"What?" Tevera looked me up and down, evaluating my presence in the room for the first time.

"I…that is…I like…what you've…done with your puppet, I guess." I gestured lamely towards her, embarrassed that I had said what I was thinking out loud.

"Oh," the puppet blinked. "Thanks," She drew herself back and pulled out her documents. "Anyways, I assumed you wouldn't be too keen on reviewing the entire ledger book for the century you've been gone, but I've drafted up some key matters that have been on hold and therefore require your attention."

It wasn't the first time I'd seen a puppet making facial expressions, as Moira had been quite adept at them as well, but it was still an astounding process to watch. Like a statue that had suddenly sprung to life there was a faint…wrongness to her expressions, and yet that very sense of unease also had a way of pulling you in to pay more and more attention to her.

Needless to say I found myself staring a little excessively at her as she continued updating Rivi on the affairs of the mansion.

"The first and possibly most important is a request from the Town Mayor. As you may have noticed the town has developed quite significantly around our grounds, which has resulted in a rise in incidents like break-ins and graffitiying on our outer walls. The Town Mayor wishes to address potential concerns, possible remuneration, as well as possible solutions moving forwards with the property."

"I see," Rivi folded her legs up to her chest on her chair, putting her chin on her knees. "That shouldn't be too difficult as we're already planning on seeing the town mayor for some more maids while we're in town."

"That would be most wise. A cook especially would be required as neither Sera nor I have any nutritional requirements."

Rivi giggled. "What a fancy way of saying you're both ghosts and don't eat. Anything else?"

"Nothing particularly for servants, as the constructs you left have done a good job of keeping the property cleaned and properly maintained.

"However, Sera has been wishing for the right to expand our underground cellars as she wishes to build a new laboratory for some researches she's been pursuing. She says she'll fund the construction costs from her own budget, but of course any modification permissions remain in your hands."

"Oh that's cute. What's she trying to do?"

"As you know Sera is a spatial mage who's mostly made her living making spacial accessories for various commercial purposes, but lately she's been trying to explore more recreational applications especially in the realm of enterable pocket dimensions."

"Oh my god, that sounds so fun! Send me a message or something if she ever gets a good prototype out. Application definitely approved, I'll talk to her a bit more about it later."

"Next, we've had a number of potential buyers making bids on the property or parts of the grounds, many of which have become increasingly generous as late. Do you wish to see any of them, or shall we turn them all down?"

"Hmmm," Rivi put a finger to her chin. "I don't have any need to sell anything, but it does feel kind of weird to have our grounds sticking out so much from the surrounding development. Maybe I'll talk about this with the mayor, I don't really care about money, but I don't want this property to be an eyesore either."

"On that note, mistress, do you think it's time that the property saw some renovations? The brick exterior is still very respectable, but it is starting to stand out more from the painted aesthetic of the town. Our roof also needs some work, as it's started to become more and more patchwork as we've fixed various leaks individually over the years. Of course either of these endeavours would probably require significant investment."

"Hmm, well, when I go to see the mayor why don't I ask for any architects she might recommend? We can discuss the grounds issue with them, and ask them for a draft of what a more contemporary manor might look like to see if we want to move in that direction. Plus, I need to discuss where the mayor sees the future of the town going. If this painted aesthetic is merely a passing fad, I don't want to spend the time and money to chase it just for it to be outdated in another century. As for the roof, it seems like it'll have to be done eventually, but let's wait to see what the architect recommends."

Tevera smiled. "Time is cruel to us all."

"Except to me, of course." Rivi booped Tevera on the nose. "Alright, well if that's all than I have to get back to enjoying the town with my new little Night Mistress. Silvie?"

"Mm?" I blinked, snapping out of the passive trance I'd been in as they settled their affairs.

"Anything to add before we leave Tevera to her business?"

"Uh, I really like you're…tattoos? Can they be called that when they're on a puppet?"

Tevera chuckled and shrugged. "I'm sure they could be called something else, but I don't mind. And thank you. Sera likes to say they're this body's best feature. They're actually engraved into the wood, you know?"

"Really?" I blinked and reached over to touch one, only pausing right before, realizing I hadn't gotten any permission.

"Go ahead." Tevera looked amused at my pause, and offered her wrist to me where a skull surrounded by an aura of flames was engraved in black.

"Oh my god that does feel so cool," I felt the ridgelines of the engraving as well as the strange vanilla-like softness of her wood 'flesh.' I say vanilla, because the sensation felt strangely artificial, both soft and hard at the same time, like the sense of touch had been enchanted rather than naturally derived from the material.

"Silvie," Rivi coughed, when I had been fondling Tevera's wrist for a little too long.

"Ah!" I jolted back. "Sorry, I guess I got carried away. Nice to meet you Tevera," I gave her a wave and followed Rivi out the door as she pulled me along behind her.

"Are you disappointed that I don't have any tattoos?" Rivi asked as we walked out into the hallway.

"Huh?" Her tone just now…did it sound vaguely…pouting?

"Um, I mean…I don't know. I don't have any right to decide what you put on your body?"

Rivi's grip tightened around my hand, and she sighed. "They heal too fast…tattoos. The best I can get is a year, and then they're faded beyond recognition."

"Oh." I closed my mouth. Was she…actually…jealous?

"Are you…?" I paused, my fingers twitching as I suddenly got nervous. "Jealous?"

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