasp of his test tube.

Obsidian eyes open to the light, squinting at what seemed to be the brightest of suns, through lazy silken canopies. Sounds. Everywhere. A gawking bird, leaves rustling, falling water...

Where am I?

Riki has been roused to consciousness, feeling his head split as if a knife had hacked it in two. He remembered bit by bit...there was an explosion. A deathly blaze. His last deep kiss with the Man he loved within a furnace that ultimately put an end to them both.

"Iason...," the pain surged when he tried to get up, so he fell back again, holding his forehead. "Iason..."