Manners

Not shayla's manners this time, but Master's.

Marcus: There will be lots of times when I'll *ask* you to do something. Doesn't mean you have a choice."

And he does, often. Master's very polite, both when he's alone at home with his slutling and when he's out in public with her. Overall, it's not often that he 'orders' or 'commands' shayla to do anything. It's all simple requests..'Would you get me a beer, please?'; reminders...'have you done your blog entry yet?', a question phrased in such a way to make shayla think about whether or not something she has done is a good idea; things like that. And it's not often that Master asks shayla a question that he doesn't already know the answer to.

Much of this is from his Marine experience, which shayla believes colors his every move and thought. He's said more than once that in the Marines, an officer will often 'ask' someone to, say, get him a cup of coffee. But it's still an order, phrased and presented as a request. But every bit as serious as if it were more bluntly put.

Master's mentioned before that he's soft-spoken, his commands are just as mild. In the beginning of shayla's time here she actually had difficulty with interpreting some of his more simple requests as what they actually were. She's much better at it now though (thankfully). And it causes shayla to be more aware of what her Master is saying than she would be with someone else. Because there have been times that we've had a conversation, and Master will say something like, "why don't you ....~insert whatever here~" The 'request' will be so much a part of the conversation that shayla has occasionally missed it, only to have Master ask her about it at a later time. Though, she's been getting better with noting those little wishes of his.

Another thing is a Master apologizing. Master's done this a time or two. The day he stepped on shayla's hair just as she was rising from his feet comes to mind. It seems to shayla that some Goreans seem to frown upon Masters apologizing to slaves. But shayla's not one of them.

[Good Dog, woman - I've apologized to animals before. Had I stepped on the cat's tail getting up, I'd apologize. Even a walnut-brained cat can tell from your tone of voice whether of not you'd intended to inflict pain on it. There is a major difference between saying "I'm sorry," for some small accidental pratfall, and saying it to admit some sort of intentional wrongdoing. I'm sure there has been a time or two that I erred in some manner in my ownership of you. But the only way to avoid such misjudgements would be to not own you, as I only act like God - I'm not infallible. So, I'm not sorry for them - they are valuable learning experiences. For both of us. For any kajira is expected to obey perfectly in all circumstances - to include when her Master has screwed. How on Earth you gonna learn to do that if I don't err every now and again? See? I haven't really ever made a mistake, just acted as if I had to teach you another lesson. :-) Yeahright. -MLD]

Master has been very polite to shayla overall, even when she is due a punishment. In no way has it compromised his authority or shayla's obedience and subjugation. Somehow, to shayla, it seems to increase it.

Maybe it's because she can sense the will behind Master's requests. Or because they can occasionally be mis-interpreted and missed. For her, Master's politeness more greatly shows his strength. Because he doesn't have to be extremely firm in expressing what he's wanting. He and shayla both know that a simple request is all that's needed for her obedience. Yes, there's been occasions when shayla's erred in her obedience, and at those times he's been much firmer. Those times are becoming less frequent as shayla improves for him.

shayla