“So then there’s the Continent Circuit, where the champions of the clans from the continent they are on get together and fight it out for the title of champion. We’re in North America, so our champion is the North American Champion. That’s also Miguel Westwood, the fucker, but he’s pushing forty and he’ll likely be stepping down shortly. Hopefully. He keeps saying he will, but then there he is again. And then finally, there is the World Champion’s Circuit, where all champions from all the circuits – Continent and Clan – can qualify. There are two World Champion Circuits yearly, one for winter and one for summer, and then each has a male division and a female division. Our current Matriarch is ranked two and has been for three years, which is very prestigious and has been very good for our clan.”
“They said she’s fourteen? Desiree, right?”
“Yeah, and she took down women twice her age at eleven. Kimora Yuna is number one and has been the reigning World Champion for twelve years now, though, so – tell me if you want a different size and I’ll go get it for you.”
“Got it.” Everything so far seemed to fit well enough, though.
I heard him inhale sharply. “Usually you get two types of fighters in the circuits. Those looking to put themselves out there and up their chances of getting a mate, and those that want to dominate. Desiree and Miguel are both in the latter group, where they just like to beat people up. The current World Champion is the same. I don’t know about Lest, but I do know his cousin was in the top ten when he was already mated, so it could go either way and I’ll make sure to do a little digging if that’s the way we end up leaning with you.”
“And what about the other male?” I decided I wasn’t a fan of the tan-colored pants and decided to stick with blue jeans, placing the tan ones on the hanger and hanging them on a rod that had ‘reject’ written over it.
“Gideon Dupont is a MAN, but he’s never entered a single circuit, which usually means one thing – he was disqualified.”
“Is that bad?”
Willow sighed, “Well, it usually means he’s lethal. They don’t allow individuals in the circuit that fight to kill. I don’t have access to the files like the matchmaker will and my parents got out of East Campora as soon as I was born, so I’m not current with their politics, but his official records start at eleven years old, which means he wasn’t born into East Campora and arrived at eleven. It’s very odd.”
I would just have to take his word for it, I supposed, because this all sounded very odd. “I’m going to try on the shirts now.”
“Go ahead. I’m not going anywhere- now, what’s going to happen is we are going to tell the Matchmaker what is most important to you and she’s going to send that over to her counterpart in East Campora, who will see if there is a match that meets your needs and requirements. For experience, they’re going to send over Lest or Gideon, likely Gideon because he’s older and his case is more urgent.”
“And then what?”
“Then they’ll arrange for a meeting, where it will be the matchmakers, the advocates, and you and your prospective mate. That’s when you decide if it’s a courtship you are willing to start, and if the matchmakers decide to approve of the match, then she’ll give it her seal of approval and we can progress with the paperwork.”
“The matchmakers have a lot of power, it seems.”
“They rarely go against the wishes of the Sapien. Only if they feel the Novus candidate is a danger to the sapien’s well-being or quality of life do they veto it...they are trained to ensure to pair people together that will be a lifelong match and they don’t mess around.”
After I was changed back into my sweats I opened the stall door with the clothes I wanted to buy, Willow taking them from me before he gave me a curious look.
“You do understand that Novus mate for life, right?” He asked me as he held my gaze, his expression calm, observant.
I nodded a little. “We only marry one person back in the colony as well...so I understand that finding the right...mate is very important.” But I would take whoever got me Joy that quickest.
He frowned but nodded a little, a smile twitching on his face. “You don’t have to choose someone from East Campora, you know. You can still get your niece if you take your time finding a mate...it’ll just take a little longer. They are going to come into this thinking you are easy picking and will take the person they throw at you.”
“I am easy picking, Willow.” I said, not unkindly, “My goal is to get my niece back as quickly as possible and find out how to take care of her. Everything else is a very distant, unimportant second.”
Willow laughed a little at that, patting my back as he led me out of the dressing room, “And that’s why I’m here.”
We went to the checkout and Willow showed me how to use the card the Regent gave me, and all that needed to be done was wave it over a little metal box and my purchase was paid for. It was like magic.
We drove downtown to a different store then and talked about the city, telling me where the different districts were. The Market district, the peacekeepers' district, the wellness district – we were currently in the attire district where most of the clothing shops were.
When I had about six bags of clothing, we went back to my apartment and he showed me the storage underneath my bed before he showed me how to work the microwave in the kitchen as well as the television, which was truly like magic.
And very loud.
Once I was changed into something far more tolerable, we went out and bought a few things for my apartment that I needed. Things for the kitchen, things for the bathroom, things for the living room. It was very strange buying whatever I wanted, but Willow assured me that it wasn’t ‘that much’, and that this was considered my dowry, which he explained was something a Novus clan would pay to a Sapien’s clan to have the privilege of mating with them.
After dropping off those things at my apartment, Willow said he was taking me out to breakfast to meet his brother and learn how to interact with a male Novus.
The sun was just starting to set by the time we went to a doorway that was at the end of a long alley, the inside of the restaurant was bright and cheerful, with white flooring and tables that were all covered with table cloths, each with centerpieces that had flower and candle and maybe even pearls on them. There didn’t seem to be anyone here though, save for one man that sat at the very back.
When Willow said that was his brother, Claude, I understood immediately what they had meant when they said Claude was unwell. I also suddenly understood what they meant when they said Novus deteriorate without a mate.
Claude seemed to be dressed in a uniform, the jacket of which was laying on the table next to the one he sat at, the Novus wearing a low cut, sleeveless shirt that exposed the skin of his strong arms and thick neck, both of which were covered in the same deep scars and open gashes that covered his face and every other bit of flesh I could see. One of his eyes was sewn closed and it looked like he was missing an ear as well, the other’s earlobe looking like it had been torn off. His gaze was dull, his hair shaved off to reveal a scalp covered in gashes and scars as well.
It looked like he had been attacked by a wild animal, again and again, the old wounds not entirely healed before new ones were created.
It was startling and sad to see.
“Cee, this is Lawrence,” Willow said as we approached, Willow placing a hand on my shoulder to have me stand next to the table. Claude’s good eye flickered up to me and he stared at me with an unreadable look before he looked me over, gave the air a sniff, and then returned his gaze to the paper he was reading. Willow pulled out the seat across from me and had me sit there before he took the one between me and his brother. Willow stared at his brother for a beat before he looked at me with a tight smile. “Now is when the Novus will tell you his preferred name. It’s not always his given name.” He looked back at Claude with a meaningful look.
Claude’s lips curled back and he ran his tongue over his very sharp-looking teeth before he laid his paper in his lap, staring at it. “Claude.”
Willow sighed hard, clearly unimpressed with his brother’s effort. I, however, was relieved that the Novus’ attention was elsewhere. I wouldn’t know where to look if he was staring at me instead of the paper in his lap. “If there is a higher ranking Novus present, he will give his preferred name first, and then he will also introduce the other Novus. If they introduce you to both Lest or Gideon-”
“Gidiot Duponteeth?” Claude’s gaze lifted at that and he stared at his brother.
Willow looked at him with an amused look. “Is that what they call him?”
Claude blinked. “What about him?”
Willow waved down a waiter before he looked back to his brother, “They’ll likely have him be a candidate for Lawrence, him or Lest.” Claude grunted before he dropped his gaze back to his paper and Willow looked back to me, “If they introduce you to both Lest and Gideon at the same time, it’s different. If we are in Gideon’s territory where he is the MAN, he will do the introductions, but Lest will do so anywhere else because he technically ranks higher on the world scale. If Westwood is there, he would technically rank higher than both outside Gideon’s territory, so he would do the introductions. However, if the males are familiar with each other and have decided which one is the higher ranking between them, then that one will do the introduction,” the waiter coming over then. “The waiters will always look to the Novus first, then the Sapien,” Willow said as he smiled at the waiter as he handed both Willow and me a menu that was covered in smooth, shiny plastic, who gave him a questioning look before he looked to Claude, “And then it’s up to the Novus to determine who orders first.”
Claude looked to Willow and then the waiter did as well, but Willow was leaning toward me and pointing to my menu.
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