House Cat [temporarily complete]

Hello ladies and gents! I have here for you another fic drawn from roleplay; this time between myself (Wingless) and a new friend of mine, Lily. We\'re both enjoying writing this very much, and I thought I\'d share this one like I did with Blood and Soot and all of the side-stories that spun off from it. Make sure you pay attention to all the warnings that were listed with this story! Gore, NC, violence, etc. and of course, as I\'m sure you\'ve come to associate with my name, there is a healthy helping of yaoi.

Now! Enough babble! On to the fic!

-Wing


Author\'s Note: for those who don\'t know them, here are some definitions that will come in handy for this chapter and the rest of the story. Easy stuff to remember.

Definitions:

Neko- The literal translation is cat, but when we refer to a neko here we mean cat-boy. A human male with pointed nails, a tail, large furry ears, pointy little fangs in his mouth and slatted pupils. Can do feline things like purr and balance well.

Kaa-san- Literal translation- Mother

Aishiteru- “I love you”

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-=H.O.U.S.E C.A.T=-

-c.h.a.p.t.e.r o.n.e-


Walking down the aisle slowly, Eiji narrowed his eyes, folding his hands behind him and glancing to the side, making his thick black braid sway along his back and brush against his finely-clothed legs. Nekos mewled at him pleadingly, reaching through little cage doors and trying to grab hold of his pants. He ignored them and kept walking, right to the back of the small basement.

The greasy dealer followed him a little too close, but he said nothing about it just yet, walking up and down the aisles. \"You didn\'t breed all of these yourself,\" Eiji said darkly.

\"No,\" the dealer replied, shaking his head. \"Some were traded to me, some I caught, some I found on the street.\"

The dark-haired man paused and looked into one of the larger cages where several nekos were kept at a time. One had mounted the other and was taking him very obviously against his will, the smaller one being taken fisting his hands and mewling softly. He had delicate colouring and soft-looking skin; he didn\'t have tattered ears or knots in his fur. He looked rather new to the trade.

\"That one,\" the braided man said firmly.

The dealer opened his mouth to argue, or say something, but he nodded and opened the cage, sending the little nekos running. The dealer battered the dominant neko in the head, knocking him off the little one, and he grabbed the little one by the throat, dragging him along the cage floor and into the aisle, slamming the cage shut and dropping the little neko at Eiji\'s feet. \"Three thousand,\" the dealer grumbled. \"He\'s pretty damn useless; I don\'t know what you see in him.\"

The braided man reached into his pocket, flipped through a few bills, and handed the money to the dealer. \"There.\" He picked up the little neko by the back of his neck and lifted him over his shoulder, hauling him like a sack of potatoes out of the basement and into the light of the house, through the building and out to the sunlight, carrying him to the car.

The neko remained very still as if--even though the stranger who\'d inadvertently saved him from one of his first and most spirit breaking nights of abuse at the hands of one of his fellow captives was holding onto him--he might just forget and give him the chance to slink away, back into the shadows which had been his home for a few scant days before he was taken to that awful, fetid place and locked away. He didn\'t know what he\'d done to deserve such treatment, but he was too frightened to talk back as he\'d seen others do only to be viciously reprimanded and merely cowered in the back of the cage, curled up in a tiny ball so he might go unnoticed. Was this really freedom or had he been sold into a worse fate?

The car ride was silent; Eiji sat back and said nothing. When they arrived at the estate, he got out of the car and picked the neko up by the back of the neck once more, carrying him out and into the front entrance. There, several full-grown neko servants stood, all in nothing but a loincloth spare the tallest one who had loose black and white robes draped on his slender body, and his arms folded calmly over his stomach as his silver and black tail swished back and forth behind him.

Large, pointed ears flicked forward as golden eyes looked the little neko over, and Eiji dropped him on the floor at the robed one\'s bare feet. \"Train him, or get rid of him,\" the braided man said calmly, leaning forward.

The robed full-grown turned his ears back and leaned forward as well, catching the kiss as their mouths touched briefly before the full-grown smiled. \"Yes, Master,\" he said gently, crouching down and scooping the little neko up in his arms, looking down at him with a gentle smile. \"What\'s your name, little one?\"

The little neko didn\'t like the sound of the stranger\'s rather ominous warning - he knew of people who treated his kind as commodities or toys to be discarded once they were no longer of use, but to hear such sentiments expressed made him shiver and cover his eyes with his hands even as the mature one picked him up and he peeked up at him through his laced fingers, clearly terrified as his ears flattened down against his head and he licked his lips nervously, \".....n-no n-name...\"

\"Oh-oh, that\'s too bad,\" the full-grown said softly, golden eyes shining. \"Master, wait; this one has no name.\"

The braided man paused and turned back around, and the full-grown approached him slowly, holding the little neko like a newborn babe in his arms. The dark-haired man looked down at his new possession silently, his hard-set expression seeming all too natural on the gorgeous, well-defined face. He looked back up into the fullgrown\'s face and frowned further.

\"Don\'t be like that,\" the full-grown said softly, leaning forward and nuzzling the man\'s cheek, then down his throat, nipping softly at it before drawing away. Several of the other fullgrowns flushed at the sight, envious that only he got to be that way with Master. \"He needs a name; you gave one to me, didn\'t you?\"

\"Runt,\" Master said darkly, leaning in and taking a hard, deep kiss from the full-grown, holding him still by the throat before glaring down at the little neko once more and turning to leave. \"If you can come up with something better, then you name him. I\'ve given you what you wanted, now be satisfied with it.\"

The fullgrown\'s cheeks flushed as well as the tongue and lips drew away from his mouth, and he nodded happily. \"Of course, Master,\" he whispered breathlessly.

The boy felt no shame about watching the strange events unfolding around him as he peered through his fingers and held his breath, sinking down into the other stranger\'s arms and making himself as small and uninteresting as possible. He observed in silence, but flinched as the braided one called him such a cruel word - one which he\'d heard often in the days since he\'d been caged both from their keeper and the other nekos who regarded him as puny and easy prey. He didn\'t understand why the affection between those two was causing such offence to the others, but he wouldn\'t have dared ask and just turned his face away, closing his eyes tightly.

When Master had gone, the full-grown sighed happily and looked back down at his little bundle. \"Not to worry, little one,\" he whispered gently. \"He\'s just a little upset lately. He\'ll give you a better name soon enough. For now, I\'d like to welcome you to the estate.\" He turned to the other slaves, who approached as soon as Master had disappeared.

\"For now we\'ll call you Chibi-- I don\'t want to disrespect the name Master gave you, so that\'s as nicely as I can put it,\" he apologized. \"Everyone, this is Chibineko.\" The fullgrowns smiled happily and leaned in one at a time, sniffing him and one or two licked at his soft skin, murmuring happy welcomes.

From every corner, inside one vase and under several couches in the entrance little neko heads began to appear, and slowly smaller nekos crawled out to see the new arrival. They were all aged about fifteen to nineteen, and the fullgrowns looked at least mid-twenties, spare the robed one, who also looked just under twenty. The little one was definitely the youngest looking.

The robed one crouched down for the smaller nekos to come and see, and these younger ones licked his face and belly and chest lovingly, purring and placing soft kisses on his cheeks and lips, whispering \"Welcome, welcome!\" over and over.

Chibi was powerless to resist their warm welcomes even if he\'d desired to and just sat there passively, letting the congregation of various nekos greet him in the typically affectionate way. The arrangement at this house was unconventional to say the least as surely only a man of wealth could afford to keep so many pets and earn their loyalty that the would be so obedient and kind as this. Blushing furiously, even to the tips of his pale ears Chibi waited until the last one had approached him and then whispered almost inaudibly, \"....hello...\" Before hiding his face once more, still shivering despite their hospitality.

The robed one laughed gently and stood back up. \"Alright, I think that\'s enough socializing for today; he\'s shaking and scared.\"

There was a chorus of disappointed noises but the others listened as told, and headed off to attend to their own matters, leaving the two of them alone. \"Chibi,\" the robed one said softly, \"I think you might like it here. You were lucky to be chosen to live in this place; it might not seem like it now, but this is one of the happiest places a neko could dream of living. A loving Master, as much food and drink as you please, barely any work to do because there are so many of us sharing it, education and entertainment, almost any freedom you want... all you have to do is listen to what you\'re told and follow the few rules that have been set out.\"

He nuzzled the little throat gently. \"There aren\'t any nekos too much older than me for a reason, too; once they\'re grown up, Master tends to set them out on their own to make a life for themselves in the world, using the education and skills they\'ve learned here. This is not a cruel house to live in as long as you listen and learn. Can you do those things?\"

Slowly Chibi lowered his hands - the fullgrown\'s description of his...their master and his home sounded far too good to be anything other than a fabrication, but still he couldn\'t suppress a tiny spark of home that ignited in his chest. The braided man seemed anything but loving to him, but he\'d learnt not to question and simply nodded in reply, his voice having left him from pure and barely waning fear that still haunted him every second he was out in the world beyond his cage. He gazed back at the older one with scared, uncertain eyes, but did not try to escape.

\"My name is Oriel,\" the full-grown said in his gentle voice as he headed up a large set of stairs that branched off to two wings of the estate. He turned to the left and headed down several long halls to the very end, where a large set of double doors waited at the end of the hall, obviously one of the Master Bedrooms.

He opened the door and entered the large, lavishly decorated room with an oversized bed and a fireplace crackling warmly. Approaching the bed, he placed the neko on it gently, and smoothed the boy\'s hair with his hands. \"Would you like a bath?\" he asked softly, \"Or food? Some of the younger ones are preparing a loincloth just for you as we speak, so you don\'t have to worry about clothes. And I\'m afraid you\'re going to have to wear a collar for the first little while, until it\'s established around here that you\'ll be staying.\"

Chibi whimpered softly at the idea of being collared and pulled his knees up to his chest, hugging them close as he resisted the urge to hide under the luxurious bed and conceal himself once more in the comforting darkness that was his only real companion. Oriel\'s voice was soothing, but he still couldn\'t quite bring himself to believe that everything was so simple and whispered nervously in return, \"....don\'t you want to take me?.....it\'s what I\'m only useful for.\" It was clearly a sentiment that had been instilled in him so firmly he believed it was true.

\"I\'m sure that isn\'t your only use,\" Oriel said softly, running his fingers through the tangled hair gently, his own long, silver locks spilling over his shoulders as he leaned down to caress the youngling. \"Taking care of you is what comes first; I can see bruises and cuts on your poor little body, my darling. But I\'d like you to answer me, please; would you like a bath or food first? It\'s obvious you\'re in need of both; I can hear your little stomach rumble and you smell like wet kitten.\"

He nuzzled the boy regardless of how dirty he was, showing affection and care as if he was the boy\'s mother. When Chibi still didn\'t answer the questions, he leaned the boy onto his back gently and began to lap at the nearest wound on his shoulder carefully, cleaning it with his tongue.

As Oriel tended to him so gently and carefully as if he were prone to break at any moment Chibi began to sniffle softly and covered his eyes with the back of one trembling hand. Every inch of his body ached from the cruel treatment he\'d received from the other prisoners and his stomach felt twisted and tight with lack of nourishment. He couldn\'t even remember when he\'d last been thrown scraps - they were fed regularly, but he was always pushed aside and left to lick pathetically at the stains left upon the cage floor by the leftovers once everyone else had had their fill. \"......it h-hurts...\"

\"What hurts, little one?\" Oriel whispered, lifting his head slightly and looking down at the boy kindly. \"Tell me where it hurts and I can make it better for you. I want you to be happy and healthy and safe here.\"

He lifted the boy gently once more, taking the answer he\'d been given as decision to bathe him first and tend to the wounds. \"Tell me where it hurts the most, and we\'ll work on them one by one until even the smallest little cut is looked after,\" he whispered, carrying the boy to the attached bathroom and resting him on his lap while turning on the water in the tub and beginning to fill it. \"And then I want you to tell me all your favourite foods.\"

Cautiously and with big, tearstained eyes Chibi held out his hands and took one of Oriel\'s carefully guiding it to the purpled bruises in the distinct shapes of handprints that were blossoming upon his hips. They weren\'t the true source of his pain, but they came a close second. The prospect of being clean and fed filled him with that same faltering hope and he managed to soften his frightened expression for Oriel\'s benefit even if inside he was still trembling with fear.

The full-grown nodded in understanding and leaned down, kissing Chibi\'s cheeks gently. \"If you\'ll let me, I have several ways to take care of that,\" he whispered, leaning forward and lowering the boy into the water with utmost care, after feeling it to make sure it wasn\'t too hot or too cold first. He then unwound the sashes around his waist and slid out of his own robes, opening one of the small cupboard doors and removing a couple unmarked bottles, placing them on the lip of the tub.

Getting into the water before the boy, Oriel spread his legs on either side of the smaller hips and bent his knees, lifting Chibi\'s arms gently and resting them on his knees. \"You scratch at them, or hug them, or hit them if it hurts too much,\" Oriel instructed gently. \"I\'ll make the hurting stop.\" He turned off the water just as it reached the boy\'s waist, and reached for a soft washcloth, soaking it in the water and smoothing it over the soft skin carefully, avoiding all cuts with it and simply wiping off dirt and dried seed. He then filled a small bowl with water and rinsed out the fine hair, then soaped it and rinsed it once more. He soaped down the boy\'s body then, his fingers moving very gently and slowly over Chibi\'s intimate places, just in case the boy reacted, but he stayed relatively still like a good kitten.

Oriel offered constant soft smiles and gentle words and little praises for how brave Chibi was being as he began to rinse out the cuts with water trickling form his cupped hand, then the full-grown leaned down and licked the wounds clean, lifting Chibi as necessary and placing him back between Oriel\'s legs when he was done. \"Almost finished,\" he whispered. \"Now I\'ll make it stop hurting.\"

He reached for one of the unmarked bottles and opened it, squeezing a good amount of gelatin onto his fingers and massaging them gently over the marked skin and deepest wounds. \"This ointment has a numbing medicine in it,\" he explained in a whisper. \"You\'ll stop hurting within a few minutes.\" He covered all of the wounds with it carefully, then closed the bottle and reached for a second, squeezing a darker gel onto his numbed hand. \"Now this one is special; it’s meant for inside you,\" he breathed. \"Relax for me, Chibi; I won\'t hurt you.\"

He slid the finger between the boy\'s legs, and looked into his face kindly but seriously as it slid inside the boy where he was sure the most pain was coming from.

Chibi had prepared himself for a intense shot of pain as Oriel continued to tend to his wounds and found the source of his discomfort without making him feel too intensely ashamed or embarrassed about how he\'d let himself be a plaything for the others - relieving them lest he get scratched or hissed at again and all the while feeling useless and disgusting for not having the strength to fight back. But to his surprise the pain began to slowly subside and he leant against Oriel\'s chest, closing his eyes as the full-grown dispelled the last vestiges of the grime he\'d felt was surely embedded too deeply within his dirty skin and abused body to ever be truly gone. A faint sigh escaped his lips and he nuzzled at Oriel\'s chest very shyly in silent gratitude.

\"There we are,\" the full-grown whispered gently. \"You look much better now. And you seem much better. Let\'s get some food into you now, yes?\" He lifted the boy out of the tub gently and wrapped him in thick towels, placing him in a bundle on the bed with only his face peeking out, leaving the room for a few minutes and letting Chibi know he\'d be back soon.

Oriel returned ten minutes later with a large several-layered silver serving tray, and set it down on the bed, taking it apart into three different silver platters and unveiling all sorts of delicious foods for a growing kitten, though he\'d made sure all of it would be easy on a weak stomach. \"And here, the thing I\'m sure you\'ve been waiting for,\" Oriel said gently, picking Chibi up in his arms, still swathed in towels. He held up a bottle of warm milk and offered the end to the boy, resting Chibi\'s head against his chest and holding him like a babe, smiling down at him kindly.

Chibi\'s stomach began to growl furiously as the food was unveiled. The delicious odors wafting round the room were enough to make Chibi sit up more attentively and sniff the air until Oriel gathered him up in his arms once more and offered him a bottle of milk which he accepted readily, forgetting his reservations about Oriel and the others as the instinctual need to feed kicked in and he drank quickly enough to make his throat hitch, causing him to cough a little.

\"Gentle, gentle,\" Oriel whispered, running his fingers through the boy\'s damp hair tenderly, a flush of happiness on his own cheeks. \"There is plenty more for you if you want it, no need to rush. I\'ll always take care of you, my little one,\" he breathed.

Tears rose in Oriel\'s eyes as he watched the boy finish the bottle; the full-grown smiled and blinked them away as he reached for a small, de-boned piece of fish and offered it to small, soft lips. \"I\'ve waited so long for you,\" he murmured tenderly, \"You\'ll be happy here, and safe, I promise. I\'ll take such good care of you. You\'ll grow up strong and healthy.\"

Chibi gazed up at Oriel as he took the piece of fish, careful not to nip at the fullgrown\'s fingertips. He seemed so kind and genuinely concerned about Chibi\'s well being that the young neko looked a little confused as he chewed on the fish thoughtfully, giving his knotted stomach time to adjust to the strange sensation of food being put into it, \"....Oriel-sama?\" He whispered from the cocoon of towels nervously.

\"Call me Kaa-san,\" Oriel whispered softly, near losing his voice. \"Oriel or Kaa-san. And you will be my little one.\"

He smiled happily and nuzzled the boy, lapping at his cheek gently, then along his jaw and up to his ear, lapping at the fur and straightening it out, then nuzzling it as well, purring gently the entire time, trying to soothe his new little love. \"You\'re the most beautiful thing Master has ever given me. I\'ll treasure you forever. You belong to the both of us; but do not call him father; he will be displeased with you if you do that. Other nekos made that mistake. You can call him Master and nothing else. No matter what you hear me call him, alright?\"

Chibi still looked a little troubled by the weirdness of the situation he\'d found himself landed in, but Oriel\'s actions were so soothing he felt himself responding, a faint rumbling purr traveling through his fragile body as he curled up closer to Oriel and murmured, \"...hai kaa-san...\" His curiosity and tentative willingness did give him the strength to add, \"....I am of good use for rutting....and I will be loyal...\" After all he had no choice and didn\'t wish to find out if his new masters had tempers.

Oriel mewled happily at being called that, and a few tears did fall. He nuzzled the boy\'s throat, lapping at it before drawing away. \"I won\'t tell you that you won\'t be used for that sometimes-- I can tell you now that you will. But that isn\'t the point of your being here. It\'s to be with me, and to learn and grow and be happy. I\'ve come to love my life here and don\'t ever want to leave like the others do; but I’ve also become closer to Master in ways that none of the others ever have before, either.\"

He picked up another piece of fish and offered most of it to the boy, putting a small piece between his own lips and eating with a thoughtful expression on his face. \"I suppose we\'ll have to get a new tutor to teach you to read and write, and I can teach you some yoga and exercises to bring up your strength and make you a healthy, strong young man.\" He smiled anew, looking down at his little one. \"Aishiteru,\" he breathed, \"Aishiteru, little one. Please; eat and drink your fill.\"

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e.n.d c.h.a.p.t.e.r o.n.e