Selkay grew up on in Pearly Gates and Haven in the Woods on the border of Midgardon and Haven on the planet Loam. When her father Arturo, a red fox fell in love with a Gypsy dancing girl Maleka, an artic vixen; The Volpone family disowned him and he ran off leaving his younger brother Vincent to run the Crossroads Inn and Winery, the family business. Maleka died giving birth to Selkay and Arturo never made a good living. Selkay would dance for coins in the street from a very early age to support them. All Loamans have a magical talent ( besides being able to change into their ancestral form) Selkay's was simultaneous translation. She could understand any spoken language after hearing a few words. When Selkay was 12 and helping out in the local House of Healing she met Moldred The Malcontent. Selkay went to live with Vincent, his wife Veronica and her older cousins Vive and Little Vinny. Arturo wouldn't be reconciled and ran off again. Eventually Selkay went to college in Haven in the Swamps. Her first Job out of School was with Mysaki Exports of Dusa. Alcoa Mysaki and his nephew Reardon brought sexual harassment in the work place to a new low. Alcoa brought Selkay along on an offworld business trip and coerced her into being his sex slave with brainwashing and drugs. She was rescued by a group of space pirates who had also been slaves and returned to Loam. Dusa being the only spaceport Alcoa managed to kidnap her (Mysaki Exports owns Dusa) and planed to throw her into a volcano to show his female workers what happened to 'traitors' . Her new pirate friends and her relatives came to her rescue. Two Pirate girls found Al and Selkay and while Al was using Selkay as a shield he slipped off the caldera and right into his volcano. Selkay went home, but Reardon swore vengeance
FROM
The Kamusi Project Swahili-English Dictionary
-dusa verb, live at other's expense.
dusa adjective, sponge.