By the ti lunch was wrapped up and harvesting was finished, it was 3 p.m., and the fox lord was still asleep upstairs, tails wrapped around Sienna like a fortress of fluff. His breathing was steady, his aura calm. Unfortunately, it was not all calm downstairs.
Timothy, and so elders of the fox clan had been waiting to et Elias since noon. The guards had brought them to the front courtyard and asked them to wait. It had been two hours, and there was no sign of the fox lord.
Luckily for them, Sienna managed to wake up and carefully extract herself from the furry fortress. She made it out of the house, yawning and stretching, thinking about lunch.
Instead of food, she got an anxious rabbit whose right foot was tapping the ground faster than bullets being fired from a gun. "Lady Sienna," Timothy blocked her off. "Err....where is Lord Elias?"
Sienna turned her head and gestured at the cottage. "In bed, which is where he needs to be. That man works too hard. If you wake him up, I will use my pan on you."
Pacing like a caged beast, Timothy replied, "We have so serious matters pending! It is not like Lord Elias to put off serious business for a midday nap."
Sienna covered her mouth, yawning again. When she lowered it, she replied, "Well today he is. I am sure you can take care of business on your own for a day."
The elders exchanged looks. One cleared his throat. "Lady Sienna, these are matters only the Fox lord can decide. We would not be here if our hands were not tied."
Sienna walked to the sitting area, and plopped herself onto a chair, crossing her legs. She kicked off her shoes, leaving the left foot to enjoy the feeling of grass beneath. "Well, he’s busy snoring. So, unless you want to wait until tomorrow, you’ll have to settle for . List them out and let’s see if I can take the on his role temporarily."
The elders raised their voices in protest, but Timothy raised his to read out the most pending things on the do to list.
"The hawk tribe has started encroaching on our fishing grounds. This makes it a border dispute which should be dealt with urgently
The second issue is the approval of our new trade in the herb business. Which cities and trading routes should we be using?
The allocation of funds for repairing the Northern watchtower in the city.
We need a decision on the marriage alliances from so of the elder families into neighboring tribes.
Err..plaints about your behavior Lady Sienna. The interim council of Fox ladies has an issue with that.
Distribution of winter rations to the fox beast n who work in mines and other far businesses of the tribe.
Approval of the final annual fox beast tournant rules and activities.
Negotiation of extradition treaty with the Eagle clan for the fox two beast n they imprisoned three years ago. Thee eagles have gone back on the deal and refused to release them.
Appointnt of a new captain for the Eastern patrol.
And lastly, a resolution of tax disputes from traders guilds."
Sienna blinked. "That’s ten. I thought you’d have fifty with the way you were pacing. Alright, let’s go one by one. We have an agreent with the falcon tribe to provide their eyes and hunting abilities according to our needs. Send them in to deal with the hawks. Option two, arm our people with pepper spray. They see a hawk, they release the spray or a gas. To protect their eyes, the hawks won’t return."
The elders gawked. Timothy sputtered. "That sounds unethical."
Sienna shrugged. "I am sure Elias has suggested worse. The man kidnapped Mija to force the hand of the White snakes. My tactics are simpler. Next, the herb business. Choose cities where sickness is common, especially Lost-born city. Use the sea, from my research, water transport may be slower in this world but it is far safer than flying. For herbs that expire quickly, dry them in the sun and sell finished products rather than leaves and flowers."
The elders scribbled furiously.
Sienna tapped the table, "Repairing the watch tower, do so imdiately and spare no expenses. Our security is not sothing we can play around with. If the issue is funds, Elias and I will hold a charity ball, auction or sothing. If its labor, go to ox tribes and hire so workers. Or, hire prisoners for labor. We pay the prison a small fee, and the workers too. It’s a win-win all around."
Timothy’s mouth dropped open. "That....actually works. But..."
Sienna stopped him with her hand. "No buts. Issue four, the marriage alliances. As long as the couples are willing to marry, allow it." She pointed to her chest, "As for , I will et the ladies and hear them out. You should also install a ’Tantrum Complaint Box.’ at the fox headquarters. Every ti soone has a complaint about , they can drop in so money. Trust , it won’t be long before the complaints dry up."
"That is madness." Timothy muttered.
Sienna winked. "Madness is efficiency." She clapped her hands. "No ti to waste. On the matter of winter ration distributions, do it. In fact, gamify it. Hold a lottery. Whoever wins gets extra rations, courtesy of . It will keep morale high among our people and add drama. You beast n love drama."
The elders nodded reluctantly. It was true what she said, but the way she said it was.....it just seed wrong. Like she was blaming them.
"I have never been to the fox beast tournant." She put her hands on the table. "But, I know this. It needs to be exciting and the winners need to leave with so kind of proof for their victory. Make so dals, add snack stalls at the venue. As for activities and rules, you will have them by tomorrow.
As for the eagles, find so in our city that are doing sothing shady and blow it up. Then, arrest them and make noise about it. I am sure the eagles won’t sit back and watch. We can do a prisoner exchange."
"And if we find none doing anything wrong?" An elder asked.
Sienna rolled her eyes. "Co man, keep up. Hasn’t any of you ever heard of a fra job? Find a high ranking eagle in the city, plant so important docunts on them or get pictures of them involved in so kind of risky behavior and use that.
Put a high ranked eagle beast man in a room with many mouse beast won. All of them should be naked. That ought to get the job done."
Timothy blinked. The elders froze. The guards close by were flabbergasted, and so were the servants.
All of them wondered how she was sohow more ruthless than her husband. Even Mija, who was simply crawling by, held in her hiss.
Did this human woman have any ethics?
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